Books about fashion for children and teens
Books about fashion for children and teens cover practical design, fashion history, ethical questions and fiction where clothes matter. They work well because they turn an interest in style into something more useful: drawing, making, and thinking about identity, culture and consumption. The best ones do not stop at outfits. They give pupils a creative way in, then widen the conversation to confidence, work, status and how fashion shapes everyday life. This list features books by María Isabel Sánchez Vegara, Megan Hess, Sophia Bennett, Holly Smale, Juno Dawson, John Peacock, Lesley Ware, Carina Axelsson, Caroline Young, and Sofi Thanhauser.
Fashion themed books for children and teens – our recommendations
Fashion picture books
Coco Chanel by Isabel Sanchez Vegara, illustrated by Ana Albero
A childhood in an orphanage leads Gabrielle Chanel to needlework, performance, hat-making and then a new place in fashion history. A neat introduction to Coco Chanel for 4+ year olds, this Little People, BIG DREAMS biography uses Ana Albero’s stylish illustrations and a timeline at the back to place the designer’s life in context.
Vivienne Westwood by Maria Isabel Sanchez Vegara, illustrated by Laura Callaghan
A working-class girl from England finds her way into design through jewellery making, then turns clothing into a way to challenge convention. Perfect for 6-8 year olds, this picture-book biography introduces Vivienne Westwood’s punk spirit, bold visual style and influence on fashion, with Laura Callaghan’s illustrations echoing the energy of Westwood’s work.
Claris: Fashion Show Fiasco by Megan Hess
Claris risks missing Paris Fashion Week when her family leaves their invitation behind and the little mouse has to race across the city before the show begins. A sparkling rhyming picture book for 3-6 year olds, it combines gentle adventure, fashion details and the series message that compassion is always in style.
Get Dressed! by Katy Canales and Erin Vanessa
A guessing-game format takes children through clothing from Ancient Greece, Tang Dynasty China, Elizabethan England, Edo Japan, 1920s USA and 1950s Ghana. Ideal for 5-8 year olds, this fascinating large-format history book links fashion with culture, status, practicality and identity, then looks ahead to more sustainable approaches to design. Highly recommended.
Shoes! by Anna Davies and Daisy Wynter
Sandals, surrealist heels, 1970s wedges and the rivalry behind Adidas and Puma all appear in this illustrated tour of footwear history. A lively choice for 6+ year olds, it treats shoes as clues to identity, place and self-expression, with Daisy Wynter’s artwork giving the subject plenty of stomping visual flair.
Story of Costume by John Peacock
More than 325 full-colour drawings trace clothing from ancient Egypt, Greece and Rome through medieval, Renaissance and modern dress. A useful reference for 8+ year old children with an interest in fashion or history, it covers social class, accessories, hairstyles and costume from different places and periods in clear, browsable spreads.
Fashion books for 7-12 year olds
A History of Fashion for Children by Celia Joicey, Dennis Nothdruft and Rose Blake
Clothes, accessories, fabrics, magazines, celebrities and designers are used to explain how fashion reflects society and identity. Perfect for 7-11 year olds, this illustrated history moves between past and present, with sections on twentieth-century style and designers including Coco Chanel, Christian Dior, Jean Paul Gaultier, Vivienne Westwood and Rei Kawakubo.
Royal Rebel by Carina Axelsson
Thirteen-year-old Lily wants to be a fashion vlogger, but as the future Queen of Waldenburg she is expected to follow royal rules and keep her public image spotless. A bright and lively read for 9+ year olds, this first Royal Rebel story mixes secret online videos, palace expectations and Lily’s wish to shape her own style.
How To Be A Fashion Designer by Lesley Ware
Drawing, colour, fabric, mood boards, restyling clothes and creating a look book all become practical routes into fashion design. Ideal for 7-9 year olds, this hands-on illustrated DK guide gives children practical design tasks, styling tips and sustainable ideas they can try with their own clothes and accessories.
Royal Rebel: Designer by Carina Axelsson
Lily wants to design her own birthday ballgown, but her mother will only agree if she first creates a palace uniform that fits the no-glitter guidelines. A fun sequel for fashion-loving 9+ year old readers, it gives Lily a proper design challenge while keeping the secret-vlogger tension and royal rules firmly in place.
Threads by Sophia Bennett
Nonie loves fashion, Edie wants to save the world and Jenny has just landed a small role in a Hollywood film. When the three friends meet Crow, a young refugee sketching a dress at the V&A, their very different talents suddenly connect. A warm, fashion-led story for 11-14 year olds, it won The Times/Chicken House Children’s Fiction Competition.
