Overall not a bad read for anyone who likes realistic stories and fashion.Adena Halpern brings us through her life one outfit at a time, describing the trends she tried to follow and the mishaps or miracles that ensued. Starting from her earliest years to mid thirties, each chapter in the book is a particular moment (and ensemble) that stuck out to Halpern as an important moment in her life.As a humorous autobiography of snippets, the book does have a lot of laughs and a lot of moments that young women can identify with (vicarious embarrassment being something our mothers teach us early). And for the first third to half of the book, readers can easily relate to Adena's misadventures and insecurities.After about college though, I find the rest of the story difficult to compare with everyday life. Halpern doesn't really describe having difficulties in the job world, or gaining friends, or family drama, or how she pays for all of her designer clothes. The book is mostly about shopping, making friends with other people who have their pulse on fashion, and the trials and tribulations of dating (and having to add to her wardrobe for each man). I think she might have been happier if she had found her own style rather than trying to be the first on fashions, but perhaps people who like to keep their eyes on the newest trends would disagree.A light laugh but probably not one that I'd go to again.
god damn it, i might as well admit that i am kind of into chick lit. UGH. i don't know what's happening to me, it's like some fucked up coming of age thing i guess, and that is way depressing. ANYWAY. i saw this book in the self help section of the bookstore that empolys me (the self help section is my favorite section to hang around in because the books and the people who buy them amuse my favorite coworker and i to no end. seriously.) so i saw this book as i was chuckling at the "how to hypnotize him into marrying you" MANual on the same shelf, and i got all warm and fuzzy thinking about my mom and her love of target underwear. i picked it up and leafed through it and decided that based on the title and the fact that she's about to become single herself, my mom totally needed this book. also she digs sex and the city and while i think that show totally blows, someone who likes it would like this book. this girl could be one of those characters, only she knows how to keep her pants on once in a while and she isn't some pathetic slave to the scent of aftershave and a dick, and the ever present stereotype that women must be married by the age of 30. so i bought it for my mom and i read it and i liked it and i am pathetic THE END.
Yes, this is fluffy chick lit - the kind of book you read on a plane or only in front of complete strangers because you don't want to admit to reading it, but it was actually quite good.The author is from Philly and is now based in LA, so the locations were incredibly relatable for me, but that aside, it hit a little too close to home for the comfort of the fluff book it was supposed to be. Any woman that has had a bad relationship, or endulges in a little retail therapy to help quell the wrong doings of the men in her life will be able to delight (and find comfort) in Target Underwear and a Vera Wang Gown.
—Taryn
Read this today in between other things. My book club friends told me to "get past the title and just read it" so I did. It was entertaining in so many ways. Clearly I am of similar vintage to the author, as I went through many of the same fashion, ah, evolutions. Dolphin shorts, Madonna (both Lucky Star and Material Girl, but then a girl has to move on...) and even the Bermuda bag. It was also perfectly annoying in some ways. Maybe it's just sour grapes - I never was a princess and I started buying my own clothes when I was 10 - and I just don't think I could write a book about my personal fashion life. OK, well, I don't have a personal fashion life. I think I might own 10 designer things, but I promise you, they are ALL shoes. The thing about shoes and earrings is skinny, or fat, they fit. I think I nearly had a heart attack every time she had a personal crisis and off loaded her entire (hugely expensive) wardrobe. It's quite alright to love clothes, but...
—Jennifer
Okay, okay. This book is not going to change your life, improve your IQ or give you a new outlook on life, (well, maybe a little more the latter than any of the others), but it's still a good read. If you have worn the wrong dress, loved the wrong man, or looked back on a high school outfit with a combination of stomach-rolling awe and angst and regret, this book is for you. Yes, the author is a bit spoiled and over the top, but here's the redeeming element, she knows it and owns it and so you are left free to just enjoy the voyeuristic ride.
—Amy
