Books etc: Kate Spade Contents

Kate Spade Contents book
This is turning out to be quite the month for books. I have just opened my Ebay copy of Kate Spade’s ‘Contents’, a book I’ve wanted for years but is now out of print. The concept is simple; photos of the contents of people’s handbags follwed by the identity of the owner and a list of said contents at the back of the book. A voyeurs’s dream. Aside from the lovely unstyled quality of Dan Bibbs’ photos, it’s a telling historical study. These snaps were taken in the days before everyone had iPhones and BlackBerrys. Oh how things change – just look how many leather organsisers there are!

Writer/cultural critic
Restauranteur
Artist/author
Midwife

Photographer

Another visual treat is Audrey Hepburn, International Cover Girl. This was a review copy that I was sent on spec. Now I like Audrey as much as the next person but I’m not obsessed so I expected a pretty nice coffee table book of the ten-a-penny variety. But actually no, the book is stuffed full of cover shoots from 1951-1993, most I’ve not seen before. Not only is it a great insight into Audrey and her many styles of eyebrow (count ’em) but it’s also a good opportunity to study magazine covers through the ages.