How Not To Look Fat [Paperback]

Danica Lo is compassionate, sassy, fun, and thankfully, brutally honest. When we ask the question, "Do I look fat in that?", we generally know the answer already, and Danica Lo tells us how to make sure that every view is as appealing as it can be so we don't have to ask that anymore.

Since Lo was a plus-size model, curvier ladies can rest assured that they are in good hands. She understands our insecurities and gives great advice on undergarments, business attire, casual wear, gym clothes, etc - in short, all of the places where we need some fasion help to smooth our lumps and bumps. I am a size six (used to be a size twelve) and I found her advice for my current body resonated with me, as did her advice for people with more curves.

Her honesty about what works and what doesn't may be hard for some people to take, because she is clear almost to the point of bluntness at times, but I thought the advice was all very solid. She has a really fun writing style and uses amusing nicknames for all of our jiggly bits so that we can smile and maybe start to make peace with our "badonkadonks", for example.

There are lots of line drawings and illustrations in the book which show each tip and trick. They weren't nearly as good as photos would have been, because the drawings were often of ladies with very idealized (read: skinny) proportions (even when offering a tip for larger ladies or for a problem area), but they did help show what she was talking about.

I hope there will be a second edition with photographs.

I love this book so much that as soon as I had a chance to look through it I called up my best friend and told her she had to get herself a copy, #1 because it's that good, and #2 because I'm not willing to part with mine, even for her! Now if that's not a glowing recommendation, I don't know what is!

Seems most self-help books nowadays are a lot of filler and little substance, be they about health, dieting, relationships--you name it. They take what should be 100 pages max and stretch it into 250 or more. Danica Lo doesn't play that game. Her book is a relatively slender book, sized just right to slip into your purse, and heavily laminated to withstand being carted around with you on your shopping excursions, too. But it is chock full of useful information on every single page, with nary a word wasted.

She is an ex-plus size model, so she really knows her stuff, too. She covers everything from what shape heel your shoe should have to what hairstyle you should wear, to everything in between, including undergarments, pocket placement, cut, style, hem length, necklines--everything.

Honestly, I've only had a chance to flip through the book and read selected sections so far, and already I feel like it's been money well spent. Danica Lo's writing is real, funny, practical, and right on target. Get this book!

Hey, watch tv and put on one of the reality shows or better yet, one with a studio audience. Closely watch someone not "professionally" dressed by a studio maven. The same person can look pounds thinner and better if they put on the right clothes.

This book has ideas on shoes, hair, accessories and colors. Black does NOT necessarily make you look thin, for example. If you have a trouble spot (a thick waist, for example), sweaters that end right at the waist are just going to point like a huge neon sign to your less-than-ideal parts.

If you are planning a job interview and you just haven't gotten around to that makeover and spa treatment, I'd suggest you pick a copy of this book up right away.