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

Book was amazing as it gave great insight on outfit ideas for every season, plus additional outfit ideas by style type to print for free. So much in this book to help anyone figure out their own style and how to put together outfits from your closet that you already have. A must read for anyone needing help with their wardrobe when they are overwhelmed with determining what to 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.

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.

Such a great book! A fun read and practical advice! I wasn’t expecting it to be a little book size-wise, but it’s a chunky book packed with a lot of information I put into practice every day.

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!

The way the book was written it feels like the author is right next to you having a fun conversation as you discover some tricks on how to dress yourself better. My favorite thing about the book was the chapter about figuring out your body type. It was so helpful! I always heard the body types but never really knew how to figure out which one I was..I was always guessing but with my insecurities, I felt like I never got it right. The author puts it in such an easy way! Plus the types of clothes that look better with each body type!

This book gives you formulas for outfits for each season. There are 18 different formulas for each season 12 informal and 6 formal (special occasion or date night). There is a shopping list and a picture of some of the items from the shopping list. I used the fall section to create outfits and the picture shows some of my results. My frustrations in doing this included: not all of the shopping list was included in the picture of items used, one of the items that was in the picture of items used was not on the shopping list and was not used (printed/floral top), and even after having a section on finding your colors rather than saying light neutral, medium neutral, dark neutral actual colors were given. I changed white, gray and black to neutrals that are in my palette, made major substitutions like using a fur vest in place of a Jean jacket and came up with a capsule wardrobe in my color palette with my style. So it worked I just had to walk away four times because I was getting frustrated. One of the other things I found frustrating was that in the formulas the jewelry was shown, but was not listed and sometimes it was very hard to tell from the picture what jewelry piece was used. Also the book is printed using only black and pink so the pictures including color wheels are just shades of gray and pink. There is a lot of great fashion info like dressing for your shape or which necklace to wear with each neckline, but if you are trying to find your colors I think you will find better info online. If you buy the book you get access to some info on line. Not only will you find actual color wheels there, but there are more outfit formulas for packing for vacations and printable shopping lists for each season. I thought this was a great addition and was happy for it. Besides the four season formulas there is also a dress it up section with shopping list and formulas that looks great for someone who works in an office that isn’t casual. So if your colors are black, white, gray, and taupe and you love chambray shirts and leopard shoes and your style is basic you can use this book just as it is and you will think it is great. But as someone who is a warm spring or warm autumn and leans into boho this book can still work for you just be ready to make some substitutions. You will end up with great outfits it is just gonna take some work and maybe some frustration.

Was worried that this book, which came out years ago, would have outfits that felt dated or not applicable to today's style. I was pleasantly surprised to find that the formulas work even in 2025. Love the encouragement and scripture passages as well. Highly recommend.