THE BOOK OF STYLING

A matter-of-fact tone removes the mystery from style in this work that is one-part fashion manual and one-part career guide.

Flaherty begins by explaining what a stylist is and the tools he or she uses. She moves on to a wide range of different looks like Socialite, Tomboy and Hipster; fashion elements like color and prints; and a thorough understanding of body type. While the number of fashion personalities is impressive, not one is male, a confusing omission given that boys wear clothes, too. The section on body types is very useful with its real-world examples, Naomi Campbell representing the Inverted Triangle type. The second half is more practical, focusing on "curating" a closet, building a wardrobe, styling oneself and others, and styling as a career. Sprinkled throughout the text are activities like a fashion-movie night and organizing a clothing swap. The illustrations are attractive, yet it's too bad there isn't a greater variety of body types represented.

For a guide to fashion, there's not much flair here. But there's plenty of valuable info for budding fashionistas and stylists, going beyond the shallow glitz of fashion magazines and blogs.