How to Dress Your Best: Discover Your Personal Style and Curate a Wardrobe That Actually Works

by Ellie-Jean Royden

Genres: Nonfiction, Fashion, Self Help

224 pages, Hardcover

Published January 7, 2025

Reviews

[Lynn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Clothing Science

I used the above title for a reason. The author of this book made choosing an outfit into Rocket Science. No, really.

According to this book I am a spring mushroom, and have no idea what my body style is or even my own hair color. None of the options made any sense to me. One of the suggestions is to ask what you gravitate toward as opposed to what you think you like… unless I misunderstood that section.

I really wanted to give this two stars, because as an average person it didn’t make clear sense to me. Yet the author put an ungodly amount of time into her “science”, so I had to assume that much of my confusion was due to how little I must care about my clothes compared to the author.

If you really wanted to know about choosing colors, textures and styles for your height and shape, this might be for you.

[Nikita]

I'm👏🏻 so👏🏻 excited👏🏻 for👏🏻 this👏🏻 book👏🏻

[Moriyah Cordova]

I’ve been wanting to learn more about fashion, what looks best on you, finding your style, etc. I really love Ellie-Jean’s content with her newsletter and YouTube channel and I was so excited to get this book! There was a lot of good information. I feel like she was able to break down concepts (aesthetics, color seasons, body lines) into an easy understandable way. This is a good beginners guide.

Though I did learn a lot (and I think this will be perfect for a beginner) I wish there was more details and depth into the topics of this book if you are someone like me who has been researching these things for a while. I suppose I wanted to learn more and understand why things work and don’t work on certain people rather than have an overview (as she stated in the book as it would be too long to go into depth about everything which I understand). It feels like the summery version rather than a book of knowledge—like it’s the preview of something bigger. She has far more information, details, examples, and goes into more depth in her YouTube, Pinterest and newsletter.

This is a great resource I’ll be using again and again. But you will most likely learn and get a lot more out of her other content.

[Shelby Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

A solid collection of fashion advice. I also appreciate how the author navigated body positivity by encouraging everyone to compliment their body rather than dress for a beauty standard.

[Taylor Stephensen Beal · Rating 4 out of 5]

Light weekend read that helped me reassess my stylistic preferences and cluttered wardrobe. As a longtime follower of Ellie-Jean on YouTube and Instagram, I looked forward to her book. I love her innovative Style Roots system that empowers you to look beyond trends or other fashion “rules.” I also appreciate her philosophy on creating an intentional wardrobe with pieces that will last for years to come so you will shop less and contribute less to clothing waste/overconsumption; and also her philosophy of honoring/leaning into your unique features, not pandering to conventional beauty guidelines. Lastly, I find the cover of this book visually unappealing—don’t be fooled by the cover.

[aiyana ! · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don’t think anyone has helped me more with my style—key phrase: MY style, not imitating what I see on Pinterest, at school, or on the mannequin at Old Navy—than Ellie Jean Royden.

I’ve had a lot of “phases” in my life, and I’ve been a victim of the waxing and waning aesthetics and trends. I’ve recently drastically changed lifestyles, from student to teacher, and from living in the suburbs to life on a farm. I’ve also had to virtually rebuild my entire wardrobe from the ground up due to a fire. And on top of that I’m sooooo busy. So yes, getting dressed in the morning has recently become quite a unique challenge. As silly as it sounds, when I didn’t know how to dress, my confidence was shot. I was descending into hating my body and face. And worst of all, I spent so much time and money, buying everything I sort of liked, trying on everything in my wardrobe, and scrolling on Pinterest for HOURS only for the outfits to fall flat.

Anyways, at some point I discovered that I could be my own inspiration for my wardrobe. Rather than categorizing yourself as a “rectangle” or “pear” and only wearing the clothes that are “flattering” for your body type (i.e., clothes that will make you look like an “hourglass” and not yourself) you can use the principles of art—line, color, shape, etc.—to create outfits that are harmonious with your features and wear things that make you comfortable and happy in your own skin. You can combine this with your personality and context to create your own unique style.

This made me realize that the things I would look amazing in are not the same as the things my best friend would look amazing in, and vice versa. This is okay, and should even be celebrated. Because diversity is beautiful like that—if God wanted a world full of people who looked all the same, He would have made that. Knowing that has helped me love being me while also appreciating the beauty of people around me.

And this was revolutionary. Ellie Jean Royden’s YouTube channel helped me make this discovery. And although this book has a lot of information I didn’t know, a lot of the information in it made the things I did know about myself more concrete. I am now more confident in my choices and style.

I dock points off because of the immodesty. Otherwise this would have been a better review.

