Pretty in Plaid by Jen Lancaster

Pretty in Plaid Reviews

• 
  SC

  Jen,
  
  Please allow me to reprint for your edification a maxim from Little House on the Prairie, which perchance you shall abide by since you regard the Ingalls girls as fashion icons in high esteem:
  
  First time is funny.
  Second time is naughty;
  Third time is a spanking.**
  
  This is your fourth memoir***, and you're 42. And a decade or two younger emotionally. Not that that's a bad thing; we love you for it, and it entertains us. But I think the Veronica Mars knockoff novel you mentioned penning in your second memoir is calling out for you to finish it. If only to spare us a fifth memoir. Because we? love your style. But your life? Is totally starting to induce trichotillomania via massive boredom. And I've already lost quite a bit of my beloved mane thanks to late-stage, chronic Lyme Disease, thanks very much.
  
  Please. Write. Fiction.
  
  And if it does happen to be Veronica Mars-based, I will pre-order on Amazon. 'Cause Mars kicked ass. And we *totally* got screwed out of another season.****
  
  
  **In case anyone was wondering, one of the Ingalls girls basically told a joke over and over again at the dinner table, and Ma was totally pissed. And then Pa grunted in agreement and went to go "bathe in the creek."
  
  ***I wonder what Ma would fancy a fourth telling warranted? Jen? Ideas?
  
  ****Fuck you very much, CW.
  
  
  Update:
  http://www.amazon.com/Fair-Lazy-Telev...
  
  No, no, no, no no!!!
• 
  Robyn

  I have been a huge fan of Jen Lancaster since I read her first book, and I loved the two that followed as much as the first. I have waited for this fourth book for over a year now and anxiously ordered it as soon as it was available. Sadly, this one just didn’t do it for me the way her other ones did. The others were hilarious, laugh-out-loud reads that had me wanting to snap my fingers in a Z and say, “Oh no she di-in’t!” to some of the outrageous things she says and does in her memoirs. I mean I know a book I’m reading is funny when I am snorting and making other unpleasant noises in an attempt to hold back outright laughter so that people around me at the coffee shop (where I’m reading her book) are either giving me the pity look for my obvious Tourette’s or giving me the raised eyebrow and/or pulling their children away from sitting too close to me (in case whatever affliction I have is contagious). Really, the first books were THAT funny. During the lulls between her books coming out, I have spent time on her blog reading her ridiculous rants and self-deprecating humor. I have loved her writing so much in the past that I could even forgive her biggest flaw: being a card-toting, Ann Coulter (Eew! – Even writing that name threatens to contaminate my computer!)-loving, proud to wear pearls seven days-a-week, Republican (…again, Eew!) [To my Repub friends and family – Chill out! - Don’t take it so personally!:] :-)
  
  ……… But I digress.
  
  With this book, I simply think that Jen (we would sooo totally be friends if I knew her) simply ran out of material about which to write. She is only 40ish years-old and has not lived a particularly fascinating or unusual life, so it was stretching it to write three interesting memoirs. Even with her third book she had to create a stunt (a weight-loss journey) to write about, so when the publishers told her to get going on this book, she must have had to really stretch (and unfortunately came up short) for material because all her good stuff had already been used up. My advice to Ms. Lancaster is to either move on to attempt fiction writing – or go on some outrageous adventure (i.e., trek the mountains of Nepal, become a race car driver, have a kid or two, etc…) and then write about it. Just don’t go back in your past and try to dig up anything else to tell us about, because judging from this book, that well is dry.
  
  I still totally love you, Jen Lancaster, and will soooo read your next book(s), so keep’um coming!
  
• 
  Jeni Angel

  Jen Lancaster is one of my favorite writers. Everything she writes is just a delicious treat. From her twitter to her blog to her books-I love it.
  
  Which is why my dislike for her 4th book, Pretty in Plaid, is very disappointing.
  
  As a side note: this was the first book I ever read on my Kindle. Don't read Jen Lancaster on a Kindle. She is famously known for her awesome sub-scripts. On a Kindle, you have to scroll to and select each number. Once there, you select, each number, go the page it's on, then hit back to go back to the page you were reading. 213 notes later, I probably only read half. If I wanted to be that annoyed, I would have read this in hardback (don't even get me started).
  
  This book is the prequel to Bitter is the New Black. It actually starts with a young Jen and works forward. It's really classic Jen writing, but I felt like it didn't work.
  
  For starters, (and this may not make sense) I felt like Jen wrote what her 8 year old self was thinking-but really what her 40 year old self thought her 8 year old self might be thinking. She just seemed to be trying way too hard.
  
