There's an article today in the NY Times Style section, "Calming the Voices That Scream Shop!" about the new movie Confessions of a Shopaholic, which opens tomorrow.
I haven't read the book but apparently the Isla Fisher character is a young woman with a lot of credit who goes overboard and then has to try to dig herself out. The Times article, by David Colman, aptly points out that the film serves as a "As a comical allegory for the last 15 years, when fashion-mad consumerism, among several other things, drove the world's economy to new heights, the film stirs up prickly issues about the complex interplay of women, fashion, spending and identity." Rebecca Connor, an associate professor of English at Hunter College is quoted, "Right up to the present day we have a culture tacitly or overtly encouraging women to shop in order to strengthen the economy". "At the same time, we've always had male commentators denigrating women for their love of trinkets and their wasteful expenditures."
Damned if you do, damned if you don't. Anyway, it looks like a fun, fluffy movie which during this depressing, and probably stressful for many, recession seems like a good diversion.
The movie's website is conveniently hosted by Bluefly! And has a link to a "get the look / Rebecca's closet" section where you can buy pieces to replicate the zany Patricia Field styled outfits of the movie.
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