The Classic Ten by Nancy Macdonell Smith

This is my second time reading The Classic Ten, and I'm still glad that I got the book. I've forgotten most of the information already, so it might as well be my first reading.

The Classic Ten is a collection of the histories of ten pieces of fashion items, from the LBD to sneakers.

Each chapter looks at the history of the item, and how it impacted society of that time (and of course, when it was in style). Plus, what the author thinks of the style item - these sections are pretty short and almost always just one anecdote, so I quite liked them.

If you're familiar with pop culture/pop history, you'll probably recognise many of the references here. For me, Audrey Hepburn and The House of Mirth are the things I know. The pro-sports players and fashion icons: not so much. It was interesting, though, and I've got a hankering to watch Breakfast at Tiffany's again, given that the movie and Audrey Hepburn get their fair share of ink.

Another book she mentions a lot is a book called Elegance by Gabrielle Dariaux. I wanted to read it, so I did a quick Google search, but the only book I could find that resembled it was by a Genevieve Dariaux. This is starting to feeling like Princess Starla/alt name and the Jewel Riders again. At any rate, the selected bibliography is a few pages long, and I saw quite a few books that I'd like to read.

If you're interested in the history behind some (not all, since I doubt many people in a tropical country will own a trench coat - I don't own one either. Just a regular coat) of our everyday items, this is a good book to pick up.