[Emily Koneski · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've loved Ellie-Jean's online presence and was really excited she was compiling her help in book form! This is an excellent starting place for women who don't know where to begin in creating or narrowing down their style. She perfectly combines the practical unchangeables (color seasons and body matrix) and pairs it with personality and interests (styles essences) and doesn't create an unnecessary dichotomy between the two.
My only disappointment is, having followed a lot of her content online, I was hoping to have some more in depth suggestions for specific body matrixes, and that was not present in this book. She herself mentions it and says it would just be too long to include (fair enough), but that left the book containing mostly what you could find on her YouTube channel. But I'm sure some will benefit from having it compiled in book format. It definitely helped me being able to flip back and forth to fully understand some concepts.

[Julie Willis · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is full of really useful information if you love style and have struggled with how to make yours more cohesive and work for you. Ellie-Jean’s Style Roots and Body Matrix systems are unique and so refreshing. I do feel like the book could have used some more editing, but overall it feels like a mix of a conversation with a close friend and a lecture (in a good way) from a seasoned professional.

[Anna Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love her content and love this book! Style roots and body matrix are game changers!

[Remy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I bought this book because I enjoy much of the author's online content, but I often prefer books as a format, especially when I'm trying to find something specific. This book covers a variety of style systems, some original and others amalgamations of existing systems. Each system was broken down into digestible parts that are much more straightforward and easily understandable than I have found most style advice to be. The book is well structured, making it easy to refer back to specific parts. Towards the end there was information on how to combine the different systems and more practical tips about organising and buying clothes. I think this book offers a great introduction and overview of various style systems and philosophies, and I will definitely be referring back to it.

[Kerry Duggan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved this book. My copy is COVERED in post-its and papers full of notes and things to reference as I keep working on my wardrobe. I came into the book already having a basic knowledge of the style roots and body matrix (from following the author) and knew what my color season is, and I think that foundation mixed with full explanations and exercises in the book to identify things about my own body and style, made this book extremely useful to me. Otherwise, I could see how it might be a lot of new info at once.

I love the author’s content online and I have to say, at first watching her videos, I wasn’t 100% sold on style roots or the body matrix although I saw value in them. But after reading the book, I’m fully on board. These methods gave me much more clarity than any others I’ve seen before, and I love that they’re easy to understand and seem more scalable/accessible. I practiced body typing celebrities and friends with different body types to put it to the test, and it was so much better than being stumped by Kibbe body types.

I also want to note that I appreciate how this book made me look at my body objectively without judgment. There was a special moment after tracing my body silhouette. After tracing and then writing “wide, long, round” as my body type, I was brought to tears. These words would typically be ugly for a woman to say/feel about her body, but when looking at my tracing, all I could think was that it’s so beautiful. I was so excited to keep reading and how to make my body type look even more beautiful by highlighting it’s strengths, not covering anything up. It gave me a new perspective on my body, and I’m so grateful for it.

This book is chef’s kiss.

[Sierra · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a really helpful guide to define and “level up” your style. I’ve watched Ellie-Jean’s content on YouTube for a while and so was interested in picking up her book. Personally the bit I found most useful was her “Style Roots” system. I like that it’s a system based around defining and bringing cohesion to the things that you like and are naturally drawn to. I felt that this was the best and most fleshed-out section of the book.

I think that the Body Matrix and Colour Seasons sections were a good starting point but I felt like they could have done with some more visual aides (eg. Having pictures of the colours rather than just names) to bring further clarity. Having done a little research about colour seasons in the past, this didn’t help me to clarify what season I am personally but it might be a good starting point if you’ve never looked into it.

I sort of wish that the “How to apply this” section was a bit more in depth as well. There’s a small section about outfit formulas but I’d have loved some recommendations of outfit formulas for different body types, for example. I think there could have been more on how to practically bring everything together.

But overall I think this is great for if you’re starting to think about your personal style and for considering the things you’re drawn to and why so if you’re interested in fashion it’s definitely worth a read.

[Loraena · Rating 4 out of 5]

I follow Ellie-Jean on the socials and find her style analysis methods pretty interesting. I like that she combines elements of body type, facial features, color seasons, and aesthetic preferences to help you find your own unique yet cohesive style. I especially enjoy her nature-inspired “Style Roots” system. It is complex, yet effective and customizable (I’m probably Mushroom/Earth/Stone). The Body Matrix system she invented is also pretty helpful for finding what cuts and shapes of clothing work best on you (I think I’m Medium/Long/Round). She also discusses Kibbe Body Types and Kitchener essences, both of which I find more confusing and harder to utilize.

In summary, Ellie-Jean has a very body-positive approach that appreciates beauty in everyone. She doesn’t use shaming words or elevate particular body types or aesthetics over others, but wants each woman to feel happy and confident in her own skin and has developed effective tools for doing that.

