Novels About Fashion: 13 Classy Choices
Go Shopping for One Of These Novels About Fashion!
The fashion world is a perfect setting for fiction! Full of high stakes, big drama, and rich descriptions of clothes, these novels about fashion are an absolute delight to read.
I selected books for this list of novels about fashion that include characters who are directly involved in the fashion industry or regular women who simply love dressing well.
There are stories that revolve solely around clothes, shoes, and accessories as well as those where it serves as more of a side story.
As always, let me know in the comments if you have any favorite novels about fashion that I missed!
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Best Novels About Fashion: Fashion Fiction
The Gown
by Jennifer Robson
Simply enthralling from start to finish! I included my all time favorite first on this list of novels about fashion. Step back in time for an up close and personal look into the lives of women who worked on creating Queen Elizabeth’s wedding dress.
Ann and Miriam are two of the women selected to work on the detailed embroidery featured on Queen Elizabeth’s wedding gown. Centuries later, Heather is trying to uncover the mystery of the embroidery flowers left to her by her late grandmother.
Ann and Miriam’s friendship is a delight to read and I was enthralled by the details involved in the intricate embroidery process. I loved learning all these details about the embroidery design and how it came together!
If The Shoe Fits
by Julie Murphy
This is one of those novels about fashion where fashion design serves as more of a side plot, rather than the star of the show. Cindy dreams of becoming a shoe designer, but her prospects straight out of Parsons aren’t exactly promising. She was consumed with grief over her dad’s death during her final year at school and she’s still struggling to get the ideas flowing again.
When her stepmother, who runs a show veryyyy similar to The Bachelor, lets Cindy and her two stepsisters on the latest season, Cindy sees it as an opportunity to get a few of her own shoe designs out there and use the prize money to start her own business.
Falling for the lead was never her intention…
The Devil Wears Prada
by Lauren Weisberger
THE quintessential novel about fashion! This is one of the first novels I remember reading in college that I absolutely fell in love with. Andrea is hired as the assistant to the most prestigious fashion magazine editor, who terrorizes everyone around her. She’s hoping a recommendation from this woman will open a door to the writing career she actually wants.
As she flounders to survive in this environment with little fashion knowledge, no sense of style, and not even wearing the right clothing size, she’ll have to learn her own worth along the way.
Confessions of a Shopaholic
By Sophie Kinsella
Speaking of firsts, I became a die-hard Sophie Kinsella fan after reading this book! A lovable protagonist with a bit of a problem, Becky Bloomwood absolutely lives for shopping. Nothing brings her as much joy as a new piece of clothing. The only issue is that she can’t exactly afford…any of it. Her job writing about, of all things, saving money, doesn’t pay nearly enough to support her habit.
At least until she stumbles upon a story she’s truly excited to tell – and it changes the course of her life forever. I can’t get enough Becky! She’s clearly a bit of a head case who should be making much much better life decisions, but I love her anyway!
The rest of the series is just as addicting as this first book. The recent Christmas Shopaholic novel even made it onto my Best Books of 2019 list!
Window Shopping
By Tessa Bailey
I love that this addition to my novels about fashion book list takes a slight twist on the theme. As you might be able to tell from the title, window displays are the backdrop for this story! Fair warning though, this is a steamy romance!
Fresh out of jail, Stella is simply trying to get her life back together when she stops in front of the iconic Vivant department store. She’s always dreamed of designing windows displays, but know her background will never allow that.
Until she’s given the chance of a lifetime, and finds not only a new purpose but potentially a new love.
The Secret Lives of Dresses
by Erin McKean
A vintage clothing store changes the life of a woman who takes over operations after her grandmother dies. Despite a penchant for jeans and t-shirts, Dora’s mind was always filled with the power of a vintage dress by her Mimi.
This unexpected change in her life leads Dora to start to question where she really belongs and how she really sees herself.
Chaotic Good
by Whitney Gardner
Novels about fashion takes a unique twist into cosplaying in Chaotic Good! Get wrapped up in the world of gaming with Cameron, a young girl hoping her designs will get her accepted into the CalArts costume design program.
After she’s met with unbelievable internet backlash for her designs, she’s hoping her family’s recent move will help her retreat and forget. But a misogynistic experience at the only local comic book / game store makes her feel defeated all over again. So, she attempts to return dressed as a guy, and finds she’s accepted a whole lot easier.
As she maintains her fake identity, she finds things getting more complicated than she ever imagined. But it might just give her the chance to make big changes in the world of gaming and cosplaying.
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo
by Taylor Jenkins Reid
Get whisked away through iconic fashion decades of the 50s – 80’s as you follow the life of Hollywood icon, Evelyn Hugo. Bookstagram went absolutely nuts for this book when it was published!
The now reclusive actress has chosen an unknown journalist to share all the details of her untold life story. Monique has no idea why she was picked to write the biography of this incredible woman, but she won’t turn down the chance of a lifetime. Evelyn recounts decades of her life, and ultimately reveals truths that will change Monique’s life.
The Dressmaker
by Rosalie Ham
An enthralling tale of small towns, revenge, and the power of fashion. When Tilly returns to her hometown from which she was forced to leave as a child, she doesn’t expect to stay long. But when she realizes there’s an opportunity to sell her luxurious dresses to the women in town, she decides to stay.
Over time, Tilly starts to find a place to put down roots and a relationship with a young man. However, her resentment about the past still lingers just below the surface…
The Last Collection
by Jeanne Mackin
Explore the rivalry between renowned fashion designers Coco Chanel and Elsa Schiaparelli through the eyes of an American women caught in the middle. Another historical fiction genre for this novels about fashion list!
When Lily visits her brother in Paris in 1938, he wants to surprise her with a Chanel dress, but she prefers Schiaparelli’s designs. Her brother’s girlfriend has similar preferences and they start a trend showing off the designer’s latest styles. Schiaparelli offers Lily a job in her fashion house and Lily finds herself caught up in a fashion war…and ultimately a very real World War II.
The Knock Off
by Lucy Sykes & Jo Piazza
Old school vs new school is this delightful novels about fashion! Imogen has designers at her fingertips and runs her fashion magazine with aplomb. Everything is under control, as usual, until her former assistant returns with plans to take over.
Eve is a milennial with big ideas, including turning the magazine into an app and taking over social media. Come along for the ride as Imogen and Eve face off in the high stakes world of fashion journalism!
In Her Shoes
by Jennifer Weiner
Jennifer Weiner is known now for her blockbuster summer hits, but she also has one of these novels about fashion in her backlist! This is a tale of two polar opposite sisters, who share almost nothing in common except their love of shoes.
Older sister, Rose, has her life entirely put together and only dreams of finding a man worthy of the romance novels she loves and getting her sister to settle down. Meanwhile, Maggie, is still chasing her dreams of stardom with no chance of stopping.
Follow along as they fight, share shoes, pick on each other, and learn to appreciate just what they have.
Lipstick Jungle
by Candace Bushnell
A story of three women within the fashion world, each striving to achieve their goals at any cost.
Which of these novels about fashion are you dying to get your hands on?