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How to Not Wear Black: Find Your Style and Create Your Forever Wardrobe
Find your style, create your forever wardrobe
Shop better, buy less, and dress to tell the world this is me! Anna Murphy, Fashion Director of The Times, shares her tricks for dressing to feel confident and comfortable, look modern and fabulous, and define your personal style--without always resorting to black. When you dress, you stake your place in the world to a voice, a path, a future. Choose who you want to be and how to dress well accordingly. As Mark Twain said, There is no power without clothes.
Anna draws on her years of inside fashion knowledge and style experience to help you figure out your clothing happy place. What best flatters your body? What expresses your sense of self? And how do you build a sustainable wardrobe that will serve you day in, day out, for years to come? Explore why less is more; how to layer, the tricks of mixing and non-matching, and how to dress up neutrals. Follow Anna's tips on the 9-5 work wardrobe, what to wear for that special occasion, and how to carry off athleisure wear in style. Also discover the best length of dress or pants for you, your perfect jeans, and how to invest in a handbag that you will use and love forever.
Immerse yourself in this inspiring, realistic, and practical style book and you, too, will be able to throw together chic outfits effortlessly, have something you want to wear for every occasion, and create a wardrobe that, with occasional shopping forays, can last forever. Make fashion your friend!
Shop better, buy less, and dress to tell the world this is me! Anna Murphy, Fashion Director of The Times, shares her tricks for dressing to feel confident and comfortable, look modern and fabulous, and define your personal style--without always resorting to black. When you dress, you stake your place in the world to a voice, a path, a future. Choose who you want to be and how to dress well accordingly. As Mark Twain said, There is no power without clothes.
Anna draws on her years of inside fashion knowledge and style experience to help you figure out your clothing happy place. What best flatters your body? What expresses your sense of self? And how do you build a sustainable wardrobe that will serve you day in, day out, for years to come? Explore why less is more; how to layer, the tricks of mixing and non-matching, and how to dress up neutrals. Follow Anna's tips on the 9-5 work wardrobe, what to wear for that special occasion, and how to carry off athleisure wear in style. Also discover the best length of dress or pants for you, your perfect jeans, and how to invest in a handbag that you will use and love forever.
Immerse yourself in this inspiring, realistic, and practical style book and you, too, will be able to throw together chic outfits effortlessly, have something you want to wear for every occasion, and create a wardrobe that, with occasional shopping forays, can last forever. Make fashion your friend!
- GenresFashionNonfiction
256 pages, Hardcover
Published September 3, 2019
5 people are currently reading
153 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews
February 12, 2021
Good advice but she equates librarians with being unfashionable not once but TWICE. An easy, weak, and outdated stereotype that diminishes her fashion credentials. There are thousands of edgy and fashionable librarians (the vast majority cultivating their looks on very modest salaries) out there if she’d only bothered to look. Disappointing.
December 1, 2019
As someone who almost always wears black, I came to this book looking for practical ways to expand my sartorial horizons. Instead, I found a lot of quotes from Coco Chanel and old advice rooted in body shaming.
My main annoyance with this book is just how little time and attention dedicated to incorporating color or prints. There is one chapter dedicated to it. Throughout the book the author also strangely recommended a lot of black staples: tuxedo suit, little black dress, little black jumpsuit, etc.
This book is mostly about how to dress femininely and put together with individual chapters on pieces of clothing (handbag, jeans, athleisure, shoes, etc.) Which is fine I guess? But the outcome of this book isn't finding "your forever style", it's getting very specific advice to fit the author's style.
There were a few pages (yes, pages not chapters) that were helpful. But overall I found this book to be not fitting with the title and rather uninspired.
My main annoyance with this book is just how little time and attention dedicated to incorporating color or prints. There is one chapter dedicated to it. Throughout the book the author also strangely recommended a lot of black staples: tuxedo suit, little black dress, little black jumpsuit, etc.
This book is mostly about how to dress femininely and put together with individual chapters on pieces of clothing (handbag, jeans, athleisure, shoes, etc.) Which is fine I guess? But the outcome of this book isn't finding "your forever style", it's getting very specific advice to fit the author's style.
