The Fashion Princess Read online

  Contents

  Cover

  About the Book

  Title Page

  Dedication

  Map

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  About the Author

  Copyright

  About the Book

  Poppy and Saffron are at the New York Fashion Week. They’ve got an action-packed itinerary, including fashion shows and a city tour. But when Poppy finds the supermodel Tallulah Melage sobbing in a corner, she realizes that there’s a darker side to all the glitz.

  Join them on their adventure in the Big Apple and find out whether their homespun values and fabulous fashion sense triumph stateside.

  Princess Poppy

  The Fashion Princess

  written by Janey Louise Jones

  Illustrated by Samantha Chaffey

  For the real Berry Coleman

  and all independent thinkers

  Chapter One

  POPPY LOOKED THROUGH the aircraft window, desperate for her first peek of New York City. She could hardly believe what she saw, even though she had seen pictures in her guide book, the real thing was even more amazing. The needle-point skyscrapers looked like space rockets about to lift off, and there were masses of neon lights and thousands and thousands of cars driving through the busy streets in the early evening light. Everything looked twinkly. The view was completely alien to Poppy. She was used to the gentle rolling countryside around Honeypot Hill, where little cottages nestled cosily in the dales and the roads were almost empty of cars. She couldn’t wait to explore the city!

  Just then the captain announced that they should strap themselves in because the plane would be landing in ten minutes. As the plane descended, Poppy looked from her guide book to the window, trying to see whether she could spot some of the sights she had read about. What she really wanted to see was the Statue of Liberty. It looked so beautiful and she was fascinated by its history. Saffron had explained to her during the flight that the statue had been given to the Americans by the French in 1886 as a sign of friendship and to celebrate American independence.

  As they waited to get off the plane, Poppy admired the outfits of all the past them along the aisle.

  “Oh, look, Poppy. That’s Tallulah Melage, the famous supermodel,” whispered a star-struck Saffron, pointing to a tall, willowy girl with dark-blonde hair.

  Tallulah was wearing a white raincoat tightly belted round her waist, with a hot pink scarf at her swan-like neck. Her long hair was tied in a loose ponytail and she had dark glasses propped up on her head.

  Poppy gasped. “A real model! Wow! She’s really, really beautiful.”

  “I know,” agreed Saffron, “and she’s so incredibly stylish too. I can’t believe we’ve seen her up close rather than just in a magazine – she looks even better in real life!”

  “We haven’t even got off the plane yet and we’ve seen a real life supermodel,” laughed Poppy. “This trip is going to be amazing. I’m going to have so many cool stories to tell Honey and the other girls at school.”

  “We’re going to see a lot of beautiful people and exciting clothes over the next few days. It’s going to be great,” said Saffron, squeezing her little cousin’s hand and leading her along the aisle. “Come on now. Time to taste the Big Apple!”

  Poppy recognized the nickname for New York from her guide book. She smiled, grabbed her lilac backpack and followed Saffron.

  Saffron had won two tickets to New York Spring Fashion Week when her shop was chosen by Buttons and Bows magazine as the Best Clothes Shop in the area. And because Poppy had helped her win the prize by being so helpful to the mystery shopper, who actually turned out to be Bryony Snow, the fashion journalist, Saffron decided to take Poppy on the trip with her.

  “I can’t wait to see Bryony Snow again!” said Poppy as they waited for their bags to come round on the conveyor belt. “I still can’t believe she chose us as the winners – especially me. After all, I was only helping out in your shop for the day!”

  “I know, Poppy, but you made a very good impression on Bryony,” replied Saffron. “It was mainly because of you that my little shop won.”

  Poppy smiled proudly as they collected their bags and placed them on a trolley. They breezed through passport control and customs and made their way towards the taxi rank. Their New York adventure was really beginning!

  “Wow! Bright yellow cabs! I’ve only ever seen these in movies!” said Poppy.

  “Central Park Plaza, please,” said Saffron as the driver loaded their bags into the car and the girls climbed into the back seat.

