One of my faves back in the day when I was all about chick lit. :))

Naistekas siis. Ja üldsegi mitte halb. Kundlasti parem kui kolm täpikest, aga päris nelja ei raatsi ka panna :D
Autor ise võrdleb oma raamatut sellise kuulsa klassikaga nagu "Breakfast at Tiffany's". Jah, see kajastab New Yorgi põnevat ja uhket ja kättesaamatut elu, kuid B.a.T. on hoopia midagi muud :D Vähemalt minu jaoks.
Aga üldiselt oli selline mõnus kerge lugemine tänapäeva New Yorgi rikastest ja ilusatest, nende pidudest ja muudest toimetamistest sellises omamoodi iseloomuga võtmes. Eestis vist päris sellist seltskonda ja seltskonnaelu pole.

Bergdorf Blondes is the tale of ueber-rich young ladies in New York City trying to snag suitable mates.

This is the kind of book that I consider "a light bit of confection." Not much to it, not the most complex story line, but enjoyable enough and fulfilling as a "time waster."

I was surprised, while reading some of the reviews on Goodreads, to see how much vitriole people had towards this book. I can see where people with more reasonable lifestyles and better heads on their shoulders might find this book offensive to their sensibilities, but I guess I just didn't take it all that seriously. This wasn't meant to be world-class fiction.

I realize that there probably are real people out there in the world like the "heroines" of this book - the bergdorf blondes. But this glimpse inside their glitzy world honestly made me feel better about my own decidedly unglamorous life, which isn't nearly as vapid or pointless as theirs.

I think this one is a great bit of fluff for beach reading or for those moments when you want to unwind without thinking too hard.

Shallow, spoiled characters. Tried to be funny chic lit like Sophie Kinsella, Little Lady Agency, and Queen of Babble books but missed the mark by a mile. Nothing really redeeming or interesting about any of the characters.

"Daca te ghidezi dupa aceleasi criterii la alegerea sotului ca la alegerea unei genti, iti garantez ca vei gasi unul pe gustul tau."
Plum Sykes a fost redactor la editia britanica a revistei Vogue, apoi, cand s-a mutat la New York, la cea americana. In 2004 a aparut romanul ei de debut, "Blonde de milioane", ce a devenit bestseller international.
Titlul original, "Blondele Bergdorf" reprezinta o nebunie newyorkeza, fiind invidiate de toate femeile. E o treaba extrem de dificila sa ai nuanta de blond perfecta, sa fii stilata, petrecareata si indeajuns de mofturoasa. Si e foarte greu sa probezi rochii ore in sir, sa vanezi posete si logodnici care apar in coloana de scandal a ziarelor. Si desigur "daddy" finanteaza orice, asa ca trebuie doar sa iti bati capul cum sa cheltuiesti.
Cele mai importante cuvinte din dictionarul unei blonde Bergdorf incep toate cu litera P: plictisitor, poseta, pantofi, paparazzi, pudra, petrecere, pudel si Prada. Si la toate acestea trebuie sa gasesti nuanta potrivita. Este tres dificil. Eroina insa, care se numeste simplu "Moi" si prietena ei Julie Bergdorf isi doresc sa gaseasca dragostea adevarata intr-o lume atat de superficiala. Oare este posibil?
Romanul reprezinta o satira sociala a New York-ului si a paturii de bogati, in special a "printeselor" rasfatate, atrase de o viata plina de glamour, petreceri, legaturi amoroase superficiale, bani cheltuiti aiurea si fara grija si a pastrarii cu orice pret a aparentelor.
Romanul trebuie luat ca atare, fiind o lectura lejera si amuzanta si cred eu ca trebuie evitat sa patrundem prea serios in substraturile sale, pierzandu-si altfel toata efervescenta si umorul. Daca stam sa judecam fiecare dintre personaje si actiunile lor superficiale nu il mai terminam.
Cartea abordeaza si dileme precum "ar trebui sa ne epilam brazilian?", "ar trebui sa facem dragoste cu un barbat la prima intalnire?", "ar trebui sa ne culcam cu iubitul celei mai bune prietene?", "e in regula sa te urci in avionul privat al unui barbat pe care-l cunosti de 20 de ore?", "e ok sa mai vorbesti cu un barbat care te abandoneaza pe aeroport fara nimic?" etc. - subiecte asupra carora probabil ca ne-am lamurit deja.
Am selectat o sumedenie de citate care nu numai ca sunt savuroase dar si tres nepretuite, un cuvant pe care blondele Bergdorf il folosesc adesea cand se gandesc la ele insele. Trebuie sa avem rabdare citindu-le pe toate, insa Doamne-fereste sa le si retinem:
"... daca as vorbi franceza la perfectie, nu m-ar mai placea nimeni. La urma urmei, persoanele perfecte nu sunt agreate, nu-i asa?"
"Sunt toleranta. Daca o tipa poarta pantofii cu toc cui Manolo Blahnik din sezonul trecut, n-o exclud instantaneu de pe lista prietenelor mele. La urma urmei, nu poti stii niciodata ce fata super se inalta din acei pantofi demodati."
"Am bun simt. Trebuie sa ai taria de caracter sa recunosti singura cand ai una dintre zilele acelea cand degeaba te-ai chinuit sa te machezi."
"Atunci cand un barbat arata ca Jude Law si poate avea orice femeie, e foarte important sa nu fii prea disponibila."
"Si, ok, inelul asta a costat in jur de un sfert de milion, dar cand te gandesti ce primeste Tommy in schimb - pe mine -, inelul nu mai e chiar atat de scump, fiindca eu sunt nepretuita."
"In privinta sotilor, singurul lucru care conteaza e sa ai unul."
"Femeile casatorite trebuie sa fie foarte destepte daca una dintre cerintele maritisului este aceea de a sti ce vor barbatii lor fara ca macar sa comunice cu ei."
P.S. As vrea sa amintesc si despre Bellini (nu stiu ce e, probabil sampanie) dar cartea garanteaza despre el ca rezolva orice problema in orice situatie, asa ca apelati cu incredere! :)

