Expressionista: How to Express Your True Self Through (and Despite) Fashion

by Jackie Walker, Pamela Dittmer McKuen

Classic, Natural, Romantic, Dramatic, or Trend Tracker—What's Your Fashion Persona?

True style is about dressing to express yourself—no matter what others think and no matter the situation. Expressionista uses the subjects of fashion and style to explore the deeper issues of self-esteem and self-expression, through fun quizzes, advice, quotes, insider tips, and the identification of the five main Fashion Personas.

Genres: Reference, Nonfiction

224 pages, Paperback

First published September 3, 2013

About the author

Jackie Walker, the self-proclaimed Doctor of Closetology, is a longtime fashion consultant and coauthor of the adult title I Don't Have a Thing to Wear. Jackie has made publicity appearances and lead seminars in more than 200 cities and has spoken to such organizations as Seventeen magazine, Glamour magazine, the Girls Scouts of America, Neiman Markus, Saks Fifth Avenue, and Nordstrom.

Reviews

[Children's Library · Rating 4 out of 5]

Expressionista is a book about fashion and fashion personas (fashion style). Through the book are an array of quizzes to help you find your own persona (romantic, trend tracker, classic, or dramatic), find your shopping style, and see if you have “closet chaos.” One of the things that made me glue myself on here—with not just Elmer’s stick glue but with superglue—was the stories of real girls in this scenario! It was nice to learn about what other girls are experiencing. But a thing that made me want to chisel my way off the glue was some inaccurate information. At the beginning of a chapter, the have a quote by Selena Gomez: “Be yourself, everyone else is already taken!” Ever heard of Oscar Wilde? Apparently not. The book is for grades 4-7 and is worth the read. So go on now…bye, bye, go read it, shoo!

Marina S.


Expressionista is a great book about fashion. It makes girls feel good about themselves and their style. Most of the book is devoted to fashion personas, talking about all of them, and it has a quiz to find out your fashion persona. I really liked when they had stories of real girls. They also had quotes (from celebrities and real girls) and fashion tips. The layout was good, with text boxes that had information in them and well-drawn illustrations. There were a few accuracy errors, like a quote that was given credit to the wrong person and a quiz question that didn’t match up to the answer key. But, this book held my attention and it was hard to put down! Overall, it was a great book that girls in 4th-7th grade that like fashion would love!

Darby K.

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a cute book for tween and teenage girls. It helps them figure out what their own personal style is (Classic, Natural, Romantic, Dramatic and Trend Tracker). Once the reader figures out what their style is, the book then goes into helping the reader figure out what needs to be in their closet, what is the best way to shop, and how to put it all together. Here and there are personal stories such as the two sisters who had very different styles. The story illustrates how this affected their relationship and how having different styles wasn't a bad thing.

Tween and teenage girls will definitely like this book. I can see them quizzing each other and having fun figuring out which persona each one is. It has some good tips in it such as how to organize your closet and how to more effectively shop for your style. The book does well with combining the practical with real life stories and about wearing your personal style with pride!



**I received this book from Goodreads First Reads in exchange for a review. This did not affect my review in any way.**