  Soon they were whizzing through the dusky streets of New York. Poppy gasped at the height of the buildings and the buzz of people returning home from work along the broad pavements – or sidewalks, as they called them.

  After what seemed like no time at all, their taxi pulled over. Poppy looked out of the window to see a magnificent hotel entrance with huge revolving glass doors, lots of plants and shrubs and a vast royal-blue canvas awning. THE CENTRAL PARK PLAZA HOTEL. They’d arrived!

  Poppy and Saffron got out of the taxi and thanked and paid the driver; their luggage was immediately whisked off into the lobby. The cousins were due to meet Bryony Snow in the hotel restaurant in half an hour, so they had just enough time to check in, have their luggage taken to their room and freshen up in one of the hotel’s amazing powder rooms.

  Poppy looked around at all the smart and sophisticated people, as well as lots of gorgeous girls, all dressed up in amazing outfits with fabulous accessories. She thought they were probably in town for Fashion Week just like her and Saffron. Even though there were some quite glamorous ladies in Honeypot Hill, especially at the Beehive Beauty Salon, Poppy had never seen so many fashionable people all in one place before.

  They made their way to the grand Park View restaurant, which was on the tenth floor. The dining room was spectacular. It was filled with round tables, all laid with white tablecloths and silver cutlery, as well as flickering candles. There were sweet-smelling white lilies in clear glass vases all around the room, and the huge windows gave them a magnificent view of Central Park. They settled down at their table and ordered a fruit smoothie each. Just as their drinks arrived, Bryony Snow and a striking younger girl burst through the doors.

  Bryony was all smiles, shopping bags and apologies.

  “I’m so sorry I’m late. There was a sale at Barney’s today, and we popped in after the shows and, well, you know how it is . . .” she explained with a cheeky grin.

  Poppy looked at the pretty girl at Bryony’s side. Although her face slightly resembled Bryony’s, she was very distinctive looking in her own right.

  Bryony turned to her. “Oh, I haven’t introduced my baby sister, have I? How rude of me! Saffron Sage, Poppy Cotton, please meet Berry!”

  Chapter Two

  BERRY WASN’T EXACTLY a baby. She was older than Poppy – probably about the same age as Poppy’s cousin Daisy – and looked very cool. She had spirals of long, wild red hair, big brown eyes which looked kind and friendly, and very pale, porcelain skin with a delicate sprinkling of freckles. Poppy thought she looked like she would be great fun.

  “Hi, Berry,” said Saffron. “How amazing, coming on a trip with your big sister!”

  “I know. I’m really lucky,” agreed Berry. “Even if Bryony does get me to carry all the heavy bags!”

  Everyone laughed.

  “And is this Princess Poppy h
ere?” asked Berry kindly.

  Poppy nodded shyly. She absolutely worshipped older girls and felt very uncool compared to Berry. But Berry smiled so warmly that Poppy knew they were going to be firm friends.

  “Let’s order some dinner, shall we?” suggested Bryony. “You must be famished after hours of disgusting aeroplane food.”

  Poppy nodded and looked down at her menu. She didn’t want to admit that she absolutely adored the dinky little aeroplane meals, although she was definitely hungry.

  Once they had ordered from the extensive and somewhat complicated menu, they settled down to getting to know one another properly.

  “We’ve been here for a few days already – lucky it’s half term, isn’t it?” said Bryony. “I’ve been going to some of the warm-up shows and doing a few interviews for the magazine – as well as shopping. I’m going to be exhausted by the end of the week at this rate – and bankrupt. Anyway, enough about me! Why don’t I let you know what your schedule for the whole trip looks like? Oh, and I should warn you, my little brother, Orlando, is with us too. He’s having a swimming lesson just now in the hotel pool.”

