It

by Alexa Chung

With influences that range from Jane Birkin to Mick Jagger, Alexa Chung is a unique fashion icon. Her first book, It, provides her legion of fans with a long-awaited inside look at her world. A truly one-off collection of Alexa's personal writings, drawings and photographs, It covers everything from her thoughts on life, love and music to her favourite looks and how to decide what to wear in the morning. With wit, charm and a refreshingly down-to-earth attitude, this gorgeously designed full-colour book is a must-have for anyone who loves fashion, music and just about everything Alexa Chung.

Genres: Nonfiction, Fashion, Memoir, Art, Biography, Contemporary, Coffee Table Books

192 pages, Paperback

First published September 5, 2013

About the author

Alexa Chung is a model and the co-host of the daily music television programme Fuse News, airing in the US. She is also a contributing editor to British Vogue. The recipient of numerous style awards, Alexa has won the prestigious British Style Award (voted for by the public) three years in a row. She currently lives in New York City.

Reviews

[Lisa · Rating 1 out of 5]

I literally read this book in 7 minutes while standing in the biography section of B&N. I have never in my life read anything so ridiculous, pointless, and inane as this "book". This is what it is: "selfies" of Alexa Chung, clothed and unclothed, with the most idiotic "musings" on every few pages. Such things as, and I paraphrase, but I assure you I'm not far off: 'My favorite book is Lolita (of course it is) and here's why: blah, blah, blah. I love Natalie Portman in such-and-such a movie (no surprise there) because blah, blah, blah.' It was beyond stupid. I cannot believe this woman lives in a world where she can create this pathetic self-worship, have it published, and have it purchased. Really, really bad.

[Sofía · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really, really wanted to like this book. I enjoy fashion, and I enjoy Alexa Chung. I mean, I think she's funny, she's good at what she does (i.e.: being there when they need cool people to be there, wearing clothes and just talking about whatever.) However, and even though I didn't have any high expectations when buying the book (yes, I BOUGHT it), I still expected something totally different from this.
'It' kind of reads like a diary, kind of not. It'd read like a diary if you patronized a diary and made it feel a little stupid when reading it. My main problem with it is that I just feel like it is so unnecessary. This is basically the tumblr of a hipster girl, all printed out and ready to go. I read this in a half-hour sitting because there is literally nothing to read. When going through other people's takes and reviews of this book, they talk about it like it's some kind style bible and it made choosing their clothes in the morning so much easier, when in fact her 'style advice' is just so vague it's basically impossible to do anything with it.
I probably made this sound way worse than it actually is, but the fact is, it just isn't great. I liked some of it, the pictures were nice, and Alexa is witty and was able to keep your attention, but keep it on what? There's no plot or conducting element throughout the whole book. The thing that seems to be 'hey, Alexa Chung wrote this bunch of anecdotes or just really some stuff that isn't relevant to you so go read it and pay for it.'
I still like Alexa, I do, I just don't understand why she'd do this. It seems like a loss of her time and ours.

[Natalie · Rating 3 out of 5]

“You know what you like, so follow your gut.”

I love photographs, and I also recently discovered my love for memoirs (thanks to I'm Supposed to Protect You from All This by Nadja Spiegelman), so this book came at the perfect time for me to read and enjoy.

It covers everything from Alexa Chung's thoughts on life, love and music to her favourite looks and how to decide what to wear in the morning. There’s also talk of first favorites— varying from clothes to anthems to movies… and, of course, featuring gorgeous pictures and illustrations. The images honesty made this book for me.











(I think the above picture remained my favorite.)












All these images managed to capture beauty, style, and essence. "Yet my appetite for more, more, more rages on unabated."

I thought going into this that it was going to sound semi-pretentious, but I - for the most part - really liked Alexa Chung’s writing voice. She's definitely a unique fashion icon.

All in all, I would say that I enjoyed the vibe this book gave off, but there were some problematic sayings that made me lower my rating.

*Note: I'm an Amazon Affiliate. If you're interested in buying It, just click on the image below to go through my link. I'll make a small commission!*


This review and more can be found on my blog.

[Jen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm just going to say it - I love Alexa Chung. I think she sells herself short way too often just to appease all of her haters. I really do think that she is quite stylish, very witty, and charmingly talented. People really do not give her enough credit!

One thing about her that is so refreshing is that she never hesitates to downplay her accomplishments and fame. Though people love to break her down, I think that she is actually very humble. She has, on more than one occasion, referred to herself as "nothing" or a "blob" who is baffled by her rise to fame, and she gives credit where credit is due ("I just copied Kate Moss/Jane Birkin/Lou Dillon blahblahblah")

Of course this wasn't meant to be some devastatingly amazing piece of fine literary work. It is a reflection of who she is as a normal girl who just so happens to be an oft-Tumbl'd style icon.