There were a few pages (yes, pages not chapters) that were helpful. But overall I found this book to be not fitting with the title and rather uninspired.
September 26, 2022
Four stars for browseworthiness. Three for practicality.
July 16, 2022
Got this from the library because I love fashion history and thought this actually might be fun and interesting. Nope. It's so deeply shallow, for the most part. Perhaps unsurprisingly, it feels like the Cosmo version of contemporary feminism. Quote Maya Angelou and Virginia Woolf (hilariously out of context)! Nod to sustainability and not buying much in between commands to buy a statement bag and fun socks. Tell your reader to wear what they love - but then also reduce women to the old cliched body shapes and command them to dress a certain way in order to look a certain way. Assume that everyone kind of wants to just look feminine and hourglass and "chic" in a very particular fashion-magazine way. In general, it's just a mixture of the tired and obvious in cute new clothes that doesn't actually provide new insight at all.
December 26, 2019
This book is misleading. There's a very narrow point of view and really only tells you how to dress business. I haven't learned anything from reading this book. I don't think it's very in depth. Each chapter is only her view on a certain topic but doesn't really say how to get there. Her words would carry more meaning if they were accompanied by diagrams. Also for a book titled how to not wear black, Murphy loves black dresses, black boots, and black jumpsuits. I could read half before I completely gave up.
December 28, 2019
I hated everything about the book except for the saving grace of a chapter about sustainable fashion.
It purported to be helpful for all body types--except those with double digit sizes.
It pretended to be timeless--but showed some utterly faddish items.
Worst of all, it associated unfashionable with librarians.
It purported to be helpful for all body types--except those with double digit sizes.
It pretended to be timeless--but showed some utterly faddish items.
Worst of all, it associated unfashionable with librarians.
December 27, 2019
There was no good reason for me to have picked up this book. A., I have no problem not wearing black, and B., I just read another fashion book, so should presumably study some less frivolous subjects for awhile. Not to mention my unwillingness to attend to any book that sports a split infinitive in its very title. Why did I check it out, then? I couldn’t help it…it’s a fancy hardback in a shade of pale salmon pink that I really like…and there are cunning little drawings of clothing on the cover…and it’s fun to review fashion books on Goodreads at length…yes, because I’m weak.
My interest in the book intensified when I saw the photo of the author on page 10. You could explain to a blind person why her outfit is supposed to work: the colors of the large asymmetrical dots in the sweater echo the colors of the flowers and background of the skirt, as do the pale green shoes, brilliantly harmonizing what is a daring mash-up of fabric and pattern. The blind person might buy this, but then there’s the actuality experienced by us sighted people:
Would you take fashion advice from this woman?
To me that looks like 10 miles of bad terrain. The opportunity to be catty about fashion writers’ taste in clothing is a powerful motivator, so all my doubts about finishing the book vanished right there.
Anna Murphy takes on several projects in this book. 1. She dispenses some general concepts about smart dressing, just in case she attracts readers who have never read a women’s magazine ever. Know your shape: are you a triangle, a rectangle, an upside-down triangle, an hourglass? Some unholy amalgamation of the above? Use your clothes to draw attention to the small parts of your anatomy, not the gargantuan ones. Or, conversely, if you want something to seem bigger, slap some horizontal stripes there. The shoes you choose can make or break an outfit. Know what colors work best with your skin’s undertone. Et cetera. All well and good.
There were a couple of concepts I’d never run into before. The one I remember now is the chart by which you can determine if you are small-boned, medium-boned, or large-boned. Yes, being big-boned is not just a joke anymore! Bone sizedness has nothing to do with your weight and little to do with your stature, according to this chart. The telltale measurement is the circumference of your wrist. You can be an Olympic shot-putter and still be small-boned, or a 5’ tall toothpick and still be large-boned. Why does it matter? According to Murphy, your bone size determines the print size you can get away with on your clothes. Small-boned people get to have eentsy little flowers; big-boned people get 6-inch dahlias. As a small-boned person, I’m going to deem this theory bogus, mostly because I have some big geometric print blouses I’m not about to toss out. And also because it doesn’t really make sense. If I have to use a measuring tape to find out my own bone size, then how the heck is anyone else going to know?
