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Where Have You Learned to Dress Better?

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After last week's roundup of tips on how to make a bookcase look pretty, I started thinking about my fashion books, which are probably the main tool I've used over the years to learn to dress better. So I thought it might be fun to discuss here on the blog — what books, blogs, shows, magazines, or other sources have you used to learn to dress better?

For my $.02, I'm not a huge fan of fashion magazines as a place to learn to dress better, which probably sounds odd coming from a fashion blogger. I got Vogue for about 10 years, and at one point I realized I was looking at the very first fashion spread that was wearable and I wanted to imitate. I canceled after that. I feel like Vogue taught me a lot about “rich people taste,” though, if that makes sense, more from the columns and articles and little asides. I've seen some great spreads in a variety of fashion magazines, but nothing really sticks out in my mind, and at present I don't subscribe to any aside from Real Simple. 

My favorite fashion shows: I used to loooove TLC's What Not to Wear, as well as the BBC version; it's funny looking at old posts here because I quoted both a lot. I really did learn a lot about how clothes should fit, tips and tricks to get clothes to flatter your body, how to look a bit more polished, and more. I've watched fashion-related shows over the years (ANTM, Project Runway, The Cut) but nothing has quite compared to the styling tips I got from WNtW. (BBC's Trinny is still sharing tips on Instagram!)

My favorite fashion books: I would say a lot of fashion books have had a pretty big influence on me; certainly during my formative years. Real Simple had a whole series of books that described different aspects of clothes: basics to own, how to style the basics and maintain them, etc. (I haven't read this one, but it looks like one of the books in the series.) I've mentioned The Power of Style  and Elsa Klensch's Style on here a lot (the latter is the basis for our “weekend you” series!), but I haven't reread them in a while.

I checked out the Fashion/Style bestsellers on Amazon recently and noticed that Making Faces is still a bestseller (#4, I believe), which is interesting because while I thought the book was interesting, I didn't get a ton of great tips from it (compared to How Not to Look Old, which is probably due for a reread also, haha). I also was intrigued to see Lessons from Madame Chic still on the bestseller list after all these years — I'll have to revisit that one also. 

Personal style bloggers: For personal style, I continue to be impressed and influenced by so many. Some of my favorite personal style bloggers over the years include:

In terms of actual style tips for learning to dress better, I hope Corporette has been a source of that for you over the years — I've always been inspired by YouLookFab, Cup of Jo, and Putting Me Together. 

Ladies, how about you? What resources would you recommend to someone trying to learn to dress better? Where have you learned to dress better?  

8 Comments

  1. I have a short torso, so no matter what Clinton and Stacy said, I still eye the children’s department on occasion. I’m sort of a 14/16, depending on how boxy things are. And I’m tall among my co-workers and I know they do it, too.

    1. I wear children’s clothes all the time, especially for casual things like sweatpants and t-shirts and for brand name shoes that have the same style regardless of the department you buy them from (Converse, Chacos, Birks).

  2. Abra’s fashion advice at CapHillStyle is always spot on for women lawyers and other professionals. Timeless and classy without being frumpy and always modern.

  5. I also really loved the British version of What Not to Wear; I wasn’t a huge fan of the American version at first, but I came around to it. I really like the approach of both, which is to find what works for you–the opposite of fashion mags that are just pushing trends. I have one of the Real Simple books and I found it useful for pointing out what kind of bags go with what kind of coats, and what you might want to consider when choosing sleeve length, but the photos make it look pretty dated now. I also have and love Nina Garcia’s The One Hundred, about pieces you should have (take with a grain of salt), which is beautifully illustrated by Ruben Toledo (designer Isabel Toledo’s husband) and thus feels timeless. But mostly, I think I’ve learned the most from blogs! I love that there are so many now, I can find ones that suit my style, that feature people who look like me, etc. It’s kind of funny since they’re pretty opposite, but my favorites are this one and The Mom Edit.

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