Closet Confidential: Style Secrets Learned the Hard Way [Paperback]

Winona Dimeo-Ediger (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 15, 2009

With the economy in a nosedive, more women than ever are looking for ways to achieve haute couture without the hefty price tag. Author Winona Dimeo-Ediger mixes self-deprecating wit, fashion smarts, and bargain-bin savvy to help women become divas on a dime. She divides the book into 12 handy chapters covering everything from shopping for jeans (while retaining one-third of one's self-esteem and half of one's paycheck) to hiding love handles to the ever-elusive looking good while jogging. Closet Confidential also contains hilarious and useful charts, graphs, and quizzes, including Maslow's Hierarchy of Jeans, the Cumulative Bra Knowledge Exam, the Purse Color Wheel, before concluding with Putting It All Together, a collection of eight go-to outfits that guarantee you'll look great for any occasion you can name.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Every once in a great while, I’ll get a student applying for a Nonfiction class whose writing sample makes me say: "Good lord. Who is this?" And: "Say, how do I get to take credit for their success?" In fact, I can count just three people who I’ve had

About the Author

In addition to her high-traffic blog, Winona Dimeo-Ediger writes about fashion for National Geographic magazine's website. She lives in Portland, OR.

Product Details

• Paperback: 176 pages
• Publisher: Sasquatch Books (September 15, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1570616159
• ISBN-13: 978-1570616150
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 0.5 x 8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #470,086 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars (insert "Daddy Likey" pun here), October 4, 2009

By 

C. E. Barbour "speed reader" (Ithaca, NY) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Closet Confidential: Style Secrets Learned the Hard Way (Paperback)

As a longtime reader of Winona Dimeo-Ediger's blog (the highly touted and perpetually giggle-inducing DaddyLikey.blogspot.com), I feel almost like cheating when I write this review. It stands to reason, though, that I am actually highly qualified to write it, seeing as it could be possible that Winona has sold out, and only a "true fan" could set the record straight.

Fortunately, the record has not gone astray, and neither has Winona's engaging, inviting prose. Honestly, Daddy Likey made me like fashion again; I was strung out on mags and blogs that crowed "to DIE" and waxed rhapsodical over yet another pair of those stupid latex leggings. Winona does neither of these things. Her voice is new and honest and dishy and welcoming and conspiratorial all at once, like you've stumbled across your (well-dressed, wittier) best friend or older sister's blog and they're just so darn excited to share it with you.

And her book does not disappoint. We like Winona because she likes silly things, weird things, and quirky things, and champions finding one's own style in a way that, for once, rings true. Don't like leggings? Don't wear them. Don't like skinny jeans? Don't wear them. Don't like clothes? Well, this is not quite the book (or, indeed, the blog) for you, but I'm sure you'll still enjoy it. Winona offers sound, concrete advice on everything from oxford shirts to black tights and all the accoutrements in between, while remaining her breezy, hilarious self. She lays it all out in such a straightforward, honest, and optimistic way that, after reading Closet Confidential, I was inspired and excited to go back into my own closet. Winona makes me want to write better and to dress better. I love her book.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing Read!, November 13, 2009

By 

N. Castro - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Closet Confidential: Style Secrets Learned the Hard Way (Paperback)

Closet Confidential: Style Secrets Learned the Hard Way is a book full of everyday fashion tips for all types of women, and although I am not a woman, I found her book to be completely hilarious. With confidence, I can safely compare her humor to the likes of another one of my favorite authors, David Sedaris. Whether she reminisces about past hilarious memories of her family, or tells a story of spending your life on a deserted island with only ten thousand bobby pins to live with, she writes in such a personal way that it makes you feel like you've known her all your life.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Funny and practical for the price of one, December 3, 2009

By 

E. Color - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Closet Confidential: Style Secrets Learned the Hard Way (Paperback)

Winona is incredibly funny, practical, and easy to relate. Often I would read a passage and laugh, thinking, "That happens to me!" or "That's so true!" Beside just being funny, there is a lot of pragmatic advice that all of us should keep in mind when dealing with fashion.