September – one of the most important months in the fashion calendar; designers have shown collections in the capitals, as aficionados showcased their best in street style. It is in view of this exciting time, that here at Because, we've curated some essential reading for you to enrich your fashion history knowledge with Chanel: The Impossible Collection collated by renowned fashion journalist Alexander Fury and Zandra Rhodes: 50 Fabulous Years in Fashion, and reinvigorate your pursuit of style with Tamsin Blanchard’s 100 Women 100 Styles.

100 Women 100 Styles – Tamsin Blanchard 
Tamsin Blanchard’s 100 Women 100 styles provides an anthology of iconic women, their fashion sensibilities and an infinite source of inspiration, for it is inspiration that is truly the foundation of the book, being that these women were, and continue to be amongst the greatest influences within the fashion world and beyond. 

It presents an encompassing view of figures at the forefront of style and taste, referencing the classic, Elizabeth Taylor, and the counter-cultural, Siouxsie Sioux. The book marks an important distinction between fashion and style, as it is their unique fashions – transcending time, place and trend – that positions them as vanguards of style. As Diana Vreeland is quoted in the book, “style – all who have it share one thing: originality”.

Discover 100 Women 100 Styles by Tamsin Blanchard via amazon.com.

Zandra Rhodes: 50 Fabulous Years in Fashion 
Incomparable in the use of colour and textile, Zandra Rhodes sits firmly amongst the most influential designers within her chosen discipline. Her eponymous book, Zandra Rhodes: 50 Fabulous Years in Fashion, features contributions from fashion’s most notable figures such as Anna Sui, Pierpaolo Piccioli Suzy Menkes. 

The book is a testament to her imaginative and radical design philosophy, as it charts her vivid and effervescent body of work that remains as impressive today as it when first emerged onto the British fashion scene fifty years ago. 

Discover Zandra Rhodes: 50 Fabulous Years in Fashion via amazon.com.

Chanel: The Impossible Collection – Assouline
No other designer has possessed the ability to capture a social and cultural zeitgeist within their collections quite like Gabrielle Chanel. Assouline’s latest release Chanel: The Impossible Collection now documents the revolutionary vision of the designer and her house emblematic of the modern woman, and continues on into the significant contribution made by Karl Lagerfeld to the house, with which he has become equally synonymous. 

Curated by lauded fashion journalist, Alexander Fury, the book chronicles the house’s most important 100 designs through the images of distinctive photographers, private collections and specialist museums. From the quintessential Chanel No. 5 perfume and Classic handbag to the tweed suit and Little Black Dress, it is a showcase of fashion’s most masterful house; its signature perspective, and unwavering influence within the industry and our very culture. 

Discover Chanel: The Impossible Collection via assouline.com.


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Cécile S. Poimboeuf-Koizumi continues the running streak with her #WomanCrushWednesday nomination.

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Try your hand at candle making with the founders of lifestyle store, Earl of East.