I LOVE YOU TOM FORD.

I think I may have become obsessed with Tom Ford. Tom Ford the man and Tom Ford the brand; both are equally as seductive and appealing.

Tom Ford the brand: the iconic scents, sunglasses, clothes and now a range of fabulously glamorous lipsticks.

Tom Ford the man with his open neck shirts, shadow of stubble and alluringly strong gaze.

Tom Ford the designer of sharp and sleek clothes for Gucci and his own brand.

Tom Ford the advertising whizz who knew how to make sex sell without ever appearing either seedy, misogynistic or pornographic. Always controversial. Always successful.

Then there is the most recent metamorphosis. Tom Ford the director of a beautiful and shockingly moving film about love, life and all that comes in between.

When I was in the V&A bookstore yesterday spending forever gazing at the shelves of volumes on fashion and textiles, imagining my dream bookshelf in my new flat....sigh....I stumbled across two very interesting books. The first 'Stylist: The Interpreters of Fashion' by Sarah Mower is a fairly comprehensive account of the women behind the scenes of the fashion industry including notable figures like Grace Coddington, but also Carine Roitfeld. I don't think I ever stopped to wonder what it was that Carine did before becoming Paris Vogue's editor. Apparently she collaborated with Tom Ford on his campaigns for Gucci!! So without a doubt definitely an educational book for those who are interested in styling. The second book doesn't really require much to be said about it: 'Tom Ford: Ten Years' by Graydon Carter and Bridget Foley. It's pretty much a comprehensive portfolio of images documenting, surprisingly, a decade of Tom Ford's career. It's top of my birthday list.

I shall leave you with a video from Tom Ford's official website which features photos of the man himself and images from his most iconic ad campaigns:

http://www.tomford.com/#/en/thebrand/video?id=0