Fashion Week Day Four: Jennifer Banash

Fashion Week's second guest is Jennifer Banash, author of the ELITE series. In addition to writing, she's the co-founder of Impetus Press. She confesses her greatest fashion weakness, one which many girls can probably relate to!

Read my review of THE ELITE here and comment to win a copy.



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Everyone who knows me knows I’m a total clothes horse. But as much as I love my wardrobe, I hold a special place in my heart for two things: Bags and shoes. Oh, give me a new pair of stilettos as a present and I’ll probably do your laundry for you and cook you dinner. I’ve been known to take out the trash wearing 4 inch heels, and don’t hesitate to bring out my Donald J. Pliner or Rafe NY bags for a trip to the grocery store to buy fabric softener. As a result I have too many pairs of shoes to count, and some really nice purses!

As some of you may know, I wrote the third ELITE book SIMPLY IRRESISTABLE in Paris, which was a real challenge to my work ethic. Paris is, hands-down, my favorite place in the world, and when I’m lucky enough to be there, all I want to do is indulge the senses. There’s something about the city that demands it: The street markets overflowing with produce so brightly colored that it makes tomatoes seem like rubies, the smell of fresh coffee everywhere, soft, ripe cheeses shining whitely under a gray sky, and the sight of impeccably turned out French women hurrying home with long baguettes underneath one arm makes my heart sing, and, above all can cause me to take very long lunches and ignore my writing for days on end while I people watch at sidewalk cafes, and drink copious amounts of red wine –usually while admiring the new, Parisian acquisitions south of my ankles :)

And on one of those days, I paid a visit to the ultra-modern Marc Jacobs store in the Palais Royal, hoping to get my hands on a bag that I knew had been sold out in my neck of the woods for some time—the Pan Am bag. Usually when I’m in France, I like to shop in little boutiques like Colette, on the Rue Saint-Honore, where I can find designers and styles not readily available in the Midwest, but that day I was on a mission. I walked into the hushed, cool quiet of the store, hoping that it would be there—a simple vinyl bag in blue with Marc Jacobs written in flowing script in white on one side, and the long-defunct Pan Am logo on the other, calling up images of a time when air travel was still a luxury, when it was—dare I say it—still a bit glamorous. I gasped when I saw that not only did they have the blue, but ALSO the white version with black writing! So retro. So chic. And like everything Marc Jacobs does, so hip it almost hurt.

Of course I bought both :) They are the perfect weeked/gym/evetything bags—big enough for your laptop, some books, and a change of clothes, it’s rare that I leave the house these days without carrying on of them over my shoulder. To wear them reminds me of those blissful three weeks in the city I adore, when all I needed to do was write my chapters for the day, then knock off and enjoy a leisurely lunch, a stroll in a gorgeous park, window shopping, or club hopping with my friend Manu, who manages one of the biggest nightclubs in the city where you can dance until dawn, then order up some fabulous breakfast in the club’s adjoining restaurant . . .

So, what accessories do YOU love? Do you have a pair of shoes, a bag, or maybe a piece of jewelry that has special meaning to you?

P.S. I also bought the white Pan Am messenger bag for my boyfriend’s sister. It just seemed like the right thing to do, no? :)

xo
JB

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Don't forget to leave a comment on this guest blog to receive an extra entry to win THE ELITE.

Fashion Week Day Three: The Elite

By Jennifer Banash



From Normal, Illinois to the Upper East Side – Casey’s made quite a move and she’s not sure how to adjust. She’s armed with Abercrombie and American Apparel, but soon realizes she’s out of her depth. She feels how much she doesn’t fit in the first time she meets Madison Macallister, Phoebe Reynaud, and Sophie St. John. But Sophie and Phoebe kind of like her and talk Madison into a makeover. However, Casey is attracting attention from Drew Van Allen, Madison’s on-again, off-again boyfriend.

