When Life Gives You Lululemons

When Life Gives You Lululemons is a novel by American author Lauren Weisberger. Originally published in 2018 by Simon & Schuster, the novel is the third installment in Weisberger’s The Devil Wears Prada universe. The title is preceded by the bestselling 2003 novel The Devil Wears Prada and its 2013 sequel, Revenge Wears Prada. In this third novel, Weisberger continues Emily Charlton’s story, years after leaving her life and career at the fashion magazine Runway in New York City. Discouraged with her new life and image consulting job in Los Angeles, Emily finds herself back on the East Coast—this time, in Greenwich, Connecticut. She says with her old friend Miriam Kagan in the suburbs, where she ends up connecting with a corrupt senator’s wife and former Victoria’s Secret model named Karolina Hartwell. Emily’s friendships and misadventures in Greenwich challenge her to reevaluate who she is and what she wants, while the novel explores themes including Privilege and Hypocrisy in Suburban Elite Culture, How Age Changes Ideals and Outlook, and the Transformative Power of Female Friendship.

This guide is based on the 2019 Simon & Schuster paperback edition of the novel.

Content Warnings: The source material and this guide feature depictions of cursing, sexual content, substance use, addiction, disordered eating, gender discrimination, religious discrimination, graphic violence, sexual harassment, and child death.

Plot Summary

Years after leaving her job at the fashion magazine Runway, Emily Charlton is working as an image consultant for Hollywood celebrities, living in Los Angeles, California, with her husband Miles. While at a party one night, she receives a call from the pop star Rizzo’s manager, asking her to fly to New York immediately to help clean up Rizzo’s reputation in the press. Emily gladly leaves the West Coast, saying goodbye to Miles. However, Rizzo doesn’t want to hire Emily, and she is left on the East Coast with no work and nothing to do. She contacts her old friend Miriam Kagan, who insists Emily come to stay with her and her family at their new home in Greenwich, Connecticut.

Emily initially scoffs at suburban life but eventually starts to settle in. Miles is in Hong Kong on business, and Emily still hasn’t secured any new work. In the meantime, she spends time with Miriam, attends parties, orients to the community, and reconnects with former Victoria’s Secret model and recently disgraced senator’s wife Karolina Hartwell, whom she knew from her days at Runway.

After Karolina is unjustly arrested for drunk driving on New Year’s Eve, Emily, Miriam, and Karolina band together to clear Karolina’s name. Karolina has been married to Senator Graham Hartwell for 10 years and has devoted herself to her stepson Harry. She loves Graham and wants to support his political career and to grow their family. In recent days, Karolina has been depressed because she has been unable to get pregnant, and Graham has been more distant, too. He was not even home for New Year’s Eve.

After her arrest, Karolina is shocked that Graham does not come to her defense; after all, she has never had an alcohol addiction. Instead, Graham slanders her name in the press, publicly announces their divorce before telling Karolina, and asserts that Karolina is a danger to Harry.

Emily offers to take Karolina on as a client, promising to change Karolina’s image so the media will fall in love with her again. Karolina is relieved to have Emily’s friendship and support. She hires her and takes all her advice. Meanwhile, she and Emily grow closer with Miriam, too.

Like Emily and Karolina, Miriam began her career in New York City as a high-powered lawyer who graduated from Harvard. Now married to Paul Kagan and mother to three children, Miriam has given up her intense metropolitan life for a very different lifestyle in the suburbs. Miriam is glad to have more space and more time with her children, but she also laments the life she left behind. She fears that she is gaining weight and Paul is losing interest in her. She has nothing to do and is becoming depressed. Emily and Karolina invest in her life, reminding her of the woman she used to be and the woman she is becoming now.

With Emily’s help, Karolina fights back against Graham, revealing his hypocrisies and corruption to the press. Graham set up Karolina’s DUI so he could divorce her and marry the former president’s daughter, and he also lied to her about getting a vasectomy. To secure an advantage in her upcoming custody battle, Karolina exposes Graham’s old secret: When he was in high school, he hit and killed a four-year-old with his car. When the public finds out, Graham is disgraced, and Karolina wins back custody of Harry.

Shortly thereafter, Paul surprises Miriam with a new office of her own. He professes his love and insists that Miriam return to work if that makes her happier. Then Emily discovers she is pregnant. She and Miles move back to the East Coast—settling back into Manhattan—and begin preparing for parenthood. In the novel’s final scene, Miriam and Karolina throw Emily a baby shower.