September 6, 2007
Mother Talk book review: The Little Black Book of Style
I’ve been thinking quite a bit recently about how to make your closet work for you. And by “you” of course I mean ME because really, your closet is your problem, but I have to go into mine every single day and find something to wear.
Which can be a gigantic hassle, honestly.
So I’ve been cleaning the closet and swearing off shopping and taking pictures of my outfits every day. And into this midlife crisis (seriously, what else would you call it?) comes Nina Garcia’s The Little Black Book of Style.
I may have done a little happy dance when the book arrived, because god knows I need all the help I can get. Plus I had JUST finished cleaning out the closet, and had gotten rid of absolutely EVERYTHING that I wasn’t wearing, AND I had sworn off shopping for an entire MONTH so that I could have some time to really see what I had before I ran out and bought anything else.
I was sure that Nina Garcia was going to save me.
Garcia opens the book with some good solid advice, including specific instructions for “editing” your closet (toss what you don’t wear, buy the right size, don’t be persuaded by sale prices, avoid trends). She advocates ruthless editing, which I agree wholeheartedly with. Of course, I had already DONE that, but okay! We’re on the same wave length, clearly.
Garcia goes on to lay out the basics of the stylish wardrobe, and again, this is useful. The little black dress, the menswear shirt, the cashmere sweater–all good pieces, and worth having in your closet. But then . . .
But then she kind of lost me.
The Little Black Book of Style is thin on practical advice; instead, Garcia is all about finding your own style. She points to a list of classic films as inspiration, and interviews designers and models for their bons mots on fashion and style. Which is fine, except that it doesn’t really help me to know that Heidi Klum owns lots of lingerie.
I wanted to really like this book, because I do agree with with Garcia’s basic premise, but this is really a coffee table book for fashionistas, not a how to book for women trying to get dressed every day. In that context, it’s a fun little book; Garcia offers a brief history lesson about each basic piece (Coco Channel didn’t INVENT the LBD, but she brought it into the fashion vernacular), as well as quips and quotes from industry insiders and a look at styles and trends over the last century. The book itself is beautiful, from its sleek black cover to its fabulous Ruben Toledo illustrations. It really is a lovely gift for the fashion girl on your holiday list.
With all that said, though, I found the book lacking. What I wanted was a style GUIDE, something that would give me tips and strategies beyond “be yourself” and “trust your instincts.” My instincts led me to wear tapered jeans for most of the early 90s, which is just WRONG. Or what I wanted was a more thorough history of fashion across the last 100 years, a little bit of theorizing about why certain looks were popular at certain moments and what fashion says about the culture at large.
The best style guides do more than just offer a pat on the back and a hearty, “You GO, girl!” They encourage you to think and give you the tools to do so successfully. I’m not sure The Little Black Book of Style ever gets to that point. But it’s a very pretty pat on the back, certainly.
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September 6th, 2007 at 8:07 am, Laura Says:
You should try Tim Gunn’s book. It is pretty entertaining.
September 6th, 2007 at 11:02 am, mother-talk.com » Blog Archive » Blog Tour: “The Little Black Book of Style” Says:
[…] 6: Friday Playdate found the book impractical for her, but says “The book itself is beautiful, from it’s sleek […]
September 6th, 2007 at 1:36 pm, Donna B Says:
You’re not alone in the tapered pants mistake. I can’t figure out how I went for an entire decade not noticing how tapered pants made me look like a giant ice cream cone. And not in a good way. Sigh.
September 6th, 2007 at 2:39 pm, Heather Says:
Okay, so what’s the deal here? Why are you so damn fashionable? I have been to the Work it Mom! site and seen the daily closet peek.I have heard Jen talk about your fabulous fashion sense. Why do you have it? Have you always had it or is it something you are working on?
I ask so bluntly because I have spent the better part of the day with a non-napping 3 year-old and because I am tired of my Target capris. I want some fashion back and I am impressed by yours.
September 6th, 2007 at 7:28 pm, Camille Z Says:
My first comment, but I couldn’t resist this: I can see how this wasn’t the book you wanted it to be–the book I think many of would (do) want.
So, Susan? Um, hey, there, Susan?? It seems that the book you want for yourself and for us, too, doesn’t really exist–yet. But, um, Susan? It kinda, somehow, seems maybe like you *know* what that book might be. . . and so, maybe, then, you know, you could write that book???
-Have fun!
Camille
September 6th, 2007 at 8:25 pm, bgirl Says:
Here here! Write the frickin book already! Over the past few days you have slowly brow-beaten me into deciding to clean out my closet (okay, that’s the guilt talking), and if you could go one step further by giving me - all of us - SOMETHING to help ease this burden, we would all greatly appreciate it.
September 6th, 2007 at 10:36 pm, Jen Says:
I was going to tell you to write the book, but Camille and bgirl beat me.
September 6th, 2007 at 11:36 pm, Heidi Says:
I think if I took a picture of what I wore for a month I would be horrified. I tend to wear the same thing as often as possible. Then I get tired of it and do the same with another outfit, either new or new because I just found it again in the back of my closet. If I had a coffee table for every book that ends up being just a coffee table book … well that would be silly.