You don't need to flesh out characters, locations, situations if you cna just say what designer they are wearibng, who ate there last or a movie/TV special that covers it
No kidding. A little of it - as in, for instance, a character who obsesses on labels, or as a throwaway joke (I'm thinking of the "George looks good in Armani" scene from George of the Jungle) - might work, but in so many, yes, it's in place of any other character development.
Worse, there's nothing that's going to date a book faster than specifically naming designers. There will come a time when the readers are going "Prada? They wore that shit? BWAhahahahaha!"
And what really gets me is - look at the classic literature and see how LITTLE of that stuff there is in it. I haven't read Rebecca cover to cover yet, but I'm not seeing designer names. Sense and Sensibility? The occasional dress description, but never a fashion house. Because you can say as much by saying "She wore an expensive gown from the most fashionable dressmaker" without dropping names that will expire faster than fishbones left in the sun.
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No kidding. A little of it - as in, for instance, a character who obsesses on labels, or as a throwaway joke (I'm thinking of the "George looks good in Armani" scene from George of the Jungle) - might work, but in so many, yes, it's in place of any other character development.
Worse, there's nothing that's going to date a book faster than specifically naming designers. There will come a time when the readers are going "Prada? They wore that shit? BWAhahahahaha!"
And what really gets me is - look at the classic literature and see how LITTLE of that stuff there is in it. I haven't read Rebecca cover to cover yet, but I'm not seeing designer names. Sense and Sensibility? The occasional dress description, but never a fashion house. Because you can say as much by saying "She wore an expensive gown from the most fashionable dressmaker" without dropping names that will expire faster than fishbones left in the sun.