Find Your Style

December 1, 2016

Gr 6-10Personal style can help teens communicate who they are to the world. However, young women may feel overwhelmed by fashion choices or, alternatively, overlooked by an industry that promotes a single (often unattainable) standard of female beauty. McGraw, a style blogger, has compiled a guide designed to assist readers in finding which styles best complement their body type, including sections on how to highlight and downplay different parts of the body. McGraw also offers advice on boosting self-image and discusses media myths about beauty standards. The colorful photos portray a diverse set of teen girls. VERDICT Consider this selection for teen collections for its positive tone and outlook on fashion and style.-Elaine Baran Black, Georgia Public Library Service, Atlanta

Copyright 2016 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

December 15, 2016
Style consultant and former monthly style columnist McGraw offers insight on body image, media messages, and clothing as a tool for young women. Beginning with an explanation that "clothes are tools," this fashion style guide includes advice about building self-esteem while offering instruction and information about dressing different kinds of bodies. The guide is successfully inclusive, covering dress codes in schools while honoring different cultures and religions and often cautioning girls to be mindful of their lifestyles rather than trying to change themselves. Bright, magazine-style stock photos of young women of many races, ethnicities, and body shapes and sizes decorate every page, and short chapters divided into subsections will appeal to younger readers. Through anecdotes and quotes from teenage girls, McGraw touches on but does not go into depth into online life, such as posting photos of oneself in hopes of receiving "likes" or fearing negative comments; given the importance of the virtual world to her audience, it's a pity this discussion isn't meatier. She also discusses gender discrimination in the form of the double standard and induces a sense of urgency to begin working toward a solution. Ultimately, the guide's goal is for girls to look and feel good in what they wear while maintaining individuality. Feeling like an expanded fashion blog or magazine column, this book should find its audience. (bibliography, further information, index, photographs, source notes) (Nonfiction. 13-18)

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