  “I’ll tell you a little bit about Orlando so that it’s not such a nasty surprise when he does turn up!” said Berry. “Let’s see now. He’s a little creep with a passion for spiders and worms – and putting them in girls’ beds. He specializes in wrestling and making Formula One car noises. He hardly ever reads proper books but talks non-stop about superheroes. He’s always just slightly grubby and only eats chicken, cheese or chocolate. He’s an expert on the solar system and has been known to dip dog biscuits in chocolate spread as a snack. But otherwise he’s adorable and you’ll just love him!” she concluded, dripping with sarcasm.

  Poppy’s face dropped. “Is there anything good about Orlando?” she asked.

  “He’s away doing sport a lot?” offered Berry. “And he always has a spare square of chocolate when you get the munchies. Even if it is stuck to bubble-gum and whatever else he’s got at the bottom of his bag!”

  Poppy smiled. In a funny way, she couldn’t wait to meet Orlando. Surely he couldn’t be that bad!

  Bryony passed Saffron an information sheet about the trip: they had an absolutely packed schedule.

  “I don’t think I’ve brought enough pretty clothes with me for all these things,” worried Poppy, feeling both nervous and excited about the week ahead.

  “Don’t worry, sweetheart,” said Saffron. “I’ve brought lots of accessories with me – I’m sure we’ll work out excellent outfits for everything.”

  “You’ll look just great, Poppy,” said Berry. “Plus you can borrow some of my stuff if it fits. My sister gets loads of freebies to try to make her write nice things about the designers, and if the clothes are too small for her, she gives them to me!”

  “Wow, that’s really amazing. You’re so lucky!” replied Poppy, wishing that she had a big sister like Bryony.

  Bryony had lots of glossy magazines with her, including, of course, several issues of Buttons and Bows, and while they waited for their food to arrive, she showed everyone the sorts of designs they would be seeing and which fabulous new designers to watch out for.

  “You know what’s really ‘in’ just now?” Bryony told them. “A bit of a sailor theme with a splash of vibrant citrus. Sounds vile, yeah? But it works sooooo well! In fashion, we’re always one whole season ahead, so even though it’s springtime just now, here in New York we’re looking at the autumn/winter collections. Some of the new themes are just to die for. Especially Ned Carew’s stuff. His ideas are at the forefront of haute couture. Shabby-chic meets structured, with a hint of sci-fi – which is, you know, so innovative. And his muse is the most gorgeous of all the supermodels, Tallulah Melage.”

  “We saw her on our flight!” said Poppy excitedly, suddenly feeling very involved in the conversation. “She looked amazing – even prettier than she does in the magazines!”

  Berry’s eyes shone. “Wow, I’d love to see Tallulah in the flesh. She makes everything she wears look so good. But the thing about Ned Carew’s designs is that they are so ridiculous – just like fancy dress. You could never wear any of his stuff in real life.”

  Bryony pulled a face. “But that’s the whole point of haute couture, little sister,” she said, feeling defensive about Ned Carew – she admired him so much and had achieved a real scoop by securing an interview with him for the next morning. “Anyway, it’s my job to follow new trends. Ah – here are our starters. Dig in, everyone.”

  Chapter Three

  POPPY SIMPLY ADORED clothes and fashion – it was so cool that there was a whole week devoted to them and that she was here! As she waited for her main course to arrive, she flicked though the programme for Fashion Week. She was very taken with the pictures she saw – of models, designers and celebrities. Meanwhile Saffron, who had studied art and fashion at college, was absolutely loving all the fashion chat. She made a mental note of everything she had seen in Bryony’s selection of glossy magazines and resolved to give herself a whole new look while they were in New York. She couldn’t wait to try out some of her ideas.

  “Watch out, everybody, here comes Orlando!” said Bryony, looking over at the restaurant doorway.

  Poppy turned round to see a very scruffy and cheeky-looking boy coming towards them, with wet hair and a sports bag slung over his shoulder. He had red hair like Berry’s, with a cute dusting of freckles too.

  “I’m starving!” said Orlando, by way of introduction.

  “Well, what would you like?” asked Bryony.

  “Same as usual?” suggested Orlando, taking a seat.

