0

Comments

STYLE STATEMENT: LIVE BY YOUR OWN DESIGN AMY VERNER, GLOBE & MAIL

May 3, 2008

Style Statement:Live By Your Own Design
By Carrie McCarthy and Danielle LaPorte. Little Brown
ISBN: 0316067164, $27.99

Anyone who thinks that beauty is only skin deep would be wise to read Style Statement, a book that prompts readers to spend time – and lots of it – examining their feelings, motivations and values in order to understand who they are and the life choices that result.

Authors and entrepreneurs Carrie McCarthy and Danielle LaPorte have created a principle that has more to do with psychotherapy than with shopping: a system whereby people define themselves using only two words.

The first is a descriptive foundation and is weighted as 80 per cent of who you are. The remaining 20 per cent must be distilled into a word that represents your creative side.

This has the potential to be confusing, convoluted and anxiety-inducing. Yet, through helpful profiles of interesting folks you’ve likely never heard of, you will glean what separates a “Timeless Constructive” from a “Classic Harmony.”

The challenge of the book is that it requires the concentration and tolerance of an endurance athlete.

Numerous questionnaires do a good job of tapping into relationships and materialistic desires, but they may cause minor panic attacks for people who don’t know how to finish such statements as “My evil twin is” and “I withhold my love when.”

To be sure, the book is a looker, thanks to portraits by Gregory Crow and artfully arranged items that correspond to each of the profiles.

Just be prepared to get introspective, especially if you hope to discover the authentic you. In the meantime, let’s propose a style statement for Style Statement: Haute Minded.