Friday, March 21, 2014

reads #20: december 2013

alexa chung it book

It (Alexa Chung, 2013)

For someone who expressed her disdain for blogs, Alexa Chung's book certainly reads like one. She takes us through the evolution of her style with a collage of personal pictures, photos of musicians and films and anecdotes of horse-riding and discovering the Spice Girls. Clothes, hair, make-up, she analyses all the aspects of her signature look we've come to know and love.
She also gives music recs and tips on how to take a selfie, improve your karaoke skills or what to pack for a festival. I enjoyed this visual diary but I think my favourite part was when she lets her 'British guard' down for a bit and writes about heartbreaks (not surprising as she wrote this while recovering from her break-up with Alex Turner).
I feel like you should get acquainted with the character before delving into It as her infamous self-deprecating humour can sometimes leave you confused as to what she's trying to convey. One passage in particular kind of rubbed me the wrong way where she rants at social networks while confessing uncontrollably indulging in them. She seems to try to hide her fondness for them behind some sociological platitudes like she doesn't know what to actually think or is worried about looking uncool?
But I guess that makes her more relatable in a way. If you enjoy reading blogs full of inspiration and moodboards, I've no doubt you will enjoy It

Favourite quote: I have googled 'how long does heartbreak last?' The result more popular than that was 'how long does heartburn last?' This implies people suffer from heartburn more than they do heartbreak which is a good thing because heartbreak sucks way fucking more than acid reflux ever could.

Goodreads profile

Pictured: Ikea candle, Dior Lipstick in 476 Plaza, Dior nail polish dior in Incognito, Topshop Evil Eye and Triangle rings (old), jade ring from Morocco, Moonchild necklace from Nina Mantra, vintage plate)

16 comments:

Louise said...

I've heard so many things about this book, and still haven't found myself interested to read it. But after reading you review I kind of want to?

Oh and I'm adding you on Goodreads since you seem to read pretty rad books! :)

moira said...

@Louise: i think you'll enjoy it if you read it like a vogue interview or a blog, as a 'book book' it doesn't really stand. you could always skim through it if you spot it in a shop, it doesn't take long to finish it :) thanks for the add, i'm curious to see if we have a lot of books in common! x

Stephanie Louise said...

For those who aren't used to reading books like these, it's one of those step out of your comfort zone type books. I really enjoyed reading your review and this is a book I would be interested in seeing more of :)

moira said...

@Stephanie Louise: thank you for comment :) what kind of books do you usually read? x

Nancy Wilde said...

I don't really like Miss Chung but do you think this book will make me empathize with her? x

moira said...

@Nancy Wilde: oh god no, if you don't like her, i don't think this book will help. but with that being said, i can see from your blog that you're sharing quite a bit of inspiration with alexa chung.

Camille said...

oh thanks for your comment on my blog :) love your pics!!

http://justlikestarting0ver.blogspot.fr/

Sara Downton said...

I've really wanted this book for ages and flicked through it a bunch of times when I've seen it in passing, but for some reason haven't committed to buying it yet! I don't know a ton about Alexa, I'm just drawn to the mishmash of things and pretty pictures in the book, really!

Unknown said...

Thanx for the tip, I think I will order this book right away :)

You have a nice blog btw ! Glad you comment on my blog so I could discover yours :)

little henry lee said...

i've wanted to pick up this book ever since it came out but i just haven't gotten around to it yet! i'm glad to hear you enjoyed it though, even if you didn't appreciate some of the humour.

little henry lee

Victoria said...

You take such fantastic photos!

Barbara said...

So glad to hear you enjoyed it! should check it!

ane sunde said...

I SO nee dto buy this soon!

Ellie said...

I don't know much about Alexa, it sounds like an interesting book :D

RaeAbigael said...

I've always wanted to have a copy of this book but i don't think it's available in my country? or perhaps i just haven't seen this in my local bookstores yet. i guess i have to just order this online if ever. :)) anyway, i have an on-going blog giveaway and i hope you can join because i think you'll like the prices! http://www.raellarina.net/2014/06/june-2014-giveaway.html :)

xoxo, rae

aki! said...

I've never heard of this book. I'm not sure if I would love it or hate it.

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