Anuschka Rees

I bought this as a follow-up to a personal styling course. It helped cement what we "studied" as part of the course, focusing less on fashion and more on what YOU like and need to wear. The focus away from buying yourself out of a wardrobe rut, and moving towards the idea of a personal style is key - I don't understand some of these reviews, it feels like they didn't read the book!
Learning about different styles, spotting your personal preferences and re-wears (an app is really handy for show more this) and building a set of versatile basics is well-covered as well as dressing for your actual lifestyle, rather than the imaginary one fashion magazines think you have. There's also a healthy shift away from "flattering" - i.e. look thinner, taller and expensive - and wear what you like. It also manages to avoid the boring "you must have these in your wardrobe" which are usually such staggeringly dull items as a pencil skirt, an expensive trenchcoat and a silk blouse. Instead it encourages you to decide what are YOUR basics and must-haves. Mine are jeans, plaid, Doc Martens, tweed, wool knits and long floaty cardigans. I shoot for a female Dr Who aesthetic...
My only critique would be it would benefit from illustrations of such things as quality seams and other signs of a well-made garment, and more diversity in the people pictured. show less

‘The Curated Closet’ is based on a style blog called Into Mind which I've enjoyed reading. The author is preaching to the choir with me, as I already have quite an analytical approach to my wardrobe. (For example, when I got a job after finishing my PhD, I sketched out a workwear concept and did a gap analysis to see whether I could achieve it without buying more clothes.) I noticed that the book didn’t discuss sustainability to the same extent as the blog; possibly Rees is saving that show more for a sequel. Nonetheless, the ethos being promoted is resolutely anti-fast fashion, which I appreciate very much. Rees’ ‘curated closet’ approach involves less shopping and thinking much more carefully about what you buy. She explains how to arrive at your personal style concept and then apply it to the practicalities of life. This is all very clearly explained in a non-patronising manner. (My style concept has been described by a friend as ‘battle librarian’. I would add to that ‘trying to avoid hypothermia’, as my wardrobe includes no shorts or sandals whatsoever but lots of tweed, wool jumpers, and merino base layers.)

I read the vast majority of this book just before going to sleep and would definitely not recommend this. If you have a remotely analytical brain and/or fondness for thinking about clothes, you will find yourself mentally rifling through your wardrobe and contemplating what is under- and over-represented within. Enjoyable as this was, it kept me awake for much longer than I wanted to be. I will probably work through the ‘curated closet’ approach properly at the weekend, to refine my personal style and improve my wardrobe. I particularly liked Rees’ ideas regarding capsule wardrobes for particular purposes, albeit with potential for overlap. I broadly divide my clothes into Work (smarter), Leisure (casual), and Dressing Up Box (formal & fancy). I would also add that developing a firm idea of your personal style and which clothing items your wardrobe is lacking makes charity & second hand shopping vastly easier. My approach to efficient charity shopping, which has served me well, involves locating the section for my size, then visually sifting by colour, fabric, and shape. If you know your clothing preferences well (eg dark jewel tones, natural fibres, and fitted at the waist, in my case) it’s much quicker to zero in on bargains. Charity shops are both an inexpensive and ethical way to buy clothes. Just today I found a lovely wool and cashmere jumper-dress for £4.50!

In conclusion, as ‘develop your personal style’ books go, this is a very good one. Notably, it advises you to wear what you actually like and ignore ubiquitous rules about ‘flattering your figure’ (ie looking taller and thinner). Perhaps the process might seem a bit detailed and time-consuming for some, however this is totally my idea of fun. show less

I picked up this book because it was featured on the podcast By The Book which, by the way, I highly recommend in its own right.

It's actually a quality book - it feels good and hefty in-hand, the pictures are beautiful, but don't feel filtery-fake, and the advice is - for the most part - practical. And, curated anything is kind of a buzzy idea these days.

What I liked:
- There's no magic one-size-fits all style formula for here. Unlike recycled fashion mag listicles (30 wardrobe pieces show more everyone should own by 30, one of which is without fail a Burberry trench or a high-end designer bag), this gives a lot of ideas on how to go your own way and build a wardrobe that works for your life, rather than building a life that lives up to your wardrobe.

That is a massive run-on sentence, but you get the point.

- I enjoyed making a style mood board, not because I'd never thought of that idea, but because I'd never actually done it before and buying the book gave me permission to carve out time to follow through. Plus, it was kind of fun.

- I liked how to think about what types of pieces you need more/less of and making a shopping list for those versus just getting fed up and buying any old thing just to get out of the store.

- I liked the advice to buy for quality rather than price and think about value over seasons with wardrobe workhorse pieces.

The advice on what to look for in a particular type of garment to discern quality of construction was helpful, but would have been nice if printed on a pullout card to pop in a bag and go shopping. Same for the shopping list--there's no way I'm going to retain that info where I need it for when I need it in the book.

But whatev: there's something for anyone who wants to dress better or make better clothing investments. This is a great book for a woman who's shifting from one stage of life to another, or one career to another, or some sort of transition that there are wardrobe changes in her future. I learned something and that made the time I spent with the book valuable to me. I'd recommend it to others, too.

The same principles could apply to a man, too, of course...but this is definitely a book written by a woman for women. show less

Before I started reading this book, I was expecting a sort of "how-to" guide on organizing and cleaning out my closet. So, if that is what you are looking for, then this book is not it, but it is surprisingly even better than what I expected. Rees walks the reader through discovering a sense of personal style and applying that sense to your current closet and future clothes that you shop for.

This book was a game changer for me! I am the kind of person who runs out of closet space and still show more has trouble finding something to wear. If this sounds like a struggle that you experience, I'm sure that you are just as frustrated as me, especially since I only buy clothes that I thought were "cute" (although a sale never hurts).

With Rees' life-changing philosophy of the "Curated Closet," I now have new tools to find my own expression to clothes and stay true to myself in how I dress and keep clothes. The graceful beauty of simplicity and "less is more" is evident in each step of Rees' process - that is, the simplicity of the "Curated Closet" philosophy. No matter what your personal style - from minimalist to crazy prints and patterns - and no matter where you are on your journey to your dream closet, this book will surely give you the tools to fine-tune your wardrobe to your personality.

http://hebrideshermit.blogspot.com/2016/09/the-curated-closet-by-anuschka-rees.h... show less