A second project of the book is alerting us to new permatrends and offering counsel. You have to have some justification for adding yet another fashion advice book to the market, and in this one, Anna Murphy takes on “Athleisure” and “Eco Fashion,” which I haven’t seen covered before. Regarding athleisure dressing, it’s here to stay, so you might as well embrace it. Murphy says that anywhere you might normally have worn jeans in the past, you can now wear your athletic pants as an up-to-date replacement. Go ahead and wear your satin track pants to work too. Be sure you have some cute Converse-like flat sneakers to deploy as necessary with your athleisure and other outfits; big bulky trainers won’t really cut it.
Regarding eco fashion, Murphy reminds us that the fashion industry is very hard on the environment, but notes that many designers are now offering eco-friendly lines which do better. Though these clothes are usually more expensive, they tend to be well-made and will last a long time. She offers an extensive list of eco-friendly brands to shop from at different price points. I did like this section of the book, though most of the price points were pretty high, looked like.
Project three of the book is the main focus: Anna Murphy wants you to dress more daringly. This is the genesis of the book’s title. Wearing all black is too easy, and is not really that hip anymore. Oh, sorry, I meant to say “not that cool-girl” anymore. If you want to be “cool-girl,” you need to have bags and shoes and coats in statement colors, as well as embrace looks like the romantic flowered dress paired with combat boots and the colorful business pantsuit paired with tennis shoes. This is the portion of the project where I often found myself in disagreement with the author.
My biggest beef was with some of the shoe choices. I like shoes in statement colors as much as the next guy, but too often in the example photographs, they made a look seem unbalanced. There’s a woman wearing an ugly drawstring-waisted suit on page 177 (plus mustard blouse, eeyu)—and the ensemble is only made worse by the incongruous giant white shoes at the bottom of it all. One of my favorite fashion concepts (from another book!) is “bring the bottom color up,” which eliminates such out-of-nowhere white shoe shock. Earrings with some white or even a white wig might have made this look better (though nothing can actually cure a frumpy jacket). I don’t have as much of a problem with a “statement bag” as with shoes, since at least an incongruously colored bag will show up at the center of an outfit, and, in essence, sort of balance itself.
As an aside on the subject of jackets, remember when Trini and/or what’s-her-name from What Not To Wear said to run, not walk, away from double-breasted suits, since the name says it all in terms of how large they will make you look? Well, Murphy must not subscribe to the belief that these jackets make one look double-breasted, because they are featured frequently in this book. I am not a fan.
Regarding the clunky boots+dresses and tennis shoes+dressy anything--a photographer can make a person look good in outfits like this in a carefully-posed vacuum (sometimes). But if you imagine what it would be like if that person were walking around, getting in line at the local coffee shop, getting on the bus, waiting at the copy machine, it becomes clear that in most cases they will look pretty ridiculous. Especially if older than 25.
In my opinion, 42% of the full-length outfits depicted in this book are really good and definitely looks worthy for readers to aspire toward. 20% of them are just meh, and 38% are downright terrible. Poor shoe choice and/or shapeless clothing cut were my most frequent complaints. I don’t know why Anna Murphy is promoting these things in over half the book’s photos. I liked the design of the book as an object, and I found it interesting to read (despite Murphy's somewhat annoying writing style), but I think Murphy needs go back to design school to refresh her sense of visual harmony and line.
My interest in the book intensified when I saw the photo of the author on page 10. You could explain to a blind person why her outfit is supposed to work: the colors of the large asymmetrical dots in the sweater echo the colors of the flowers and background of the skirt, as do the pale green shoes, brilliantly harmonizing what is a daring mash-up of fabric and pattern. The blind person might buy this, but then there’s the actuality experienced by us sighted people:
Would you take fashion advice from this woman?
To me that looks like 10 miles of bad terrain. The opportunity to be catty about fashion writers’ taste in clothing is a powerful motivator, so all my doubts about finishing the book vanished right there.
