Pretty in Plaid: A Life, a Witch, and a Wardrobe, or, the Wonder Years Before the Condescending, Egomaniacal, Self-Centered Smart-Ass Phase [Hardcover]

Jen Lancaster (Author)

Book Description

Release date: May 5, 2009

The hardcover debut from the New York Times bestselling author- the prequel to Bitter is the New Black.

In Pretty in Plaid, Jen Lancaster reveals how she developed the hubris that perpetually gets her into trouble. Using fashion icons of her youth to tell her hilarious and insightful stories, readers will meet the girl she used to be.

Think Jen Lancaster was always "like David Sedaris with pearls and a super-cute handbag?" (Jennifer Coburn) Think again. She was a badge-hungry Junior Girl Scout with a knack for extortion, an aspiring sorority girl who didn't know her Coach from her Louis Vuitton, and a budding executive who found herself bewildered by her first encounter with a fax machine. In this humorous and touching memoir, Jen Lancaster looks back on her life-and wardrobe-before bitter was the new black and shows us a young woman not so very different than the rest of us.

The author who showed us what it was like to wait in line at the unemployment office with a Prada bag, how living in the city can actually suck, and that losing weight can be fun with a trainer named Barbie and enough Ambien is ready to take you on a hilarious and heartwarming trip down memory lane in her shoes (and very pretty ones at that).

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Funny girl Lancaster has crafted a successful career by honing the breezy, bloggy style she first exhibited in Bitter is the New Black; her latest, in part a backhand to the resurgent 80s fashion trends, is sure hit resonant, hysterical notes for anyone who came of age in the era of the Preppy Handbook. Authorial voice is at the heart of Lancaster's charm, and she chronicles her early 20s-blunders from fashion and finances to academics and retail jobs-with a candor that few will be able to resist. Lancaster confesses to a fascination with plastic (the material, not the credit card), gloating over her impressive new Liz Claiborne bags, and difficulty finding faithful friends, even (especially) in her Greek affiliations ("Even though I read Seventeen and Glamour every month, I'm already thought of as the Jean Jacket Jackass in my rush group"). Falling somewhere between David Sedaris and Laurie Notaro, Lancaster's goofy charm will no doubt continue to win fans, as well as influence the next generation of sardonic, winning, self-effacing memoirists.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

About the Author

Jen Lancaster is a former vice president at an investor relations firm. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 365 pages
• Publisher: NAL Hardcover; 1 edition (May 5, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0451226801
• ISBN-13: 978-0451226808
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.3 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (103 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #408,734 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Jen Lancaster is a former vice president at an investor relations firm and a New York Times bestselling author.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 20 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Jen... Have You Been Reading My Mail? June 30, 2009

By Sparkle

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

I hesitated in buying this book thinking that going back to Jen's childhood could not be nearly as Snarky and hillarious as doing such adult things as pretending you have a homeowner's association and that you are the president. I saw that other readers didn't love this one as much, so that made me hesitate too. Boy, was I wrong and I'm so glad I read it.

I found this book delightful and HILLARIOUS! Now, that could be because I think Jen and I are about the same age, with a very practical, middle class up-bringing, therefore have we have many of the same experiences and perspectives. If you are a child of the 70's & 80s and remember Kristy McNichol, Jordache Jeans, Polo shirts and Michael Jackson, you may relate too. She walks readers through her real first job and how she though she was RICH! Didn't we all? When you hit the 20k's in salary.. woo hoo!! until you have to pay rent and a car payment. Then the first time you heard people talking about "Their Lewie" - not know ing it wasn't a dog or an uncle, but a Louis (As in Louis Vuitton).

Jen feels like a Facebook friend I don't personally know very well, but because I read her posts and see her photos, I feel like we are BFFs. I think this book is worth the read. Just be prepared to remember who you were at that time. The entertainment lies not only in Jen's story, but who the reader was at that time in their own history.

19 of 22 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Hard to recommend May 24, 2009

By Elizabeth A. Hein

Format:Hardcover

I have read all of Jen's books. Bitter was amazing! I told tons of people to read it and not one was disappointed. Pretty in Plaid sadly I will not be giving a hearty recommendation for. I agree with another review, chapter one was a gas! And there were moments of great stuff in this book, but not enough to make you want to turn the page. I am sad this book did not live up to my Jen standard. Read her first two, maybe her third but take a pass on this one.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful

2.0 out of 5 stars Plaid Not Her Color September 2, 2009

By L. D. Merkl

Format:Hardcover

The publisher got greedy and the author got lazy. (Success can do that to you.) With the triumph of three books, someone got itchy to make some more dough and I guess a prequel sounded like a good idea, as well as a surefire moneymaker.
JL's grammar and high school years are a bore. It also reads like she made it up -- so much for the memoir part.
The book gets going more than half way through when JL goes to college, but didn't really capture my interest until the story about the yellow argyle sweater. That is class Jen.
The stories of her professional life don't hold a candle to her temp stories from the second book.
Then the book just sort of ends with..."and you know the rest...Bitter Is The New Black...blah, blah, blah."
I understand she has three more books in the works. I hope she puts effort back into those.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Eh. June 15, 2009

By D. Byers

Format:Hardcover

I'm a huge fan of Jan Lancaster, but I totally agree with what's been written here. Definitely not her best work. Still funny at points, but I don't feel like she went 100% with this one.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Funny, but not "wet your pants" funny June 10, 2009

By Not Nurse Ratched

Format:Kindle Edition

If I hadn't read Jen's other books and nearly put myself into a coma with laughing, I would think this was hilarious. In comparison, it's just OK. It's still worth buying and reading, but I just like her adult books better. The memoir stuff is all right, but the timeline fast-forwarded at the end and felt disjointed.

11 of 13 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Love Jen, but this book was just okay for me May 25, 2009

By St. Lucia

Format:Hardcover

I'm a big fan of Jen and I have all her previous books, follow her blog, and laugh hysterically at things she writes. That being said, I ran out to buy this book as soon as I could and it took me a lot longer to finish than her previous ones. Her previous ones I had great difficulty putting down, this one I'd put down and wouldn't feel impatient to pick it up again.

Don't mistake me, this book wasn't bad and it was an easy read. It got better for me as it went along, but it lacked a lot of the laughter of previous books. Her traveling through the decades of her life was fine but some parts were just not very exciting or entertaining. Her early life wasn't as exciting, for me, until we got through the 80's.

Jen's writing is great and I'm a big fan of the footnotes which have been constant in all her books, but if I were to recommend a Jen book I'd recommend her previous ones before I recommend PIP.

12 of 15 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Another hit for Jen. May 17, 2009

By Lauryn Thompson

Format:Kindle Edition

I picked up Jen's first book, Bitter is the New Black, about a year and a half ago. It was funny and witty and made me want to read more. So I read the next book, and started following her blog. Then Such a Pretty Fat came, and Jen hit the New York Times Bestseller list.

This book follows her through her childhood to young adulthood, to place her as an uncomfortable teenager defining herself through a certain size of a certain brand, or a child being made fun of for her accent and too-fancy clothes on her first day at a new school.

Jen Lancaster is a funny, charmingly bitchy woman, who I would love to have drinks with. If anybody reads this review and has the opportunity to meet her on her book tour, DO IT. She's great in person. I met her in Atlanta, and my sister and I had a great time.

My only complaint about this book is that it doesn't translate fantastically to Kindle. The footnotes do not display on the bottom of the page; instead, you have to scroll through and click. I went out and bought a hardcover copy instead.