A Few Book and Gift Recommendations…

A lot of us have been doing more reading in this past year, so I wanted to share some of my favorite books. You might consider them for gifts for friends who are interested in fashion, creativity, and life in general. I’m providing the Amazon links here for convenience, but I want to highly encourage you to purchase them through one of your local bricks and mortar stores, especially any small book store in your community.

The top one here is called Colorstrology. This was given to my by my dear friend, Judy LaMar, a fabulous artist and a Personal Style Counselors stylist in the Washington DC area. It’s a charming little book that gives a Pantone color for each birthday of the year and describes something about the person. Is it accurate? Well, in my case it was remarkably accurate. A fun little gift.

The next one is Change Your Clothes, Change Your Life, by George Brescia, who was one of the guests on my first video series, Vital, Vivacious and Visible After 50. George is simply a lovely and generous human who is the red carpet fashion commentator for the Tony Awards. He has worked with celebrities and regular folks like you and me. This book has lots of great practical advice.

Several years ago I read Eat Pray Love with my book club, the rollicking tale of Elizabeth Gilbert’s round-the-world search for love – and for herself – that was made into a Hollywood movie. But a few years ago Gilbert wrote what I consider to be one of the best books I have ever read about creativity. If you know anyone who is even remotely considering starting a new venture, writing a memoir (even if it’s just for their own enjoyment or that of their children), taking a painting class, teaching anything whatsoever, I can’t recommend this book enough: Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear.

You likely saw my YouTube interview with Naomi Tickle a couple of months ago. Naomi is an expert at Face Reading, and she works with clients to help them better understand their talents and gifts, and the areas of their personalities they might want to work on based on their features. Then she gives them career guidance based on her decades of this work. Her book is called: What Makes People Tick and Why.

As a birthday present I received a charming book by Karen Karbo entitled The Gospel According to Coco Chanel. Karbo is an extremely entertaining writer and a Chanel fan. She describes her quest for the elusive genuine Chanel jacket in Paris thrift stores while she chronicles who Chanel was and why her legacy persists. I just loved every page of this book.

And since we’re on the subject of Paris, I want to once again share a book I recommended last year. Forever Chic by Tish Jett is one I come back to again and again. It just makes you feel great about being a woman and gives you so many wonderful ways to do that through fashion, self-care, makeup, and developing your unique charm. She has great tips about health and wellness too and explains how French women stay so slim with all that great food.

Those are my personal favorites. I hope some of them resonate with you or with a friend. If you haven’t read my own book, Shopping for the Real You, it is only available on Amazon, alas, but the digital version will be 70% off for two days starting Friday, December 4 through Saturday, December 5. Send a digital copy to a friend!

And, since we all have become more familiar with technology than we ever thought we would be, if you or any of your friends are still feeling isolated, lonely, and in need of some form of connection, my video series combination, Vital, Vivacious and Visible after 50, plus Expert Edition, is now 50% off through December 22. Just $39. Nearly 50 experts share their tips and insights about fashion, beauty, wellness, relationships, travel, thrift shopping, you name it! Here’s that link again.

Finally, my friend Agneta Sundberg, health coach and yoga instructor, spoke with me about about some essential oils and products that might also make great gifts. Here’s the link to watch that interview. And here’s the link to several of the oils that she mentions as beneficial for navigating the stress of the holidays. She describes the purity of these oils from DoTerra.

[ I participate in the Amazon Services LLC, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com]

Stay healthy and fashionable.

Love,