What's on Our Shelves: The 18 Fashion Books You'll Want to Read Immediately

A quick scroll through Instagram might inform you of the most up-to-date trends and brands to put on your radar, but the best way to dive deeper into fashion's rich history is to pick up a book on the subject. While many fashion books feature beautiful imagery, they will also transport you to the worlds of your favorite designers, aid your personal style journey, and tap into the small pocket of the industry you enjoy the most. (If you have a niche, there's probably a book about it.) This year, we saw a lot of industry-related releases, such as Sunita Kumar Nair's homage to the classic style of Carolyn Bessette Kennedy and Glossy, which reads like a true crime and explains the inner workings of the beauty business and rise of Emily Weiss's Glossier. 

The offering can be a tad overwhelming, so to make it a little easier, we've selected the best books that not only have been published more recently but also are crucial to a deeper understanding of fashion (and beauty) right now. As the holidays approach, one of the books below would make a great gift for the fashion and beauty lover on your list. (And they won't be collecting dust on a coffee table or bookshelf.)

Associate Fashion Editor
Yusra Siddiqui is an editor who resides in New Jersey but bounces between the suburbs and NYC. (She's a Jersey girl at heart.) After interning at Who What Wear in 2019, she found her way to the team after graduating from LIM College in 2022 with a fashion media degree. She's also spent time writing and working for publications such as Fashionista, Coveteur, and Nylon, but she always knew that Who What Wear was where she was meant to be. When she's on the job, she's perusing runway shows, analyzing the latest thing fellow Gen Zers are up to on the internet, and sharing what she can about the modest-fashion market. You can also catch her dabbling in entertainment, talking about the costume choices of the latest Netflix series or diving deeper into how the plotline affects the viewers in a myriad of ways. Lastly, she likes to create content for Who What Wear's TikTok. Her personal time is spent doing similar but also different things—deep diving into almost every new TV show (Bridgerton, Gilmore Girls, and Stranger Things are favorites), planning her next local getaway (whenever that may be), and reading the latest Emily Henry or Sally Rooney novel in one sitting.