Madison and Drew are currently in an off-period due to a disaster on their last date, after which they separated from the summer. Madison thinks Drew will come right back to her, and he would if they didn’t keep awkwardly messing things up with each other. Their relationship is realistically rough. I also appreciate that they are not actually dating when Casey and Drew discover their attraction. I do find it hard to cheer for a character who is trying to steal another person’s boyfriend.

Sophie and Phoebe get their own character arcs as well. Phoebe, like Casey, is facing a problem normal to teenagers. She listens nightly to her parents fighting, comforting her sister Bijoux and wondering when they’ll finally divorce. Sophie thinks her biggest problem is adjusting to her older brother moving back into the house, but her parents drop a bombshell on her. Her storyline is probably the most far-fetched in THE ELITE. Like her, I cannot understand why her parents choose to keep the secret from her for sixteen years. It’s hurtful.

One of THE ELITE’s strong points is the fact that it possesses more realism than most of the mean girl/clique books currently on the market. For one thing, Jennifer Banash mentions sale racks. Yes, the characters still have ridiculous amounts of money but they acknowledge how expensive designer clothes can be and thus don’t fear the sale rack. It’s about the quality of the clothes and how they look on you, not the current trend.

I also like Drew more than the love interest in most of the books. He’s a bit of a geek at heart, only polished by Madison and then some travel abroad. He likes museums and foreign films. C’mon, who doesn’t like a boy who likes Almódovar? And while everyone likes a villain, Madison isn’t over-the-top evil. She’s confident and can be mean, but she’s also just a girl who doesn’t know how to talk to the boy she likes.

Some of THE ELITE’s twists are easy to see coming, but it’s still a fun ride. I enjoyed Banash’s first foray in YA literature and I’ll be back for IN TOO DEEP. You can find out more at The Elite site or at Banash's MySpace.

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Comment on this entry to be entered to win a copy of THE ELITE! Come back tomorrow for a guest blog by Jennifer Banash.

Fashion Week Day Two: Maryrose Wood

Our first Fashion Week guest author is Maryrose Wood. In addition to writing YA novels she's also written for the theatre. She's got a blog about the great summer dilemma: what to wear to the pool. (Being rather pale myself, I absolutely agree with her.)

You can find my review for HOW I FOUND THE PERFECT DRESS and enter the contest here.

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How I Found the Perfect Bathing Suit (hint: it rhymes with fettucine!)

By Maryrose Wood

Anyone who has ever had to go anywhere dressed in clothes — and this is pure wild conjecture on my part, but I’ll assume that includes most of you out there in blogland — knows the following fact about fashion: the Holy Grail of outfit shopping is not prom dress shopping (an activity which looms large in my book, HOW I FOUND THE PERFECT DRESS, and includes some comical interference from the faery realm).

Nor is it back-to-school shopping. It is not even wedding dress shopping.

It is bathing suit shopping.

I’m wearing my bathing suit right now. That’s because I’m writing this at the neighborhood pool where my son has taken up full-time residence for the summer. He swims, he eats, he plays Dungeons and Dragons. This goes on for eight hours a day, every day. I wish I had such powers of concentration.

He’s also in his bathing suit. I’m surrounded by people in bathing suits. Little girl bathing suits with built-in ballerina skirts. Big boy bathing suits with pictures of skulls and flames and various intimidating military insignia. Teen boys in baggy board shorts, teen girls in teeny bikinis, moms in Speedos, grandmas in voluminous skirted numbers.

Let’s not forget the dads. They’re here too, in their less-baggy board shorts and mirrored sunglasses. Today there are no man-Speedos on display, thank goodness. However, I notice that many of the dads are sporting tats.

What’s that all about? Did I miss the memo where all the middle-aged dads went en masse to the tattoo parlor after soccer practice and before the PTA meeting? They got their ears pierced years ago, that’s old news. Now they have shaved heads and tats.

