Fashion Books - A Review of Three Books on Style
With so many fashion books out there nowadays, its good to know which ones are worth the money and which ones are a waste of time. Here is a review of three popular fashion books that are out currently:
1. Nina Garcia's Little Black Book of Style
I thought this book was ok, not great. Really the most interesting part of it was the preface, where Nina told about her life and how she became interested in fashion. If she ever comes out with an autobiography, that would make a pretty interesting read, I think. Pretty much her book was what you expect from fashion books - lots of cute drawings, not much to read in it really, lots of lists. This is great for the fashionably inclined who aren't bookworms, but, as a bookworm, I wanted a bit more than that. I thought her tips for closet cleaning were good though, a lot of habitual shoppers stock-pile a bit much. Overall, I'd recommend it as a quick, fun read for those who don't have much time for reading.
2. Trinny Woodall and Susannah Constantine's What Not To Wear
I like Trinny and Susannah. I like how open they are about their body problems, and how completely comfortable they are with showing their body problems to the world. That's confident, daring, and a little crazy, so therefore awesome. Their book didn't thrill me though. If you have a Trinny body type or a Susannah body type, this book is Gold, but if you don't, it doesn't have many tips applicable to you.
The right fit in fashion books is contingent on many different variables - it doesn't work to say "if you have chunky arms, wear this" because you might have a bigger chest and chunky arms or chunky arms and a long neck or any combination of factors that would make one recommendation for a girl with chunky arms not work for the next girl with chunky arms. Follow? So their recommendations are tailored to the Trinny / Susannah body types. I didn't see much to help my Renee-ish body type, which doesn't have much in common with Trinny or Susannah. And "showing a little nipple" isn't really an option, even though they try to tell you it is.
3. Rachel Zoe's Style A to Zoe
I like Rachel Zoe, I really do. I was a little addicted to her show when I discovered it, second season. But her style just doesn't work for everyone. Its very California movie star and, well, I'm a Kentucky poet. Even then, her book was still a fairly entertaining read. Its more a book about her and her star-studded life than about practical tips for your wardrobe, but I still find it entertaining, sort of like Rachel-Vogue. Most of her tips didn't work with my personal style - she's all about tans and 70's clothing, while I'm more into keeping my skin milky white and 1950's styles. Her tips on how to dress for a red carpet event were the best tips in the book, but, again, not incredibly practical for my lifestyle.
If you are going to buy a fashion book, buy Tim Gunn's Quality, Taste, and Style - it's the best out there, from what I've read so far.(EzineArticles.com)
Find out the other guide on Fashion Schools.