I really don't understand all of the negative reviews. I mean, what were you expecting? She said so herself that this book was more of a side project in which she would babble about nothing in particular - a journal of sorts. Reviewers are complaining that "this is just a journal"... um, yea. Exactly.

Whatever. I enjoyed it!

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Goodness, I've held onto this book for several years and now just read it in about 30 minutes while putting off doing my laundry (which I'm continuing to put off by writing this review).

This is a great little coffee table book. It's a scattered, inane sort of account by Alexa Chung of all her favourite style icons with photographs, doodles, and a few things she's learned over the years mixed in. IT'S NOT A MEMOIR. It resembles a scrapbook combined with diary entries. Some reviewers appear to be morally offended that there isn't more substance to It but I don't see any reason not to enjoy this book if you know what you're getting into. An interest in style, fashion, and Alexa herself would probably help as well.

Overall really quite funny and heart-warming. I related well to Alexa's anecdotes even though we have entirely different styles. It feels like conversation with a good friend.

[persephone ☾ · Rating 1 out of 5]

this was so bad lmao
who is responsible for the publication of this book ? i want to have a little talk with them 🤨

[Dave Schaafsma · Rating 1 out of 5]

I picked this up as I was leaving the library because I thought it might be interesting as I teach multi-genre research papers, a kind of pastiche style, and I am always looking for good models and there was one that might be HIP! though it just at a glance looked ridiculously awful and I don't even know who Alexa Chung is (she's a model, I find out, but…) and fashion is something I don't care about. And it IS bad, random, scattered, just a kind of middle school girl thrown together type fashion book of cool "looks" journaled in a kind of middle school girl way, and pictures of Alexa clothed, high naked, with drunk friends who rage with her and just laugh because they have so much money and are, like, 24, and I am, like, this English professor, for godsake, and SO NOT the target audience for this little bit of fluff, so with such low expectations, and actually WANTING to hate it, so I could write a deliciously trashy review, I actually read it all and damn it kind of enjoyed it in a way, because it was so nothing. I mean: You have to just pick up trash and read it once in a while! You can't read Anna Karenina and Gravity's Rainbow every day, dudes! Come on!

[Domi Baumgartner · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 - it didn't disappoint me even though I expected a little more. I'm sure not everyone would like it, tho. It's more of a diary/notebook kind of book. Full of pictures and thoughts on fashion, style, life and relationships - just like a random collection of excerpts from a diary.

[Teresithia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh, how I miss being 13 and reading and studying this book as if it was the Bible hoping that someday I'll be an it girl like the late 2000s/early 2010s Alexa Chung, and then crying reading the only 2 pages she wrote about her breakup with Alex Turner thinking it was the deepest shit I'd ever read.

[Blair · Rating 3 out of 5]

I only took this out of the library because I've heard several times that it's absolutely terrible, and I was curious. I quite like Alexa Chung, largely based on her style - I don't think I've ever seen her presenting anything - but that's probably the way most people think about her, hence the publication of this scrapbook-cum-style-guide rather than an autobiography. It is a combination of irreverent commentary, fashion advice, photography and illustrations, mixed with autobiographical anecdotes. And... it's quite a nice, enjoyable, amusing book. I don't know exactly what it is people were expecting that's made so many so irritated with this - did they think Chung was going to write a detailed step-by-step guide on how to replicate her life and wardrobe? It's exactly what I would have expected it to be, and although it is a very quick read and probably more something you'd buy as a gift than get yourself, I didn't think it was disappointing (although, to be fair, my expectations were low). It may indeed be quite pointless, but there's nothing wrong with that now and again, and if I'm reading a style book by a celebrity then I don't want it to be challenging anyway.

[Rose · Rating 1 out of 5]

I read this in less than 2 hours and those 2 hours were wasted. I saw this pretty hardcover sitting on my friend's bookshelf and asked her if I could borrow it, not really knowing anything much about Alexa Chung beforehand but being none the wiser after reading her kind of memoir (?). I'm confused as to what exactly this book is supposed to be, considering it feels like random ramblings about stuff Chung likes and collages of pictures she (I guess?) likes as well that might be better off as a Tumblr blog instead of a printed book. It just feels like a lot of high quality paper was wasted on this but that's just my opinion.

I'd recommend this to Chung fans who are curious about what kind of movies/celebrities/fashion she likes, though I'd recommend going into it not expecting too much. Although I wasn't impressed with this book, at least it was a super quick read that helped me catch up on my Reading Challenge before the year ends.

