Target Underwear and a Vera Wang Gown Review

Wednesday, August 18, 2010



Tucked inside the fibers and buttons and pockets of the clothing in our closets are the stories of our lives, the lessons we've learned, the people we've loved. Like so many of us, Adena Halpern has used clothes to conform, to seduce, to console, to show off, and to hide. Her ability to relate fashion to her inner life—in a way that goes beyond the clothes—has endeared her to many readers, one of whom called her, "the real-life Carrie Bradshaw."

But Fashionista, she's not. Adena is: every teenage girl who had to have what all the other girls had, whether it looked good on her or not; the college coed who swooned for the boy in the leather jacket; the heartbroken girl who chose a rebound dress over a rebound man; the best friend who borrows clothes and never gives them back; the woman who is 45 minutes late to work because she has nothing to wear. She is a lover of clothes and shopping whose passionate memories are always tied not only to the clothes that she wore, but what everyone else was wearing, too. This is the affectionate and funny story of Adena's life, an unconventional love story that readers will want to share. Clotheshorse or otherwise, this book is for anyone who keeps an old piece of clothing in the back of their closet, wishing that one day those clothes would get up and start talking about the wonderful times you once shared together.Taken from GoodReads.


Do you ever wonder what the life of a posh magazine writer is like? Do you wish that you had the money/class/courage to pull off outfits much like Carrie Bradshaw? Target Underwear and a Vera Wang Gown - Notes From a Single Girl's Closet is a fanciful twist on real life, depicting the story of Adena Halpern, who wrote for Marie Claire. Written as a memoir, but artfully blended with the unique angle that every single one of her memories is tied to a specific outfit, Target Underwear and a Vera Wang Gown is part fashion, part comedy, and just a tad heartwarming to keep you on your toes.

I'm not opposed to memoirs. Not in the slightest. In fact, I like them a good bit. Sometimes the most fascinating stories are the ones involving the mundane tasks of everyday life, but a person's unique perspective makes all the difference. When I stumbled across Target Underwear and a Vera Wang Gown, I knew I had to read it. It's a fun story, chronicling Adena Halpern's journey from everyday teen, to a college girl, to a successful (and might I add fashionable) woman in her own right. There are great twists of humour, touches of sadness because, let's face it, everyone has their lows in life, and an engaging story about finding oneself and one's passions.

The writing, however, was not as fluid as I had hoped. At times, I felt the wit was a bit forced, and while I enjoyed the overall story, it definitely lagged at points. I think the book could probably have been condensed for easier reading, to be honest. All in all though, I give Target Underwear and a Vera Wang Gown a 3.5 out of 5 , and I would recommend it to those who are fans of chick lit and memoirs.

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As a quick closing note - you'll notice that this lovely lil' site is undergoing massive changes at the moment, though the layout is finally done (thank you God!) There is a new button for those who continuously bear with my changes, a favicon (see where the blogger logo used to be), and there are a few more changes to come. Stay tuned!

10 comments:

  1. Gorgeous layout! I love it. Cute favicon, also! I recently made one for my blog, too.

    Anyways, this sounds like such a fun book! I don't read many memoirs, but I really want to start experiencing other kinds of books. Sounds like it's worth a read!

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  2. your new layout is fantastic!! love the nav bar-i am trying to work on one of those too :)

    the title of this book is HILARIOUS!!

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  3. I Like the layout!

    When I first saw this title in my google reader I thought you had decided to review target underwear and a vera wang gown... not a book of that name ;)

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  4. haha i love the title of this book -- thanks for the review!

    definitely something to think about :)

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  5. Melissa,
    Thank you for the comment and the follow. The look of your blog is very nice, too. Looking forward to seeing more of it!
    -Isaac
    towerofstories.blogspot.com

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  6. Hey Melissa, Cool review. I think I might like to read this one. I actually had a Vera Wang wedding dress (it was a dream come true).

    Oh and I'm liking the layout.
    Katie : )

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  7. oh boo. that looked like a promising book...but, no. You'd be proud, I am reading up a storm right now. At the moment am reading Water for Elephants...And just finished the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo trilogy...pretty good!

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  8. i really like the title on this book. it sounds great and my kind of book! thanks for the review :)

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  9. This one sounds like a fun book! That's a bit disappointing that the writing wasn't entirely fluid, though. Great review :D

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  10. I like this title and cover! Too bad it wasn't awesome!

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