  “And aren’t you going to say hello to our guests?” scolded Bryony.

  He mumbled “Hi” and then started rummaging in his bag.

  When the delicious main course of warm bread, pasta in tomato sauce, herb-coated corn-fed chicken and rocket salad arrived, Poppy was amazed to see another plate arrive specially for Orlando. A whole pile of chunky chips were served with melted cheese, and on the side of the plate was a small dipping bowl of hot chocolate sauce.

  “That is gross, monster!” commented Berry, dying with embarrassment. Her brother’s strange habits hadn’t seemed so bad on the two previous evenings, when they’d had no guests, but they made her cringe now.

  Poppy and Saffron smiled.

  After a scrumptious dessert of raspberry double-cream ice with shortcake, they all decided it was time to go to bed. It had been a long day, especially for Poppy and Saffron.

  They said goodnight and arranged to meet in the lobby the following morning. Bryony, Berry and Orlando went to order a movie to be delivered to their room, while Poppy and Saffron stepped into a huge elevator and headed for their room on the twenty-fifth floor. They seemed to go up and up for ever and Poppy was quite sure that they were going to burst through the top of the building into the sky. She had never been in such a tall building before.

  When Saffron pushed open the door to their room, Poppy could hardly believe her eyes. It smelled wonderful, as if someone had been burning fragrant candles. The carpet was super soft and velvety pink – Poppy couldn’t wait to see what it would feel like on her bare feet. The beds were vast and luxurious, with pure white sheets and pretty lavender silk quilts on top. Even though the Hedgerows Hotel in Honeypot Hill was very pretty, it was nothing like this. This was much more spectacular. There were fresh pink roses in glass bowls and the furniture was in the French style, with ornate gold carvings. The curtains were a deep violet-purple with a fleur-de-lis design embossed over chintz. As for the toiletries in the bathroom, it was like a perfume store!

  Saffron was itching to explore their surroundings.

  “Come and see the view, Poppy!” she exclaimed, stepping onto their enormous balcony, which overlooked Central Park. “This view is amazing. I can’t believe that we’re in one of the most exciting cities in the whole world. We’re going to have a ball.”

  Poppy smiled in agreement, mesmerized by th
e size of the city and all the lights as well as by their hectic, exciting schedule for next few days. But soon she was deep in thought, already trying to decide what to wear the next day.

  In the morning, Poppy laid all her wash things out in the huge bathroom – she absolutely loved staying in hotels because everything was so luxurious. Lily Ann Peach from the Beehive Beauty Salon had given her lavender bubble bath, orange-zest body scrub, rose-water moisturizer and safflower lip balm, but Poppy was determined to try out the amazing-looking products supplied by the hotel. She pinned her hair up on top of her head as she set about getting ready for her first day at New York Fashion Week.

  After washing and trying out all the potions, then brushing her hair, Poppy decided to wear pink pedal-pushers, with a pretty white cotton top covered in silver stars. She finished her outfit off with silver ankle-strap sandals, complete with a matching shoulder bag. She put her long blonde hair in bunches, with pink poppy baubles securing each bunch, sprayed herself liberally with the gorgeous hotel perfume, Fleur, then flicked through the programme again as she waited for Saffron to get ready.

  Saffron was taking absolutely ages in the bathroom, and what a surprise Poppy got when she emerged.

  “I’m ready! What do you think of my new look?” asked Saffron, with a twirl.

  Poppy was lost for words, which was most unlike her. Saffron usually dressed so beautifully and simply in jewel-coloured cottons and linens with an ethnic, natural twist, but today she was dressed like a gothic bride from a scary movie. She was wearing an ankle-length black dress, a grey top hat and fingerless lace gloves. She had applied very heavy dark eye make-up and plum-coloured lipstick. Her hair was back-combed into a high bouffant and sprayed with so much hairspray even a hurricane wouldn’t move it. The hat sat at a jaunty angle on top of the candyfloss hair confection. Poppy thought her cousin had gone completely mad.