Be they grand and sweeping or perfectly formed little bijoux wonders, the gardens selected for this book are each as lovely as the last. Leafing through, you may find yourself in the secret courtyard of a convent, in a garden filled with wrought iron fences and tumbling roses accessed through the shuttered French doors of the perfectly Parisian building that conceals it. Or turn to its pages to stroll through the surprisingly cozy garden of Yves Saint Laurent’s partner Pierre Bergé, an urban hideaway styled like a country kitchen garden that comes complete with a greenhouse. The classical landscaping of Hubert de Givenchy’s private paradise, a landscaped jardin of large proportions filled with iceberg roses and box hedges is to be found tucked away behind his 18^th Century mansion and the hustle and bustle of Fauberg Saint Germain. Meanwhile, Kenzo’s private oasis takes the shape of a formal Japanese garden complete with carp filled river and Japanese flowers and trees and seems a million miles away from the center of France’s first city. Be they big or bijoux, perfectly planned or wonderfully undone, the Private Gardens of Paris revealed in this book give a glimpse into a secret world we couldn’t really have imagined. A beautiful book that’s full of surprises, this walk through some of Paris’s most special spots is utterly beguiling.

Private Gardens of Paris by Alexandra d’Arnoux, Bruno De Laubadère  is published by Rizzoli

Photo courtesy of http://tribumagazine.com/private-gardens-of-paris/

Snapshots of Dangerous Women is a collection of photographs sourced over two decades from flea markets and estate sales by the art collector Peter Cohen. In candid snapshots from the 1930’s, 40’s and 50’s, he discovered images of girls doing activities deemed extremely unladylike at the time – smoking, drinking, riding rodeo or playing football, each one as playful as the next, giving the boys as good as they get.

The photographs are essentially a showcase of Girl Power in its original form. Be they sharing cigarettes in pin up style swim suits or swash buckling in britches and boots, wearing men’s clothing with unapologetic aplomb or swigging beers behind the bike sheds, the women in Cohen’s collection of photographs are all breaking boundaries and crashing through the barriers of expectations – and having a wild time doing it. Each one celebrates a certain sort of spirit that we at KOTUR love – the spirit of a woman who is a renegade, a breath of fresh air and the best sort of rebel. As Mia Fineman, associate curator of the department of photographs at the Met, puts it in the book’s introduction, “She’s a tough dame, an adventuress; harridan, daredevil, badass.” This book celebrates her in all her unapologetic glory. A great gift for the adventuresses in all our lives.

Snapshots of Dangerous Women is published by Rizzoli

Photo Courtesy of Rizzoli 

Exploring famous LBDs from across the ages – taking in YSL Couture, Chanel, Balenciaga and classic LBD moments, too (for whom is Audrey Hepburn in her LB Givenchy, eating her breakfast at Tiffany’s, not completely iconic,) the book comes off the back of an exhibition Andre curated at Savannah College of Design’s SCAD Museum of Art. It’s a celebration of timelessness, a tome in praise of studied chic, a book on a the essence of style written by a man who is himself a bastion of true style. And a must for the shelf.

Little Black Dress by Andre Leon Talley is published by Rizzoli, available on amazon.com

All images from Andre Leon Talley: Little Black Dress

All The Buildings of New York: That I’ve drawn so Far by James Gulliver Hancock, published by Rizzoli available at amazon.com

All images from James’s blog http://allthebuildingsinnewyork.com/new/