What to Wear for the Rest of Your Life: Ageless Secrets of Style

This was the perfect book to read before my 40th reunion! This is the first time I'll be seeing my classmates - all women - since we graduated. I've been really looking forward to this for the last half year but as the date approached, looming wardrobe decisions were beginning to get in the way of my excitement. All the pre-reunion cliches were funny until I realized I was just as subject to them as anyone else. I wanted to get the what-to-wear part out of the equation as quickly and painlessly as possible. So I decided to set a night aside to `consult' with an expert and I read this book from cover to cover in one sitting. Good decision! Ultimately I bought some new clothes that I'm very happy and comfortable with. I made note of dozens of really practical tips - on dressing for my body type, playing up my better assets and steering attention away from the lesser ones. But the real shift that took place that night was in my outlook about dressing myself for that occasion and I owe that to the author's unique choice of presenting the material. What makes this book unique are the many and varied voices which together create a kind of fashion `dialogue'. The author has cleverly interwoven her own advice and fashion wisdom from other experts together with words from dozens of women from around the country who shared their experiences with her.The result is a sense of community, which I was reminded, is one of the very best things about `maturing' women - we share more and compete less. I was reminded that my classmates were so surely in the same boat and that was comforting. I was brought back to my initial excitement about seeing them with an even stronger desire to hear their stories and continue the dialogue! The book offers so much but my favorite chapter is `If you're Dressing your Age, How Young Are You?' What is/or not age-appropriate is the gnarliest issue for me and I found the advice here very helpful. My favorite quote: "AGE-APPROPRIATE is knowing that if you wore a trend the first time it came around, not to wear it again." Very funny. Very sad! Very true! Bottom Line: Great Book! Unique forum, ageless wisdom and practical advice delivered with humor and humility.

I loved this book! The past several years, I, like so many women "over 50", have started to wonder what styles are right for me? I have always loved fashion but began to worry, "am I dressing too old", "am I dressing too young"? What really kept my attention in What to Wear were the many comments and stories from real women who had the same frustrations and fears, many of whom have found very healthy and positive ways to cope with their changing bodies while changing their wardrobes along the way. The personal anecdotes from Kim give the book a very real and, well...personal feel. You get the message that she has been there and does indeed want to pass on some secrets that she and other women have learned about being confident and feeling good in their bodies and their clothes. There is a feeling of celebration of where we've been and where we are. Acceptance and positive attitudes abound! The many suggestions from the author about re-evaluating our closets made me look at mine. I have since re-invented a jacket or two, recycled some things that didn't fit and put some thought into what my wardrobe really needed before I went shopping...all good things. I've also decided to go ahead and have fun with my clothing and accessories, while taking that one quick look in the full length mirror before heading out. Get this book, it is both enlightening and delightful to read.

What a fabulous weekend to read 'What to Wear for the Rest of Your Life' ... it is spring in the mountains! The dark heavy clothing of winter is being put away... and the light weight and beautiful colors of spring are awaiting. I started the transitioning of my closet yesterday with the help of What to Wear for the Rest of Your Life! This book made me laugh at myself and imagine some of my prized clothing 'items' turned into pillows for next winter's couch! Even that rabbit fur vest! Needless to say, 'I related' to the purge! and update! as I tossed some of those winter items in a pile, never to return to the closet! This book reminds us of who we are, not who our closet is, recognizing the beauty within and the fun of dolling it up with our better choice in clothes. It is wake-up call for you and your closet, no matter what age... Great advice in the bra department as it is time to get out of the 'mountain' look behind our black polar fleece! -MILF- made me laugh out loud... having never heard that term before! One must read to find out what that means (pag 137) or maybe I have just been out of it.... haha! And then the 'ouch' of "Nor should we look like we've given up!" Oh heavens, not that! And worse, that we don't care! I have not read a feel-good book in a long while and this book makes one 'FEEL GOOD' about self and closet, no matter what the age and what is in the closet or on the hips! My mother, 83 yrs, has always had the classic closet with the 'pizzaz' on top and I need to get there tooooo! This book was a boost to purge! The advice and reminders, all with a soul story and a twinkle from Kim Johnson-Gross, is the best nudge as I slide into third base this summer! Thank you Kim! You covered all basics ie. clothes, face, hair, city and mountain life, and the spirit within. Thank you for sharing your exciting life, complete with all the hills and valleys, with all of us! I will be watching my derriere in the three-way mirror! haha My book is filled with 'stickies' to remind where to get all those fun and needed ideas! and I am going to get out the jewelry that I put in the back of the drawer because it was too much trouble to put on. Happy Mother's Day Kim! and to all of us who need a closet 'lift' - Happy Spring!

I've read a few books on style and how to look young, and how not to look fat, but Kim's new book on 'What to Wear for the Rest of your Life: Ageless Secrets of Style' ( irresistable title )is the best. Kim is a great writer/storyteller, who has the credentials to tell us what's what. She has written about fashion for top magazines for years, and has been surrounded by fashionistas all her life. Kim's ideas to help get us started, for instance, The Feel Good Closet concept, is brilliant. I love the mirror-talk, and her tips on what NOT to wear for different body types is right-on. My friends who own [...] help women learn their body type and style, how to correctly select fashion trimmings from head to toe, what fashion looks to avoid, and how to shop. Kim puts these 'body type' rules, and so much more into this priceless new book. Even though some of the information will sound familiar, the way Kim guides you from one step to the next, makes it seem all new, rewarding (!) and doable! This gem of a book will convince you to toss clothes that no longer serve ( bye bye designer suits from the '90's !), and inspire you to create the look you've always longed for. I read the book over the weekend, it's a page-turner. Trust me, buy it for yourself, and gift it to your friends. You're welcome. Have fun, look fabulous, beautiful women!

The author uses her own experience in waking up one day and realizing her body had changed but her closet hadn't. She had been in avoidance and denial until her mother, bless them, brought it to her attention. She realized that her needs had changed and her closet needed to change with her life the way she now lives it. Many of us are in that same situation and this book does give some solutions and a great deal of confidence that we greatly need. There are a number of very short but helpful case studies of people realizing they have to 'own up' to their new bodies. The author rethinks the health of her entire body and made specific goals. She gives us her list, which includes wanting stronger lungs, bones, muscle, and a stronger core, to lessen the possibility of back injury. Some of it is very funny. Most is introspective and hands-on practical. I'm already considering some changes in the business suits I keep in my closet but never wear. I'm all in favor of her "closet classics" which help to give us confidence and comfort. Jeans are even discussed throughout the book, and my favorite comment, since I'm comfortable in jeans, is "Jeans are our new 'little black dress' and like other Closet Classics, they're our best friends. They're there for us when we need to dress up, dress down, and to feel our best, whatever the occasion." Included in the chapters are sections on "Mirror Talk" which I found helpful. They are a "series of reality checks that will help you learn to use the mirror as a constructive tool. It may not be a friend, but it's definitely an expert witness." There are brief discussions of celebrities and how their style is working for them. Some of these are the author's "Style Mentors" who refuse to disappear quietly into this next part of their lives. I sense this is what the author wants to be to us, her readers. I certainly need a style mentor, so I'll be referring to this book frequently for specific topics. It's too much to take in at one time. My favorite chapter may be the one entitled, "Shop Smart for the Rest of Your Life" which includes a section on "Sustainable Chic" and that's what I was looking for when I bought the book. I have lots of work to do. I didn't know just how much I needed to do until I started this book, and it became very clear. My closet is not keeping up with my life.