Friday, November 08, 2013

In My Shoes - Tamara Mellon's memoir

In My Shoes: A Memoir

by Tamara Mellon, co-written with William Patrick.

Penguin Books - NZ$37.00

I haven't read this book but Annie has just finished it , she couldn't put it down and said she felt completely inspired by the story.
Here is the publisher's blurb which she says is a fair summary:

When Tamara Mellon's father lent her the money to start a high-end shoe company, he cautioned her: 'Don't let the accountants run your business.' Little did he know.  Over the next fifteen years the struggle between 'the suits' and 'the creatives' would dominate, as Tamara Mellon's business savvy and design flair built Jimmy Choo into a premier name in the ultra-competitive fashion world.
Tamara Mellon grew Jimmy Choo into a billion dollar brand.  She became the Prime Minister's trade envoy and was honoured with an OBE.  Vogue photographed her wedding; Vanity Fair covered her divorce and the criminal trial that followed.

It was never an easy road.  Her seemingly glamorous beginnings in the mansions of London and Beverly Hills were marked by a broken family life, battles with anxiety and depression, and a stint in rehab.  Determined not to end up penniless and under the control of her alcoholic mother, Mellon honed her natural business sense and invested in what she knew best: fashion.  In creating the shoes that became a fixture on Iand Hollywood's red carpets, she relied on her own impeccable sense of what the customer wanted - because she was that customer.

Jimmy Choo's success came at a high price - including epic struggles with the first CEO, a turbulent marriage, a brutal takeover attempt, and a mother who tried to steal her hard-earned wealth.  Now, as she builds her next fashion venture, Tamara Mellon finally shares her whole larger-than-life story.

In My Shoes is a must-read for fashion aficionados, aspiring entrepreneurs, and anyone who loves a juicy true story about sex, drugs, money, power, overcoming adversity . . . and high heels.

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