Nina Garcia Little Black Book of Style
” Nothing makes a woman more beautiful than the belief that she is beautiful”
She grew up in northwest of Colombia, a place where Nina Garcia editor in Chef of Elle Magazine says, style and art were part of the culture were women knew how to buy the right clothes for their bodies, how to edit out what what did not suit them, and to stay away from fads and maintaining an aura of eternal style. Nina’a purpose with her out – this month from Harpers Collins little Black book of Style , is to inspire us the way these women inspired her.The fashion director of Project Runway fame has one of the best eyes for style in fashion biz. It is a great book filled with quotes and iconic trend-setters from retro to obscure—even sourcing famous artists—for her daily inspiration. These little snapshots will help us distill iconic from costume-y as we draw inspiration for our wardrobe from so many famous faces.
The illustrations by Ruben Toledo and the girly graphic design style of the book just make it all the more lovely to read. The watercolors brilliantly feel like fashion sketches while encouraging the reader to imagine her own creations. (Ruben’s wife Isabel is a famous fashion designer herself. What a duo!) Nina’s book will remain timelessly illustrated.
Nina Garcia, who spots amazing new fashion talent all the time, tells us that it’s all about personal individual style, not about being perfect and about fashion as a way to communicate. The point is that fashion is a “quality of your creative character†and that is not something that necessarily comes naturally but is acquired with time and experimentation. Much like a writer tries out different styles we must find our “fashion voice†and cultivate it.
Grab this month’s Elle for a peek into just the first section of this chapter, “How to invest in the bones”—those pieces which any of us need to build a wardrobe around. More importantly you’ll get a private lesson on how to “edit” your wardrobe (stylist-speak for how to know what your wardrobe needs and what to toss out)…
The book purse-sized format is nice and elegant, and easy to take on a trip, it is the best “how-to” in any style guide on the market. Nina will enlighten you with her view on global style.
It’s a perfect stocking stuffer for every girlfriend, cousin and probably a few moms too. Just don’t forget to keep a copy for yourself!
Joelle’s Picks:
The book: The little Black Book of Style , Nina Garcia Harper Collins Publications available on line at Amazon
The other book: Ruben Toledo: Fashionation (Hardcover) available also at Amazon
