lovely rubbish: November 2007

The Devil Wears Prada, rumored to be based on novelist Lauren Weisberger's experience working for Anna Wintour at Vogue, captures the essence of the glamorous yet stressful job at a fashion publication. While some aspects of the business are exaggerated (such as the extravagant office wear), the job perks, catty attitudes, and glitz and glamour are definite reflections of the real-life world of fashion journalism.

When movie reviewers asked different fashion insiders about the reality of the portrayal of the fashion industry, their responses varied. Some, like Booth Moore of the Los Angeles Times, criticized the movie’s outfits, saying that the film’s stylist Patricia Field (who also styled for Sex and the City) created “a fine fashion fantasy with little to do with reality.” Field retorted, “If they want a documentary, they can watch The History Channel.” Field reportedly had a budget of $100,000, but used borrowed pieces from friends and designers to compose a wardrobe worth about one million dollars—resulting in the most expensive wardrobe in the history of film. Glitzy outfits aside, many commended the film for its realistic portrayal of industry relationships. Charla Krupp, executive editor of SHOP, Etc., said, “It's the first film I've seen that got it right… [It] has the nuances of the politics and the tension better than any film - and the backstabbing and sucking-up.”

The Devil Wears Prada tells the story of Andy Sachs, played fantastically by Anne Hathaway, an aspiring journalist caught up in the world of fashion under editrix Miranda Priestly and her stylish minions. Although Weisberger denied that the Miranda character is based on real-life Vogue editor Anna Wintour, the similarities are uncanny. Both have icy demeanors and are extremely influential, having made some of the biggest names in fashion famous. Another blatant comparison: Wintour supposedly enjoys a midday steak, just as Miranda requested in the film, according to Barbara Ameil of The Daily Telegraph. Miranda instills the same fear in her minions that Wintour’s workers feel: According to the UK Guardian, “One US Vogue intern was famously told never to make eye contact with Wintour or to initiate a conversation. One day the terrified girl witnessed the editor tripping up in the corridor but was too scared to offer help. She stepped over Wintour's prone form and carried on walking.”

Meryl Streep delivers a spectacular performance as editor-in-chief Miranda Priestly. Her cold disposition and quiet, yet venomous manner of speaking can make even the snobbiest fashionista cower in her presence. This is clearly seen with Emily Blunt’s character, Emily Charlton. Blunt is both severe and hilarious as Andy’s eye-rolling superior, barking orders at Andy while dropping everything to do Miranda’s bidding in hopes to accompany her to Paris for Fashion Week. Also working at Runway is Nigel, played by Stanley Tucci. Rumor has it that Nigel’s character is based on Andre Leon Talley, Vogue’s editor-at-large and Wintour’s close friend. In the movie, Nigel becomes Andy’s most trusted friend at Runway and is the man responsible for her fashion metamorphosis, providing her with shoes, bags, clothing, and even a new haircut and makeup so that Andy becomes the most stylish of Miranda’s underlings.

The movie is any fashion lover’s fantasy. Who wouldn’t love to be in Andy’s place: surrounded by powerful designers and editors, given access to priceless pieces from the magazine’s closet, and granted the opportunity to work with one of the most influential people in the world of fashion? As covetable as her position may be to many people, (a job “a million girls would kill for”), Andy Sachs initially receives these circumstances with skepticism. Andrea “Andy” Sachs, a recent Northwestern graduate, dreams of a career as a writer for one of New York’s newspapers. Convinced that working at Runway for year will lead her to the job of her dreams at another publication, Andy takes the job and is soon sucked into the world of couture, cattiness, and run-ins with mysterious yet alluring other writers (played here by Simon Baker). Soon enough, Andy’s frequent late nights working (although “working” meant, on one occasion, accompanying Miranda and Emily to a charity benefit, pictured above) and her devotion to Miranda takes a toll on her relationship with boyfriend Nate (Adrian Grenier). The movie focuses on the conflict between Andy’s personal life and working life: Should Andy let Runway dominate her life so that she can have her pick of jobs once the year ends? Or should Andy give up her job to maintain her friendships and relationship with Nate, which could potentially hurt her career in journalism? In the end, Andy leaves Runway, not to please Nate, but to free herself from Miranda’s clutches. In my opinion, The Devil Wears Prada teaches a lesson about staying true to yourself and not allowing the wrong job or a relationship to stand in the way of what you truly want. Andy neither sacrifices her career for her boyfriend’s wishes nor disregards his wishes that she return to her old self and continues her duties as Miranda’s assistant. Instead, she realizes that Nate has a point—that she had become one of the girls that she used to make fun of-- and decides to leave the magazine and interview at a newspaper. When Andy tells Nate about her decision, she does not expect him to take her back, which is an important part of the film’s lesson. Although they do get back together, Andy’s decision to leave her job was not to get her boyfriend back, but to get her life back. I believe that the movie has a great moral: Do not make decisions about your life for anyone else but yourself and don’t let the demands of anyone, be it boyfriend or boss, stand in the way of reaching your goals.

As someone whose dream job is an editor or stylist at a fashion magazine, I thoroughly enjoyed this movie. Of course, when I initially read the ending (having read the novel a few years ago), I was shocked that Andy would quit her job and lose so many perfect (in my opinion) opportunities. However, I realized that, in Andy's case, she would be better off without the job because in such a demanding world, someone who doesn't take her duties seriously and doesn't enjoy herself could not be happy or successful in the end. That's the beauty of the story's lesson: Follow your dreams and keep on persisting, even if obstacles (in Andy's case, her bad experiences working for Runway) stand in your way. Whether or not every aspect of the industry is portrayed accurately, the viewer definitely gets a sense of the fast-paced atmosphere and the demands that one must meet to succeed. The Devil Wears Prada is as entertaining as it is stylish, teaching a priceless lesson to any viewer, fashion-obsessed or not.

Compare Anna's office to Miranda's office! Can you spot the differences? (Not really.)