review & quotes: alexa chung - it

Straight off - I wasn't expecting to be completely blown away or getting an in-depth style guide or anything like that, but would I buy it again? When I first started reading the book, I would have answered no - and then it kinda grew on me.  

The book is basically a zine - it feels like you're reading Alexa Chung's blog in print form a.k.a. you actually paid 18€ to read a book which actually reads like a blog & includes a couple of nice pictures (nothing you couldn't find on Tumblr or Pininterest).

I didn't necessarily mind that it read like a blog, though, because it makes for some charming writing & a couple of funny parts, but there could have been more of it. The real reading part probably took me less than hour. I wouldn't mind that either, because it made for an hour nicely spent, except that I paid 18€ for it. 

All in all, it is a nice little book - I guess exactly because it very much resembles the Alexa persona. A little bit on the messier side & rather low-key etc. The book, for example, doesn't have any chapters per se & just jumps randomly from one subject to the next, but after a while that grows on you too. 

I can't recommend it wholeheartedly, especially not, if you don't have the spare change lying around, but it does make for a good hour or two of thumbing through a book & reading a bit of nice, light life advice.

Excerpts:

"Sometimes when I need answers I like to take my questions to Google. 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."

"Sometimes I wish I could live like a man and fit everything I need into a single back pocket but that's never going to happen and besides, then I would lose out on the daily drama that occurs when I think I've lost something and have to tip the contents of my bag out only to discover my phone is in my hand."

"Looking back on it now, I think I was interested in ponies and all the relevant paraphernalia because of the fashion as much as the animals. That silhouette of skinny trousers, ankle boots and an oversized sweatshirt is one I never managed to get away from."

"Also, a red lip is great to wear in airports. I don't know why but it makes me feel 
very glamorous to have bothered to apply lipstick when I'm travelling."

"Thank you, Jane Birkin, for providing me with infinite outfit ideas and the confidence to dress like a boy but act like a girl."