GIVEAWAY: Win An Autographed Copy of Kelly Cutrone's New Book

Enter for a chance to win an autographed copy of Kelly Cutrone's new book, "Normal Gets You Nowhere."

This is a Twitter contest. So to enter, you must follow me on Twitter. A winner will be chosen at random from my Twitter followers.

If you are following me now, fabulous! If you are not following me, you can! Visit my Twitter page, and click "Follow." That's it. Winner will be announced via Twitter on Monday, May 30th. Good Luck!

FASHION BOOKS: REVIEW::FASHION, 150 Years Couturiers, Designers, Labels by Charlotte Seeling`

If you were to walk into my bedroom, besides the ridiculous amount of shoes, you would find design and fashion books everywhere (oh, and fashion mags everywhere, too). I love to read. I love learning something new. So I was so happy to delve into Fashion: 150 Years Couturiers, Designers, Labels. In its over 500 pages, this fabulous book, full of amazingly beautiful images, examines all things fashion from the beginning when France put fashion on the map with its invention of Haute Couture right up to the trendsetters of today. There is never a dull moment.

Haute Couture, which made its debut at the Paris Exposition Universelle in 1900, established the mark by which fashion would be judged. During the Expo, Parisian fashion houses, including the house of Worth and Doucet, presented their decadent wares at what could be considered the first fashion shows. Even though department stores in France opened around 1850, the international press really did not take notice of fashion until these elaborate fashion presentations during the Paris Expo. Thus, the obsession begins.

From the world's first designer, Paul Poiret to the eco-designs of Stella McCartney, no fashion stone is left unturned. You will discover all you will ever need to know about fashion. From the Surrealism of Elsa Schiaparelli to the innovations of Cristobal Balenciaga to the rise of the Dutch and the brilliance of Alexander McQueen. It is all here.

I was tickled to discover that the early Parisian fashion houses dressed the starlets of the moment. I am sure that it was not quite the event that it is today, but interesting to note that there was a connection between fashion and the entertainment industry that dates back to the 1800s.

One of my favorite discussions in the book is surrounding the emancipation of the corset. I could not imagine life with a corset. Wearing spanx and a bra is torture enough. I would have probably gone naked if I would have been bound to a corset in order to appear presentable. It just would not have happened. So I salute women like Colette who utterly refused to do anything that cramped her style, including wearing that ridiculous corset.

It is extremely thorough in its coverage of the world of fashion. There are chapters on Japanese designers, designers who had the undaunting task of taking over the helm of famous fashion houses like Lanvin, YSL, and Givenchy. You will also get a peek into author, Charlotte Seeling's mind as to where the fashion industry is headed.

This book would make an incredible gift for someone who would love to learn what is considered to be the beginning of the fashion industry, as well as the key players and their key contributions. It's an exploration of an industry that tries to reinvent itself every season but clearly pulls from its rich and varied past.

Available at bookstores including Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

The 13 Fashion Books That You Should Have In Your Fashionista Library

There are books that you absolutely need to have in your library in order to maintain your fashionista creds. A true fashionista knows her history right up to modern day. So if you don't have these amazing books in your library, then you need to hit up the bookstore quickly. Here are the 13 must have fashion books:


Stylist: The Interpreters of Fashion, by Style.com
This book chronicles the careers of the top stylists who have shaped way the fashion industry thinks including Carine Roitfeld, Grace Coddington, Polly Mellen and Camilla Nickerson. See how they worked with top photographer like Avedon and Meisel to create the images that made your jaws drop.


Influence by Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen
This wonderful book explores the things that have influenced fashion icons like Lauren Hutton, Diane von Furstenberg and John Galliano, just to name a few. Mary Kate and Ashley set out to dig deeply into the personas of these icons to see what makes them really tick.



The Seductive Shoe: Four Centuries of Fashion Footwear, by Jonathan Walford
Jonathan Walford takes a peek into the shoe closets of the world over the last 400 years, revealing the styles and fashions that have fueled that obsession.



Jacques Helleu and Chanel, by Jacques Helleu
This gorgeous and lavishly illustrated book tells the story of Jacques Helleu’s vision. Helleu joined the house of Chanel at the age of eighteen. In 1965 he took over responsibility for promotion, and he currently serves as Chanel’s artistic director.



Dior, by Farid Chenoune
On the occasion of its sixtieth anniversary, the House of Dior presents a monumental recounting of its history, imparted through its exceptional legacy: one hundred and fifty of its most beautiful dresses.



Vintage Fashion: Collecting and Wearing Designer Fashions, 1900-1990 by Emma Baxter Wright
Want to learn the inside scoop on vintage fashion collection? Then this is the book for you. This brilliant book walks you through the fashion decades explaining every important detail about the fashion of that time, as well as, the key designers of that decade, so that you can easily spot and nab that perfect vintage find.



In Vogue: The Illustrated History of the World's Most Famous Fashion Magazine (Hardcover) by Alberto Oliva, Norberto Angeletti, and Anna Wintour
This book offers an inside look into how this magazine is really put together from its fabulous covers to the models who have graced its cover to its photographers of choice.



The Golden Age of Couture in Paris and London: 1947-1957, by Claire Wilcox

This book is the companion to the wonderful exhibit at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London in September 2007, which focused on Parisian and British couture between 1947 and 1957, the decade Dior hailed as fashion’s “golden age.”



Seduction, by Caroline Cox
Fashion historian, Caroline Cox explains how women have been seducing men for centuries. She examines the use of aphrodisiacs to lushly-decorated boudoirs to the all-important deployment of stockings. She also highlights some of the world's most infamous seductresses including Marie Antoinette.



Style from A to Zoe, by Rachel Zoe
Famed celebrity stylish, Rachel Zoe, tells it like it is in this witty advice book. She offers advice not just on how to pull together a great outfit, but also give the essential tips that women really need to hear in order to be able to face themselves in the mirror and totally love what they see.



The One Hundred, by Nina Garcia
Project Runway judge and Editor-at-Large for Marie Claire, Nina Garcia, identifies the 100 must haves items that every woman should possess in order to secure her fashionista creds.



100 Years of Fashion Illustrations, by Cally Blackman
This books contains over 400 stunning images by some of the world's best illustrators of the last century telling the tales of the fashion industry through their tips of the drawing pencils.



Avedon Fashion: 1944 to 2000, by Richard Avedon
For over sixty years, Richard Avedon was called upon time and time again to capture some of the most memorable moments in fashion including his photographs for Harper's Bazaar, Vogue, Egoiste, and The New Yorker.