Fashionistas (Red Dress Ink S.) [Paperback]

Lynn Messina (Author)

Book Description

Series: Red Dress Ink S. | Publication Date: March 1, 2003

Vig Morgan has worked at Fashionista magazine for five years and is stuck writing mind-numbing articles about the latest fashion-forward trends and which celebs are sporting them -- not exactly what she envisioned when she went into journalism. So when three Fashionista editors tell Vig of their foolproof plan to take down Jane McNeill, the editor-in-chief and everyone's worst nightmare, Vig, though skeptical at first, joins the team. Everything is going according to plan, except that Vig discovers that by deposing Jane she may just be trading a known evil for an unknown one -- and to top it all off, James Keller, her accomplice, is more humane and better looking than she expected. Vig learns that things are never as they seem in the fashion world...but did we really need to tell you that?

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

An attempted putsch at glossy Fashionista magazine is the wickedly entertaining subject of Messina's debut novel. Smart, frustrated Vig Morgan is toiling as an associate editor ("A trend needs three examples to be declared-two might be a coincidence-and I frequently have to dig deep to find the third") under the tyrannical rule of editor-in-chief Jane McNeill. When a charismatic new editorial director, Marguerite, arrives on the scene, Vig and other lowly staffers come up with a bold and unlikely strategy to depose Jane. The plan is to get Fashionista to feature controversial artist Gavin Marshall, who outfits Jesus statues in Chanel and Dior. Readers will be incensed, advertisers alienated and Jane fired, the underlings reason. Vig's duty is to manipulate the misanthropic events editor, Alex Keller, whom no one has ever seen, into putting snapshots from Gavin's gallery opening in the magazine's events section. A visit to Alex's house reveals he is not the "wart-faced troll" Vig imagined, but a handsome young man who allows his Machiavellian secretary to do his job while he secretly goes to architecture school. Vig blackmails Alex; commiserates with her friend Maya over cocktails in swanky hotel bars; watches the catfights between Marguerite and Jane, who turn out to be old enemies (they were up-and-coming co-editors until Jane had the INS deport Marguerite back to Australia); and becomes increasingly smitten with Alex. The clever, single New York-publishing-type protagonist is standard chick lit fare, but Vig is refreshingly free from neurotic body obsessions and boyfriend angst. Messina's prose is witty and assured (she's read her Austen, her Wharton, her Noel Coward), and her novel is an irresistible frolic.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Working at the stylish celebrity magazine Fashionista isn't all it's cracked up to be, as associate editor Vig Morgan knows. The editor-in-chief, Jane, is a tyrant, so when three of Vig's coworkers pull her into the bathroom for a secret meeting to discuss their plot to overthrow Jane, Vig is tempted by the idea. The women have decided to trick Jane into covering a controversial art show featuring statues of Jesus in designer dresses, and are hoping the ensuing outcry will topple Jane. Encouraged by her coconspirators, Vig decides to approach Alex Keller, the elusive and hostile events editor, whom she has never even laid eyes on. When she does, she's surprised to find him attractive and decidedly friendly, especially when she discovers the secret behind his surly work demeanor. As the plan progresses, Vig begins to doubt its wisdom once it becomes apparent that a rival editor is just as bad as Jane. Messina's tale is a hip and funny parody of trendy magazines and the people who toil at them. Kristine Huntley
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Red Dress Ink; First Edition edition (March 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0373250258
• ISBN-13: 978-0373250257
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (55 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #370,145 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Lynn Messina grew up on Long Island and studied English at Washington University in St. Louis. She has worked at The Museum of Television & Radio (now the Paley Center for Media), TV Guide, In Style, Rolling Stone, Fitness, Self and a host of wonderful magazines that have long since disappeared. She mourns the death of print journalism in New York City, where she lives with her husband and son. She is author of five novels, including the best-selling Fashionistas, which has been translated into 15 languages and is in development as a feature film.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Funny quick read with some loose ends, March 7, 2003

By 

CoffeeGurl - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Fashionistas (Red Dress Ink S.) (Paperback)

Lynn Messina's takes on the fashion magazine industry are witty, clever and insightful. I love Vig's cynical look into the work dynamic at Fashionista magazine -- a publication not unlike In Style magazine. Vig agrees to help three fellow associate editors bring down the magazine's egomaniac editor-in-chief. And that's when the fun begins...

The writing is sharp and clever, but there are some loose ends throughout the book. For instance, Alex Keller, Vig's object of desire, isn't properly developed. There is no mounting of tension between them -- this subplot is so minuscule that it shouldn't have been there in the first place. It appears that the relationship bit is thrown in there for good measure. The story centers on office politics and, aside from a few drinking excursions with her best friend, there isn't much insight on Vig's personal life. Other than that, Fashionistas is a delightful reading experience. You don't read this for mental stimulation, but for sheer enjoyment it can't be beaten. Fashionistas is fun, feisty and easy to read -- just like a glossy magazine.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Quick Read, The Perfect "Beach Book", July 7, 2003

By 

Emily - See all my reviews

This review is from: Fashionistas (Red Dress Ink S.) (Paperback)

I grabbed this book at the bookstore in the Atlanta airport. I was looking for one of those funny, quick reads, that are perfect for the plane or the beach, and I got exactly what I was looking for. This is one of those books that is perfect for people who enjoyed the Bridget Jones and Shopaholic series. The characters are well-rounded, the plot is creative, yet not difficult to follow, and the book in general is fun to read. I highly reccomend this book, especially if you are looking for something to read on vacation. It is a great beach/plane book!

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fun Read for All, November 20, 2003

By 

Erika Sorocco (Southern California, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Fashionistas (Red Dress Ink S.) (Paperback)

Vig Morgan wanted nothing more than to become a great editor and writer for a magazine. Now, she's finally worked her way out of the assistant to an editor position, and gets to do something that she's more interested in. Edit. Unfortunately, while she's looking to write more hardcore news stories, instead of writing about how bad JLo or Britney Spears looked at whatever stupid awards show they were attending this past week, she's unable to, as FASHIONISTA magazine is uninterested with it. So, Vig joins some of her co-workers in a plot to get rid of their evil editor-in-chief, but maybe she was wrong about the new woman coming to take over for the all evil editor, maybe the all evil editor isn't as bad as she actually thought.

Being a fan of the movie HOW TO LOSE A GUY IN 10 DAYS, I was looking for a novel about young women working at a fashion magazine, when FASHIONISTAS popped up. Messina has created a hilarious, and very realistic plot, and her chracters are tons of fun, as well. Vig is a spunky, cynical, fun, young woman, who reminds me very much of Kate Hudson's, Andy Anderson, from HOW TO LOSE A GUY IN 10 DAYS, in the sense that her goal is NOT to write for a fashion magazine, but to write hardcore news. A must-have for all fans of fun fiction, or anyone who wants a peek into the world of journalism.

Erika Sorocco