Book 22: The Curated Closet

Title: The Curated Closet: A Simple System for Discovering Your Personal Style and Building Your Dream Wardrobe
Author: Anuschka Rees
Started: April 16, 2019
Finished: April 20, 2019
Pages: 266
Genre: Non-Fiction

First Sentence: What is the curated closet?

Summary: [From BN] Is your closet jam-packed and yet you have absolutely nothing to wear? Can you describe your personal style in one sentence? If someone grabbed a random piece from your closet right now, how likely is it that it would be something you love and wear regularly? With so many style and shopping options, it can be difficult to create a streamlined closet of pieces that can be worn easily and confidently. In The Curated Closet, style writer Anuschka Rees presents a fascinatingly strategic approach to identifying, refining, and expressing personal style and building the ideal wardrobe to match it, with style and shopping strategies that women can use every day. Using The Curated Closet method, you’ll learn to:
  • Shop smarter and more selectively
  • Make the most of your budget
  • Master outfit formulas and color palettes
  • Tweak your wardrobe for work
  • Assess garment fit and quality like a pro
  • Curate a closet of fewer, better pieces
Including useful infographics, charts, and activities, as well as beautiful fashion photography, The Curated Closet is the ultimate practical guide to authentic and unique style.

Thoughts: This book is essentially the Marie Kondo method for your wardrobe. It wants you to keep what you love and toss all the rest. Of course, the book does get a lot more in depth than that, but that's the gist of it.

The strength of Rees's text is that she walks you through the process in a straightforward manner while also incorporating broader lessons of knowing what you want and accepting your body. She does not suggest following "typical" rules of fashion. In fact, Rees encourages you to wear what you want - the rules be damned. All she asks is that you are able to define your style so that you know how to build your wardrobe around the look you want to have.

In some ways, this book is like bootcamp. She breaks down your bad habits and trends only to build you up stronger by encouraging you to own your look and be strong in your choices. I also love how she wants you to spend your money wisely. This is not about recreating your entire closet in one go. Rees encourages being a responsible shopper and encourages quality over quantity. Built in to the book is the reminder that most of us never wear our entire closet anyway.

Aside from showing how to find your style, Rees discusses things like how to tell if a product is well made, how to swap trendy and seasonal pieces in and out of your life, and how to stay on top of the number of items you own.

Her writing style definitely comes from the blog world, but that makes her text approachable and easy to comprehend. It also makes her message friendly and upbeat. By the time you finish this book, you'll want to makeover your whole wardrobe.

Rating: 7/10 [Very Good]

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