You might not be able to buy a pair of Manolo Blahnik heels this holiday season, but you can indulge in a gift of high style for the fashionistas on your list. Pick up a great book that will provide endless hours of enjoyment for pop culture aficionados.

Here are a few of my favorite picks:

— "Suck Your Stomach In & Put Some Color On!" (Berkley Books: 2008, $14): This is one book that all my friends are getting this holiday. And yes, it's by another Southern girl from the Louisiana Delta: Shellie Tomlinson. As owner and publisher of the website "All Things Southern" and host of a daily radio show and weekly TV segment by the same name, Tomlinson delights readers by revealing the all-important lessons Southern mamas teach their daughters.

Chock-full of Southern wit and wisdom as well as sprinkled with good 'ole Southern recipes, this is one book that will keep you laughing over stories of doing the "sunlight" test to see if you could see through your dress and drooling over the Hot Water Cornbread and Miss Wanda's Chocolate Chip Pie.

— "Vintage Shoes: Collecting and Wearing Twentieth-Century Designer Footwear" (Collins Design: 2008, $39.95): From the Edwardian shoe designers of the early 1900s and their "Louis" heels to the red-soled shoes from Christian Louboutin favored by celebrities today, London fashion authority Caroline Cox outdoes herself in her latest book; it showcases more than 100 years of shoe design history.

Filled with stunning fashion photography and works from Salvatore Ferragamo, Charles Jourdan, Roger Vivier, Beth Levine, Vivienne Westwood and Manolo Blahnik, the book also includes a shopping guide and glossary of fashion terms and designers. Shoe fanatics will find it hard not to rip out some of the archival photos and frame them on their wall.

— "Green is the New Black: How to Change the World with Style" (William Morrow: 2008, $24.95): Tasmin Blanchard, another London journalist, finally gives us a story that is never preachy, but instead funny and practical on the world of eco-chic fashion. She takes readers on a whirlwind journey from the joys of swap parties to why you can afford that Birkin bag (hint: it will last forever) to how to dry clean green.

She also covers organic skincare advice, driving a smaller car, unplugging your phone charger and lowering your bills — much needed advice in these budget-conscious times.

— "Born Again Vintage: 25 Ways to Deconstruct, Reinvent and Recycle Your Wardrobe" (Crown Publishing, 2008, $24.95): If you have clothes hanging in the back of your closet that you never wear, but you hate to get rid of, authors Bridgett Artise and Jen Karetnick have a solution — 25 of them. "Born Again Vintage" proves that with a few cuts and stitches, your entire wardrobe can be transformed.

This is not your typical "arts and crafts" book. Up-and-coming fashion designer Bridgett Artise, the designer behind the indie label B-Artise, shows readers how to take wardrobe castoffs and rework them into items that have up-the-minute style. An old velvet blazer becomes a retro vest; an old prom dress has new life as a vintage jumper. Experienced sewers and beginners alike will enjoy this book. As someone who can barely thread a needle, I was inspired when looking at the colorful photos.

— "Perfumes: The Guide" (Viking, 2008, $27.95): OK, who hasn't been overwhelmed by the smell of sweet perfume even when you're only walking in the front door of your favorite department store? With more than 500 new perfumes and colognes introduced to the market every year, it's not surprising that purchasing a new fragrance can be daunting.

That's why expert perfume "sniffers" Luca Turin and Tania Sanchez teamed up to review nearly 1,500 fragrances, from the "divine" to the "awful." Their pick for the best female fragrance? Angel. The best men's fragrance? Azzaro pour Homme. A great "gift-with" for that heavenly person on your fragrance wish list.

— "Style File: The World's Most Elegantly Dressed" (HarperCollins, 2008, $65): Yes, this is the pricey one; the one all your trendy friends will want to leave flipped open on their coffee tables. This beautiful volume of more than 200 oversized pages is filled with profiles of 55 of the most influential stylists in the world today — from renowned Dior designer John Galliano to fashion illustrator Ruben Toledo.

The first-person interviews by "Style File's" author Ike Ude, publisher and editor of aRUDE magazine, are refreshing and entertaining, but the gorgeous images are worth the price of the book. If you really want to impress someone, this is a great way to do it. You'll also want a copy of your own.

Sharon Mosley is a former fashion editor of the Arkansas Gazette in Little Rock and executive director of the Fashion Editors and Reporters Association. To find out more about Sharon Mosley and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.