Whether you adore fashion or consider it a loathsome acquaintance, it’s hard to avoid. Even boycotting all things sartorial makes its own style statement, so the only way to win may be to make it fun for yourself. The task is made easier thanks Grace & Style: The Art of Pretending You Have It, a new book by comedian Grace Helbig, who rose to fame as a vlogger. The irreverent guide paints beauty as “completely comical” and turns it into something more enjoyable for fashion diehards and haters alike.
The daughter of an Avon lady and a one-time aspiring model herself, Helbig has had her fair share of experience with beauty’s many components, so she’s well-equipped to write a “style book unlike any you may have read before.” Grace & Style touches on a wide range of topics, such as what various items of clothing or accessories say about you, the dos and don’ts of talking to salespeople, and, importantly, how to avoid camel toe. It showcases the humor seen in Helbig’s numerous other projects, including her debut book, Grace’s Guide, which added her to the ranks of YouTube stars who have penned books.
Here are six ways that you can have fun with fashion without letting it consume you, based on Grace & Style:
Grace and Style: The Art of Pretending You Have It by Grace Helbig, $10.95, Amazon
1. Do You
Grace & Style isn’t about doing fashion “the right way,” it’s about doing fashion your own way. Instead of telling you what to wear to work or for a night out, for example, Helbig gives a list of no-nos — and they’re all absurd items you wouldn’t consider anyway (e.g. wallpaper because it doesn’t breathe well). The comedian’s point is simple: You should wear what you want to wear and not what everyone else says you should.
2. Wear Your Confidence
In life, disasters happen, and fashion is no different. We have horrible hair days, end up with marinara sauce on white shirts, pop buttons, and so on. In a series of "Miss Mess" letters, Helbig offers fake fixes to such dilemmas (with bizarre and hilarious twists), and silly as they are, the takeaways are not wrong: Having the confidence to whatever situation you find yourself in makes a world of difference.
3. Be Willing To Laugh At Yourself
As we’ve established, our best efforts can still go awry; it doesn’t have to be the end of the world, though. “Make a joke of it,” writes Helbig. “You’re self-aware, and that’s charming.”
4. Be Creative
You can’t always get what you want, but sometimes, you can make it. Grace & Style includes a section on customizing T-shirts so that they’re exactly what you want, and the advice is applicable to other areas of fashion, too. As we see, there’s no sense in lamenting what you can’t have; instead, you should channel those energies into finding alternatives, whether that be ironing decals onto your T-shirt or finding the right belt to give your dress a silhouette you prefer.
5. Remember That Clothes Don’t Make The Woman
Clothes might be able to give you a shot of confidence or cheer you up on a rough day, but it’s important to keep in mind that they don’t fundamentally alter who you are. Helbig recounts a story about an adolescent shopping trip with her dad in which she bought a pair of jeans at a trendy store when she’d really had high hopes of buying an item that would boost her popularity. Of course, she ultimately realized that an item of clothing couldn’t do that.
6. Embrace What Makes You Different
In line with following your own instincts, Grace & Style encourages readers to celebrate their individual style, just as Helbig does. Love sweats? Hate heels? Good for you! Get out there and make your own fashion statement.
Images: Giphy (6)