  The epilogue was the worst part of this book because it made NO sense. I have no idea why she included these little stories here; a couple of anecdotes from her Such a Pretty Fat book tour. It just has no context. If there was a point, I don't think she made it.
  
  Does it make me love Jen less? No. Not every book is a winner. She is still an amazing writer and I can't wait for her next book.
• 
  Obsidian

  It's weird. I seem to be going through a re-read frenzy. I have all of Jen Lancaster's memoirs so decided to do a re-read. I recall reading "Pretty in Plaid" years ago and it didn't hit right with me. I never posted a review just because back then I was fairly lazy about posting reviews to the books I was reading. But my re-read for this just had me realizing that Jen Lancaster in her heyday (high school and college) would have been someone that I avoided with every fiber of my being. It's weird. I loved "Bitter is the New Black" because you felt like Lancaster was growing before our eyes into a less egotistical and money hungry person. But "Pretty in Plaid" just shows us her prior to that and she was beyond annoying. I don't think it helps that her depictions of her family scream that all of them need therapy. Stat.
  
  "Pretty in Plaid" follows author Jen Lancaster from childhood through her sorority pledging days, and even up to when she meets her husband, Fletch.
  
  Memoirs as I have always said are very tricky to read and then review. You feel badly if you didn't like the memoir cause you are saying in essence, the person themselves is not that great. This memoir though was not that great. Maybe if Lancaster wrote this look back at her life in her 60s or later it would make sense. But she was in her early 40s and her revisiting her early life was not that interesting. Lancaster tries to tie specific events to accessories and other things she loved at these times in her life. But I found the whole thing boring. I also didn't laugh once which for me is unusual with one of her memoirs. Also Lancaster comes across as a bully who was obsessed with her and her so called friends appearances. There are some things that pop up that surprised me like how long it took her to graduate from college. How she was only able to do join a sorority because it wasn't at her college's main campus. I think another reviewer put it best, "Bitter is the New Black" had you thinking that Lancaster grew up very wealthy and was part of the elite in school and college. This book shows that she definitely was not that, and maybe that was what led her to become some focused on making money and wearing her salary around her wrists with expensive handbags.
• 
  Ashley Madden

  It started off so great - I loved all the stories of her youth. But when one of us wonders - are our daily lives worthy of prose? If your life consists of pledging to a sorority, working lame retail jobs and then at an HMO and having a humdrum BF who won't commit to marriage - the answer is NO! David Sedaris, she is not.
• 
  Jennifer

  I have a serious heart on for Jen Lancaster right now. Having just listened to my first "Jen" book I am full of Jen-ness. In a total state of Jen. Yeah. I am Jen-ed to the max!
  
  This being my only Jen book under my belt I can give my opinion of this as a Lancaster virgin. Sure I had spotted her books in the Target book aisles - chuckled at the pithy titles. Thought - Maybe. Well Maybe is today bitches!
  
  I laughed out loud several times. I actually got teary once while at work. (I forget the actual part of the book that had me all weepy now - I think the thought of trying to explain what utter ridiculous thing I was listening to and making me all crybaby girl at work kind of put a blank space in my memory of the thing.) I also cringed at several things and raised my eyebrows at the size of the nuts on this girl.
  
  Here is the thing. I REALLY love people who go through a journey and are constantly trying to improve themselves. I love people who can face their short comings and who can share them and nudge you to be a little bit braver and to maybe let some of your demons out into the light of day too. I love people who can laugh at themselves and maybe let you unclench just a little bit. Listening to this book kind of did that for me.
  
  I am not trying to say this is another Eat, Love, Prey. It’s not a profound book. But it is fun and I think you can take something away from it if you want to. And one of the things I am taking from this book is the use of the phrase “blows goats”. I sent my trainer in Texas an e-mail and sprinkled that little gem into it just to sass it up. FUN!
  
  So yeah. I am officially a Jen Lancaster fan and I will commence stalking her (books/blogs….. Whatever) so I can embrace all things Jen. Plus - listening to her while on the treadmill totally keeps my eyes from watching the minutes slowly click buy. Bonus!
• 
  Kimberly Russell

  This is my first Jen Lancaster book. I have two friends that are in love with her (hi Amanda and Crystal!) so I had to see with the fuss was about, and I really liked it! I thought she was very funny and I loved that she kept getting herself in trouble.
• 
  Margie Thomas

  Jen Lancaster's last three memoires were books that I just could not put down. Needless to say, I had been looking forward to the release of "Pretty in Plaid" because I wanted more of her self-absorbed, contrite tales. I'm regret to say that PIP left me sorely disappointed.
  
