The Fashionista Files (37 page)
A FINAL NOTE FROM THE FASHIONISTAS
Now that you can walk the walk, talk the talk, and know how to get others to pay the drink bill if you’ve “forgotten your wallet at home”—it’s time to get out there and live life to the fashionable fullest! Being a fashionista means having a sense of humor and a desire to be outrageous and over-the-top, and never, ever staying home just because you have nothing to wear (unless, of course, the couch has never felt more comfortable). Clean out your closets, take a pair of scissors to your favorite T-shirt, and attack the sales, the thrift shops, and eBay with aplomb. Remember, even if you stumble on your four-inch heels, the fact that you pull yourself up and keep walking is the mark of a true fashionista.
Acknowledgments
We owe so many double-cheek air-kisses to so many chic, stylish people, it’s beyond. First of all, Allison Dickens, our genius editor. A bitch-and-swap party in your name is definitely in order—along with a mani-pedi date at Buff in Bergdorf Goodman! And Deborah Schneider, the most sophisticated agent on the planet. You are gorge! Thank you both for giving us a reason to overindulge at shopping malls, outlet stores, sample sales, thrift shops, and many boutiques around the country. Thanks to Elizabeth Lippman, our energetic photographer, who would lie down in the street just to get the shot right. Your shutterbug brilliance rocks—and plus, you look so cute in those hot-pink shoes.
We are so grateful to our dads, Bert de la Cruz and Alan Robinovitz. Thank you for your belief, encouragement, and the occasional clothing stipend. We love you.
Thanks to our siblings, who constantly support us and let us influence what they wear, and their families. Jason Robinovitz (you are very well trained and your Birkin knowledge should be commended), Francis de la Cruz, Steve, Christina, and Nicholas (a most stylish baby!) Green, Mom and Dad Johnston, John, Anji, Tim, Rob, Jenn, and Valerie. Thanks to our extended families, our aunts, uncles, and cousins, who never laughed at our outfits (well, not that loudly, at least)—that means all of the Robinovitzes, Ongs, Torres, Gaisanos, de la Cruzes, and Johnstons out there.
Todd, thank you for letting me Gucci you out. You are such a
GQ
man. And just as gorgeous dressed up as you are dressed down. I love you all chic and sleek or biker and tough. Either way, you rock my world.
Thanks to Mike Johnston for always, for everything.
And so much love to everyone who helped make our fashionista lifestyles and our book a reality: Alice Roi, Allison Newman at Frette, Amanda Schuon and everyone at Truth be Told PR, Andrea Victor, Anne Waterman, Avon’s amazing spa, everyone at Ballantine, especially Nancy Stevenson, Kim Hovey, Heather Smith, Avideh Bashirrad, Christine Cabello, Bacardi, Basia Irzyk, Bobbi Brown, Bonni Fuller, Brent Rimes, Campari, Caroline Suh (for all those tapered jeans freshman year!), Chrissy D (the British shopping guru . . . sort of), Danna Weiss, Diane von Fustenberg, Douglas Geller, Diana Gosendi, Dr. Victor, Edgardo de la Cruz (otherwise known as “Tito Ed!”), Elisa Jimenez, Gabriel de Guzman, Gina Dinisio, Helaine Schmier, Jaclyn Savar, Jaime Maser, Janice Dickinson, Jasmine Faustino, Jennifer Kim (for always lending a broke fashionista ten or twenty bucks when she needed it), Jen Weinberg, Jeffrey Kalinsky, Juicy Couture (Pam and Gela, we live in our monogrammed sweats!), Heidi Krupp, Karen Thorne, Kelly Cutrone, Kyristine Muldowney, Kim DeMarco, Kirna and Zabete, Laura Baddish, Lauren Weisberg, Leslie Stevens, Libby Callaway (without whom this book would not exist!), Levi’s, Michael Kors, Michael Musto, Michael Palladino (you are such a delight), Molly Kim (a.k.a. “Jean-Claude,” the Dachshund), Nicole Young, Punch & Judy, Melissa Comito at Fairchild Publications, Pamela Peckerman, Patrick McCarthy, Sam Firer, Shel Pink and everyone at Orly, Sally Narkis (our not-always-reasonable voice of reason and the best shopping partner in crime!), Sara Jaye Weiss, Simon Doonan, Stacy Kaplan, Stacey Mayesh, Steve Eichner, Steven Hall, Sue Devitt, Tammie Walker (for all of the Krispy Kremes that killed our thighs!), Target, Tartare, Teril Turner, Tiffany Dubin, Tristan Ashby, Tyler Rollins, Vegas (the fashionista dog), Volvo, Warren Tricomi, We Care, Whisper PR, Woodbury Commons.
And then there’s Phoebe Philo, Stella McCartney, Marc Jacobs, Karl Lagerfeld, Tom Ford, Alexander McQueen, John Galliano, Jean Paul Gaultier, Nicolas Ghesquière, Manolo Blahnik, Jimmy Choo, Christian Louboutin, and all of our favorite designers who have inspired us and helped add glamour, whimsy, and style to our lives.
Mwah! Mwah!
J’adore!
About the Authors
On Mel (left): Filigrana earrings, cashmere sweater by Tse, leather-band wool trousers by Alvin Valley
On Karen (right): sweater with tie by Yves Saint Laurent, jeans by Levi’s
Hair: Dennis Gotsopoulos for Warren-Tricomi Salons Make-up: Brent Riens and Allison McGraine for Sue Devitt Studio Location: Studio 259
Melissa de la Cruz
and
Karen Robinovitz
are the authors of
How to Become Famous in Two Weeks or Less
(Ballantine Books, 2003), which was optioned for development as a major motion picture by Walt Disney Studios and optioned for development as a reality television series by Universal Studios/Reveille Productions.
Melissa
is the author of
Cat’s Meow
and
The Au Pairs
. Her work has been translated into many languages. She has written for
Marie Claire, Harper’s Bazaar, Gotham, Hamptons, Teen Vogue,
Glamour, Allure,
the
New York Times,
and
McSweeney’s.
Her forthcoming works include the novel
Fresh off the Boat
and her essay “A Model Boyfriend” in the anthology
Sex & Sensibility.
She lives in Los Angeles with her husband.
Karen
is a prolific writer who covers fashion, trends, style, celebrities, lifestyles of the rich and fabulous, and sex for
Marie Claire,
Harper’s Bazaar,
the
New York Post,
and
Elle.
She has contributed to the
New York Times
Style section,
Details, Glamour,
and
In Style.
She is a co-author, with Lara Shriftman and Elizabeth Harrison, of
Fête Accompli! The Ultimate Guide to Creative Entertaining
(Clark-son Potter), being released in 2004. She lives in New York City.
A Ballantine Book
Published by The Random House Publishing Group
Copyright © 2004 by Melissa de la Cruz and Karen Robinovitz
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions.
Published in the United States by Ballantine Books, an imprint of The Random
House Publishing Group, a division of Random House, Inc., New York.
Ballantine and colophon are registered trademarks of Random House, Inc.
Library of Congress Control Number: 2004095332
eISBN: 978-0-307-41703-9
v3.0