Most every woman has found herself with a closet full of too many clothes or surrounded by brand-new items that somehow never get worn. Instead she gets stuck wearing the same few familiar pieces from a wardrobe that just doesn't feel "right." Dr. Jennifer Baumgartner argues that all those things are actually manifestations of deeper life issues.What if you could understand your appearance as a representation of your inner unresolved conflicts and then assemble a wardrobe to match the way you wish to be perceived? In this fashion guide that is like no other, Dr. Baumgartner helps readers identify the psychology behind their choices, so they can not only develop a personal style that suits their identity but also make positive changes in all areas of life.
Ugh. I thought this would be a study of what clothes choices reveal about us. VERY disappointed to find it was a self-help book for women (almost exclusively) who want to 'shake up' their look. Skimmed it, put it on the return pile.
I suppose I expected something with a little more depth and analysis. Most of the book is rather obvious, shallow, and geared more toward what your shopping habits reveal about you.
Quite the straightforward fashion manual! As a psychology major, it was very interesting to see how this savvy doctor connected the typical woman's fashion woes with up-to-date psychology journals. She makes her case studies sound interesting (or maybe it's just because it's got to do with clothes). It's like having Stacey and Clinton around with you in a book, and Jeannie Mai came along for the ride.
This book not only helps you discover yourself through your clothes, but it also helps with the horrific task of cleaning out your closet. I imagine this woman to be an organizational goddess. The self-checks help you determine whether or not you need to look at your life and your choices, and after each case study, there's a "Your Turn" segment. The author breaks things down in chunks that are simple to digest. I think it would be fantastic if you got your most fabulous and most straight-forward friend to read it first, and then tell you what to do when you realize you can't get out of your laziness. It's certain to be a great motivational boost when someone's supporting you (with facts from the book, of course)!
Four stars, because the section on body image is very well-written, and it's something I think ALL girls and women should read.
This was a pop psychology book I picked up on a whim. Dr. Baumgartner apparently makes her living analyzing your inner issues by making over your closet. I didn't read anything I haven't heard on TV make-over shows.
This book needs an update NOW. Either that or save yourself the reading time and skim the epilogue for a summary.
I loved the idea of this book, but it catered to women who are likely married or older than 40, stuck in an assumed functional wardrobe rut. Not suitable for 2021.
For a modern fashion psychology book, try Dawnn Karen’s Dress Your Best Life.
This book is attractive and conceptually interesting ... a cute clinical psychologist who formerly worked at Ralph Lauren talks about common wardrobe problems that actually reveal psychological problems, and how to work on said problems. It is part fashion, part self-help.
Unfortunately, this book feel totally flat for me. The author is also a columnist for Psychology Today and this had that feel to it - kind of like bad armchair psychology that is borderline irresponsible. I just couldn’t connect with any of her insights and even her general observations seemed odd/off to me. It just didn’t ring true.
The book’s chapters are divided into nine problem areas, most of which didn’t apply to me. I skipped to the two that had some relevance in my life - wearing baggy clothes and having a ‘mom’ wardrobe. Unfortunately, nothing resonated with me.
There were many parts of the book that just felt off. It seems like she is hired as a wardrobe consultant by the various people mentioned in the book and then she secretly performs psychological analysis of them and tries to give unsolicited therapy. She mentions one of her first “clients” was her sister and to help with the wardrobe issues, she needed to explore the sister’s “past, present & future”. Wouldn’t she already know her own sister’s past? Another client is initially contacted a week before Mother’s Day, they do “therapy” together that sounds rather extensive (weeks, if not months), and then the “end result” happens just before Mother’s Day. What? So all that “therapy”, self-awareness and psychological change was over the course of one week?
The author talks about the importance of comprehensive therapy, but then seems to think she can offer it through a one-size fits all book. Or in person over the course of a single week.
2 stars. Interesting concept - the idea of discovering how people feel about themselves by how they dress, and what is lurking inside overflowing closets. I liked the use of case-studies to introduce each concept, as well as the interweaving of psychology and wardrobe choices. Many topics made me introspective of how I present myself to the world.
What I couldn’t abide - and why I knocked 3 stars off - is because of the continuing “need” to always buy more and the blatant disregard of both the environment and devastating global effects of fast fashion. In the logos chapter, the author could have talked about how most celebrities can’t afford the brands they are being paid to wear either. She could have talked about the vast waste of only wearing things once and how we all don’t need more than a few great pairs of shoes.
Ultimately, buying more and simply trashing what you no longer want could have been replaced with a chapter on the myriad ways that we can all strive to create a much smaller environmental footprint via our wardrobe. In so doing, this could have been an important book. And yes, I realize that this wasn’t the focus of this book. But, by turning a blind eye to these important current issues, the author was basically negligent in presenting the whole picture. Fashion is the second biggest polluter of Earth and continuing to make wardrobe-building decisions without this knowledge is incredibly ignorant.
This book was not even worth finishing. Baumgartner talks down to her reader making it impossible to enjoy. Additionally, the book was marketed as a light read but turned out to be a heavy examination of life and its effect on our clothing choices. I might have worked my way through if the tone of the book had been more friendly. As it stands, however, I didn't even make it through the first chapter. I will not be coming back to this one.
