San Antonio College Library

The legendary Gabriel ("Coco") Chanel (1883-1971) is precisely that for the simple reason that her life and accomplishment - even her chronic failure in love - constitute one of the great stories of the modern age. Born into the French peasantry and then raised in a convent orphanage, Chanel grew up an authentic beauty with a gift for fashion, social trends, and business that enabled her literally to invent the look of the 20th century as well as...

Yves Saint Laurent is arguably the greatest fashion designer of this century. World renowned since the age of twenty-one, when he shot to fame as the savior of Christian Dior, he has changed the way that women dress with a series of innovations - from trouser suits and leather boots to peasant shawls and safari jackets - now regarded as classics. Raised in colonial Algeria, Saint Laurent was taken on by Dior as an assistant while studying in Paris...

"Christian Dior rocketed to fame with his first collection in 1947 when the 'New Look' took the world by storm. This autobiography gives insight into the workings of a great fashion house, while revealing the private man behind the high-profile establishment. It is also a portrait of the classic Paris haute couture of the 1950s and offers a rare glimpse behind the scenes. Dior details his childhood in Granville, the family and friends closest to him,...

"Elsa Schiaparelli (1890-1973) was the premier style arbiter of the 1930s - a favorite designer of women who made the best-dressed list, of female sports heroes, and of film and theater actresses. This book is the first comprehensive look at the work of this startling and innovative Paris fashion designer." "Shocking! explores the Italian-born designer's career from its modernist beginnings in the 1920s and its connections with Surrealism to the upheavals...