Customer Reviews

Before You Put That On: 365 Daily Style Tips for Her

5 star:		(31)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

This book covers everything from what is in your purse to the bottom of your shoes. Its 365 calendar day style makes it ideal to impart a lot of information efficiently; at first, you may focus more on the beautiful graphic pages that help you put together twelve fool-proof outfits (one per month). The second time through the book you may focus more on the general style improvements--adding a Pucci print; how to incorporate animal and Ethnic prints into a wardrobe without looking costumey. Finally I went through the book as it was intended, one page per day, and chewed over the food for thought Lloyd Boston gives: investing in an elegant pen that can reinforce a good impression; taking care of clothing and shoes properly; when to shop for coats and swimsuits.

The author provides something very few fashion books do: specific outfit construction ideas that are generic enough to fit anyone's wardrobe. His multitude of combinations helps you rearrange what you already have into something stylish and classic, making it easy to incorporate new and trendy pieces in with your elegant staples. It does what we all hope those fashion magazines will do for us every month.Practical and useful, it will expand your wardrobe without you buying a thing.

Of all the style books I have purchased (which would be about a dozen--I try hard), this is by far my favorite and the one I turn to the most. Lloyd Boston gives direct, helpful, daily advice to anyone and everyone who is willing to learn. I have had so many compliments on my wardrobe--almost daily compliments--since I have tried to put into practice his suggestions. It is not hard to do, you do not have to figure out what style you are, what colors are best, what season, etc.(Although if you want to do that, Trinny and Susannah's newest book is handy for that.) It also does not have to be that expensive. You may have a lot of what he suggests already. It is his mixing and matching that makes the outfit. Reading the book is like having a stylist in my bookcase, waiting to help inspire me. It is friendly, readable and not condescending in its approach. Although not every day's suggestion is useful to me, overall the book is more than I expected. I highly recommend it.

BEFORE BUYING THIS, DO BROWSE THE TABLE OF CONTENTS!!! You will see why below. If you are up for it, there really are some worthwhile insights but it will take serious effort to dig them out. I like this book, but only since I took the time to create my own index based on several categories of tips, and wrote them in as my own index on the back page and back cover.

I find the book uneven in quality. Some tips are worth the price of the book for a single insight.

But other entries are an absolute waste of space. Feminist history tidbits for example praising female politicians or astronauts. When I want that, I prefer a book on the subject, not sprinkled into something else altogether. That type of touch feels forced, kind of like Lloyd thought that the audience was in need of a serious infusion of politically correct sound bites.

Then there are the horoscopes. To which I plaintively question why????? Or how about the weird little pop quizzes scattered through the book for no apparent reason. It feels extraordinarily scattered and distracted as a result.

That overall scattered and distracted feel is assisted by the strained and forced tip/essay a day for a year concept. The table of contents is particularly hard to navigate since it lists every single day, every single tip title as if they were a chapter unto themselves.

While I applaud his seasonal tips, it is impossible to remember WHERE the good tip you read a while ago was. Was it last month, or was it 3 months back??????????? That table of contents won't tell you since the tips are often labeled with some very cutesy titles and with all 365 of them in there, it makes browsing the table of contents an endurance contest. And that makes plowing thru the herstory, horoscopes, and pop quizzes all the more irritating.

Since I bought this book, I rarely feel like a daily consult which is how the author intended the book to be used. More like a once a year speed read.

However I DID do something that makes this book a keeper for me at least for a while, and that is the personal index of tips mentioned above. That and a quick trip thru the book with a highlighter for stuff I want to remember. Which is about 1/8 of the book. That actually isn't bad for a "how to" type of book, which is usually needed only for a few good ideas, leaving the rest alone.

My only other comment relates to the irritation of seeing a picture of the author on each month's divider page. Was it really necessary? This makes the book feel a bit like a vanity press project and brings to mind Christopher Lowell's self absorbed books on decorating which feature multiple posed pics of that deadly author on every page. Thank goodness Lloyd kept it down to once a month.

However if this ever goes into paperback, somebody at the publisher should gently take him in hand, cut the vanity photos, maybe include a few more of Lloyd's better ideas and create a reasonable index. Ditch the herstory pc soundbites, the horoscopes, the pop quizzes. There would be more than enough room now for a decent index.

And perhaps organize it by season, not by month.

I do agree with another reviewer who pointed out that if you need a tip a day pointing you to elegance and style, get Frederic Fekkai's book A Year of Style. That is one I actually do haul out and read every month to grab the seasonal goodies.

