Confessions of a Shopaholic

First it was The September Issue, now it's Confessions of a Shopaholic (2009).  Seems I'm in the mood to talk about fashion-related movies lately!

Confessions of a Shopaholic is a movie adaptation of a book by Sophie Kinsella.  I've read all the books in the Shopaholic series, and it is one of the best examples of good chick lit.  Girly, fun and romantic, but done with a sharp wit and none of the typical shallow tendencies some chick lit fall prey to. 

There's an edge to the Shopaholic books that make it more real, but at the same time, so exaggerated that you can also get a laugh from it.  It's about an uproariously hilarious, slightly oblivious, dreaming kind of girl who's - as you can probably gather - a shopaholic.  Rebecca is her name, and she schemes her way out of debt issues, family issues and love issues, all while in very expensive shoes.  So it goes without saying I was really looking forward to the movie.

But wow, was it ever a let-down!  I know movies rarely live up to the books, but this movie only managed to scrape the surface of the original book.  The humour was lost, Rebecca was portrayed as being a bit too "dumb", and the whole movie was so polished it felt like a bright light being shone into my eyes.  Too hard to look at.  It was all fun, no substance.  Of course there's nothing wrong with a frothy, frivolous movie, but there's a problem when the original book isn't simply a frothy, frivolous book.

However, I digress.  I'm not here to review the movie.  What I'd really like to talk about is the way Rebecca was styled in this movie.  I know everyone's going to have a different vision of Rebecca's personal style, but I didn't find the outfits in the movie encompassed how Rebecca is portrayed in the book. 

Throughout the movie, Rebecca takes colour blocking to the max.  Every imaginable bright colour is brought together, and slapped on top of pieces that are terribly aging.  Rebecca is only 25, but she's dressing like a middle-aged woman trying to feel young again.  There was this complete lack of playing around with different textures and fabrics; everything was so sugary and Barbie-like it hurt.  It was all surprisingly unfashionable.

I understand the idea was to convey Rebecca's outgoing, quirky personality, but there are certainly more stylish ways of doing that.  After all, I was led to believe Rebecca had good taste...

So would I recommend you see this movie?  Certainly not for the fashion.  Nonetheless, if you just want something that doesn't require much brainwork, or if you're a fan of Sophie Kinsella, then you might as well watch it.  Me?  I'll just stick to the books.

Image Source: Photo 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7