Customer Reviews

How Not to Look Fat

5 star:		(21)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Danica Lo is compassionate, sassy, fun, and thankfully, brutally honest. When we ask the question, "Do I look fat in that?", we generally know the answer already, and Danica Lo tells us how to make sure that every view is as appealing as it can be so we don't have to ask that anymore.

Since Lo was a plus-size model, curvier ladies can rest assured that they are in good hands. She understands our insecurities and gives great advice on undergarments, business attire, casual wear, gym clothes, etc - in short, all of the places where we need some fasion help to smooth our lumps and bumps. I am a size six (used to be a size twelve) and I found her advice for my current body resonated with me, as did her advice for people with more curves.

Her honesty about what works and what doesn't may be hard for some people to take, because she is clear almost to the point of bluntness at times, but I thought the advice was all very solid. She has a really fun writing style and uses amusing nicknames for all of our jiggly bits so that we can smile and maybe start to make peace with our "badonkadonks", for example.

There are lots of line drawings and illustrations in the book which show each tip and trick. They weren't nearly as good as photos would have been, because the drawings were often of ladies with very idealized (read: skinny) proportions (even when offering a tip for larger ladies or for a problem area), but they did help show what she was talking about.

I hope there will be a second edition with photographs.

I love this book so much that as soon as I had a chance to look through it I called up my best friend and told her she had to get herself a copy, #1 because it's that good, and #2 because I'm not willing to part with mine, even for her! Now if that's not a glowing recommendation, I don't know what is!

Seems most self-help books nowadays are a lot of filler and little substance, be they about health, dieting, relationships--you name it. They take what should be 100 pages max and stretch it into 250 or more. Danica Lo doesn't play that game. Her book is a relatively slender book, sized just right to slip into your purse, and heavily laminated to withstand being carted around with you on your shopping excursions, too. But it is chock full of useful information on every single page, with nary a word wasted.

She is an ex-plus size model, so she really knows her stuff, too. She covers everything from what shape heel your shoe should have to what hairstyle you should wear, to everything in between, including undergarments, pocket placement, cut, style, hem length, necklines--everything.

Honestly, I've only had a chance to flip through the book and read selected sections so far, and already I feel like it's been money well spent. Danica Lo's writing is real, funny, practical, and right on target. Get this book!

Hey, watch tv and put on one of the reality shows or better yet, one with a studio audience. Closely watch someone not "professionally" dressed by a studio maven. The same person can look pounds thinner and better if they put on the right clothes.

This book has ideas on shoes, hair, accessories and colors. Black does NOT necessarily make you look thin, for example. If you have a trouble spot (a thick waist, for example), sweaters that end right at the waist are just going to point like a huge neon sign to your less-than-ideal parts.

If you are planning a job interview and you just haven't gotten around to that makeover and spa treatment, I'd suggest you pick a copy of this book up right away.

I bought this book because I'm preparing for a trip abroad, and I have no idea what to wear. I'm a closet fashionista (as I wanna believe) trapped in a fashion victim body and really needed Danica's honest, relatable and humorious guidance for everyday fashion. I read the whole book, organized my closet, made a shopping list, and gained peace of mind all in one night from reading this potent little handbook.

The only drawbacks to the book are that it assumes all its readers are petite and pear shaped. Well, I for one am not petite (I'm 5'9) and not pear shaped (I gain weight all over), don't have small feet and definitely don't enjoy shoe shopping. Plus, she didn't address what tall girls who don't want to appear too tall should do. For instance, I love heels, but that would put me at 6 feet tall, a little more than I'm comfortable with. There's also a semi attack launched against the butt in attempts to make it smaller. Well, in my culture the aim is to emphasize the butt's shape and not hide it, so I wish her tips in this way were more inclusive. Lastly, women with real bodies don't all worship celebrities. She makes countless mentions and comparisons to supermodels. I know they look great in magazines, but real women look great in real life. In fact, reading this book makes me wonder if I should try to be skinny so I can wear nearly whatever I want.

But back to the positives (as there as many), this book has it all including flattering hair cuts for various face shapes (info i've been searching forever for), tricks for special occasions (come on, you gotta love the 'undone pant button' trick), and the funny illustrations making all her suggestions crystal clear. Overall, this is the perfect guide to start looking great now.

How Not to Look Fat is very useful. It's written by a former plus sized model who is young and has sophisticated taste. As other reviewers have said Danica is blunt. She tells you the truth-- your back fat and muffin tops look horrible and she tells you what to do to camouflage them. This book feels very much like you have your own personal non-emotionally attached to you stylist. And most importantly, she's right. Unless you have a neck like a swan those mock turtlenecks do make you look fat.

How Not to Look Fat is very entertaining, has lots of gossipy fun and you pick up good information. I'm glad I bought it and I'd give copies of it as gifts.

