What Not to Wear

Rating:
Summary: Informative and fun
Review: At least somebody agrees with me when I say that short women shouldn't wear cropped pants! (I'm short myself). This is a fabulous little guide, which talks about every conceivable body type and tries to match types of clothes with them. Its not the be-all and end-all, so don't go looking for that in this manual. I also liked that they gave advice on places to buy clothes based on budget. This book highlights the fact that not all women have perfect bodies and that we should be comfortable in the clothes we wear; not necessarily conform to current fashion styles.

Rating:
Summary: What a Joke!
Review: I was so disappointed when I received this book. I had hoped it would give me solid guidelines on what to wear for my figure shape, etc. Instead all it contained were pictures of Trinny and Susannah modeling their figure flaws and tooting their own horns. Big deal. The commentary from both these women was critical and negative. We're not all built like supermodels and yes, some of us do have big upperarms, big thighs,wide hips and boobs. Why not concentrate on camouflaging these flaws and offering positive helpful suggestions on how to make one look their best instead of tearing ourselves down.

Rating:
Summary: style and dressing for a less-than-perfect body shape
Review: Learn about personal style and dressing for a less-than-perfect body shape with the aid of two 'life coaches' who point out it's just as important to understand What Not To Wear than fashion trends. Color photos point out styles which can make fat arms look bigger, short legs look shorter, and big butts look larger - and are accompanied by contrasting photos which point out the highlights of different styles - and why they work. A fun, revealing guide more practical than most general "how to dress" books.

Rating:
Summary: Definitely Style Over Substance
Review: This book was more entertainment than information, although I did attempt to chart the advice so that I could find commonalities that fit my eight figure flaws (and I am considered attractive, believe it or not). I would've been much more satisfied with this book if it had a chapter on pitfalls for every body and a chapter on how to work with several flaws at once. Oh, yes, and wouldn't it have been so wonderful if they had shown us exactly what a woman is supposed to wear in the summer? I still think I'm going to be a jeans and t-shirt type of gal, but at least now I will know that the jeans should be flared and the t-shirt should be sleeved, fitted, open-necked and land in the middle of my tummy. The other good point worth mentioning is that I received a lot of positive reinforcement from my loved ones who did not like the idea of me thinking in terms of my body as being flawed.