Customer Reviews

Style Statement: Live by Your Own Design

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Maybe the ideas in this offering have helped some people sort out their issues with personal style. I found it ambiguous and trendy. Unless you come across it in the library (or donation pile where I just left it), I wouldn't suggest spending money on this book, even at a discount. Even then, to invest time in trying to understand their approach as how to evaluates one's statement of style, would be (in my opinion) a waste of energy. You'd probably find more fulfillment doing a crossword puzzle.

In the framework of spotty layout, adjectives-as-buzzwords galore and slick photography, Carrie and Danielle declare themselves as "style" experts. I did find them skilled in presenting pseudo-psycho babble and focused marketing efforts by advertising their consulting services through local (Canadian) TV appearances, networking events and a website. I used to visit their webpage as it offered good guest articles and poetry. There was a subtle "sell" of their services that I found annoying and stopped reading their webpage for a few months.

I returned to visit their site and found Danielle's daily posts were gone (upon reading previous posts, I found no explanation). Eventually, Carrie's posts no longer appeared. The website remains online (at this writing) as a spam-field of advertisements. Apparently, C&D are no longer a team, and the friends-forever hype has vaporized.

Danielle now has her own website. As in this book (which she now refers to as "her" book, without any mention of Carrie) she remains a marketing tool and appears on Canadian TV, writes for a magazine, and is still full of self-promotion and promises.

Hopefully, someone else would better appreciate my discarded copy of SS. I'd rather have spent the time and money invested in this book on several visits to the local cafe for a good coffee and genuine conversation.

some of you will remember that one of my "entering the thirties" celebrations was to treat myself to a style statement session with danielle laporte, of carrie&danielle, two fabulous ladies i refer to often on the site. well, the sad thing about people having a great idea is that it tends to get found out and more expensive. while i was able to get a consultation at a discounted $450 last august due to a deal for domino magazine readers, their incredible explosion onto the scene has moved their personal consult fee up to $2000 canadian dollars. wow. (and yay for them- i am dreaming for that day in my own career).

what to do for those who just can't shell out that much? (or those for whom $450, paid in monthly installments like i did was even a stretch.)

read the book. seriously. you will get so much out of just the book.

i had been excited about this book for a long time, partially because i love books, but also because i have wanted to have a way to send my own clients to a resource for the style statement experience. and at twenty-five dollars, this seems quite a reasonable recommendation.

the book is lush, weighty in a nice way, and beautifully laid out. case studies and their simple and direct language make reading the book a little retreat in itself. it seems to be the one that gets pulled off the coffee table the most often with cries of "ooo. what is this?"

the opportunity to crystallize your preferences and style is about much more than just fashion, as they make quite clear. having a sense of style includes values, both visual and otherwise. i have found that knowing i am "creative refinement" helps me orient in a world that has increasingly too many choices not to be overwhelming. having a little question to ask, "does this fit?", helps me find myself on a little raft that ensures i will be happy with whatever purchase or choice i have made.

so- don't wait. it's out and available now. make it your next indulgent read. i promise you will be much the richer for it.

Want to find out who you really are? The answers to the questions posed in Style Statement: Live By Your Own Design will give you the tools and motivation to live a life you truly love, embracing all those overt and hidden pieces of your "self". This is not a touchy-feely self-help book; it's a concrete roadmap towards authenticity. Embrace those things large and small that you love and present yourself to the world in a way that expresses them.

I had my Style Statement interview and in the intervening 3 months I have:
Cut bangs
Booked a trip to Alaska
Designed a secret garden for meditation in a small plot on the north side of my house (will start planting next week)
Started painting lessons
Cooked a paella
Been in "Ellen"'s audience
Begun working with a trainer at the gym

Life is good; this fabulous book will help you make the best of it!

Style Statement takes you on a journey of articulating who you are -- both the parts of you that are overt, fully formed and figured out; and as importantly, the parts of you that are in your core being but not always out in front for the world (or for you) to see. Two small words are where you end up after going through this delightful and insightful process. Two small words that clearly define who you are inside and outside. I am Constructive Nurture, and since learning this I've cleaned out my closet, gotten over morning wardrobe crises, merged my analytical being with my nurturing one, and changed my career focus. Its spectacularly gratifying and liberating.

I really looked forward to receiving this book after getting Danielle La Porte's "Fire Starter Sessions" from her blog, White Hot Truth (steep price, but excellent BTW). It's a beautiful book and an intriguing concept of selecting a personal style. There are no questionnaires or left-brained exercises (a good thing), mostly page after page of example people and accessories to match.

