I love reading and I love clothes, so it is no surprise that I absolutely adore books about fashion. I bought a copy of The Little Dictionary of Fashion by Christian Dior while at the Yves Saint Laurent exhibit at the de Young, and it is too much fun. The book is a charming “accent to zest” guide to womens dressing. First published in 1954, some of Dior’s commentary is, of course, a bit antiquated. Take for example the quite long entry about hats and how whether or not to wear them is the most “pressing problem of this time.” Well, I guess we know which side of thought won out on that one… Yet some of Dior’s advice is timeless, such as his entry on zest, “anything you do, work or pleasure, you have to do it with zest. You have to live with zest… and that is the secret of beauty and fashion, too.

Whether or not you agree Dior’s words of wisdom, the book is a lot of fun to read by yourself or out-loud to fashion-minded friends (my roomie has gotten a kick out of some of the snippets I’ve shared with her). Better yet, it would make a great gift for the fashionable girl-who-has-everything.

Image Source: My Elegance

A couple things I have stumbled upon on the internet that are too good not to share…

First, I am loving this behind-the-scenes video of Mary Kate Olsen’s Interview Magazine shoot. This image from the shoot is also great, is it just me or is MK totally pulling off Betsey Johnson’s haircut?!

I highly recommend a subscription to this awesome magazine, which was co-founded by Andy Warhol in 1969 and still continues to remain relevant and totally cool.

I was also excited to discover this…

In celebration of Valentine’s Day, Kate Spade has posted some awesome e-cards created by friends of the designer on their website that you can send to your loved ones for free. The cards are designed by many different people and come in varied styles, so there is bound to be one that’s perfect for your special someone (or even a few special someones). How cute are these?!:

Of course, “cute” is not an unusual adjective for something created by Kate Spade. I am loving this plaid raffia shopper. Unlike the e-cards, it’s not free, but I think it may be an even better Valentine’s Day gift…

Image Sources: Some Notes on Napkins, E! Online, Dani Crazyworld

I came across a great nostalgic holiday gift idea on Fashionista, fashion paper dolls! As a little girl, I love loved lovvvved paper dolls. And my mother loved buying them for me because they weren’t as expensive as real dolls, so I could collect them to my hearts content. Fashionista has pointed out that there are some really cool paper dolls out there these days, such as Chanel Fashion Review, Fashion Model (with glamorous wigs!), British, American and French Fashion Designers, Great Fashion Designs of the Seventies and Eighties, and Art Deco Fashions.

I have already come up with a few crafty ideas for them. I am thinking they would be really cute as fridge magnets, all you would need is some thin magnets and superglue to transform them. The recipient of your paper doll magnets can play stylist as she cooks breakfast! That is, if you can bear to part with your handiwork. You could also create a very cool framed paper doll collage, the Art Deco fashions would be great in an Art Deco inspired frame and the Chanel fashions in a bold black frame, perhaps with a silk camellia glued to a corner. An even simpler holiday idea would be to use the fashions as gift tags (maybe not so much the underwear clad dolls). To: Lucky Friend From: Crafty Fashionista.

Source: Fashionista