Books

Have you heard the expression, "A dress should be tight enough to show you're a woman and loose enough to prove you're a lady"? That was one of many memorable -- and true -- epigrams from Edith Head, the most famous and celebrated costume designer of all time.

We have a winner for the funny-because-it's-almost-true book Forgotten Fashion: An Illustrated Faux History of Outrageous Trends and Their Untimely Demise by Kate Hahn, a hilarious (and made up) tome about the history of fashion.

This week's giveaway is especially for all of you Project Runway fans.

One lucky winner will receive a Forgotten Fashion: An Illustrated Faux History of Outrageous Trends and Their Untimely Demise by Kate Hahn, the hilarious book about made up, but all too real, fashions.

The other night at Grand Central, Kenneth Cole released a new book called AWEARNESS: Inspiring Stories about How to Make a Difference. This book, conceived and edited by Cole himself, celebrates Kenneth Cole's 25th year anniversary of bringing us fashion and supporting social change. Click here to see images of the celeb-studded book launch at Grand Central station, co-hosted by Rosario Dawson!

After months of anticipation, we finally received our very own copy of Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen's not-just-for-your-coffee-table book. And, as expected, we love it. Influence is a hardcover masterpiece – featuring interviews with the world's most famous designers, artists, photographers, and taste-makers including: designer Diane von Furstenberg, shoe maven Christian Louboutin, and cheeky photographer Terry Richardson.

As Ashley explained: "We want this book to be something that is filled with interesting things about the art world and fashion. I'd like to think that this book is inspiring people to read about or focus on other things than just the over-saturated, scandal-driving media."

A little while back we told you about Forgotten Fashion: An Illustrated Faux History of Outrageous Trends and Their Untimely Demise by Kate Hahn, a hilarious book about made up, but all too real, fashions.

For this week's StyleList Giveaway, we have a copy of the book to give to one fashionista who likes to accessorize with her -- or his -- fabulous sense of humor. And it's autographed by the author, Kate Hahn, and Andrae Gonzalo, from Project Runway, who did some of the illustrations.

Ready to laugh? Here's how to enter:
Click here for complete Official Rules.

Winners are notified by email, so make sure to check next week to find out if you're the winner!

The Flat Belly Diet is currently the hottest you gotta do this one! eating plan. Six pack abs are dreamy, but apparently the stress of the 2008 presidential election has us all packing on the beer bellies and love handles. Since there isn't much time for us to take it off before holiday parties make it even worse, people are all over this quick fix diet -- you'll supposedly see results in the first four days.

Furniture and industrial designers Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec have a new book called Objets, Dessins, Maquettes. Like some fashion designers, the Bouroullecs operate on a field of shape that seemingly takes abstraction into tactile products.

This edition shows off the inspiration behind sleek, finished products the duo has made for Vitra, Magis, Kartell, Issey Miyake and Cappellini. In fact, the book doesn't track those projects like a retrospective. Instead, this is a visual look at the seemingly raw process of creation from visual ideas. The book formally launched on October, 25, 2008 at Paris' librairie de la Maison rouge with a limited edition of 20 copies containing a fine art print. Visit this link for more info.

Based on the Vanity Fair excerpt of his new book, American Prince,Tony Curtis has no business wearing a white hat. He's definitely a gossipy old villain!

We really like our sense of style, but we're always interested in how the experts suggest we update or change it, so when we had a chance to review Isaac Mizrahi's new book, How to Have Style, we jumped at the chance.

Reality TV's queen b, is currently promoting her latest endeavor, "The Bitch Switch: Knowing How to Turn it On and Off." After speaking with Miss O on the matter, we have realized any girl can benefit from this powerful book.

At first we did not believe the Drudge Report post about a new version of the Bible called Bible Illuminated: The Book. We doubted that such a book really existed, never mind that it used a photo of Angelina Jolie as one of the illustrations.

Turns out we were wrong.

When you come across a book with a title like What a Man Should Know, you might expect the contents to center around the simple things that men don't seem to understand about their relationships with women. Fortunately or unfortunately -- depending on your POV -- that has nothing to do with what J. Crew's first book is about. Chess, wine, how to wear white after Labor Day, these are apparently a few of the topics that author Max Blagg covers in his survey course in the art of being a scholarly gentleman.

Some men might tell you that what you need to know to be a man can't be learned from books -- it's all about true grit and personal experience. Pure lies. According to J. Crew, the transformation from bumbling miscreant to a sophisticated man of the world can be covered in a paperback containing 50 manly pieces of advice. We wonder if it's like the Dangerous Book for Boys for men?

Yeah, we're fishing for a free copy. So what?

[via Style.com]

Buying a gift for a baby shower is either totally fun, or a nightmare. For those of you who fall into the second category, step away from the political slogan onsies and expensive stuffed animals, we have the perfect solution for you: The Rookie Mom's Handbook.

The authors of the book, Heather Gibbs Flett and Whitney Moss, two sassy moms who live in Berkeley, California, know first hand how hard it can be to get out of the house with a new baby. They share 250 ideas, plus encouragement and motivation, for fun, baby-friendly activities, like:

If anyone knows how to go out with a bang, apparently it's Valentino Garavani. Riding the coattails bicentennial celebration that blew the roof off of Rome, comes an equally thrilling coffee table book that showcases the exquisite work of Valentino Garavani. Valentino: Themes and Variations goes hand in hand with the stunning exhibition on display at the Musee des Arts Decrotifs in Paris, which celebrates the legendary designers career.