VivirLatino

Weekend Reading : Nina Garcia's Little Black Book of Style

10:25 H | Topics: Books

As the daughter of a woman working in the fashion industry, fashion magazines and the latest styles were always in my presence. Even if I didn't like the consumerist spin fashion often forces down our throats or just really couldn't afford the time, money, and effort it took to look like I stepped off one of those pages, fashion has been a secret dirty pleasure. Now Colombiana Elle Fashion Director Nina Garcia, judge from the hit Bravo Network show Project Runway, brings readers her tips on how to be fabulosa via her book, The Little Black Book of Style.

The book really is a little black book, perfect for the fashion impaired to slip into their tote (sorry, it's not small enough for a clutch) and refer to. The book is filled with fun illustrations by Ruben Toledo and is filled with inspirational quotes, some from Hispanic notables like Gabriel Garcia Marquez and Salvador Dali. The fact that many quotes are taken from non-fashion figures serves to drive Nina Garcia's main point home, it's not what you wear, it's how.

Nina Garcia roots her fashion life in her upper class upbringing in Colombia and describes how for her coming to college in the United States wasn't so much a culture clash as a fashion clash (oh to be so lucky, I'm sure many a Latina is groaning). Nina Garcia then gives 10 simple fashion "rules". None should be new to even the casual reader of fashion mags like "investing in the bones" (basics).

A large portion of the book is dedicated to fashion inspiration like film, music, art and even geographical regions. This is perhaps the most fun part of the book because of it's pop culture appeal. A quote by Shakira appears in this section, that kind of doesn't seem like the Shakira we know (and love). "I never leave the house without makeup. I'm a woman, you know". And here is where Nina Garcia's upper class bias shines through. When describing South American style (not Latin American mind you)she refers to the continent as the "land of the beauty queen". Maybe to some, but certainly not all.

As I got deeper into the book Nina Garcia's class began to irritate me. I liked her better when she stuck to basics, isn't that what a black book is? The bare bones basic list of options for a night (or day). Find one that is available. Her advice to what to wear to a wedding, an interview, and a first date were dead on, but her advice for dressing when you are pregnant just annoyed me:

Wear jewelry. Lots of Jewelry. Make the guy buy it for you-he got you into this...Anything to take the focus off the belly.

Real fashionistas should enjoy the mini-interviews with fashion legends like Oscar de la Renta and Carolina Herrera who hit the nail on the head when describing Latin American style:

The Latin American style is very seductive. It is not only what you wear, but the way you move, dance, laugh, talk, that makes it so special.

If you can get past the glaring class bias, Nina Garcia's Little Black Book of Style is a fun romp through the basics of dressing fashionably, meaning looking your personal best. Garcia doesn't tell you to be trendy (although she thinks you should always wear heels, unless you're pregnant) just to work with what you have and work it well.

Grab the book via your local bookseller or via Amazon.

Related

• National Rican Organization Challenges Presidential Candidates to Speak Address the Community (Wednesday, Sep 17 2008)
• Mujeres : Tu Voto, Tu Voz? (Tuesday, Sep 16 2008)