How to Get Dressed: A Costume Designer's Secrets for Making Your Clothes Look, Fit, and Feel Amazing

I love this book! The author is humorous and entertaining, but also very knowledgeable in her career as a costume designer. She has lots of great ideas for putting together a wardrobe and the care and storage of those items. She also makes suggestions that help making clothing choices easier...what situations are worth altering and which do not accept alterations well, for example. It keeps you from having a closet full of stuff that you can't wear because it will take too much money to change. It also helps to know what items are worth buying because they are inexpensive to alter, even if they don't fit perfectly off the rack. Some of my favorite parts were the clothing hacks that she uses to repair (torn zippers; dropped hems and other "oops" moments) or alter various pieces of clothing. Handy information for those situations in which you cannot suffer through a serious wardrobe malfunction. She even gives her secrets for fixing or avoiding many shoe problems that are uncomfortable or unsafe. She also gives the names of various items of equipment and products that she uses professionally...and most of them are surprisingly inexpensive. I also like the fact that she squashes some outdated notions on fashion and that she encourages each person to understand, and to wear, what looks good on them without blindly following whatever short-lived fad "de jour" that clothing companies like to make us think that we can't live without each season. This is a fun, informative and very useful book for anyone who loves to look great, effortlessly (once they have taken the initial rudimentary steps) regardless of whether they are in jeans or shorts while going to the grocery store; or if they are dressing for business; or, if they happen to be attending a festive occasion in an expensive gown. Frankly, this is the first book regarding clothing that I have found relevant enough to send to my daughter who lives in Paris...the city of beautiful and timeless fashion!

I’m recommending this book to all of my friends—even for those who say they never have time to read a book! I just tell them that the glossaries and the index at the back are incredibly useful--the stain glossary alone makes this book an excellent purchase. Alison gives us remedies for fixing a long list of icky stains (cigarette ash? candle wax? blood??) and the details are specific and the methods practical. The fabric glossary abounds with details about fabric that allows you to take care of your fancy or expensive duds yourself with little risk to your investment whether it is financial or emotional. Who knew about the myriad uses of safety pins—and did you know they come in black?! I didn’t, but I’m going to buy some as soon as I can. Have you ever heard of a tool called a belt hole punch? Alison puts this versatile tool to uses even its inventor never dreamed of! Those are a couple of unusual examples, but her book is stuffed with advice about the simplest, most effective and fast remedy for any type of situation you and your clothing might encounter. She touts the cheap and easy method when it will serve, but when nothing else will do she gives you the skinny on the more demanding and/or expensive method. Since her bedrock is the sensible and inexpensive method (organize your tights and stockings using the cardboard tubes from toilet paper and paper towels), when she does recommend something more expensive I believe it’s the best idea—I’m definitely adding a fabric steamer to my Wish List! When Alison talks about her experiences on set or prepping for a show, she is discreet and never mentions an actor’s name or show (which makes your brain spin trying to figure who did that thing she just described as an example of what not to do). I wish I could watch her in a reality series, or a behind-the-scenes kind of deal—I would definitely tune in! She has a dry funny way to illustrate her point, like the time she advises us on the dangers of including towels in the dryer with clothing because they produce “a special kind of lint that attaches itself to your wardrobe forever, like lice on a first grader.” I couldn’t stop laughing—Texas women have such a funny wry way of illustrating their point (think Molly Ivins or Ann Richards). Alison’s style is breezy, confident and practical even when she talks about caring for a luxurious fabric like peau de soie—I bet she even pronounces it correctly! Alison is like your best friend’s older sister—you put her on a pedestal and drink in the words, ready to try anything she advises because she obviously knows the very best way to do everything. This book is a gem, everyone should own a copy!

The how-to content of this book can probably be found in the books and crannies of the internet. However, I loved it because the book is an amazing curated, comprehensive resource for learning about techniques I didn't think of and would probably have messed up many times and trashed many pieces of utterly destroyed clothing before finding something that worked. That, in itself, is far greater value than I paid for this book. The physical book itself, however, is falling apart after reading it partway through. The pages are sturdy, so I can still rebind it. The other reason for 4 stars instead of 5 is that the book doesn't say it's for women. It has one small section about assisting a male friend with men's formal wear, and the rest of the book is catered to stereotypical (but a wide range of) female bodies, fits, and tastes.

