Who wants to be like Kate?

There are some books that appear on bookseller and library shelves that really just beg the question: What is the point? Various 'gift' books, anything by Mitch Albom, most books penned by celebrities and the style advice book, generally fall into this catagory. Today's book, Style by Kate Spade, can claim two of these characteristics: Spade, the creator of a pricey line of home accessories, stationary, bags, etc. under the ingenious name kate spade, dispenses pithy advice to the stylistically clueless. As a long time member of this group, I thought perhaps Kate might be able to lead me to enlightenment. Alas, not to be: shelve this one firmly in the pointless aisle.

Perhaps I shouldn't be so hard on Ms. Spade, as writing about style for a book is a tricky proposition. An author is generally left to rehashing little bits of common style knowledge, while reiterating that 'style is a personal expression.' That's pretty much what happens here, but Spade chooses to fill out some of the remaining white space with her personal style favorites: for example, Kate likes to pair her blues with tangerine, watermelon or taupe, and she considers Barbarella to be a good example of 'style in space.' We also get a watercolor rendering of Mr. Kate Spade's favorite ski hat (a Swix brand blue Nordic knit with a tassel, if you were curious). Fascinating stuff for the Spade fans, but for the rest of us, it doesn't provide a great deal of guidance.

The illustrations provided are watercolors by artist Virginia Johnson. Charming as art, they aren't very useful as guides, and the sporadic instances where they're used makes them even less so. I found the final two sections of the book on the types and maintenance of clothing articles to be somewhat useful, but again, similiar information could be found elsewhere in probably more complete form. Style is one of three books in a series created by Spade (Manners and Occasions being the others), and while one isn't likely to commit a horrendous faux pas following her advice, there's also little chance of breaking new ground either. True style mavens will already know many of the ideas Spade suggests, and others may do just as well browsing fashion magazines or reading up on stylish women of the past.