Dressing Smart in the New Millennium [Paperback]

JoAnna Nicholson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 1999

One of America's leading image consultants outlines the do's and don'ts of dressing smart for all occasions.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

You're smart, you're talented, and you look like a million dollars...your head-to-toe image can help you land your dream job or the man you've been dreaming about! Your appearance influences the way people perceive you and the way you behave. Look as if you don't have a clue, and people perceive you don't know much-look great and people think you know more than you do!

Designed as a quick and easy reference, this candid book:

* Trains your eye so you can become your very own image consultant. * Shows you how you can break all of the old rules except for two... * Lets you develop your own best "million dollar looks" without spending any more money than you do now-maybe even less! * Teacher you what the most important accessory is-and it's FREE! * Shows you how full length mirrors, not diamonds, are a girl's best friend.

About the Author

JoAnna Nicholson is President of Color 1 Associates, Inc., International Image & Style Consultants. As a founder of the image industry, she is a recipient of the prestigious Image Industry Council International (IICI) Award of Excellence and the IMMIE Award for Commitment, and has been a dynamic force in the industry for 25 years. JoAnna, the author of four books, trains image and style consultants all over the world and she has been an instructor and director of self-improvement in a fashion merchandising college, is a former model, and co-founder of an interior desing studio. Her home, which she designed using the Color 1 Concept, has been featured in Architectural Digest and Italian Architectural Digest.

Lecturing internationally and nationally on color, style, wardrobe, makeup, and interior design, JoAnna has conducted seminars at the invitation of the American Embassy in Paris. Her television and radio appearances include the Montel Williams Show and the Larry King Show.

JoAnna's other books, How to Be Sexy Without Looking Sleazy, 110 Mistakes Working Women Make & How to Avoid Them: Dressing Smart in the '90s, and Color Wonderful, have been featured in Bazaar, Cosmopolitan, Redbook, Complete Woman, Woman's Own and over 100 newspapers.

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Impact Publications; 1 edition (October 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1570231214
• ISBN-13: 978-1570231216
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.1 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (22 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,756,506 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

56 of 59 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Too Cutesy By Far, March 1, 2000

By 

Mary Becelia (Fredericksburg VA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dressing Smart in the New Millennium (Paperback)

Let me preface this by saying that I work in the field of career counseling, so matters of professional attire are central to my work.

Having said that, I must note that I have been astounded to see all the rave reviews of this book. Not that it is a terrible book, but it simply is NOT THAT GOOD. For one thing, the author writes in a very cutsey manner, calling underwear "underlovelies" as one example. Another problem with this book, as I see it, is that there are no illustrations. Surely a book on image and dress should include some visuals!

While this book is certainly comprehensive and the information it imparts did strike me as being on the money, I could not get beyond Ms. Nicholson's chatty writing style...I felt it diminished her credibility. I much prefer THE COMPLETE IDIOT's GUIDE TO SUCCESSFUL DRESSING by Karyn Repinski or even MASTERING YOUR PROFESSIONAL IMAGE, by Stephanie Petersen. While a bit outdated (1995) the latter book has wonderful sketches of different looks and provides good,solid advice.

54 of 57 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars I Hope She Dresses Better Than She Writes ..., February 1, 2000

By 

CEO Editor, An Organized Home (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dressing Smart in the New Millennium (Paperback)

Count me in as another perplexed reader wondering how on earth this book has scored so much positive press. Even under the lax standard extended to self-help titles, this book is a disaster: poorly written, disorganized and ultimately unhelpful.

Did I say poorly written? The author reads like a graduate of the Cosmo Girl School of Writing, and the editor who passed this manuscript ought to be hauled in for an eye exam. Multiple exclamation points compete with italic, boldface and all-caps emphasis, all within in the same sentence.

The book has no discernable organizational structure, just a rambling series of 200 "Smart Tips" (and, yes, this author puts every other phrase in quotation marks). Someone new to wardrobe planning would have no idea where to start, not in the book and not in her closet. Nor is there an index or a comprehensible table of contents to help the reader.

Even being firm with myself and putting away the metaphorical red pencil, I still hated it. The content is insufficient and uneven. For example, there are no illustrations, line drawings, or color charts. None. There are literally no graphics anywhere in a book about clothing, color and style.

Too many of the "Smart Tips" are sketchy, bulleted lists of catch-phrases. It's as if the author cribbed a substantial portion of this book from training transparencies.

Then there are the annoying little self-adulation events, averaging one every other page. This author claims to have "founded" (yes, I "caught" Quotation Mark Fever from her!) the "color and image consultant industry"; she name-drops alleged clients every third paragraph, and makes constant references to her illustrious career, business, modeling experience, sexiness and all-round perfection. The absolute kicker is the entire "Smart Tip" which warns the reader against retaining any color consultant NOT "trained by me, or by one of my fabulous directors of training!"

I am put in mind of the old adage, "The rabbi who must praise himself has a congregation of one."

I think this lady probably knows her stuff, and could likely do a good job in a one-on-one setting. IF you can get past the dreadful writing, the lack of organization, the absence of graphic help and the bragging, bragging, bragging, she has a few reasonable tips and pointers. However, the book's defects render it unusable.

Instead, for style development, try the lusciously-illustrated, comprehensive and positive "Triumph of Individual Style" by Carla Mathis and Helen Connor. For a traditional, straightforward wardrobe and style guide, you can't beat "Looking Good" by Nancy Nix-Rice.

36 of 37 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars A book about color & clothing, with no color or illustration, May 13, 2001

By 

A. Teshima (California, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Dressing Smart in the New Millennium (Paperback)

First off, I'm not a career counselor, wardrobe stylist or even an artist. I tend to just throw stuff on in the morning for work (fortunately I have a job that doesn't require a "corporate suit" look). I ended up picking up this book mostly because there were some handy tips -- things like what length skirt goes with what type of shoes, etc. that I thought I could use.

However, I'm perplexed that a book that focuses so much on clothing styles and colors has not a SINGLE illustration or color panel! Does the author assume I know what an A-line skirt is, or that I can tell the difference between coral and pink-coral in my mind? She places particular emphasis on your skin tone and its color, because that is how you base your entire wardrobe's color system. According to her, it is very important that I know the difference between coral and pink-coral... and that which I choose depends on what my skin tone is. However, aside from listing celebrities with certain skin tones, she never really explains how to judge your own skin tone. A comparison wheel or something -- ANYTHING -- would have been very helpful. The only color you get is the book's cover.

It's not until you read the middle of the book that you discover that the author is a founder of a color consultancy organization that charges people to find out what colors work best for them (the book's cover does not mention this). While I'm sure her certified consultants are quite good (after all, THEY must have that color chart that got left out of the book), after reading the book and visiting her Web site (which she advertises inside her book), I feel like I've just been sold one big infomercial on how to hire one of her consultants. Caveat emptor.