Top: August Silk
Skirt: Forever 21
Shoes: Payless
Bag: Xhilaration, Target
Belt: B Fabulous
Sunglasses: Michaels
Living near Atlantic City, I've seen my fair share of crazy casino carpets. You know. Wildly patterned to camouflage countless spilled cocktails and confuse craps players into parting with even more coinage. And I've always found them to be kitsch-tastic. Which was why I 1) so enjoyed making these Fabulous Felt Dice Barrettes, and 2) was excited to learn that the latest installment of the Shopaholic series, Shopaholic to the Rescue, finds Rebecca Bloomwood and friends in that other gaming mecca -- Las Vegas. That's right. It's time to roll the dice on Part 3 for the big series finale! Will it be lucky sevens or scary old snake eyes? Let's take a gamble (er, gander), and see.
Now, I should begin by saying that unlike the stars of our previous two profiles (Sparks and Schumer), Rebecca Bloomwood is fictional. That said, I've long suspected that she's a lot like her creator, Sophie Kinsella (which is, by the way, a pen name for Madeline Wickham; hey, if you shared the last name of a Jane Austen villain, then you'd probably adopt an alias, too). Partly because of her candid, first-person writing style, partly because of this blurb on the back of Confessions of a Shopaholic:
"Sophie Kinsella is a writer and former financial journalist. She is very, very careful with her money and only occasionally finds herself queuing for a sale. Her relationship with her bank manager is excellent."
See? Rebecca is Sophie and Sophie is Madeline. Easy peasy lemon squeezey (which is, it just so happens, an expression I hate, but one that's surprisingly strong-willed. Not to mention limey in origin, not unlike Rebecca-Sophie-Madeline.)
In Rescue, which follows the cliffhanger in Shopaholic to the Stars, Becky's father has disappeared into the desert, and her bestie Suze isn't speaking to her 'cause Suze's hubby ran off with Mr. Bloomwood (not in a romantic way; it's more of bromance). Suze and Tarquin are having problems, but then that's what happens when you marry your cousin (even if he does own a castle). Becky and Luke, however, are tighter than ever, with nary a cross word or secret credit card statement between them. Still, Bex is so distraught about Suze and her father that she can't even bring herself to -- gasp -- go shopping.
Rescue hinges upon what is arguably the most intricate plot of the Shopaholic series, which is to say that it offers up a host of tasty twists and complications. Will Mr. Bloomwood and Tarquie ever re-emerge, mirage-like, outside of Caesar's Palace? Will Rebecca ever find her namesake, a rainbow-haired psychic temptress from Mr. Bloomwood's past? Will Bex's old nemesis, Alicia Bitch Longlegs, ever stop being sweet and show her true colors (in my opinion, wicked white and bilge-worthy beige)? And most importantly, will our beloved shopaholic ever find it in her heart to shop again? Because charming although this book is, Bex is always at her best when spotting a shiny new something that just may make her the girl-with-the-yellow-hat-slash-plaid-peacoat-slash-day-glo-pink-diamante-earrings (they say "diamante" a lot in British books, which I love even if it is just a posh word for rhinestones). Because shopping is all about possibility, and Bex is the (sale) poster girl for life's optimistic what-if's.
So that's a wrap on Sugar and Spice and Everything Dice. If you remember nothing else, then remember this: keep it sweet; keep it spicy; keep it dicey. Also, don't wear beige or wander into the desert.
No comments:
Post a Comment