Customer Reviews

The Fine Art of Dressing: Make Yourself a Masterpiece by Dressing for Your Body Type

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

THE FINE ART OF DRESSING is possibly the most intriguing take on body shape I've ever read. Margaux Tartarotti, a teacher and fashion designer, applies the standard body-type shapes (hourglass, pear shape, etc.) and gives them all names based on the women portrayed by certain artists. For instance, the pear shape becomes the Modigliani, and the hourglass becomes the Pop-Art (think Warhol's Marilyn Monroe). Not only does this add sensuousness to the body type, but it makes each woman feel like her body-type is one to be admired, no matter what shape it takes.

Building off these six body types, the author gives a great deal of good advice, and several core outfits that accentuate the positives of each body type, while minimizing the weaknesses. Each body type is accompanied by many beautiful fashion-designer illustrations, including pictures that list what NOT to wear for your body type. In addition to information for specific body types, much general information is provided in regards to color, fabric, and ways to look your best.

I would highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to look elegant, sophisticated, and put-together. This is real information from someone who has made it her life's work to make women look beautiful, and who has taken notes from artists who portray beautiful women who are not limited to today's narrow definition of beauty.

I've read a lot of dressing/personal style books and this is definitely at the top of the list. It doesn't get into defining your personal style that much, but it shows you how to flatteringly dress for your body type. There is no recommended wardrobe - the author uses geometry, color and texture to hide or enhance elements of each body type - so you can work with what you have. The author defines 6 of them and though I wasn't exactly any one, I could easily combine elements from different types to determine what was right for me.

The drawings are extremely useful as are the charts in the front of each section that give an overview of what pants, skirts, etc... would look best. In the back of the book is another set of charts with almost all styles of clothes you could think of that summarizes the best/worst for each figure type.

After reading this book, I understood why certain styles didn't look quite right on me. This book showed me it wasn't the fit as many other books imply, it was just not a good choice for my body type.

This book is an absolute must for anyone interested in knowing which styles flatter your form and which ones don't.

Designer Margaux Tartarotti uses the works of master painters to describe the different body types. This allows the reader to feel that her body type, no matter which one, is something to rejoice in, not be ashamed of.

Packed with tips and easy to read charts, the reader can easily choose her most flattering styles. The author's drawings, thoughout the book, are worth the price alone!!

Lots of great information, from fabrics to styles to accessories. Easy to decipher your body type. Includes an easy to use guide for styles you may already own but aren't sure if they are flattering or not. I would recommend it for anyone who wants to look their best.

I was actually somewhat disappointed with this book after having read all the rave reviews. My basic disappointment is that my body type apparently doesn't exist. I don't fit clearly into any of the six catagories that the book outlines and so was left trying to guess which things in two categories applied to me.

The book does have a lot of useful drawings that can help choose appropriate clothing but I would much rather have had things organized by groups like tips for full hips or petite women. Having to try to cram myself into a category that I didn't really fit in made it more work than it should have been and left me wondering which tips to mix and match.

Wow, just about sums it up for this book. As I began to dress according to the recommendations from this book (I am the pop art figure), I began receiving compliments about the way I look! Even though I have weight to lose, it is much less obvious, and I feel very attractive, as my flaws are concealed. I went through my closet, weeded out everything that did not adhere to Margaux's suggestions, bought a few new things, and feel like I have lots of new outfits (mix and match), when in fact, I have fewer clothes....I just know how to wear what I have! Thanks, Margaux, for helping me look my absolute best!

I really enjoyed this book because it celebrated many different body types, showing how best to enhance each one. It can be frustrating that today there is such a narrow definition of "beauty" and this book goes beyond that.

I also enjoyed the concept of labeling each body type by the artist that celebrated that shape, as opposed to fruit labels, i.e., "pear" or "apple". For instance, the Rubens shape is all-over voluptuous and generous. That doesn't fit today's "ideals" but why shouldn't one be able to look lovely just the same?

I myself felt like I was somewhere in between Modigliani (very slender above the waist and curvy below) and a Renoir (similar shape, but more solid above the waist)...it depends on my weight. In any case, some of the same styles apply to both body shapes.

I can say that following the advice of empire-waist dresses and dresses with bolero jackets for the Modigliani shape has garnered me compliments, both from my husband (a spontaneous, "Wow! That looks really nice on you!") and from others. And that feels great.

The author includes detailed charts and drawings, which are indeed helpful. My problem with the book is the rigid categories for body types. My type is almost a Picasso, but deviates from some of the Picasso's key characteristics -- rendering most of the advice for this type useless. I'm somewhat of a Pop Art, too, and the advice for this type contradicted much of that for the Picasso, so I ended up feeling confused. I suggest checking for this book in your local library to determine if it's a worthwhile purchase for you.

I had hoped that this would be an interesting book providing a new perspective on dressing if you have a "Rubenesque" figure, but it was just the same old bull about how you need to wear enormous shapeless clothing to create a "flattering, slim" silhouette. Note to the world: enormous, shapeless clothes do not make you look slim, they make you look enormous and shapeless. In addition, even though this book was published in 1999, all of the suggested outfits look like they're from the 80s. No wonder it's out of print. I am giving the book 2 stars rather than 1, however, because it does have some nice appreciative descriptions of body types that aren't anorexic models. At least it was a cheap book...

This is an interesting book, it is in some ways a unique point of view. Each of the more or less standard body types is linked to the famous artist (or art style) that painted women of that type. It then suggests ways to dress that type body to it's best advantage.
This is a useful book, it will certainly get you thinking. It is up there in my big 3 on this subject, the Kendall Farr book (#1) and The Does This Make Me Look Fat #2 (maybe not the exact name) book which is useful if you take the black wardrobe advice and add bit of relief with color.
Some of the style advice is a tad dated. I am the *rubenesque* lady and a nicer designation could not be hoped for but I would not be caught dead in a safari jacket and when was the last time you saw anyone in stirrup pants?
That aside, this is a beautiful, well done book. Kudos to the author. it is out-of-print (of course, they can keep churning out Nora Roberts garbage but this they drop). It is worth finding.
I am usually stingy with praise but this book earns it.