That's great, but it starts to feel like "I don't see my combo here." Logically, that's not possible with innumerable "Style Statement" word combinations--so I was left feeling confused, instead of exhilarated like I'd hoped. This concept probably works better with a facilitator, like Danielle, to personalize the experience (which she offered with her biz partner when they worked together).

This book is a good one to share or check out of the library for a fun few hours, but it's not a lifestyle changer.

I loved this book. I not only learned alot about who I am, but for the first time in my life I felt like I walked away with a solid feeling that who I am really does have a solid identity, and I now have two keywords to describe myself. CULTIVATED NATURAL. Has it changed my life completely? No. Did I enjoy going through the process? TREMENDOUSLY! I haven't ever taken so much time just for myself to consider my life, my habits, my preferences, etc. I will definitely recommend this book to all of my friends!

The moment my copy of STYLE STATEMENT arrived, I began to absorb all it offers. While the book has wonderful elements of personal branding currently so trendy, it goes far beyond branding and image to help readers get to the heart of who they are. When we are proactive in naming and vocalizing/writing those things that are most precious to us and the intangibles that form our core, we are able and equipped to be more deliberate in how we conduct ourselves and shape and live our lives. Inviting and enlightening without being intimidating, this interactive book accompanies you on an adventure into learning more about you. And the best part is that unlike some self-help books, STYLE STATEMENT helps you find your "center" but doesn't leave you "self-centered" in a negative sense. The gorgeous result and outcropping from living a more genuine life is not only that you're more content, but also that you end up more connected to yourself AND to others. Buy it, give it, share it -- and live it!

I checked this out of the library on a whim and really enjoyed working through the exercises. The book takes you through eight different areas of your life, both material (e.g. Home, Fashion) and non (e.g. Creativity, Relationships) and asks questions about what's working for you right now and what's not. Then you pick out the major themes, images, ideas, etc and use them to create a two-word phrase that describes how you best relate to and interact with yourself and the world around you. The first word is your "foundation word" that describes who you are most of the time, how you operate when you're in your comfort zone. The second is your "accent word": what pushes you past your limitations, what inspires you, what gives you your flair.

I am a Comfortable Creative, I have concluded. Comfortable because I value physical comforts, peacekeeping and nurturing, security/stability, and the people around me, but sometimes have trouble with change. Creative because I feel best when I'm being inspired or inspiring others, I'm a sponge for emotions and information (good and bad), and I deeply respect others' forms of self-expression.

Okay, so what good does that do me? Well, before admitting to myself how affected I am by physical comfort, it was the first thing to go out the window when I got stressed or frustrated. The "Who has time to take a nap or a shower or go put on a sweater, anyway?" mentality was actually probably making it harder for me to get things done. I've always kind of felt that it was a sign of weakness to be too wrapped up with physical comfort, and that I just wasn't a evolved enough person to push through and ignore what my body was telling me. Now, I understand that I do my best work when I'm not getting nagging hungry-cold-tired signals all the time.

As for my creative side, I was pushing too hard for it to come out without fulfilling the conditions of comfort first. I've always felt as an artist that I wasn't "edgy" enough, or something, but now I realize that my creative strength has never come from that kind of energy. One of the role models I wrote about in my journalling was the lead singer of the Weepies, because "she is living proof that you can be happy with your life and still make good art." While my comfortable side makes it hard for me to take risks, my creative side is the one encouraging me past my fears. It's all about balance.

That being said, I found this book last weekend at the library and have not been exposed to some of the off-putting commercialism, self-promotion, etc, that some other reviewers have mentioned. I see this book as a useful tool for drawing out some unexpected insights, but I feel the usefulness of the experience is proportional to how seriously you take the journalling exercises and how much time you put into them.

Although I'm not yet done reading and working through the exercises, I am thoroughly enjoying the inquiry process and learning things about me I wasn't aware of. The colorful format and beautiful layout is exciting and inspiring. The book begs to be a book club book for women, or done with a group of friends. I'm having a blast and I look forward to sharing it with friends.

I loved this book! It really made me take a new look at myself and dig deeper to find out what makes me tick. It didn't take me long to see a pattern in my answers and put them into a style statement that I can now apply to my life! I liked seeing pictures and stories of other people and their style statements. My one dislike (thus the 4 stars) is that there isn't much "application" section. I want more specifics on how to apply my style statement to my life, how cherished works into my job, body, etc. Other than that, it's a great book and definitely worth reading!