5 Fashion Books You Need to Read

1. Grace: A Memoir by Grace Coddington

Anna Wintour once described her as "one of the great unsung heroines of our business". I read this over two years ago and it's still one of my absolute favourite books. From model to creative director of Vogue, Grace's story is a gripping read. I also found the book very intimate, with Grace revealing the details of her car accident, two marriages and of course, working with Anna Wintour.

2. Tales From the Back Row by Amy Odell

Amy Odell's book is a refreshing story from a different perspective. Now the editor of cosmopolitian.com, Odell provides an insight into the realities of fashion industry from an online "blogger" perspective. The book is unfiltered, honest and downright hilarious. It particularly appealed to me because it was written by someone who has spent there career working for online publications and thus offered an alternative perspective. My personal favourite chapter was about a job interview with Anna Wintour, which left me giggling. Odell is a women who has made a career without family connections or a trust fund, which is one of the reasons I found her story particularly interesting.

3. The Allure of Chanel by Paul Morand

Unlike most Chanel books you see around the place, The Allure of Chanel tells the memories of Coco Chanel in her own words. Paul Morand was given the opportunity by Coco herself to write her memoirs at the end of WW2, but the notes from the conversations were kept tucked away in a draw until a year after her death. We hear so much about the woman behind the Chanel brand, but this book provides a truly extraordinary insight into her life.

4. The Woman I Wanted to Be by Diane Von Furstenberg

The term 'legend' is tossed around a lot in the fashion industry, but one woman who I believe truly deserves the title is Diane Von Furstenberg. She is most well known for her iconic wrap dress, but in this book Von Furstenberg explains the struggles and journey behind the dress. Again this was an intimate book, beginning with the story of her mother's survival of WW2 in a concentration camp, through to her marriages, children, and business failures. For me the biggest surprise in this book was reading about how many business failures there actually were. Her inspiring story was not all glamour, and this book proves she worked hard to get to where she is today.

5.  How to be Parisian Wherever You Are by A. Berest, A. Diwan, Caroline de Maigret, and S. Mas

This bold book is written from the perspective of four French women, debunking the myths of the Parisian woman lifestyle. Of the five books listed here, this is probably my least favourite and it is more of a decorative book. Nonetheless if you're Parisian obsessed like me, it is a great quick read.