Bergdorf Blondes was the début novel of Plum Sykes, an English-born (in 1969) fashion writer and New York “it girl”. It was first published in the USA by Hyperion, and in Britain by Viking, in 2004. Penguin published a paperback edition in 2005. A French version, Blonde Attitude, also appeared in 2005. Victoria Plum Sykes is a British-born fashion-writer, novelist and New York socialite. ... An It girl is a young woman famed for her good looks, charm and sexual magnetism, but in recent years has come to describe a young starlet who has recently broken into mainstream cinema. ...

Bergdorf Blondes was a quirky and highly successful example of “chick lit”, selling more than a quarter of a million copies worldwide. It was set among the smart Park Avenue “in-crowd” of Upper Manhattan, New York, with which Plum Sykes herself was associated as a contributing editor of American Vogue. Among the 44 personal acknowledgements in Sykes’ preface, the first was of Anna Wintour, the editor of Vogue who recruited Sykes from its British counterpart in the mid 1990s and the last, the entrepreneur Toby Rowland, whom Sykes married in 2005. Chick lit is a term used to denote a genre of popular fiction written for and marketed to young women, especially single, working women in their twenties. ... Park Avenue in the Upper East Side (2004) Park Avenue runs north and south between Madison Avenue and Lexington Avenue in Manhattan in New York City. ... The Borough of Manhattan, highlighted in yellow, lies between the East River and the Hudson River. ... Official language(s) English de facto Capital Albany Largest city New York City Area  Ranked 27th  - Total 54,520 sq mi (141,205 km²)  - Width 285 miles (455 km)  - Length 330 miles (530 km)  - % water 13. ... Vogue is a fashion and lifestyle magazine published in several countries around the world. ... Claudia Schiffer and Anna Wintour (right) Anna Wintour (born November 3, 1949 in London, England) is the Editor-in-Chief of the U.S. edition of Vogue, a position she has held since 1988. ...

The book

Penguin edition, 2005

Bergdorf Blondes is a satirical miscellany of high fashion and style a few years into the 21st century – three years after the terrorist attacks on New York of 11 September 2001, an event which is mentioned once, but impinges not at all. Its style of narration is similar to that of Carrie Bradshaw in Candace Bushnell’s Sex and the City (HBO 1998-2004), to which some reviewers saw Bergdorf Blondes as a successor. (Redirected from 11 September 2001) The World Trade Center on fire The September 11, 2001 attacks were a series of coordinated terrorist attacks against the United States on September 11, 2001. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Sex and the City. ... Candace Bushnell (born December 1, 1959 in Glastonbury, Connecticut) is a writer based in New York City. ... Sex and the City was a popular American cable television program based on the book of the same name by Candace Bushnell. ...

As a story about an English woman moving in fashionable circles in New York, the narrator (“moi”), whose “personal bible” is Anita Loos’ novel, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1925), appears to owe something to Sykes herself. The other main character is her best friend, Julie Bergdorf (“the biggest princess of them all”), who is heir to the real-life Bergdorf Goodman store, on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, which, was founded in 1899 by Herman Bergdorf, an Alsatian immigrant from whom Edwin Goodman purchased it in 1906. The journalist Ariel Leve wrote that Bergdorf Goodman "is like a five-star hotel ... You feel like you're spending money by simply breathing" ^[1]. Sykes has said that Julie Bergdorf was “slightly inspired” by the retail heiress Elizabeth Woolworth ^[2]. Anita Loos (April 26, 1889 – August 18, 1981) was an acclaimed American screenwriter, playwright and author. ... Gentlemen Prefer Blondes is a novel written by Anita Loos that was published in 1925, a Broadway play produced in 1926, a Broadway musical produced in 1949, which Loos also wrote the book for, and two motion pictures. ... Najila is a princess Princess is the feminine form of prince (from Latin princeps, meaning principal citizen). ... Bergdorf Goodman is a major department store based in Midtown, Manhattan in New York City. ... Location Administration Capital Strasbourg Regional President Adrien Zeller (UMP) (since 1996) Départements Bas-Rhin Haut-Rhin Arrondissements 13 Cantons 75 Communes 903 Statistics Land area1 8,280 km² Population (Ranked 14th)  - January 1, 2005 est. ...

Julie is rumoured to have her hair coloured at Bergdorf every thirteen days; hence, the eponymous term, “Bergdorf blondes” (or "BBs"), for those who are able to emulate its precise colour, which is likened to that of the late Carolyn Bessette Kennedy (1966-99). When Julie feels unable to bide her time for a particular fashion accessory, such as a Hermès Birkin bag, for which there is a three-year wait, she shoplifts from the family store – “kind of stealing from yourself”. Particular hairstyles occasionally become fashionable through their association with a prominent individual. ... Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy (January 7, 1966 _ July 16, 1999) was born Carolyn Jeanne Bessette, the daughter of William J. Bessette and his then-wife, née Ann Messina. ... Hermès (in English generally pronounced ) is a high end leather goods and ready-to-wear manufacturer and retailer based in Paris, France. ... A Hermès Birkin Bag The Birkin Bag is a purse that is manufactued by the high end leather goods and ready-to-wear manufacturer and retailer Hermès. ...

Its language

Rather like the “Slayer slang” of the TV series, Buffy the Vampire Slayer (WB/UPN 1998-2003), Bergdorf Blondes employs a rich vocabulary of “in” words and abbreviations – “Arizona” for “rehab”; “FOB/G” (Friend of President Bill Clinton/George W Bush); “Ana” (anorexic). On first arriving in New York, the narrator discovers that "Brazilians" are not men from Latin America, but total bikini waxes. To assist the reader, there is a glossary of “Manhattan shorthand”. Buffy the Vampire Slayer is an American cult television series that aired from March 10, 1997 until May 20, 2003. ... Official language(s) English Capital Phoenix Largest city Phoenix Area  Ranked 6th  - Total 113,998 sq mi (295,254 km²)  - Width 310 miles (500 km)  - Length 400 miles (645 km)  - % water 0. ... William Jefferson Bill Clinton (born William Jefferson Blythe III on August 19, 1946) was the 42nd President of the United States, serving from 1993 to 2001. ... George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is the 43rd and current President of the United States, inaugurated on January 20, 2001. ... Bikini waxing is a type of hair removal in the pubic region. ...

Sykes' second novel, The Debutante Divorcée, followed in 2006.

Notes

1. ^ Sunday Times magazine, 16 July 2006
2. ^ Tatler, May 2006