[leynes · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book is a piece of shit. Sorry I can't put it differently. So overpriced!

What you get are poorly written excerpts of word vomit by Alexa Chung that don't give you any insight into her life/ her style/ or anything of interest AND on top of that some shitty hipster pictures (in all honesty my personal tumblr has better inspo pics).

This book won't take you half an hour to read and afterwards you won't have gained anything and in a month you'll have forgotten everything because it was just so pointless. Such a waste of money!

[Sian · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is very pretty, and I am regretting that I got it out of the library rather than buy a copy. It's like a scrapbook with lots of images (of Chung and of her style icons)and kind of cute and funny text too. I love all her style icons - winona ryder, Jane Birkin, Edie Sedgewick, Mick Jagger and others -and she also has helpful suggestions about make up, heartbreak and what to do when you are front row of a fashion show.

[ja’net · Rating 4 out of 5]

part photobook, part memoir, part how-to guide, part honorable mentions—this book isn’t just random blurbs about what it takes to be an it girl, but about how the outside influences we face in our youth and adolescence (film, books, television, music, etc.) shape who we are, inside and out.


i remember seeing this book everywhere during the 2012-2014 pale grunge american apparel skins arctic monkeys lana del rey era of tumblr when i was a teenager and i never read it; recently, i found myself reading valley of the dolls (another book popular during this era due to the chick-lit resurgence of the 2010s, its icon status as the ‘cool girl’ novel of the century, and its aesthetic cover that was made for future girlbloggers) and falling back into using tumblr and feeling very nostalgic for my teen years and i found myself buying this book on ebay (next is gonna be sofia coppola archive, need that-)


the reviews for this book is a bit harsh, in my opinion! of course there’s not much going on—it’s a scrapbook-styled self help book for girls who are into what is considered more frivolous things like makeup, fashion, movies, and boys. it’s the idea that it was written and curated by alexa chung, the it girl of the 2010s, as a love letter and guide to the it girls who made her who she was and what they did to become those girls. this is my women’s history book this month and i don’t care if i don’t get the achievement for it-

[E · Rating 5 out of 5]

the girls that get it, get it.

[Laura · Rating 2 out of 5]

I used to look at this longingly in Urban Outfitters when I was a teen. It’s so pink and pretty with the cloth bound cover. I didn’t know who Alexa Chung was, I just wanted to possess it but it was 30 dollars. I saw this at work and decided I will read it for my 16 year old self at the age of 26. It was so stupid. Idk why I never just read it in the store, I think I thought it was an actual book but it doesn’t take more than 30 min to read. I’m very glad I did not spend 30 dollars of my hard earned babysitting money bc this was a bunch of nothing! It was just a series of tumblr posts interspersed with tumblr pictures. The early 2010s are not quite far away enough to have the nostalgia veneer on them yet, though I do think it’s coming soon given the 2014 tumblr fashion nostalgia TikToks I’ve seen. I probably have some of that stuff laying around, let’s bring back Litas. I never got any last go around.

I didn’t come away from this knowing anything about her. Nor was there any good advice for style. She just lists her influences which are all painfully “of course”. Lolita is her favorite book. I also read Lolita in 2013 when I was 16 and obsessed with Lana Del Rey. I still think that book is good and I still love Lana. I really wonder how my 16 year old self would have responded to this, I think/hope I would have still found it vapid because there is really no substance here, but I am maybe giving baby me too much credit! I didn’t really have any critical thinking skills back then so idk. I would’ve been like, wow, glamorous, and then made sure to take notes.

You could never make this today, people would say it’s racist. I’m kinda joking it’s not that serious but her favorite influences are Woody Allen movies, The Talking Heads, Wes Anderson, aforementioned Lolita, Brigette Bardot, Anna Karina, and Twiggy. This is such a relic.

She’s also so obsessed with gender?? She’s always saying how much she’s striving for femininity but at her core wants to wear dinosaur shirts and be a tomboy and dress like a boy but be a girl… hm… It is interesting to think how these feelings would manifest if she were born at a diff time. But again it doesn’t seem that deep, more than anything she’s just being “I’m not like other girls”. “I’ll always prefer a girl in an oversized t shirt as opposed to an undersized boob tube but that’s because I’m a girl, or a tomboy, and not a boy. I’m confusing myself so I’ll end this here”.

