Rating: 
Summary: 10 STEPS TO FASHION FREEDOM
Review: I started reading 10 STEPS TO FASHION FREEDOM last night and was up all night. I simply couldn't put the book down. What was? What is my "personal style?" I had to find out and go through the steps presented in the book. The authors totally deliver on their intention to help the reader make "choices to represent who we are." The questions and exercises really made me think about what image I might be portraying. Yikes, do I have a style, and now, what do I want that style to be? I will highly recommend this book to all my friends. I can't wait to read the authors' next book.
Rating: 
Summary: Don't Fall For It
Review: I was so excited about this book -- the Amazon summary and the many rave reviews convinced me that I was buying something intelligent, thoughtful, and original. What I wanted were ideas for new ways of thinking about clothing and fashion; instead I got boring motivational propoganda. The writing is formulaic, dull and, most disappointingly, unintelligent. When I got to the 3 D's of attitude -- Desire, Determination, and Discipline -- I set the book down. Life's too short to waste time on this kind of dross.
Rating: 
Summary: Not for high fashion's devotees
Review: I'm pleased to say that although (or because) I resist being told how I "ought" to dress, resent the fact that image is as important as it is, doubt that fashion and style have much relation to each other, and consider "practical" to be the best thing that can be said about a piece of clothing, this was still a really nice book. However, I anticipate its getting some bad reviews because it does ask you to do the work yourself; if you're looking for a quick fix, or an outfit that'll change the way you deal with people without your having to address how you generally do deal with them, forget it. It doesn't tell you "your" colors or what silhouette is "right" for your shape, it doesn't show photos of the looks in question, and it offers no real shortcuts. It asks you to decide who YOU are, what's important to you, and make your fashion choices based on what you decide. And anyone who thinks that's easy hasn't spent enough time thinking about who he or she is. The book, in short, is for people who do want to know who they are; for people who are trying to be something they aren't (glamorous? socially glittering? powerful?) it hasn't much to offer. But if you do think you want to know, or have done the work already, and if you're sure you can deal with what you find, it's a pleasure to read.
Rating:
Summary: Not for high fashion's devotees
Review: I'm pleased to say that although (or because) I resist being told how I "ought" to dress, resent the fact that image is as important as it is, doubt that fashion and style have much relation to each other, and consider "practical" to be the best thing that can be said about a piece of clothing, this was still a really nice book. However, I anticipate its getting some bad reviews because it does ask you to do the work yourself; if you're looking for a quick fix, or an outfit that'll change the way you deal with people without your having to address how you generally do deal with them, forget it. It doesn't tell you "your" colors or what silhouette is "right" for your shape, it doesn't show photos of the looks in question, and it offers no real shortcuts. It asks you to decide who YOU are, what's important to you, and make your fashion choices based on what you decide. And anyone who thinks that's easy hasn't spent enough time thinking about who he or she is. The book, in short, is for people who do want to know who they are; for people who are trying to be something they aren't (glamorous? socially glittering? powerful?) it hasn't much to offer. But if you do think you want to know, or have done the work already, and if you're sure you can deal with what you find, it's a pleasure to read.
Rating:
Summary: Different Approach
Review: I've read quite a few style books and this is definitely the first time I've come across this approach. Specifically, the authors believe you need to know yourself - your passions, your feelings about your body and yourself before you can effectively dress to express yourself. You go through many exercises that help you discover what the author's feel many people don't know and need to know before they can figure out their true personal style. Which clothes you choose that reflect your true self will apparantly become clear to you once you do the inner work. I say apparantly because I did all the exercises and the vision never materialized - or at least it didn't seem any different from what I all ready wore, which may be something in itself. The most important things I got out of this book were about fit, determining quality and how it is necessary to practice discipline when shopping. But I can see that for others who feel a disconnect between themselves and the world can benefit from working on some personal issues related to their style of dressing. You are what you wear.
Rating:
Summary: Different Approach
Review: I've read quite a few style books and this is definitely the first time I've come across this approach. Specifically, the authors believe you need to know yourself - your passions, your feelings about your body and yourself before you can effectively dress to express yourself. You go through many exercises that help you discover what the author's feel many people don't know and need to know before they can figure out their true personal style. Which clothes you choose that reflect your true self will apparantly become clear to you once you do the inner work. I say apparantly because I did all the exercises and the vision never materialized - or at least it didn't seem any different from what I all ready wore, which may be something in itself. The most important things I got out of this book were about fit, determining quality and how it is necessary to practice discipline when shopping. But I can see that for others who feel a disconnect between themselves and the world can benefit from working on some personal issues related to their style of dressing. You are what you wear.
