1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A fashion guide entwined with a common sense business guide, October 10, 2008
This review is from: Dress Like the Big Fish: How to Achieve the Image You Want and the Success You Deserve (Paperback)
A man with greasy long hair, torn jeans, and an Iron Maiden T-Shirt is never going to strike anyone as a successful business man, so why should they be treated as such. "Dress Like the Big Fish: How to Achieve the Image You Want and the Success You Deserve" is a fashion guide entwined with a common sense business guide for readers who are achieving enough to deserve it, but seem so often overlooked. First impressions matter, and "Dress Like the Big Fish" is a guide to taking advantage of them.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
5 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Lack of research undermines this book's utility, December 20, 2010
This review is from: Dress Like the Big Fish: How to Achieve the Image You Want and the Success You Deserve (Paperback)
So you want to learn how to make a better impression? Well, you'll be hard pressed to learn it here. While the author vaguely outlines some elements of a professional wardrobe, he supplies little justification for his narrow perspective and sweeping generalizations. For example, in mens suits the author dissuades the gentleman from wearing anything other than black, navy or charcoal--a ridiculously narrow selection, and one likely to put off both sales prospects and employees. While the author does supply some interesting information on leather and fabric, it comes across as designed to goad the customer into buying the most expensive merchandise, not enable the most functional wardrobe at the most reasonable price.
And therein lies the rub. Nowhere are there rationale for this author's choices, nor any references to research done in the field of professional dress. What one is left with is the opinion of a clothes salesperson, and while the author has 30 years experience selling clothes this does not establish him as an authority on what one should wear and *why*. Is an auto salesperson an authority on automobile design? Would you purchase an auto by handing your checkbook to the showroom floor rep? Then why would you let a salesperson choose your career path? One can understand that a salesperson might skimp on background reading, but authors should meet a higher standard.
Part of the difficulty with guides of this sort is a lack of focus. Do I really need to know how a belt is made? If I wear a less expensive belt with a suit, will this make a difference? Does this decision vary regionally across the country? Like innumerable authors before him, the big fish slips through Lerner's fingers, leaving him digressing into minutae which are of varying value (though I personally found them interesting). What the public pines for is a book addressing what actually, *measurably*, works for women and men in the workplace and how to most economically achieve this look.
There is good news for men: work attire for gentlemen is steeped in tradition, not fashion, so authorities do exist. If you desire a first book on gentlemanly appearance, the slightly dated "John Molloy's New Dress for Success" is based on his research, not sales opinion--one can update the look to styles of today once one understands the consequences of the clothing. A used copy of this book can be easily had on Ebay if not here, and the content quality handily exceeds Lerner's effort. If fashion is a gentleman's desire, perhaps to bait a longed-for woman of taste, I recommend "Dressing the Man" by Alan Flusser. His analysis of tricky color and pattern combinations is second to none. If considering other titles, I recommend previewing them with a critical eye toward discerning what the reasoning behind the advice is (if there is any at all).
Unfortunately, while guides do exist for women I know of none which adequately captures the current trends in clothing and style for the workplace. Writers and researchers would do a great service to many by meeting this need through a non-sexist but thorough treatise which acknowledges past and current sociological research on the effects of clothing.
In short, this book fails the needs of its primary prospective buyer: a woman or man seeking to understand the consequences of choices in workplace clothing. Try fishing elsewhere. The pond here is small and filled with naught but minnows.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
4 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Uninspired, January 21, 2009
This review is from: Dress Like the Big Fish: How to Achieve the Image You Want and the Success You Deserve (Paperback)
Dress Like the Big Fish: How to Achieve the Image You Want and the Success You Deserve
As the author says on the cover, this is "...for men and women going through career transition or just entering the workforce". I didn't get this in reviewing the book for purchase. I was expecting to learn how to look refined but with a sense of personal style, with a creative touch. This is strictly high-quality, possibly slightly dowdy, uniform dresing.
The suggested wardrobe in this book was definitive of the smartly dressed woman in business in 1975. While the author says there's currently a return to traditional dress, this is very, very conservative. The book is excellent in giving a strong foundation in everything a butler of a rich man or woman would know about selecting clothes, the details about putting them together expertly and cleaning and maintaing them. For the college graduate just going into corporate business, the suggestions would be great for the interiew and probably the first day at work, but don't load the boat until you've been there.
I would have liked to see more about how to weave in the appropriate amount of 2008 personality.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
