Trench coats

trenchcoats
Originally uploaded by capoeirawardrobe

I have a strong passion for trench coats. I really don't feel a need to have more than one, but I could never pass by a cute trench without taking a closer look. I just can't...

The other day my husband took me to the mall and as we were walking through Bloomingdales, I've noticed a cute trench coat. So I dragged my husband to go check it out.

-"I don't like it that much" he said "and anyways, why are you even bothering yourself with it, you already have a perfect trench coat"

I took a moment coming up with a perfect analogy (I tend to use analogies whenever I need to explain something to a man).

-"You see, trench coat for a woman is the same as women for a man. You can spend your life searching for the perfect one and if you are lucky you won't be too old to enjoy it. So if you are a man who found your perfect woman, you marry her (and if you are a woman who found your perfect trench coat, you buy it), but it does not mean that from that moment on you will ignore every other woman for the rest of your life.

Sometimes you will just take a look, sometimes more than that... Sometimes you will look and think to yourself "mine is so mucvh better", and sometimes you will be tempted to "try it on", sometimes you will think that certain one is almost as good as yours and you will be tempted to add to your "wardrobe", but then again, you will always come back to your perfect one and ralize that once you have one, there is no real need for a second one. But even after that realization, you will now and then, you will at least glance at what's out there."

My husband enjoyed that analogy :)

I love your style

At first glance the book might seem a bit subjective. Like one of the reviewers has said it's all about ME. I went to the book store after reading the reviews and got the same impression after flipping through the pages of the book for the first time but I ordered it anyway for entertainment purposes. I mean, if I am willing to read someone's memoirs or biography about their life or work accomplishments, why not read someone's fashion history. Especially someone as stylish as Amanda Brooks.

But I have to say, the book turned out to be much more than I expected and I did pick up plenty of insirations from there.



Especially i enjoyed the part where Amanda gives advice on how to find your style. Some find it irritating how often Amanda changed her look and style, but isn't it the best way to find who you really are? How can you ever truly know unless you've tried nearly everything outthere? For some style comes naturally, during the first couple of decades of life, but for others it takes a lot of soul searching and a lot of changes.

Amanda recommends go through books and magazines and make cut outs of what you found the most appealing. Out of those images one can create a fashion book where you could see how your style and taste evolves over time. Will you like the same thing a year from now, 5 years from now etc.

According to Amanda, there are 6 style types, 3 definable: Classic, Bohemian, and Minimal and 3 undefinable: High Fashion, Street, and Eclectic. She describes different periods of her life when she identified with each one of the above, illustrating it with photoes of herself, people she knew and various celebrities, whom, she believed, reflected particular style the best.

I wouldn't say it's a story of Amanda's life, more like a guide to finding your own style, illustrated by exaples from her life and her experiences.

Last part of the book talks about types of shopping: Basic, cheap Chic, Designer and Vintage. Unlike other books, this book tells us that our basics do not have to be classic, but more of a reflection of our particular style. If basic item is a t-shirt, it does not have to be classic black or white t-shirt, it could be ripped or torn etc., whatever suits one's particular style and personality.

I must say, I really enjoyed this book and will definitely keep it in my style library.

If you could only have 10 items in your wardrobe, what would they be?

10 items:

1) J. Crew cashmere cardigan in camel or apricot color

2) Lilly Pulitzer cotton color block cardigan in cream/navy


3) White t-shirt



4) Lucky Brand jeans







5) Banana Republic khaki trench coat

6) Bebe pencil skirt


7) Banana Republic khaki stretch pants or Express Editor wool pants








8) Shirtdress in neutral color



9) Cashmere v-neck sweater in camel or light green color






10) Ann Taylor coral fitted top

Great words...

"All a woman needs to be chic is a raincoat, two suits, a pair of trousers and a cashmere sweater."

- Hubert de Givenchy

Harper's Bazaar Great Style

First chapter of the book is dedicated to talking about the wardrobe basics.

Key items as building blocks of your wardrobe:

1. Dark lean suit
2. Pencil skirt or a-line skirt if more suitable for your body type
3. Crisp white shirt
4. Great pair of jeans
5. Little black dress

In addition to basic building blocks, the book talks about classics that are worth having regardless of current trands, such as white t-shirts, cashmere cardigan, white jeans, trousers, shift dress, tuxedo, bouclé jacket, trench coat, and camel overcoat.



Then there is a list of items worth splurging on as well as the items one could save on.

Splurge list: Coat, chunky knits, such as cashmere sweaters, dressy blouses, furs, cocktail dresses and evening gowns.



Save list: jeans, pants, skirts, button-up shirts, lightweight knits, tank tops and t-shirts.



I totally agree with saving on t-shirts since in order to look good, they need to be replaced often and thus are not worth splurging on. Although personally, I prefer white t-shirts and tank tops from quality cotton even though I always avoid paying much for them, trying to catch them on big sales.

