TRY THIS - Book Your Place in Style

I find I'm in need of confession. Forgive me but I bought a glossy fash mag. Huntress London preaches the pleasure of fashion books rather than glossy pulp but over the weekend, in a moment of madness, I gave in to the fleeting allure of April's Vogue. The day before I'd picked up Shoes, a good-looking little read from Ealing Oxfam, so nestled on the sofa with a cup of coffee, I prepared to spend the afternoon style surfing. I dove into Vogue, enjoying a feature on author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (loved the dress she was pictured wearing, her own creation) and cut out a useful compilation of UK vintage shops courtesy of woman-in-the-know Harriet Walker. Otherwise, the magazine was the Cara show. No less than 5 adverts, 8 pages of editorial, as well as the cover featured Ms Delevingne. Please Alexandra Shulman, give us different faces, bodies, shapes, skin colours and attitudes. Cara is stylish but we're saturated, thank you. 

I moved on to my little book. From the Renaissance to the Swingin' 60s, from button-up boots to Doc Martens, from Chuck Taylor to Imelda Marcos this publication is packed with facts, illustrations, photos and inspiration. Did you know that between 1927 and 1960 Salvatore Ferragamo produced 20,000 shoe designs and Charles Jourdan is credited with creating the stiletto? 

Lesson learned. Practice what you preach Huntress! Secondhand books provide far more fashion inspo and info than the predictable pages of fash mags. And my solid shoe book was half the price of the latest but lacking Vogue.  

For more style book recommendations read 

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