Color by Quant: Your Complete Personal Guide...

Color by Quant: Your Complete Personal Guide to Beauty and Fashion by Mary Quant and Felicity Green (McGraw-Hill: $17.95).

This book is so blithe and high-spirited that it’s a delight to read and look at--even if you couldn’t care less about making any changes in your beauty routine or wardrobe. Quant is widely credited with creating the miniskirt in the 1960s.

While other books may offer more authoritative advice on fashion basics, this one provides interesting personal opinions such as this one: “Pastels are difficult. They quickly look cheap and boring, especially when printed on thin white synthetics. On natural fabrics--leather, silk, linen and wool--they look expensive, luxurious and extravagant, because they are!”

The book has energy, style and creativity. It profits enormously from the photographs and illustrations all in well-reproduced color.