I came across this book in a Barnes and Noble, where Tamara was sitting daintily on display on a bookshelf across from Sir Richard Branson. I'm wouldn't call myself a fashion junkie and I would not have recognized her name, but the cover specified that she was the co-founder of Jimmy Choo.
The book's jacket promised mansions of Beverly Hills and New York, criminal trials, and a wedding photographed by Vogue and Mellon's "personal glamour," so I was in - why not have enjoy a whipped topping of drama alongside some entrepreneurial advice?
The book begins with a sad ascent - a little girl constantly being told by a vain and alcoholic mother that she's ugly and stupid, then being sent off to boarding school where she drifts vacantly through life like a zombie because her self-esteem is shot and she's painfully depressed.
All right, she's got my sympathy vote. Mellon gets right to it, and less than 70 pages in she's teaming up with a renowned London cobbler named Jimmy Choo to start a shoe line.
A few things worth noting about this straight away:
She used her father's wealth and connections to start her business
Much of Jimmy Choo Ltd's initial success had to do with Jimmy Choo's popularity in London society and the name recognition that he carried
So she had a lot of important elements handed to her, and goes on to complain often about Jimmy. She eventually buys him out and lands herself in hot water with far worse business partners.
The shoe that got Jimmy Choo its first shout-out on the TV show Sex and the City.
It was very interesting to see how fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants it is to start a luxury fashion brand and learn about the company's early days, as well as gain insight about the design process.
However, once that part is through Mellon spends the middle three-fifths of the book making herself out to be a victim. That is to say, a victim who vacations at St. Barts, has a car service, lives lavishly between New York and London, dates Christian Slater and complains that he was too simple for her because he took her to baseball games, where they serve hot dogs and Cracker Jacks (the horror!).
Due to all that, I found myself quickly souring in my opinion of Mellon - only to turn to the final few pages and find her pull one last-minute redemption card where she offers some excellent advice about navigating the business world as a naïve woman, based on her experiences, and discusses the bitter relationship between creative executives and "bean counters," aka the Finance Guys.
I identified a lot on her statements about creativity vs. finance due to things that I've been experiencing at my job.
I was also the customer I wanted to reach. I had an emotional connection to her tastes and dreams because I shared her tastes and dreams, page 45.
The private-equity mind-set is delusional...with it there's never an open dialogue between creative and financial. The exchange is always acrimonious, because it's always dominance, ego and control, page 259.
If I'd had an MBA when I started Jimmy Choo, I think it might have given me more confidence to shut down the unimaginative and short-sighted bean counters when they wanted to interfere with the creative process, page 259.
Unless you make your boundaries clear, as well as your needs and desires, the other guys can't possibly know. And bullies will be bullies, page 261.
Being blown back and forth by the winds of conflicting opinions will get you nowhere, page 264.
They say that when we reach our forties our life goals shift, with autonomy becoming the central issue. But at any age, being able to chart your own course rather than just responding to others' demands is a beautiful thing, page 265.
Was it worth the time I spent reading it?
Yes, definitely. It was refreshing that Mellon was able to teach some valuable business lessons without getting preachy. I hope I am able to remember the advice in this book and use it to my benefit in my own professional life.
I would put up a diva disclaimer - know that when you get between the covers of this book, you're about to hear a whole lotta rich girl problems.