'Women in Clothes', edited by Sheila Heti, Heidi Julavits and Leanne Shapton with 639 others
Venerating particular clothes and accessories is one of life's great pleasures, and Women in Clothes - part anthology, part analysis, part archive - is a thing of beauty.
In the book, art historian Alexander Nagel defines style as "the state in which one feels the least separation between one's character and one's body". In 544 idiosyncratic pages, it effectively distils the essence of style.
It began with a survey sent out to hundreds of women worldwide, a few famous, but mostly not. "When do you feel most attractive?" it asked. "Do you think you have taste or style?" "How has your background influenced how you dress?"
The answers have been woven through the book, in varying formats, by the editors. Tavi Gevitson, Molly Ringwald and Lena Dunham are contributors but most of the material comes from ordinary women. It steers away from "pronouncements from people like Coco Chanel".
It is unconcerned with the conventional mores of fashion. It is about how we develop lifelong relationships with clothes, and how they become totemic. - ©Jessamy Calkin, The Daily Telegraph
- Published by Penguin, R209 at Exclusive Books