|
Girl's Night out with Plum and Ralph
by Jennifer Berg
When Plum Sykes’ juicy Bergdorf Blondes was released in 2004, the floors of Barnes and Noble suffered unprecedented stiletto scratches; fashionistas raced toward the new release aisle en masse, anxious to get a taste of New York’s stratospheric social scene . The novel proved as witty and delicious as the it-girl’s Vogue articles (Sykes regularly contributes fashion and lifestyle pieces to the revered glossy), and by 2006 readers were thirsting for another plum read. Just in time, the author released The Debutante Divorcee.
The follow-up novel to Bergdorf Blondes tells the story of a young, just-married jetsetter named Sylvie Mortimer. Sylvie’s world is filled with fashion, friends and general fabulousness as colorful (and expensive) as a Pucci print. But even debutantes get the blues, and our chic heroine can’t completely escape reality: Plum told USA Today that her second novel would be “a bit more cynical” and decidedly less “cute and fluffy” than her debut work.
In early May, the oh-so-stylish author stopped by Chicago’s Ralph Lauren to chat with fans and sign copies of her powder pink book at a soiree hosted by Julia Cuddihy Van Nice and Vogue Magazine. "Plum called me and asked if I had any ideas for what we could do together for her in Chicago – and I immediately thought of the fabulous Blish Connor who runs the show at Ralph Lauren,” said Van Nice. Ralph Lauren’s new, nautical-inspired collection formed a perfectly haute backdrop for the gathering of literary vixens. White candles and flowers perfumed the air and lemon tarts topped with pink flowers and sparkly flutes of champagne circulated the room. Plum (even prettier in person!) gossiped with the girls and wrote personalized messages in her furiously-snatched-up books.
The debutante attendees included Julia Cuddihy Van Nice and husband Errett Van Nice, Cindy Chereskin, Whitney Brown, Jennifer Ehrhard, Margie Stineman, Hilary Semple, Susu Block, Meredith Wood Prince, Kate Fitzgerald and Jennifer Kasten.
As guests headed home to curl up with The Debutante Divorcee, they were given gift bags filled with a bottle of Ralph Lauren Romance and the latest copy of Vogue.
|
