What is A Guide to Quality, Taste & Style?
A Guide to Quality, Taste & Style is a style guide that covers rules of etiquette in fashion. If that sounds a little dated, it’s meant that way.
This book is like a step-by-step guide on how to be chic. From where and who to find style inspiration from, to correct posture and attire for certain occasions.
From the one episode of Gossip Girl I’ve seen, this book read like its counterpart. In Tim Gunn fashion, it had a wry sense of humor and many lessons sprinkled into witty anecdotes.
If you’re not careful, you’d mistake this book for the precise template followed by Henry Higgins to school Eliza Doolittle!
(As you can tell, the spirit of A Guide to Quality, Taste & Style has left an impression.)
It’s a breezy read with much to consider. Like any book speaking on fashion, you take from it what you need and leave what you don’t need.
Who is Tim Gunn?
Tim Gunn is one of the most recognizable names and faces in fashion. He was a judge and mentor on Project Runway for over a decade. He was the Chair of the Fashion Design Department at Parsons The New School for Design.
He served as Chief Creative Officer for Liz Claiborne. And he most recently is a co-judge to Heidi Klum on Amazon Video’s Making the Cut.
He is lauded as a strict fashion critic, and he is respected for his high design standards. Gunn’s catchphrase, ”make it work!” is synonymous with being resourceful in fashion.
Gunn is considered an expert in his field. It seems fitting that he would create a guide dedicated to the stuff he lives everyday: style.
A Word of Caution
A Guide to Quality, Taste & Style is a much stricter book on style than I’m used to. I shouldn’t be surprised considering its author.
Still, the book has a lot of do’s and don’ts that sometimes made me balk. On one hand, I enjoy an authoritative voice telling me precisely what to do when I’m confused.
On the other, I’m suspicious of absolutes in any subject. I don’t abide by the thinking that just because I have a short torso, I shouldn’t wear cropped shirts. (That was one of the pieces of advice given.)
I see these kinds of suggestions as rooted in helping you achieve a statuesque, European model type figure. While that may be the goal for some, it’s not the goal for me.
And it shouldn’t be the focus of your style journey.
Like everything in life, this book has its shortcomings. But, it also offers a lot of valuable insights and tips.
Take what you need and discard everything else. After all, this is your style journey!
Lessons Learned
While this book has its flaws, it also provides helpful insights. Most style guides stop at what you need in your closet.
Not Quality and Taste! Gunn tells you what to wear and how to wear it, sure. But, he also walks you through best posture practices and how to avoid a dress code faux pas!
His additional tips and tricks venture more into lifestyle guide territory than just style guide. This reads as the book you need when you enter the upper echelons of society.
The appropriate amount of coverage for something to be considered a ”cover-up”. The importance of the fabric weight in a pashmina. What ”Creative Black Tie” even means.
This book is the unimpressed companion you need to escort you through stores, on vacations and at galas.
Is the My Fair Lady reference starting to make a little more sense?
My Favorite Parts
I enjoyed reading this book. It’s around 200 pages of quick wit and breezy advice.
It’s a fast read, packed with TV/film references, personal anecdotes and sarcastic humor. But, it all moves so quickly you often only catch a joke two paragraphs on!
It really was entertaining and thoughtful. I particularly liked the chapter on fashion icons.
Gunn gives examples of actresses and socialites that fall into categories of fashion: Angelina Jolie is considered a ”Siren”, Chloe Sevigny a ”Risk Taker”, and so on.
Image courtesy of popsugar.com.au
He explains the characteristics of each category and their style persona. While I don’t believe a person fits entirely under one label, it was interesting to see popular figures’ style profiles condensed into a few paragraphs.
It forced me to consider what my style profile would be considered based on my wardrobe. And frankly, I wasn’t pleased!
Style is More than Clothes
Like I said before, this book should be considered more of a lifestyle guide than used just for style. Gunn makes the (correct) argument that style isn’t just about what you wear.
It’s how you wear it – the canvas it’s presented on.
There’s a chapter of the book dedicated to correcting flawed posture. I found this helpful and original for a style guide.
In the chapter, Gunn explains best practices in keeping your body aligned. He does away with the shoulders back, chest out posture taught for millenia.
He favors instead head up, pelvis tucked and shoulders pulled away from your ears (pulled down rather than backward).
I struggle with correct posture so his tips were valuable for me. And I believe in their purpose: your outfit can be thwarted by concave shoulders.
It’s a simple fix to better present yourself and your clothes.
Beyond posture, Gunn also stresses the importance of taking care of your skin. Exfoliate, moisturize and massage, people!
I believe these practices lend to your confidence which is the backbone of style. You need to be confident in yourself to show your true self.
Following some of the advice offered in Quality and Taste may help you on your journey.