Read the entire book on a long flight (well, skipped the part addressing large boobs cause I'm a AA baby, and have been called Olive Oil). Now I know why wrap dresses SUCK on me and will not waste my time anymore (she explains styles for body types). First of all, the author is awesome and someone I'd want to be friends with. As a daughter of an immigrant mother from a 3rd world country, we (my 2 sisters and I) learned ZERO about anything she is talking about in the book. Fast forward and I am blessed with a life that includes leather goods (including my beloved manolos) silk, cashmere etc (in humble amounts). I had zero idea one was supposed to maintain goods, but I always suspected that I was "doing it wrong." I never seemed to look as polished as others, and lots of questions were answered as to why. (note: you do NOT need luxury goods to look good as she attests, and addresses virtually everything in your wardrobe). This book gives CLEAR direction as to how to look put together (whatever that means to you) without the ridiculous rules like "a french woman would never" that I've read in other books. I'd just think WHY NOT?? And also why would I want to look like everyone else. The goal of the book is not to conform to some invented standard but to embrace your own bad self. Now that I am a "lady" (33) I'm interested in portraying a "serious" look. As a classical pianist we are required to dress professionally, although my attempts would wind up looking like Kate Middleton (looks good on her- but for me too corny). By brainstorming the true elements of my personality I have a clearer idea of what to look for when shopping (elegance with a surprising twist of rebelliousness :)) Gotta shock audiences once in a while. If you have spent a lot of time and money on purchasing items but are generally unhappy with your wardrobe, read this book! Thanks for writing it! Alison if you're in NYC I am happy to give you free piano lessons :)

The Good : The substance of the book is witty, informative and useful. The nitty gritty pointers of how to recognize, buy, tailor, and maintain a quality wardrobe appeals to the environmentalist in me. Say goodbye to fast fashion and clothes you don't actually wear. The pages of the book are heavier weight which made taking notes in the margins easy because there was no bleed through and there was plenty of space. The Bad: I don't know if the book would be completely understandable to someone who doesn't have some sewing background. My background in live theatre also made the book exceptionally easy to read and follow. Some of the more technical sections on fit could be enhanced with pictures for those who don't have any history with a needle and thread. The Ugly: I've owned the book for 24 hours. I'm half way through and the binding is completely falling apart. I'm going to have to take it to an office supply store and have it spiral bound which will take up a huge portion of those lovely margins mentioned above. If the binding was well done it would probably have gotten a 5* review. Alas, it wasn't one of the multitude of things I learned how to fix with a safety pin in the book.

This book is a beautiful work of art. Not only is it fun to read and follow the steps to literally free, and BECOME, your inner dream fashionista, it's also a wonderful field guide you can come back to for how to wash anything or how to know what an item of clothing needs to fit you to be able to tell your seamstress for alterations. Honestly, this is probably one of my favorite books to have read over the last year. For me, learning my style and how to bring it to life has been groundbreaking. It's let the rest of me breathe my first authentic breath since I before I can remember. And funnily enough, figuring out what I wanted to wear was the first step in my journey. Growing up w/out any kind of style guidance, I can't thank the author enough for making this simple and so much fun.

I can't remember how I first heard about this book--but I read about it somewhere and snatched it up and I just keep rereading it. Remembered to review it today when I sat down to write the author a thank-you note. I LOVE fashion, but have always felt a little inept at it. Alison's approach is so warm, personal, and accessible, and what I love is she doesn't waste time recycling the "essential wardrobe capsule" nonsense that always pointed me toward a homogenized closet of white button-downs and a "classic blazer" or basic black dress--none of which are me. Alison respects each woman's style and every woman's body--and she shows you how to find the perfect fit for both, literally from your undergarments out. She also shows you how to care for your clothes--laundering, pressing, storing, upkeep--and fantastic, practical "hacks" to keep everything in place and looking great and to fix any wardrobe snafu. And her chapter on fit literally changed my fashion life. She makes you feel as if you are finding and creating exactly what makes you feel and look amazing for YOU so you love to get dressed every day, and feel like the very best version of yourself--and it's fun. It feels empowering, and as someone who has frequently floundered in fashion I'm so grateful for her expertise and generosity.

What wonderful book!!!!