What to Wear for the Rest of Your Life

I recently read  What to Wear for the Rest of Your Life: Ageless Secrets of Style by Kim Johnson Gross and I needed this little wake-up call. One glance into my closet (actually TWO walk-in closets) and you’d see that I have LOTS of clothes and nothing to wear.

WHY?

Well, frankly I started buying things that weren’t “ME.” I’d buy luxury items on sale without thinking about where I’d be wearing them or WHAT I had to finish the look. I’ve also gained a LOT of weight in the past couple of years and have clothes in sizes that vary from size 4/6 to my present size 14. There – I’ve said it.


One of the pitfalls of blogging is that I spend a lot  more time sitting in front of a computer with a cup of coffee or glass of wine and a little something to NOSH on and less time walking, working out and cooking great meals that are both healthy and delirious. So, while I THINK of myself as that size 6 – I am not, nor do I look like I did in my 20’s, 30’s or 40’s. While I’ve aged, gained and changed – my wardrobe hasn’t.


What to Wear for the Rest of Your Life  made me take a good, hard look at how I’ve been dressing. I know that those of you who know me, think I’m crazy. In public (parties, events, even conferences) I try to look my best – but like most of us – my day to day wardrobe suffers – and it SHOULDN”T.

If I find what’s right for ME, my ENTIRE wardrobe will be fitting and fashionable. One of the things that I love about this book is that it’s JAM-PACKED with information.  Rather than telling you what to wear – it helps you explore what you like, your stage in life, etc.

Finding a STYLE MENTOR is one of the more important pieces of the puzzle. We all have other women we admire for their fashion sense. Be it the ageless Candace Bergen, the bold Zaha Hadid or the classics like Audrey Hepburn and Jackie O – there are always women that inspire. Finding YOUR MENTOR makes choosing what to wear easier.

Isabella Rossellini

I bet you were wondering why I put her name at the top of this post. After thinking long and hard, I realized that she is my style mentor. Why? Well, besides the obvious haircut – I love her easy elegance. She pulls off casual with panache that’s tailored, comfortable and looks like it’s all done with no effort. I had always thought that my style icon would be someone like Audrey Hepburn – and in all honestly both Ms. Rossellini and the late Ms. Hepburn have that gamine look that I LOVE – I just needed to model someone a bit more modern.

Building from there Ms. Gross continues her Assess, Dejunk, and Renew war cry from her popular Chic Simple series (a series that I’d consider to be the bible of fashion).  Gaining hold of your closet and learning to dress for your own pleasure so that you enjoy EVERYTHING that you put on will help you to “evolve” your style..

Other key elements:

• Dressing your age
• Shop Smart for the rest of your life
• Jewelry
• Colors
• Pulling it all together
• and more….

I need to learn how to shop SMART and not give up style for the sake of a bargain. No matter what your budget – it’s a matter of finding those pieces that are RIGHT for your body and your life. She even suggests that women shop at MY FAVORITE stores like TJ Maxx, Loehmann’s (and Daffy’s – which I like to stop into when I’m in NY).
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I still need to lose the weight and tone up to look the way that I really want to, but no matter what I can still be fashionable for the rest of my life by using these principles. This is one of those style bibles (like Madame Genevieve Antoine Dariaux’s – A Guide to Elegance), that will remain timely and help you stay fashionable and chic as the title says – “For the Rest of Your Life.”

What to Wear for the Rest of Your Life: Ageless Secrets of Style is available for purchase at Amazon.com for $16.49

Thank you to the Hachette Book Group  for providing this title for our book review as well as this giveaway. We were in no way paid or compensated for our opinions.

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* This giveaway is open to US residents, 18 and over and ends on June 8, 2010 11:59 EST.
* The winner will be randomly chosen and their information will be sent directly to the sponsor for fulfillment.
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