Not bad. It didn't teach me any specific style points I didn't already know (how to dress my age, why it's better to spend on quality, a few good pieces are better than tons of crap) but it did give me a different way to look what I owned, and why I own/wear it.
I did have a couple of specific problems, though. I tend to dress in a pretty conservative/preppy style, and that look really doesn't change much, over time. A polo shirt today is pretty much the same as a polo shirt from twenty (or heck, even fifty) years ago. So, when she asks, "Is your wardrobe dated? Do you have clothes that are five or ten years old?" The answer is no, and yes at the same time. I take reasonably good care of my clothes, so yes, some of them have lasted rather a while, but it's hard to call a khaki skirt or cabled sweater "dated" (unless it's cut or fitted weirdly, which mine aren't).
The author offers ten chapters, each featuring a person with a different problem, and I didn't really see myself in any one of them. Bits of a couple, but overall, no. She also offers some generalities which just didn't work for me: For example, she says women should wear higher heels to give themselves confidence (within their ability to walk gracefully in them). Sounds good, except for the woman who was the gawky tall kid in school, and who still hates, hates feeling taller than others.
This is probably a great book for those in need of a wardrobe makeover; I might have appreciated it more a few years ago, when I was reevaluating my fashion style, and needed some help. Some of the tips are pretty self-evident: dress for who you are now, not who you were or are hoping to be; think about the message you're sending with your clothing choices; make sure your wardrobe covers the major categories of your life (work, play, evenings out, formal, athletic activities, etc.), and think about comfort, practicality and appropriateness in your clothing. I've spent the last few years figuring all this out, but a book like this would have been useful for certain aspects of the overhaul.
Don’t read this book unless you are prepared to deal with the literal skeletons in your closet. It follows a similar premise to the Konmari spark joy method. Focus on the underlying emotions of your accumulated crap. This book is much more American focused and doesn’t seem as nutty as Konmari, though. Excellent specific examples. I could relate to each chapter/issue. And I agree with most of her advice.
Grammar moment- Dr B and her editor need to learn the difference between except and accept. There were only two other small errors so these two really stood out. Makes me wonder because she seems very brilliant and has a good vocabulary.
This book was engrossing for me. I usually like books with pictures, but this was more about the person who wears the clothes than the garments themselves. Fads change, but who you are, and why/what you wear are things you have control over.
I really enjoyed being introduced to different ways to think about why we care what we wear, because sometimes, I honestly don't. This book is about presentation, about rhetoric, about what we're communicating and how we can become empowered by directing the messages that we're sending to others.
I was looking forward to this, incorrectly assuming it would be a look into the psychology behind why people dress they way they do. Instead, it's a book on figuring out what's wrong with you. If chapter one doesn't sound like your problem, don't worry! One of these eight other chapters surely will. Gross.
In spite of some negative reviews, I loved this book. As someone interested in both fashion and psychology, I enjoyed reading the various closet types and psychological issues of many women. I related to at least a couple of them. If you're not interested in people, psychology, or fashion, this book may not be for you, but I personally enjoyed it!
Dreadful. More of a self help book for your closet than what I wanted, which was 'snoop' but for clothes. Unlike the title suggests, you will learn nothing about people from their clothes by reading this book.
This whole book felt trite and obvious, but I can see where it might help some people. I found a few good analogies and suggestions here and there, but otherwise not very worthwhile to me, at least.
- Fasinating book that's meant to trigger people (but it's a good thing - trigger means our defense mechanism is up, which means the author is probably on to something). In the book, few things caught my attention:
- Brands: people buy brands to get the inspirational message (a quick example would be, Cadillac Escalate and Chevy Suburban are very simpar cars. But why is Cadillac so much more expensive? Simply that people want to associate themselves with the image of Cadillac - the luxury feel, classy image the car brand sends you). Same with clothing. Logo gives people a sense of aspiration.
- Revealing clothing: people wear that often times due to past trauma. For many girls, it's also because they hit puberty too soon yet their brain weren't well developed. However, they packed the brain capacity and maturity to handle the sudden attention they get from the opposite sex. In order to cope, they either cover themselves wauy too much, find ways to decrease their sexual appeal or - ironically, they hyper emphasize their sexual appeal by wearing revealing clothing. However, as the time goes on, they internally accepted their clothing choice as who they are and forgot why they wear those beginning their teenage years. They associate "revealing cloth" as "not wearing something ugly". They associate the attention they get as their self worth
- Wearing clothing not suit for their age: often times it's a result of the person terrified of aging. That their body is at a certain stage, but their brain isn't there yet. Thus in order to cope, they wear clothes that states their emotional state rather than physical state
I read this book several years ago, and I thought it life-changing. I felt so inspired. As a teen, and as a current 20-something just getting started in life, I have especially felt connected to fashion and expressing myself through clothes. It's so therapeutic to dress and change the way I look to show a piece of my soul no one would be able to see, if I hadn't made a visible art piece of myself to convey it. I used to say to myself something like: "Fashion is an art, and I am my canvas to create upon."
