The Fashionista Files: Adventures in Four-Inch Heels and Faux Pas

by Karen Robinovitz, Melissa de la Cruz

A fashionista is a girl who always looks current and cutting edge, even when her clothes are vintage 1975. A fashionista can tell her Pucci from her Gucci and her Blahniks from her Choos, but she’s as comfortable in Kmart as she is in Chanel. She wears what she likes and always looks fantastic. She’s a clothing a sharp tweed suit and ladylike driving gloves one moment, a punk rock T-shirt and studded belt the next. She’s a gypsy, a princess, and a diva. She’s fashion-forward, shopping-addicted, and full of fun. And you can be her, no matter your size, style, or budget.Authors Melissa de la Cruz and Karen Robinovitz are fashionistas who share a love for impractical shoes, small dogs that fit in designer handbags, and wearing white after Labor Day. They eat, sleep, and breathe fashion. And they’ll teach you how to• Make a whole new wardrobe out of the awful duds that lurk in the back of your closet• Use the words “postmodern” and “ironic” to fake your way through pseudo-intellectual cocktail conversation (really–it’s easy, and so postmodern and ironic!)• Score big with chic and cheap finds at thrift stores, consignment shops, and discount designer outlets• Live like a socialite on a shoestring budgetIn two weeks or less, you’ll be living the lush life, from the brim of your Eugenia Kim fedora to the tip of your pointy Christian Louboutin pumps!

Genres: Nonfiction, Fashion, Chick Lit

354 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 31, 2004

Reviews

[Velvetink · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very out of date now but saying that I am probably out of date too..wearing the same style I did two or three seasons ago. It just works for me. Anyhow for a fashion book this is low budget and this edition has cheap cheap paper which does not set off the black and white photographs very well. It's kind of newspaper quality and since it's an 2005 edition the photos haven't stood up well.

There's a whole lot of fashion advice and tips and tricks that Sex in the City fans/girls/teenagers will find useful but the most interesting chapter to me therein was the one on de-cluttering your wardrobe.

I think the tone is meant to be funny, but couldn't tell as I really wasn't in the mood for this book, daughter had it hanging around and I was insomniac. I grabbed it but I was so bored I put out the light and relaxed into tossing and turning.

There's a Filipino proverb that says people who spend a lot of money are "angry at money" - "galit sa pera". They cannot stand to have it around, and play a game "Dodging the Creditors". My income isn't that sufficient to fool myself into getting rid of it. It's why my wardrobe needs de-cluttering as I'm loathe to throw much out in case I need it one day. Clothes I don't like more than often become my gardening clothes and is probably the reason why my front lawn still needs mowing.

I think the most useful advice in the book is to chop up your credit cards and see a credit counsellor before you fall down the rabbit hole. Most of us don't have Elle McPherson incomes. It was interesting reading some of the folks interviewed in the "Money!" chapter. One (Melissa) said that when she was in college it was the first time she became aware and fully comprehended the social and class differences of those with money (rich) and those without (poor to average incomes).For her friends with rich parents their lives were full of endless possibilities,they could imagine flying off on a whim to Miami or the ski slopes for the weekend just to get a good tan and some fun. For Melissa excitement meant a dinner downtown and paying for it the rest of the week eating cans of baked beans....

Well after this recent global crisis I think this book's message of teaching people with shopping addictions to curb it is it's major selling point but (sorry) 2 stars for poor quality paper and presentation.

Go on be brave.chop chop.

Actually I never buy anything on credit and I try really hard not to pay too much for books. This one came from a 2nd hand store. No more than $2.

[Just - The romance reader · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's been a while since I read this book. It was an impulse purchase while I was shopping at Target. Pretty good for the fashionista set I suppose, which I'm really not. I like to shop and buy cute shoes & clothes, but I'm a little too low maintenance to be a fashionista.


As I remember there were some tips scattered through out the book on how to "recycle" certain items, such as t-shirts to make them more high fashion.

[Christine · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm definitely keeping this one around for awhile on my reference shelf. There's enjoyable ancedotes of the authors' love for fashion, but it's tied to an understanding of the development of fashion history in the Twentieth (and 21st) century. While many fashion blogs are fun to read, these gals have the depth of knowledge, gained through love and repeated wearings, that connects the dots. A fun read!

[Mallory · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is over-the-top. I love it for that. If you want practical down to earth tips on how to get dressed in the morning for work, or sensible makeup techniques, don't bother. If you are bored with the run-of-the-mill what-fruit-does-my-body-look-like books then pick this book up. It got me excited about fashion and style all over again.

[Cass · Rating 1 out of 5]

i read just 20 pages couldn't bare any more DO NOT READ. It's basically 2 British women judging the figures, style choices, weight, eating habits, shoes, skin, etc of other English women in a very rude way.
Plus you can tell their tips are for them or people who look like them.

[Cheryl · Rating 2 out of 5]

I am embarrassed to admit that I read this book, but I will do so for everyone's benefit. As much as I loved Melissa de la Cruz's "Chic Happens" column on Hintmag.com, this is basically a book about how to be a fashion victim, and, really, do we even need one?

[Rakisha · Rating 2 out of 5]

This self-help book had great info but nothing I haven't read before and better.

[Velvetink]

In L's room somewhere.

[Kelly Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it!!

[Kimberly]

biography of what her mother wore, didn't finish