Dressing up has proven to have the ability to boost your mood and overall confidence. So why limit yourself to wearing something boring and bland when you can show everyone who you really are and wear something that expresses you? The books and magazines below teach you how to dress to impress your age, lifestyle, or body type while staying true to yourself.
Books
Beyond Beautiful: A Practical Guide to Being Happy, Confident, and You in a Looks-obsessed World by Anuschka Rees
A prescriptive, empowering, and psychology-driven guide to building confidence in your body, clothes, beauty, and life in the era of toxic social media-driven beauty standards. Between picture-perfect Instagram celebrities, ultra-lean fitness gurus, and effortlessly chic fashion influencers, it’s getting harder and harder to feel good about the way we look. Despite the growing movement toward female empowerment and body positivity, the pressure for women to conform to beauty standards is higher than ever, and the culture of social media has raised the bar. But it’s not too late to break the looks-obsessed cycle and live a happy, confident, authentic life.
Dressed: A Philosophy of Clothes by Shahidha Bari
We all get dressed. But how often do we pause to think about what our clothes say? When we dress ourselves, we are presenting to the world an essence of who we are, who we want to be.
Dressed ranges freely from suits to suitcases, from Marx’s coat to Madame X’s gown. Through art and literature, film and philosophy, philosopher Shahidha Bari unveils the surprising personal implications of what we choose to wear.
Wear This, Toss That: Hundreds of Fashion and Beauty Swaps That Save Your Looks, Save Your Budget, Save You Time by Amy E. Goodman
Cleverly organized like a woman’s closet, wear this, toss that! outlines the 30 pieces of clothing and 30 accessories plus beauty basics every woman must own. Then Amy builds beyond the essentials, walking you through your closet, rack by rack, shelf by shelf, and drawer by drawer, telling you what to wear and what to toss. By sorting through the items you already have and taking inventory of what you need, you can build upon what you own.
Esquire Dress Code: A Man’s Guide to Personal Style by Esquire, inc.
Clothes make the man—and Esquire Dress Code helps you put together a great wardrobe. Visually bold, and told with Esquire’s signature wit and humor, this sophisticated guide explains how to dress for any occasion, no matter your age, shape, or size. It covers closet must-haves, investment pieces (like a watch or winter coat), choosing the perfect suit, selecting office attire, outerwear, and accessories, and much more
How Not to Wear Black: Find Your Style, Create Your Forever Wardrobe by Murphy, Anna
Shop better, buy less, and dress to tell the world this is me ! Anna Murphy, Fashion Director of The Times, shares her tricks for dressing to feel confident and comfortable, look modern and fabulous, and define your personal style – without always resorting to black. When you dress, you stake your place in the world to a voice, a path, a future. Choose who you want to be and how to dress well accordingly.
Fashion: The Definitive Visual Guideby DK
Fashion is a visual feast, packed with stunning illustrations of 1,500 costumes from around the globe. It celebrates famous trendsetters, designers, and fashion icons from Queen Henrietta Maria to Jackie Onassis and Jean Paul Gautier.
Find out why for centuries people’s dress was regulated by governments’ “sumptuary rules” and how the invention of new textiles from velvet to spandex that influenced clothing design.
Breakfast at Tiffany’s: The Official Guide to Style: Over 100 Fashion, Decorating and Entertaining Tips to Bring Out Your Inner Holly Golightly by Caroline Jones
Tapping into Holly’s timeless style and effortless sense of cool, this book highlights rules and guidelines for bringing the look, feel, and spirit of Breakfast at Tiffany’s into your everyday life. With chapters on fashion, grooming, décor, entertaining, and more, this book includes curated looks, tips, and advice for all women, providing the tools we need to embrace the Holly Golightly inside us.
How to Have Style by Isaac Mizrahi
The award-winning fashion designer and trend-setter offers his innovative approach to looking terrific with style, using twelve real women facing real-life wardrobe dilemmas to walk readers through the fundamental process of defining one’s personal style and including hundreds of tips on fashion, accessories, color choice, makeup, skin care, and more.
Magazines
Nov 01 2021
After over 150 years of circulation, Harper’s Bazaar Magazine remains one of the best fashion titles. Coming to you with New York City flair, Harper’s Bazaar brings you the latest from admired designers and must-have advice from beauty experts
Every issue of Harper’s Bazaar speaks to the varied interests of those who seek the best for her home, career and lifestyle.
Nov 01 2021
Vogue is an American monthly fashion and lifestyle magazine that covers many topics, including fashion, beauty, culture, living, and runway.
Setting the standard for over 100 years has made Vogue the best selling fashion magazine in the world.
Nov 01 2021
ELLE is the international fashion magazine for sophisticated, independent people with a strong sense of personal style. The hottest designers. The latest fashions on the street and on the runways. Plus the beauty, health and fitness finds to keep you glowing.
Nov 01 2021
Famous for its upbeat style, Cosmopolitan magazine focuses on the young career person and candid discussion of contemporary relationships. Since its founding in 1886, Cosmopolitan has been reporting on modern social trends
Cosmopolitan magazine is often referred to as Cosmo. Its content as of 2011 includes articles discussing relationships, sex, health, careers, self-improvement, celebrities, fashion, horoscopes, and beauty.
Nov 01 2021
Allure, the first and only magazine devoted to beauty, is an insider’s guide to total image. Allure investigates and celebrates beauty and fashion with objectivity and candor, and places appearance in a larger cultural context.
Allure focuses on beauty, fashion, and health.
Nov 01 2021
With its unique and powerful design, the best photographers, and a well of award-winning writers, GQ reaches millions each month.
The publication focuses on fashion, style, and culture , though articles on food, movies, fitness, sex, music, travel, sports, technology, and books are also featured.
-Hongmei, Adult Services & Acquisitions Librarian