The Business of Fashion Books: An ever-growing market, or old news?

Would you believe me if I said that there are more fashion books published each week than blog posts…? Now I’m sure that’s not true, but it sure feels that way! Every day I hear news of a new book being published by bloggers, stylists, fashion designers, models or even just your regular celebrity (turned lifestyle/blogger) that I just can’t keep up! If you haven’t already heard the famous Naomi Campbell is publishing a fashion book, soon to be on shelves May 1^st!

Growing up (before the e-book) I loved reading magazines and special edition books focused on fashion because I felt that I was part of some exclusive club gaining exclusive knowledge about an industry I so wanted to gain access to! Nowadays with technology, I find myself buying less and less physical books and gearing more toward electronic version of most books or magazines. We hear all the time that physical books are a dying breed, and that soon bookstores will be online only. Yet when it comes to fashion books something still draws me in and makes me want to buy their hard copy. Maybe it’s because I want to be just as cool as the other Instagram bloggers, with their oh so chic coffee table books, or maybe it’s just something about the beautiful photos that can’t be replicated through a screen – I don’t know!

What I do know is that it’s hard to know which books can offer you something new, because why purchase a book by another author which only tells you the same information you already know? I am someone who loves learning new things all the time because I am the first to admit that I don’t know all the in’s and out’s of the fashion industry. So, when I challenged myself to actually read the entirety of the following fashion books (and not just swoon over the beautiful photos), it came as a surprise that there is actually so much knowledge, and super cool stories, shared from the experts in this field. Each of the books I picked to read offered a different personal story, anecdotes from the industry and (although sometimes similar) an inside look and go-to tips for day-to-day styling. Most of all they were all extremely enjoyable to read – let’s not forget we only have a limited amount of spare time aka me time in our busy lives, so why waste it doing something that’s not fun?!

If you go into a bookstore and feel overwhelmed by the size of the fashion/style section, here is a list of a few of my favourites to get you started:

The Woman I Wanted To Be by Diane von Furstenberg

365 Style by Nicky Hilton

The Blonde Salad by Chiara Ferragni

Style by Lauren Conrad

Love x Style x Life by Garance Doré

Grace: A Memoir by Grace Coddington

Paris Street Style: A Guide to Effortless Chic by Isabelle Thomas

The Fashion Book by Alice Mackrell

The Dress: 100 Iconic Moments in Fashion by Megan Hess

by Amanda Vojvodin