Book Review: The Towering World of Jimmy Choo

The Towering World of Jimmy Choo: A Glamourous Story of Power, Profits, and the Pursuit fo the Perfect Shoe
by Lauren Goldstein Crowe & Sagra Maceira de Rosen
Bloomsbury Publishing, 211 pages

I can’t say exactly what I was expecting when I bought this book. Perhaps that I would learn the inside scoop on building a design business from nothing. Or about the intricacies of shoemaking. Maybe, at least, I would learn about the man behind the now infamous shoe.  

Unfortunately, this book left me none the wiser on any of these topics. 

Tamara Mellon

In actuality, the building of the Jimmy Choo empire lies almost entirely with the Mellon family and their extensive social connections. Ironically, Mr Jimmy Choo, and the label that carries his name, had a falling out early-on leaving him absent in the overall Jimmy Choo story. Instead, at the helm is London society It girl and entrepreneur Tamara Mellon.

Dry with mini-biographies, resumes and bios (nearly reporting what they ate for lunch) the book reads much like a who-you-know of the UK and international fashion industry. The fact that one of the authors is an investment banker explains much of the rambling.

The brand with all its glitz, polish and beauty leaves in its wake failed marriages, backstabbing boardroom tactics, families torn apart....and a man having sold the rights to his own name. It seems like an intriguing tale, how the authors managed to squeeze the life out of the drama escapes me. I wish the book lived up to its title. 

In all honesty, it was a struggle to read the entire book and I let out a WHOOP WHOOP when I turned the final page. 

I will admit, one thing I learned is that some brokerage firms deal exclusively in luxury goods investing and if I cared at all about the specifics involved in the ins-and-outs of buying, selling, merging and acquiring of businesses or the nitty-gritty of back room deals and handshakes on the golf course or polo field...then I could have recommended spending hard earned money on this tome. 

Rather, I say save your dollars and buy a great pair of shoes instead!

_______________________________________ Why not look your best every day?