“50 Ways to Wear” Book Series

Written and illustrated by Lauren Friedman, the 50 Ways series is a celebration of art and fashion. Full of how to’s, handy tips, and endless styling inspirations for denim and scarves, these books make the perfect gift for the fashionista of every age.

50 Ways to Wear Accessories

From the Queen Bee to the Deal Maker, the Alchemist or the Passion Fruit. Here’s a book that’s packed with fifty eye-catching, show-stopping, and irresistible ways to wear accessories for everything from a day at the beach to an interview, an afternoon around town, or a formal gala. Whether you’re looking for new ways to wear earrings, bracelets, rings, or socks, or want to know the secrets to mixing and matching accessories, patterns, colors, and more, keep this book near your closet or jewelry box — and add that extra dose of class to any outfit and every occasion.

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Lauren on 50 Ways to Wear a Scarf:

This is a true story about being careful what you wish for. When I struck out on my own as an illustrator, a friend helpfully suggested that I make a list of my one, five, and ten year goals. Boldly, I wrote, “publish a book with Chronicle Books” under my one year goals - I always loved their offerings, which are consistently colorful, informative, cheeky, and a pleasure to read. Fast forward a year and a half later - I received an email from an editor at Chronicle Books who had seen this post about how to wear a scarf, asking me if I would write and illustrate a book about scarves.

You can imagine my shock. I couldn’t say no, even though I didn’t know the first thing about writing a book. You could call it one of those "fake it ‘til you make it" situations.

To write 50 Ways to Wear a Scarf, I spent hours in front of the mirror, endlessly re-tying scarves, following people down the street to stalk their stylish ties, asking my friends to share their favorite looks. A week before my final outline was due, I was in Florida with my family staying at my grandmother Enid’s condo. In her closet, we found a drawer full of scarves and vintage "how to tie a scarf" pamphlets with ties I had never seen. I scrambled to reorder the book, and now those ties - The XX, The Fan, The Knotted Bib - are some of my favorites.

All the scarves illustrated in the book are drawn from my own collection, which includes silk beauties from grandma and mom, treasures from my travels, and your standard big-box-retailer drapers that are just as fabulous as all the rest.

My wish, when creating this book, is that someone would leave it on their dresser and refer to it whenever they needed a dose of inspiration. There is absolutely nothing I love more than seeing someone interpreting a scarf look from this book through their own unique fashion lens.

Lauren on 50 Ways to Wear Denim:

Through the process of creating 50 Ways to Wear a Scarf, I gave myself a crash course in illustrating and writing a book. The artist I was at the beginning of the process was very different than the artist I was when I finished - with the repetition of drawing figure after figure, hand movement after hand movement, one has no choice but to evolve and improve. 

As a self-taught illustrator who never went to design school, I knew there was (and still is!) always more to learn. I bought Bina Abling’s Fashion Sketchbook and learned about fashion figure proportions and how to convey different fabrics. I figured out that making a storyboard on a large sheath of brown paper was the best way to the organize structure of a book. I learned that a light board was my friend. I am still perennially learning that the less effort I put into a sketch, the better it looks.

Yet when it came to choosing what the next subject of 50 Ways would be, the only answer to the ubiquity of a scarf was the omnipresence of denim. Denim was much more complicated - there’s no step by step to putting on a pair of jeans. Over two years of working on this book, I breathed denim. I wore it every day. I gathered thousands of inspirational images. I answered my own questions: How do I tie the bow on my new denim jumpsuit so it doesn’t look floppy? How do I wear these overalls out on Saturday night? How do I get the cuffs on this chambray shirt to stay rolled? Most of the clothes featured in the book are from my own closet, or are the creation of one my countless denim dreams.

The more I focused on denim the more I realized how seminal it was, not only for me but for everyone's wardrobe. What other fabric works so hard and only get's better with age? My ultimate goal was that this book would be approachable for every type of denim lover. No matter a person's age, size, or style, I hope every reader can find something that sparks their denim imagination.