Stylebook Book Club - Book 2

The Curated Closet - Anuschka Rees makes being your own stylist an attainable goal. It offers a step-by-step guide on how to use your current wardrobe and style inspirations to develop a style totally unique to you. Rees breaks down how to find a great color palette, how to start exploring new silhouettes, how to stop overspending and how to start putting together outfits using your key pieces. My favorite section gives advice on how to tweak your looks if your initial attempts didn’t turn out the way that you hoped.

Learn how to build a wardrobe that looks great, makes you feel comfortable and actually fits your real life. The book’s illustrations have a distinctly minimalist look, but the advice is relevant to any style. Seriously, this book is all about finding what works for you, which I love! Since co-founding Stylebook almost 10 years ago, I’ve always thought that a great wardrobe evolves over time and this book perfectly captures how to make that happen - while helping you look good now! I couldn’t agree with her more when it comes to seeking quality over quantity and she includes great tips on how to spot well-made clothes at any price point. I’m sharing this book because I believe it’s a great resource to help you build a high-quality wardrobe that will last you years. The focus on personalized style is also a fantastic way to break free of the trend cycle that leaves so many of us feeling inadequate.

- Jess Atkins, Stylebook Co-founder

The Curated Closet; Japanese vase at the Metropolitan Museum of Art; outfit inspired by vase; moodboard
created in Stylebook of uniform ideas; Outfit Shuffle feature inside Stylebook being used to create new uniforms

Although this is a monthly book club, I think you should take your time with The Curated Closet. Read through the book and then slowly work your way through the exercises. If you haven’t started yet, don’t feel guilty or that you’re behind. Finding your personal style is a lifelong journey with no deadline! My favorite wardrobe quote is from Nina Garcia: ”Building a well-balanced, versatile wardrobe takes time and thought. It isn't a sprint - it's a marathon.” What I like about this book is that it gives you concrete tasks to make that happen.

Giving yourself a wardrobe overhaul isn’t about rushing to replace everything you own. It’s about taking a careful look at what outfits you like, what you have a tendency to wear, and coordinating colors and shapes so you can mix and match. Sometimes this means stopping and just observing what you actually wear everyday, something Rees suggests in the book. She asks the reader to record their looks for two weeks. Since I use Stylebook, I was able to check out the outfits I wore over the last two weeks instantly (Style Stats lets you filter by time). Since I’ve been recording my outfits for a long time, I actually looked at the last few months. From there, I was able to pick out several uniform looks that I have a tendency to wear. This was one of my favorite exercises because it gave me a clear jumping off point for styling and shopping. Using my uniform combinations as a template, I started re-mixing the clothes I already have with Outfit Shuffle to see if I could make more looks that fit the looks I liked. This was so fun and actually proved to me that I didn’t need to do any shopping at all.

Another exercise I enjoyed was gathering and organizing style inspiration. I found inspiration in outfit images on Pinterest and inside my Stylebook inspiration folder, but also outside of fashion - like in some Japanese pottery at The Metropolitan Museum of Art. I love wearing navy and beige and this particular work inspired me to pair these colors with pink and forest green. I would have never put this together on my own, but I already loved all these colors and had them in my closet. This gave me a great way to add some interest into outfits I already liked.

I hope you decide to try the exercises for yourself! If you’re a Stylebook user, you’ll be able to use the app to keep everything in one place. You can track your outfits on the calendar, save you uniform ideas, make mood boards and create a shopping wish list inside the app.

Discussion:

Comment on the Instagram post below to tell me the most helpful tip you learned from the book.

• Did you come up with a uniform for yourself? What is it?
• What is your favorite place to shop for quality clothes?
• What was your favorite tip in the book?

Here’s how it works!

On the first of the month: I’ll share a new book on for everyone to read. Join our email list here to get notified about each month’s book.

The first week of the month: I’ll post on Instagram about what I got from the book and I hope you’ll share your thoughts with me there too!.