This may not be a guerrilla manual, 10-steps-or-less, 10-seconds-or-less book but it is a purposeful, satisifying book on getting dressed each day. The conversational flavor is as a stylist imparting wisdom to a client/friend. Each day's subject is a pick-me-up, a thoughful bit of fashion to chew on when you dress that day; and fashion being the encompassing subject it is, perhaps it is best handled in a meditative, chipper fashion is it is through-out this book.

Very helpful is that it is organized by month: reading about capri pants in January is irrelevant, however you can go straight to October - or June - as necessary. I learned a lot from this book and I thought I knew a lot. You can always learn more. The spotlight reviewer that 'yawns' over the book makes me wonder as to how she views fashion - as a crash'n'burn way to get thru the day - or, as Lloyd presents it, a clever, fun subject we all need to give thought to to stay on top of with a smile. Great job, Lloyd. I appreciate your effort, and treasure my copy. And have recommened it.

This book seems more about Lloyd than about appropriate dressing, his full page photo appears more than once when he could have used the space for a great visual about great style. I found other fashion books on Amazon to be more thorough and more useful specifically Sam Saboura's and Trinny Woodall's (both are more informative, better organized, and less chatty). I am very suspicious of Lloyd's interviews with other designers and writers because it appears they are just pushing their products. Do we really need to know that Kenneth Cole thinks it's essential to have great shoes? Lloyd's 365 day formula doesn't work because it feels as if one is reading a daily calender. The tone he writes in sounds like a self-help shrink session. Overall, the book appeared self promoting and was not written as well as similiar books currently available in the marketplace. Does anyone at this point in history need to be told that Jackie Kennedy is a fashion icon? yawn yawn yawn. Spend your money on a different book.

I really enjoyed "Before You Put That On" by Lloyd Boston. It's a must read if you need basic help choosing the right daily fashions or how to make a old garment look new again. Being organized is one of the most important fashion tips and Lloyd really helps you get it together! I highly recommend this book, Its a FUN read!

Once again, Lloyd Boston has written a book that is not only beautiful to look at, but filled with creative and insightful information. Reading it was as much fun as watching him on television! I especially liked the "affirmations" which connected great style, with great self-confidence! These are the kinds of messages that adult women, and young girls, should be exposed to as often and early as possible. Thanks, Lloyd!!

There were 3 ideas worth reading: Get colored safety pins (black) for emergency repairs, try using a wire hangar hooked to the zipper tab to zip the back of a dress, and a white suit can be nearly as versatile as a black suit. Other than that there was a paucity of useful ideas and suggestions that haven't been put out in dozens of other (less expensive) books in the last few years. As another reviewer mentioned, there were a lot of pictures of the author, little in the way of helpful illustrations, and many "experts" touting their own line or cosmetic company. My pet peeve, insisting that everyone should wear heels, shows up constantly. After many severe ankle injuries, this just isn't possible, and I know I am not the only one with physical issues preventing heels. Don't bother, it's all been said before.

I found this book to be more fun and to-the-point than the similar book published by Frederic Fekkai (sp?) a few years ago. While photographs of real women would probably be the most logical choice for a guide to dressing well, the stylized illustrations allow the reader to use his suggestions as a jumping off point and fill in the blanks rather than use them as a rigid set of "rules".

Other favorite points of the book were the interviews with "style makers" (designers, makeup artists, stylists, et al) and their tips, tricks and icons. Not surprisingly, more than half of the people named mention Audrey Hepburn and a good number also mention Jackie Onassis.

What I really liked about this book was that he noted the birthdays of formidable women, including Eleanor Roosevelt, Amelia Earhart and Sally Ride. While none of them may be traditionally beautiful in the jaw dropping, supermodel way, they were all women of character and someone many of us have aspired to emulate in some way. Kudos to Boston for giving the ideas of intelligence and character as essential to personal beauty and style more than just lipservice.

Overall, a fun and even satisfying read.

Getting dressed everyday can be a challenge. I needed some direction and most important, inspiration fueled by great ideas. Lloyd Boston's book gives just this, ideas to women when dressing daily becomes mundane. 'Before You Put That On' covers easy to fix dressing tips that no one ever seems to tell you, expert style direction, and interviews w/ top designers and industry professionals.
Ladies there are 365 days to flatter yourself and lead a more fashion forward life! Worth the investment!