What does this woman have, what do not you have?
Plum Sykes
© Kara BakerAfter a few days of Fashion Week in New York, Plum Sykes is known without ever having spoken to her. You know where she was at parties and which collections she looked at. The gossip press reports it because Sykes is a society girl. With all associated scandals and contacts. And she has written a bestseller about exactly this hit women. "Bergdorf Blondes" is the name of the work in the American original, named after her heroine, the mega-bitch Julie Bergdorf. Now the book, which provoked countless hate pages on the Internet, appeared with us under the title "Park Avenue Princesses". In the world of these noble creatures, everything revolves around the ideal blond tone (for $ 450, re-color every 13 days) and the right "PH" (= prospective Husband), which primarily fulfill its role as "ATM" (= ATM) should.
And how is Plum Sykes sitting with her tribe Italian "St. Ambrosius", two blocks away from her apartment in Greenwich Village? In jeans and sweater. She ordered the most expensive dish on the menu (a huge piece of meat), eats greedy and talks fast. Later, she has to go to the show of fashion designer Marc Jacobs, but before that, the masseuse comes to her home. For a star of New York society looks the native Englishwoman with Oxford degree actually much too normal. The 35-year-old has big brown doe eyes, a little crooked incisors, and - most amazingly - she's brunette.
Interview with Plum Sykes
ChroniquesDuVasteMonde: We want to talk about love. And about money.
Plum Sykes: Good topic.
ChroniquesDuVasteMonde: Your book says one can choose a man by the same criteria as a purse.
Plum Sykes: I was wondering how my protagonist, heir to the mightiest New York department store dynasty, would choose her fiancé. The man of their dreams would have to meet the same standards as an expensive handbag. If you have a very good copy, you will be envied. Also, be careful not to steal it. There are always waiting lists for the best. And even if you've been on the list for three years, there can always be someone skipping the queue.
ChroniquesDuVasteMonde: Which man could be compared to Hermes's Kelly Bag - the bag that has the longest waiting lists?
Plum Sykes: J.F. Kennedy junior.
ChroniquesDuVasteMonde: He's dead.
Plum Sykes: Still. The perfect man for a Park Avenue princess is an American Royal, so a big industrialist or someone from the political elite, the main thing he has money. And he is powerful. And he buys her a gigantic engagement ring.
ChroniquesDuVasteMonde: Do you think these women really exist in New York?
Plum Sykes: I interviewed many of them for the American "Vogue", the Bush girls, the Gettys and so on. The Park Avenue Princess is my version of a New York society girl from the Upper East Side. It exists - and it is more honest than women in Europe.
ChroniquesDuVasteMonde: Why?
Plum Sykes: Americans are more materialistic and admit that. Unlike the Europeans, they do not hide their real desires.
ChroniquesDuVasteMonde: But in truth, all women in the world think the same?
Plum Sykes: The women marry the money. That sounds bad, of course. But considering the past, when women had no economic power, choosing the rich husband was a very practical decision. And let's be honest: So much has not changed until today. Women still earn less. Women get the children. Of course you want someone who can take care of you. That is a natural need for security. That's why the man does not have to be a billionaire.
ChroniquesDuVasteMonde: A millionaire is enough?
Plum Sykes: Let's face it: everyone imagines that a lot of money would make his life easier. And every woman has this Cinderella fantasy. What is so great about the Prince Charming - the white horse he rides on or the castle where he lives?
ChroniquesDuVasteMonde: For romantic girls still determines the gray.
Plum Sykes: But success in our society is crucial. The media often denounce the superficiality of success and wealth. At the same time, everyone is reported who is somehow successful and rich. These opinion makers say that one should not judge by this value system, but they do it themselves. That is hypocritical. Successful people are simply more attractive. It is quite normal to want to fish a fabulous rich castle owner.
ChroniquesDuVasteMonde: And where is the romance?
Plum Sykes: No one knows exactly why people fall in love.Definitely they do not fall in love with the money, but with a person. All women in their lives eventually meet a lot of wealthy men, their boss for example. That's why they will not necessarily fall in love with him.
ChroniquesDuVasteMonde: Now aside from his position - how do you recognize a rich man?
Plum Sykes: They camouflage themselves well. It can not be fixed on externals. Today, everyone can pretend to have money and dress appropriately. In England, the rich like to wear shabby clothes. But then you can not rely on that, a supposed direct hit can just as well be suddenly a true has-been.
ChroniquesDuVasteMonde: What increases the hunting opportunities?
Plum Sykes: First: Become blonde. Second, sit in the right committees to be invited to the crucial parties.