For the most part I found advice in the book reasonable and useful but a few things were not to my liking. Like, for instance, the calendar on when to shop for what. The calendar in the book recommends to shop for seasonal items BEFORE season starts when seasonal clothes are the most expensive. I believe that if one is not in search of the current trends but is stocking up on timeless classics, it's better to shop for seasonal item AFTER the season has began, or towards the end of the season. this was you will have exactly what you want for much less. For instance I shop for winter coats and cashmere not in october, as calendar in the book suggests, but staring in Mid-January, early February. I barely ever pay full price and my closet is full of cashmere and I always have a nice fur jacket or two that were a real bargain.

I agree that when you see an item that you absolutely love, you should grab it since later it might be gone, or when you want to get some trendy pieces. In that case yes, shopping before season begins is the only option, but when stocking up on basics I prefer end of season.

Next chapter talks about personal style and various style personalities:

The Classicists (Jackie O)
The Bombshells (Sophia Loren)
The Bohemians (Jane Birkin)
The Ladies (Grace Kelly)
The Mavericks(Kate Blanchett)
The Minimalists (Kate Winslet)
The Eclectics (Gwen Stefani)



Then another chapter is dedicated to what is most appropriate by age group (20s,30s,40s etc.), followed by a chapter on what's most flattering for various shapes. The fact that "pregnant" was added as one of the shapes, on top of regular "curvy" or "boyish" made me especially happy.





then the following chapters talk about

Office wear




Evening wear



Casual wear

Chapter on casual wear again has a number of different casual style types:


Preppy
Glam
Sporty
Urban
Country
Jet-Set
Boho
Romantic
Rocker












The last two chapters talk about accessories and lingerie.



Every chapter is generously illustrated with celebrity photos

Discovering Your Inner Style - 8 Steps to G.U.R.U.

Does not add anything to what any other book on personal style will tell you. As any other book on style, it describes number of styles and provides the reader with a quiz that you can take in order to determine your dominant style. The styles are not your regular "Classic", "Bohemian", "Bombshell", or "Eclectic". Instead, this book uses slightly different names "Natural", "Classic", "Polished", "Artistic".

Also it uses different names for color types: instead of Spring, SUmmer, Winter, Fall, it uses Bright, Subtle, Strong and Deep, but that's where the difference ends.

The book has a lot of contradictory information. For example, it tries to combine your inner personality traits with a closing style and body shapes. That's the part I find contradictory as author suggest that a particular personality trait suggest a clothing style which in turn suggests a body shape. Well, I took the quiz and based on the results, my body shape should be "apple", while in reality it is hourglass. Thus I was not able to user author's recommendations.

In real life I have not seen any connection between personality and body shape, and very little connection between dominant personality trait (i.e. communicator, mediator etc) and clothing style. For example if your personality train it a "Mediator" or "Communicator", does not necessarily mean that you would look good in clothing classified as "Natural" or "Artistic".

Disappointing...

Style Clinic

The book starts out talking about a distinction between the concept of style and the concept of fashion. Style is different from fashion in the way that fashion trends come and go and style is timeless. It helps knowing exactly what works for your body type and your style personality. What pieces worth splurging and what to buy cheap. What needs to be renewed often and what will last. The book also talks about classics - the pieces that will never go out of style. I especially enjoy that part since I prefer timeless pieces over new trends. Trends come and go and there is no need to follow each one, especially considering the fact that not all trends will work well for a particular body type. As the book mentions, if one looks great in boot-cut jeans, there is no need to get into unknown territory of skinny jeans just because they are trendy at a particular time. there is no need to deviate from what has worked well for you in the past. The basic moral is - Fashion makes you desire things you should not. Shop your style, not the hottest fashion trends.




Also the book lists some timeless classics, such as trench coat, LBD, tuxedo suit, good jeans, classic knits such as twinsets, turtleneck and v-neck sweater.



Personally I am a big fan of trench coats, cashmere, good jeans, twinsets, pearls and LBD.



Then the book goes into what should be kept in your closet and what should be discarded. The more you buy, the less it seems you have to wear. Buying a lot does not mean that everything you buy will work for you, most of us buy impulsively on a whim and then end up with disfunctional wardrobe. And that's where the Style Clinic comes in.
It helps you to decide what to purge from your wardrobe and what is worth keeping.

Next subject is wardrobe basics - white shirt, cardigan in your favorite color, suit jacket that goes with your skirt, 3 pairs of pant: jeans, tailored work pants, and smart day-to-evening pants, classic LBD, couple of casual t-shirts and tank tops, dressy round-neck top as a dressy alternative to a t-shirt, day skirt, 3 pairs of shoes: boots, ballet flats and a pair of high heels.



The list of basics is followed by details about each item, how to pick the right one and what to wear it with.


Also there is plenty of advice on how to find the perfect fit for your body, on using colors and prints in order to emphasize or camouflage, dressing appropriate for your age, and some successful shopper tips. Such as CBS: coat, bag, and shoes formula and other useful rules.

Second part of the book talks about each piece of clothing (jeans, skirt, dress etc.) more in depth, what to wear it with, what kind to choose for each body type, how to build a coat capsule, how to select a perfect pair of pants, a skirt, dress, accessories etc. Well illustrated with pictures of celebrities that fit a particular body type and/or wearing particular article of clothing.




I'd highly recommend this book since it has a good advice for any occasion