The Time-Traveling Fashionista

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 onboard 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. . . .

Dreamy and imaginative, The Time-Traveling Fashionista features thirty full-color fashion illustrations to show gorgeous dresses and styles throughout history.

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A letter from Cindy, Editor of The Time-Traveling Fashionista

Dear Reader,
Have you ever felt bored or restless and wished you were living someone else’s life? Imagine the possibilities, then, if you could slip on an exquisite vintage dress and fall back in time into the life of the person who wore the dress before you. A life of secrets, drama, and decadence . . .

In her debut young adult series, The Time-Traveling Fashionista, talented first-time author Bianca Turetsky introduces readers to seventh-grader Louise Lambert, who has always dreamed of movie starlets and magnificent gowns. Louise’s normal suburban life is magically transformed into a time-travel adventure when she receives a mysterious invitation to a vintage fashion sale in the mail, and suddenly finds herself on board a luxurious cruise ship in the early 1900s. Louise relishes the glamorous life of this opulent era—until she discovers that the cruise ship is the infamous Titanic.

Teenage girls’ interest in fashion and style has never been higher, as evidenced by the incredible success of the #1 top-rated television program for girls and women, America’s Next Top Model, as well as The City, on which the starring characters all have fashion internships or their own clothing lines. The enormous popularity of fashion-themed movies and shows, books, and influential blogs (many of which are written by teenagers themselves) prove this is what teenage girls are passionate about right now.

Dreamy, imaginative, and stylish, The Time-Traveling Fashionista will have readers filled with anticipation over whether Louise can save herself and change the course of history in the most notorious sea disaster ever. This is only the first of Louise’s decadent time-travel adventures; a second novel filled with the drama and sumptuous fashions during the Marie Antoinette era will follow in April 2012.

Thank you, and we hope you delight in this newest blossoming Poppy. . . .

Cindy Eagan
Executive Editorial Director
Poppy

A Q&A with Bianca Turetsky

1.) Your heroine, Louise Lambert, is unexpectedly whisked away on a time-travel adventure. If you could visit any period in history – where/when would you go?

Ooh, there’s so many! I’m now reading a new biography of Marilyn Monroe, so I am currently a bit obsessed with that period of Old-Hollywood glamour. The 50’s in California seemed pretty fabulous, and of course, I love all the fashion, particularly those iconic halter dresses!

2. Louise is a vintage fashion lover. Do you have a favorite piece of clothing, vintage or new?

When I was in Spain writing the second T-TF book, I went to this amazing vintage store and found a gorgeous long white tiered dress with handmade lace trim that looked like something Dolce and Gabbana made for last spring’s collection. The dress probably dates back to around 1910—just the period I wrote about in The Time-Traveling Fashionista. It fit me perfectly, and I got a bit of a chill when I tried it on, it just seemed like some sort of sign that I was exactly where I was supposed to be. The fabric is so delicate that I’m afraid to wear it out of my apartment, but I love it.

3. Is Louise inspired by anyone from your real life? Do you see parts of your own personality in Louise?

Louise definitely reminds me of myself at 12. Like Louise, I grew up an only child, with frizzy hair, braces, and an overactive imagination in a suburban CT town. I was also on a swim team. But Louise had far more exciting adventures than I did!

4. Can you tell us a little bit about your writing process? What sort of research went into writing The Time-Traveling Fashionista? How long have you been working on the book? How many drafts did it go through?

I got the idea for the book about 5 years ago when I was at a vintage store in New Haven and I tried on a beautiful pink party dress that belonged to a woman named Miss Baxter from Newport RI. And then I couldn’t forget about it, so I started writing Louise and Miss Baxter’s story for an hour each morning before I left for work. It was a LONG process, and went through many drafts, as my amazingly patient agent and editor can attest to. I did a lot of the research at my local library and online, and then a friend of mine who actually worked on the Titanic movie lent me a great illustrated book which was a huge help in learning about the layout of the ship and what it would have been like to actually be a passenger on it.

5. What do you hope readers will take away from the book? Any lessons to learn?

Marla and Glenda would probably like readers to remember that History lives with us in the present, so don’t forget the past. I guess another lesson you could take away, to quote Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz, there’s no place like home. But it still is fun to imagine!

6. Who do you envision playing Louise in a movie? How about Anna, and the others?

For Louise I think Elle Fanning would be great. She has a dreamy quality like Louise and a great sense of style and I loved her in Sofia Coppola’s last movie. Hailee Steinfeld would be amazing to play Anna. I mean she designed her own Marchesa dress for the Oscars, how cool is that? And in my mind Anna was always a secret Fashionista underneath her drab old-fashioned wool uniform.

For Marla and Glenda, I think the leading ladies from my favorite British comedy, Ab Fab, would be perfect, dahling.

7. What’s next from Bianca Turetsky?

Finishing up Book 2 ! Louise has another vintage inspired adventure on the horizon, which has forced me to brush up on my French (hint hint :)