The Curated Closet: A Simple System for Discovering Your Personal Style and Building Your Dream Wardrobe

If you are frustrated by the standard quizzes and capsule rules -- pick up this book.Anuschka lays out a detailed approach to developing your personal wardrobe. She stresses that personal style is very different from being fashionable. She explains when a capsule makes sense, when a "curated" wardrobe makes sense, and how to blend both. Most importantly, she teaches you how to define your own clothing rules. She does not provide lists or pictures of what works together -- that's your homework. She does provide completed samples of each assignment. Do not purchase if you want a quick, do-it-in-one-afternoon guide. It was work; however, I have a clear set of personal rules, fabric preferences, and outfit formulas. Pieces a quick-capsule-approach guided me to discard or pack-away are now in purposeful use!While Anuschka is exceptional on the wardrobe element, I was only able to follow everything based on previous work. I'd be a bit lost on color, personalized style words, and garment basics without the prior read of Bobbie Thomas, The Power of Style (similar approach with clearer guidance on personal style & color palettes), Nancy Nix-Rice, Looking Good Every Day (required text for FIT NY Image Consultants), and Jennifer Scott, Lessons From Madame Chic (light-hearted stories underscoring and explaining personal style, quality, upkeep, yep, no quizzes her either). For me, understanding the fundamentals allowed me to maximize Anuschka's approach.Having read those books, Anuschka is exceptional at the final mechanics of building and updating a wardrobe that meets YOUR needs and style personality. Really, no book can do it all. The Curated Closet is the final piece to my personal style & wardrobe journey!Madame Chic -- put me in the proper mindsetLooking Good Everyday -- provided the nuts and boltsThe Power of Style -- prompted detail work on my style personality, color palette, and clothing detailsThe Curated Closet -- solidified my rules, set my outfit formula, and established an on-going "curating" approach

A delight to read & very, very helpful.I started paying attention to my style about 4 years ago... and it was a messy first couple of years. Two years ago, I fell in love with the capsule wardrobe concept. It completely transformed the way I shopped, thought about clothes and got dressed in the morning. Love it! I'm now transitioning into a wardrobe that is less structured and even more awesome -- and this book was so helpful and illuminating.The things that I especially loved include the styling challenges (it really opened my eyes about what I can do with my closet -- and what I was missing from an accessories standpoint), the tips on how to buy quality (it instantly made me a better shopper) and the detailed information on choosing a color pallet. I'm taking a step away from my historical color pallet this fall and this book made me feel more confident in those choices.Overall, a delightful read and a sane, resonant voice to guide you through dressing in a way that is more "you" and less everyone else.Downsides: the styles displayed in the book just didn't resonate with me (I love saturated color... and they seemed to be very summery) -- but it really wasn't an impact.

Easy, polished read. Clear steps for articulating your personal style, purging your closet, and transitioning from fast-fashion to methodical purchases. Devoured the whole 200+ pages in one Sunday morning. If you don't have an idea of your personal style or don't know what looks good on you, working through the modules in this book will take much longer. Over the past year, I've worked my college wardrobe down from ~70 pieces down to about 40 (undies and special occasion wear excluded), and this book was the cherry on top for determining what to replace in my wardrobe. I wish I'd picked it up sooner.My only complaint is that it can be a bit "common sense" at times...but would suggest for anybody who is OVER fast fashion.

This book is a MUST READ for anyone who wants to reset their fashion life, free up their mornings, and fall in love with their wardrobe. I have always been a huge lover of fashion and shopping, but I found that I was attracted to so many styles and trends I saw on other people and in stores that my closet became a mishmash of clothing that simply didn't work together and didn't feel like me. My closet was completely overstuffed and yet I always felt I had nothing to wear (or at least anything that I was excited to wear). Anuschka Rees' book helped me really define my style. I was finally able to differentiate between styles that I admired for other people, and styles that were true to me and how I perceive/want to present myself. I have yet to go through the purchasing stage yet as I am currently losing weight fairly rapidly and don't want to waste money on clothes that will soon no longer fit, but even after just cleaning out my closet and putting seasonal items in storage, I was able to really see what I have, find new ways to wear them that I love, and breathe new life into old clothes. I have never been happier to get dressed in the morning, nor has it ever been so easy now that I can grab pretty much anything in my closet on any given day. If you have any qualms with your current wardrobe, you do not want to pass on this book!