How to Get Dressed: A Costume Designer's Secrets for Making Your Clothes Look, Fit, and Feel Amazing

by Freer, Alison; Kuo, Julia

• ISBN13: 9781607747062
• ISBN10: 1607747065
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2015-04-14
• Publisher: Random House Inc

Summary

Costume designer Alison Freer’s styling kit is a magical bag of tricks, built to solve every single wardrobe malfunction on earth. TV and film productions wait for nothing, so her solutions have to work fast. In How to Get Dressed, Alison distills her secrets into a fun, comprehensive style guide focused on rethinking your wardrobe like a fashion expert and making what’s in your closet work for you. She provides real-world advice about everything style-related, including:

   • Making every garment you own fit better
   • Mastering closet organization
   • The undergarments you actually need
   • The scoop on tailors and which alterations are worth it
   • Shopping thrift and vintage like a rockstar

Instead of repeating boring style “rules,” Alison breaks the rules and gets real about everything from bras to how to deal with inevitable fashion disasters. Including helpful information such as how to skip ironing and the dry cleaners, remove every stain under the sun, and help clueless men get their sartorial acts together, How to Get Dressed has hundreds of insider tips from Alison’s arsenal of tools and expertise.

Author Biography

ALISON FREER is a costume designer from Texas living and working in Hollywood. With more than 150 TV shows, films, commercials, and music videos under her belt, she has reams of hard-won, practical wardrobe expertise at her fingertips. Alison is also the clothes editor at xoJane.com, where her unique take on how to solve common fashion and style conundrums has won her a dedicated following. Alison is also a contributing editor to Racked.com, in addition to hosting TLC's A Makeover Story during its fifth season. She also appeared on Melissa River's TV Candy on the TV Guide network as the show's resident style expert.

Table of Contents

ntroduction: Good Clothes Open All Doors ix


CHAPTER 1 
Movie Magic: Or, Why Movie 1
Stars Look Like Movie Stars
First, You Have To Prepare | It’s Time to Shop | Let’s Have a Fitting 
| How Do They Make a TV Show, Anyway?

Chapter 2 
Fit: The True Enemy of Great Style 11
The Right Pants | A Better Skirt | A Brilliant Blouse | A Jacket Fit for a Queen
| The Perfect Dress

Chapter 3
Alter Your Clothes, Alter Your Life 29
The Totally Worth-It Alterations You Really Need to Know About 
| But Sometimes, It’s Just Not Worth It | How to Find a Great Tailor |
Basic Tailoring Terms

Chapter 4
Be Your Own Costume Designer 49
Your Style is Your Signature | How to Search Out Pieces That Are So
Totally You

Chapter 5 
Dumb Fashion Rules 59
That Were Made For Breaking
Dumb Rule Number One: Always Fear Wearing Stripes—Horizontal or Otherwise | Dumb Rule Number Two: Don’t Wear White after Labor Day | Dumb Rule Number Three: Don’t Wear Black with Brown or Navy | Dumb Rule Number Four: Don’t Mix Your Metals | Dumb Rule Number Five: Don’t Wear Leggings as Pants | Dumb Rule Number Six: Don’t Wear Boots in the Summer | Dumb Rule Number Seven: Short Boots Make Your Legs Look Stumpy | Dumb Rule Number Eight: Don’t Mix Your Patterns | Dumb Rule Number Nine: Don’t Double Up Your Denim | Dumb Rule Number Ten: Redheads Can’t Wear Red—and Blondes Shouldn’t Be Wearing Yellow, Either

Chapter 6 
Wardrobe Tools 73
To Keep Your Look Together
The Holy Trinity: Safety Pins, Topstick, and Moleskin | Even More Tools to Keep Your Look Together | But What about a Busted Zipper? | Ironing is
for Suckers


Chapter 7 
Dressing for Success Is Dead 91
Are My Clothes Dirty? | Are My Clothes Wrinkled? | Am I Showing Something I Wish I Wasn’t? | Are My Clothes Covered in Lint, Pills, or
Stray Threads? | Are My Shoes Scuffed, Dirty, or Worn? | Does This Fit
Me Properly?


Chapter 8 
Closet Hacks: Store Your 101
Clothes Like Wardrobe Girls Do 
When in Doubt, Just Hang it Up! | But What if I Don’t Have
Enough Rail Space?
 
Chapter 9 
Underthings: You Really Only Need a Few 117
First Things First: Throw Your Shapewear in the Trash | Don’t Fear the Panty Line | Your Grandma Was Right: Slips Rule | Don’t Burn Your Bra Just Yet... | How to Frankenstein a Bra That Works for You | Hand Washing Your Bras and Undies


Chapter 10
Laundry: You’re Doing It Wrong 143
Get the Most out of Your Washing Machine | Is Dry-Cleaning Really Necessary? | To Skip the Dry Cleaner, You’d Better Learn How to
Hand Wash | Stains: Or, Spit Removes Blood Like Whoa
Chapter 11
Shoe Care For All Your Footwear 167
Help Your Shoes Keep Their Shape | Spring for Protective Rubber Soles—and Replace Your Heel Caps Often | Remove Salt and Slush Residue Immediately | Avoid Heat and Other Drying Conditions | Rotate Your Footwear | Don’t Forget to Waterproof | Maintain, Maintain, Maintain | Bring Your Shoes Back from the Dead | Keep Your Shoes from Killing Your Feet 


Chapter 12
Old Stuff: A Guide to 185
Shopping Vintage and Thrift 
Thrift Stores and Charity Shops | Vintage Stores | Consignment or
Resale Shops | Used Clothing Stores | To Start the Hunt, Prepare and
Plan | Then, Know What to Look For | Also, Have a Plan of Attack | Be Sure
to Try It All On (and Check It Twice!) | Finally, Get Ready to Wear It

Chapter 13
Dudes, This One’s for You 201
If the Jacket’s Not Right, the Whole Thing Is Wrong | This Is How Pants Should Fit | Let’s Talk about Shirts | How to Measure Yourself Properly |
You Can Thank the Duke for the Suit | With Buttons, it’s Sometimes, Always, Never | Can I Take My Jacket Off Now? | Whoops, This Suit
Doesn’t Fit! | How to Fix Your See-Through Shirt | How a Tie Should Look
| How to Wear a Tuxedo

go ahead, sit on the grass: Stain Glossary 219
take care of what you’ve got: Fabric Care Glossary 225

Acknowledgments 235
About the Author 237
Index 239