Decades: A Century of Fashion (9781408806364)

Cameron Silver runs the most glamorous boutique in LA, where Hollywood royalty go to find vintage couture that is totally unique and utterly timeless. He is an expert at taking the finest clothing from the past and giving it a second life - and this is what Decades is all about. You won't find any frumpiness in this story of twentieth century style and innovation. Instead, prepare to have your fashion stereotypes turned upside-down. Because the Edwardians weren't all buttoned up, the ubiquitous Audrey Hepburn wasn't the only fashion icon of the fifties, and yes, it was actually possible to dress with elegance in the eighties.

The book is a showcase of the past hundred years of fashion, decade by decade. Cameron's witty commentary of twentieth century dressing is both perceptive and funny. Each chapter opens with a pair of women who epitomise rival hot trends, like the luminous Cheryl Tiegs with her sunshine sexiness versus Bianca Jagger, the dark disco goddess of Studio 54. The chapters close with a designer of the decade: think Chanel, YSL and Dior at their most fabulous.

Every one of the more than 150 photographs in the book is completely contemporary and modern-looking, even as far back as the 1900s. There are rare and previously unpublished images, as well as work by legendary fashion photographers.

Decades tells an international story with designers from Milan, Tokyo, London, Paris and New York all strutting their stuff. It's a bubbling, sassy, fabulous book that will make you think about vintage fashion in a totally new way.