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Monday, May 9th 2005

10:52 AM

Rant upon picking up a category romance.**

Listen, fellow rioters. I do. NOT. CARE. what brand SHOES your GODDAMN heroine is wearing. No. Sorry. It's been done. Jimmy Choo? Manuelo Blonkolos or whatever? This tells me the woman needs to get some priorities straight. She's bought into the whole "this label makes this teeny bit of leather worth $300" mindset and she's been ripped off.

Period.

If she's wearing sandals in a snowstorm, yeah, it's relevant. If she's got on spike heels while trying to lead a normal life. Okay. Both cases, she's stumbling into the TSTW(alk) category, but I might give her a chance. If she starts daydreaming at any length about over-priced shoes at any point in the book, unless it has to do with how comfortable or uncomfortable her feet are, I will put the book down.  I'm seeing heroines who veer way close to Paris Hilton priorities. Iffen that does't scare the bejesus outta you, then this conversation's over.

Give the brand names a rest. This goes double for Kate Spade. Damn woman's taken my name.

Thank you.

 

____________

**Kind of like one of those Keats odes, only different.

____________

update: but see, this blog is good. It treats the whole issue with a religious respectful goofiness that's bizarro ORIGINAL. See? it's not a copy of style -- it is style. Not because of the shoes it wears, but how it wears the shoes. (It wears lots of shoes.) If that Manolo was the Blahnkinwhatsit designer, I'd consider investing in some of that footwear.

31 People Say.

Posted by Bec:

What if she only ever wears slippers or no shoes at all? It's all about the comfort.
Monday, May 9th 2005 @ 11:58 PM

Posted by Brenda Coulter:

You tell 'em, Kate. And while you're at it, please tell them to knock it off with the Prada handbags, too. Brand-name dropping has become shorthand for, "My heroine is cool--get it?"

Yeah, I get it. But it's lazy writing, and it's annoying.
Tuesday, May 10th 2005 @ 2:24 AM

Posted by Hoosier:

Lol, lazy and kinda bubblegummy. There's no way I'd be rooting for the man to fall for an airhead who's wrapped up in such trivial things.

I bet Keat's had a peeve for name dropping too, seems more like a Byron thing to do!
Tuesday, May 10th 2005 @ 3:12 AM

Posted by Candy:

People who obsess about brand names really, really irritate me in real life. Brand name consciousness is especially bad where I grew up, and it's really annoying when people start judging how cool you are by how big the word "Armani" is emblazoned over your $200 T-shirt. GAH.

I think that the shoe description basically plays into the shoe-shopping fetish that many women share, and the brand name can be handy shorthand when describing a person's overall appearance. "Red Fluevogs" vs. "red Manolo Blahniks" vs. "red Pradas" tend to conjure different styles and appearances in one's head. I generally don't need detailed descriptions of what the heroine (or the hero) is wearing, though, and oftentimes detailed descriptions can backfire. I've read category and contemporary romances from the 70s and 80s, and the descriptions of the ruffly peasant blouses, wide belts and lime-green slacks make me chuckle.
Tuesday, May 10th 2005 @ 3:40 AM

Posted by jennifer macaire:

I'm laughing here because I just had the same thought today (as I was mowing the lawn, lol) Like - how come every romance heroine has name brand shoes...and I don't?
:-D
Well, my heroines will be lounging around in their thrift-shop finest. I bet more people can relate to that!
Tuesday, May 10th 2005 @ 3:57 AM

Posted by Alison Kent:

Well, in my recent copy edits, I had a line that said "designer slides" and the EDITOR changed it to say Jimmy Choo! Tweren't me!! Sorry if it's lazy and annoying, but it ain't always the author at fault!
Tuesday, May 10th 2005 @ 5:22 AM

Posted by Bron:

All that name-dropping falls totally flat on unfashionable foreign types like me, anyway. If she was wearing a Collette Dinnigan dress, or an Akira Isogawa outfit, I might have a (very) vague mental image come to mind, but the rest - nada. Jimmy Choo? Jimmy Who? And if she's at all concerned or obsessing about the labels on her clothes, then chances are I'll think she's way too shallow to be capable of loving anything but her labels.

And I don't think I've ever seen a Prada handbag, although I have a mental picture of an (expensive) red plastic dinky little thing that just seems stupid to me. Which probably isn't Prada, anyway. But who cares? Maybe I'll just curl up and watch another episode or two of Absolutely Fabulous.
Tuesday, May 10th 2005 @ 5:32 AM

Posted by Alison Kent:

Foreign to who, LOL! Jimmy Choo is Chinese: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jimmy_Choo
Tuesday, May 10th 2005 @ 5:39 AM

Posted by Kate Rothwell:

I think in the interest of fairness, I should point out that I have big feet and have often envied women who could wear strappy high heels and not look like cross dressers.

