Style guru Tim Gunn of Bravo’s “Project Runway” teaches women how to make their wardrobes work in his new book, “Tim Gunn: A Guide to Quality, Taste & Style.” Here are three lessons to be learned from his sage sayings and where you’ll find this advice in the book.
Size doesn’t matter; fit does
Tim teaches: “Fit is the most neglected aspect of how we dress; that is, most people wear clothes that are either too big or too small or a combination of both.”
Make it work! Virtually all mass-market companies, Tim says, use “vanity sizing” techniques. That is, they cut clothes bigger and slap on smaller sizes so women will buy them, confident they’re smaller than they really are. A woman’s best friend and shopping companion? Scissors!
* “If that higher [size] number is truly so loathsome to you, cut the tag out with manicure scissors as soon as you get home,” he advises on Page 42.
Purge closet, keep it healthy
Tim teaches: “The goal is to maximize the correspondence between what you feel conveys the proper image and the items you actually own. This task can only be accomplished when your closet is rid of those items that do not truly make you feel happy.”
Make it work! When cleaning out your closet, you should end up with four piles in the floor that will contain nearly everything you own: the Soul Stirring Pile, the Repair Pile, the Give-Away Pile and the Throw-Out Pile.
* “Please do not force garments into performing psychological tasks for which they were not designed,” he says on Page 57. “… Please be kind to yourself. They don’t fit. Toss ’em.”
Buy a purse like you’d buy a dog
Tim teaches: “Purchasing a bag should be approached like purchasing a pet. You must assess how much space you have, how much maintenance can you handle, and always be aware that a good bag will be with you for many, many years.”
Make it work! It’s easy to be a handbag label-snob, but when buying one, forget the name on it and think of these things in your wardrobe as a whole, he says on Page 153: tone (the general mood that you and your clothing set) and diction (the items you choose to create mood).
Tim on TV
Tim Gunn’s fans will have to wait a while to see him in new episodes on Bravo, the network told RedEye on Tuesday. Gunn’s new show, “Tim Gunn’s Guide to Style,” will air sometime later this year, said network spokeswoman Bonita Lynch. The fourth season of “Project Runway” will begin sometime between October and December, she said.
If you can’t wait that long to see Gunn-even in repeats-beginning at 8 a.m. Wednesday, Bravo will air a marathon of 10 episodes from Season 2 of “Project Runway.”
