The Time-Traveling Fashionista by Bianca Turetsky

The Time-Traveling Fashionista
on board the Titanic
(The Time-Traveling Fashionista, Book #1)
by Bianca Turetsky

Genre: Contemporary Fiction | Time-Travel | Fantasy | Historic | Young Adult

What if a beautiful vintage dress could take you back in time?

Louise Lambert has always dreamed of movie starlets and exquisite gowns and longs for the day when she can fill the closet of her normal suburban home with stylish treasures. But when she receives a mysterious invitation to a vintage fashion sale in the mail, her once painfully average life is magically transformed into a time-travel adventure.

Suddenly on-board a luxurious cruise ship a hundred years ago, Louise relishes the glamorous life of this opulent era and slips into a life of secrets, drama, and decadence....

 

"Vintage is a way of wearing history, a means by which we can turn the past into the present, even the future. Through us old fashion lives again."

-Hilary Alexander, fashion director The Daily Telegraph

Louise, a twelve-year-old from Connecticut, is just your ordinary 7th grader--well as ordinary as any young lady who has a strong passion for vintage clothing, can name the top celebrities during Hollywood's Golden Age, and instantly recognizes her favorite fashion designers from lavish eras long-past. When an mysterious invitation arrives at her home that personally invites her to a Traveling Fashionista Vintage Sale, Louise eagerly jumps at the opportunity to find the perfect dress for her upcoming school dance. Hoping for something totally unique and very special, Louise is thrilled to try on her luxurious vintage discover to only find herself transported back in time to the year 1912 instead.

The dress made her gasp. It was the perfect powdery pink gown, a long, draped skirt that flowed out from an empire waist, intricately detailed with shimmery gold thread and tiny silver beads. It was delicate and feminine, and Louise knew that no one at Fairview Junior High would have anything like it. She quickly plucked it out of the closet and announced that she had found The One.

Now, unknowingly, on board the ill-fated Titanic voyage to New York City as seventeen-year-old Miss. Alice Baxter, Louise can actually experience her life-long fantasy of being a famous Old Hollywood actress while meeting such famous figures as Mr. Guggenheim and  Mrs. Astor. Her first-class treatment opens up a world of fashion opportunities that Louise could only dream of.  Yet, as more people begin to catch on to Miss. Baxter/Louise's unusual behaviors (ex. breaking customs to become friends with her maid, using modern terminology throughout her conversations, and an oddly eager appetite at dinner) and Louise, herself, discovers just which doomed ship she is currently on--a heart-thumping race to try to change history, figure out how to get back to her own time, and keep safe from the authorities who believe she is simultaneously deranged and a witch begins.

Louise stood at the railing and looked out at the expansive sea. For the first time in her life, the sight of water did not fill her with a feeling of freedom and excitement. She felt quite the opposite: trapped. She was stuck on a sinking ship in a life and body that were not hers.

This was an adorable read that kept me enchanted throughout. Louise was so mature and had such fascinating interests that it was difficult to believe she was only twelve. She was very level-headed about her adventure into the past and the family connection at the end of the book, in regards to her Titanic trip, was very clever. The overall moral of the tale was to appreciate what you have, for sometimes the grass isn't always greener on the other side.  All in all, an entertaining and fanciful story that offered some colorful insights into an unfortunate time in history for a younger audience. Regardless of your passion for days gone by, The Time-Traveling Fashionista is a trip to the past you will want to enjoy!

Review: Goodreads | Barnes & Noble | Shelfari | LibraryThing | Amazon

Likes: There are some wonderfully fun and very vibrant visual aids, twenty-five in all, scattered throughout the book, which I think is a rather fascinating way to read about the colorful fashions/styles and have the detailed imagery right there as well. Beautiful illustrations!!

Dislikes: The story was written for the younger-side of the Young-Adult genre, so it is rather simple and short. Plus, it is more of a fluff read than anything else. But, as frivolous as it is, this time-traveling tale would make a great end-of-summer beach read!

 

Chapter One/Paragraph One: "The invitation arrived on an ordinary Thursday. When Louise Lambert came home from swim practice that April afternoon, as she did every Thursday afternoon, it was lying on top of a pile of mail on the antique, oak hall table. She grabbed the lavender envelope on her way upstairs."

 

Favorite { Scene, Character or Setting }: Scene
     Anna helped her into the beautiful violet chiffon tea gown Louise had seen earlier in the steamer trunk. It was accentuated with a spray of hand-sewn green and raspberry pink silk flower that were so delicate the looked like they could only have been stitched by a doll's hands.

     "Oh my God, it's a Lucile," Louise whispered loudly while reading the pale green tag with black script lettering. "And it's in perfect condition."

     "It better be," Anna replied, smoothing the wrinkles out of the fabric with her hands. "You paid a pretty pound for it last week."

     "Oh right, it's new," Louise clarified quickly, realizing that in 1912 this would not be vintage.

     "She'll be thrilled to see you wearing it. You look absolutely radiant in her designs."

     "When I see her?" Louise asked, confused. "You mean Lucile is on this ship, too?"

     "Yes, don't you remember? Lady Duff-Gordon and Sir Cosmo are both on board. They are traveling to New York to open her first American Lucile shop," Anna answered patiently, as though she was speaking to a slow five-year-old.

     To her surprise, the dress fit Louise perfectly. It was like it was custom-made especially for her. "This is so cool," she breathed, excited.

      "Would you like me to warm the dress up for you?" Anna asked as she extended her arm, confused.

    

Online Preview: Book Trailer and Excerpt

   Book #2: September 18, 2012