Customer Reviews

Harper's Bazaar Great Style: Best Ways to Update Your Look

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

This is one of the best style/fashion books currently in publication and - trust me - I have looked. I am a big fan of Harper's Bazaar magazine, with its glossy spreads and entertaining, clever articles so this book was on my 'must have' list as soon as I discovered its pending publication in Amazon.

This book doesn't disappoint. Fans of magazines like In Style and People Stylewatch will love how this book blends a traditional style guide with the world of fashion and entertainment. Case in point, the Table of Contents covers the following:

(1) The Basics - how to build the 'ultimate wardrobe'; the essentials; the basics; what to spend on and what to save on; and more. Among my favorites? The "Shopping Calendar" which covers what to buy at what time of the year, and "How Many" which covers how many sweaters, tshirts, coats, etc. any well-stocked wardrobe should really have.

(2) Personal Style - how to develop your own style; covers top fashion icons of yesterday and today; and the various fashion personalities (ie. Jackie Onassis and Jennifer Aniston as "classicists," Madonna as a "maverick," Kate Hudson and Sienna Miller as "bohemians," Halle Berry and Jennifer Lopez as "bombshells," and so on).

(3) Fabulous at Every Age - how to look your best at every age as well as top fashion icons in every age group (and proof that you can look stylish and fashionable even well into your 70s and 80s)

(4) Celebrate Your Shape - how to dress for your shape; covers the various "shapes" as well as celebrity examples

(5) Office Elegance - dressing appropriately for work; office-wear essentials

(6) Evening Glam - party looks; tips on dressing for that special occasion or night out.

(7) Casual Chic - casual dressing; building a casual clothing wardrobe; various casual looks; weekend style.

(8) The Best Extras - accessories, accessories, accessories!! (yes, bags, shoes, jewelry, and more).

(9) Lingerie Essentials - building a basic lingerie wardrobe.

The book doesn't get too bogged down with words and text - instead, the tips and ideas are concise and straightforward and makes perfect use of the phrase "a picture is worth a thousand words." For instance, instead of rambling on and describing a classic trench, the reader is provided with 3 examples of why a trench is universally flattering, a picture of a classic trench, and pictures of celebrities wearing trench coats. Another example is the section about the LBD (little black dress) - we are provided with a few paragraphs of why a little black dress is a wardrobe essential, 4 pictures of celebrities wearing their own version of the LBD, 5 pictures of various black dress styles, and even more pictures of accessories that work well with a LBD.

Readers who like visuals will love the gorgeous glossy color pictures of celebrities and clothing/accessory pieces. Those who are familiar with Harper's Bazaar magazines beautiful and elegant fashion spreads will be happy to note that similar attention has been given to this book. It is perfect as a resource guide for fashionistas, a style guide for those who want to improve their wardrobe or just need fashion help, and also makes a very attractive coffee table book. If you plan to buy one fashion/style book this season, then I very highly recommend Harper's Bazaar's Great Style.

wardrobe-building-and-fashion type guides on the market today. Beats the cr*p out of In Style's books. Filled with good advice, beautiful lay out and design. I will refer to it often.

This book was amazing!! So many great tips, ideas and tidbits that really help! And it was easy and enjoyable to read (or in my case, devour). Its all right there in one place! I consider it the new bible of style!

I bought the book after reading some of the reviews. I am glad I did because it is one of the best. It is clear, well oranized and very helpful.

This book is a classic and I cannot see it ever going out of style. For anyone serious about updating their wardrobe or changing thier style via a self made fashion makeover, I highly recommend this book. Filled with great advice and great glossy pictures!

I am a Bazaar magazine subscriber and it is my favorite amongst its competitors. The magazine contains real fashion advice for updating your seasonal wardrobe and makeup rather than a deluge of ads. Naturally, I had high hopes for the book. However, I was to put it mildly - grossly disappointed. It did not deliver on the title - Best Ways to Update Your Look. The pictures of the Hollywood Set (that we just can't escape) were less than flattering or exemplary of great style. In many cases I thought they contradicted the fashion advice throughout the book. While I was disappointed, this book is well organized and contains information for wardrobe structuring and maintenance that just might last a lifetime and for that it deserves applause!

Agree with reviewer Ginny, this book is a waste of time, which is surprising since I think the magazine has some good information. Pictures of celebs which will quickly become dated and frankly a lot of them don't look very good, at least not something I would want to emulate. The new book "How not to look old" or the "Budget Fashionista" are far superior with useful, practical information that a real person could use to update their look. Glad I got this from the library instead of buying it.

This book was recommended on a fashion site blog. The book is an A-Z guide for all sizes and ages. Definitely one that I will use as a resource.

This book is a great find - I don't understand why it took the fashion world so long to deliver what everyone has been asking for... practical advice on updating your wardrobe, how to select timeless pieces, and manage your closet. There is also great pictures and inspiration woven throughout. It makes a great gift too! I gave it to several friends as gifts and they all love it. Everyone can learn from this book.

Overall a pretty good book. First chapter of the book is dedicated to talking about the wardrobe basic building blocks, such as

1. Dark lean suit
2. Pencil skirt or a-line skirt if more suitable for your body type0
3. Crisp white shirt
4. Great pair of jeans
5. Little black dress

In addition to basic building blocks, the book talks about classics that are worth having regardless of current trands, such as white t-shirts, cashmere cardigan, white jeans, trousers, shift dress, tuxedo, boucle jacket, trench coat, and camel overcoat.

Then there is a list of items worth splurging on as well as the items one could save on.

Splurge list: Coat, chunky knits, such as cashmere sweaters, dressy blouses, furs, cocktail dresses and evening gowns.

Save list: jeans, pants, skirts, button-up shirts, lightweight knits, tank tops and t-shirts.

I totally agree with saving on t-shirts since in order to look good, they need to be replaced often and thus are not worth splurging on. Although personally, I prefer white t-shirts and tank tops from quality cotton even though I always avoid paying much for them, trying to catch them on big sales.

For the most part I found advice in the book reasonable and useful but a few things were not to my liking. Like, for instance, the calendar on when to shop for what. The calendar in the book recommends to shop for seasonal items BEFORE season starts when seasonal clothes are the most expensive. I believe that if one is not in search of the current trends but is stocking up on basics, it's better to shop for seasonal item AFTER the season has began, or towards the end of the season. this was you will have exactly what you want for much less.

Next chapter talks about personal style and various style personalities:

The Classicists (Jackie O)
The Bombshells (Sophia Loren)
The Bohemians (Jane Birkin)
The Ladies (Grace KellY)
The Mavericks(cate Blanchett)
The Minimalists (kate Winslet)
the Electrics (Gwen Stefani)

Then another chapter is dedicated to whatis most appropriate by age group (20s,30s,40s etc.), followed by a chapter on what's most flattering for various shapes.


then the following chapters talk about

Office wear
Evening wear
Casual wear

Chapter on casual wear again has a number of different casual style types:


Preppy
Glam
Sporty
Urban
Country
Jet-Set
Boho
Romantic
Rocker

The last two chapters talk about accessories and lingerie. Every chapter is generously illustrated with celebrity photos