Anna Murphy takes on several projects in this book. 1. She dispenses some general concepts about smart dressing, just in case she attracts readers who have never read a women’s magazine ever. Know your shape: are you a triangle, a rectangle, an upside-down triangle, an hourglass? Some unholy amalgamation of the above? Use your clothes to draw attention to the small parts of your anatomy, not the gargantuan ones. Or, conversely, if you want something to seem bigger, slap some horizontal stripes there. The shoes you choose can make or break an outfit. Know what colors work best with your skin’s undertone. Et cetera. All well and good.
There were a couple of concepts I’d never run into before. The one I remember now is the chart by which you can determine if you are small-boned, medium-boned, or large-boned. Yes, being big-boned is not just a joke anymore! Bone sizedness has nothing to do with your weight and little to do with your stature, according to this chart. The telltale measurement is the circumference of your wrist. You can be an Olympic shot-putter and still be small-boned, or a 5’ tall toothpick and still be large-boned. Why does it matter? According to Murphy, your bone size determines the print size you can get away with on your clothes. Small-boned people get to have eentsy little flowers; big-boned people get 6-inch dahlias. As a small-boned person, I’m going to deem this theory bogus, mostly because I have some big geometric print blouses I’m not about to toss out. And also because it doesn’t really make sense. If I have to use a measuring tape to find out my own bone size, then how the heck is anyone else going to know?
A second project of the book is alerting us to new permatrends and offering counsel. You have to have some justification for adding yet another fashion advice book to the market, and in this one, Anna Murphy takes on “Athleisure” and “Eco Fashion,” which I haven’t seen covered before. Regarding athleisure dressing, it’s here to stay, so you might as well embrace it. Murphy says that anywhere you might normally have worn jeans in the past, you can now wear your athletic pants as an up-to-date replacement. Go ahead and wear your satin track pants to work too. Be sure you have some cute Converse-like flat sneakers to deploy as necessary with your athleisure and other outfits; big bulky trainers won’t really cut it.
Regarding eco fashion, Murphy reminds us that the fashion industry is very hard on the environment, but notes that many designers are now offering eco-friendly lines which do better. Though these clothes are usually more expensive, they tend to be well-made and will last a long time. She offers an extensive list of eco-friendly brands to shop from at different price points. I did like this section of the book, though most of the price points were pretty high, looked like.
Project three of the book is the main focus: Anna Murphy wants you to dress more daringly. This is the genesis of the book’s title. Wearing all black is too easy, and is not really that hip anymore. Oh, sorry, I meant to say “not that cool-girl” anymore. If you want to be “cool-girl,” you need to have bags and shoes and coats in statement colors, as well as embrace looks like the romantic flowered dress paired with combat boots and the colorful business pantsuit paired with tennis shoes. This is the portion of the project where I often found myself in disagreement with the author.
My biggest beef was with some of the shoe choices. I like shoes in statement colors as much as the next guy, but too often in the example photographs, they made a look seem unbalanced. There’s a woman wearing an ugly drawstring-waisted suit on page 177 (plus mustard blouse, eeyu)—and the ensemble is only made worse by the incongruous giant white shoes at the bottom of it all. One of my favorite fashion concepts (from another book!) is “bring the bottom color up,” which eliminates such out-of-nowhere white shoe shock. Earrings with some white or even a white wig might have made this look better (though nothing can actually cure a frumpy jacket). I don’t have as much of a problem with a “statement bag” as with shoes, since at least an incongruously colored bag will show up at the center of an outfit, and, in essence, sort of balance itself.
As an aside on the subject of jackets, remember when Trini and/or what’s-her-name from What Not To Wear said to run, not walk, away from double-breasted suits, since the name says it all in terms of how large they will make you look? Well, Murphy must not subscribe to the belief that these jackets make one look double-breasted, because they are featured frequently in this book. I am not a fan.
Regarding the clunky boots+dresses and tennis shoes+dressy anything--a photographer can make a person look good in outfits like this in a carefully-posed vacuum (sometimes). But if you imagine what it would be like if that person were walking around, getting in line at the local coffee shop, getting on the bus, waiting at the copy machine, it becomes clear that in most cases they will look pretty ridiculous. Especially if older than 25.
