Diary | A Book That Hurts the Heart

There is a book that I was surprised to find full of lovely, easy-to-adopt outfits, even though I read it with caution because it had many low-rated reviews.

However, when I read the text, I let out an involuntary 'Oh'.

After finishing it, I felt a strange, indescribable emotion, and I understood why after looking through the reviews.

The ratings are polarized.

When I saw the title, I felt, 'This must be a book that encourages women who love sweet clothes but are struggling as they get older.'
The cover is full of sweet, pink clothing.

Personally, since I was young, I've felt that 'I don't like simple clothes, but if they are too sweet, they don't fit my personality, so I'm not good with them,' so I started reading without much expectation, wondering if it would be helpful.

But when I opened it, there were many outfits where sweetness sparkled within simplicity, and I quite liked them.
It also explains how to achieve these looks, so it seems easy to replicate.

Why were the reviews so low?

I understood the reason as I read through the text.

First, the gap between the expectations set by the cover.
The impression I got was the exact opposite of what I felt when I saw the title and cover.

The impression I got was the exact opposite of what I felt when I saw the title and cover.

The cover looked like it had a ratio of about 80% sweet to 20% spicy, but...
The outfits actually introduced feel more like 10% sweet to 90% spicy.

I feel like those who originally prefer a sweeter style would find this quite unsatisfying. In fact, in some cases, the sweetness is nowhere to be found.

Next, the intensity of the pressure.

It feels like everything is being forbidden, with phrases like 'this is a no-go' and 'that is a no-go.' I fall into the 'intended reader' age group for this book (mid-30s or older), so it left me feeling a bit uneasy.

How should I put it?
It feels like having the things I love being denied.

This is especially true because I recently read a book about a wonderful woman in her 80s who pulls off outfits with an overwhelming sense of both sweetness and spice.

By the way, the target audience for that book is likely people in their 50s and older. Also, since the items didn't suit my personal body type or style, it wasn't useful at all in terms of helping with my daily outfits.

And yet, I couldn't stop turning the pages.
It left a strong impression after I finished reading.

A feeling that makes you let out a sigh of admiration.
I was simply filled with the feeling that it was wonderful.

What surprised me most was that while she looked wonderful in super-modish, spicy clothes, I was also captivated by how lovely the same woman in her 80s looked wearing a headband with a ribbon.
She also wore a blouse with a big ribbon on the chest with such cool style.

Having seen things like that and feeling excited that no matter how old you get, you can embody what you 'love' depending on how you dress, this hit me even harder.

The third thing that bothered me.
The strong language.

In this article, I wrote that I don't like phrasing like 'if you do this, you'll look like a fairy-tale old lady.'

In this book, words like 'old lady,' 'cringe,' and 'if you are a mature woman' appeared so many times it felt like it would cause a gestalt collapse.
In every scene, 'sweetness' was treated as 'evil.'

For someone like me who wants to aim for about 30% sweet and 70% spicy, I thought the introduced outfits were very lovely, and I want to try similar ones.

However, with all these words, I felt a coldness as if 'myself, who loves sweet clothes' had been cut down as something 'embarrassing' from the start.

To me, practical books are books that give you the courage to move forward.

Therefore, I decided to pay close attention to ensure that even if a book contains practical information, it does not become the type of book that hurts the heart.

Also, while the concept of "clickbait" exists for web articles, the level of disappointment and anger when this is done in a book might be incomparably greater.
To ensure the content does not significantly betray the expectations set by the title and cover.
As an author, this is also something I want to keep in mind.