The things deemed worthy of being stand alone in huge italicized center aligned letters make no sense lol. There's a hilarious contrast between how little they say and how grand the presentation is. It reminds me of that Kate Hudson pic from a magazine interview that was like "I have a passion for DOING things. I want to DO stuff." There's no rhyme or reason to the arrangement of the paragraphs or quotes or photos beyond an overall aesthetic. I grew up reading those Amelia books published by American Girl, so I really love scrapbook style books like this but I think the problem is she doesn’t come across as an interesting person so it’s not very interesting to look through her scrapbook/journal/moodboard/tumblr!! There’s no juicy secrets or salaciousness whatsoever.

But anyway it’s weird to be so critical because it is for teens from a specific time and even when I try to get myself in the mindset of the time period/ age regression I can’t do it! It was just silly! In my mind Tumblr had much better content than this, but I’m sure if I actually went and looked at my Tumblr (or that one outfit website! What was that website? It was like mood boards but for outfits and people would post their outfits omfg what was it called does anyone remember????) from these years I would be dismayed at what I would find.

[a dog who learned to read · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is such an interesting cultural object lol, I remember when it came out and it was a bit of a hot item (I wasn't interested because I figured that it would probably not be relatable to me, or that it would be vapid). I read it on a whim when the curiosity finally hit me in 2023 after I saw someone mention it, and I thought, yeah ok, I guess I'm nostalgic about something that's going on here.

Anyway, it's very short and kind of reads like a few months of someone's Tumblr blog, way more than I expected, so it turned out to be very nostalgic feeling indeed. I like her absolute normie Tumblr blogger energy. She truly gave us nothing, and in a way that in itself is iconic. I wasn't exactly this type of girl (the Stanley Kubrick's Lolita Ana Karina Brigitte Bardot posting babydoll soft grunge tights under shorts type), but I was a Tumblr user enough that there is a little bit of a magical feeling flipping through this thing.

Alexa, if you're reading this, contact me and I will send you an old eyeliner and an Instax Mini photo of a man's legs.

[Paige · Rating 1 out of 5]

Quite possibly the weirdest thing I've ever read. It was a lot of word vomit and random pictures thrown in that made me think of Tumblr and those quirky blogs of troubled teens who think they're special (news flash, you're like everyone else). I usually have a lot of respect for models and other people in the fashion industry, but this was just so...weird. So glad I didn't spend any money on this and just picked it up from the library. Literally finished it in 20 minutes, and won't be reading it again.

[rebecca ☂ · Rating 1 out of 5]

though i'm still a slave to the Aesthetic™️, after 'rereading' this (not counting though cause it's basically just a glorified, dragged out and unnecessary blog post) i have no idea how 13 yr old becca actually LIKED this dull trainwreck

[Andy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Clearly not a complexly put together novel or a young adult series by far, but this book gave me exactly what I wanted.

Extremely entertaining and rather hilarious, as well as informative and almost guidebook-ish, what more could you want?

This is a book I rated four stars not for the quality of the literature, but for the fact that I'd pick it up and flip it open to a random page if I had a spare five minutes.

The photographs and artwork were also beautiful.

[Sara Hughes]

i have no clue how to rate this because it’s just tumblr style musings of a vapid superficial girl turned into a book but still written like most indie sleaze culture a decade ago. but i also kinda loved it for the nostalgia of it all, and i legit love a lot of her clothes. the eye rolls i had throughout, though — there’s no way she’s not embarrassed of most of this now

[Nina Marcineková]

Ooh, it took me like 20 minutes to read It. I remember wanting this book so bad when I was 14. It was really funny to look back at all the (shallow) stuff I used to be obsessed with. Luckily, I never did spend my money on It. Here is the main takeaway: There is a fine line between an it-girl and a pick me-girl.

[Ljiljana Šipragić · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lijepa je.

Koncept, fotke, pokoji zanimljiv komentar i savjet koji daje, pokoja duhovita opaska, mali insight u svijet mode i muzike.

Ništa više od toga.

Ali je zbog toga skroz lijepa.

[grace · Rating 2.5 out of 5]

this book is not good but she’s iconic so i forgive her

[Annie Pontarelli · Rating 1 out of 5]

too many boobs for the car dealership waiting room

[Rhianna · Rating 5 out of 5]

alexa chung really is the IT girl

[Sahar Awais · Rating 2 out of 5]

i probably would’ve given this 5 stars if i read it when i was 13

[jess ౨ৎ ⋆｡˚ (alex turners version) · Rating 5 out of 5]

ily alexa chung u queen

[Charlotte Wenthur · Rating 5 out of 5]

finished it in less than 24 hours because Alexa Chung is her.

[Molly Forrest · Rating 1 out of 5]

Thanking god that I consumed this with a fully developed frontal cortex