A review by bluejayreads
How to Have Style by Isaac Mizrahi

2.5

Solid in idea and reasonable in execution, but outdated and lacking in generalizability. In this book, the fashion designer author and his team upgrade the looks of several different women, each of which have a unique fashion problem they want solved. I appreciated that there was a plus-size woman invovled in this and that there's a stated message of body acceptance (although it's undercut by Isaac's frequent mentions of how much better these women would look if they lost a few pounds). But most of the advice is specific to the subjects' situations and concerns and difficult to generalize. And even though several of the subjects are younger, the final looks scream "outfits a middle-aged woman would save on Pinterest in the early-to-mid-2000s" to me - generic, unexciting, mildly if not unwearably outdated, "nice" without being interesting or memorable. (In fact, the only final outfits I actually remember are from the twentysomething who Isaac inexplicably put in what would have been conservative officewear if every shirt wasn't halfway unbuttoned to expose her bra.) Isaac may have "style," but this book has not convinced me he has taste. The pictures were great and I liked reading about Isaac's thought process, but if you're looking for something actually useful or actionable (or even inspirational for a younger person in 2023), it's not this. 
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