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The Grown-up Girl's Guide to Style

a Maintenance Bible for Fashion, Beauty, and More--
Jun 03, 2017WolfBert rated this title 1.5 out of 5 stars
I would not say it is the best book on how older woman should dress. There are some good tips: when older, don't show cleavage, don't wear things too tight, long sleeves are more flattering, keep nice colours near your face (scarf, top). But other bits of advice aren't so good in my opinion. For one, I love the colour gray and I think some women can really pull off gray hair. This author has nothing nice to say about gray hair (it's for dogs and cats, etc. but not people because it ages them). She advises every woman with gray hair to dye it. First, not everyone can afford to go the beauty parlor to for regular dye jobs and highlights. In addition, home dyes can turn into a disaster with a person's hair looking frazzled, uneven in colour, and faded (dyes fade); so instead of the brilliant gray that is usually multidimensional (with streaks of white and darker gray and lighter gray), you get one solid colour that often isn't flattering unless it is a deep black (and how many can pull off black hair)? Secondly, why be ashamed to go gray? Why be ashamed of one's age? I think every person has to develop their own style. Is it flattering on you? The pictures shown focused on button up tops, slacks, and crop pants. One picture was of the author in lime green a button up shirt with a turquoise sweater tied around her shoulders (isn't that an out of date look from the preppy 90's?) Who wears sweaters tied around their necks on a daily basis? You have to find a look that suits your work and what you do. She has some good tips but I don't like the pictures in the book of the women who are 'fashion disasters'; their faces are blanked out but I wondered as I read the book, I wondered, did anyone ask to take their photographs? Did someone say, "Excuse me but your outfit is repulsive. Can I snap your picture? I'm writing a book on fashion and you are going to be one of my bad examples". I think drawn pictures would have been better. The photograph of a women with uneven breasts (for a lesson on bras I believe ), and photos of women's rear ends (jeans too tight example) seems disrespectful to me. What if someone recognized themselves in the book? How would it make them feel? There were also photographs of women (just the body, not the head) to illustrate clothing choices the author liked but again, did these women know they were being photographed? The book I liked more was "Colour me Confident". It also looks at clothing choices but gives the reader a lot more information in my opinion, on suitable colours, on styles based on your body type, on make-up and hair, underwear, you name it. The book uses drawings, models to illustrate body types and clothing styles, and colouring, and photographs of celebrities to illustrate the same. To me, it is a more respectful book. Just my opinions.