Looking for some great fashion books to give away as presents?

Well, in that case the fantastic website Fashionista has compiled a list of 25 hot fashion books right now, which is well worth looking into for some present ideas. You can see the list here, and I know I want several of the books featured in it!

Review: Amazing Face by Zoe Foster

While I love make up, I must say that I am not an expert on applying it and trying new styles, since when it comes to beauty, I tend to focus on skin care instead. I've always kind of wished that I could create amazing looks by myself, and I also have to admit I've learned everything I know (or think I know) about beauty products by trial and error, and to some extent from blogs. So I decided a while ago that I should get some beauty books, in order to try to improve my knowledge on the matter.

The first beauty oriented book I got was Amazing Face, written by an Australian beauty journalist called Zoe Foster, who has been working in the industry for years, which means she has worked with a huge amount of cool make up artists and has tried most talked about beauty products. So I figured she would know what she is talking, ehm, writing about.

And it turns out she does! While beauty is a huge interest for me, I still found plenty of tips in the book that I found useful, and Zoe has a really cute way of writing too, since she mixes some short jokes with actual tips, and the book covers everything from skin, make up, eyes, complete looks and much more, so if you want to improve your knowledge on everything related to beauty, you can really get started pretty well just by getting this one book.

I also liked that Zoe actually gives tips for actual beauty products to try. Because what good does all this theory do if you have no idea on how to try it yourself? So not only will you learn, for instance, how to apply foundation or eye shadow in the best possible way, you will also get advice on what kind of foundation or eye shadow you might want to consider buying to do so.

Oh and by the way, this is a book to fit all ages, since she gives tips based on your age too. So no matter if you are young or a bit more mature, you'll probably find this book useful! Highly recommended!

Review: Normal Gets You Nowhere by Kelly Cutrone

I am not very familiar with Kelly Cutrone, besides knowing who she is and what she does, that is. I haven't watched any of those reality shows she's apparently on, for instance, and I also haven't read her first book If You Have to Cry, Go Outside, but when I saw her second book Normal Gets You Nowhere, it seemed interesting, so I picked it up and got it.

And despite not being a huge Kelly fan (because I simply don't know enough about her to be a fan), I really like the book. It's basically about being yourself, instead of striving for being normal, since Kelly believes normal people are less interesting than people who are really unique, a statement I would have to agree with. Kelly also gives you tips on how you can reinvent yourself, become your own brand and she also promotes being a good person and caring for others, which is just wonderful, and probably not something that is very common in other books written by celebrities in the fashion industry.

So this book is well worth reading, but I think you might enjoy it even more than I did if you are a fan of Kelly Cutrone, since the book includes a lot of anecdotes from her own life as well.

Review: Gunn's Golden Rules - Life's Little Lessons for Making It Work

I am a huge Tim Gunn fan, I think he is amazing, and I love Project Runway as well, which is why I have read basically all Nina Garcia's books (which reminds me, I should really review those here as well), as well as at least one of Tim Gunn's previous books.

So I was super excited to find out that Tim Gunn actually had a new book come out, called Gunn's Golden Rules - Life's Little Lessons for Making It Work, and immediately got it.

And the book is definitely very Tim Gunn, with a lot of tips on how to make your life in general better, meaning the book is not only about fashion (but of course it is about that TOO). Gunn uses a lot of real life examples to illustrate his points on behaviour, attitude and more, which is nice, but at times the book is a bit too filled with name dropping, in my opinion, and not all the things Tim Gunn says about people in the book are all that nice, which was somewhat dissapointing, since he seems so nice on the show and otherwise. So I think he could definately left some of the more bitchier parts out, but as a whole, the book is really worth reading, especially if you are a fan of the show, but probably for anyone interested in manners and fashion in general too.

So I recommend the book, even though it is not my favorite book among the ones the Project Runway participants have published.