I think I lost brain cells reading this book.

I thought it was a lot of pointless, designer name dropping. The storyline was hard to follow and I found the characters to be pathetic, shallow, and hard to relate to.

Gosh.
I like fluffy romantic comedies. I’ve enjoyed largely shallow entertainment about people obsessed only with appearances and dating.
But this book. Not only does it have no substance or plot or sense, but the only times it made me think were along the lines of “What a disgusting message” and “Are people really this idiotic? How are we supposed to believe they’d find ‘love’?”
And it doesn’t even make up for its shortcomings by being amusing.

Blissfully self-interested and flush with the cheeriness of a New York socialite on a quest to snag the perfect P.H. (Potential Husband): "Have you any idea how awesome your skin looks if you are engaged?"

It's impossible not to be entertained by a woman who refers euphemistically to oral sex as "going to Rio" in memory of the first man who suggested she get a Brazilian bikini wax, considers vodka a food group and is always embroiled in a nervous breakdown one after another.

I'd say that she's better than Bushnell in terms of writing style since the book's characters aren't ruthless, they're oftentimes charming and witty, and their very self-indulgence comes across as more amusing than petty. Sykes produced a viciously funny trip into a glittery, glitzy world we sure wouldn't want to live in but would be endlessly fascinated with.

Be warned though; in as much as I liked the book for some beach time reading, there's no character growth. No one ever learns to care for anything beyond men, clothes, and grooming, and yet, despite this, they're perfectly happy people.

Quoting Proust: "There is nothing like desire for preventing the things one says from bearing any resemblance to what one has in one's mind."


Book Details:

