Gucci and Dolce and Prada, oh my!

In a world where Vogue’s editor in chief is as powerful as the president of the United States, Julie K.L. Dam’s debut novel, “Some Like it Haute” gives those mesmerized by the glitteratti and couture fashion a place to indulge themselves.

Dam’s book is a behind-the-scenes look at one journalist’s adventure during Fashion Week in Paris. Written in main character Alex Simon’s voice, the book begins with our heroine in the middle of a frantic search for her beloved slingback Manolo Blahnik’s.

“Oh my God. Oh my God. Where were those shoes? Oh, God, not the Manolo’s!”

When Simons can’t find her find her shoes, she runs to the nearest couture fashion shoe store and runs into her old French teacher from Eastview High School in Dallas, Texas. With only minutes to spare before the Chanel fashion show starts, Simon jumps into a cab with new Christian Louboutin heels and races to the show.

While trying to find her seat at the show, Simon collides with one of the models on the catwalk. Mortified, she tries to brush it off as the paparazzi snap away.

Dam tries to make Simon out to be someone we could all be friends with. Giving Simon a southern background makes it seem like she’s just the sweetheart next door. Simon holds her head high after the runaway incident and laughs at herself. You can almost hear the embarrassment in her voice when her Texas drawl slips out every now and then.

But Dam also gives Simon a superficial side. How many girls-next-door do we know whose accessories rival those of Carrie Bradshaw from “Sex and the City”?

When Simon can’t find her Manolo’s to go with her Chanel skirt and jacket for the Chanel show, she has to wear, gasp, another designer! For this fashionista, that is unacceptable.

While “Some Like it Haute” is a page turner, you also can’t turn a page without seeing a designer mentioned. The designers are important to the story, but I would have liked more description of what happened with her love interest, Nick, then what shoes she was wearing while on her way to meet him.

Dam does a very good job of giving the reader an image of what Simon looks like strolling down the streets of Paris. From the “charcoal-gray tweed A-line skirt bought at a sample sale last season,” to the “perfectly Coco-esque black boiled-wool jacket with the delicate grosgrain trim,” Simon becomes an image of class and sophistication.

Overall, I enjoyed this crazed fashionista’s adventure in the center of the fashion world. The descriptions of Simon’s wardrobe are enough to make any fashion-savvy person green with envy.

For those who need place to fantasize about the world where the wrong purse can make or break you, “Some Like it Haute” is the ultimate accessory.