Posts Tagged ‘world gone mad’

Allow me to be frank

The past 72 hours have been trying. There has been unpleasant news. There have been unsavory encounters. And server crashes, because when bad things happen, they tend to pile on. So please indulge me for bringing you cute tops with animals printed on them, even though the last time I did so was not so very long ago. I’m pretty sure it’s my way of closing my eyes, going LALALALALA, and pretending everything’s fine.* Thanks for that. Lookie here guys: wee yellow birdies!

And zebras on a grid.

Butterflies, saved from too-cutesiness by a nice deep green.

Very origami-inspired kittycats on a super-slouchy top.

Birds looking remarkably wearable on a tank.

You have to really zoom in one this doggie print to fully appreciate its fantabulosity. Or maybe you just have to be a crazy-ass dog person.

 

 

 

*Which it will be.

 

Was going to give this one a pass

…but it’s Thursday, and people are still talking about whether or not Beyonce lip synched the national anthem, and the very fact of that seems remarkable.  Lip-synching is lame, but choosing to but do so when faced with a spectacularly large audience and challenging venue is far from unheard-of. It’d be nice if Ms. Knowles bestowed upon her public something beyond a  ”No comment,” but—alas—this  has precedent in the entertainment world as well. Personally, I’m far more mystified as to why she decided a floor-length Pucci gown was acceptable attire for the event—as though the inaugural was not a dignified day of  historical significance, but instead just another stop on the sparkling world tour that is her life.

In which I get all uppity

“We can’t be feminine and feminist and be successful? I want to be a f—king feminist and I want to wear a f–king Peter Pan collar. So f—king what?”  That’s Zooey Deschanel in Glamour’s February issue, and God bless her. So nice to see a young lady happily embrace the word. At this point, maybe the word feminist has gotten so radioactive in our culture that there’s no reclaiming it. And truly, if a person is down with fighting the good fight, they can call themselves whatever they want. But are women who don’t identify as feminists getting involved in women’s issues like reproductive rights and violence against women? I’d love to think so, but I wonder. And honestly, I  don’t get it: there’s so little risk involved in calling yourself a feminist now, something that was anything but the case back when the big  battles were being fought. And it worries me to think about  this younger generation (God, I hate how I sound but there it is) because they don’t get that the women who really made it happen didn’t take a machete through the woods just so we could all walk down the path they cleared for us and smell the pretty flowers. They did it so, when things like the freaking Violence Against Women Act gets killed by our lawmakers, as it did this week, there would  still somebody around to make some noise.

 

Paint it pink

Nobody seems to like that Microsoft’s ad guys took over the Times Square/Grand Central shuttle and made the cars mobile advertisements for their new Tablet, complete with video screens that play their ads on endless loop. But for some reason—like maybe that the Times Square/Grand Central Shuttle is a total drag of a subway line that manages to pack a lot of bummer into just one stop—this delights me. Of course, the fact that the shuttle’s only a 45-second ride is also what makes this seem  OK—any longer than that, and a person could start feeling very Trapped at the Barbie Factory—as is the fact that it’s temporary.

Also, I like a well-executed bit of  big dramatic marketing (see here) just as long as it’s ephemeral and not too disruptive.

It can also be innovative and really fun—check out this spot set in an Antwerp train station where commuters approach a Coke Zero machine that challenges them in a in a race against the clock to win tickets for Skyfall. And I think this Korean Coke machine/dance-off-bot is pretty amusing too. On the other hand,  I curse the day Taxi TV was invented. We all have our limits. What are yours?

I would totally wear that

As if we didn’t already know how hard it is to find  cute, even nominally on-trend plus-size clothes, here’s definitive proof, in the form of an actual academic study  from the Journal of Consumer Research (which I’d love to pretend I read IRL, but instead learned of in The Cut). It chronicles the many ways in which plus-size bloggers have gained impressive ground in the mainstream media, and asserts that despite all of that, big name retailers and designers lag woefully behind in catering to the plus-size community’s needs. It’s all quite irksome—and curious, given that this is clearly a demographic that’s ready to spend. Happily, however, an interview with one of the article’s co-authors revealed a bumper crop of indie lines, my favorite of which is Carmakoma. They’re from Denmark but have American e-commerce, and are well worth exploring. I totally wish they made this filmy  purply-black dress in non-plus sizes, as it is feminine but not too girly, and looks like the soul of comfort. You’d need to procure a slip, but one can easily accomplish this.

