Francophiles, literary folks and Karl Lagerfeld devotées can have the perfect gift as France's “Le Petit Larousse Illustré” (“Larousse Small Illustrated Dictionary”) is being redesigned in a special edition by Karl himself. The book, more than a dictionary but somewhat less than encyclopedia, contains not only routine definition of words but erudite explanations of various subjects. It is a must have for any serious student of the French language or those who simply enjoy a little cultural edification with their word definitions. In an age of instant word definitions thanks to Google, Le Petit Larousse Illustré holds as a tiny line of demarcation the good taste and high cultural that can come with the best editors and a French sense of humour. To wit, in this edition Lagerfeld has even made it into the dictionary’s proper nouns section for the first time

According to WWD, the cover of the limited edition, matte black tome, due for release Nov. 4, features a corner illustration by Lagerfeld of the famous Larousse “Semeuse,” or “Seed-Scatterer,” blowing a puff of dandelion seeds in her birthday suit and a pair of blue, elbow-length gloves. The book’s black case features a photo-cum-sketch, self-portrait of the designer, with the words “Habillé par Karl Lagerfeld” (“Dressed by Karl Lagerfeld”) scrawled in silver.