I’m not complaining; it’s just an observation. It’s a cute look with the BabyBjörn strapped on, especially if the baby is also bald and maybe wearing a temporary Hello Kitty tattoo on its chubby little forearm.

But back to bathing suits. My bathing suit may not have a built-in ballerina skirt, but it’s a sterling example of what is possibly the most important fashion breakthrough since the death of pantyhose. People, I speak of the tankini.

Say it. Tankini. It’s fun to say. All ini words are fun to say. Ini words practically ooze with fun. Bikini. Martini. Isabella Rosselini. I defy you not to be having the time of your life in the presence of those three items.

The tankini, in case you were in the tattoo parlor when this information was revealed, is a two-piece bathing suit that looks like a one-piece. Or, viewed another way, it is a bifurcated one-piece with all the easy functionality of a two-piece.

In other words, while wearing a tankini you can go to the bathroom without stripping naked in a skeezy public restroom or strangling yourself with wet spandex. This is huge. This is like the moon-landing of bathing suit concepts.

The mere addition of “ini” turns this fearsome tank:



into an adorable Land’s End tankini:



My tankini came from a great women’s sports catalog called Athleta. When I ordered it I decided to throw caution to the winds and embrace the duality of my tankininess by getting a different color top than bottom. Radical, I know!

The outcome of my daring fashion experiment? Success! It’s so mix and match! My two-tone tankini veritably SCREAMS that it’s more than a mere one-piece. It REVELS in its lack of consistency! Like that beloved relic of Americana, separation of Church and State, this newfound separation of Top and Bottom has done wonders for my own personal constitution.

I admit it. My tankini makes me want to visit the restroom. Often. Just because I can.



A bikini is all very well on a cake, but it provides little in the way of sun protection!


Now, I know some of you are rolling your eyes and saying: Maryrose, if the restroom convenience factor is such a big deal to you, why haven’t you been buying normal two-piece bathing suits all along? To you I say – are you mad? Some of us are very, very pale. Our skin does not ever want to see the sun unless absolutely necessary, even when we’re spending an entire summer poolside in a bathing suit.

Also, some of us write books for a living, and I am here to tell you that writing books is not a terribly aerobic or tummy-toning activity. It shows, people. It shows.

A tankini is not the only golden road to happiness, of course. For someone like me, who is adverse to the sun and prefers to avoid unflattering bikinis as well as inconvenient one-piece swimwear, there is another very good option, which is to stick to nighttime skinny-dipping at after-hours nude beaches.

If someone can point me in the direction of this kind of escapade, I am so there. I’ll even apply a temporary Hello Kitty tattoo for the occasion, and only my moonlit companions will know where it lurks.

In the meanwhile, my tankini and I wish you a rollicking and abundantly sun-screened summer!

xoxo
m


MARYROSE WOOD is the author of HOW I FOUND THE PERFECT DRESS, WHY I LET MY HAIR GROW OUT, MY LIFE: THE MUSICAL and SEX KITTENS AND HORN DAWGS FALL IN LOVE. Visit her at www.maryrosewood.com.

MY LIFE: THE MUSICAL
“...it will capture your interest and probably your heart.” — Kliatt* (asterisk denotes "exceptional material")
“...[a] swiftmoving valentine to musical theater lovers..” — ALA Booklist (online)
“...Teens will enjoy the fast pace and humor in this uplifting novel.” — School Library Journal
“...Wood’s jangling, crescendo-building prose captures all the harmony of a hit Broadway number..." — Kirkus

HOW I FOUND THE PERFECT DRESS
“...I literally could not stop reading this book...I was thrilled to see the return of one of my favorite heroines...hilariously entertaining....a seriously fantastic book...." — Teen Book Review
“...full of sarcastic, witty humor, more hysterical magical beings, and meddling faeries...Wood has created an absolutely wonderful, sparkling read.” — The Compulsive Reader
“...A must for summer reading... Good luck stopping until you finish it. I know I couldn’t.” — Flamingnet, Top Choice Award
“...Morgan returns as funny as ever...This book is completely irresistible and unforgettable...There was nothing that could've made me put it down.” — Teens Read Too, Gold Star Award
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Don't forget to leave a comment on this post for an extra entry to win HOW I FOUND THE PERFECT DRESS!

