The Little Black Book of Style
by Nina Garcia
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Book Reviews of The Little Black Book of Style
Book Review: If you're looking for some "inspiration"
Summary: 2 Stars
This book does NOT give advice on:
1) what to wear for your particular body shape (e.g. double or single breasted coat; above, at or below knee length hem; straight leg or flared pants); or
2) how to work the reveal and conceal tricks (e.g. emphasis your small waist; make your legs appear longer, your breasts smaller or bigger etc...); or
3) what colour suits you best, i.e. cool or warm tone; or
4) what are the fundamental pieces in every woman's wardrobe.
The book does give some ideas on:
1) how to dress for different occasions (e.g. weddings, cocktail party, interviews etc...), only very briefly;
2) where to look for style inspirations. It gives you lists of movies to watch (e.g. Pulp Fiction for the white shirt; Breakfast at Tiffany's for the LBD), what musicians/singers to research (e.g. Modonna).
Personally, I do not find the lists very inspiring, and since this is very much what the book is all about, I find it almost useless.
I will recommmend The Science of Sexy by Bradley Bayou if you want advice on how to dress for your particular body shape (this book is absolutely the best on this subject), and Nina Garcia's other book The One Hundred for wardrobe inspirations. The Pocket Stylist by Kendall Farr is also pretty good.
Lucy Chen
Book Review: Entertaining - but pretty impractical for non-fashion industry women
Summary: 2 Stars
Nina Garcia's prose is amusing, but there is very little substance to be gleaned if you are like most women - not connected with the fashion industry. Most of us have non-fashionista day jobs in addition to other activities that require different looks. We turn to fashion magazines and books for tips on finding an individualistic style that maximizes one's options based on a few well-chosen key pieces. The trick is to develop a flattering, cohesive, modern style that is versatile enough to be adaptable to many events without make one look schizophrenic, all the while hopefully remaining solvent.
Garcia's most important fashion tip is about getting your clothing altered so that they fit better. If you are somewhat fashion savvy, the advice given - such as the importance of altering looks with accessories, paring down your wardrobe to essentials - is nothing new. Most of the book is filled with fashion industry and personal anecdotes and descriptions of looks that are simply neither practical nor affordable for most women.
If you are looking for some light reading on fashion, go ahead. If you were looking for practical advice or secret insider information on any aspects of style, I suggest looking elsewhere.
Book Review: The Little Black Book of Stale Advice
Summary: 2 Stars
I am interested in style, I enjoy reading about it. Indeed, style is (and should be) something one can learn. This book will not teach you style or anything else for that matter. It is very light on original text and ideas. Mostly it is *sound bites* from famous and semi-famous people about what makes style etc. I estimate that a full half of this small book is these quips. The rest of the book is about how wonderful the author is and how her mother is the epitome of chic (to me she sounds self-absorbed and foolish, she moved her seamstress into their home so she had constant access to alterations). I do not think Elle Maxcpherson talking about lingerie to be style advice and do not desire to emulate Madonna in her conical bra stage. There is a section on fashion decade by decade, 1920 to now. A section on women's style by country ( and how does one sum up a continent's sytle in a paragraph or 2?) and a section telling us which movies were iconic to fashion and why. I am not kidding here, this is this books contents. To finish off, the drawings of women in this book are ultra elongated and porportioned oddly not to mention thin, thin, thin. Plus the drawings are badly dressed. Again, I kid you not.Book Review: unhelpful but enjoyable
Summary: 3 Stars
This book is by no means greatly useful or innovative. It's really just long on charm, and short on substance. It's a tiny book that tells you there are staples and classics in (western) fashion - gosh, did you know that a trench coat is apparently timeless? There's also a lot of quotes from designers and well-dressed folk of ages past, but these seem like obvious ploys to fill in the pages. That said, there is a lot of pure joy expressed for clothes here, and I did like the tongue-in-cheek overview of some awesome clothes in cinema. One thing that this book does do is not take it all too seriously.
The book, to be fair, is hardly distasteful - it's just not very useful if you are looking to revamp your look, or to get an idea of what looks might suit certain body types, skin tones, etc. It's pretty much for playing dress up. I think it would be a fun gift for someone you don't know very well but are friendly with.
The greatest thing in this book are the illustrations by the splendid Ruben Toledo. Such fun and glamor in those drawings, you might want to tear them out to give yourself some inspiration when you're getting dressed.
Book Review: Nice, Informative Style Book
Summary: 4 Stars
I was very excited to read The Little Black Book of Style by Nina Garcia, former editor-at-large at Elle Magazine and judge on Bravo's popular tv show "Project Runway." Nina provides her own point of view on style and fashion as well as provides useful tips from many of her famous designer friends. I really liked her account of her upbringing in Columbia and how her mother and father, as well as the other residents in her town, shaped her sense of style.
While this book does not offer mind-blowing advice, it was a nice read and may reinforce what you already know. Since I'm a big fan of Project Runway, I could almost hear Nina talking to me while reading her book. She is very knowledgable in her field, so I will pretty much listen to anything she has to say. The illustrations within the book are very colorful and fun and bring the book to life.
If you want to learn more about style and fashion, or just supplement what you already know, read this book!