Better known as "Posh Spice" of the Spice Girls fame, Victoria Beckham has always been recognized worldwide for her chic, stylish look. No matter which role she plays singing superstar, wife of David Beckham, mummy to three boys, designer she always manages to look put together and just right. Not an easy feat as any modern woman will tell you.
Well, Ms. Beckham has decided to part with her style secrets in this fun, colorful book to help us average Janes avoid looking "frumpy or mumsy". Whether giving the scoop on jeans and proper fit, beauty care, or dressing for a special occasion, Beckhman manages to keep the tone practical, light and conversational what you'd expect if your most stylish buddy sat you down and filled you in on the details, from where to buy to what works with what. She generously lists desginers and stores where you can acquire some of the same attire that she favors. The chapters on packing tips and maternity wear are great surely this will help many of us poor souls be less dowdy when with child or with skies!
Some of the advice is pretty funny ("The first things I will say about dressing for the holidays is to get all images of reindeer jumpers out of your head."), some of it very useful ("When trying on new shoes, do it towards the end of the day when your feet have had a chance to expand."). Whether or not you are a fan of Ms. Beckham, you will certainly appreciate much of her counsel.
There are many lush, striking photos of Victoria looking very "posh" and chic as well as gorgeous line drawings throughout, making the book eye candy for all of us fashion lovers. This is one of my favorite parts of the book.
A couple critiques: some of the lingo is purely British and takes some getting used to (ex: she refers to tank tops as 'vests' which was very confusing for me) and some of the designers/stores she lists are NOT in America, which is only a hindrance if your sole goal is to imitate her style (not my goal). And some of these designer/stores are VERY expensive, making some of her suggesions out of reach for regular folk like myself.
Lastly, she freely utilizes every opportunity to promote her own line of clothing, dVb, a high end line that she subtly implies is one of the most stylish. Although some may find this galling or even annoying, I say bravo for her moxy and industrious spirit what else would you expect from Posh Spice?
I read this book while recuperating from surgery and I have to say it was perfect for taking my mind off my health issues. It's surprising. I didn't expect Victoria Beckham to come off as fun and likeable as she does. Now to the point of the book: Does it offer good fashion advice? Yeah, it does. She's spot on when she disses the kitten heel shoe. Unless you are built like Audrey Hepburn (I'm not)it doesn't do your legs any favors. She's excellent in the makeup chapter and even though I don't wear jeans her jeans chapter contained everything you need to know. I wish everyone would read it before buying a pair. It would cut down on a lot of public ugliness.
The chapter on getting ready for a party was excellent and timely for this season. I liked the chapter on maternity dressing and appreciated the chapter on how to wear hair extensions.
Overall this book made me happy and I plan to keep it and refer to it for years to come.
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I bought this on a whim to read something girly while my boyfriend was out of town. I love fashion books and thought this would have some useful and fun little tidbits. Not exactly, but not a total waste either.
Victoria Beckham believes her own hype so deeply that it's almost impossible to take her seriously. When the book is not crammed with glam shots of her -where it's often impossible to see what she's wearing, even though this is a style book -it is filled with self-promotion in other ways. Every other page of the jeans section is her selling her own jeans line, when she recommends fragrances there's a giant picture of "Intimately Beckham" luring us in. A stupid move, as both of these lines aren't succeeding, and the book seems dated as soon as it's published. Better -and much classier -to acknowledge that you have your own lines in a small section, then focus on fashion and style overall. It would also be better if she had used other models to show examples of her style and fashion tips -maybe a "posh makeover" or something. But this is not that book -instead, the focus is suffocatingly on her, so much though that it's pretty funny at times. "Oh look at her again! Another pouty face! Long haired victoria! Short haired victoria!"
I think my favorite moment of unintentional hilarity is when victoria pleads with women not to wear bras with padding under tanks or t-shirts. Presumably one should have fake ones put in instead and have them pushed up the way victoria does? And the recommendation never to wear shorts with sneakers is ridiculous when there are fabulous little sneaks out there by John Varvatos for converse. The recommendation for high heels is, in general, myopic. There's nothing the world needs less than tiny women teetering on the edge of stilettos.
She has had an extraordinary career, even though underneath all of the styling she is a pretty ordinary looking person. When you look at her underneath all of the clothes and style she has really cultivated an image for herself -perhaps her talent is self-invention. She is rigorous about every aspect of her appearance before she leaves the house -something I wish was true of me.
I will also say that this book is going to be very useful on an upcoming trip to the UK, in terms of navigating high street brands for a little budget shopping.
So i'd say get it if you really like her, or if you have her exact body type and can copy styles directly, or if it's cheap, or if you care about the difference between H and M vs topshop in terms of sunglasses.
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I bought this book as a gift for my wife. (I hope she doesn't see this review before the holidays.) I took a look inside, and I think it's going to be a big hit. Mrs. Beckham has a talent for combining utter sincerity with self-mockery in a way that is completely irresistable. I think it would be impossible to have a bad day while reading this book.
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When I heard that Victoria Beckham was publishing a style guide I was curious. I'm not a fan, but I don't have anything against her either.
Having now read it (it took a day) I'm still a bit undecided. `That Extra Half an Inch' is written in a cosy style it's like you're having a cup of coffee with Mrs Beckham. The book is nicely set into different sections; Tops, Day Dresses, Gifts (a lovely idea), make-up (disappointing) etc. And the photos are really stunning.
That said I didn't actually learn anything new. This book is mostly a higher end where-to-buy guide. Come on are all of the designer names Vic drops really useful to the average person on the street? Are our husbands going to whisk us off to Paris and New York for shopping? (Even if they did have the money I wouldn't hold my breath if I were you).
Also, I think the book is sponsored by Top Shop; I lost count of the number of times the shop name cropped up. We can go to Gucci or Topshop, Fendi or Topshop, and so forth. She knows the name of a high street store, we get it; Vicky's one of us!!
I'm really conflicted in my view. A lovely, if impractical, style guide. I would get another book, if one was ever published, just because of the nice, intimate writing style.
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The day this cookbook arrived, I showed it to a friend who is on a low-cholesterol diet; she liked the layout (nutritional information and photos) so much that I gave it to her. In return, she invited us for dinner the first time she used it. That meal was delicious, and I ordered another copy as soon as we got home. Last weekend I made three different recipes from the soup section, all of which were good. The Italian Vegetable Soup was particularly tasty, so I took some to a neighbor, who called almost immediately to ask for the recipe. (She and I are both in Weight Watchers, and this cookbook makes it easy to calculate point values.) Now she wants a copy, too. The format of the cookbook makes recipe selection simple for those who are watching their diet for one reason or another, the recipes are simple to prepare, and a number of them are easy to make ahead. This is a practical cookbook.
