Favourite book: A guide to quality, taste and style by Tim Gunn

by Maria

To me, Tim Gunn has become something of a mentor. I’m sure if I ever met him, I’d be an absolute mess who couldn’t even speak a coherent sentence, and he would be wonderfully graceful and nice about it. I’ve read another of his books (“Gunn’s Golden Rules”), which is a lovely mix of a biography and a guide on how to live your life. That book made me let Tim Gunn into my head and heart – but “A guide to…” is the book that let him enter my closet. And that’s saying something.

I have read plenty of books-that-shall-help-you-figure-out-your-own-style-and-closet, and I think this is the best one I’ve ever read. Whereas all the others have started with the author and what she thinks is necessary, “A guide to…” starts with you. Really, the first chapter is even entitled “Who You Are”! In said chapter, there is a quote by Diane von Fürstenberg, where she says: Tim, you must never lose your voice as an educator. And this is precisely what makes the book so great.

In this book, you will not be told to buy the classics (pearls, a trench coat, a black suit and an LBD) unless this suits your personality, taste and lifestyle. Instead, you will be introduced to new ways of thinking and learn what actions you can take that will improve the state of your wardrobe. Everything is written in a kind, but direct way, in that manner I have come to know as very Tim Gunn’eresque. This quote from the chapter “Diagnosing the common closet”, under the heading “Items that don’t fit”, illustrates it all:

“Clothes do not exist to humiliate their owners. Please do not force garments into performing psychological tasks for which they were not designed. Furthermore, please be kind to yourself. They don’t fit. Toss ‘em.”

Now, the book was not written by Tim Gunn alone, but alongside Kate Moloney, Assistant Chair in the Department of Fashion Design at Parsons. She may not be as well-known as Gunn, but when Tim says he “wouldn’t have agreed to write [the book] without her”, I trust he has his reasons. “A guide to…” is inspirational, well-written, funny, honest and educational, but also useful. This is what I’ve missed the most in other books of the same kind; they may inspire and entertain, but very rarely spin me into hands-on actions that will make a difference. To sum it up, I’ll end with a quote from the book (that’s what you do in book reviews, right?), as it so perfectly sums up the book.

“We hope to challenge you, provoke you, and cause you to question your assumptions. Our goal is for you to be unflinchingly confident in who you are. Own that person. Own your look.”