International Chick Lit Month: Summer and the City by Candace Bushnell

Despite the catastrophe that was Sex and the City 2 I still have an ongoing love affair with the TV series. Nothing can keep me away from that lovely pink boxset as I relive many memories of Carrie, Samantha, Miranda and Charlotte painting the city of NYC bright red. Despite what many short sighted people may think S&TC was not just about sex, it was about a deep friendship between four women. We saw how they bonded over the years and shared their lives with each other each and accepting one another's flaws without question. It was really quite beautiful to watch. I always wondered how Carrie and co met but strangely it was never discussed in the show. The second movie did give us an insight into this which to be honest was the only highlight but they did not go into much detail. This precious information is laid out to The Carrie Diaries which is a series of books written by Candace Bushnell who penned the book, Sex and the City. The series introduces us to Carrie as a teen when she is making her way through her last year at school, experimenting with boys, fashion, make up and her ideology. One thing she is not experimenting with is her dream to be a writer and she puts this into fruition by enrolling on a writing course in NYC. Summer and the City is the second book in the series which takes off where the first book left off with Carrie being mugged in New York as she arrives from her home town of Connecticut. With no money or clothes and no family or friends in the Big Apple she calls the cousin of her close friend - a Samantha Jones. Samantha takes her in for the night and of course takes her out to a party and from there on sort of acts as her guide around New York. Samantha is only a few years older than Carrie but with her own apartment, sexy clothes and a job in PR she is worlds apart. A few days later Carrie's luck takes a change for the better when she gets a call from a young lady saying she has found her bag. They arrange to meet so Carrie can collect it.- enter Miranda Hobbs. It is kind of delightful seeing Carrie meet the women who will turn out to be the most important people in her life, you feel like you are on a personal journey with her. We don't get to meet Charlotte in this book but she is spotted in Summer and the City so I guess she will make her appearance in the next title. This book may be written for teenagers but adults will enjoy it just as much.

Summer and the City is available to buy now.

International Chick Lit Month: Is Chick Lit Simply the Romance Novel?

Shade Lapite is a writer who runs Just Before Bed which is a fantastic book blog so I was delighted when she offered to write a guest post for me. The post is a light hearted look at the comparisons between Chick Lit and romance novels.

It’s not hard to spot the Chick Lit section in a bookshop. The pastel-coloured, cartoon-illustrated cover has become as ubiquitous as the perma-tan hero - big hands, big pecs, big…everything was once reserved for romances. The story lines are becoming pretty standard too. Housewives being abandoned by their husbands and falling for handsome farmers, (The Sweetest Thing by Cathy Woodman) career women being passed over for promotion then falling for the snobs who stole their coveted job (Unlike a Virgin by Lucy Anne Holmes) and organised girl Fridays forced to babysit out of control rock-star comedians then falling for their charges (Lizzy Harrison Loses Control by Pippa Wright). There’s an awful lot of falling in fact they sound curiously like the romance novel circa 1970 with a sense of humour. While the 21st century Chick Lit novel showers us with unfulfilled women toiling in underpaid job (nannies, secretaries, assistants) leaning on family and friends until a man provides that happy ending, the romance genre has done some serious growing up. The scowling, cynical hero is still wealthy and strong jawed but tends to refrain from taking his woman against her will. The women are still achingly beautiful and innocent but they’re not sitting around waiting for an invite to the nearest aisle. Instead they're strong-willed careerists, occasionally even contemptuous of the whole love thing.

It wasn’t supposed to be like this; when a pudgy, beer-swilling, nicotine-addicted Bridget Jones stumbled on to the literary scene she was supposed to usher in a richer more varied representation of womanhood. And for a while she did; from Melissa Bank’s, Girls’ Guide to Hunting and Fishing, to the feisty heroines of Candace Bushell’s Sex and the City. Along with the ditsy Bridgets, Chick Lit encompassed capable women at the top of their game, navigating life and love, friendship and family. You see, there was variety. Now the parameters of the genre seem to be narrowing. Yes the books are still well written, hilarious, moving but the underlying message is consistently - singledom sucks and life’s pointless without a steady man. We already have the romance, and it’s doing pretty well. so it would be a shame if we landed ourselves with an imitation genre. So let’s stop treating singledom like a disease, occasionally ditch the pastel-coloured cover and get back to embracing the full potential of women.

You can read Shade's blog here and you can follow her on Twitter.

International Chick Lit Month: Retro Review - Waiting to Exhale

For many people Bridget Jones was the first Chick Flick movie but as far as I am concerned it was  Waiting to Exhale that put the genre on the map. Based on the best-selling book by Terry McMillan, this movie set the world alight when it was released in 1996. I was in the cinema watching with my bestie the first night it was released and you could feel a real frenzy in the air. Waiting to Exhale is the story of four African American friends called Bernadette Harris played by Angela Bassett, Savannah Jackson played by Whitney Houston, Robin Stokes played by Lela Rochon and Gloria Matthews played by Loretta Devine who are at different stages of their lives. Bernadette's perfect life is turned upside down when her husband of ten years ups and leaves her and their two kids for his secretary and she is forced to go to court to fight for what is rightfully hers. Savannah has it all, great looks, independence, fabulous job and apartment but the only thing that is missing is the right guy. Robin is a high powered executive who is blessed with stunning looks and a smart brain yet lacks serious judgement when it comes to picking guys. Gloria runs her own successful salon and spends the rest of her time keeping an eye on her teenage son and has more or less given up on the idea of finding romance.

To me Waiting to Exhale set a precedence in the way women related to each other in films and TV - we had independent and sassy women who juggled careers, family, love lives and friends and who also spoke frankly to each other about their desires. It was a trend that was later emulated in Sex and the City, Lipstick Jungle, Soul Food and Girlfriends. That film was really ahead of its time and when I watch it now it still has a really fresh feel to it. All the issues that are covered are relevant today and the dialogue is as sharp as ever. Also it is one of a few films where the adaptation is just as good as the book. The first person narrative in the film worked amazingly well and gave us a real insight into the four women's personalities. Waiting to Exhale has it all, humour, love and friendship all wrapped up in a fantastic package. Much to my delight a sequel to the book was released last year which is rumoured to be turned into a film hopefully with the original cast. I can't wait.

The Sex and the City Tour

I have always wanted to go on the Sex and the City Hotspots tour since my trip to New York during the summer of 2009. Sadly due to bad timing I could not do it but after reading Yinka from Vex in the City's blog post, this made me more determined to embark on the tour. I had read a less than complimentary but netherthless interesting perspective on the tour but I was not about to let that deter me. So I booked my tickets online and set off to the meeting place at the Pullitzer Fountain opposite The Plaza on 5th Avenue. It mentioned on the website that the tour had been updated to include scenes from both movies so I was intrigued to see how this would be done. The big coach pulled up and we all got on. The tour guide was a very lively and funny lady called Emily Proch who kept us entertained with her wise cracks as well as her observations on the show. In fact the first she did was point out that The Plaza happened to be where Big had his engagement party to Natasha in season two. Then we went past the New York Public Library which was the venue of Carrie's doomed wedding in the first film. The first stop we made was the Pleasure Chest where the ladies went rabbit shopping earlier on in the series. Next we entered the ever so trendy West Village which is the home of the famous Bleecker Street where the famous Magnolia Bakery is located and where round the corner from Sarah Jessica Parker's (SJP) actual home. In fact Carrie's home is round the corner on Perry Street but sadly the tour no longer stops there. I guess the residents got sick of people sitting on their stoop and pretending to be Carrie.

After that we visited the Meat Packing district where Samantha lives (apartments go for 7k a month) and where Aiden's furniture shop is. We went into Buddakan where Carrie and Big had their engagement party and the place is as glam as it looks in the film. We also passed a restaurant called Pastis where Carrie had brunch with her Aussie GBF in season four and, where she has dinner with The Russian in Season six and his mates join them and ignore her. Pastis is also where Samantha and Smith have dinner and his pic is taken and she is chopped out. We are also shown the exclusive Soho House where Samantha gets busted for hijacking her way in. We also stopped at some designer shop called Jeffrey where bags were priced around 2K. Still trying to work out what the relevance was. After that we went past Diane Von Furstenberg which was really nice. Next we moved onto Soho and to Scouts, which was Steve and Aiden's bar which is actually called Onieals. We went in and sampled cosmopolitans true Sex and the City style. Then it was back on the coach for some more location spotting. We went past Mr Big's apartment which was actually at Hotel Giraffe.

A lot of emphasis is placed on location shots and angles and we are also shown shots from the series and films which use the relevant locations. We are even taken to spots that are integral to the character's lives.  Charlotte and Miranda's gyms which are both on the West Village. The tour guide was great (you could tell she was a massive S&TC fan) in proving juicy bits of information about the show. She gave us some inside information about Carrie's relationships and the reason for the emergence of Burger which was to show Carrie's creative and intellectual side. Also the baby that Aiden was carrying when he bumped into Carrie in season six was SJP's actual son. The Sex and the City Hotspots tour is three and half hours and costs $42 dollars which includes a $2 booking fee. Is it worth it? Hmmm this is a good question. Although we were given some complimentary cupcakes from The Magnolia Bakery, I think the price should have at least included a couple of free cocktails from Onieals as opposed to being charged $9 a glass. I also think there should have been more stops added to the tour as opposed to the three that we had; during the tour we seemed to spend a lot of time on the bus which was not something I was expecting. There were also too much referencing to locations that were quite a distance away which to me was a bit of a con, I did not pay $44 for someone to point out The Soho House which I could barely make out in the Manhattan skyline. I feel that the Sex and the City Hotspots tour is a great way to see hip parts of Manhattan in a short space of time but you could probably seek out a lot of the sites by yourself. I am glad I did it though and have no regrets and it is a great girly outing.

If you are off to New York and want to go on the Sex and the City tour then check out this website to book tickets.

The Fabulous Grand Central Terminal

So today I took a trip to visit Kwana from Kwana Writes at her place in Scarsdale, Westchester which is a suburb in New York. In order to get there I had to take a train from Grand Central in Manhattan. I don't know about you but waiting for a train at a London station is not a nice experience. Cold, dirty and nowhere to sit are the words that come to mind. Well Boris could take a few tips from New York and check out the fabulous Grand Central Terminal. Here are a few facts about the famous train station; it is the largest train station in the world and is iconic because it represents the growth of NYC itself. After a train collision in 1902 this resulted in the expansion and development of the station and new electric trains. A temporary station was installed while the new station was constructed over the next ten years. The new Grand Central Terminal was opened to the public in 1913 and has hosted an art gallery, art school, movie theater, museum and various exhibitions. In 1988 the station was renovated and restored to its former glory

It is here where you head out to New York towns such as Westchester, Yonkers and White Plains. The real name of the station is Grand Central Terminal but it gained the name Grand Central when people started abbreviating it. After the revamp the station now has a rather classical feel to it; high ceilings give a light and airy feel with marble flooring and the whole place gleams with sheer opulence. There are also retro like sofas dotted around for passengers to relax on while they wait for their train. Also there is an eating area and eateries on sale and the tables are designed with a collage of items that represent New York. Bits of the subway map, train tickets, metro cards, train timetables and a map of upstate New York are all pulled together to represent what Grand Central is all about. Even the bins are adorned with a colourful poster with a train and a sign that says 'Welcome Aboard" Grand Central is somewhere that you are happy to spend time in as opposed to wanting to get the hell out of.

My first introduction to  the place was reading about it in Hanging Out with Cici written by Francine Pascale, the creator of Sweet Valley High. The book was about a teenage girl who gets on a train at Grand Central to visit her relatives only to go back in time. Pascale's description of the train station was very illustrative and gave me an idea of what the station is like. Grand Central has also been featured in countless films and TV shows but the film that stands out to me is Carlito"s Way where Carlito Brigante played by Al Pacino, a reformed gangster is supposed to meet the love of his life so they can leave New York and start a new life together but sadly he does not make it. Grand Central is where Carrie and Samantha set off to San Francisco for Carrie's book signing only for Samantha to develop cabin fever in their poky compartment. Of course the station is where we are introduced to Serena van der Woodsen in the first episode of Gossip Girl when she heads back to the Big Apple after a hiatus at boarding school. Good times eh. Grand Central is as fabulous as it looks on the screen.

Sex and the City 2: The Stories. The Fashion. The Adventure

Well as practically the whole world is bashing the Sex and the City 2 movie (read the excellent post by Katie Chutzpah hitting out at the critics) I have decided to have a go at the book. Yesterday while feeling excited about the prospect of seeing Carrie and the gals again I got happy and ordered the book from amazon. My thought process was that I would be able to labour over the book today while remicising over the film. You see I was expecting the film to be good but it wasn't and I was also expecting the book to be good too but guess what? It wasn't either. So hello to a less than pleased Ondo Lady. 

Before I go any further let me explain the concept of the S&TC books, now I am not talking about the one written by Candace Bushnell but the brilliant ones that acompany the show and films and written by Amy Sohn. These are well crafted items which are designed to lay luxuriously on your coffee table. Hardbacked and rectangle shaped they contain wonderful images of the characters, the show and people behind the scenes. For instance Sex and the City Kiss and Tell which is based on the TV series delves into the history of the show. The foreward is by Sarah Jessica Parker who tells us about how she initially turned down the role of Carrie because she did not want to go back to TV. There are also chapters on each of the four ladies which covers their personalities and how they have evolved since the first series and there is also a summary of each episode. As well as the fashion the book looks at the apartments of the four ladies and discusses their individual styles. The men of S&TC are featured as well as city the show is set in. This one of my favourite books because not only is it pretty with it's pinlk cover it provides you with every nut and bolt that you would love to know about the show.

Sex and the City: The Movie is rather similar to the first book as it kicks off with an intro from Sarah Jessica Parker who gives us a recap on the years between the end of the series and the film. Writer and director, Michael Patrick King's intro is very interesting as he gives us his ideas and aspirations on the fllm which I found really intruiging. The next few pages goes into the logistics of turning S&TC into a film. I guess I just took it for granted how it easy it would be to make the fiilm and get all the crew and props back. Well this section goes into the technicalities they faced. Like the beginning of the first film the book gives us a summary of the show season by season and on the character's lives. However, this is where the similarities between the first book ends, the next part of the book is a pictorial narration of the film. I mean if you have not seen the first film and read this you really will not need to as everything is given away. I must admit at over 120 pages long I felt a bit cheated because I was expecting a lot more features. There are a few nice touches like a piece on the Vogue shoot, why they chose the Vivienne Westwood dress and Carrie's apartment makeover. Of course you couldn't have a S&TC book without the fashion and there is a look book which documents all the clothes. Sex and the City: The Movie is not as brilliant as the first book but is is a must have for die hard S&TC fans and as I said before the pictures are beautiful.

Which brings me to Sex and the City 2: The Stories, The Fashion, The Adventure, the first thing that stands out is that thei book is not written by Amy Sohn but by someone called Eric Cyphers who I have never heard of and also the cover is more luxurious. It has a nice pouchy feel to it which I really like. However. this stops there. I hate the colour which is a light grey and a far cry from the girly pink of the first one and dynamic black of the second one. Believe me the content is not any better either: there is the usual introduction by Sarah Jessica Parker and Michael Patrick King where they talk about filming in the Middle East. There is the summary of what the characters have been up to since the first film then there is a section on filming in Morocco but is is all really lightweight as if they wanted to skimp over it. This is followed by Q&As with the four actresses which I find boring as they are not saying anything I have not heard before. The next section is on the men of S&TC and the supporting cast. Then of course we have the fashion but instead of a couple of pages of looks we have over 100 pages of the outfits featured in the film. Each outfit has two pages dedicated to it with full credits! Talk about blatant advertising and product placement. I felt disgusted and frankly ripped off. The whole book reads like a catalogue promoting designer clothes as well as a luxury holiday in Marrakesh. Talk about style and no bleedin substance. Me no likey!! My advice is if you want a fabulous S&TC book then just stick with the first one which has quality writing, fashion and fun.

The Sex and the City books are available to buy from amazon.

Material Girl: Review

I can't remember the last time I sat down and watched a proper British drama series that made me feel so inspired and excited that I could not wait to see the next episode. Oh I lie, I do remember it was This Life and the year was 1996; I had finished my BA and was at journalism college and the debutante professional lives of five every so crazy lawyers who shared a house in South London had me gripped. With vivid sex scenes and colourful language and explosive storylines, This Life was Sex and the City before the iconic show became Sex and the City. Then there was the wonderful Cold Feet which charmed the us with the lives of three couples based in Manchester. Well since This Life sadly disappeared from our screens in 1997 and Cold Feet in 2003,  I have migrated to US TV shows like Lipstick Jungle, Gossip Girl, 90210, Melrose Place and the Canadian import, Being Erica. Aside from soaps like Eastenders, Brit TVvery rarely got a look in. During the noughties Sarah Parish ruled the Brit drama roost with roles in Hearts and Bones, Cutting It, Honest and Mistresses. I never really took to Cutting It, Mistresses was ok but I never warmed to any of the female characters and I totally missed out on Hearts and Bones. This is why the arrival of Material Girl (read my preview post) has been hugely anticipated by me and fellow fashionistas.

Material Girl (based on the book, Fashion Babylon by Imogen Edwards Jones) is the story of Ali Radcliffe played by Lenora Crichlow, an aspiring designer who decides to set up her own label after being treated badly by her boss who is the very successful but neurotic Davinia Taylor played by Dervla Kirwan. She goes into partnership with Marco Keriliak played my Michael Landes who studied at St Martins with Davinia and is keen to even a score with his nemesis. The series is set in the busy hub of London's East End and we are introduced to Ali's colourful set of friends which consists of Alex, a fellow designer who works for Ali's rival, Mimi who works at a glossy magazine and Lydia who is one of the country's top models. We see Ali go head to head with the spiteful Davinia who will stop at nothing to jeapordise Ali's career. The show starts off spendidly with shots of Champs-Elysees where Ali is helping Davinia prepare for her show at Paris Fashion Week. The rapid shots really evoke the pace and excitement of the fashion industry particularly when Fashion Week is on.  Like other glam shows such as Ugly Betty and Sex and the City, Material Girl could be enjoyed purely on the scenery which is totally vibrant and rather eclectic. The outfits have taken quite a bit of a panning by fashion journalists but considering that we see Ali dressed in play suits, capes, vintage shift dresses and of course elegant stilettos which are all key looks for any decent fashion lover I beg to differ. But hey what do I know? I only follow fashion right. Yes, Material Girl may be full of cliches albeit bitchy boss, the must have gay BF, the wacky and out there pal and the trusted bestie but it is a really good show and very enjoyable. We need more Brit dramas like this please, in fact we need more Brit dramas period.

Material Girl airs on Thursdays at 8pm on BBC One

Buppies

I will be honest I have never really paid much attention to BET (US or UK), because I have never found their shows to be particularly appealing. Then a few weeks ago I came across a trailer for a show called Buppies which starred Tatyana Ali, she of The Fresh Prince fame. That got me interested for a few reasons; a show with a group of twentysomthing Blacks working in the entertainment industry is very sexy. Also the term Buppies always takes me back to 80s with the Thatcherism era of power suits,  filofaxes and consumerism so I was keen to see how it would translate to the US in 2009.  Buppies is a webseries about five close knit friends who reside in LA. The lead character is Quinci, played by Tatyana Ali, an IT girl who had it all - great career, loving relationship with a guy she was planning to marry, fantastic friends and a close bond with her father. Then her life comes crashing around her ears when her Dad dies and her fiance dumps her right before their wedding. Totally crushed, Quinci begins to realise that it is her close friends who are now her family and rock. Her inner circle consists of Priscilla, played by Robin Thede who is a magazine editor and likes the finer things in life. Priscilla's other half, Eliot played by Preston Davis works as a sports agent but is shielding a dark secret. Shaka, played by Ernest Waddell is a corporate lawyer by day and a rapper by night who is a bit of a ladies man. Then there is Kourtney, played by Chante Frierson who is a music industry heiress but is as feisty as they come.

Buppies is not a bad programme, it is entertaining enough to watch in bites of 10 minutes.  This is because the plot is not very fast moving and not an awful lot happens in the show. However there are some interesting characters who have potential to develop over time. Aside from cultural references to designer labels and fancy cars there is not much sign of wealthy living in Buppies: I was expecting to see the characters situated in lavish houses, shopping on Rodeo Drive and travelling by private jets. Sadly all this remains to be seen and what we are left with is dodgy scenery. Hopefully this will change soon as the series goes on but I am afraid Buppies really has to up its game for people to really take it seriously as a mesh of Girlfriends and Sex and the City.

This is BET's first online series and airs on Wednesdays at 3.00pm. You can watch it online here.

Check out a preview of the show below.


BUPPIES - Visit: BUPPIES.BET.COM to watch! from BUPPIES on Vimeo.

The Magnolia Bakery

This honey trap gained fame from being featured in The Devil Wears Prada and Sex and the City. Magnolia Bakery is based on the uber trendy Blecker Street on the West Village in New York alongside designer stores and chic cafes. The bakery is famous for their cupcakes and tasty cakes so of course I could not leave NYC without paying them a visit. When I got there I had to wait in line because there was a queue going round the block. Yep I could not believe it myself - all this for some little cupcakes I thought. When I got in I was surprised by how small the place was, I had to squeeze myself in. The poor assistant had to navigate herself through us enthusiastic cupcake buyers to lay out more treats but as soon as the new batch of cupcakes had been laid out they were gone in 60 seconds. I began to feel a bit claustrophobic so just grabbed four cupcakes, paid for them and got out of there. Magnolia is obviously a huge attraction because people were taking snaps and looked delighted to have nabbed themselves some Magnolia treats. I heard a lady behind me say to her companion say "Yay I got me cupcakes." I wasted no time in sampling my goodies partly out of curiosity to see if they lived up to the hype and out of pure cravenness. I can honestly say to you that those cupcakes were purely yummy. The texture of the cake was really soft and springy and the cream was light and fresh. Best cakes I have tasted in a long time. They need to open up a branch in London right now and while they are at it extend the Blecker Street premises, if there was a place crying out for more space it is Magnolia Bakery. The eatery opened up for business 12 years ago by Allysa Torey and Jennifer Appel, there are three stores in New York and rumours that a branch is to open in Los Angeles.

Well I do not have Carrie's budget or a Mr Big to keep me in cupcakes so I am going to start making them. On Saturday I am off to Sainsburys to buy a sieve and a whisker so I can cook myself into cupcake heaven. For those of you who are interested, Magnolia Bakery have published a book where you can copy their recipes and you can buy it from amazon here.

Also check out this hilarious article in The Telegraph by Emma Forrest about how S&TC's descendance on Magnolia ruined her blissful life in the West Village. LOL It made me laugh.

An Evening with Amy Sohn

One of the great things (and there are many) about being in a vibrant and exciting city like New York is the ridiculous amount of things at your disposal to do. Such as a reading with Amy Sohn, writer of Sex and the City: Kiss and Tell (the other Sex and City book) and Sex and the City: The Movie who has a new book out called, Prospect Park West. As I was making my way down to Barnes and Noble in Tribeca I saw a lady looking effortlessly stylish in a chic black dress in front of me. It was not until I got to the reading section that I realised that the lady was none other than Amy Sohn herself. "Have you come for the reading,?" She asked me in her light voice. I nodded rather writer stuck, Amy Sohn had just spoken to me. I had actually bought my copy of Prospect Park West in Borders earlier but was keen to hear what Amy had to say about the book. She started by reading two chapters of the book - I must admit that I have never attended a book reading in a bookstore before so I did not know what to expect. However Amy's reading really brought the characters to life and made me really glad that I had bought it. Funnily enough her reading reminded me of the penultimate scene of Sex and the City where Carrie reads extracts from her popular book and they even had similar dresses on. :) 

Amy Sohn is a true Brooklynite and grew up in Brooklyn Heights, she and hubby moved to Park Slope in 2004 when she was pregnant with their daughter. An acclaimed writer she has a column in the New York Press and has written for the likes of New York Magazine, Harper's Bazaar and The New York Times Book Review. Prospect Park West is the story of four yummy Mummies who find their lives a bit wanting even though they have the two big things any woman should want; marriage and kids. Prospect Park West is the story Park Slope mothers who do not think they are one. The book is largely based on Amy's life as a mother in Park Slope and the characters are based on the women she has met in that area. The event was great fun with Amy answering questions with a lot of wit and charm. Me being the total book geek I am even queued up so she could sign my copy. During our lil banter she assured me that I would polish the book off in one reading. We should have placed bets. Apparently there is to be a sequel which will feature more of the men. You heard it here first.

The Broadroom and Prospect Park West

I am feeling very scared about the second Sex and the City film; I feel that they risked the values of the S&TC brand by making the first film two years ago. They only got away with it because of the increasing popularity of the series after it ended so by the time the movie came round everyone was dying to see Carrie and co back again. Hence the fact that Sex and the City: The Movie was a sensational hit. Now they want to ruin it all by making a sequel. Why? Well pure and utter greed. S&TC had it's moment in the sun so lets put it to rest and move on. One lady who has certainly not looked back since her S&TC days is Candace Bushnell, the lady who brought Carrie Bradshaw to life by writing the S&TC books. She has landed a gig writing a new female-led web series called the Broadroom which is a humorous look women in the workplace and will star Jennie Garth, Talia Balsam and Jennifer Espisoto. The Broadroom has two exciting brands associated with it. More magazine - a lifestyle magazine aimed at women who are 40 plus not the UK trashy More magazine - and Maybeline are collaborating as corporate sponsors. Bushnell recently signed up as a contributor for More magazine and will write in the September and October issues. Maybeline will be screening the show on it's website in conjunction with the launch of its new Color Sensational Lipcolor.

The Broadroom airs in September.

Another lady who has moved on since S&TC is Amy Sohn who penned the 'other' S&TC books which were fabulous guides to the show and the movie. If you don't own one of these then you really cannot call yourself a S&TC fan. Well Amy has a book out called Prospect Park West which is about the Brooklyn bourgeois. Set in the lush Park Slope we are introduced to four yummy mummies who are experiencing serious life crisis. Meet Melora Leigh, an acclaimed actress who is frustrated with her career and the pressures of raising her adopted toddler, so goes shoplifting. Rebecca Rose fills the void in her marriage by starting a dangerous flirtation with a handsome neighborhood celebrity. Lizzie O'Donnell, a former lesbian (or "hasbian"), is happily married to a sexy guy with an adorable baby so wonders why she is still drawn to women? Then there is supermon, Karen Bryan Shapiro whose main goal in life are her four-year-old son's well-being and snagging that perfect apartment. Four different women with one thing in common, none of them are satisfied with their lot. Interestingly enough Sarah Jessica Parker has bought the rights to the book and plans to turn it into a TV show.

Prospect Park West is available to buy in September

Personal Affairs

They say two's company, three's a crowd but four is a party. And boy is it some party; we only have to look at musical legends such as The Beatles and Abba to prove that point. Other famous posses derive from TV such as The Golden Girls, Desperate Housewives, the ladies from BBC drama, Mistresses and of course those minxes from Sex and the City (S&TC) - who are probably the most famous foursome of all. It seems that women work best when they are in groups of four. Hence the new series, Personal Affairs which is about the lives and loves of four PA's working in London. The offbeat drama delves into the lives of Lucy Baxter, Midge Lermer, Doris (Sid) Siddiqi and Nicole Palmerston-Amory as they try and deal with the pressures and imbalance of working in an investment bank. Lucy is a open and warm lady who lacks real confidence, Midge is a can do girl who yearns to be famous, Nicole is an independent chick who very rarely lets her guard down and Sid is a repressed intellectual snob who cannot believe she has ended up as a PA.

Personal Affairs aims to show what life is really like for PAs working in the city who earn a fraction of what their bosses do yet are expected to carry a lot of their workload. Scriptwriter, Gabbie Asher who previously worked on EastEnders is well aware of the perils that face PAs as she used to be one herself.

"For me, Personal Affairs truly captures the unique experience of working in an office with a group of girls – the fun, the friendship, the bickering, the hopes and dreams, the tears and the personal dilemmas that arise every day. Friendship is at the heart of this drama as the girls help one another navigate through a myriad of life choices, with varying success!

"There is nothing more glorious than being in the company of friends who you know will support you and tell you the truth, whether you want to hear it or not. For me, the Personal Affairs workplace in this drama is the dream office. You'll want to work alongside Midge, Lucy, Nicole, Sid and Grace, share stories with them and be friends with them because these girls genuinely care about one another, even though their personalities are poles apart."

We have spent years looking for the Brit S&TC, we thought Mistresses might do it but the characters lacked the charm or pizazz to hold a candle to our beloved show. With a group of cracking characters on board, Personal Services might just be the one.

Personal Services airs on BBC Three later this year.

Only in a Woman's World

I am getting to be a real fan of this viral video lark and last week I came across a web video series called Only in a Woman's World which promotes snack foods produced by Frito-Lay. The series is part of a huge campaign to target women to the snacks; I have never heard of Frito-Lay but a few clicks on Google tells me that they make a bunch of calorie conscious snacks such as Dortitos, Cheetos and Fritos. Taking the lead from Sex and the City, Only in a Woman's World is a cute animated show which goes into the lives of four female friends who try to juggle career, relationships, children, friendships as well as getting their hands on the perfect pair of killer heels. Anna is a journalist who finds it hard to ask for help, Cheryl is a housewife who puts everyone's needs before her own, Maya runs a boutique store but is known for her no bullshit approach while Nikki dreams of jacking in her job and doing something more creative. Four very different women at different stages in their lives but their common goal is fun, friendship and laughter. The series launched earlier this month and has developed a considerable following, according to social media guide, Mashable, the most recent episode had 713,729 views in one week. I have watched some funny shows in my time but this one really takes the biscuit. Only in A Woman's World is heart warming and extremely endearing - you really take these four women into your hearts. My favourite webisodes are the premiere, webisode 1, webisode 4 and webisode 7.

I have uploaded the trailer above and below is webisode 7 for you to enjoy.



You can check out all the webisodes here.

Review: Confessions of a Shopaholic

So I finally got round to seeing this movie and I was pretty excited. I have read all the books - no I stand correct - I own all the books and I love them to bits. Rebecca Bloomwood is most definitely a girls girl. In fact I would go as far as to say that most ladies out there have a bit of Rebecca Bloomwood in them. She is a journalist who feels unfulfilled in her job on a homes and garden magazine. She is also a shameless shopaholic who is in total denial about her financial situation. She racks up thousands of dollars on her credit card to satisfy her urges and is dodging debt collectors. Rebecca yearns for a job as a journalist on glossy mag Allette but ends up getting a gig on Successful Savings (I know the irony of it all) from the same publishing company. The job does have its perks though and in the shape of super cute boss, Luke Brandon. In many ways Luke is the opposite of Becky; a minimalist, savvy about life and passionate about the financial industry. The article he commissions Becky to write about seductive marketing is so on point that you would have thought that director, PJ Hogan might have had an inclination about the credit crunch.

There has been a lot of outcry from Shopaholic fans about the decision to make Rebecca (or Becky as she is referred to in the books) American as opposed to British. I admit I was pretty annoyed when Isla Fisher was cast in the role because she is completely different from how I imagined Rebecca. I was puzzled about this choice but I guess the big Hollywood machine played it's hand here. I do feel that the quintessential Becky has been eradicated and what we have in its place is a quirky American lady with next door appeal. Kind of like a much younger Carrie Bradshaw who is now so famous that she has her own wikipedia page. Isla is brilliant in this film and brings a sweetness to a character who some might have found grating; also her comic timing is excellent. She demonstrates a lot of chemistry with Hugh Dancy who turns out to be very good as Luke.

The cinematography is amazing and reminiscent to that of The Devil Wears Prada. Now onto the outfits which were styled by Patricia Fields who made the clothes pop in Sex and the City. Rebecca's outfits consists of designer and vintage and they are full of colour and flavour. There are lots of pretty dresses, skirts, blouses topped with some cool coats. Yes it is a bit Sex and the City(ish) but Isla manages to pull it off and make it her own.

Greg Behrendt and Liz Tuccillo - Life After Sex and the City

Those scary Sex and the City: The Movie sequel rumours just won't go away. I have no idea what there is to gain from making another film. The last one was a huge hit beyond anyone's dreams so I think we should count our lucky stars and move on. Two people who have certainly moved on from their days on Sex and the City are Greg Behrendt and Liz Tuccillo who were writers on the show. In fact they wrote the iconic episode called, He's Just Not That Into You which went on to become a very successful book and has been made into a film which will be released next month. You can read my blog entry about the pending film here. Ok now to Greg and Liz - Greg was previously a stand up comedian who had a show on Comedy Central called Greg Beherendt is Uncool. He now has his own show called Greg's Wake Up Call where he plays an agony uncle who helps warring couples sort out their relationships. Liz Tuccillo went on to work on a show called Related which was a comedy about four sisters living in New York City. She has recently released a book called How to be Single which is about five female friends who have grown weary of the dating scene in the Big Apple. So what is one to do? Well you take off around the world, stopping off at chic places along the way like France, Italy, Australia and Brazil to pick up lots of dating tips. Well this is what the protagonist, Julie does after she experiences the complete date from hell. Interestingly enough, Liz herself undertook the exact journey where she travelled round the world to quiz the women on their approach to dating and she certainly learnt a few things. Check out the webisodes of How to be Single (Around the World) here.  See there is life after Sex and the City - producers please take note. 

Whitney in the City

So Whitney Port made her debut in her new show, The City which aired last night on MTV with a bumper edition. The City is a spin off of the popular so-called reality show, The Hills which is set in LA and in which Whitney is a co-star. After spending many years as an intern at Teen Vogue and stylist at PR company, People's Revolution as well as lending a sympathetic ear to the doe eyed Lauren, Whitney has swapped LA for NYC. She lands a plum job as PR for Diane von Furstenberg (DVF) and moves in with her old mate Erin Williams in a cool apartment in the Gramercy area of Manhattan. The perks of moving to a new city means meeting new people and checking out exciting bars and restaurants. We are introduced to Whitney's co-worker, the divine Olivia Palermo who is a high profile socialite or social as she prefers to be called. Olivia is quite clearly the catalyst to Whitney as Heidi is to Lauren in The Hills but with much better connections. Erin offers the fun factor and a lending ear particularly when it comes to guys. Talking of guys this is where the intro to The City differs from The Hills in that the guys are featured in the opening credits. One of then is Jay Lyons, a musician who Whitney met when she came to NYC for her job interview. She is quite clearly smitten with him but whether he feels the same way about her is to be seen. Then there is Adam Senn, a restaurateur and Jay's flatmate who is new to NYC as well.

This new reality show has been covered extensively in the media and blogsphere which is no surprise considering the phenomenon of The Hills. Aesthetically, The City is definitely easy on the eye and with the almighty Big Apple as a backdrop, how can you go wrong? As a TV show the plot leaves a lot to be desired; a considerable amount of time was spent on Whitney's love life. Is Jay a two-faced, two-timing snake? The answer is that Jay lacks so little charisma and presence that it was hard to care. Aside from her first day at work and New York Fashion Week, very little is seen of Whitney in her workplace which is very worrying as it was Lauren and Heidi's glam jobs that made The Hills the success it is. Olivia is a very different proposition; yes she has a life fuelled with dinner parties, lunches, fashions shows and celebrity galas but she has an edge to her that makes her interesting. For a start she is described as a real life Blair Waldorf; she even has her own publicist and is constantly being mentioned in gossip blogs and newspapers and she even has a fan blog that focuses on her life. Rumour has it that she runs her own PR agency which would make sense as she is trying to build her brand. I would say that The City has a long way to go before it earns the right to be called the reality version of Sex and the City. Still it was good to see Kelly Cultrone in the programme and more interesting are the reports that Kelly is to get her own show.

Check out the official blog for The City here.

Pat McGrath

We all need to put a bit of slap on now and again; whether to hide blemishes or to achieve a glam look for a night out. Wearing make up can go from accentuating your best features to utterly transforming you completely. Applying lipstick, powder and paint is a work of art and a profession that make up artists are highly revered for. I remember seeing a book by the iconic Kevyn Aucoin in the early 1990s and being totally floored by his work. The Art of Make Up, featured top notch celebrities in make up and costumes that made them look like other famous bods. You might remember Kevyn from an episode in Sex and the City where he did Carrie's make up for the fashion show that she was in. While Cindy Crawford was the first supermodel and I think it is safe to say that Kevyn was the first super make up artist. Nowadays we have big guns such as Bobbi Brown, Francois Nars, Laura Mercier, Jemima Kidd, Charlotte Tilbury, Ruby Hammer and Charlie Green who dominate the international cosmetics scene but none of them have made as much of a mark as Pat McGrath.

Ms McGrath has been wielding her mascara wand since the mid 1990s and is simply the best in the business. A feature in the Observer Woman dubbed her the world's most-wanted make up artist and others tout her as the most influential beauty artist in the world. A firm presence backstage at all the premier fashion weeks, the Northampton born McGrath is not afraid to experiment with colours and textures. So do not be surprised when you see her using lipstick on the eyes and cheeks and mixing face creams. She got her break after a stint with i-D magazine by over turning the nation's obsession with grunge and going for full on glam with lots of colour thrown in. A tour with the hotter than hot Soul II Soul soon hailed and after that virtually every other music job going. She eventually moved back into fashion and picked up clients such as Jill Sanders, Hussein Chalayan, John Galliano and became renowned for "latex petals stuck to faces, vinyl lips, bodies drenched in powder paint, and stylized Kabuki physiognomies." Pat divides her time between London and New York (where else?) and like other celeb make-up artists, she plans to launch her own cosmetics brand (what else?) which should hit the high street in 18 months time.  Check out the video above and see how great she is.

Getting Carried Away

The Sex and the City film is now out on DVD so here we go again with all the hype. I finally got the film the second time round but still left feeling a tad bit disappointed. The film had it all; love, friendship, clothes, shoes and New York but I couldn't help feeling how cool it would have been if Sex and the City: The Movie had taken us back a few years so we could see Carrie when she first came to NYC and met her ladies in crime. Funny to hear that the children's division of Harper Collins are planning to release a series of books about Carrie in her teenage years. The books will show a young Ms Bradshaw growing up in her native home town and feature her visits to the big apple. S&TC book author, Candace Bushnell has been enlisted to write the books and with a working title of The Carrie Years, it looks like it will be hit with teens as well as their Mothers. However as a good mate of mine stated, it is all a bit much and anyone would think that Carrie Bradshaw was a real life character. So it leads me to ask the question of whether we are truly getting carried away with the immortal S&TC.

He's Just Not That Into You

Do you remember that episode of Sex and the City when Burger gave Miranda a few tips on guys? She'd been out on a date but the guy had not called her and Miranda who is an astute and savvy woman could not work out why. Burger nailed it in six simple words; he's just not that into you. There it was, one sentence that would go on to set millions of women free. Then some clever dickey bird (or two to be precise) decided to put it all in a book. Greg Behrendt (who briefly worked as a writer on S&TC) and Liz Tuccillo gave us He's Just Not That Into You, a book that would act as a guide to women about men and dating. The book is divided into chapters and set out in a Q&A format and every dating scenario that you could imagine is covered. Here are a few:

1. He is afraid to get hurt
2. He does not want to ruin the friendship
3. Maybe he is intimidated by me
4. He did not call because he lost his phone, got run over, was caught in a tropical rain forest etc....

The answer is the same - He is just not that into you!

This book was published in 2004 and became a New York Times Bestseller and was featured on The Oprah Winfrey Show.

So like all successful books, Hollywood just had to turn it into a movie and with such a catchy title how could it not be. The culprit this time is Drew Barrymore who has bought the rights to the film. As well as starring in it she has a stellar cast of Jennifer Aniston, Ginnifer Goodwin, Scarlet Johansson, Jennifer Connelly and Ben Affleck. The film focuses on four couples in their twenties and thirties where one partner is more into the other person. I am sure I am not the only one who will admit that the book really did strike a cord with me and it really gives you an insight into the way men behave. The film trailer looks hilarious and had me in stitches and I can definitely say it is on my 'got to see' list.

He's Just Not That Into You is released in February 2009.

Media in the City

They came, they saw and they conquered and then they were gone in 60 seconds. Who am I talking about? Four ladies called Sarah Jessica, Kim, Cynthia and Kristin who brought the West End to a stand still during the much awaited premiere of Sex and the City: The Movie. The media fascination with this film has grown over the last four years, Face it press coverage was never going to be an issue, every media outlet in the world wanted this film and in order to stand out, editors had to think out of the box in order to produce memorable stories. Some failed miserably like The Guardian who for some reason unknown to me commissioned Alice Wignall to ask the tedious question as to whether a feminist can really love the show. Yawn - boring!! However, a few mediums did an excellent job such as The London Paper who have treated us to a novelty guide to New York City in Carrie, Samantha, Miranda and Charlotte style. Also Heart FM who have really taken the film's mantra to heart and renamed itself Sex and the City FM for this week only. They will also be airing promos from the film and running competitions all week. Now that is what I call entertainment.

So here is my list of the top five media coverage of Sex and the City: The Movie.

1. EW.com have published a fantastic piece on six ways of looking at Carrie. Six men and women from all walks of life discuss the show and our favourite gal about town.

2. Mandi Bierly from EW's quirky confession on when she connected with S&TC. Aided and abetted by comments from readers.

3. US Vogue's depiction of Carrie and Big on their honeymoon was delightful and sexy.

4. The New Yorker's fantastically insightful profile on SJP herself.

5. Missy Schwartz from Entertainment Weekly has written a brilliant piece on the long journey of this year's much anticipated movie release.

Have you been taking in the media stories for the Sex and the City film? Which one has impressed you the most?