Looking for more fashion advice? Several new books offer solid wardrobe-building suggestions.
“Instant Style: Your Season-By-Season Guide for Work and Weekend,” by the editors of InStyle magazine (InStyle Books, $29.95) features a pull-out workbook, shopping checklists for spring and fall, and shows multiple ways of wearing a single garment, such as a long cardigan or knee-length shorts.
“The idea is to build a strong basic wardrobe and add seasonal pieces,” says contributing editor Amy Goodman. The book shows how to understand your own sense of style and the shape of your body. “If you do that, you won’t feel overwhelmed by all the choices in stores, and, hopefully, it will be more fun,” Goodman says.
“Glamour’s Big Books of Do’s and Don’ts,” by Cindi Leive and the editors of Glamour (Gotham Books, $25) has the predictable and entertaining photo spreads of too-large women in too-small bikinis, but also gives realistic options for office, off-duty and special occasion dressing. Glamour contributing editor-at-large Suze Yalof Schwartz says her top “don’ts” of all time are wearing clothes that are too tight for your body – “pants that are too tight and give you a wedgie,” the dreaded “muffin top” that exposes love handles around the waist, cleavage that “pops out of your blouse,” or just clothes that emphasize lumps and bumps.
“Trinny and Susannah Take on America: What Your Clothes Say About You,” by Trinny Woodall and Susannah Constantine (Collins, $19.95) will appeal to fans of the authors’ BBC America makeover show, “What Not to Wear.” They show how such American fashion types as the tomboy, the “natural” woman and the label hound can shed the stereotypes and improve their image.
