The Little Black Book of Style
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This second installment about my favorite style guides will discuss what I though about The Little Black Book of Style by Elle fashion director Nina Garcia. Nina Garcia is one of those women. You know, the fashion directors at influential fashion magazines who always look like the epitome of style and grace, never like the billboard for some or other designer. To me she’s on par with the American and French style icons of Vogue, Anna Wintour and Carine Roitfeld. Wherever, whenever, she’s always dressed to the nines, without looking like she made a huge effort.
That’s what I love about Nina Garcia. She’s a big fan of Kate Moss because she represents a kind of effortlessness. Her style is not studied, it’s a mix and match of different things that might even be a little off, but the combination looks fantastic. So it’s a little mystifying why Garcia felt the need to write a book about style, in which she proclaims: “This book is meant to awaken the fashion editor inside you and help you decide what image you want to convey to the world.” Does that mean Kate Moss is the only one in the world who doesn’t need a book to look effortlessly chic? Maybe that’s true. Maybe there’s only room for one Kate at a time. In the meantime, I wouldn’t mind settling for a fashion editor kind of style…
And it seems that this style is less about fashion than you might think. As Garcia quotes everyone’s favorite role model, Coco Chanel: “Fashion fades, style is eternal.” Wise words indeed. And not the last, for that matter. This little black book is full of such citations, by Sophia Loren, Miuccia Prada, and even Leonardo Da Vinci. They all have something to say about style. Very entertaining and inspirational, true. But it doesn’t really learn us anything we didn’t already know.
There are two somewhat wistful chapters in which good advice like that is strewn around: “Be Your Own Muse” and “Inspirations”. They seem a little contradictory, but Garcia is quick to refute: “In my mind, inspiration is an extremely personal experience and a connection with your true self.” I hate to say it, but words like that do make me cringe just a little bit. They make me feel like I’m holding some kind of self-help book trying to make me come to terms with my inner and outer beauty, or something like that. Luckily, Garcia can be really funny. I loved how she described one of her favorite cinema moments (Michelle Pfeiffer in Scarface) and how it inspired her (“hey, being married to a drug lord isn’t such a bad gig”). I also love the pages in which she describes movies that you should watch as a style inspiration. It made me run straight to the video store.
Then come the more practical chapters, which tell you a little more about how you can be your very own fashion editor. The obvious first thing to do: edit your closet like you’re editing the infamous fashion closet of Vogue or Elle. This is a really hard thing to do, especially if you, like me, have a strong emotional bond with your clothes. Garcia gives some useful tips though, which should make the experience easier (and less traumatic). The chapter “What to Wear When” is really good, not because of the tips (by now we should all know fishnet stockings during a job interview send out the wrong vibe) but because of the personal little anecdotes Garcia discloses. Turns out she’s actually not perfect, and again, she displays a great sense of humor: “There are plus sides to the whole pregnancy gig. Your hair gets thicker. Your boobs get bigger. You can send people out to get you cheesecake in a snowstorm and they won’t say a word.”
However, when I got to chapter five “Insider Tips and Tricks” and discovered they were mini-interviews with established names in the world of fashion and style, I couldn’t shake the feeling that Garcia really did not write a whole lot of her book herself. She seems to rely on quotes and tips by other people, while I was expecting her to reveal her own routines and knowledge. Given that some of the celebrities get stuck on one-liners and been-there-done-that advice, it might have made the book a little (or a lot) more interesting. Nevertheless, Garcia does not entirely fall from grace in my opinion, if only for the last chapter “Fashion Cliff’s Notes”. It’s a little guide that will take you through different decades and tell you what and who exactly was fashionable then. Indispensable when you’re going to a themed costume party or when you’re hunting for the perfect piece of vintage.
On the whole, I enjoyed reading Garcia’s take on style, though I would probably advise other readers not to read the whole thing in one sitting. It’s more a kind of little style bible in which you read a few tips or pages a day. But do make sure you got through the whole of it by the time you go shopping for a new wardrobe, as Garcia’s insights will surely shed a new light on your own sense of style.
xx Steph
Nina Garcia “The Little Black Book of Style”
144 pages of insider tips, style advice and lovely illustrations
Chapter 1: Be Your Own Muse (Remain true to yourself)
Chapter 2: The Basics (The things you should never forget)
Chapter 3: Inspirations (How to be inspired and by whom)
Chapter 4: What To Wear When… (A truly practical chapter)
Chapter 5: Insider Tips and Tricks (Mini-interviews)
Chapter 6: Fashion Cliff’s Notes (A guide by decade)