Still. It's the one bit of chick lit influence on the romance world that I resent. Caring passionately about Brand seems more about shallow spending than style.

$$$$ fantasies are fun... but even without my snobby-about-snob-appeal attitude toward brand names -- it just doesn't seem real imaginative way to have a spree. I'd rather hear other details.
Tuesday, May 10th 2005 @ 6:36 AM

Posted by Beth:

It's a whole Sex in the City thing. No one on that show ever just wears shoes. They wear Jimmy Choos or Manalos or Richard Tylers or Zanottis or whatever. Women seem to freaking love that show, and it's this whole Female Sexuality Unleashed, Yay Girlfriends, OMG wouldn't you just DIE for that Lulu bag?!!! thing.

And though I love my shoes (and regularly lust over several designer pieces), bond with my gf's over skin care products, consider fabulous hair to be a high priority in my life, and am as snobby as any self-respecting woman about how my cosmo or gimlet or scotch is served up, I friggin hate that show and avoid anything that tries to be like it. Ooh, mention a designer shoe and all the Sex In The City fans will buy it, hurry get the latest Elle and see who's hot!!

um, okay, I'll just go bitch over on my own blog about sumpin now.
Tuesday, May 10th 2005 @ 8:14 AM

Posted by Megan:

I've been thinking the same thing lately, and I think it's all just lazy writing. That offends me more than the shoe mention itself (plus, who can really afford even one, much less multiple pairs of those shoes? If they can, they're not paying the rent or health insurance or something).
Tuesday, May 10th 2005 @ 8:38 AM

Posted by Charlene T:

I have a heroine who wears Nikes. :o The wrath of Kate will fall on me!
Tuesday, May 10th 2005 @ 11:55 AM

Posted by Kate Rothwell:

Charlene only if she paid 300 for 'em..and at least the woman can get around in them, right?
Tuesday, May 10th 2005 @ 4:46 PM

Posted by Michelle:

I want to see a heroine who buys her shoes and clothes at Wal-Mart and Target and has her own personal sense of style. :)
Tuesday, May 10th 2005 @ 7:13 PM

Posted by Marty K:

I'm not sure the difference between Prada slides and Monolo slides conjures different images in Jane Average's mind. If I'm Jane Average it doesn't . But it won't turn me all the way off if I like her for other things.
Tuesday, May 10th 2005 @ 7:36 PM

Posted by Cathy:

I thought editors normally take out any "brands" in a book anyway?!! Or are these FAKE brands?? Which makes it even funnier!!!
Tuesday, May 10th 2005 @ 11:27 PM

Posted by Charlene:

I dunno about other editors, but mine just lists the trademark acknowledgements at the beginning of the story. Which always cracks me up when I get edits back. They're so funny out of context.

And yes, Kate, she can get around in 'em and they cost less than $300. She just spends a lot of time on her feet doing lab work and she's a very practical woman who wants comfy feet. :)
Wednesday, May 11th 2005 @ 6:13 AM

Posted by Mary Stella:

I wear sandals every day and my idea of a 'label' for a shoe is Easy Spirit. When writing Key of Sea, I asked tons of friends for brand names that weren't Jimmy Choo and Manalo Blahnik. LOLOL I think when I did the final draft, I removed whatever brand name I'd put in and left it at $200 heeled sandals or something like that because I've gotten bored with brand names, too!
Wednesday, May 11th 2005 @ 11:19 PM

Posted by Aimless:

"Red Fluevogs" vs. "red Manolo Blahniks" vs. "red Pradas" tend to conjure different styles and appearances in one's head.

Um, no. I have no idea what any of those shoes look like. I wouldn't know a Manolo shoe if it bit me on the ass. However, that would probably get my attention.
Monday, May 16th 2005 @ 9:25 AM

Posted by darissk:

There are like top three of brand names for research-lazy writers. Hello! There is Christian Laboutin, there are more affordable brands like Cacharel and Marc Jacobs, there are... the world doesn't start and end with J.C.

PS I can't say I love the abundance of brand names, but I've been getting pretty tired of the usual "all-natural, spent my lives in tees and jeans, I'm 30 and I have no idea of how to apply mascara" heroine. :P
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