The Gospel According to Coco Chanel: Life Lessons from the World's Most Elegant Woman

Un Bijou for You I read this book the way I read Ms. Karbo's book on Katharine Hepburn: greedily, with an eye to what was in it for me. I plundered every chapter heading: On Style, On Self-Invention, On Fearlessness... does this fit me? Could I/should I adopt this for my own? With some, like On Embracing the Moment, I thought, Oh sure, I've already got that; with others, like On Living Life on Your Own Terms, I was stopped short, and I thought Yeah! I've gotta cultivate that! The other compelling thing about this book is that once you get past self-interest, you discover that Coco Chanel was an amazing woman. She invented modern fashion, and to do so had to rise above poverty and an actual orphanage. This was great material to draw on and reshape, which she did: Ms. Karbo says Chanel "lied about or embellished everything in her childhood...she had no respect for anything she didn't create, and that included her own history." Her trajectory included being a shopgirl, seamstress, cafe singer, and kept woman before she got to couturiere extraordinaire, and she owed nothing to anyone but herself. She was self-made and a revolutionary.

The Little Black Book of Style

The Little Black Book of Style,By Nina Garcia

Every time you dress, you assert your identity. With style, you tell the world your story. In that way, style affords you opportunities to think about your appearance as a quality of your creative character. The Little Black Book of Style helps you to explore your own fashion voice—the piece of you that joyously revels in the glamorous experience of creating your best self. From cultivating good taste to guarding against definite fashion faux pas, Nina Garcia offers readers the ultimate guide to follow when it comes to dressing their best. Including tips on how and when to wear an outfit, occasion-appropriate wear, advice on how to combine colors and textures, and inspiration on how to achieve your own signature look, you learn how to experiment, storyboard, archive, and play. Timeless and universal, this book seeks to remind women that eternal style is internal style, and that everyone has what it takes to discover themselves through the colorful palette that is fashion.

was very excited to read The Little Black Book of Style by Nina Garcia, former editor-at-large at Elle Magazine and judge on Bravo's popular tv show "Project Runway." Nina provides her own point of view on style and fashion as well as provides useful tips from many of her famous designer friends. I really liked her account of her upbringing in Columbia and how her mother and father, as well as the other residents in her town, shaped her sense of style. While this book does not offer mind-blowing advice, it was a nice read and may reinforce what you already know. Since I'm a big fan of Project Runway, I could almost hear Nina talking to me while reading her book. She is very knowledgable in her field, so I will pretty much listen to anything she has to say. The illustrations within the book are very colorful and fun and bring the book to life. If you want to learn more about style and fashion, or just supplement what you already know, read this book!
Just good. I bought this along with Nina's other book, the one hundred, and while this one is good, I would recommend the one hundred way over this one. It's a nice read, and again filled with gorgeous illustrations, but I find that the other book is more useful for advice and a solid fashion foundation. The other one is also much longer