Experts:'Prada' movie gets fashion wrong

NEW YORK, June 29 (UPI) -- Fashion industry insiders who attended advance screenings of "The Devil Wears Prada" said its portrayal of a New York fashion magazine office was unrealistic.

"Where is the chic?" said David Wolfe, a New York fashion and retail consultant.

"In a world of 'fabulous,' 'pretty' just isn't good enough" Wolfe said of Meryl Streep, who plays the magazine's editor-in-chief, Miranda Priestly. Streep wore sedate wool bouclé power suits and pearls, The New York Times reported.

Gucci, Pucci and Prada no longer defined style, but have given way to trendier labels like Chloé, Marc Jacobs and Marni, insiders said.

Those costumes are "a caricature of what people who don't work in fashion think fashion people look like," said Anne Slowey, the fashion news director of Elle.

The film's transformation of editorial assistant Andy Sachs, played by Anne Hathaway, is equally unrealistic, the experts said. When Andy re-emerges with a new look, she's dressed in clothing she could never afford on an assistant's salary.

Patricia Field, who assembled the costumes, defended her choices, saying they were never intended to match reality.

"My job is to present an entertainment," she said. "If they want a documentary, they can watch the History Channel."