ChroniquesDuVasteMonde: They fail at point one.
Plum Sykes: When I moved to New York, I wondered if I'm the only brown-haired girl. It all really dyed the hair.
ChroniquesDuVasteMonde: Why is that so important?
Plum Sykes: Blonde is the color of icons like Grace Kelly or Carolyn Bessette Kennedy. It is very American. And it's just sexy. But only if you do it right. The hair must not look yellow, but white. In my book all have perfect hair.
ChroniquesDuVasteMonde: Does Paris Hilton have the right blonde?
Plum Sykes: Oh my god. She has plastic hair. She is so trashy. That's really not the sort of woman I write about.
ChroniquesDuVasteMonde: Then quickly to the next hairy affair: In your book, there is an old lady, Muffy, who throws parties again and again to couple people ...
Plum Sykes: The muffys of this world - of which there are already many in New York. They love to bring people together because they love the big weddings in society - then they can finally do their dresses again. Sometimes it works. And every wedding is a new highlight among the dome parties. I also met my fiancé at a wedding.
ChroniquesDuVasteMonde: Her fiancé Toby Rowland is the son of heavyweight English tycoon Tiny Rowland. A true shot by the standards of a Park Avenue princess.
Plum Sykes: I'm still romantic. I would not marry anyone if I did not love him. I think he has more money than me. But I never asked him if he was rich.
ChroniquesDuVasteMonde: For your debut you got an advance of $ 625,000. And yet you still have the old booty scheme.
Plum Sykes: You want to marry someone who is on an equal footing.
ChroniquesDuVasteMonde: So this connection has something to do with ambition.
Plum Sykes: Of course. I'm ambitious. And I do not want to be poor. My parents had a rather unpleasant divorce. They have lost all their money. If you grow up sheltered, and then everything is taken away from you - that's a bad experience.
ChroniquesDuVasteMonde: Apart from your wealthy fiancé - the narrator Moi in your novel has a lot in common with you. She comes from England, works as a journalist in the fields of fashion and society and is not as rich as all the other girls she surrounds herself with.
Plum Sykes: Sure, there are some parallels. I was engaged and had this engagement solved, just like Moi in the novel. I have also flown with some private jets.
ChroniquesDuVasteMonde: Many American literary critics have accused you of lack of distance: To describe one's life is far from being art. A colleague from "Time Magazine" even calls you a "pretentious zero".
Plum Sykes: Oh really? Then I'm sorry that she has so little sense of humor. My novel should not be a reflection of real life. I am a writer. I'm not a Park Avenue princess. I sit at home every day and work - now on my next book.
ChroniquesDuVasteMonde: If you're not in Donald Trump's private jet.
Plum Sykes: Oh, this story. My sister, who also works as a fashion editor here in New York, and I wanted to go to an engagement party in Palm Beach. When we did not get a flight, she said Donald would take us anywhere at anytime. So we called him. He then told us the whole flight about jokes. But if only he were witty and intelligent and not rich - I do not think a Czech model would marry him.
ChroniquesDuVasteMonde: The man is rich, the woman is beautiful. A classic barter transaction. Is beauty the most important weapon of a woman?
Plum Sykes: In combination with charm. You just have to look at Kate Moss. The reason she's still so successful is that she has more charm in her little finger than any other supermodel put together.
ChroniquesDuVasteMonde: Supposedly you are friends not only with Kate Moss but also with Gwyneth Paltrow since you once interviewed her.
Plum Sykes: Well, maybe I met Kate Moss and Gwyneth Paltrow three times each. This is more a working relationship.
ChroniquesDuVasteMonde: The two seem to make so much money themselves that they make do with less financially strong examples like musicians and other scene types.
Plum Sykes: I used to have such complicated types as well. But this phase is luckily behind me.
Plum Sykes: "Park Avenue Princesses" (352 p., 7.95 euros, Goldmann paperback)
Victoria (Plum) Sykes was born as one of six siblings in the English middle class. She came to New York in 1997, where the Oxford graduate became the darling of society as the protégé of her employer, the mighty "Vogue" editor-in-chief Anna Wintour, and as the fiancé of the hip artist Damian Loeb. The dramatic dissolution of the engagement, an affair with Bryan Adams, and her ties to stars such as Kate Moss and Gwyneth Paltrow have finally made Sykes a member of the circles she jokingly describes in her book "Park Avenue Princesses." From the perspective of the narrator Moi Sykes grants insight into the life of the department store heiress and mega-Bitch Julie Bergdorf and her girlfriends who - although extremely wealthy - do not want more than a swanky engagement ring on the finger.
