For many years, I collect fashion books. Some of them are for specific collections or fashion houses, others are about fashion styles from specific time periods. Some are coffee table books while others are actually textbooks that are used by colleges and professional costume designers to create historically accurate books. And, like anyone who has a large library of books on a specific subject, I have books I love more than others.

Recently, I started to go through my library of fashion books and realized some of the books in my collection would make great gifts for anyone who wants to give one to a friend or family member for Christmas. I narrowed down the group of books to five of my favorite fashion books that would make great gifts for Christmas. As of December 2020, all the books on this list are still in print and are in my own personal collection. Some may be more expensive than others, but I’m capping the price point of under $100 USD. All the books are currently available on Amazon as of December 2020.

Dior Catwalk

Dior Catwalk is about the runway fashion by every designer for the fashion house of Christian Dior. The book, which starts with Christian Dior’s designs and ends with Maria Grazia’s 2017 runway fashions, talk about the designer, insight into what inspired them, and other facts about their fashion designs. There are also photographs of each runway show. The book is pretty large and heavy, with 632 pages and weighs 5.7 pounds, but this book would be a great gift for anyone who is a fan of the House of Dior.

Fairy Tale Fashion

Fairy Tale Fashion is a coffee table book that examines the affects fairy tales have on fashion. This book was a tie in with an exhibition by the same name at FIT (Fashion Institute of Technology) in 2016. Although the exhibition has closed, the book is still in print. Although there are not as many photographs as some may wish, the book is more focused on the information side of the exhibition and goes into more detail about the influence of fairy tales on fashion than the exhibition. It’s a great book for anyone who loves fairy tales, fashion, and would like to learn more about how something can influence fashion designers to deign their collections.

Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty

Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty was printed in 2011 as a companion to the MET’s 2011 Costume Institute exhibition and is still in print in 2020. The book talks about McQueen’s start as a designer, his rise to fame, and the designs he created before his passing in 2010, including photographs of his designs. It’s a great book for anyone who loves Alexander McQueen’s designs but missed the exhibition, which was still on a museum tour before the pandemic caused the closures of museums all over the world.

Vogue and the Metropolitan Museum of Art Costume Institute: Updated Edition

Vogue and the Metropolitan Museum of Art Costume Institute is an insider look into the Met Gala, the fundraising gala for the Costume Institute. The book covers the gala, the collections, and includes photographs of some the attendees at the gala. I already own Vogue and the Metropolitan Museum of Art Costume Institute, but it is the original version from 2014, which is now out of print. In 2020, a new version, called the Updated Edition, was published and is now available to purchase. It covers the Met Galas all the way to 2019 while the old version covers Met Galas to 2013. This book would be a great gift for someone who loves the Met Gala and would like to see a more candid view of the Gala than is normally available.

Oscar de la Renta: His Legendary World of Style

Oscar de la Renta: His Legendary World of Style, published after American fashion designer Oscar de la Renta’s passing in 2014, focuses on 70 iconic dresses that he designed over his career. Included with photographs of the dresses are stories about each dress. Oscar de la Renta designed for celebrities and first ladies from Jackie Kennedy to Michelle Obama, so this book a great addition to anyone’s fashion book library.

Well, that’s all for now! Thank you for reading!