Fashion tell-all is 'chic' lit, but a tad too lite

Agatha Belinda, Contributor, Jakarta

------------------------------------------------------ L.S.D.L.F (Lontong Sayur Dalam Lembaran Fashion) Syahmedi Dean, Gramedia Pustaka Utama, 2004 280 pp ------------------------------------------------

Since the dazzling phenomenon of novel-cum-TV-series Sex and the City, the world has been fixated on chick lit, a genre exploring cosmopolitan issues in a sassy, tongue-in-cheek style, often involving fashion-loving characters.

Now that the beloved HBO show has ended, women (of all kinds) and men (of certain kinds) are beginning to go through withdrawal.

While we may have said ciao to the four sexy girls hugging their Cosmopolitans (the drink) and dishing the dirt on sex, publishers and authors have been rushing out tell-all books -- titillating combination of a behind-the-scenes look at fashion media and tales of the city of rich young urbanites on the prowl -- as comfort.

These include The Devil Wears Prada (with juicy insights by an ex-personal assistant of U.S. Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour, Lauren Weisberger), Fashionistas by Lynn Messina, Trading Up (also by Sex and the City author Candace Bushnell), and Bergdorf Blondes, a love story set among uber-hip Park Avenue princesses (can anybody say Paris?) by U.S. Vogue contributing editor Plum Sykes.

First-time author Syahmedi Dean's L.S.D.L.F./Lontong Sayur Dalam Lembaran Fashion (Vegetables and Rice Cakes Inside the Layers of Fashion) is in the same vein of this "chic", not chick, lit. Dean, a respected fashion and beauty journalist who was formerly executive editor at Dewi magazine, offers his vast experience and the promise of a "look into his profession from an insider's point of view".

Indeed, the book proves to be just that: a mosaic portrait of Alif, a lifestyle executive editor at a top women's magazine called File in Jakarta. A sharp, beloved editor, Alif seems to know exactly what to say in every situation, even when dealing with ambitious modeling agencies intent on orbiting their charges into stardom.

But it's not all hunky-dory: Alif is having an office affair as an escape from his sour marriage, as well as dealing with a mysterious admirer who seems to be increasingly personal in her (or is it his?) missives.

Yet, even with a friendship borrowed straight from Sex in The City, L.S.D.L.F. feels as flat as a two-hour-old Cosmopolitan.

Dean does deserve praise for his attempt to engage readers by holding up the dirty laundry of the fashion/media industry for inspection. It's a brave effort in the tight-knit local fashion community, and his intimate knowledge, involvement and influence in the industry add substance to this book. Yet, these factors alone are hardly enough reason to justify L.S.D.L.F's raison d'etre.

Though seemingly interesting, most characters in the book -- including Alif -- are flat, undeveloped and simply forgettable. The tragically similar, one dimensional personalities and points of view between each character fail to establish any charismatic or sympathetic figures, but the most damage comes at the narrator's expense.

Alif seems almost too content with himself, without motivation, emotion or determination, leading to a lack of character struggles and real conflicts. Even the revelation of the unusual ending and a fact about Alif's past cannot rescue the story. By then, it is difficult to have empathy for the protagonist.

The thing about tell-all books and chick lit is that it is crucial that the telling is done with enough wit and sarcasm to generate much needed weight. Underneath all the brand names must- haves and, yes, beneath all the shallowness, usually lies some character development, connections between characters and the reader, objectives, conflicts, and finally some conviction -- not just a spinning of plot after plot.

As the first installment of a four-series collection, L.S.D.L.F. is a light introduction for those who want to know about the big bad buzz of the media/fashion business in Indonesia. It does contain nods to real fashion figures and institutions in cities like Jakarta, Paris and Milan, as well as detailed descriptions on the editorial process and responsibilities.

And it certainly leaves us curious about the next novel (a love story set during the fashion weeks in Europe) to learn more about Alif, beyond his Louis Vuitton bag and Panerai watch.