Editor's letter 25th October 2020: The one good thing about mean girls... Fashion Beauty Celebrity Health Life Relationships Horoscopes Food Interiors Travel Sign in Welcome!Log into your account Forgot your password? Password recovery Recover your password Search Sign in Welcome! Log into your account Forgot your password? Get help Password recovery Recover your password A password will be e-mailed to you. YOU Magazine Fashion Beauty Celebrity Health Life Relationships Horoscopes Food Interiors Travel Home Life Editor’ s letter The one good thing about mean girls… By You Magazine - October 25, 2020 In an undeniably bleak year, I’ve discovered one bottomless well of guilty pleasure. No, it’s not that dreadful Emily in Paris TV show that everyone (including our dear Elizabeth Day) but me is obsessed with. It’s the memoir Friends and Enemies by Barbara Amiel, wife of former media tycoon Conrad Black who was imprisoned for fraud and obstruction of justice. As a result they were shunned by their elite circle. While that was surely harrowing for them, she should take comfort in the fact that it’s been worth it for those of us who’ve devoured Barbara’s gloriously gossipy takedown of everyone who’s wronged them. What tickled me most are her tales of the schoolyard-style cruelties meted out by her high-society ‘friends’. It’s an extraordinary glimpse at a life where, apparently, insanely rich people believe wearing white is a lower-class faux pas and ‘patio jewellery’ is a normal way to describe a dress code. While most of us will never relate to Barbara’s rich-girl problems (so awkward when your friends have less money than you), we can all sympathise with the struggle against Mean Girls. I don’t believe, as Barbara does, that there’s no such thing as the sisterhood. But we’ve all met the bullies. A chat in my office has revealed they can strike at any time, and at any age. One of my most memorable experiences happened when I was 35. I took my newborn daughter to the weekly check-up clinic. I wheeled my pram into a room where three other women sat chatting but went silent the second I entered. I took my daughter out of the pram and she was dressed in pink – onesie, slippers, beanie, bib. (When you have a girl, everyone buys you pink!) After a few minutes one of the women smiled sweetly and said, ‘How old is he?’ A subtle, yet effective snake-strike of pure bitchery. My colleague Cath says, ‘I bought a holiday home in Italy and I’ve been shocked by the one-upmanship of some of the expats. I took one on a tour of (what I thought was) my gorgeous farmhouse. She touched my bath and said: “I don’t do plastic.’’’ Even our fashion director Shelly, the most stylish woman in any room, is not immune: ‘I’d splurged on a vintage cape and was wearing it with a favourite long black dress when a group of women on my train platform sidled up to me and asked if I’d forgotten my broomstick. I’m ashamed to say I went home and changed.’ It’s a comfort to know that even having millions in the bank won’t spare your ego in the face of petty meanness. Yet there’s something strangely enjoyable about comparing these battle scars (cat scratches?). So please do laugh/cry with me and tell me yours. Enjoy the issue. Perfect workday wear. Dress, £49.99, zara.com 100% of proceeds from this will go to Mothers2Mothers (m2m.org) Necklace, £45, racheljacksonlondon.com If it’s Bowie-related, I’ll take it. Print, £28, Fanclub, wolfandbadger.com RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR Everything we know about The Crown season 5 Aldi s exercise equipment is on sale with up to 50% off The best Halloween events for 2022 across the UK Popular in Life The You magazine team reveal their New Year s resolutions December 31, 2021 Susannah Taylor The TLC tools your body will love January 23, 2022 How to stop living in fear February 6, 2022 Susannah Taylor My pick of the fittest leggings February 27, 2022 Women’ s Prize for Fiction 2022 winner announced June 17, 2022 These BBC dramas are returning for a second series June 30, 2022 Susannah Taylor gives the lowdown on nature s little helper – CBD April 17, 2022 The baby names that are banned across the world April 27, 2022 The Queen has released her own emojis May 26, 2022 Sally Brompton horoscopes 27th June-3rd July 2022 June 26, 2022 Popular CategoriesFood2704Life2496Fashion2240Beauty1738Celebrity1261Interiors684 Sign up for YOUMail Thanks for subscribing Please check your email to confirm (If you don't see the email, check the spam box) Fashion Beauty Celebrity Life Food Privacy & Cookies T&C Copyright 2022 - YOU Magazine. All Rights Reserved