  In her fourth book, Jen Lancaster travels back through time, revisiting events in her life and, more importantly, those clothes and accessories that made her who she was at those specific moments. While I found her anecdotes something that I could very easily relate to- I'm the same way with music- I just wasn't very amused. I didn't laugh out loud. Not even once. There were no hysterical bouts of laughter in which my husband thought I may have been having some sort of seizure, no going back and re-reading a passage because "She did NOT just say that?" went through my head. It was incredibly ho-hum, even for a memoir. The only part that I came close to chuckling out loud at was the Maurice's incident. That may be because I worked retail and understand just how stupid people can be, but I digress.
  
  I have a tendancy to keep and re-read every book that I buy. Chances are slim to none that I will read this one again anytime soon. My only reason for keeping this is that it's a signed copy. That my dog ate before I'd gotten even halfway through it. Grrr...
• 
  Judy

  I floored by the fact that I only gave two stars to a Jen Lancaster book, but, frankly, this one was disappointing. Such a Pretty Fat was my introduction to Jen Lancaster and I LOVED it. I quickly bought and read her other two books and liked them. This book seems to be a rehash of all of the same smart comments (which, I have to admit are still funny, but predictable). The two parts of the book that I enjoyed the most were Lancaster forging Girl Scout badges while in elementary school and attending sorority rush parties while in college. I think that the problem may be that after reading the first three books, that I was able to anticipate where each of the stories was going and what Lancaster's reaction/attitude was going to be. Her voice has been the same in each of her four books and while that can be comforting, it can also become repetitive. I deeply value Lancaster's sarcasm and bitterness, but as I read this book and discovered that I was becoming somewhat bored, I found myself in emotional turmoil. I'm sarcastic and bitter and maybe my friends are finding me as predictable as I'm finding Jen Lancaster. The horror.
• 
  Kalisa Hyman

  How cool is it that I got an advanced copy of this book from my secret publishing connection? So cool that it could only be surpassed by getting an advanced copy from Jen herself when I hung out with her at BlisDom!!! Which I did not. But apparently several people did. Only not me. OK, I didn't really "hang out" with her so much as blather incessantly in her presence a couple times. She's my author-idol.
  
  Anywhore, the queen of memoir has done it again. I especially loved this one because - duh - it's about CLOTHES and FASHION. Plus, I'm just a year older than Jen, so our fashion history is quite similar.
• 
  Deena

  I loved Lancaster's first three books. So much that I read them all in the span of a few weeks.
  I was ecstatic to get an ARC copy of PIP from a bookseller friend. Honestly, I was really disappointed with it. It just didn't have the same wit or feel. It took me weeks to force myself to finish. Perhaps because the story 'arcs' of the first three followed a much smaller time line, or maybe I just couldn't relate to the clothes stories as well as I could to the other books.
  It was still okay, and some parts were funny. One of my favorite parts of all her books is the footnotes. But this one just fell flat.
• 
  Cindy (BKind2Books)

  I have enjoyed Jen Lancaster's books before, but this one was not as much fun for me. There were humorous bits and it was amusing but not to the extent as some of Lancaster's other books. This one was divided into 3 parts - one dealing with school-age Jen, the second with college-age, and the third with young adult years. I think that there was just too much that I either could not relate to (especially as I had no interest in fraternities/sororities in college) or just did not seem too funny to me. This doesn't mean that I'm finished with her books - I've really loved most of them and not every book can be a winner.
• 
  Paula Phillips

  In Pretty in Plaid: A Life, a Witch, and a Wardrobe, or, the Wonder Years Before the Condescending, Egomaniacal, Self-Centered Smart-Ass Phase, Jen Lancaster whisks us back to the defining moments in her life that made her the snarky, ambitious fashionista we have all grown to love. Whether she is scamming her way to a badge-filled Girl Scout sash, purchasing her very first designer handbag (Liz Claiborne, thank you very much), or modelling her first interview suit for Fletch ("Does Captain Stuebing know you're not on the Lido deck right now?"), we are again treated to the self-deprecating humour that is Jen's trademark. With fashion references that anyone who lived through the 80s will cringe at (can you say big hair, Gloria Vanderbilt and jelly shoes?) you will no doubtedly relate to all that Jen went through to become, well, Jen.
  Pretty In Plaid was a humourous read that follows Jen Lancaster's fashion sense from starting off in Junior Girl Scouts, her move to the country where the fashion was a tshirt and jeans and all the way through middle school, high school and eventually college where Jen was introduced to the world of soriorites.
  If you have never ever read one of Jen Lancaster's books , then you are seriously missing out and shoould hop to it. Pretty in Plaid is a prequel of sorts to her first memoirs "Bitter is the New Black".
  Fans of Chelsea Handler , Lisa Scottoline's "Why My Third Husband is a Dog", Samantha Bee and of course Jen's inspiration David Sedaris will enjoy her books.
  While your'e waiting to get your hands on a copy, why not check out her blog
  
