The Ultimate Book of Outfit Formulas: A Stylish Solution to What Should I Wear?

I have slowly become stuck in a frumpy mom rut. A few years ago, I discovered Alison. I can't say the road has been quick but I have been trying more trends. Her book is wonderful. Lots of information, all in one place, and then there are the outfit formulas. I usually do her seasonal wardrobes online. But one thing I love about this book are the drawn outfits rather than photos is actual pieces like we get online. I find it much easier to adapt the formula off of the drawing than having my mind get stuck on actual photos.

This book covers everything from style basics, colors, capsule wardrobes and tons of outfits. All with side notes which help understand why certain looks work it tips to easily change it up. I highly recommend this book.

The Ultimate Book of Outfits gives great tips on how to create your own capsule, so that you ALWAYS have something to wear. Alison also teaches you how to curate your closet, pick your best colors, style rules that are no longer rules, and even teaches you the names for all the various styles. I especially loved her sections on what jewelry to wear with what necklines (always so confusing for me) and her what to wear for your shape section.

Alison has put so much information and her doable style techniques into this fabulous book. I first leaned about Alison through her fun Get Your Pretty On style capsules that I love to do. In her new book, she takes her years of experience and pulls it altogether for her readers. I found the book helpful as both a positive reminder of some fashion tips as well as plenty of fresh ideas that I didn't know!

This book would make a fabulous gift for a mom who is transitioning and wants a refresh of her life (hello empty nester:) or for the fashion lover!

Have you been home so long you forgot how to dress? Have you been living in pjs or leggings and dirty tee shirts since March 2020? Then you may find this book helpful.
Others have mentioned this is “basic” and “casual”; both are true. I was disappointed with how pants and shorts heavy the outfits were and how very casual and simple the outfits are.
Jeans and denim figure heavily in the outfits created. Even in the seasonal “special occasion” and date night outfits, the style is extremely casual. If I showed up to a date night with ripped jeans and heels as suggested by one of the Spring date night outfits, my love would ask why I was angry and didn’t put forth an effort.
Dresses do appear in some of the seasonal outfits, and some clothing pieces are used across multiple seasons which suggests a capsule wardrobe. Skirts do not figure into the outfits at all until the final chapter of outfits called “dress it up”, which appears to be work/office appropriate clothing. The suggested clothing items in “Dress it Up” for office settings are not really used in the outfits for that section. It would seem easy to make outfits out of what has been suggested as essential rather than introducing all new tops, sweaters, blazers, and skirts.
I didn’t mind the gray and pink scale. On one level, it helps me tailor ideas to my color scheme. I would have appreciated more information on how to decide “your neutrals”.
The book also references “kimono”, which many see as a term of cultural appropriation. A better and more descriptive term for that type of clothing item would be “duster”. This conversation has been happening in the fashion world for several years, so I am unclear why the author has chosen this term.
If you are a woman who always wears sweatpants or pjs, you may find this useful. There is section with “legging looks”, five of days which are included in the book. The promised additional formulas on the website was not located with the other book resources as indicated in the book.

I noticed the readers of this book was for an older crowd but I loved it. Great outfit ideas, definitely in the direction I was going. I just bought a leopard belt and booties to start making outfits with.

This book basically if full of classic looks with a chambray shirt, Jean or mojo jacket and leopard belt and shoes. Which you can pair that with practically anything and get tons of outfit combinations if you mix those with any color jeans, shirt or dress.

Will definitely keep this book for reference in the future!

I love this book!! I love how it gives you ideas what to wear and ideas on what works for your body shape!!!

I love this book! I've been following Allison for a few months and had purchased a few of her seasonal outfit formulas, which have been really helpful. I pre-ordered her book last month and was so excited when it arrived this week. I read the whole thing in one sitting. I have gone my whole adult life, thinking I'm an hourglass figure. I did the actual measurements for the first time and found I'm a triangle. This is so helpful for knowing what assets to emphasize and which ones to minimize. I love the intro to her book with the background story of what lead to her gettingyourprettyon journey. I am just thrilled to have found this resource but most of all, love the message of encouraging women and helping them to build confidence.

Great idea for a book, but I was disappointed to find that most of the formulas are as simple and pedestrian as it gets. Do you really need to buy a book to tell you that shorts, a tee, and sandals are an outfit? Pinterest will give you a lot more ideas for free.

There is really good ideas in this book, but color is a huge part of putting an outfit together. The strange part is that color was clearly part of the book’s content (a color wheel was included!), however the images presented are all in shades of grey, with pink being the only color. Based on this, I would not recommend this book.

I love that Alison has written an outfit formula book that shows me how to stay current in fashion without having to spend a fortune and hours of trying to decide what to wear! Especially helpful is that it doesn’t matter if we’re young, old, or middle aged, she’s got ALL of us covered!!

Alison has carefully given us all a plan to follow so that we will be stylish and “put together” every. single. day. And still be unique!

This is actually a book I’ll be referring to frequently!

This book is exactly what I was looking for - the very basics of style. I especially appreciate that it gives the list of the most popular styles of tops, dresses, bottoms, etc. with pictures and names - it really helps with the search.
My only disappointment is that the colour wheels are in shades of pink and gray - I understand that this is in line with the general book design, but it is strange and useless. Still, would absolutely buy the book again.