Fashionista Book Report

by Simerjeet Sahota

So, while most people do normal things during their weekends, I read books on clothes.  Yep.  That’s what I did.  Completely sad part – I proceeded to re-read the books AFTER I finished them.  Like, directly after.  Like, I didn’t even put them down.  I went from last page to first page.  I’ve read some good books in my time and I’ve never re-read a book back to back.  Clearly, I HEARTED these books: That Extra Half Inch by Victoria Beckham and The Little Black Book of Style by Nina Garcia (Project Runway Judge for clarification.  She’s also fashion director at a little magazine known as Elle).

Victoria’s book (Yeah. I’m on a first name basis with her. Whatevs!) has some great tips.  Proper way to buy jeans, what to take on a long airplane flight, what to wear to red carpet events….er, yeah, its practical.  I mean overall it’s pretty cool to know what goes on in her head.  And she’s got some great tips.  Yeah, I know I already said that.  But there were a few things I didn’t like about this book: too much British lingo (vests = tank tops.  WHAT? Are you serious England? Man I’m so glad we won the revolutionary war), and the “where to find things for cheap”-themed section came off as contrived. I just feel like that was thrown in to appeal to the masses.  There wasn’t much substance to it.  I mean I do like the book – it helps inform you on designers, the types of clothes out there, and just gives insight to how V.B. approaches clothes.  I just wouldn’t buy it.  Get it from the library.

But, oh man, when I finished The Little Black Book of Style, my life was different.  Seriously.  It’s what I imagine a self-help book does for people.  First, it’s small and sleek, easy to read with chapters on:  Figuring out your own style, Classics, inspirations, style tips from industry insiders, and fashion footnotes (loved these!!!).  It’s absolutely fab.  I’m gushing right now.  How unattractive.  I took the book kind of as a life lesson:  Keep things simple and classic but always evolve.  Loved it, loved it, loved it! I had this over-crowded place in my brain where clothes are concerned. But this book helped me figure out my style perspective, where I want to go, and what clothes mean to me.  At the end of the day clothes are a form of art, a reflection of yourself.  It’s okay to get inspired by people and its okay to not follow the crowd at the same time.

It’s okay if you don’t take fashion seriously and it’s okay that you don’t consider yourself a “fashionista”.  All I’m asking is that you think about what you wear every once in a while, think about fashion as an accessible way of self expression, art, and creativity.  These books may or may not be your guideline.  If they are, great, and if not, oh well.  At least I’ve got you thinking about it.  And yes, I’m going to re-read them for a third time.

You can check out more of Simerjeet’s fashion rantings on her blog “Fashion Rehab”.