The Little Black Book of Style by Nina Garcia
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Book Reviews of The Little Black Book of Style
Book Review: The Little Black Book is a Little Treasure
Summary: 5 Stars
Fun, funny, easy reading, the Little Black Book is a treasure to keep by your bedstand. It makes one realize that their own style is as important as everyone else's.Book Review: black book review
Summary: 5 Stars
The item was shipped promptly, fast delivery, in great condition. Thanks, overall a great buy!Book Review: Take Nina's Advice
Summary: 4 Stars
Dear Nina Garcia, Fashion Director of Elle Magazine,
I just wanted to drop you a quick note about your new book, The Little Black Book of Style.
First, can you and Tim Gunn stop feeding my Project Runway addiction? I'm having a hard enough time concentrating on my work as it is, now I'm wondering when Season 4 will start.
Having said that, I appreciated the nuggets of encouragement in The Little Black Book of Style. When it arrived in the mail, I thought - Hey, where is all the usual advice? But then I realized this wasn't meant to be a `usual' book. In addition to some concrete advice about white shirts and how to look elegant, you gave me a little pep talk which I clearly needed.
Thanks for letting me feel good about my H&M habit and for encouraging me to think a little longer about buying a pair of Manolos! I feel so schlubby day in and day out.
My life wasn't always like that. When I worked in an office, I had some good clothes. But, since my daughter came along and I sit in my home office in front of the computer all day, the "fashion" in this house has reached a sorry state. So I'm going to try to find an excuse to get those shoes, clean out the closet and look like me again.
I will start to "treat [myself] like a goddess," and focus more on the fact that style is an attitude that "comes from knowing [who I am]."
Yes, I admit, that I was just the tiniest bit jealous that you know all those cool designers who answered your Q&A's, but, as it turns out, we're connected with fewer than Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon - my stepdaughter works for one of those designers, so maybe I'll have her say `hi' to you next time you're in that office!
While it's hard to arrive for school pick-up in something other than the standard mommy uniform (since it just makes everyone comment about where I've been or what I've been up to), I'm going to try it again.
And this time, I'll just say, "Oh, my friend Nina said this would make me feel great."
Sincerely yours,
PunditMom
Book Review: A book that inspires you
Summary: 4 Stars
I bought this on impulse. I don't think I have that horrible sense of style, I re-organize my closet every six months, and I know that every woman should own a trench coat and an LBD. So why, then, do I need Nina Garcia's advice on basic dressing?
Well, maybe I don't. But I enjoyed it anyway!
First off, she writes tongue-in-cheek, inspiring, in a personal tone that makes you feel BETTER about your favorite clothes (because you like them, you should keep them) not WORSE (because they're "out of style"). Of course it's a paradox when Garcia, fashion director at ELLE magazine, tells you not to live by the trends, but she pulls it off. I think she owes a bit to the gorgeous illustrations of Ruben Toledo.
Garcia succeeds in almost every single chapter. The "basics" she discusses go way beyond the LBD. Her style icons (chapter three: inspirations), from Faye Dunaway to Patti Smith, all have something that you can pick up and take with you. And, something that I was happily surprised by: she never talks about how much you should weigh to wear a certain piece of clothing - it's all about how you feel in it.
There are a couple of things in the book that annoy me, though. The entire chapter five ("Insider Tips And Tricks") is unnecessary; it seems every designer interviewed just finds a way to say the same thing: be elegant, be yourself, et cetera. I do not learn anything from Elle MacPherson telling me I need to wear the right size bra, or Gilles Mendel saying fur goes with everything.
But in the end, I felt inspired after reading the book. I keep going back to it to find inspiration on what to wear, how to wear it. After all, a book of style that quotes Fran Lebowitz ("I don't believe in God. I believe in cashmere") will always have me positively inclined towards it.
Book Review: A Lot of Help in a Little Book
Summary: 4 Stars
Not having seen "Project Runway", I didn't know what to expect from Nina Garcia's style book. It is, itself, a sylish little tome with drawings, no photos, and six chapters entitled, "Be Your Own Muse", "The Basics", "Inspirations", "What to Wear When...", "Insider Tips and Tricks", and, "Fashion Cliff's Notes, Decade by Decade".
One of my favorite parts of the book is chapter five, with the insider tips and tricks. The insiders include Diane von Furstenberg, Zac Posen, Ralph Lauren, Marherita Missoni, and Elle Macpherson, among (many) others. Questions were posed to each--questions such as "What do you find eternally stylish?" to "What is the secret to style?" Answers were short and direct and helpful.
Another favorite chapter is "The Basics". It includes 10 basic "rules" to guide the reader to his or her unique style. It begins with the simple dictim to "Edit" and how to do so, and ends with the lovely "Be Imperfect", which lets us all breathe a little.
A more unusual addition to "The Little Black Book..." is the "What to Watch and What to Watch For" section in the Style and Film part of Chapter 3, "Inspirations", which I found useful, followed by Style and Music, which I did not.
This little book was fun to read, a little sassy and a good deal of information that can be used to put the reader in style. Two (well manicured) thumbs up!