In the local library, whilst waiting for a computer I had booked (people need to hurry up and eradicate paper forms, as I had to come in to use their printer!). Anyhow, it took me a while to find my feet, as the layout has changed and is no longer in exact dewy decimal order. I did come to enjoy browsing more in this setup, and found How to Get Dressed by Alison Freer under the “Lifestyle” section. Now it has become one of several books overdue, so the race is on to get this done! 

Freer is a Hollywood costume designer with a wealth of experience, knowledge, and magic tips for mere mortals like me. From tips for wardrobe malfunctions and stains, to information on styles and fabrics, to fashion rules that CAN be broken. I’m not all about adhering to a set of rules when I get dressed, and don’t necessarily believe in them, yet I can see it would be handy for people who do find it a bit harder to think outside of the box. It’s a great book, an easy read, AND Freer uses Oxford Commas (that always makes me happy).

Editing your wardrobe is an important encouragement that this book makes (I know it’s easier if you have a shop to sell your excess clothing in, like me). One important aspect is to rid your wardrobe of clothes that don’t fit you properly: Break up with ill-fitting clothes or use a tailor to make alterations (especially if you don’t trust your own sewing skills enough!). Say goodbye to bunching, gathering, gaping, twisting, and un-buttoning – and say hello to style, as Freer puts it, “Fit: the true enemy of great style”.

One thing I really appreciated in this book is the section on defining your own style: “Take the time to define your own signature style”, and use this as a tool to remove doubt from getting dressed, “[that] can make you feel cooler, smarter, sexier, and stronger”. Freer includes some steps you can take to help you define your own style (Chapter 4 “Be your own costume designer” ). It’s essentially a brainstorming exercise, with an aim to come up with a phrase of only a few words that nails down your true style essence. List your likes, culture, hobbies, style influences, music, and so forth… Explore your character, as if you were a costume designer dressing an actor! And remember you’re not stuck with one look as you grow and change as a person. I like to think I dress in a mash-up of what I would’ve loved to have worn as a toddler, but also like a grandma. After pondering this activity for a few days, I came up with something along the lines of “romantic hippy with a twist”, and I would be interested to hear what some of my readers come up with. Freer lists some examples of signature styles as defined by her online readers, which did help get the ball rolling for me, I must admit.

I did find some of the themes problematic, although truthful. I agree that clothes can be good “visual cues” for people interacting with you, especially those you don’t know personally. However, I would definitely like to point out that you keep an open mind and don’t completely rule someone out because their appearance does not meet your expectations (I’m talking about people who’ve made assumptions about me “going nowhere in life” solely from my appearance… ). Clearly fashion can also perpetuate and reinforce ideas that have been ingrained in us by society, such as classism, sexism, and racism. As readers with agency we can also not take Freer’s word at face value, and can take our own meaning from it.

Similarly, while Freer encourages the reader to break many fashion rules for women that she deems superfluous, men’s clothing is one area where she does not believe rules should be broken. While these rules for men are generally discussing formal attire, I would also take some of them with a grain of salt… although it certainly seems concrete to Freer, “While the rules for women’s fashion are kind of dumb and made for some serious breaking, classic menswear is all about angles and geometry – so it’s a fool-proof mathematical equation that adds up perfectly almost every time”. King Edward VIII (who abdicated to marry Wallis Simpson) is attributed to set modern hallmarks of suit fashions in, having previously been set more in rigid parameters (although the previous style would have once been seen as being the modern style, so I don’t see it as being stuck that way into the twenty-first century). As Freer says regarding female fashion, in her own words, may as well be considered when dealing with clothing for all genders: “Just because some boring nerd somewhere decided that we should all blindly follow a bunch of made-up fashion rules doesn’t mean we have to obey. For every fashion ‘rule’ ever written, there’s just as compelling reason to break them… So fly in the face of authority and carry on with your bad self, ya hear?”

So, while the book contains very many practical tips about looking after, tailoring, mending, storing etc. your clothing, this following quote from Freer says it all really “Real style is all about enhancing who you already are – not attempting to change yourself into someone else”.

I’ll definitely miss the pages of tried and tested stain removal (and other magic trips like using toupee tape to keep clothes in place when you where them); But please do remember that it still is opinion that is written in the pages of this book, it just does happen to be an opinion of an industry professional!