Lifestyled by Paula Joye

Your coffee table will thank me, your brain will thank me – here’s ten fantastic fashion books to add to your must-buy list.

1. Dior Couture.

It’s Christian Dior. It’s couture. The End. Edited by mega photographer Patrick Demarchelier this book is filled with hundreds of black-and-white images of models and celebrities in exquisite Dior gowns. It’s coffee table candy at its best.

2. True British.

I absolutely love the jacket of this book. No matter how you may feel about the Queen and her empire, the Union Jack is one of the all time great flags. In this book, much-loved British designer Alice Temperley shares her favourite images and gives the reader an inside look at her design process and inspirations. But really it’s all about that jacket.

CLICK TO BUY: Dior Couture; True British: Alice Temperley.

3. Kate Moss.

Their relationship – lens to model – is one of the most celebrated in fashion history and much of the reason Kate Moss and Mario Testino have become household names. This book is visually awesome with beautifully curated images chronicling nearly two decades of photographs. There’s everything from candid polaroids to epic editorial shoots. If you love Mossy then this is a must.

4. Gucci: The Making Of.

Celebrating 90 years of the Italian fashion label this book looks so fabulous on the coffee table. The glossy black and iconic three stripes are a piece of art. Edited by current Creative Director Frida Giannini it’s a visual tribute to Gucci’s heritage filled with over 600 extraordinary images.

CLICK TO BUY: Kate Moss by Mario Testino; GUCCI: The Making Of.

5. Ralph Lauren.

He wrote the rules on the American Sport genre. On merchandising. On fashion as a lifestyle. This book has long been a favourite on my coffee table because the images are just so fabulous – you get lost in the Ralph Lauren story. It’s a personal memoir peppered with countless personal Lauren photos and iconic images. A whopping 500-pages (it weighs a tonne) this book is the ultimate gift for the person who has everything.

6. Daphne Guinness.

Daphne Guinness is to the world of haute couture what butter is to bread – the perfect companion. Except that Guinness would never actually eat butter for fear she might not fit into what is one of the most extraordinary personal couture collections in the world. Curated by Valerie Steele as an extension of the exhibition shown at MFIT last year. This book is like salted caramel – decadent, special and very moreish.

CLICK TO BUY: Daphne Guinness; Ralph Lauren.

7. Irreverent.

If you love fashion then you love Carine Roitfeld. The former editor-in-chief of French Vogue, this book chronicles her early work with Mario Testino to all her incredible editorials during her tenure at Vogue. Magazine covers, advertising campaigns –  this is fashion porn at its best.

8. American Fashion.

Filled with over 250 images that celebrate the inspiration and vision of America’s greatest designers, this book is filled with iconic moments and campaigns. I love American Sport so this book for me is a love letter to that casual cool -think Lauren Hutton – that the Americans do better than anyone else.

CLICK TO BUY: Carine Roitfeld: Irreverent; American Fashion.

9. Marisa Berenson: A Life in Pictures.

Edited by Steven Meisel this book contains work from every significant photographer of the last century including Andy Warhol, Irving Penn and Helmut Newton. It’s a visual memoir of the beautiful Marisa Berenson (I could look at pictures of her all day) and charts her life story from modelling in the 60’s to acting in the 80’s. It’s full of snapshots you’ll want to frame.

10. The Impossible Collection of Fashion.

Valerie Steele is a fashion nerd. Literally. With a Ph.D. from Yale University she is the Director and Chief Curator at MFIT (The Museum Fashion Institute of Technology) in NYC. The book comes in a divine clamshell case that’s so pretty you almost won’t want to open it. Inside is her edit of the top 100, most iconic dresses of the last century. It’s peppered with quotes and observations from fashion’s finest and most cerebral. Did I mention the clamshell case?

 CLICK TO BUY: Marisa Berenson: A Life in Pictures; Impossible Collection of Fashion.

Every Wednesday and Friday I write for FairFax Media at Life & Style - please come and join me the conversation there.