Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #470433 in Books
• Published on: 2004-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 197 pages

Synopsis
A fashion stylist draws on the tricks of her trade to help women create their own fashion look, with advice on selecting the right wardrobe, taking one's true measurements, using a tailor, and choosing the best fabrics and accessories.

Customer Reviews

If it doesn't fit and you can't fix it, toss it.
The reviewer on Amazon.com that said Farr `instructs women how to honestly assess their wardrobes and logically pinpoint their individual body type' is right on the money. The Pocket Stylist is very useful when it comes to advice on fit, measurements, accessorising and the uses of tailoring; for these points it is worth the price of purchase. It is also written in a friendly tone. I find it refreshing that Karr speaks to her readers as if they were individual paying clients.

Her advice is solid: think primarily of what fits your silhouette and your measurements; determine the right scale for your accessories; use a tailor to get the best fit; if it doesn't fit you perfectly, don't wear it. These are simple rules, but I've never seen a stylish woman who didn't follow them all.

About her proposed body types: A, B and C fit almost every woman I know, of any size. So why the other three types, which are simply the same silhouette in `plus-size'? It would have made more sense to add a section for plus sizes in each of the first three types (rather than risk implying that plus sized women are some kind of distortion of the original...)

Farr warns readers against prominently displaying logos and initials not the bearer's own (special thanks for that!). But she sure likes the classics - Hermes scarves, Vuitton handbags, etc. Many women may find this off-putting from a book that promises to help you find your own style. I suppose her priority is to raise people's standards and steer them towards good choices. After all, people with a very developed sense of style don't need this book in the first place... Seriously, though, Farr should have explained WHY the iconic handbags she mentions are iconic. It may be obvious to a self-confessed bagaholic like herself but, being unenlighted, I'd rather have a sturdy tote (with a shoulder strap) than a Hermes Birkin.

Farr says 'scarves are often overlooked' - and then proceeds to dismiss them in half a page. How about showing us good ways to wrap a scarf? There are plenty, and the various seffects are very different. She also dismisses hats in half a page. Diamonds, on the other hand, merit over a page...what are they even doing in this book?

The lists Farr provides of brands and online shopping sources are of some use to those of us living in Europe, though the shops and specialists are only of interest if you live in the US (or rather in New York!)I suggest the publishers include metric conversion in the next edition for Canadian and European readers.

I think the book could usefully include more information on how to establish what the right colours are for you - after all, it can make a big difference to your look. (Having undergone a colour consultation myself, I discovered that the trick is to sit near a good source of sunlight, wipe off all makeup, frame face with perfectly white cloth and hold up various colours - look at your face NOT the colour you're holding up - to check whether they make you look more alert or more tired (more shadows on your face). Decide between cool and warm tones (Silver or gold? Pink or orange?) and between strong contrasts or blends of similar tones).

The drawings are themselves stylish, though I would have liked more of them. Info on makeup and hair is minimal but useful. The book sometimes assumes too much knowledge of clothing/ accessory terminology - I would have appreciated a glossary!

The advice on storing, cleaning and organising clothes is succinct but right on target. The format of the book is excellent - sturdy and handy enough to take along on shopping trips. And with Farr's help, you'll be able to tell what fits without trying it on.

What a disappointment!!!
The Pocket Stylist is supposed to be all about the visual effects of clothes, colours, textures etc, and yet there is not one photgraph to illustrate any of the points being explained. Which is ironic as the author states on the back cover of her book her husband is a photographer!!! Instead there are pages and pages of text, with one or two accompanying line drawings. This has got to be the most unstimulating book on fashion/colour/style I have ever read. Surely it is much easier to show a picture of the ideal style of jacket (for example) than explain in three pages the look you are wanting to achieve. What this book takes 6 pages to describe, Trinny and Susanne do with one fantastic photograph.
Perhaps there are lots of useful facts in the book, but trawling through pages and pages of text took the joy out of what should have been visually stimuating and motivating.

An absolutely boring experience!