The memoirs of industry insider Steven Cojocaru, Red Carpet Diaries traces Steven’s rise from a blurb writer for People to the host of the Oscar Review and the Today Show’s fashion correspondent. Cojocaru’s voice is varied and descriptive, shifting quickly from bitingly critical to blissfully in awe, depending on the fashion or fashionista at hand. A no-nonsense, trend-obsessed expert, Cojocaru flippantly throws out the names of top designers and galas, touting each celebrity run-in as just another day in his exciting and dramatic life. Style-conscious from birth, Cojocaru developed an interest in fashion from his mother, an Elizabeth Taylor look-alike, while growing up in Canada. Yet his high style helped him rise to the top, where he spends his free time hanging out with celebrities and providing viscous commentary on what others are wearing.

An artifact arising from popular culture, Cojocaru’s book is aimed at fashion lovers and fans of Cojocaru’s (or Cojo, as he is often called) television segment. The result is the snarky combination of affect and criticism that fans have come to love. In adopting such a voice however, Cojo portrays the fashion world as an exciting exotic place only accessible to a chosen elite. While speaking (ostensibly) to the greater reading public, Cojo still maintains a distance from his readers, as one with superior knowledge and experience. This approach is strikingly different from that adopted by Navarro in his interview with fashion blogger Scott Schuman. Navarro portrays Schuman as a regular guy, comparable to any of his readers, yet Cojocaru asserts earlier on in his book that, “I was ‘different’ from the get-go…I was convinced that I was Princess Grace and Prince Rainier’s love child” (6). Through such choices, Cojocaru chooses to distinguish himself from his readers, rather than relate to them.

Published in 2003, Cojo’s book now seems trite and outdated. As the democratization of blogging allows both fashion insiders and experienced coolhunters to seek out cutting edge news and trends via the blogosphere, “confessional” accounts such as Cojo’s seem self-important and irrelevant. Why read the boastings of an industry insider when you too can become an insider, by browsing the blogs for free from your own home? Cojo’s knowledge is no longer privileged, and as a result, it is less valuable. Surrounded by a world of voices commenting on fashion and celebrities, Cojocaru’s voice blends in with hundreds of others commenting on the same people and trends.

Reviews of Cojo’s book were mixed; posted reader responses on Amazon.com alternate between praising Cojo’s witty style and berating the book as trivial gossip. Even among the star’s fans, it seems that the democratization of fashion blogging has diminished the power of industry insiders such as Cojo, making them appear self-important and boring as a result.