Always in Style

This book seems to have people looking for themselves specifically, when basically you need to look for your where your body type fits into the spectrum.I too was confused, until I read that Grace Kelley was a soft straight until she was overweight then she moved to the right on the spectrum to the curvy. The movement on the spectrum moves to the right if you gain weight, and to the left if you lose weight, some may never be all the way to the left and the same goes to the right. When an individual is overweight it add roundness to the face that may not be there when slimmer, and that can throw you off your placement on the spectrum. A "straight" body type that is overweight may need to look at the "soft straight" body type for clothing line suggestions, not curvy.I don't believe that Doris explains that well enough. On the whole I believe the book shows how to be aware, of what can make us attractive, and to look at the whole picture, and pay attention to the details. Remember - Line, scale, and color.Overall this is a good book that trys to cover too many details without thorough explanations, but brings us to thinking.

The first time I reviewed this book, I only gave it 2 stars because I couldn't figure out where I fit on her body line chart. After careful study of the wardrobe plans in the back of the book (which are really helpful; perhaps the best part of the book!) however, I finally got it and it became useful again! Although the color palettes were a good idea, she only included 8 colors for each one, not hardly enough to build a wardrobe on, and not really any advice as to how to use the colors in your wardrobe. Also, she identified secondary and tertiery palettes, but gave no actual colors to go with them (or how to combine the 2-3 palettes). Identifying my color palette was also difficult according to her classifications and I don't know if I've got it right yet. A much better book to do your own color analysis is "The Triumph of Individual Style" by Carla Mathis and Helen Villa Conner. All in all, I believe there is some good advice in this book, but it takes a lot of work and study to figure out what she is trying to tell you--you really have to read between the lines here. Another thing that irks me is that she said in her book we can get updated wardrobe plans and view the Always in Style Portfolio on the web, and get a free analysis at the QVC site, and now I can't find the first (I get a weird login screen at her website) and the second is no longer in service.

Even though I find much useful information here, I like the expanded color system in Spillane and Sherlock's book (Color Me Beautiful's Looking Your Best). There are too many conflicting colors - for me, anyway - in this new Doris Pooser.It is fun be open the QVC.com website, but I was disappointed to find only clothes-shopping advice, based on my body proportions, and nothing on eye/hair/skin color.

I was a fashion moron before Doris came into my life. I can only say thanks from the bottom of my heart for her detailed analysis of my personal coloring. Now I can feel confident whenever I walk into a room that I am wearing the items that best suit my personality, coloring and body shape...Now I can shop for the clothing that is right for me without any effort.

Always in style really helped me out. It playes the role of my fashion hand-book. Even after 3 years (it was published in 1997) it still gives me the basic guidelines for the fashion world today.