Shopping With the Enemy Read Online Free
held up several pages of drawings and pulled a face.
Lana went over to study the sketches.
‘But don’t these dresses look just the same as last year’s? Some are even in the same colours.’
‘Exactly!’ Elena exclaimed. ‘They are all exactly the same as last year. We can’t do this, people will laugh at us. This is an all-new old collection. But Svetlana says: “everything is classic, everything is vvvvonderrrrful.” She just wants to put out the same dresses season after season. It will never work.’
‘I can sort of see the point of running the black, the navy and maybe even the gold silk one again,’ Lana ventured. ‘You know, classic colours, very classic styles. They could probably run for a few seasons, but … the purple?’
Elena shook her head: ‘Purple is no good for next season. Dove grey did not sell the first time round, so why would we do it again? And sea green? Sea green is finished! Our ideas are much, much better.’
For several weeks now, Elena, Lana and newest member of the team, Gracie, had been putting together ideas for a dramatically new and different Perfect Dress collection. It was about wild new colours and prints, bold shapes, and all sorts of edgy styling details.
The problem was – they hadn’t told the Mothers, Svetlana and Annie, about these new ideas yet.
But Lana and Elena were about to travel to London to make a dazzling – and, they hoped, persuasive – presentation to their bosses. If they could just get the Mothers to agree, then they were sure they could turn the Perfect Dress situation around.
Lana knew what would happen if they didn’t turn the situation around: she would be on a plane back to London and her exciting New York life would be over, possibly for good.
That just couldn’t happen! She would not allow it. Lana would do whatever she had to do to save Perfect Dress and her New York career.
‘Svetlana’s boring ideas are for ladies who lunch,’ Elena declared. ‘This is the problem! We need a much bigger market. We need everyone who can afford lunch, not just the ladies pushing sushi round their plates. Plus, I believe that the ladies who lunch are bored with safe dresses and tasteful elegance. I think the ladies who lunch might want to be much more daring if we could just convince them.’
‘Something beautifully made, but much more edgy?’
‘Ya. Gracie wants studs. She thinks we should put studs round the collars of the dresses and maybe on the pockets and cuffs. Punky stud detailing.’
‘Studs?!’ Lana asked with her eyebrows raised: ‘you want to put studs on a silk dress which costs $400? Oh my. That is … that is …’
She was thinking of presenting this idea to the Mothers and the words ‘scary’ and ‘terrifying’ came to mind.
But Elena chipped in with: ‘Genius. It is a genius idea, no?’
‘Do you think we can get them to agree? I mean, we have to, Elena, otherwise I’m not going to be working here any more.’
‘We have to make them agree. This is our mission in London. The Mothers must try something new and bold and exciting,’ Elena said, looking very serious, ‘or very soon it won’t just be you leaving – our whole business could be finished.’
The sombre silence that followed these words was broken by the sound of the door opening. Gracie burst into the room, a riot of cheerfulness and colour.
‘Hi!’ she exclaimed, ‘it’s another beautiful day for fashion! Is my outfit not a triumph?’
The petite girl with the snowy skin, cropped fringe and curly orange hair held out her hands, gave a quick pirouette and turned to them both for approval.
As usual, Gracie looked amazing. Every day, from a wardrobe made up of second-hand finds, sale bargains, scraps of materials and home-sewn creations, this 19-year-old fashion whizz managed to conjure up a new, fresh and entirely original look.
Today her dainty figure was swathed in a bright green ballet cardigan, leggings, silver ballet shoes and a
Lana went over to study the sketches.
‘But don’t these dresses look just the same as last year’s? Some are even in the same colours.’
‘Exactly!’ Elena exclaimed. ‘They are all exactly the same as last year. We can’t do this, people will laugh at us. This is an all-new old collection. But Svetlana says: “everything is classic, everything is vvvvonderrrrful.” She just wants to put out the same dresses season after season. It will never work.’
‘I can sort of see the point of running the black, the navy and maybe even the gold silk one again,’ Lana ventured. ‘You know, classic colours, very classic styles. They could probably run for a few seasons, but … the purple?’
Elena shook her head: ‘Purple is no good for next season. Dove grey did not sell the first time round, so why would we do it again? And sea green? Sea green is finished! Our ideas are much, much better.’
For several weeks now, Elena, Lana and newest member of the team, Gracie, had been putting together ideas for a dramatically new and different Perfect Dress collection. It was about wild new colours and prints, bold shapes, and all sorts of edgy styling details.
The problem was – they hadn’t told the Mothers, Svetlana and Annie, about these new ideas yet.
But Lana and Elena were about to travel to London to make a dazzling – and, they hoped, persuasive – presentation to their bosses. If they could just get the Mothers to agree, then they were sure they could turn the Perfect Dress situation around.
Lana knew what would happen if they didn’t turn the situation around: she would be on a plane back to London and her exciting New York life would be over, possibly for good.
That just couldn’t happen! She would not allow it. Lana would do whatever she had to do to save Perfect Dress and her New York career.
‘Svetlana’s boring ideas are for ladies who lunch,’ Elena declared. ‘This is the problem! We need a much bigger market. We need everyone who can afford lunch, not just the ladies pushing sushi round their plates. Plus, I believe that the ladies who lunch are bored with safe dresses and tasteful elegance. I think the ladies who lunch might want to be much more daring if we could just convince them.’
‘Something beautifully made, but much more edgy?’
‘Ya. Gracie wants studs. She thinks we should put studs round the collars of the dresses and maybe on the pockets and cuffs. Punky stud detailing.’
‘Studs?!’ Lana asked with her eyebrows raised: ‘you want to put studs on a silk dress which costs $400? Oh my. That is … that is …’
She was thinking of presenting this idea to the Mothers and the words ‘scary’ and ‘terrifying’ came to mind.
But Elena chipped in with: ‘Genius. It is a genius idea, no?’
‘Do you think we can get them to agree? I mean, we have to, Elena, otherwise I’m not going to be working here any more.’
‘We have to make them agree. This is our mission in London. The Mothers must try something new and bold and exciting,’ Elena said, looking very serious, ‘or very soon it won’t just be you leaving – our whole business could be finished.’
The sombre silence that followed these words was broken by the sound of the door opening. Gracie burst into the room, a riot of cheerfulness and colour.
‘Hi!’ she exclaimed, ‘it’s another beautiful day for fashion! Is my outfit not a triumph?’
The petite girl with the snowy skin, cropped fringe and curly orange hair held out her hands, gave a quick pirouette and turned to them both for approval.
As usual, Gracie looked amazing. Every day, from a wardrobe made up of second-hand finds, sale bargains, scraps of materials and home-sewn creations, this 19-year-old fashion whizz managed to conjure up a new, fresh and entirely original look.
Today her dainty figure was swathed in a bright green ballet cardigan, leggings, silver ballet shoes and a
Readers choose
Rachel Cusk
Nina Croft
Mason Elliott
Diane Munier
Nancy Mitford
W. Bruce Cameron
A McKay
Christopher Priest
Tessa Escalera