Beyond the Best Dressed

Esther Zuckerman

If you live for the annual red carpet reckoning of the stars and their frocks as they enter the Academy Awards, then this is your book. Zuckerman pulls together 90 years of Oscar hits and misses, highlighting the outfits that got tongues wagging and the ones that made a statement, of whatever sort. This collection of 25 essays includes illustrations and a whole lot of entertainment for all of us who love to dish with our friends about who’s wearing what while we watch the Oscars. 

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Adrian

Leonard Stanley

Adrian was the Hollywood fashion designer and the man responsible for some of the most iconic pieces in the movies of the golden age, including Dorothy’s ruby slippers in The Wizard of Oz. This beautiful book contains anecdotes from Adrian himself as well as sketches and of course gorgeous photographs of gowns, costumes, and glamorous Hollywood stars.

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Dune

Frank Herbert

For those of us old enough to remember, the first movie adaptation of Dune featured Sting wearing very little clothing, which was the most memorable thing about that film. In contrast, the new adapatation of Dune is clearly a favorite with both movie goers and the Academy, having received a whopping 10 award nominations including best picture and best adapted screenplay. And the book? It’s a must-read sci-fi classic that is eerily relevant today and won both of the big awards in science fiction and fantasy, the Hugo Award when it was first released back in 1965 and the inaugural Nebula Award the following year.

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The Lost Daughter

Elena Ferrante

The movie adaptation of Ferrante’s haunting novel of motherhood and secrets has garnered three Oscar nominations, including one for best adapted screenplay (up against Dune, of course) and has been getting rave reviews. The book is one of Elena Ferrante’s Neapolitan novels, for which she is well known, and readers find themselves pulled into a coastal town with divorced and now empty-nester, Leda. When Leda meets a young mother at the beach, a secret shared sets off a frightening chain of events. This is a fast read so there’s still time to dip in before the winners are announced.

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Chiffon Trenches

André Leon Talley

This year the fashion world lost one of it’s great icons, André Leon Talley. Talley’s career began at Interview magazine with Andy Warhol, and he went on to become creative director at Vogue, a magazine known for having a best dressed list that every actor would want to be on. Talley’s memoir is a delicious star-studded, insider’s look at the fashion industry, and he doesn’t hold back—Talley tells you who said what, who did what, and to whom. Hollywood gossip is bound to be part of the post-Awards chatter and Talley can dish with the best of them, only his stories are all true.

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