The fashion world put on its reading glasses last night for an early look at two books about to hit shelves. A compendium of the past half-century's biggest style icons, The World in Vogue: People, Parties, Places makes liberal use of the magazine's impressive photo archives. "It's a treasure trove," said Hamish Bowles, who co-edited the tome with Vogue style director Alexandra Kotur. He'd taken a break from signing copies at the Calvin Klein boutique on Madison Avenue, where the brand's designers Francisco Costa and Italo Zucchelli helped host the launch party. Bowles was mum about the exact location of the glam photo stash, though. "Major lock-and-key. It's in Manhattan, that's all I'm saying."

Meanwhile, over at Saks, the CFDA was toasting American Fashion Cookbook, a collection of recipes from more than 100 stateside designers. Spiced with anecdotes (learn the story behind Zac Posen's great-grandmother's butterscotch wafers!) and designer sketches, the book is a genre hybrid—"a real cookbook, just with a lot of style," in the words of publisher Prosper Assouline. (For those who'd rather have stylish meals away from home, the eighth-floor café at Saks will be adding dishes from the book to its menu.)

Why this peek in the kitchen? "Designers are expressive people, and they express themselves in many ways," explained the CFDA's Steven Kolb, although he admitted that the full impact of Elie Tahari's lamb chop with mint sauce or Diane von Furstenberg's Saturday-Night Chicken will likely be lost on him: "My rule of thumb is, if it walks, crawls, flies, or swims, I don't eat it."

— Darrell Hartman