Rating:
Summary: Not a typical fashion book -- all the better for it
Review: If you are looking for color charts, pictures, or hints to disguise figure problems, you'd better look elsewhere. There's not a single picture to be found. In fact, I'd file this book under "psychology" and not "fashion." Here's why: This is not a formulaic approach to style, as are most books of this type. People are not pigeonholed into a "winter" color shade, or labeled as "pear-shaped," and then given recommendations accordingly. Instead, this book tackles what might be the most difficult, yet heroic task of all: identifying a person's true, inner style, or "statement," and then finding ways to make the outside covering of that person match the inside, and in the most flattering way. Making this match allows a person to live more freely in their true style, thereby tremendously boosting self-esteem. Yes, it sounds pretty new-age and the exercises presented could be at home in a counseling or therapy setting. But it's no secret that a person's identity, and the way that identity is presented to the world -- and furthermore, the way that identity is *received* by the the world, all have a profound impact on that person. After all, at its most basic level, fashion and style are all about communicating a message -- that the person is wealthy, rebellious, sexy, young, whatever. This book just helps people to discover what message they want to send out, and how to transmit an accurate message. This is not to say that this is the *only* book you'd need on fashion. I'd use this book as a starting point to discover what statement you want to make. Then, all the other fashion books with pictures are most helpful in getting creative ideas on how to get that statement across.
Rating:
Summary: No quick fixes or pretty pictures
Review: It's been over a year since I bought this book and worked through the the exercises. I highly recommend it, but only if you are willing to do some work and think about yourself and your personal image. If what you want is a quick formula for wardrobe building and pictures of clothes you can buy, then this is not the book for you. I'm still working on building my basic wardrobe. Shopping has become easier, though I don't do nearly as much of it. I have to save my money to buy better quality clothing. Reading this book has helped me to clarify what I really need to do to stop wasting money on clothing that doesn't flatter. Like other readers, though, I did become irritated with the authors' insistence on only buying the highest quality clothing. Take that part with a grain of salt. You can do fine by going to "better" quality and making sure it fits well.
Rating:
Summary: Review from Europe
Review: Malcolm's and Kate's 10 Steps to Fashion Freedom is not a fashion manual. It is a subtly philosophical and, at the same, highly practical self-help book and, as such, it is more rewarding, but also more demanding, than it appears at first glance. But even if you cannot muster the self-discipline, self-knowledge and commitment and, perhaps, honesty required to complete all 10 steps - even if you read the book as some might read the Bible - you will still draw great benefit from it. Most chapters are an entity in themselves, every paragraph in parts the sort of knowledge and wisdom based on a wealth of experience which most of us are unable to acquire on our own. These are lessons for life. My favourite part of the book is "closet analysis". This is an ongoing purge, cathartic and liberating. A final word. I gave the book to a French friend, who, like many of her compatriots, has this innate and seemingly unfailing sense of style. I half expected her to telephone to tell me that there is nothing in the book she didn't know already. She didn't. She phoned me to tell me how fascinated she is by Malcolm's and Kate's analysis of what is "current, fashionable or trendy" and - guess what? - that she's clearing out her closet. The best of us can learn ...
Rating:
Summary: Fashion Drones
Review: Oh, I had great hopes for this book!Finally a book which eschews fashion formulas and instead deals with the expression of the inner me! Oh,I have a weakness for this sort of book.After wading through this mucky, confusing advise, I may have been cured of ever buying a book in hopes that it will be the solution to my style quandry.I would have welcomed a formula, a clue, just a hint maybe, as what sort of clothes were "me".The authors promise to delve into your psyche to discover the inner you, which you will be able to distill into your own unique style. But, alas, they do not deliver. The authors promise that their technique will work for any sort of budget, and then describe a quality of clothing that is next to impossible for the average shopper to find, let alone afford. What planet are these people from?How the authors could write such a long, confusing tome, and say absolutely nothing is remarkable. It reminds me of the long, convoluted explainations I used to give on essay tests when I really didn't know the answer.Guess what? Levene and Mayfield don't have the answer either.Levene and Mayfield could also use a sense of humor, at least that may have made it a bit more pleasurable to wade through this dull, morass of style "advise".It is fashion, not death and dying. Lighten-up! Save your money for clothes. I wish I had.
|