Since living in the adult world after high-school for 3+ years, I seem to have lost parts of myself due to changes in my environment and in myself, which I struggled to adapt to.
I now, have the privilege to re-get to know myself. Paired with other various media, of course, I sincerely hope that this book is just as inspiring thr second time around, as it was the first. I hope it helps me remember how I used to know who I am and why I dress the way I do.
I first read this book, borrowing it from my local library. I have not read it since, but have owned this book for over 4 years, and I intend to give it a look once again, with my new perspectives from growing up...
And, this time, I get to mark up and highlight as much as I want!
I will update after my second read. I will only post my truest opinions.
Another book on style that I really enjoyed. The author is a psychologist who helps women identify their wardrobe issues as symbolic of other issues they may need to address in their lives, such as a woman whose wardrobe screams with expensive designer logos as a way to prove her worth as a person (to herself, more than to anyone else). I skimmed several of the chapters that addressed issues I don't have (not big on expensive designer logos myself), but found some interesting insights in chapters more relevant to me. This book is not a list of what "every woman needs to have in her closet"--I've tended to find those lists only marginally helpful anyway as each of us has unique wardrobe needs. Instead, this book is an excellent way to look at your style as part of who you are as a person, and how addressing issues "from the inside out," as the author says, can help you put together a wardrobe that really reflects who you are.
This is a fairly shallow treatment of what could (should) be a pretty weighty topic. In only a few pages, she takes on some of our deepest emotional issues - compulsive shopping, identity, self-esteem, body image - and gives them all a very light treatment.
It was interesting but I guess I was hoping for a bit more depth rather than the "you can be pretty too!" sort of recommendation that she gives. Also, there is virtually nothing for men and nothing at all for people who are trans or gender-questioning. Clearly, to her, gender is very binary and she makes a lot of generalizations using typical roles such as "mom" and "worker" rather than getting to the core of who these people are.
I don't regret the time I spent reading this, but I have to say that I'm walking away with more questions than I started with.
This book posits that wardrobe struggles are often symptoms of emotional/psychological issues, not a lack of style. written by a psychologist, the chapters cover things like body dysmorphia, shopping addiction, hoarding, depression, self esteem issues (e.g., “I’m not worth having X,” “Only thin people can wear Y”), and over-identification with part of your life (something that especially impacts mothers). Many people need to address the root causes of issues like these before their “style” can be improved.
My only suggestion would be to include more discussion of men, minorities, and LGBTQ individuals in a book like this - would there be different ways depression for example might show up in someone from these demographics that would be different from a straight white woman?
Lengva populiariosios psichologijos knyga. Skaitosi lengvai, tačiau kad suteikia labai daug itin naudingos informacijos tikrai nėra.
Citata iš knygos kuri įstrigo" "Amžiumi matuojamas tik laikas, praleidžiamas šiame pasaulyje. Bandydama šį skaičių perdėtai sureikšminti, tik švaistai brangų laiką. Amžius neapibrėžia tavo gebėjimų, tinkamumo, vertės, svarbos ar įtakos. Nestumk savęs pirmyn, bet ir nemėgink stabdyti laiko."
Citata iš skyriaus apie tai kaip moterys brandaus amžiaus vis dar stengiasi rengtis per daug jaunatviškai, arba kaip vidutinio amžiaus moteriškės rengiasi jau kaip močiutės :)
This book was nothing that I anticipated. It was more introspective as oppose to outward-looking. It attempts to address issues concerning why we shop, over-shop, and wear what we do due to what we think of ourselves or what has transpired in our lives. Though beneficial to some, I suppose, I was expecting something more along the lines of public perceptions. For instance, what message a dress, tie, shoes, colors, etc. convey to others. This book did not do that with a few exceptions here and there. It was still an interesting read, nonetheless, but nothing that I can use in the future as it relates to what my style of dress is communicating to the public.
The book starts with an interesting premise - a symptomatic reading of a person's wardrobe problems to find deeper-seated issues causing them - but it never delivers on this with enough nuance. The case studies all seem like too neat a fit to whatever diagnosis the author is pushing, and none of them are ever corroborated by other, similar cases.
Beyond that, it simply espouses too narrow an idea of style: one that is conformist and mainstream, reflecting similarly conservative ideological views that emerge elsewhere in the text.
It gets you thinking, I guess, but your own thoughts will likely take you farther than anything essayed in this book.
Ever wonder who it is out there telling women to "dress ___ because you are X years old"? Well, it's this author doing that. Yup. Her. While I enjoyed the psychoanalysis... I'm not sure I agree with it. I still remember the joy of a woman in her 50s who'd just beaten cancer. She'd lost a ton of weight. For the first time in her life she was able to wear those 'cute' clothes (and you know what I mean.) Lady loved her new look. Who are we to tell anyone that they're now too old for pastels or a short skirt?
I was jolted by the title of the book and decided to read . I must say the first 30 pages have alluring contents But overall the book is very outdated since fashion has no dimension.It changes as times goes. I was able to abstract some basic fashion ideas and common psychological disorders people could have related to shopping but apart from that it doesn't help me to improve my fashion outlook.