My Paris Dream

An Education in Style, Slang, and Seduction in the Great City on the Seine

By: Kate Betts

Narrated by: Kate Betts

A charming and insightful memoir about coming of age as a fashion journalist in 1980s Paris, by former Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar editor Kate Betts, the author of Everyday Icon: Michelle Obama and the Power of Style

“You can always come back,” my mother said. “Just go.”

As a young woman, Kate Betts nursed a dream of striking out on her own in a faraway place and becoming a glamorous foreign correspondent. After college—and not without trepidation—she took off for Paris, renting a room in the apartment of a young BCBG (bon chic, bon genre) family and throwing herself into the local culture. She was determined to master French slang, style, and savoir faire, and to find a job that would give her a reason to stay.

After a series of dues-paying jobs that seemed only to reinforce her outsider status, Kate’s hard work and willingness to take on any assignment paid off: Her writing and intrepid forays into la France Profonde—true France—caught the eye of John Fairchild, the mercurial fashion arbiter and publisher of Women’s Wear Daily, the industry’s bible. Kate’s earliest assignments—investigating the mineral water preferred by high society, chasing after a costumed band of wild boar hunters through the forests of Brittany—were a rough apprenticeship, but she was rewarded for her efforts and was initiated into the elite ranks of Mr. Fairchild’s trusted few who sat beside him in the front row and at private previews in the ateliers of the gods of French fashion.

From a woozy yet mesmerizing Yves Saint Laurent and the mischievous and commanding Karl Lagerfeld to the riotous, brilliant young guns who were rewriting all the rules—Martin Margiela, Helmut Lang, John Galliano—Betts gives us a view of what it was like to be an American girl, learning about herself, falling in love, and finding her tribe.

Kate Betts’s captivating memoir brings to life the enchantment of France—from the nightclubs of 1980s Paris where she learned to dance Le Rock, to the lavender fields of Provence and the grand spectacle of the Cour Carrée—and magically re-creates that moment in life when a young woman discovers who she’s meant to be.

©2015 Kate Betts (P)2015 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

“[A] glittering coming-of-age tale.”—Entertainment Weekly (The Must List)

“[Kate Betts] shares her coming-of-age in a self-assured book that should be given to every college senior with a Doisneau poster (or Chanel ad) on her wall. . . . Fashion and self-examination—froth and wisdom—might seem like odd bookfellows, but Betts brings them together with winning confidence. . . . Young worshipers of Paris—and of fashion magazines—are in for an education. Those of us who’ve been there and back will find it entertaining and sneakily poignant reading on the flight to Charles de Gaulle.”—The New York Times Book Review

“As light and refreshing as an ice cream cone from the legendary Berthillon, My Paris Dream evokes the sights, sounds, smells and styles of 1980s Paris.”—USA Today

Wonderful story.

Great story, beautifully narrated by the author. She uses words to brilliantly illustrate life in Paris to the reader’s eye, as well as the energy of the French people, and the global problems of the time. It’s a generational story, a fashion story, and most of all a woman with great intellect’s story. She’s vulnerable, brilliant, and you feel right there beside her.

Monotone.

I recently travelled to Paris and hungered for more. With such an exciting career, wonderful travels and friends, it's disappointing to listen to a story that sounds like it is being told by a bored New Yorker.

Loved every word!

Very entertaining and interesting! Loved the French too! Would love another by Kate Betts. Felt like I was in Paris too and could relate to the fashions of the times. #enchanting #absorbing #transporting #tagsgiving #sweepstakes

Interesting For Fashion Aficionados

Interesting story, but the author's reading is slow and makes her sound disinterested in her own life.

Sorry but narrator puts me to sleep

What did you like best about My Paris Dream? What did you like least?

That it was Paris and Parisian s

What was your reaction to the ending? (No spoilers please!)

I couldn't get there

How did the narrator detract from the book?

Bless her heart, I believe another narrator could have given this memoir some life.nHer monotone voice just put me to sleep. I hate to be harsh but being truthful.

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

Yes because of Paris

Great Read

An exceptionally well told story of a young Princeton graduate who makes it to the top of the French fashion scene. The author is the reader and you feel like you are having a personal conversation with her. Keep in mind it starts a little slow, builds momentum as the story unfolds.

Wonderful!!

Beautifully written! It transported me to Paris and my sweet memories of fashion in the 80s and 90s.