[Maidie Bogley · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have gotten so many compliments on my outfits in the days since starting this book! Ellie-Jean treats finding your style like a puzzle, which not only makes the process fun, but makes any style missteps you have made feel like they’re just part of the process. I gave this 4 stars rather than 5 for three reasons:

(1) Most images in the book are of relatively thin/slender women. It would’ve been helpful to see the style roots and body matrix on a range of sizes.

(2) Knowing how the style roots combine is difficult even after you’ve narrowed down your choices. I only was able to decide on my 3 roots after visiting Ellie-Jean’s Pinterest board.

(3) The distinctions between Wide/Narrow and Straight/Round are difficult, even with a line drawing.

While not perfect, this book is so much fun to work through and I definitely recommend for enhancing your personal style!

[Susannah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have been a fan of Ellie-Jean's for a while after first discovering her on YouTube a couple of years ago. I actually hoped she might come out with a book, so I was very excited when she did!

How to Dress Your Best is an introductory guide to the fashion and style theories that have influenced Ellie-Jean, such as the Kibbe body types, Kitchener essences, and seasonal colour theory, as well as her own style systems of Style Roots and the Body Matrix. If you have never seen her videos before, then her systems will all be new to you. But if you have watched al of her videos, and follow her on social media, such as YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok, then this book provides a welcome summary and encapsulation of her ideas. The book is also beautifully presented, with lots of style photos, and pastel colours used throughout. Recommended for anyone seeking a style guide.

[Tara Gainey · Rating 2 out of 5]

The style types only have 2-3 pages worth of info and the body shapes (all 27) only have about 7 examples of outfits. The author said there's too many types to include so she included a few for us to analyze and understand. I didn't find it helpful at all.

Style roots come with colour palettes as well, but I didn't find them useful because they are not within my colour story (for my skin/hair tone).

I am glad I rented this from my local library instead of purchasing it on my own. After I returned the book and checked the author's website, my style root is essentially Parisian style (which I already knew). I found nothing helpful from the website either.

[andrew nichols · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good read on finding your style

I loved this book. Easy to read and informative the author gives readers a huge amount of help towards finding their own style. With exercises and quizzes to keep the reader engaged, Ellie Jean makes each discovery of self fun and relaxed letting the reader go at their own pace. A definite read for anyone curious about changing or creating their own personal style.

[Megan · Rating 4 out of 5]

So fun. This is the antidote to the toxic 90’s/2000’s era “hide your flaws” focused style advice. I only wish the photography in the book displayed more examples of the author’s ideas, as opposed to stock footage of what I guess are supposed to be stylish people. The author created images/mood boards were quite helpful and matched the accessibility level of her YouTube channel.

[Léa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was already following Ellie-Jean on YouTube and this book is a great summary of the ideas she was already sharing. I truly enjoyed her vision on better understand oneself and learn to accept and embrace what make us, us, and dress our best.

[Aanya · Rating 4 out of 5]

Honestly I felt like I’ve been in a rut again with my style so the exercises and voice of this book has helped guide me in the direction of reanimating my wardrobe and playing to my strengths with my new knowledge of my colouring, style, seasons and body matrix

[Lynn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Is this book groundbreaking? No. Do I love it? Yes. I found EJR in YouTube. What I love about her work is her earnestness and sincere excitement to work with fashion and think about style in a practical and critical way.

[Sabrina · Rating 3 out of 5]

I know book deals don’t grow on trees, but I would have liked her to have one book going more in depth into the Style Roots and another into her Body Matrix, with all of the examples and possible combinations.

[Karisa WG · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book! It provides useful tools and well-explained theories on fashion in order to elevate your own characteristics and tastes rather than focusing on what’s trending. As Ellie-Jean says “finding your style by finding yourself”

[Alhanouf · Rating 5 out of 5]

I LOVED IT

I enjoyed this book .. I didn’t expect it to be so organized & easy to grasp. However, i ended up with season color that i still think it’s not mine🤔.. but i’m happy i got to know a lot about my body. Thank you

[Marlene · Rating 4 out of 5]

There’s a lot of information to digest in this book. I found the Body Matrix a little hard to figure out. Now to put it into practice is going to be a work in progress for sure.

[多奈 · Rating 5 out of 5]

I did not know that I needed this book until I read it♡
It is amazing and I cannot recommend more ♡

[Srikantha Robinson · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn’t feel like I learned anything that I could apply in real life without amassing a mountain of clothes.

[Sarah Kelsey · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've been following Ellie Jean Royden on YouTube for some years, and it's great to see her put all her analytical insights into one book. I'm sure we will read more from her in future.

[Mariel Davidson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really liked how she explained the style roots system, something I will definitely read again.