The International Best Dressed List The Official Story

A lavishly illustrated banquet of style, elegance, and taste, this is a who's who of the most glamorous men and women around the world, the ultimate treasury of fashion inspiration.

This sumptuous volume--the ultimate sourcebook for fashion mavens, Instagram followers, and celebrity worshippers--presents the complete history of the much-lauded and highly visible International Best-Dressed List (IBDL) launched by Eleanor Lambert, "Godmother of Fashion," in 1940. The List has become a barometer of style and the highest honor a sartorial savant can receive, and today it's an ongoing record of the world's most glamorous women and men from society, royalty, Hollywood, celebrity, fashion, art, culture, sports, and media. These gorgeous "swans" of elegance, influence, and grace are gathered here in the most comprehensive survey ever published.

This rich story is told by insider and IBDL Hall-of-Famer Amy Fine Collins through her encyclopedic knowledge, exclusive insights, and countless entertaining anecdotes about the behind-the-scenes goings-on--Lambert was offered kickbacks and bribes of up to $50,000 by list aspirants--that shed light on the selection process, the vibrant personalities (not to mention egos) of the chosen, and the zeitgeist of the times.

For sixty years, Lambert was queen of the International Best-Dressed List. In 2002, she formally ceded the reins to Graydon Carter, Amy Fine Collins, Reinaldo Herrera, and Aimée Bell.

Amy Fine Collins is a writer and editor at large at Air Mail. She has been a special correspondent at Vanity Fair for more than 20 years.
Graydon Carter was Vanity Fair's editor in chief from 1992 to 2017 and is now editor of Air Mail, the digital news platform.
Fashion designer Carolina Herrera was inducted into the IBDL's Hall of Fame in 1980.