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Living Section of the San Bernardino SUN July 25, 2004 Issue 
Bergdorf Blondes by Plum Sykes Miramax Books (Hyperion), 2004 
Lives of the Spoiled Rich Why do we put books about the ridiculous lives of vacuous rich people like "Bergdorf Blondes" by Plum Sykes on the bestseller list? Do we succumb to them because they are entertaining? Because subliminally we hanker after such lives and want to enjoy them vicariously? Because reading such books does not require thinking and this relieves some of the stress in our own sensible lives? Or is it because our meaningful and productive, if mundane, lives give us a sense of superiority? "Bergdorf Blondes are a thing, you know, a New York craze," author Plum Sykes tells us in the opening sentence. "You wouldn't believe the dedication it takes to be a gorgeous, flaxen-haired, dermatologically perfect New York girl with a life that's fabulous beyond belief." This book is about the Park Avenue Princesses, enormously rich girls whose lives spill all over the society gossip pages and who have nothing to do but pursue frantically things like the Thirteen-Day-Highlights Hair at "$450 a highlight, the perfect Fake Bake - tan acquired only and only at Portofino tanning salon, the coveted designer sample sales, the benefits and art gallery openings where they could prance in the latest Michael Kors or Marc Jacobs or Alexander McQueen and the elusive PH (Prospective Husband) with the requisite PJ (Private Jet). We become intimately acquainted with this frothy whirlpool of socialite activities through the stories of the nameless narrator who refers to herself only as "moi" and her loves, friends and acquaintances. Although a brunette, Moi is still considered a Bergdorf Blonde, but one gets the impression that she is somewhat poorer than the rest of her friends. For one thing she has a semi-real job. She works as a writer for Vogue. In contrast to her best friend who lives in the Pierre, Moi lives in a modest apartment. Born in England, Moi has been educated at Princeton and is addicted to $325 Chloe jeans. Her Anglicized American mother dreams of having Moi marry Little Earl, the Boy Next Door, even though no one has even seen him. Moi's best friend is Julie, the heiress to the Bergdorf Goodman department store fortune. Although Julie has "at least $100 million in the bank," she continues to engage in her childhood hobby of stealing from the Bergdorf Goodman department store which, her father tells her encouragingly, raises the profile of the store. The time has come however, Julie announces, for her to find that elusive PH (Prospective Husband). The venue - a vast benefit at which the hostess places Bergdorf Blondes next to eligible PHs. The criteria for selecting the PH -he must believe in drivers. But it is not Julie who walks away from the benefit with a PH. Rather, it is Moi. She has nabbed a famous photographer, currently all the rage in New York. The relationship begins to unravel even before Moi's friends get to give the couple engagement parties. Famous Photographer drops Moi like a hot potato, without explanations or discussions. Naturally, she is devastated, or in the language of the Bergdorf Blondes, she is gutted. This nearly brings on a Shame Attack. But Moi struggles valiantly to get her self esteem back. An Alpha-Beta peal and the Ritz in Paris are the therapy her friend Julie prescribes. Moi flirts with suicide and bounces from man to man -a married price without a domain, a married movie mogul without scruples. Whatever the trials and tribulations of those two Bergdorf Blondes are, the ending, as required, is happy. Ultimately they both find genuine love and wonderful, balanced, sensitive and rich, although also accomplished in their own right, PHs. Moi and Julie undergo a transformation. Who knew that love with the right person could turn two girls consumed by designer clothes and on the prowl for a PH into thinking, perhaps even decent human beings. "Bergdorf Blondes" is another rite of passage story. Plum Sykes leads us into the world of rich and spoiled young girls while at the same time satirizing their lives with humor and wit. Any wanna-be "in" person can learn from this book the "in" language, fashion, restaurants, drinks and activities of the "in" people who actually set these "in" trends. But even non-wannabes would find this book entertaining, compelling and - well, educational, in certain useless but, as Moi would say, tres amusing topics. Ophelia Georgiev Roop Library Director San Bernardino Public Library |
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