Hillary Kerr - Who What Wear: Celebrity and Runway Style for Real Life

WHO WHAT WEAR

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Greetings and salutations, dear readers, and welcome to Who What Wear: Celebrity and Runway Style for Real Life. Some of you might know us from our day jobcreating and producing the online celebrity fashion and beauty magazine WhoWhatWear.comor we might be perfect strangers to you (in which case, its very nice to make your acquaintance!). Either way, were happy that youve picked up this little fashion guidebook and hope that youll find it just as entertaining as it is enlightening!

There are usually two kinds of people who are curious about fashion: devotees and detractors. For the devotees, creating outfits and exploring new trends is a way of life, a much-needed outlet for self-expression and a source of joy and fulfillment. The detractors see fashion differently: they think its all a ridiculous pageant, frustrating puzzle, or, even worse, a preening and pretentious exercise for the vain. However, regardless of whether you love it, hate it, or fall somewhere in between, one thing is certain: personal style is important.

The way you present yourself to the world and your ability to assemble fashionable outfits is crucial to success. Not to sound deeply superficial and psychotically anti-feministwere neither, we promisebut the plain fact of the matter is that you are judged, every single day, by the way you dress. Before you get to say a word or do a thing, your clothes are speaking for you, communicating strong messages to the outside world about your taste level, sense of self, and general acumen. Accordingly, its incredibly important that you are aware of the latest trends and able to incorporate them into your everyday outfits in a thoughtful, stylish manner. When youre comfortable with fashion in this way, your wardrobe will convey that you are smart, sophisticated, and relevantnow, who doesnt want that?

Of course, we recognize that keeping up with zillions of swiftly shifting clothing, accessory, and beauty trends is a daunting task. In fact, well be the first to admit that trying the latest runway looks, emulating the best celebrity outfits, and figuring out the must-buys at your favorite stores can be difficult. But we also know that with a little guidance and a little bit of work, anyone can learn how to master all of the above and more!

Over the course of this guide, well share all the fashion secrets, tips, and tricks you need to ensure excellent personal style. Whether you want to learn how to make any trend work on any body type or what outfit you should wear for a variety of important social situationsweve got the answers for you. By the time you reach the glossary, youll understand how to read the messages in a Prada show, why tastemakers like Kate Moss are so powerful, and when you should stop wearing a specific trend. Best of all: were certain that by the time youre finished with this book, your fashion sensibilities will be super chic or at least significantly improved! (Hey, were honest.)

HILLARY & KATHERINE

Fashion is not something that exists in dresses only. Fashion is in the sky, in the street, fashion has to do with ideas, the way we live, what is happening.

COCO CHANEL

Style is a tricky thing: everyone wants it, and few have it. Creating your own personalized version can be an expensive, time-consuming, what-was-I-thinking?-filled process that goes on for years. And if that wasnt enough, no matter how committed you are to the quest, great results are not guaranteed! Its enough to make anyone get annoyed, give up, and go buy a lifetime supply of uniforms, just to avoid having to make any more fashion choices!

But lets assume, just for a moment, that you are up for a little self-discovery style adventure. No matter if youre a total freshman who cant tell the difference between Marni and Mayle or the Chancellor of Fashion herself with a closetful of next seasons Balenciaga bags and vintage Philippe Chevallier sunglasses, everyone could use a little help along the way. Just think of us as your friendly tour guidessans pleat-front khakis, of coursewho will help you learn how to become a better-dressed, more fashionable, style-savvy version of yourself.

Now, before we hit the metaphorical trail and start searching for that rare and covetable beastie, stylus personalusotherwise known as personal stylelets discuss our game plan. Regardless of your budgets size or the current state of your closet, its important to do your research. Were not talking about cramming your brain full of fashion facts and statsinstead, we want you to focus on the one simple thing that is the crux of every excellent outfit or admirable look: inspiration.

At the Who What Wear office, we have an entire wall thats dedicated to inspiration. Its a constantly changing hodgepodge of our favorite runway images, celeb photos, editorials torn from our beloved overseas magazines (Paris Vogue in particular), fabric swatches, album covers, movie stills (we love Hitchcock), ad campaigns, black-and-white photography, and product shots of yummy coats, hats, handbagswhatever! The oversized collage might seem random and crazy, but it actually displays everything and everyone who inspires us and informs our work on a daily basis. The wall is a shrine to fashion and our favorite tastemakersso its is really quite fabulous looking and definitely adds an arty edge to the dcorbut at the end of the day, its just a really gigantic inspiration board.

People often pooh-pooh the inspiration board, as they associate it with the sort of scrapbook-style assemblages you make with your junior high pals, but we promise that its actually a powerful tool to help discover your personal style. Plus, by creating a mood board, youll be in fine company: most fashion insiders, including designers and editors, make new ones each season. The board lets these stylesetters channel their creative energy in a concentrated, playful way and provides them with a risk-free environment to try new things and experiment.

We highly encourage you to create your own version at home, though of course you dont need to dedicate a whole wall to your board. If you dont have enough room for a regular bulletin board, or fear that it might look too juvenile, just use the backside of your closet door, or even the inside of your bathroom cabinet, instead. Perfectionists take note: your board shouldnt be pre-planned or something that needs to reflect your taste in twenty years. It doesnt need to be cohesive or have a clear direction; it just needs to appeal to you in some way. Even if your instincts seem ridiculouswhere would you even wear that avant-garde dress?if an image appeals to you, grab it!

Just think of this as a simple snapshot of your taste at this particular moment in your life. You know how a mix tape (aw, were dating ourselves) or playlist can conjure up a vibe or transport you to a specific moment? Your inspiration board should be similarly evocative and current.