Review: The Frugalista Files by Natalie P. McNeal

I like true stories, especially true stories that end well. So I enjoyed reading The Frugalista Files, about Natalie, who decided to cut her spending, while staying fabulous at the same time, after she found herself in $20 000 of debt.
In order to do this, she started a blog, still active over at The Frugalista.com and the book basically describes what happened after she started blogging.

I like Natalie's way of writing and also think the topic - spending less while getting more - is great as well, so I really liked this book (it's kind of similar to Save Karyn, to those of you who know it) and would definitely recommend it to anyone who is thinking of cutting their spending and loves fashion, manipedis and stuff like that.

The book is available over at Amazon if you want to get a copy of your own.
The Frugalista Files: How One Woman Got Out of Debt Without Giving Up the Fabulous Life

Review: A to Z of Style by Amy de la Haye

If you don't know who Amy de la Haye is (don't worry, I didn't either until I read this book), she is actually a professor of dress history and curatorship and has worked at many prestigeous schools, including the London College of Fashion, so she really knows a thing or two about fashion.
That does not necessarily mean that she is well suited to write a book, of course, and actually, Amy de la Haye has not been doing a whole lot of writing for this book. Instead, she has collected useful quotes by people like Christian Dior, Claire McCardell, Caroline Herrera, Hardy Amies, Coco Chanel, Madeleine Vionnet, Genevieve Antoine Dariaux (who I loooove!), Roland Mouret, Elsa Schiapparelli, Bill Blass, Gianni Versace, Yves Saint Laurent, Diana Vreeland, Carmel Snow and many others and written short pieces herself, creating a very fun book to read, especially for anyone who is slightly into fashion to begin with.

So I would say her A to Z of Style is not a book well suited for anyone just starting to dabble in fashion or who needs serious fashion advice, instead it is a better fit for fashionistas who want to be reminded of what the various masters of fashion (see some of them listed above) had to say about accessories, tailoring, tartan, sportswear, perfume, pockets, labels and logos and much more.

I enjoyed reading the book myself, especially since it is also filled with cute illustrations by Emma Farrarons, but I have a feeling my friends who are less into fashion than me would not have enjoyed it as much. So this is a great book, but not for everyone!

You can get the book over at Amazon if you are interested and think you'd be one of the fashionistas who would enjoy reading various fashion quotes.
A to Z of Style

Review: True Prep by Lisa Birnbach

The prep lifestyle has always intrigued me, even though I have to admit I am not always very prep myself. But that of course does not mean that I don't enjoy reading about this lifestyle. And one of the best books on the topics that I have run into lately is True Prep by Lisa Birnbach and Chip Kidd.

This book is half serious, half funny and has over 200 illustrations in it, and covers everything about the prep lifestyle, from the place preppy people call home, to their vacations, to their style and much more.

You'll also be able to read about several truly preppy celebrities, as well as about what exactly makes them prep, including Julia Child, Stockard Channing, Tory Burch, Jane Fonda, Jodie Foster, Christopher Reeve, David Hyde Pierce, Brooke Shields, Kate Spade, Meryl Streep, Oliver Stone, Vera Wang, Edith Wharton and many others.
The books also includes topics like money, where a preppy person goes to school (including lists on where famous preps studied), why they need a second home, what events are particularly important in socialite circles, prep fashion rules and much more.

So True Prep is actually not a book that focuses only on the fashion part of prep, but on the whole lifestyle. So if you are looking for a how to dress preppy-kind of guide book, this book may not be for you (it is very tongue in cheek as opposed to genuinely helpful, after all), but if you are looking for an easy book to read on the phenomenon as a whole and as a lifestyle, this is a great buy!

I really enjoyed reading True Prep and will probably re-read it again after a while. I particularly liked the fact that this book is way funnier than most other books on the topic.

(the photos in this review are all taken by me)

This book is available over at Amazon if you want to get a copy of your own.
True Prep: It's a Whole New Old World