In my opinion, 42% of the full-length outfits depicted in this book are really good and definitely looks worthy for readers to aspire toward. 20% of them are just meh, and 38% are downright terrible. Poor shoe choice and/or shapeless clothing cut were my most frequent complaints. I don’t know why Anna Murphy is promoting these things in over half the book’s photos. I liked the design of the book as an object, and I found it interesting to read (despite Murphy's somewhat annoying writing style), but I think Murphy needs go back to design school to refresh her sense of visual harmony and line.
February 9, 2025
I think this book is likely ok, I am just not its intended reader (not the authors fault). I took it out of the library trying to care more about what I wear, but at the end of the day, I don’t (care, I mean).
February 15, 2021
As others have said, the author shares pointers on what they thinks women/femmes should wear... or at least how to wear items.
WHY do people continue to equate librarians with a lack of fashion sense? (Hi, by the way.) Some of the most fashionable folks I know are librarians- from tattoo wearing, all black ensembles to business casual with kitten heels and hoop earrings.
I picked up this book to unlearn the years of undefined style after wearing uniforms at school, but this has me more confused. The only redeeming parts were the chapter on sustainable fashion, and quotes from Iris Appel and Coco Chanel. More pictures would help us ‘style-challenged’ folks with understanding what you mean by Burlington bags and trouser cuts, etc.
WHY do people continue to equate librarians with a lack of fashion sense? (Hi, by the way.) Some of the most fashionable folks I know are librarians- from tattoo wearing, all black ensembles to business casual with kitten heels and hoop earrings.
I picked up this book to unlearn the years of undefined style after wearing uniforms at school, but this has me more confused. The only redeeming parts were the chapter on sustainable fashion, and quotes from Iris Appel and Coco Chanel. More pictures would help us ‘style-challenged’ folks with understanding what you mean by Burlington bags and trouser cuts, etc.
December 1, 2020
Being a fashionista, I can never resist a book about style or fashion. I have a collection that I'm quite proud of. I'm afraid this book won't be making it to my collection. It does have some good stuff in it; there's a chapter devoted to sustainable fashion which I'm very into. It's not going away, in fact, it's giant to become more popular than ever in order to save our work because fast fashion is on the way out I'm afraid. Since covid19, stores are struggling because people aren't dressing up to stay home and go nowhere. I'm the exception rather than the norm, in any case, I digress. This book doesn't have enough photos. I'm a visual person and fashion photos are a particular love of mine. It doesn't really tell me anything I didn't already know and read in countless other style books - dress fir your shape, size and all that good stuff. I did discover I have a small frame based on the measurements provided in a table so that was kinda neat. Other than that, I got a few style ideas from the photos but not too much else if I going to be honest.
October 11, 2023
This author definitely has strong opinions, and they don't all agree with mine, but that's her voice and I'm giving her 5 stars.
I wasn't sure I was going to be able to use this book, because it says it will help you "find your style and create your forever wardrobe", and I already have done those things. I ended up enjoying the book every bit as much as I'd hoped I would before I saw the subtitle, and I was sorry when I finished it because I wanted it to go on for a lot longer. I appreciate the quotes from well-dressed people and her support for putting all necessary effort into stepping out every day.
I also have a lot more confidence about putting together my unique outfits now. Will I be wearing ankle stocking socks or ankle fishnet socks? No; that look goes with bra straps hanging out of racer-back tops; it screams "I grew up without a mother". But I applaud her willingness to take risks in order to avoid looking boring.
I wasn't sure I was going to be able to use this book, because it says it will help you "find your style and create your forever wardrobe", and I already have done those things. I ended up enjoying the book every bit as much as I'd hoped I would before I saw the subtitle, and I was sorry when I finished it because I wanted it to go on for a lot longer. I appreciate the quotes from well-dressed people and her support for putting all necessary effort into stepping out every day.
I also have a lot more confidence about putting together my unique outfits now. Will I be wearing ankle stocking socks or ankle fishnet socks? No; that look goes with bra straps hanging out of racer-back tops; it screams "I grew up without a mother". But I applaud her willingness to take risks in order to avoid looking boring.
