Quartet to read

Clothes ... and other things that matter 

Alexandra Shulman

The former UK Vogue editor explores the meaning of clothes and how we wear them. From the little black dress to the white shirt and the bikini, she takes pieces of clothes and examines their role in her own life and the lives of women in general, touching on issues including sexual identity, motherhood, ambition, power and body image. In the introduction, Shulman writes,"[This] is a book not only about clothes, but about the way we live our lives. From childhood onwards, the way we dress is a result of our personal history. In a mix of memoir, fashion history and social observation, I am writing about the person our clothes allows us to be – and sometimes the person they turn us into." Witty, self-deprecating and often very moving, this book doesn't require fashionista credentials to enjoy it. (Octopus Publishing Group)