i love libraries! whenever i have time, i love to go to the local library and peruse the stacks.
my favorite library sections to cruise? the craft section (which contains the knitting, crochet, sewing, and fiber art books) and the fashion section (including tomes on style, fashion history, and the like), and the art, photography, science and history sections too. i especially love the older books (pre-1990s) because they often give a fun peek into the cultural and aesthetic norms of the somewhat-recent and sometimes not so recent past. i look at my local library (or libraries as the case my be) as a terrific an extension of my own personal book collection, there for the borrowing and sharing.
i'm really bad too: i always end up checking out huge stacks of books, intending to gluttonously OD on knowledge, and i struggle to get them home as a result! it's quite a funny sight, i'm sure, with me nearly dragging my stack along behind me and cursing myself because of the tremendous weight pulling down on my shoulders and back.
i think that we're so lucky to have libraries, really! they are undeniably a rich resource at our fingertips, ready to enrich our minds for *nothing*. thus proving the adage: some of the best things in life are free.
on my last library visit, i found this great 80s book, showing your colors: a designers guide to coordinating your wardrobe by jeanne allen, in the style section.
as one might guess, it's all about coordinating the colors in one's wardrobe. it talks about the mixing of colors, the feeling said colors give off alone or when used in conjunction with other colors.
it's really a fun way to see at a glance how colors sit with one another on the body in different proportions, and can help one ferret out interesting, unexpected pairings that might be fun to take for a stylistic spin.
suffice it to say: awesomeness overload for a color junkie like myself! worth a flick if you can find it at your local library.