How to Not Wear Black: Find Your Style and Create Your Forever Wardrobe

by Anna Murphy

Overview

Find your style, create your forever wardrobe

Shop better, buy less, and dress to tell the world "this is me!" Anna Murphy, Fashion Director of The Times, shares her tricks for dressing to feel confident and comfortable, look modern and fabulous, and define your personal style—without always resorting to black. When you dress, you stake your place in the world to a voice, a path, a future. Choose who you want to be and how to dress well accordingly. As Mark Twain said, "There is no power without clothes."

Anna draws on her years of inside fashion knowledge and style experience to help you figure out your "clothing happy place." What best flatters your body? What expresses your sense of self? And how do you build a sustainable wardrobe that will serve you day in, day out, for years to come? Explore why less is more; how to layer, the tricks of mixing and non-matching, and how to dress up neutrals. Follow Anna's tips on the 9-5 work wardrobe, what to wear for that special occasion, and how to carry off athleisure wear in style. Also discover the best length of dress or pants for you, your perfect jeans, and how to invest in a handbag that you will use and love forever.

Immerse yourself in this inspiring, realistic, and practical style book and you, too, will be able to throw together chic outfits effortlessly, have something you want to wear for every occasion, and create a wardrobe that, with occasional shopping forays, can last forever. Make fashion your friend!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781465481405
Publisher:	DK
Publication date:	09/03/2019
Pages:	256
Sales rank:	1,033,725
Product dimensions:	6.80(w) x 8.70(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

As Fashion Director of The Times of London, Anna Murphy divides her time between the fantasy realm of the front row and what, to her mind, is the true fashion front line: the brands that deliver clothes for the real world. How to track down the right pieces for your life, your shape; how to look effortlessly stylish and contemporary; and how to do it without spending a fortune—that's what Anna sets out to nail in her writing. Not to mention in her own shopping! Retail therapy in the most literal sense, that's Anna's thing. And after more years than she would care to admit on the fashion circuit—first as Launch Editor of The Sunday Telegraph's "Stella" magazine, now at The Times—she's unbeatable on how finally to make fashion your friend.

Editorial Reviews

09/02/2019

This informative guide to dressing stylishly by Murphy, the fashion director for the Times of London, guides readers through a wardrobe overhaul. Readers are instructed to find out whether they are small-, medium-, or large-framed and whether their shape is, for example, an inverted triangle, a column, or the “neat hourglass,” which, Murphy declares “is the most in-proportion look and we can all come closer to presenting as such if we develop a few tricks.” She also encourages readers to start “The 666 Approach,” which involves sorting one’s clothes into six piles and asking oneself six questions about them—such as “Does it fit me now?” and “Do I feel good when I wear it?”—and discarding any that don’t get four or more yeses. The author advocates for such classic pieces as a trench coat and the “perfect” pair of jeans, alongside “passion pieces” that “make you happy just to look at your closet,” and believes “there’s a dress out there that will make every one of us look our best.” Photographs and illustrations abound, suggesting a variety of ways individuals can make their clothes more versatile, more stylish, and more practical. This beautifully designed book and Murphy’s authoritative approach will give hope to stressed, stylistically challenged readers. (Sept.)

Publishers Weekly