cover image I Spy DIY Style: Find Fashion You Love and Do It Yourself

I Spy DIY Style: Find Fashion You Love and Do It Yourself

Jenni Radosevich. Crown/Potter Craft, $21.99 trade paper (160p) ISBN 978-0-307-58714-5

Radosevich collects some of her best ideas from the monthly do-it-yourself fashion column she writes for InStyle Magazine noting that "instead of breaking the bank for the trend du jour" readers can "grab some simple supplies and re-create it for less." Here, the ideas definitely tend to the trendy and cheap, taking inspiration from celebrities on the red carpet or from designers' Fashion Week. Pink feather earrings, a dress bleached with a chopstick design, and checkered sunglasses are just three of the well-illustrated projects that employ craft and dollar store finds to yield a cute reward. It must be noted, however, that the products as made here are unlikely to hold up for long: ribbon is glued (not sewn) to make a Chanel-style jacket, while a sheer scarf shirt really needs better sewing skills than illustrated to stay together. Radosevich does say that these creations are of-the-moment and require dry cleaning, but just a bit more skill would give them greater staying power and lower cost to maintain. Still, this is a snazzy book with lots of projects for thrifty fashionistas. 200 full-color photos. (Apr.)