The Ultimate Book of Outfit Formulas: A Stylish Solution to What Should I Wear?

There is some good basic advice in the book and it is well written. There are no photographs. Outfits and cutting are down as drawings. The outfit formulas are basic and dated (lots of advice on styling skinny jeans).This is a book for someone who lives a very casual lifestyle. If your workplace expects something other than jeans, you won't find this helpful.Also, the author does not understand body shapes. Inverted triangle bodies apple bodies are not the same shape. Most of the outfit formulas work best on triangle and rectangle bodies. Shirts with horizontal stripes figure heavily in the formulas.I recommend not buying this book. There are better options.

This book gives you formulas for outfits for each season. There are 18 different formulas for each season 12 informal and 6 formal (special occasion or date night). There is a shopping list and a picture of some of the items from the shopping list. I used the fall section to create outfits and the picture shows some of my results. My frustrations in doing this included: not all of the shopping list was included in the picture of items used, one of the items that was in the picture of items used was not on the shopping list and was not used (printed/floral top), and even after having a section on finding your colors rather than saying light neutral, medium neutral, dark neutral actual colors were given. I changed white, gray and black to neutrals that are in my palette, made major substitutions like using a fur vest in place of a Jean jacket and came up with a capsule wardrobe in my color palette with my style. So it worked I just had to walk away four times because I was getting frustrated. One of the other things I found frustrating was that in the formulas the jewelry was shown, but was not listed and sometimes it was very hard to tell from the picture what jewelry piece was used. Also the book is printed using only black and pink so the pictures including color wheels are just shades of gray and pink. There is a lot of great fashion info like dressing for your shape or which necklace to wear with each neckline, but if you are trying to find your colors I think you will find better info online. If you buy the book you get access to some info on line. Not only will you find actual color wheels there, but there are more outfit formulas for packing for vacations and printable shopping lists for each season. I thought this was a great addition and was happy for it. Besides the four season formulas there is also a dress it up section with shopping list and formulas that looks great for someone who works in an office that isn’t casual. So if your colors are black, white, gray, and taupe and you love chambray shirts and leopard shoes and your style is basic you can use this book just as it is and you will think it is great. But as someone who is a warm spring or warm autumn and leans into boho this book can still work for you just be ready to make some substitutions. You will end up with great outfits it is just gonna take some work and maybe some frustration.

Have you been home so long you forgot how to dress? Have you been living in pjs or leggings and dirty tee shirts since March 2020? Then you may find this book helpful.Others have mentioned this is “basic” and “casual”; both are true. I was disappointed with how pants and shorts heavy the outfits were and how very casual and simple the outfits are.Jeans and denim figure heavily in the outfits created. Even in the seasonal “special occasion” and date night outfits, the style is extremely casual. If I showed up to a date night with ripped jeans and heels as suggested by one of the Spring date night outfits, my love would ask why I was angry and didn’t put forth an effort.Dresses do appear in some of the seasonal outfits, and some clothing pieces are used across multiple seasons which suggests a capsule wardrobe. Skirts do not figure into the outfits at all until the final chapter of outfits called “dress it up”, which appears to be work/office appropriate clothing. The suggested clothing items in “Dress it Up” for office settings are not really used in the outfits for that section. It would seem easy to make outfits out of what has been suggested as essential rather than introducing all new tops, sweaters, blazers, and skirts.I didn’t mind the gray and pink scale. On one level, it helps me tailor ideas to my color scheme. I would have appreciated more information on how to decide “your neutrals”.The book also references “kimono”, which many see as a term of cultural appropriation. A better and more descriptive term for that type of clothing item would be “duster”. This conversation has been happening in the fashion world for several years, so I am unclear why the author has chosen this term.If you are a woman who always wears sweatpants or pjs, you may find this useful. There is section with “legging looks”, five of days which are included in the book. The promised additional formulas on the website was not located with the other book resources as indicated in the book.

I have slowly become stuck in a frumpy mom rut. A few years ago, I discovered Alison. I can't say the road has been quick but I have been trying more trends. Her book is wonderful. Lots of information, all in one place, and then there are the outfit formulas. I usually do her seasonal wardrobes online. But one thing I love about this book are the drawn outfits rather than photos is actual pieces like we get online. I find it much easier to adapt the formula off of the drawing than having my mind get stuck on actual photos.This book covers everything from style basics, colors, capsule wardrobes and tons of outfits. All with side notes which help understand why certain looks work it tips to easily change it up. I highly recommend this book.

This book has great reviews. I've dithered and finally succumbed. Think mum at the school gates. Not for me alas

This will really help me to dress well.

There's so much helpful information in this book that I know I'll be referring to it a lot. At the moment it's my guide to creating an Autumn Capsule wardrobe and it's really making my life a lot easier. I'll be checking it out every time I need further inspiration on creating new outfits. One to keep handy for those days when you have "nothing to wear". Thanks, Alison!

Good general overview on putting outfits together