My Look: A Guide to Fashion & Style (Tween Lifestyle Collection)
By Marlene Wallach, Anna Palma
Want to know the secrets of creating your personal fashion style? Learn how to feel beautiful inside and out. Wilhelmina Kids & Teens modeling agency president Marlene Wallach shares tricks of the trade so you'll know all the things fashion professionals know. From how to put together the perfect outfit to fashion dos and don'ts galore, Marlene's tips make looking and feeling fabulous a breeze. Packed with fun quizzes, games, and lots more,
- Amazon Sales Rank: #216514 in Books
- Published on: 2009-08-25
- Original language: English
- Number of items: 1
- Binding: Spiral-bound
- 128 pages
About the Author
Marlene Wallach is the president and owner of the Wilhlemina Kids & Teens modeling agency. She prides herself on nurturing young talent in the modeling and talent industries. An expert in the field, Marlene has made frequent appearances on television where she comments on children and fashion-related topics. You can visit her online at www.justaskmarlene.com.
Anna Palma specializes in photographing children, a job for which she is especailly well-suited. The same honesty, openness, and spontaneity that characterize her photographs can be found in her personal outlook, her disposition, and even her face. Kids are, says Anna, "the ideal subject matter: free and unpredictable." Her work has appeared in Vogue, New York Magazine, as well as ad campaigns for Neiman Marcus, Johnson & Johnson, and Mattel.
OK, but I would not want my daughter to follow this fashion advice
What I really appreciated about this book is how upbeat and affirming this book is. Marlene Wallach is constantly encouraging girls to smile, to be stylish without spending a ton of money or copying their friends, to be proud of their body. I also thought it was good how the book tried to encourage girls to write about their fashion ideas, and create fashion diaries. Anything that will get kids to write is a good thing.
I'm not as crazy about the focus on skinny girls. Wallach does address the issues of larger girls in one short section, but very briefly and superficially. All of the young models in the pictures are thin and do not seem to reflect a good cross-section of real-life young teens.
Also, (and I'm probably reflecting my un-hipness here), most of the fashions shown in the pictures just look stupid to me, with mismatched articles that no real girls would wear. For example, a pink sleeveless tee with a black prom dress with green polka-dot leggings with red sunglasses with black-and-white striped fingerless gloves. Please!
I also don't think that enough ink was given to the topic of "developing your own style." It's clear that the real "style" pushed is that of funky, colorful pieces worn in crazy configurations. A girl drawn to goth, for example, would be subtly disparaged by this book, which puts down black clothes. Similarly, girls with a more preppy, country-club style would possibly feel marginalized by this book, which constantly encourages mixing textures and styles of clothes.
Finally, I just didn't think the book went far enough in terms of helping girls get a handle on what is a reasonable wardrobe. The assumption throughout the book is that girls are practically swimming in clothes, and there are tips on hunting through the back of your closet for treasures, organizing your multitudes, and swapping your extras with your friends. But if this is really the case, then I think it would have been nice if she had addressed the question of what girls really need. Just buying into the idea that it is totally normal to have far too many clothes (such that you "forget" what you have) is really not doing girls any favors.
Overall, I'd call this about as deep as a typical magazine article. Not really offensive, but not particularly impressive either.
Not a good fit for a pre-teen just learning about style
I requested this book hoping it would be a good fit for my pre-teen daughter. She is starting to experiment with outfits more, and could use some practical guidance on mixing colors, patterns, seasons, etc.
But this book trends "funkier" than I was hoping. It is about creative exploration. Which is great, in theory. But if you're looking to help your daughter figure out that black tights don't work with a gauzy floral sundress - this book isn't going to do it. In fact, it will give her more ammunition for her arguments that dusty pink plaid and lime green really can look great together.
It's a good book for my daughter......
This book more than adequately covers the essentials of good style and fashion sense, as well as tips on hygiene, shopping, care of clothing, being prepared for what each day may bring, clothing-, stress-, and other wise.
This is a good addition to the pre-teen girl's personal library, and would actually carry her through her college years and beyond.
A girl who read and followed the advice herein would feel more secure about herself; my only question is (and this is really not the author's problem!), how many pre-teen girls would "listen" to a book rather than to their friends?
