The Style Strategy: A Less-Is-More Approach to Staying Chic and Shopping Smart - Hardcover

"This book is written to help propel you forward, into that place where style and shopping are one. Neither can thrive without the other pulling its proper weight. Effortlessly balancing the two is your mission."

From much-loved fashion maven and New York Times bestselling author Nina Garcia comes her most indispensable style primer yet--this one focused on looking timelessly chic, all while saving money!

Armed with Nina's no-fail The Style Strategy, fashionistas will not only discover a myriad of shopping alternatives sure to help them attain high-end looks at lower prices, but also learn how to maximize what they already have through maintenance, ingenuity, and creative style choices. Step by step, Nina helps readers honestly answer three key questions--What do I have? What do I need? What do I want?--before making purchases, so they can effectively eliminate any unnecessary spending.

This book also celebrates some of the most extraordinary women of the past, who remained admiringly fashion-forward during their own era's economic hardships.

Part of the growing classic collection from Nina Garcia, which already includes The Little Black Book of Style and The One Hundred, The Style Strategy is a must-have for this season and all seasons!

Nina Garcia on The Style Strategy

I am a working mother and a wife. I am a sister and a daughter. I am a student of fashion and a shopper of everything. Each experience in my life fuels what I do, who I am, and, more important, who I see myself evolving into as tomorrow dawns.

I have goals. For myself, for my son, for my family, and for the people who listen to what I have to say about fashion and style.

Every day I plan, I organize, I schedule, I strategize. And the most important thing I’ve learned is that while no amount of planning fully prepares one for life’s inevitable speed bumps, knowing that I’ve built a strong foundation enables me to negotiate such bumps with assurance. I must problem-solve at a moment’s notice. And sometimes even change course altogether in order to adapt to whatever circumstances are thrown in my path. I have to be quick. I must embrace spontaneity while always keeping my feet on the ground. I must have unwavering trust that I’m making the right decision. If I even begin to doubt myself, I crumble, and nothing gets done. Or rather, nothing gets done correctly.

It is with this goal in mind--of imparting my strategy for achieving this level of self-assurance and confidence, while also economizing--that I decided to write this book. As I look at the women around me--on television, in the news, and throughout the world--I realize that although different circumstances may rule each of our lives, we share the core elements of who we are. We’re survivalists. We’re nurturers. We’re women.

An essential aspect of being a woman is not only taking care of everyone around us, but also taking care of ourselves and each other. We figure out new ways to look and feel gorgeous. Sharing our not-so-secret tips with each other is probably the easiest, and definitely the most fun, way we care for ourselves. As women, it is in our nature to reach for perfection. And although perfection may not be 100 percent possible, getting close is. In fact, I see women getting closer to perfection every day.

I witness this striving toward an aesthetic ideal in the wonderful designs I handle as a fashion director. I see it in pristine garments, astute styling, and impeccable tailoring, among many other examples of the craftsmanship I’ve come to adore. But I also see perfection embodied in the women walking down my street. Fearless, creative, stylish women who inspire me.

But getting there is a process. It requires a strategy. Taking command of your style and staying chic is but one step in this process--an important one, mind you, but not the only one. Shopping smart and saving our hard-earned money is another very important step. And although it can be a challenge, being practical while honing your style can also be a damn good time. Trust me.

A Look Inside Style Strategy (Click on Images to Enlarge)

In Nina Garcia′s The Little Black Book of Style, she mapped out a core philosophy for fashionistas whose root principal was that looking great must first be accompanied with feeling great. Her follow up, the NYT′s bestselling The One Hundred, shows women everywhere just what pieces they needed to invest in so as to have a timeless closet.

Now, during the economic stresses all Americans are currently feeling, Nina wants to show women how to keep oneself looking stylish and chic while saving money. Armed with her expert "Style Strategy", Nina wants to help shoppers navigate alternatives to attaining high-end fashion "looks" through a variety of options.

The DNA of her "Style Strategy" consists of three core questions.

"What do I have? What do I need? What do I want?" According to Nina, answering each question honestly before making any purchase for oneself helps to eliminate unnecessary spending. She elaborates on each question using the entertaining prose that has drawn thousands of eaders to her previous titles.

The book also addresses how to maximize what you have through maintenance, ingenuity, and creative style choices. Also, dotted throughout the book are incredibly interesting historical facts about women who have remained fashion forward during their own era′s economic hardships.

Bottom-line: Nina wants all women to know that being practical and smart about style and shopping trumps brand name pricing every time.