Fashion Week Day One: How I Found The Perfect Dress

By Maryrose Wood



Morgan Rawlinson recently discovered she’s the goddess Morganne. It led to a number of interesting adventures in Ireland, but she has not had contact with any faeries since returning to Connecticut. She’s learning to drive, helping to plan the junior prom, and trying to explain to her little sister Tammy whether or not Santa is real. Then Colin, her guide and crush from Ireland, comes to UConn for a robotics competition. Unfortunately, Morgan’s favor made him a target to the faeries.

Morgan immediately sets to work, wanting to free Colin before the faeries exhaust him to death. It’s fun to watch her go for it because she’s inventive and puts the pieces together quickly – no missing obvious solutions. At the same time, the riddles she's faced with aren't overly easy to solve. (Rereading the novel, I even discovered meaning to a clue I missed the first time! I love it when there's more to find the second time around.)

The fantasy elements blend well with the other story threads. They even work with her parents fighting over lawn gnomes! (I'm on the mom's side. Yard ornaments are not my thing.) Nor is it my thing when authors use magic in their novel when it serves no purpose to the story, so it's nice to see how Maryrose Wood makes it mesh well with a high school girl's ordinary life in Connecticut.

I'm also partial to faerie stories, and I like Wood's faeries. They don't really care what happens to humans but they aren't randomly vicious, and they've got a wicked sense of humor. Try not to laugh when Morgan meets them at the grocer's. She also finishes the book with a few revelations that make me hope for another book.

For those who haven't read WHY I LET MY HAIR GROW OUT and fear they'll be lost, don't be. Wood introduces past story elements clearly so that HOW I FOUND THE PERFECT DRESS can easily stand on its own. Of course, you'll still want to pick up the first book to read more about Morgan and Colin.

HOW I FOUND THE PERFECT DRESS is a light-hearted and comedic novel that works well as a faerie tale and as a school story. Plus, it features a dress any girl would feel fabulous in! (As well as some clothing choices that aren't for the faint of heart . . . )

HOW I FOUND THE PERFECT DRESS is in stores now, along with her other new book, MY LIFE: THE MUSICAL. You can find out more on Wood's website or her MySpace.

Leave a comment on this post for an entry to win HOW I FOUND THE PERFECT DRESS. Comment on tomorrow's guest blog by Maryrose Wood for an extra entry. Don't forget, there are contests all week!

Fashion Week is here!

Welcome to In Bed With Books Fashion Week! For this event, there are going to be three authors guesting on the blog.

JULY 29: Maryrose Wood

JULY 31: Jennifer Banash

AUGUST 2: Melissa Walker

All of them wrote wonderful pieces, so be sure to stop by for all three!

In addition to these special guests, there is going to be a giveaway. Three people will win either HOW I FOUND THE PERFECT DRESS, THE ELITE, or VIOLET IN PRIVATE. These giveaway copies were graciously provided by the Penguin imprint Berkley Jam.

The rules for the giveaway are:

1. To enter, leave a comment on the review of the book.
Closed: HOW I FOUND THE PERFECT DRESS, THE ELITE, and VIOLET IN PRIVATE
2. To receive another entry, leave a comment on the author's guest blog (posted the next day).
Closed: Maryrose Wood, Jennifer Banash, and Melissa Walker
3. One extra entry can be received by posting about the contest. To receive this entry, link to your post here and tell me which book you want to put the third entry towards. If you don't tell me I'll choose for you.

All three contests close midnight Sunday, August 3rd. Winners will be announced on the 4th.