Sharon Socol views the fashion world through an outsider’s lens

For more than seven years, when her husband Howard was chief executive officer of Barney’s New York starting in 2001, Sharon Socol was his “plus one” at all manner of fashion events, from runway shows to fancy dinners and glitzy parties. A self-described “fashion outsider,” Socol began photographing the people and events -- “My camera is a protective shield which permits me to enter safely into a world I find both fascinating and frightening,” she writes in an essay contained in her new book, which arose from her work during those years.

The book, “Plus One: An Outsider’s Photographic Journey into the World of Fashion,” is available on Barney’s website ($60).

But you can meet the author in person and buy a signed copy when she makes an appearance on Tuesday at Neiman Marcus Beverly Hills. The event is scheduled from 2 to 4 p.m. in the ladies’ shoe salon on level one of the store at 9700 Wilshire Blvd.

Socol focused not just on fashion’s elite, but also on the dressmakers, choreographers, makeup and hair artists, waiters and bouncers behind the scenes.

What did she learn as an outsider during those years in the 2000s? “The process of putting together this book helped me appreciate the people who live, work, breathe and crave fashion,” she writes. “My unexpected plunge into this world taught me that someone could be glamourous one moment and ordinary the next. Here were frivolity, superficiality and momentary highs, yet also dedication, history, passion and belief.”

ALSO:Giorgio Armani’s niece Roberta steps up

PHOTOS: Barbara Walters through the years

A new skincare line mixes non-toxic ingredients, social selling