A real friend is one that tells you the truth, and Danica Lo's book, is my new best friend. I'm a size 10, and I don't consider myself fat, until I start putting clothes on, then it gets ugly. Until now, I never realized that I could wear certain things for my body type that would help me look the way I felt. When I put something on and instantly felt fat, I just thought that I was wearing the wrong size, or that I was just bloated that day. But, my new best friend told me what I was doing wrong, and now I'm feeing pretty confident that the next time I go shopping for clothes, I'll be buying the right clothes for me.
The great thing about Danica Lo's book, is that it doesn't stop with just clothes. It tells you HOW NOT TO LOOK FAT by changing your hairstlyle, your shoes, your handbag, your makeup, your posture, your smell, yes scents that you can wear to make you smell thinner. Who would have thought, well Danica did, and she thought of everything and it's all in the book. Thank you Danica Lo, for introducing me to my new best friend.

I haven't made it very far into the book, probably just a few first chapters and I have to say I am already very resistant to a lot of the suggestions: wearing control top granny panties, wearing other types of 'slimming' body wear underneath your regular clothes...I decided that was too restraining a long time ago and I don't think it helps any with regard to comfort. However, she does have some great advice for finding jeans that look good and mentions taking into account that the width of the lower leg of a jean or pant for heavier women should be equal or greater than the width of the woman's thigh, that way visually you look slimmer on your thighs. With tips like this even a non restraining-underwear wearing lady can find ways to look better. I recommend it but advise women to decide for themselves what works for them in terms of comfort.

OK, so most of us don't need tips on posing for the papparazzi, but that doesn't mean Lo's advice is irrelevant. Haven't we all found ourselves stalked by a camera lens only to wish the pictures captured us in a more flattering light? Take a look at the plus-sized women modeling jeans on the Lands End web site; many of them are shown in 3/4 view to appear more slimming. Works, eh? Speaking of photographs, Lo's tip about camoflaging that pesky double chin by pressing your tongue up against the soft palate on the roof of your mouth was not only hilarious (gobble gobble), but it works.

I wanted to like this book, and like it I did. To be sure, you can find more helpful advice (with pictures) in similar books of this genre, but Danica Lo treats the issue with humor and some very good tips I hadn't yet read elsewhere. Her advice about standing up straight was nothing we haven't heard from our mothers, but it's still a very good reminder. I actually stood in front of my full-length mirror and watched myself lose 10 pounds every time I went from a debutante slouch to a ballerina stance. Another oldie but goodie is the revival of the "undershirt." Lo posits that wearing something smooth and silky beneath our blouses and knits will prevent those top layers from grabbing onto the dreaded bra fat, and she was right. My tops now gently skim, rather than cling. It's nice to not have to tug at my top every time I stand up.

I enjoyed other tips, such as finding boots for wide calves and slimming your upper torso with v-necklines and 3/4 sleeves to focus on slender wrists. The suggestion about choosing substantial knits over jersey (to glide over back bulges) was excellent, as was the tip on making sure the hem of a pant leg was close to the same width as the thigh (e.g., bootleg over tapered).

Rather than have readers feel we need to apologize for our curves, Lo asks us to wear items that gently skim them, to spotlight our best areas, and we all have them. No shapeless dresses with large prints or baggy pants found here. As for the "restrictive" undergarments, I haven't yet braved the waters of granny panties or SPANX, but there did come a sad day where I realized my badonkadonk would be much better served -- not to mention greet anyone following behind me in a much more friendly manner -- if I were to exchange my thongs for some firm microfiber hipsters.

I've always been a girl with, um, a little something extra (LOL!) and I've tried diet after diet, but nothing works! That's what was so fresh and fun about this book by Danica Lo. She doesn't try to preach to you about losing weight; she tells you how to work with what you've got and choose the look that works best for you and your body...which we all need help with right ladies??? Her advice is smart and direct and honest; I laughed out loud and felt like I knew Danica Lo when I was reading it! I bought this book last week and have read it three times since -- I haven't read such good, solid advice in a looooong time! Buy this book!

Many books on fashion, and how to dress seemed to be filled with many complicated tips that take forever to explain. Danica Lo puts together many tips on fashion, hair, makeup, and more that do an excellent job in making you look your best. Her book is concise and not filled with extra fluff. She puts all of her information in short chapters that are concise and very informative.

I like that her book is small enough to put into your purse. Maybe like you, I am a fan of "What Not To Wear". You can't stuff their books into a purse and take with you when you go shopping, but this book you can. I like that she includes diagrams of everything so you know exactly what she is talking about when she makes her suggestions.

This book is a real must have. Her tips on fashion, hair, and make up, will take you far. This book is not written for anyone of a particular size, as we all have faults no matter what size we are. If you are looking to jazz up the way you look, grab this book, and let Danica Lo do her magic on you.