A Guide to Quality, Taste, & Style by Tim Gunn

A Guide to Quality, Taste, & Style by Tim Gunn
hardcover 240 pages
published by  Abrams Image in 2007
ISBN-13: 9780810992849

Type: {Airplane Read: makes time fly.}
Rating: {An Unputdownable: Couldn’t eat or sleep until I finished this book.}

Why You’re Reading It:

• You love Tim Gunn (who doesn’t?)
• You enjoy fashion
• Your wardrobe could use a practical (and fun) re-haul

What I Thought:

Fun, fun, fun. I adore Tim Gunn on Project Runway (when I watch it), so it wasn’t hard to predict that I would love his short book on style. I love the way that he, clearly, has such a unique but sophisticated way of presenting himself; it’s as though he’s from another era of good manners and grace but has modern ideas. He is, surprisingly?, an encourager for women of all sizes and shapes. He does not, even once, talk about the need to diet and fit the perfect mold of a sample size. Instead, he gives real advice for typical women. In short, conversational chapters he advises on how to play up features you love while downplaying the ones you don’t. He also talks about how poise, grace, and good manners add to your overall style. Also mentioned is the closet make-over. Gunn takes you through a (useful) cleaning of your closet and helps you say goodbye to those pants that you haven’t worn in three years. His theory is the less junk (junk is my word, I’m pretty sure Tim Gunn never utters slang like that) you have, the easier it is to create a good outfit.

One of my favorite sections is the one in which Tim talks about packing. Oh, the dreaded word. Now-a-days when it costs extra money just to check a bag (much less the frustration at the amount of times that baggage is being lost lately), more and more of us are opting to carry on. It is possible to travel with only a carry on — two summers ago, I took only a carry on for a month long stay in Europe. However, is it possible to do so fashionably? Gunn gives us a resounding yes. He even gives examples of what you might bring on two types of trips… and explores ways to make things work for more than one occasion, while still looking chic and put together. Does it work? Why, yes it does. I have already attempted the feat using Gunn’s techniques and am happy to say that his advice is golden. I will pull this book from the shelf for reminders each time I pack now.

While I enjoy reading books in this genre, what typically upsets me is the authors’ blanket ideas about what style is. They often encourage popular trends, spending money, and losing weight in order to fit the fashion mold. Gunn’s main purpose in this book is to help you create your own signature style, avoid trends that encourage you to blow wads of cash needlessly, and to teach you to dress yourself well — not matter your self-percieved flaws. He gives personal examples (fun name-dropping ensues, but in an oh-so casual way) from his own experiences and passes along advice that he has received from some of fashion’s utmost elite. Also included: anecdotes from his mother. Who doesn’t love a humorous, endearing mother anecdote?

I read this book in one day and smiled most of the way through it; if you are ready for a sophisticated yet down-to-earth look at fashion, I think you will too.