The Power of Style
How Fashion and Beauty Are Being Used to Reclaim Cultures
Description
Style is not just the clothes on our backs—it is self-expression, representation, and transformation.
As a fashion-obsessed Ojibwe teen, Christian Allaire rarely saw anyone that looked like him in the magazines or movies he sought out for inspiration. Now the Fashion and Style Writer for Vogue, he is working to change that—because clothes are never just clothes. Men’s heels are a statement of pride in the face of LGTBQ+ discrimination, while ribbon shirts honor Indigenous ancestors and keep culture alive. Allaire takes the reader through boldly designed chapters to discuss additional topics like cosplay, make up, hijabs, and hair, probing the connections between fashion and history, culture, politics, and social justice.
*A Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection
Awards
- Joint winner, Top 10 Arts Books for Youth, Booklist 2021
- Commended, Eureka Nonfiction Award Honoree, California Reading Association 2021
- Nominated, Yellow Cedar Award 2021
- Joint winner, Booklist Editors’ Choice 2021
- Joint winner, Best of 2021 List, Canadian Children’s Book Centre 2021
- Joint winner, Texas Topaz Reading List 2022
- Joint winner, Best Bets Book List, OLA 2021
- Joint winner, Top Ten Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Adult Readers, YALSA 2022
- Joint winner, Cooperative Children’s Book Center Choices List 2022
- Short-listed, Cybils Awards 2021
- Joint winner, Bank Street College of Education’s Book of the Year List 2022
- Short-listed, Next Generation Indie Book Award finalist 2022
- Nominated, Rocky Mountain Book Award 2022
- Winner, Norma Fleck Award, Canadian Children's Book Center 2022
Reviews
“A vibrant read about the connections between fashion, culture, and social justice.”
- Kirkus Reviews, 02/23/21
“The book to appeal to a wide age range. It is important that readers of all ages be given the opportunity to learn that there are others who have had the same or similar experiences of feeling that they were different from their peers because of the way that they looked or dressed. Highly Recommended.”
- CM Reviews, 02/12/21
“Dazzling and empowering . . . Fab drag queens, genderqueer and BIPOC YouTubers demoing makeup, plus-size and gender-bending cosplayers, men wearing high heels and fem fashion—they’re all here, a proud and dazzling explosion of confetti transforming the landscape.”
- Booklist, *starred review, 03/02/21
“A visually stunning celebration of self-expression, self-acceptance, and cultural pride.”
- Chatelaine Magazine, 04/21
“Though it tackles heavy topics like cultural appropriation and the importance of representation, The Power of Style is resolutely celebratory.”
- Vogue, 04/22/21
“Ultimately a book about empowerment. It champions diversity and self-acceptance through style and encourages readers to discover new ways of expressing themselves.”
- Quill & Quire, 05/21
“A celebration of humanity.”
- Black Goddess Reviews, 04/26/21
“Edifying and uplifting.”
- BlackBook, 05/11/21
“A gorgeous and enticing book about fashion that will broaden definitions and embraces inclusion.”
- Waking Brain Cells, 06/10/21
“An offer to preteens and teens that seek to find their bodies, identities, and experiences reflected in the world of fashion and a contribution to non-fiction on fashion that expands its contours.”
- Canadian Children’s Book News, 08/13/21