Witty, inspiring and empowering. The Netflix adaptation of Sophia Amoruso is the rough retelling of the authors adventures as she created Nasty Gal Vintage. Beware, spoilers lie ahead.
“Adulthood is where dreams go to die Grow up, get a job, become a drone. That’s it. Then it’s over.” The opening scenes introduce us to our Sophia. A girl in her early twenties trying to avoid becoming an adult out of fear of becoming another cog.
After being fired for her attitude, she goes on a splurge and buys a one of a kind jacket. Later she turns to eBay and sells it for a fortune. Using the money she begins investing in new clothes and then created Nasty Gal.
As the show progresses we see Sophia, played by Britt Robertson, juggle creating her first start up with her love life, friendships and family.
Britt plays the part perfectly, combining a sassy attitude with a no care state of mind, while still allowing the audience to see the more emotional side of her.
Friendship is a key theme within this show, Annie, played by Ellie Reed stands by Sophia even when she’s being cruel or selfish. The pair together build the company to a higher level, proving that even though they may just be ‘girls’, they’re powerful. “Girls are collaborative, empathetic, hard workers. Girls are great”
The main issue with the show does seem to be the relationship between Sophia and Shane (Johnny Simmons). Their story line plays into the hands of stereotypes: a woman focusing more on her career than her boyfriend, so he turns to another woman for affection.
This does take away from the empowering nature of the show, and brings into debate the idea of women putting their careers before their partners. The moment this becomes a downfall of the show is when Nasty Gal finally goes live, the launch party scene is taken over by Sophia being too upset to stay and instead going home to be with Shane. A party she has deserved.
Overall, this programme works well to highlight the era of #girlboss we are going into right now. It helps empower women looking at starting their own company and proves that it is difficult and it doesn’t just happen overnight.
The main point of this show? It’s okay to ask for help. “Not that long ago, I didn’t think that I needed anyone’s help but my own. But the truth is, I wouldn’t be here without all of you.”
Amor rating: 4/5
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Words: Amy Jo Taylor
