First Published in
“Never wear white to a wedding”, “shoes and bags must always match”, “match your tie with your shirt” and “elegance is the privilege of age” are just some of the instructions in Never Leave the House Naked, subtitled "And 50 other ridiculous fashion rules”.
Never Leave the House Naked is not prescriptive, but rather a fun collection of the rules that seem to govern not only haute couture but also everyday dressing. Alongside each rule in the book there are number of quotes from designers, writers, academics, philosophers and trend setters. The quotes are all opinions on the given, some which agree with the rule and others that debunk it completely.
It makes for interesting reading and the images illustrating the rules add an eccentric edge to this teeny-weeny coffee table book. Some of the rules are ridiculous yes, like “if the shoe fits buy it in every colour” but others really are useful, like “never wear tights with open-toed shoes (or socks in sandals)” and may well prevent you from committing a fashion faux-pas.
The book is published by Bis Publishers, a Dutch outfit taking a slightly off-beat publishing approach to design, architecture, fashion, product design, advertising and the like.
