Customer Reviews

Fashionistas (Red Dress Ink S.)

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(13)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(8)

 

 

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.

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!

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

I think the cartoon-cover, hyper-girlie marketing of this book has the potential to mislead readers; the writing here is much more sophisticated and colorful than your typical girl-in-frustrating-magazine-job novel. The characters are sparkling and the story-line kept me turning the pages. Fashionistas really stands out.

This book is a lot of fun (I, too, laughed out loud and that rarely happens to me when I read). I liked the story's structure: the main plot is every overlooked employee's fantasy about a bloodless coup and the colorful "snapshots" that are interspersed throughout give you an understanding of the main character's personal and inner life. Overall, terrific!

The Red Dress Ink series can be hit or miss with it's titles. Luckily, "Fashionistas" is one of the better entries. Like so many chick lit novels, the heroine works in publishing at a shiny fashion magazine.

Our heroine is Vig. Vig is selected by an inner group of coworkers to join in the plot to rid themselves of vile editor-in-chief Jane. If they can make Jane look like a total fool over an artist's eye-raising exhibit, Jane will be out the door and possibly replaced by new editor Marguerite.

Vig joins in the plan and goes to work to convince the events editor Alex to feature the artist's work. But getting to speak to Alex is harder than arranging an audience with the Pope. The real fun starts when an ancient rivalry between Jane and Marguerite is revealed.

Will Vig breach Alex's guard-dog like assistant? Will Jane crack before Marguerite gets her revenge for a long-ago deportation?

Vig's adventures unfold in a brisk fashion that carries the reader along for the ride. I started this book one morning when I woke up before the alarm. I meant to only read the first few chapters. I ended up polishing the entire book off and had to rush to get to work on time.

For anyone looking for a strong and breezy Red Dress Ink read perfect for the beach, subway or rainy afternoon, pick up "Fashionistas".

"Fashionista" is little more and little less than your average fluffy chick-lit book. Your single smart woman in a job-from-hell, some quirky coworkers and plenty of witty little observations. It's a guilty pleasure with a literate twist and a likably wry main character.

Glossy magazine Fashionista is like "Seinfeld" -- it's about nothing. All they do is retread celebrity fashion of the moment, check out celebrity fashion of the past, and just about anything vapid involving celebrities. (Seeing a trend here?) Vig Morgan got involved in this magazine for the glamour, but finds that it's sadly lacking. Iron-rod editor-in-chief Jane McNeill is intent on keeping it vapid and celebrity-driven, even though her staff yearns to give the mag a little substance.

Then a rebellion starts brewing in the ranks. Vig finds herself turned into the linchpin of a conspiracy to get controversial fashion artist Gavin Marshall and his Gilding the Lily (or, to be blunter, "Jesus in Drag" -- Jesus statues in designer women's garb) exhibit into the magazine. But will the uproar be enough to overturn Jane?

Ever since the publication of "The Nanny Diaries," there have been a slew of my-job-is-hell-and-my-boss-is-a-demon books. "Fashionistas" manages to avoid the pitfalls of most books like that. The biggest pit that it DOES fall into is the not-a-relationship that Vig has with the mysterious Alex Keller -- it really adds nothing to the book, and just seems to take up pages that could be devoted to catty power struggles.

Those catty power struggles are what make "Fashionista" so delicious at times. Vig's deadpan recounting of the quirky workplace characters is fun to read. While their oddities sometimes strain believability, they always manage to seem like people who could actually exist. And Messina does a decent job of lampooning the art world (Jesus statues with women's designer clothes), the fashion world, and magazines in general. Since she herself writes for magazines, it somehow doesn't seem surprising.

Vig actually seems like a smart, interesting female lead. She doesn't whine constantly about her weight, her boyfriend, and grimly takes it in stride when she has to cover Cate Blanchett's "curly" phase. Sort-of-boyfriend Alex is a nonentity, and so are quite a few of Vig's coworkers. Maya is a good sidekick for Vig: She's an emotional mess with unpublished novels, a nasty ex, and many stages of grief.

It's a nice beach-read. Or if you don't have a beach handy, then "Fashionista" is merely a pleasant light read with plenty of cattiness, fashion and inter-magazine power struggles.

This is a wonderfully written, witty, fun book with an insider's perspective of the fashion magazine world. This is what The Devil Wears Prada should have been but wasn't. I love this book. It was a super fast read and I was sorry to finish it.

After reading a couple of the Red Dress Ink Series novels, I was (and still am) a little leary about picking up another one, but I'm glad I picked up this one.
While the book does follow the "formula" of so many other chic lit books, the main character is more entertaining, vulnerable, and witty without being too whiny or overly neurotic.
The best thing about this book is the relationships amongst the characters and the plot. Also, this book has a really good supply of supporting characters unlike so many other novels in this genre.

Vig Morgan is a former assistant to a high profile fashion magazine editor who gets caught up in a complex plot. Several of Vig's co-workers enlist her in an attempt to overthrow their editor, the "evil" Jane. Like any good minion coup, there are mix-ups and complications, and Vig even falls in love along the way.

This book has incredible potential. Combine this with The Devil Wears Prada, and you'd have a fabulous book. There are thin points within the plot, and some of the characters are not developed the way I would have expected them to be. The ending is a bit outlandish, but I'll let you judge that one for yourselves!

All in all, Fashionistas is a fun summer read. Just don't expect -too- much.