Whispers
Romance Books

Get a Life Then Get a Man :
A Single Woman's Guide
by Jennifer Bawden

While improving her French, German and Italian at Neuchatel College in Switzerland, Jennifer Bawden competed on the European Pro Freestyle skiing circuit, winning the Italian championships and placing second in the Swiss Championships. As a result or her skiing successes, Ms. Bawden went on to become a top ski wear fashion model and appeared as a stunt skier in a Sean Connery film. At 18, Ms. Bawden began designing her own ski wear, to be commercially produced by her ski tour sponsor, Powderhorn, a large ski wear manufacturer.

After receiving her B.A. from the University of Western Ontario, Ms. Bawden went on to study at the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising in Los Angeles, completing both the Advanced Fashion Design program and the Graduate Marketing and Merchandising program. She was honored with an award from the Fashion Institute as one of 10 alumni out of 11,000 recognized for her outstanding contribution to fashion design. She then moved to London to work as an assistant designer for Frank Usher Ltd., an established dress designer.

Ms. Bawden moved to NYC and in 1988 launched Jennifer Bawden Designs with a line of evening gowns. She sold her initial line to Bergdorf Goodman, where her dresses hung with those of Oscar de la Renta, Yves St. Laurent, Bill Blass and Mary McFadden. Soon thereafter, her dresses were chosen for the coveted Fifth Avenue windows of Bergdorf Goodman, as well as those of Georgio's-Fred Haymen on Rodeo Drive and Martha's International on Park Avenue as one of Martha's "Top Ten Young Designers." Her dresses have also sold at I. Magnin, Nordstrom's, specialty boutiques across the U.S., and have appeared on, among others, six covers of Cosmopolitan and the cover of New Woman.

Ms. Bawden has served as Junior Chairman of the New York City Opera and the April in Paris Ball, and as Co-chairman of the Metropolitan Foundation, the Bachelor's Ball and the Guggenheim Ball, she has raised millions of dollars for New York charities. She was presented with the Manhattan Award honoring individuals who have made a special contribution to the city's spirit, excellence and compassion. Caroline Herrera presented Ms. Bawden with the Young Woman of Achievement Award and Linda Evans and Dana Buchman named her as the recipient of the Clairol Fashion Award for Young Talent. Ms. Bawden has also been invited to show her dresses at the Whitehouse.

The designer and her dresses have been regularly featured in the press including Town and Country, New York Times Fashion Magazine, New York Post, Women's Wear Daily, W., Manhattan, Elle, Cosmopolitan, Palm Beach Daily News, Glamour, Mademoiselle and Conde Nast Traveler. She also has a syndicated column in Canada as well as contributing to Hamptons magazine. She has been featured on over 60 radio and TV shows including: WNYW's "Good Day New York",New York One, MSNBC, Report on Business TV, Philadelphia after Midnight and on the nationally syndicated "Sally Jesse Raphael" she was described as "the exciting new designer to watch out for, whose styles were classic...designed to be popular for many years to come."

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution described her as "One of the world's fastest rising stars in evening dresses." You have seen her dresses on "The Guiding Light" (on which she personally appeared) and "The Nanny," as well as for photos shoots of celebrities such as Kathleen Turner and Steffi Graff. Ms. Bawden's dresses have also been worn by singers Celine Dion and Mariah Carey, actresses Pamela Anderson Lee, Mariel Hemmingway, and Peggy Lipton, models Carol Alt, Daisy Fuentes, and Frederique, Olympic skier Suzie Chaffe, Ivana Trump, and the Duchess of York Sarah Ferguson.

Currently, she spends her time between the IAM Group where she is a partner in the companies sports apparel manufacturing business and as a managing director at International Technology and Finance, an Internet venture capital firm. She lives in New York City.

Excerpt

BASIC CHARACTER TYPES

• Mr. Instant Coffee - He's looking for instant gratification. Exciting, impulsive, irresponsible, and even immoral, his steeping come-on quickly becomes iced.
• Renaissance Man - Comfortable in jeans or a tux, this action man throws himself into his pursuits and is willing to fail. He exudes compassion and warmth.
• The Fisherman - With patience, he delivers the latest lines, lures, and tackles. Never happy with what he's got, he's constantly seeking a bigger catch.
• Mr. Crusader - He needs to be needed and is always there for his friends. Be prepared to share him with the rest of the world.
• The Chameleon - He attaches a high level of importance on being accepted; he's eager to please and avoids conflict, rarely saying no.
• The Boy Scout - He obeys society's rules and saves his money wisely. He's always solving everyone else's problems and feels guilty when he takes, so his own needs go unrecognized.
• Bond, James Bond - He's not afraid to speak his mind, and enjoys playing devil's advocate. He's got all the latest gadgets, and works best alone.
• The "Whine" Steward - He's focused on accumulating and is judgmental and critical. He's angry at the world and pulls everyone down with him.
• Mr. Wonderbread - A good friend, his life revolves around habits and rituals. He's not comfortable with extremes, but is stable and dependable.
• The Klingon - Selfish and self-centered, he believes society owes him. Unconcerned with the burden he places on others, he's looking for someone to take care of him.
• The Ferrari - Oblivious to his immediate environment, he's a high-energy, high-maintenance gas guzzler. His ego is huge, and friendships and personal life often take a back seat.
• The Energizer Bunny - Always on battery overdrive, it's hard for him to slow down and enjoy success. This power-driven bunny never feels he's accomplished enough.
• The Rooster - Overly self-assertive, he buys into traditional male/female roles. He believes himself to be a ladies man, but is really a chicken when it comes to getting in touch with his emotions.
• The Bellhop - He puts up boundaries and limits his exposure to new people. He's been hurt before, and is quick to bail out of relationships rather than be hurt again.
• The Free Spirit - Strongly centered, relishes life and relationships, and is happy alone or in a crowd.
• Top Gun - He feeds on autonomous control (no need for a co-pilot) and will do just about anything to get the upper hand and keep it.
• The French Poodle - His identity revolves around his pedigree. Holding himself above others, this man has an unmistakable sense of entitlement.
• The Chess Player - Always scheming and planning, he will achieve his goals at any cost. Manipulative and aggressive, he's afraid he'll never have enough or that what he has will be taken away.
• Mr. Hollywood - This attention hog is quickly bored when the attention is not focused on him. Exciting and magnetic, he's full of energy, but has a deep longing to be loved and accepted.