BASED ON A VERY SOPHISTICATED EGO: IT GIRLS

The it girl is more than just a phenomenon. It has becomes an independent economic sector, perhaps even an independent economic system. Because the principles of "work hard and a lot and you'll earn more money" or "performance pays" do not apply to it girls. She does not work in the classic sense of the word. She does not have to be talented or successful in her job. All it involves is presenting oneself in public. Always being a step ahead in terms of fashion, being charming and rich. Because most it girls are born rich. They stem from wealthy families, are the potential heirs to a hotel empire, the daughters of rock stars or aristocrats. These young women do not need an elaborate business plan for a start-up company; all they need is that "certain something."

And paradoxically, this "it," this "certain something," is turned into an entire enterprise, based solely on a very sophisticated ego. The more frequently it girls appear in public (primarily at parties), the more frequently paparazzi take pictures of them that are published in the media. Interest in them grows, their media presence continues to increase, and they are usually offered jobs. They host or feature as protagonists in their own (reality) television series, their faces are used in advertising campaigns, they model, work as DJanes, perfumers, designers, or write columns or even entire books.

It girls not only boost their own economic system, but the overall economy. An it girl is accompanied by an it bag, and anyone who wants to be equally as "it" naturally has to have one hanging from her wrist. This also applies to the corresponding shoes, cell phones, sunglasses, and anything else an it girl wears or carries. Paris Hilton is the embodiment of the it girl. She was suddenly there, just like that. Along with another it girl, Nicole Richie (Lionel's daughter), she performed in the reality soap "The Simple Life." Together, the spoiled brats got to know the simple life horribly misbehave in the process.

Idolized by millions and at the same time hated by just as many

So that their fame does not slack off, what traditionally follows is an "I-don't-know-how-it-got-made-public" sex video. Paris Hilton did not even attempt to clear up how hers did--she officially marketed it. Moreover, in the past ten years she has put ten perfumes on the market, recorded an album, and published a book. In 2004, Confessions of an Heiress: A Tongue-in-Chic Peek Behind the Pose was among the top ten New York Times best sellers. And Wikipedia has since extended its entry for "it girl" by the following: fashion designer, photo model, actress, singer, and businesswoman.

Paris Hilton has become a business enterprise based on a PR machine that others can only dream of. When she shows up at a party, she earns $100,000 a night. In 2005, VH1 gave her its "It Girl of the Year" award (no kidding, it really exists). The world of Paris Hilton is pink, and the little crown on her head sparkles. Sex sells--without any subtlety whatsoever, she stages herself as an "anything-is-possible bitch." She is idolized by millions and at the same time hated by just as many. But that is what it is all about: polarizing.

Paris Hilton has realigned the definition of the it girl. However, for the worse. The term was coined as early as 1927; the actress Clara Bow was regarded as the first it girl. The name derives from the film that made her famous: It, a romantic silent comedy. Monty Montgomery is looking for a woman with that certain something. He does not know exactly what it is, but he read it in Cosmopolitan. He encounters Betty (Clara Bow) and immediately knows that he has found it--a mixture of sex appeal, charm, charisma and innocence, sensuous lips and big brown eyes. Clara Bow became Hollywood's first sex symbol, and "unfortunately, the godmother of a host of young high society ladies à la Paris Hilton ever since" (Katja Iken, Spiegel-Online). Because Bow and her "successors" have nothing at all in common. Clara Bow was talented and worked her way from being a child of the slums all the way to the top.

The hottest it girl is currently Alexa Chung. She has returned something down-to-earth to the profession--the calling. She does not stem from a wealthy background; she was discovered as a model when she was fourteen, and modeling is long since no longer her primary source of income. She is invited to parties and collaborates with fashion and cosmetic labels. Mulberry named a handbag after her--a handbag cannot have more "it." In 2013 she published a book with the self-ironic title It. However, readers have to search between the lines and among the photographs for any content. Like most it girls, Alexa is part of a dense network between New York and London, a hyper cool clique of other it girls and rock stars, and she allows the world to participate in her life via Instagram. Chung sets fashion trends, is regarded as Karl Lagerfeld's muse, and is a style icon. Another mysterious calling.