How to Have Style

I've always thought my wife as being stylish. I was browsing through a bookstore, and How to Have Style caught my eye. I thought she might enjoy it, and not be insulted or do me bodily harm. Much to my delight (and relief)she devoured the book from cover to cover and back again, telling me how it's given her completely new insights into putting an outfit together, and how to shop. I recommend this book as a great gift.

Issac generously offers invaluable information on finding your own style and ways to implement it. I love that he is never condescending or dictatorial. The book has great joie de vivre. And then there's Issac's "eye" for what looks good. It's an inspirational book.

If your girlfriends were to come around Trick-or-Treating, this is what you'd want to drop into their goodie bags! Mizrahi's book is candy for the eyes. There are so many pictures - full color, not just sketches, on glossy pages. Plus, this book is both fun and informative. There is a certain richness, breadth and depth to the information, unlike a lot of the style books out there. Mizrahi's writing is a love letter to women. His approach is different from many stylists, who seem to only provide guidelines for dressing like themselves. In this book, Mizrahi takes 12 women of varying ages - 20's to 50's - and body types, and transforms them into better versions of themselves. It's amazing how the women all seem to become more vivid and alive. Mizrahi does not dilute their personalities, either. Instead, he enhances them, e.g. the quirky woman wears a thick Russian fur hat; the shopaholic learns how to combine all her prints; the plus-size woman becomes an alluring femme fatale; the socialite stops playing it safe and dons couture. What I really love is that because Mizrahi has the credentials and the expertise, he doesn't limit himself to the same tried-and-true fashion rules. He's sort of a Picasso of fashion. One blonde professional in the book comes to him with the safe, appropriate honey-blonde hair, and he transforms her with color - both by lightening her hair to a bold platinum (she then looks like Kim Novak) and moving her away from safe black to colors that enhance her features. Mizrahi instructs the reader as to how she can be true to herself and yet break out of her own rut through the use of an inspiration board, a broad list of resources, and a helpful style workbook. This truly is a guide to personal style. (The pictures of Mizrahi throughout the book are really cute, too!)

I have been waiting for this book for some time. Isaac Mizrahi has "made over" the style advice book genre. How insightful of him to help each reader understand that style comes from within. He advocates thinking things out when it come to developing a personal style. Think before you shop! Brilliant! The book is full of fantastic advice. It looks great. It is full of clever details. I love having his handwriting on the pages of the book. As I said it is an essential book on your way to becoming your quintessential self!