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Best Dressed: The Born to Shop Lady's Secrets for Building a Wardrobe
by Suzy Gershman
Product Group: Book
Publisher: Three Rivers Press (2000-03-28)
ISBN: 0609805819
EAN: 9780609805817
Dewy Decimal #: 646.34
Paperback: 240 pages
Edition: Reprint
Release Date: 2000-03-28
SKU: 07090241
Condition: Very Good As issued
Comments: Oversize Trade Paperback. Very Good condition with no markings. No highlights, underlines or notes in text. No creases to spine or cover. Minor wear to cover. Tight binding and clean crisp text. Very Nice copy.
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Editorial Reviews
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Product Description
Cultivating a distinctive style that expresses your personality and tells the world how you want to be perceived doesn't have to break the bank. In Best Dressed, Suzy Gershman -- internationally recognized for her retail acumen -- offers a comprehensive guide, from bargain bins to haute couture, to building a wardrobe that not only works for you, but rewards you with a personal style that ensures you always feel comfortable in your clothing. Her insider knowledge of the fashion world helps you identify your fashion goals, maximize your fashion dollars, and look your best, whatever the budget or occasion.
Suzy outlines a foolproof three-step plan for cultivating a successful shopping style. She offers guidance for those still in "The Empty Stage," otherwise known as "Help! I have nothing to wear," showing how to select core pieces that will form the basis of a versatile, age-appropriate wardrobe. Next, you'll master "The One Good Stage" -- in which you invest in one good example in each category of clothes and accessories, broadening your options and looks. By the time you're ready to conquer "The Rounding-Out Stage," finishing your wardrobe with seasonal accents and current trends, you'll have gained the confidence and flair to carry off your own unique style.
Suzy shares her personal philosophies on which items are worth a splurge (and when it's okay to buy "disposable" items); how to predict fashion trends (and when it's too late to buy in); and why the best foundation for any working wardrobe is a comfortable pair of shoes. For fashion novices and clotheshorses alike, Suzy's pointers and tips dissect the complex hierarchy of fashion retail and make creating a flexible and up-to-date wardrobe the painless process it was destined to be.
Suzy Gershman, the world's smartest shopper, lets you in on dozens of insider's tips and secrets to creating a fabulous wardrobe marked by your own personal style. Best Dressed delivers answers to your most frequently asked fashion questions, big or small, including:
Where are the real fashion bargains?
When is it too late to get in on a trend?
What is the single best fashion investment?
Why are the best working wardrobes built from the bottom up?
With Suzy's expert guidance, you'll learn to crack the stores' and manufacturers' pricing secrets, separate hype from style, and make your fashion budget go further than ever before.
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Customer Reviews
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One of the most informative books on fashion.
Rating  (5)
Date: 2005-04-19
3 out of 3 customers found this reveiw helpful
I have read several books on fashion in the past few months and find this to be one of the best. The reason is that it contains lots of information on the business of fashion that I have not seen in any other of the perhaps dozen books I have read recently. I'm afraid that I have to agree with the many reviewers that are not impressed with the ensembles that the author is wearing on the cover of her book. However, this doesn't really affect the information in the book. The author is telling you how to get what you want, not necessarily how to get what she wants. This woman is a real professional and her book is full of a ton of information and practical advice. This book does not include avice on how to dress for your particular body type, information that is available in other books.
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Great for wealthy matrons
Rating  (1)
Date: 2004-02-16
17 out of 18 customers found this reveiw helpful
This book contains the absolute best advice if you look like Suzy, think like Suzy, and have Suzy's enormous budget for clothing. Unfortunately, her personal style is much too matronly for me, and I'm 47 years old. She allows her personal -- and rather unfortunately, dismal -- taste dictate what she masks as general advice for all. One needs to look no further than the painfully hideous photo of her on the front cover, wearing gigantic pearls that threaten to engulf her head, which is in desperate need of an updated haircut.Some of her advice is just plain bad. A navy suit for everyone? She forgets that not everyone has her skin and hair color nor has a need to dress in ultra-conservative, business attire. No black or gold purse for evening? That's fine if you have an unlimited budget to buy one of her $1,000 bargain purses in different colors to match all of your outfits. If you don't buy different colors, then you'll forever be stuck as the woman with the purple, pink, or whatever-color-you-choose purse. She may not personally like black, but it is indisputably one of the chicest and most sophisticated colors. Keep in mind that the advice on the book is being dispensed by the person parading in the insipid outfits on the back cover. Although she does give a good insight behind the doors of the retail fashion industry, one still needs an annual multi-thousand dollar budget to even begin to take her advice. She also assumes that the reader, besides being incredibly wealthy, needs to dress in an ultra-conservative manner which allows little room for femininity or personal style. Come to think of it, I think Suzy would be the perfect fashion consultant for Queen Elizabeth of England - their styles are almost identical. My mother is nearly 70 years old and wouldn't be caught dead in some of the elderly fashions that the author is wearing. It is remarkable that anyone could take the advice on style in this book seriously. I would, however, recommend this book to anyone whose idea of fashion includes adding color to a burlap bag. But then again, Suzy's idea of wearing huge fake flowers and baseball-sized pearls may or may not be an improvement. The target audience for this book is extremely limited and should be noted.
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I Loved this Book!
Rating (5)
Date: 2003-11-05
6 out of 6 customers found this reveiw helpful
I loved this Book! There were no glossy pictures of the latest fashions but that turned out to be a good thing because the advice becomes timeless. I now know how to tell a quality item from a cheap item and have been able to go into stores and disregard a lable and discern an item of true quality from an item poorly made. This alone was worth its weight in gold. I am an avid thrift store shopper and cannot believe the beautiful items I have found there. Yesterday I pulled an Armani dress out of a jumble of clothing merely because I examined the stitching and fabric and knew I had a quality item. The lable was the last thing I looked at. However, it was no surprise that it turned out to be an Armani because the structure of the garment told me it was quality first. My copy is quickly becoming dog eared. If you do not have unlimited funds to spend on clothing do yourself a favor and buy this book so you can make the most of the money you do have available.
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A good start to wardrobe basics
Rating  (3)
Date: 2003-06-19
9 out of 10 customers found this reveiw helpful
This is a good basic start up guide to women who need help in refining their wardrobe, learn about fabrics, etc. The author shares her personal ideas on what to buy and when. Included in this book are tips on:
**style
**retail secrets
**wardrobe building
**basics
**accessories
**trendsHer suggestions are a little impractical for those not in a business environment (one of her tips is to buy 1 suit per season). She bases her wardrobe on jackets/blazers and suits/skirts. This may not be practical for the younger, more casual urban girl. But for those wanting to look more polished and put together, this book can give you a good start.
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Worth a quick read - but don't buy it
Rating (3)
Date: 2003-02-22
14 out of 17 customers found this reveiw helpful
Do read the first half which is about the working of the fashion/ clothing/footwear industries - it'll help you decide what to make of anything full price at a fancy department store. The book also has sound advise on how to estimate what you should really be paying for things at retailers, discounters, outlets, etc Skip the part where she gives wardrobe advice though - complete waste of time for anyone who cannot afford $ 1000 handbags !
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