Title Bergdorf Blondes
Author Plum Sykes
Reviewed By Purplycookie

“So the moral is to look like a virgin, behave however you like, and that way you will always get what you want” (84).
I adored Party Girls Die in Pearls enough to give it 4 stars. I guess it took the twelve years in between the publication of this one and the aforementioned superior text to produce quality writing for Sykes, but I am still reeling that this one was that bad! Unable to convince a library to purchase it (with good reason, I now see), I bought it myself with my limited grad student income, telling myself I would be rewarded with quality entertainment over my summer break similar to Party Girls, but alas! I highly recommend not even opening this book, but taking it back and getting Party Girls, or anything else, really. In fact, don’t even finish this review if you think it will in any way convince you to read any more! I’m such a giver!
Unwilling to call her a protagonist or heroine, as this is not even a substantial story for characters to hold those titles, our narrator, only known as Moi, lives in NY and begins to husband hunt. No, it’s not interesting like Gossip Girls, Sex and the City, etc. Yes, I realize Sykes was attempting to be satirical, but I’ll only deem satire when it’s witty, and this was just slapstick in the inanity.
Moi, who is half British, allegedly has a job, but spends most of her time shopping, attending parties, and later fiance-hunting because her best friend thinks one would look good on her arm. Moi tries out the playboy type, the married guy, the almost divorced guy, then the guy who liked her originally even though they’ve barely had any interactions and he dated her best friend (which is the only time the exclamation “Eew!” actually would make sense!). Of course, Charlie ends up being the “Little Earl” her mother has tried to marry her off to since she was young, and they have sex in the end. It definitely gave me some Pride and Prejudice vibes, but in the worst way possible. I do wonder, however, if people who read Austen’s work during the time period desired to bash their heads against a wall as people did with this book. I saw that it had launch parties and such in 2004, but that was such a weird time, where people wore velvet track suits and used their hip bones to hold up their pants. 1 star seems to be common amongst more modern readers, though.
Thoughts while reading:
Moi, you do not have a job; you had one assignment the whole book. Also, why aren’t you a blonde?! I enjoyed your manic hairdresser, George, who screamed that you needed highlights over the phone far more than you (3).
I did like Moi’s definitions of the world: “Punctual. I am up every morning at 10:30 AM and not a minute earlier” (6).
I never knew what brown signs were, but that could be useful for trivia?
Julie’s agency and self-awareness were the best part of the book: “There’s nothing more romantic than a girl who likes to be in love and is open about it” (45). Too bad none of them were actually in love…The whole book was tantamount to listening to a conversation of hormonal fourteen-year-old girls who all have ADHD. Julie is, however, able to find positivity in everything and make it gloriously backhanded: “You wedding will be my dress rehearsal—I’ll learn from your mistakes” (53). Julie is the only woman who seems to be really secure with who she is in the book: “I’m really spoiled, and very rich and exceptionally pretty, so I get to do exactly what I want [. . .]It’s okay, you don’t have to feel sorry for me. I like me like this” (298).
I had high hopes for Zach when he called Moi witty as well as pretty. All Charlie says is that she’s sweet…Plus, Charlie has no game. Spilling soda all over yourself to do a “straw trick” for a girl…But I guess they were on the same maturity level. Is Sykes trying to make a genius commentary on how little actions can endear you to a person you hardly know, or is this bad writing? I think you know my answer!
All of the talk of Brazil was nauseating. If you aren’t mature enough to call sex what it is, you shouldn’t be having it! Also, what the hell is the Amazonian jungle supposed to be?! (55). I also felt Zach was justified in getting mad that she was texting during sex. Keep in mind that in 2004, texting took a lot more effort with the different keypads!
This book is incredibly dated: The celebrities mentioned, the clothes, and, especially, the view on suicide. Sykes uses suicide as a vehicle for the love interests to get closer, then has Moi mention it every time something upsets her. I really can’t condone that idiocy. That’s not satire.
Why did Charlie even like Moi? He was fine dating her friend, he called her dramatic all the time, and he’s witnessed that she’s incredibly prone to bad decisions.
You deserve to be left somewhere if you’re an adult incapable of showing up on time….
Patrick was my second favorite character, as he was openly married and kept extending offers of fun vacations (even on holidays) to Moi amidst rejection: “ ‘What about dinner tonight, at the Carlyle?’ ‘You have to leave me alone, okay?’ ‘Colorado for Christmas?’” (237). AHAHAHA. That’s a welcome change of harassment!
Though misguided, Moi’s realizations were accurate, even if she didn’t take them: “I don’t want to get all analytical or anything, but the fact is people never change. Charlie was as fervently opposed to Bellinis now as ever” (278). Were Bellinis even that popular in 2004?!
Anyway, not worth it. I’m just really glad it was written before hostages became a trend….
I read that there was a "sequel," only to go to the description (I had to know how bad it was...) and see that it does not include any of the characters. That's not a sequel!

I think I’ve read this cover to cover four times in 3 months. Absolutely perfect and terrible

I came across a very angry review of this book by a young woman who was sick of reading about stereotypical women.
I know Its not PC to accept stereotypical sttitudes now, but despite my sensitivity to sexist stuff, I liked this 'shopping with wimmin' oriented story. You've got to remember that books are an escape!
A lot of the movies and literature from the most recent decade are loaded with sexist profiling...
Steven King's books are frequently violence vs. basically helpless women, but " he's a genius!.."
Remember the times and market wimmin writers are writing in. Give women a chance. They have only recently been considered at all serious as frequently as male writers.
A fictional book is meant to entertain, not become a social commentary.
I'll never be able to afford designer dresses so it's kinda fun to armchair-trip around with someone who can, why not escape into a book?