Before my obsession with personal style fashion blogs – like these ones here, here, and here – I read up on fashion/style/how to dress/how to shop/how to accessorize the old-fashioned way. In books. From the library. That’s me, kickin’ it old school, yo.
I began, as many hopeful fashionistas do, with one of the zillion What Not To Wear books (British version). Essentially, all their advice can be boiled down to two points: 1. If you have a nice rack, display it appropriately and 2. If you are tall and thin-ish, with short legs and cankles, wear dresses over pants. However, since neither of these things apply to my body type, their tomes were, well, useless to me.
I next moved on to the American version of What Not To Wear, but I find what works so well on TV – Clinton and Stacey’s abrasive yet earnest advice – doesn’t translate to book form. Although I do whole-heartedly approve of their main message: dress for the body you have right now.
Having exhausted the usual suspects, I stumbled upon this book in the racks of non-fiction at Shoreview’s lovely little library:
Before You Put That On, by Lloyd Boston. Who’s Mr. Boston? He’s an NBC Today Show Contributor. You know, kind of like what I am for the Morning Buzz, but on a much grander, more impressive scale.
Before You Put That On, or BYPTO in Web-speak, gives daily tips (365 days’ worth, to be exact) on how to dress better, feel better, take better care of your clothes, and just put your best foot forward, sartorially speaking. And that, my Chicklettes, is why I read anything pertaining to fashion. Flexing your style muscles is actually an exercise in frugality. Here’s how:
1. When you read about style, or clothing, or how to dress, it forces your to think about your own wardrobe. Your ENTIRE wardrobe, what you have in it, and more specifically, what you forgot you have in it. It’s not frugal to own so many clothes/shoes/etc that you forget their existence. If you own it, wear it. Or get rid of it, preferably for some cash.
2. Style books and blogs can help you look at those newly-remembered items in new ways. They help you come up with different combinations of clothes, so your ‘rarely-worn’ clothes become your ‘go-to’ pieces. Once again, if you own it, wear it.
3. One point most style books beat over their readers’ heads? Take good care of your stuff. Use proper hangers (wooden, if possible), make sure your items are stain/hole/tear-free, and iron what needs to be ironed. A person doesn’t look frugal and fabulous when they leave the house torn-up and stained, they look whackadoo.
4. Style books can help you pinpoint what your wardrobe is missing, helping you to streamline your shopping list. Chances are you only need one or two key pieces to make the vast majority of your closet work together. And these books help you determine what those pieces are, where to find them, and how much you should spend. Smarter shopping = thrifty shopping.
5. Accessories play a key role in books on style, and can change up a look – without having to buy new clothes. The authors want us to wear our accessories, instead of letting them gather dust in closets and on dresser tops. Raise your hand if you own jewelry/scarves/purses/shoes you haven’t worn in over a year. Yeah, me too. One last time, if you own it wear it. Or get rid of it – and don’t buy something new to replace it.
In a nutshell, the main frugal purpose of style books is to help us think more about what we wear, and incorporate what we already own. And if we must shop, how to get the biggest fashion bang for our buck. With that in mind, here are the three books I recommend. Best of all, you can find them at the library for FREE:
1. The aforementioned BYPTO, by Lloyd Boston. I read this once a year, whether I need to or not.
2. That Extra Half Inch, by Victoria Beckham. Heck, I OWN this book, that’s how good it is (plus, my BFF Larue gave it to me for my birthday). Posh Spice knows style, and she’s willing to share with the masses. And? She’s damn funny, too.
3. The Fashionista Files: Adventures in 4-Inch Heels and Faux Pas, by Karen Robinovitz and Melissa De La Cruz. Part shopping advice, part cautionary tale, this book celebrates the love of clothes while it warns about the downside of overspending. Also? These women are hy-freaking-sterical. They’ll make you feel better about your obsession with shoes or jeans or what-have-you.
Am I alone in my love for books on style? What do you guys read to jump-start your style?
3 Comments
Good mentions! I have read “BYPTO”, as well as “The Fashionista Files”. I also recommend “The Budget Fashionista” by Kathryn Finney. Lllloved it. She’s originally from the TC, to boot, but is now out in New York City.
Regarding accessories (jewelry) that you don’t wear, short of getting rid of it and (gasp!) not replacing it, one might easily have it remade, recast, reused, recycled into pieces you would wear. What fun to say “These earrings? These were made from the silver in a spoon ring I had in high school.” Or, “My favorite bracelet? This was made from the stone and gold in my class ring.”
I really love the 100 Stylish Things you must own (or whatever) by Nina Garcia. Some of it is terribly impractical and filled with the “Well, when I was at Boarding School in the Hamptons we…” But other stuff is really very useful.
I also loved Mr. Tim Gunn’s Guide to Style, as well as What Would Jackie O Do?
Personally? I have gotten my Girl Card back for finally getting more shoes, but I need to re-evaluate my closet – about 85% of it is black. I need more color. Want to go shopping?