  http://www.jennsylvania.com/jennsylva...
• 
  Jessica

  This is the fourth Jen Lancaster memoir that I've read and I enjoyed this one as much as the previous books. The book starts with memories of her 8th birthday, moving to Indiana a few years later, college/sorority years, and beginning her post-college work life, all linked with a running theme of what clothing she wore at the time. She is very in tune with the pop culture of the time and clothing name brands. I must be about the same age as the author, because I could completely identify with the yearning for Calvin Klein jeans as a teenager, the importance of madras plaid, and that wearing a jean jacket to a sorority rush party can mean certain social death. The writer is extremely funny. She has that sarcastic sense of humor which appeals to me, although I find her very mean, narcissistic, and completely self-absorbed, although she absolutely owns up to these traits in herself. I think in the prologue, she describes herself as an "ass". On the flip side, she is also supremely self-confident, which I find refreshing, and of course, she's very funny. Her use of letter writing and excessive foot notes are really hysterical. She also may be more prudish than me, as I don't need to spell out words like b-r-e-a-s-t-s and p-e-r-i-o-d. I'm looking forward to more books by this author.
• 
  With Butterflies

  I would have rated it only one star, but I generally save that for books that I can't even finish.
  
  I liked her other books, but this one was annoying. She writes about herself as a young girl like a Diablo Cody screenplay. I realize it's hard to look back at yourself objectively since we bring all of our life experience with that view. Still, Jen wants us to believe that she talked like a 40 year old when she was 8? Come on, kids (even teenagers) don't talk that way. Even if she is playing it up for the "funny" factor, it isn't really all that funny.
  
  In her other books there's always been a degree of arrogance that is offputting, and it boggles my mind to read about her growing up and realizing that her arrogance is based on this life she's written about.
  
  She wasn't especially popular, sounds as if she's always been domineering and somewhat of a bully, flunked out of college, only got accepted to her "good sorority" because it was at school's satellite branch, took forever to graduate, and didn't have a long career "in the fast lane" that her other books imply.
  
  I would think someone who has had some success as an author with this background would be somewhat humble, not breaking her arm to pat herself on the back.
• 
  Curtis

  I read her blog and watched her book trailers. Jen Lancaster is witty, funny and cute; some have even called her the female David Sedaris. Yet as I made my way through the beginning of Pretty in Plaid I was afraid that it might not be to my liking.
  
  In this, her fourth memoir, Lancaster takes us from the pre-teen years as a smart-ass fashionista through the college years as a smarter, smart-ass fashionista.
  
  At first I was slightly put off by her bratty, materialistic, egomaniac rants, but as her life unfolded I became more and more entrenched in her world of fashion, crappy jobs, frustrating parents and dreading Mondays. Even the Sex and the City stuff was a nice parallel.
  
  PIP got better as it went along and by the end I was definitely wanting more. The epilogue was especially intriguing because this was my first foray into Jennsylvania. I'm curious about how she became a writer and how she got rich (and lost it all?) during the dot.com boom.
  
  Since this is a prequel to Bitter is the New Black I guess that memoir will be my next adventure to J-Town... and I'm looking forward to the bratty, materialistic, egomaniac rants, not to mention more inspiration.
  
  
• 
  Bronson

  I like chick lit. It's the stuff billed as trashy chick lit that I run from. And that's what I understood Jen Lancaster was about, so I've been running for years. But I can't seem to escape the snarky titles, and finally decided to judge this book by its cover instead and give it a chance.
  
  I accidentally liked it. Oops.
  
  Okay, fine. It wasn't really an accident. The book is conversational, self-deprecating and extremely funny. A few f-bombs does not a trashy novel make and I thoroughly enjoyed her.
  
  And, really, how could I not enjoy a book that makes me snort with laughter?:
  
  "I’m busy sorting through our new collection of rhinestone jewelry. Should anyone be in the market for sparkly accessories the size of a hubcap, this is the place to get them. Earlier today, a customer picked up one of the enormous chandelier-style offerings and asked, 'Do those be genuine rhimestones?'
  
