Kate Betts

I find coming of age in Paris memoirs hard to resist, and this one is better than most. Kate Betts, former editor of Harper's Bazaar, relates her story of heading out for Paris after college with a vague notion about wanting to be a journalist. She know very little of the French language and finds that her romantic notions of Americans in Paris are far from the reality she faces.

Luckily she manages to live with a French family who teach her the ways of the French as well as improving her language skills. Then in what can only be call a stroke of blind luck, she stumbles into a job as a feature writer for John Fairchild's "W" magazine that takes her into the world of French Haute Couture

Betts paints a realistic picture of the French as well as the froth of the French fashion industry., Read this one with with a big box of chocolate.… (more)

This book is a story of life in Paris in the 80’s and the author's career in the fashion industry. I enjoyed reading about her learning French and living in French, and about realizing and keeping a dream alive:

"Willa Cather believed that if you have a wish for something from a young age and you nourish it, if you continually make an effort to nurture this wish and stay connected to this dream, then you will live a fulfilled life. If you believe in something, it invests everything you do with meaning. Paris has always stayed with me, close to me, and I’ve continually felt nourished by it.” (218)… (more)

** spoiler alert ** I was very pleasantly surprised by this book. It was very different from what I generally read, being a book about Paris fashions and the reporters who cover them. Betts' has written an insightful memoir of her early life, effectively showing her journey, warts and all. The author begins showing a privileged, if somewhat broken childhood. After college, she finds herself confused and unsure of what to do next. A move to Paris follows, where everything is not as she imagined it would be. Betts' discovers the hidden underbelly of Paris, from dealing with an incomprehensible bureaucracy to perverted citizens. What opportunities are found, the author makes the most of. Through working very hard and perseverance, she climbs to a successful career in fashion reporting. After making it, she finds that the summit is not all that it appeared to be. A move back to the States follows, with even greater responsibilities in the fashion industry. Finally, Betts finds what she had been searching for, that being a family of her own.
Betts' had some very insightful discoveries about herself. One of my favorites was, "At the office I recognized a pattern from my own family - namely, that of seeking approval by overachieving....I wanted to make my unhappy parents proud. And maybe, irrationally, I believed that my success would make them happy."
There are many more insights like this throughout the book, along with many laugh out loud moments. You will find yourself transported to a world that you never imagined.
I highly recommend it!… (more)