Advanced Style

 

Advanced Style

by Ari Seth Cohen
Non-Fiction - Fashion/Coffee Table Book

240 pages

SUMMARY:
This fashion book is mostly photos of stylish older women (ages 70-100) taken on the streets of NYC. It evokes an age and sensibility where people dress to be seen in public. Styles include Old World Glamour, Proper 5th Avenue, and true Bohemian Avant Garde fashion.

MY THOUGHTS ON THIS BOOK: 

Another great fashion and people-watching book found through a recommendation from Nicole Caruso. Seeing carefully styled clothing and accessories on older bodies really helps you appreciate the styling all the more. 

This book is a healthy reminder that fashion doesn't have to go out the window at a certain age. True fashion is not just for the young and thin. Women can have fun with fashion throughout their lives. Things change and become more challenging certainly. But you still have control over how you present yourself. And clothing and accessories speak to the older woman's character and style more strongly because she knows herself and isn't concerned with copying others at that point in life. 

A fun bonus: almost all the outfits in this book were modest to compliment an aging body. Fashion does not have to equal sex appeal - as this book amply demonstrates. Fashion can be about creating beauty and interest in the world. Celebrating wonderful fabrics and textures. Layering cheerful color and whimsy. Demonstrating truly sophisticated dressing styles developed and earned over a lifetime.

Advice and quotes from the women fill the text of the book and exude reverence and respect for aging. I LOVED that! Some quotes that stood out to me:

     It pays to invest in quality: it never goes out of style.

     My philosophy is that fashion says "me too" while style says "only me".

     Sunglasses are better than a face-lift. They hide the ravages of time and let you spy. 

     We must dress every day for the theatre of our lives. 

I was inspired by many of the women in this book. I want to dress like some of them, especially the Proper 5th Avenue ladies! Their style is timeless and ageless and always appropriate. So good!

It was disappointing to see an interview with stripper Dita von Teese included in the back of the book. It let the book down. While Dita and I share an appreciation for the same Old World Glamour fashion style, she is not someone that I admire. Including her brought down the tone of this otherwise supremely classy book.

I sought out more books by this author (who seems to focus on old-age fashion) and found another through the library - Advanced Style: Older and Wiser. But I was disappointed by it. It scraped lower in his photography barrel and entered creepy, depressing territory.

RECOMMENDED FOR: Fashionistas. People who appreciate when others dress to be seen. People who appreciate the fashion wisdom of older women.