  I couldn’t even begin to explain everything that was wrong with her sentence, so I simply replied, 'Yes. They do be genuine.'"
• 
  Kira Flowerchild

  In this book,
  Jen Lancaster reverses her usual order. Normally I find the first several chapters of her books a little hard to get through, but things smooth out after that. In this book, I much preferred the first half, where she talks about her childhood. For the first time, she feels like a real person instead of a snarky comedian. But never fear,
  Jen Lancaster fans, once she enters college there is plenty of snark to go around, and it continues during her first years as a working woman, after taking eleven years (!) to finish college. I've no room to talk, though; I've taken classes at half a dozen colleges and universities but still don't have a degree.
  
  A lot of reviewers didn't like this book as well as her others, specifically because it isn't all Snarky Jen. To each his/her own.
• 
  ScrappyMags

  Read the book in a day and 1/2, so it MUST be good. At first I thought "oh boy, another self-depricating humor book", but once Lancaster mentioned Bravo addictions and Tim Gunn, I knew I was in. This is exactly my style... very Jennifer Weiner, but a little more sarcastic and sassy. This was my 1st Lancaster book and I'm on to work my way back through her other books. I love that she's not a "woe is me" type of lady. She talks about being heavy but she loves herself and that's exactly how I've always felt, now and when I was over 100 lbs heavier, I never had low self-esteem and I love her confident, brazen approach to writing. Very honest, stream-of-consciousness, in-your-face. Great book! Loved it - a nice, quick beach kind of read.
• 
  Karen Germain

  I really like Jen Lancaster. She has fantastic stories, is very funny (I often feel the need to stop and read sections of her books aloud to anyone who is willing to listen) and she just seems like someone that you would want to have as your best friend. This being said, her latest book, “Pretty in Plaid” was a stretch. It seems like she might be running out of funny stories. It just didn’t seem as fresh or as hilarious as some of her earlier books. I still like Lancaster and will give her next book a chance, but this one did not impress me.
  One other note, this is not a good book to buy on the Kindle. As with her other works, she has notations for every chapter and on the Kindle it was not easy to flip back and forth. I felt like I missed out on a lot of the book.
  
• 
  Brooke

  Jen Lancaster fancies herself to be a touch funnier than she is. Sometimes, during the course of the two books I've read by her, I've felt a strong compulsion to push her down, sometimes to push her down a short flight of stairs. However, balancing that violence I feel is the fact that I laugh out loud several times during the course of the book. So there's that. However, I don't think I'll remember this book by the end of next week. Recommended for the beach, a plane ride, something you could read during a staff meeting, when you're supposed to be paying attention, since this book certainly doesn't occupy all of one's focus.
• 
  Natalie

  This was really funny! I love memoirs that are humorous and self deprecating. There were numerous times I laughed right out loud. I couldn't help it.
  
  The way that she looks at things is a nice combination of honest and humorous.
  
  I think I liked the sections of her as a child best as they were the funniest. I can just picture a little 8 year old girl ordering lobster at a restaurant.
  
  I don't think her sense of humor will appear to everyone, but I sure enjoyed it!
• 
  Stephanie

  This book was handed to me by Mandi. She said that I had to read it. She was correct. I love Jen. She is funny smart and knows how to weave a wonderful story. Will have to go back and read all of her others books. If you decide to read these books make sure that you have a strong bladder and a box of tissues, not for tears of sadness but from the tears of joy.
• 
  Kimberly Robello

  If you grew up in the 70s and 80s, there are a lot of things in this book you will be able to relate to and will laugh out loud about.
  
  This is the first book I have read from this author and plan to read more.
• 
  Karen

  I really enjoyed this "flashback" into the life and times of Jen Lancaster. As always it was entertaining and laugh-out-loud funny!
• 
  Vicky

  I thought it was cute to hear about her past. It was funny but I think leave the autobiography to magazine
• 
  love2read

  A little to long.
• 
  CJ

  Jen Lancaster is the perfect way to wind down. My "bedtime books" have exclusively been her memoirs for the past few whiles.
  
  They're fun and light, and on occasion (several occasions) make me laugh out loud.
  
  This book is about just life before adulthood, threaded together by various outfits and accessories. Of particular interest are her sorority misadventures and her first real job, which she decides isn't for her after a client locks her in a storage closet to finish claims for him. Seriously.
  
  And the book is peppered with amusing footnotes. I'm a sucker for a good footnote (thank you Terry Pratchett and Jenny Lawson).