Heather Thomas at Barneys launch party for her 'Trophies' novel

There among the rhinestone-encrusted Miu Mius, patent leather Dolce & Gabbanas, Yves Saint Laurent pumps and Fendi sandals of the Beverly Hills Barneys New York shoe salon, Heather Thomas was standing up for what she believes in.

"It's an exploration of a much-maligned demographic," the former "Fall Guy" actress and now famed political salon hostess said of her new novel, "Trophies," whose prologue -- and on Tuesday night, its launch party -- takes place in the shoe salon. "I wanted to debunk the myth of trophy wife as dizzy bimbo. It's a commedia dell'arte stock character, but I have yet to meet one."

There are, she acknowledged, witches and bimbos in every demographic. But those glamorously vacant beauties draped uselessly across the arms of the rich and powerful men who married them: Thomas would have us say goodbye to that stereotype. Wearing a bright blue dress with a frilly collar she snagged from the Barneys display window about an hour before, and speaking in a voice growing raspier from every "I'm so glad you came," she succinctly redefined "trophy wife": "Women of means who are blessed with the privilege of service. That's the greatest luxury of all.

A beachy read with a pointed point of view, her Hollywood tale follows titular trophy Marion Zane through the at-times dog-eat-dog world of five-star fundraising. Though it's far from a tell-all: "I would never say something bad about someone in print," Thomas, a Democratic activist and philanthropist, flatly declared before clarifying, "except George W. Bush."

Hollywood may have more to fear from Thomas' mother, Gladdy Lou Ryder, who joked that she recognized some of the characters. "There are times when you're reading it and you're thinking, 'Have I met that person?' It leaves a lot of questions."