35 of 37 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Timeless advice in a contemporary package, August 24, 2009
This review is from: How to Be a Hepburn in a Hilton World: The Art of Living with Style, Class, and Grace (Hardcover)
For a heart-to-heart of a different kind, Jordan Christy's How to Be a Hepburn in a Hilton World: The Art of Living with Style, Class and Grace (Hachette) is the kind of advice book most every generation needs. Unfortunately, the people who most need Jordan Christy's advice - the skanky girls who use Paris/Britney/Kardashians as role models - would probably never pick up this breezy book. But for young women trying to figure out how to navigate a world where immodesty and agressive sexual behavior rules, Christy's smart, sweet book of advice is like pep talk from someone who is channeling a combo of Miss Manners, your wise grandmother, and yes, Audrey Hepburn.
With chapters discussing topics like language, friendships, clothing and dating, you'd think this book might read like a giant, pruny scold from an never-married aunt born during Queen Victoria's reign. But Christy writes with the bubbly confidence of someone who is navigating these waters NOW, and has made the choice to rise above vapid shallowness. She tosses store names (Anthropologie and Urban Outfitters) and sprinkles pop culture references (Ashton Kutcher) into timeless advice like "don't call him - wait for him to call you".
In fact, those date-stamped "right now" references may give this book a relatively short shelf life. But for young (20-35) women trying to figure out who they're going to be, Christy's cheerful wisdom may be just what they need right now to march into their tomorrows with class and a cute pair of shoes.
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64 of 72 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Refreshing, August 28, 2009
This review is from: How to Be a Hepburn in a Hilton World: The Art of Living with Style, Class, and Grace (Hardcover)
This book is timely and oh so needed right now. Young women are struggling with mixed messages and signals from the media and society. Many women resent being lumped into the Hilton category, but see little in the news that applaud behavior that is not slutty, stupid and raw. There are many smart women doing amazing things in business, medicine, humanitarian work etc. But the headlines are full of brainless, dingy sex starved bimbos. I applaud the author for keeping it classy and for writing a cute, hip manual on maintaining self respect and pursuing success without compromising values. This book is an enjoyable read filled with humor and interesting quotes from successful young icons. Keep this book in mind when purchasing high school graduation gifts or to tuck into your daughter's duffle bag when she is packing for college.
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51 of 60 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Concepts that are essential to today's young women!, September 13, 2009
This review is from: How to Be a Hepburn in a Hilton World: The Art of Living with Style, Class, and Grace (Hardcover)
I will start off by saying that I saw the author on The Today Show the week this book came out, so with that and the fact that I ADORE Audrey Hepburn and greatly admire her, I was provoked to purchase this book.
I not a teenager anymore, but am 22 so only 3 years younger than the author so I felt like I could still get some pointers from her considering that I'm still in college at the moment and not the business world.
There are a lot of things I liked about this book. Many of the things the author talked about I felt myself - like when she mentioned how these "stupid girls" seemed to start appearing at school while she was in junior high. I can totally relate to this as well... I distinctly remember a few girls in my class that wore thongs poking out of their leather pants and leopard bikini underwear poking out of their jeans, all while going after practically any guy that looked at them. I felt like I was the only one that was remotely conservative and wanted to wear cute clothes and not "slutty" ones. To this day, I still feel this way. Though, of course, I did notice some things here and there mentioned in the book that I am certainly guilty of and should brush up on.
Though I liked the book I must address I few things that I did not like and found a bit "conflicting" (I guess you could say) with myself and own experiences that the author seemed to over look.
1. She starts off the book by saying that every woman can have class and dress with grace, regardless of income. Yet, when she gives fashion suggestions as to wear to buy clothes, she mentions stores like J. Crew, Banana Republic, etc. I went on their websites to look at what they had -- we're talking $70+ tops. Then I thought 'Well, maybe there will be some more reasonable stuff on sale.' Not to my finding - the cheapest was maybe $35. Being limited with my spending by being in college yet, I limit myself to tops $20 or less. So, for me, her suggestions don't suit my lifestyle. Maybe after I get a career and have been working a few years, but I still can't quite see myself buying clothes that expensive frequently. I am still upset that Steve and Barry's went bankrupt. They had great prices with quality-fitting clothes that were classy looking.
2. Keeping in mind what I stated in #1 - it is REALLY difficult to buy clothes as a teenager and young female. I'm sure that the author understands this to an extent (though she never mentioned it), but it is very difficult to find clothes at a reasonable price that COVERS EVERYTHING. I don't know how many clothes I have purchased that look long enough or fit long enough when I purchase them, but after a few washes, they shrink and pretty soon either underwear is easily popping out of my jeans or my stomach is slightly showing and I find myself pulling down my tops (I'm also a bit on the tall side I might add, though not tall enough for tall sizes).
3. Just by reading this book I can tell that the author clearly and extravert, however, the trouble is that some of the advice she gives is directed to extraverts. Being totally realistic here, an introvert is not likely to host parties all the time - that's an extravert thing to do. Whether you host parties or not does not necessarily determine class, style, and grace. I doubt Audrey hosted parties on her own (she was clearly an introvert and even stated how acting as an extravert in Breakfast at Tiffanys was very difficult for her).
4. It is also clear that the author was one of those females that dreamed about her wedding since the age of 3. This is obvious by reading her comment on how she had her wedding colors picked out since age 4. What she overlooked, again (just as in #3), was that not all females are like herself. Not every female begins planning her wedding at the age of 6. I think if she avoided advice according to her own personal preferences of extraversion and wedding planning, she could attract more positive reviews and readers.
Other than that, I think its a great book -- I totally believe all the things she said about makeup, dieting, clothes, language, etc. Yet, I still walked away with something beneficial. She write as if she were your friend and doesn't make it come off as offensive at all. In fact, she even makes it known that even she hasn't been perfect in all of the things she advises either. It really makes the reader not feel as bad and get them discouraged.
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