August 26, 2023
What the title means is "how not to give up and wear only black" as black is certainly not outlawed and some of the reasons how you wear it are carefully explained. In fact, there are a lot of good guidelines explained in this book (although most are certainly not new) but this is a cohesive and easy-to-follow sourcebook for picking what suits you best and how to pull together outfits with some simple ideas to follow (some of which have been gathered from Coco Chanel and other fashion icons). There are pictures that help to show concepts and make them easy to remember. I'm probably not gonna do all that's recommended, but this book did nudge me to pay more attention to winnowing out what doesn't work for me and to be a little more discerning about what really does work for me and is worth giving space to.
November 29, 2019
Loved the title/idea of this book, but I think it ends up being too “high fashion” to feel practical for me. Lots of rules and advice that, although they seem to be trying to avoid any body shaming, reinforce a lot of the same old gendered notions. On top of that, I’m not sure the advice is any good. Even when I found myself nodding along with a chapter, the photos at the end demonstrating the idea never showed looks I found remotely appealing. Chapter 8, on sustainable fashion, brought up some interesting points, but the rest of the book is pretty skip-able.
February 7, 2020
If you love fashion and you enjoy reading about it, you will enjoy this book. If you need some help getting focused on more intentional purchasing of wardrobe items, you would also benefit from reading this book.
The title is misleading...this is not a book about how not to wear black. It’s about building an edited wardrobe that SPARKS JOY😉😉
I particularly found the chapter on the handbag (and coats) to be helpful. I will now shop only for the fit-bag:the functional-forever-after-it-bag (opposed to the it-bag, AKA a seasonal bag I’ll get tired of because it does not “fit” my needs.
The title is misleading...this is not a book about how not to wear black. It’s about building an edited wardrobe that SPARKS JOY😉😉
I particularly found the chapter on the handbag (and coats) to be helpful. I will now shop only for the fit-bag:the functional-forever-after-it-bag (opposed to the it-bag, AKA a seasonal bag I’ll get tired of because it does not “fit” my needs.
February 13, 2020
I skimmed through this book rather quickly. I've read better books (more comprehensive) on finding one's style and creating a forever wardrobe. The best parts of the book for me were 1) classic pieces for the wardrobe and add-ons 2) how to cull your closet and 3) sustainable fashion sources. The book could have used more information on the colour wheel and how to extend one's wardrobe through the use of the colour wheel.
April 23, 2023
Just ho-hum. lots of already/mostly known fashion advice about the colour wheel, skin undertones, frame sizes, etc. And not enough pictures! if you really want to demonstrate a point, you need an example (or 3!) And of course the usual complaint that fashion seems to belong to the unusually slim. seriously - if some one showed the fashion concept applied to a problematic body, that would prove the idea worked.
December 7, 2019
I was really disappointed in this book. I have to admit the cover attracted me straightaway. It doesn’t have nearly enough pictures. And even though it suggests you should find a style icon (with your similar body type) all the pictures presented in this books are the one ‘quintessential’ model type. Take a pass on it.
February 28, 2020
I was hoping to learn how to develop a style that works for me and helps me express my personality and play up what I like about myself, and there's a little bit of that. However, the biggest lesson this offers is that I need to dress to make my frame look smaller, my waist look narrower, my shoulders less obtrusive, and my feet less noticeable.
January 5, 2020
I feel like this is a really good primer on how to find your personal style. It could benefit from a bit more in-depth discussion of the practicalities of actually making that happen. It does inspire me to go through my closet and start making some cuts!
April 14, 2023
Not really necessary for me as I never wear black but some helpful tips in here. But also some styles I would never put together so there's that. ALSO way too many digs at librarians being unstylish that's an outdated stereotype.
November 20, 2019
Some of the advice is helpful, but I feel like I could better visualize what she’s talking about if there were way, way more picture examples.
April 26, 2021
3.5 a quick read, probably could have been a magazine article but I enjoyed it anyway
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October 11, 2024I tried out some of the tips and got compliments from random people so that was lovely.
Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews