The New York Woman in Me

Since I finished 4 Blondes, another Candace Bushnell book I've been left to reflect on the type of woman I am and the type of woman I'll become. Though this book is very low on my list of books I'd suggest anyone read I find that Bushnell's knack for telling it like it is, and saying the things we're not supposed to say has forced me yet again to confront myself. When I read Lipstick Jungle I'd decided that between the ages of 30 and 40 I wanted to be the kind of woman that was at the top of her career, just like Nico, Wendy, and Victory and that I'd do anything to get there. Now I've found the trick, after reading through another tale about New York women I'm confronted with the aftermath. It would seem that although I've spent the better part of the last couple years denying want of marriage and family that I am just as Bushnell writes her characters and quite possibly an all true New York woman (whether or not I was born there). When I've reached the top of my career I'm going to have spent too many nights in my empty apartment and I'm going to want that dream life that I've tried so hard to avoid wanting. I'm going to want to get married and have adorable childen, even if its not what I say I want right now. In their youth New York women love their independence, the belief that their career is what matters and the notion that they don't need anyone else, I can say that that's me now. But in a couple of decades, the other woman, the woman that I don't recognize, the one that wants a family life: husband and child(ren)- I may become her.

The Contemporary Goddess of All things Sex, Love and New York

After finishing One Fifth Avenue, the 4th Candace Bushnell book I've read to date I have to say if she wasn't my favourite author for writing my favourite book Lipstick Jungle (and Sex and the City) she is now. Maybe it's the way her description of New York Society makes you feel like an insider or the sheer philosophy of her writing but I can't help but love her. In this installment of the brilliant author's published works she takes on the task of describing the women of New York, this time not through the eyes of a bunch of gal pals learning the ins and outs of life in the Big City, but through the eyes of the Beautiful, Historical, Co-op landmark she describes as One Fifth Avenue. She explores the mixing of Old and New people, money, and society. The women of One Fifth prove to be none other than interesting, with one woman not ready to admit she's out of her prime and who's still grasping at straws to make it as somebody in New York society, and a little twenty two year old twit who tries to inveigle her way into the lives of the residents of One Fifth Avenue only to find out selling your body in one form or another only leads to more pain than pleasure. The way Bushnell captures the very soul of New York in her books makes me think that if I could live in any place written by anyone I'd want it to be New York as told by Candace Bushnell. She is truly the Contemporary Goddess of all things Sex, Love and New York.

...A Lipstick Jungle

So in the event that you didn't get my subtle hints nudging you to the bookstore to get the Lipstick Jungle novel by Candace Bushnell I feel compelled to express how much I adore it. I couldn't put it down, and it may have been the sheer nerve of the women, or the fact that I myself want to be Nico O’Neilly (tv character, Nico Reilly), but this book is good. My mother always said ambition is a wonderful thing, it may be the only thing she told me that I took to heart so I take it seriously. If you didn’t already love Candace Bushnell for being the brains behind the entire idea for Sex and the City you will after reading this. It’s smart, sexy and empowering, everything I perceive its author to be. The three main characters Nico, Wendy and Victory have the kind of ambition that can’t ever be extinguished, and I happen to love them for it. Bushnell takes the old Spice Girls mantra “girl power” corporate with successful women whose ambition makes you believe that they can succeed in anything.

The Sex Was Even Better the Second Time Around…

For those of you who have seen it and especially for those of you who haven’t, Sex and the City was better the second time around. I went to see it a little over a week after my first viewing and I’m still raving about it. Cinderella’s glass slipper has nothing on Carrie Bradshaw’s(… I mean Preston’s) blue satin Manolo Blahnik pumps. The film was funnier and sexier in round two, after seeing it once I found you were able to laugh more and take it all in with more perspective, with more attention to every article of clothing and every word being spoken. It just keeps getting better; it’s something to savour after all the tv series’ reruns. I laughed, I cried, I clapped and my world is a better place since this movie has officially entered the vault of my favourite movies of all time. All I’m thinking now is if it was so great in round two I can’t wait to get it home with me. Saying that this movie is a must-see is an understatement: it’s more like a half of your life’s missing if you don’t see it kind of movie. So if you do nothing else this summer, watch it at least once and possibly a couple more.

The Sex was good. Nay the sex was GREAT!

Our favourite female foursome hit the box office this weekend in style (as if they could do anything else). I went to see it the first chance I got and I loved it! Taking a show with such stature and such a high reputation to the big screen was no easy test, but they did it and they did right. Sex and the City is a hit: just the right combination of sex, Manolo's and friendship! Now I don’t want to give anything away so all I’ll say is the ending was kismet. For those of you who haven’t seen it, shame on you and get out there now and “Get Carried Away”. I was bursting with pleasure as I was transported back into the world of those four beautiful women. It had its laughter, its tears, cosmo’s and a heavy dose of sex and fashion. With Samantha’s insatiable appetite, Charlotte’s adorable perfectionism, Miranda’s cynical outlook on life and Carrie’s quest for love in the big city the film was destined for greatness. There were times I was worried about my favourite foursome but in the end everything was as it should have been. I fell in love with Carrie, Charlotte, Miranda and Samantha all over again. I envied their friendship the whole way through, and after watching them in their final debut thought to myself, it’s friends like those that make your life. You’d expect nothing less than an tantalising fashion prescription from these women of New York who have nurtured the inner fashionista in all of us for the last ten years. It was the perfect goodbye to the women of Sex and the City who will live on in each of us; after all they each represent a different part of every woman’s persona.

It's A Jungle Out There...

For those of you who love Sex and the City and are anticipating its premiere onto the big screen.

Candace Bushnell, the author of the book that inspired the show that has been dubbed a woman’s bible on how to get through relationships and life, has a new show that premiered February this year called Lipstick Jungle. The show revolves around three of the most powerful women in New York City, Nico Reilly the Editor-In-Chief of Bonfire Magazine, Wendy Healy the President of Parador Pictures, and last but definitely not least Victory Ford Top Fashion Designer. The show is mature, sexy, intriguing and bold and with one of its main characters being a top fashion designer it’s full of the passion for fashion that runs through the veins of every fashionista. The show has Bushnell’s signature pop of feminism, and is a must-see for every woman that is determined to climb the corporate ladder and do it in style.
As these three women battle to advance their careers, maintain their love lives and keep their place on top in New York City while juggling scandalous affairs, squabbles between best friends, power struggles and more, they give us a feminist critique of the corporate world and life at its fiercest. Starring Brooke Shields as Wendy, Kim Raver as Nico, and Lindsay Price as Victory the show, like each of its leading ladies is an undeniable knockout. With the tagline “It’s a Jungle out there. Dress appropriately” you could just about idolize these three self-made women who serve as inspirations to the women of today.
Bushnell’s infusion of money, sex, power and fashion is a sweet delight, and I’m brimming with excitement for season two in the fall, catch it on Wednesdays on NBC or Thursdays on A-Channel at 10/9 c. If you haven’t seen it already you need to, so whether you want to buy the season one dvd set, stream the show online, buy it on itunes or wait for those inevitable summer reruns this is the kind of television that you can’t miss. If you happen to get bored with the constant flux of reruns as the summer heat sizzles and summer television fizzles pick up the book, it’s a serious page-turner. What’s not to love about a show that combines Movies, Magazines and Fashion?