While not hot off the presses, this 2011 novel by Isabel Wolff has a little bit of everything that keeps it fresh. Part “contemporary women’s fiction” as a friend recently said (I love the dressing up of “chic lit,” as though the industry got tired of it’s sweatpants and needed to legitimize itself a little more, but nonetheless…) Part history lesson, part Vogue editorial, it is a wonderful novel. When reading the reviews on the back of the book, you can’t help but put it in your library pile for check out. It really is a feel good story you don’t want to put down. I read it in two days, and that’s only because I had to go to work. The characters are likeable, the story is incredibly endearing, and the “scenery” of the main character’s vintage clothing store is irresistible. She grates a touch on the guilt over a friendship, but that is easily overlooked, as the rest of the story keeps moving steadily enough.

A Vintage Affair by Isabel Wolff