Alexa Chung? I am both aghast and excited when people say they do not know she is. Alexa is a DJ/model/girl who pretty much makes her living off of being cool. When people admit they haven't heard of her, I am at first appalled by their obvious lack of trend cultivation, but then I relish in the idea since it makes me look that much cooler for knowing who she is. She is the face of effortless fashion and I admittedly idolize her. However, her novel, if it can be called that, made me realize the silliness of idolizing those famous for their "vibes" and not their wisdom or talents.
Chung radiates a cool, easy-going vibe and her style reflects this. Pictures of her bangs have been held in the hands of many as they enter the hair salon, yearning to exit a bit trendier than they entered. I am guilty of adding many pictures of her outfits to a board entitled "My Style" on Pinterest, although Alexa Chung's style is not my style. I may take ideas from her, but never will I be able to afford the expensive pieces she is handed by designers who want people to see an "it" girl wearing their designs.
Chung's book, entitled "It," is something I would never gravitate towards in a bookstore. It features a pale pink cover with an eye on the front. Alas, I bought this book with one easy click on Amazon at midnight, a habit that has become one of my vices. My idea behind the purchase was that it would boost my cool factor, both through style advice and just by carrying around a book written by Alexa Chung. I envisioned chic times spent reading in the library while drinking tea, listening to indie music and charming guys with my obvious carefree, cool tendencies. In reality I sat on my bed eating microwaved mac and cheese out of a cup, listening to "Bangerz" and flipping through the pages in less than an hour, as there was a severe lack of substance to the work.
I was met with "artistic" pictures of chairs, sub-par doodles of faces and of course the occasional ironic cat picture. I received some killer fashion advice, such as "look in a mirror after you get dressed in the morning." There was also a spread on how to take a flattering selfie, which is of course to be done ironically and with a film camera. Chung admits to having a problem for buying leather jackets although she can only tell real from synthetic apart by checking the tags, which I have trouble understanding. I own one leather jacket, which I proudly purchased from a department store at the mall with a generous coupon.
Chung thinks it's cute and unique that she wrote the work without Microsoft Word. To that I would like to respond that I have completed half a semester of engineering courses so far without owning Word or Excel (or a graphing calculator). Take that Alexa. Also, the use of email as the medium is apparent in the lack of coherence in this over-priced diary. The text is arbitrary fluff and if you're considering purchasing this book, I advise you to forget "It."
Contact Erin McAuliffe at emcaulf@nd.edu