Fashion books for teens
The Look by Sophia Bennett
Fifteen-year-old Ted is spotted by a modelling agency on the same night her glamorous older sister Ava’s swollen glands lead to a cancer diagnosis. A thoughtful read for 12+ year olds, it sets sudden fashion-world attention against family illness, sisterhood and the question of how much Ted can change without losing herself.
How To Draw Like a Fashion Designer by Celia Joicey and Dennis Nothdruft
Sketchbooks, croquis templates, figure proportions, garment drawing, mood boards and collection planning are broken into practical stages for young designers. A powerful read for 12+ year olds, it draws on Fashion and Textile Museum workshops and includes examples from designers such as Anna Sui, Christian Lacroix, Zandra Rhodes and Valentino.
Geek Girl by Holly Smale
Harriet Manners knows facts about cats, jiffies and dynamite, but not why she is struggling socially at school. When a modelling scout spots her, reinvention looks tempting, even if it means upsetting her best friend and stumbling through the fashion world. A funny and life affirming read for 11+ year olds, it balances modelling mishaps with friendship, bullying and self-acceptance.
Meat Market by Juno Dawson
Jana Novak is tall, awkward and uncomfortable with her looks until a model scout lifts her from a south London estate into the fashion industry. A challeging read for mature 15+ year olds, this dark YA novel looks beyond glamour to body image, exploitation, consent, power and the predators young models can face. Highly recommended.
Fashion books for sixth-formers
FashionQuake by Caroline Young
Fifty disruptive moments in fashion show designers and movements challenging tradition, from protest T-shirts and safety-pin dresses to surreal haute couture and boundary-pushing campaigns. A smartly constructed choice for 16+ sixth-form readers, it works well as an alternative introduction to modern fashion history and discussing the ideas behind radical clothing.
Worn by Sofi Thanhauser
Linen, cotton, silk, synthetics and wool become five routes into the history of clothing, labour, trade and environmental damage. A demanding but rewarding option for 16+ year olds, this adult non-fiction book follows the people and industries behind everyday fabric, from nineteenth-century New England flax work to cotton-spinning factories in South India.
Click the buttons below to purchase all of the books in this fashion books list, as well as class sets of any of these books and many more, from Bookshop.org UK. Or buy the 20 most popular titles from this list from Amazon – ideal for gifts or your classroom library.
Buy from UK.Bookshop.Org Buy from Amazon.co.uk
Disclosure: If you buy books using the buttons above: we may earn a commission from Bookshop.org, whose fees support independent bookshops; as an Amazon Associate schoolreadinglist.co.uk earns from qualifying purchases.
Schools & teachers: please respect copyright and don’t copy our fashion books for children list. If you find our book recommendations useful, please consider sharing on social media or linking to this page instead. Thanks.
Fashion resources for teachers
- The Department for Education’s national curriculum page for design and technology is the main curriculum anchor for English schools planning fashion or textiles work, setting out the statutory programmes of study and attainment targets for key stages 1 to 3 and linking to subject-expert films.
- Oak National Academy offers a Year 8 unit on textiles technology and sustainability, including lessons on fabrics used in the home and the true cost of fashion, as well as a curriculum download.
- The V&A’s teacher resources for secondary schools and colleges include free lesson plans for KS3 to KS5 built around the museum’s collections and exhibitions, and the wider learning pages specifically signpost fashion among the available secondary resources.
- V&A Dundee provides learning resources linked to Mary Quant, exploring textiles and construction, brand and marketing, and the wider social context of the period.
- Birmingham Museums’ Sustainable Threads is a useful KS2 and KS3 resource on sustainable fashion and the climate crisis, with activities designed to prompt discussion and critical thinking.
- Fashion Revolution’s educational resources include age-banded downloads on where clothes are made, who made them, brand research, posters and quizzes, making them particularly useful for lessons on ethics, supply chains and consumer choices.
- The UKFT teaching resources page brings together careers and classroom material in one place, including links to Fashion Revolution, BBC Bitesize, Discover Creative Careers and a film on British textiles.
- The Textiles Skills Centre offers free downloadable resources for primary and secondary teachers, including lesson plans, presentations, cross-curricular activities, eco-project guides and career-focused material.
- For KS4 classes, Eduqas provides open blended-learning material on technical textiles, and the wider WJEC and Eduqas design and technology resources include fashion and textiles content on fibres, technical textiles, modern materials and lesson planning.
- The Horniman Museum’s textiles and fashion resource helps schools explore the museum’s textiles collection and includes downloadable material that teachers can adapt into trails or worksheets for visits and follow-up work.
- For primary and lower secondary classes, National Museums Scotland’s Jean Muir resource offers a simple fashion-design activity based on one of Britain’s best-known designers, inviting pupils to colour, cut out and create their own outfits.
BISAC JUV048000, JNF059000, JNF006030, YAF020000, YAN019000, YAN005030. | Thema YNPJ, YNPB, YNPH.
