Tshania Sedai

What I would that I had but a sixth star to give.

This is a fairly short eBook by sewing blogger Athina Kakou. While I love the idea of making a book about building a capsule wardrobe that is specific to sewing, I felt that there could have been more detail or instruction in this book. I realize that most of the exercises and practical advice is contained in the workbook and sewing planner she offers, but I feel that this book could benefit from perhaps being combined with the workbook. I enjoyed seeing photos of her own self-sewn wardrobe collections, but I feel like it could have perhaps been more helpful to combine the content of the two books and cut down on the photos? It is a lovely book, but perhaps not as detailed or inspirational as I had hoped. I think I may get more from the Workbook and Sewing Planner, as this book was a bit too general for me.

A solid 3.5 Stars. I was very much on the fence between the 3/4 rating, but decided to round down because, much as I loved the concept of the world, I never fell in love with the characters. Well, maybe the pirate; he kinda stole the show. But I never found myself really rooting for the main characters, and that left me feeling a bit disengage from the story.

Another solid 3.5 Stars that I'm rounding down. This is one of those books I'm glad I read because I can recognize the brilliance of it, yet the story isn't something I've connected to emotionally. I usually love these sort of crazy ensemble cast stories, and I think the imaginings of the future border on genius. But something was missing for me. It was smart, but not necessarily compelling. Second book in a row where I've loved the world but not the characters. Worth a read, because it really is a very smart book, but probably not going to be one of my top books from the year.

I really enjoyed that this book went into the history of the garments it recommends as part of a classic wardrobe. It also gives great ideas for how to personalize a sewn wardrobe! I do wish it possibly had more photographs in addition to the drawn images, but overall it was a quick, fun read that has provided a lot of inspiration!