How to Walk in High Heels: The Girl's Guide to Everything [Hardcover]

Camilla Morton (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 30, 2006

The bestselling U.K. sensation, hailed as "the most fabulous instruction manual the world has ever seen" by Vogue.com

Can you make yourself up in five minutes flat? Make the first move without breaking a sweat? Hang a picture without becoming unhinged? Get out of a car -- or an unpleasant situation -- gracefully in a short skirt? Load an iPod as effortlessly as a dishwasher? If not, international style and fashion journalist Camilla Morton can help you navigate these and more than two hundred other hazards of modern living with grace and aplomb. Much more than just a style manual or crash course in social skills, How to Walk in High Heels also illuminates the finer points of achieving better homes and gardens, tackling technophobia, climbing the career ladder, and joining the jet set.

From the practical, such as what to do when a heel breaks and how to catch a mouse, to the imaginative, such as how to enjoy karaoke and swim in sunglasses, How to Walk in High Heels overflows with useful nuggets of advice delivered in the author’s inimitable witty style, accompanied by a foreword from Dior’s John Galliano and a Louis Vuitton trunkful of insight from experts including: -Manolo Blahnik on How to Pick a Shoe -Dolce & Gabbana on How to Get Ready in Five Minutes -Gisele Bundchen on How to Look Good in a Photo -Jade Jagger on How to Compile Your Own Soundtrack

This comprehensive do-everything-better bible takes the guesswork out of flaunting your fabulousness so that you can stop teetering and start striding confidently through the obstacle course of life.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"How to Walk in High Heels promises to teach you everything you always wanted to know about life, fashion, music, art and electronics but were too embarrassed to ask." -- Zink

"A chic how-to-manual, tackling everything from career advice to looking tip-top in photos." -- Teen Vogue

"A sexy, savvy guide that will get you through far more than just fashion week." -- Newsweek.com

"As a friend of Manolo Blahnik's a member of John Galliano's inner circle, and a veteran fashion journalist, Morton is certainly qualified to dish out advice on modern living." -- Gotham

"In her wildly practical new book How to Walk in High Heels: The Girl's Guide to Everything, Camilla Morton offers answers to style dilemmas such as how to select the right stilettos for you." -- People

"Just what every modern girl needs." -- Glamour UK

"You'll obsess over Camilla Morton's new book . . . Forget Martha Stewart and Peggy Post: this is the modern-day must-have." -- Vanity Fair

"You’ll wonder how you ever survived without [it]." -- In Style UK

About the Author

Camilla Morton is a London-based fashion writer for newspapers and fashion magazines. She is the runway reporter for Vogue.com, covering all international collections. She also contributes to Harper’s Bazaar UK and is a fashion writer for Time magazine’s Style and Design supplement. She was formerly the London fashion writer for Harper’s Bazaar. Natasha Law was born and raised in London. Her work appears frequently in the UK Sunday Times Style Section.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 448 pages
• Publisher: Hyperion (August 30, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1401302750
• ISBN-13: 978-1401302757
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 6 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (25 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #269,809 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

60 of 61 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Alot of Fluff, not much Stuff., April 15, 2007

By 

Beijing Bookworm (San Francisco, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: How to Walk in High Heels: The Girl's Guide to Everything (Hardcover)

I agree with the person that said this was the equivalent of a bunch of magazine tidbits. There is ALOT of nothing in here... things that I could've gathered on my own. It was quite disappointing on so many levels. Barely entertaining bathroom reading?! Yes, but not for the price and hype. Here are some low-lights in this first half of the book.

How to be stylish: "remember a good pair of shoes can make any outfit. Likewise, a bad pair can do irrevocable damage." (Okay, so what's a good pair and a bad pair?)

Half a page on how to stick to a gym membership summed up: Tell everyone. Ideally go with a friend. Know what will scare you into action. (DUH.)

How to swim in shades (summarized): wrap a rubber band around each arm of the shades. Then make an inconspicuous ponytail with a small strand of hair to keep the shades in place. (Sounds like a breeze.)

Hair: Dry shampoo is perfect for reviving bands. (Proceeds to offer how to for teasing hair into a big bouffant, no pictures included. At least in magazines there are pictures.)

Tips for the salon: dress to impress, giving the stylist some inspiration. Be prepared (ie-bring a book for the down time.) Do not opt for a style that you cant re-create (Duh.) Know the style that suits your face (DUH) and get your punchline out before the dryer is on (as you and your stylist cant hear as well when the dryer is on).

How to deal with bad hair days: wear a hat. (This takes up two pages. Two additional pages on "how to wear a hat".)

Some of the biggest disappoints:

How to deal with unpleasant situations covers how to avoid the flu "keep your hands clean... eat fruits and vegetables..."; how to apply adhesive bandages, how to be stylish in a sling; how to use toilets at concert venues; how to pick up dog doo with style...

How to survive an occasion "weddings, funerals & birthdays". (The book skimps on the most important aspect... gifts!) "If they have a wedding list, go for it. If all you can afford is a sugar-bowl lid, so be it." (Did I need a book for this?!)

How to dance: "Invest in VH1 and MTV- watch the videos and learn". (If it were all that easy, we'd all be dancing like Beyonce and Justin Timberlake, no?!) Precedes to outline the moves to the tango with no foot charts or pictures.

How to grill bacon, sausage, and tomato: Generously piece and put under grill, and flip when they look done.

How to get a mortgage: all you need to do is go to Google, type in "mortage broker," et voila. (sounds fail proof to me, seeing as there are very few internet scams out there nowadays)

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Save your money!, September 6, 2007

By 

Melissa Chattaraj - See all my reviews
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This review is from: How to Walk in High Heels: The Girl's Guide to Everything (Hardcover)

You barely have to read a page or two into the excerpt here to see that you will not get the best advice here. What kind of advice does it give for emphasizing the waist? Low slung pants, cropped tops, and belly piercings. SERIOUSLY? That's about the worst fashion advice I've ever heard. Maybe that's ok for sassy little 15 year olds, but it is the farthest thing from classy, and not usually appropriate or flattering! Honestly, the advice in this book, save for a few words of wisdom from some bona fide experts, is at best fluff, and at worst just plain bad.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Only if you were neglected, January 9, 2009

By 

Elisabeth A. Gibbs (Los Angeles Ca) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: How to Walk in High Heels: The Girl's Guide to Everything (Hardcover)

If you didn't have a momma to teach you what's what, maybe you would buy this book. Still would be a rank substitute for a few classic movies and an observant eye towards REAL class. Come now, ladies. Anything that tells you to watch Mtv? Devil's highway. Better paths to walk, the icons never needed a book cause they KNEW.