Charleston County Public Library

My Paris dream, an education in style, slang, and seduction in the great city on the Seine, Kate Betts

eng

autobiography

no index present

non fiction

My Paris dream

903811601

Kate Betts

an education in style, slang, and seduction in the great city on the Seine

As a young woman, Kate Betts nursed a dream of striking out on her own in a faraway place and becoming a glamorous foreign correspondent. After college--and not without trepidation--she took off for Paris, renting a room in the apartment of a young BCBG (bon chic, bon genre) family and throwing herself into the local culture. She was determined to master French slang, style, and savoir faire, and to find a job that would give her a reason to stay. After a series of dues-paying jobs that seemed only to reinforce her outsider status, Kate's hard work and willingness to take on any assignment paid off: her writing and intrepid forays into the "true France" caught the eye of John Fairchild, the publisher of Women's Wear Daily, the industry's bible. Kate's earliest assignments were a rough apprenticeship, but she was ultimately initiated into the elite ranks of Mr. Fairchild's trusted few who sat beside him with the gods of French fashion. From Yves Saint Laurent and Karl Lagerfeld to the riotous young guns who were rewriting all the rules, Betts gives us a view of what it was like to be an American girl, learning about herself, falling in love, and finding her tribe. This memoir brings to life the enchantment of France and magically recreates that moment in life when a young woman discovers who she's meant to be.--From publisher description