Also: this is precisely the type of dress/tunic thing I throw on with leggings and boots (albiet less hoochie  ones than seen here) and live in all winter long.

OK, the shape on this one is definitely more retroish  than I usually go in for, but the bird print is to die.

 

 

Dresses with dignity

 

There is no fun in recognizing moments when you have become a cliche. But, I have decided, there is no shame in it either. So indulge me for a moment as I become That Woman and issue this complaint: why must designers persist in turning out otherwise desirable dresses with absurdly short hemlines? Why must finding something that hits significantly closer to the knee be so hard? What happened to the elegance, people? I do love this one by Saloni, though, because of its feminine, slightly retroish cut and because how could I not with that print?

I like the idea of wearing this Willow dress with black tights and a black cardigan—for sort of  a reverse black and white effect, which always looks so cool.

Sweater dresses can be tricky, tricky for the less than flat-of-stomach,but that’s what Spanx are for, right? I have always been a sucker for the look of a super-low waistline: it just seems so slouchy and comfortable, and this Marc by Marc Jacobs dress feels like it  could be one of the coziest pieces ever.

Another super-retroish, very flattering dress—by Tucker, who my enthusiasm for grows in direct proportion to how far they let themselves  stray from their signature peasant dress template. I’m also very fond of the same dress in this print, but the springy green-on green is sweet and unexpected for fall.

If I needed a knockout dress for a party, I’d totally go for this one my Cynthia Rowley—not a designer who is usually my cup of tea, but I’d make a big fat exception here.

 

 

 

Profiles in self-loathing

So according to the Hollywood Reporter, a Big Bang Theory producer is developing a family sitcom called Smells Like Teen Spirit, the premise  of which “revolves around an 18 year-old budding entrepreneur  who forgoes Harvard and instead opts to launch a multibillion-dollar internet company from his garage with the help of his sister, best friend and his 1990s indie-rock parents.” And the only thing that horrifies me more than the fact that this is happening is how predictable I find it that my aging indie rock ass is so horrified by it.

Why wouldn’t Obama do an interview with Glamour?

One might have foreseen that news of  Barack Obama sitting down with Cindy Leive of Glamour—for a piece to run in the magazine’s November issue—would result in a big old public outcry from the right. But the fact of its predictability makes it no less annoying. “Can’t wait to see what he thinks of the new collection. Next up: the Cosmo interview!”  snarked a columnist at the National Review who, in a follow-up email exchange with WWD,  elaborated: “The grumbling about Obama’s fluff interviews would be quieter if the country were in a time of peace and prosperity, or if he hadn’t gone eight weeks without a press conference.”  Greta van Sustern and the Drudge Report chimed in with similar sentiments.

It’s not like there’s nothing to this criticism, but the ugly brand of glee that has accompanied it feels reductive and misguided and tinged with misogyny.  Glamour may or may not be your personal cup of tea, but it does have a long history of covering issues surrounding women’s professional,  personal, and reproductive rights.  In addition to which (and as many have pointed out), George W. Bush—who had an almost xenophobic relationship to the press during a similarly fraught period in this nation’s history—spoke with the publication as well. And anyway, a general interest magazine aimed at women doesn’t seem any less relevant a venue than, say, People,  which quite recently ran an interview with Mitt Romney, Paul Ryan and their wives.  For which I don’t knock them: Obama’s been in People too. Giving access to high-circulation publications is something candidates do.  That Glamour—or any women’s magazine that has consistently prioritized important women’s topics—would be considered a less-than-viable venue is such absurdity that I’m annoyed anyone’s even debating it.

A feminist rant for your Monday morning

Republican senatorial candidate Todd Akin has already apologized for his astonishing statement yesterday that, according to doctors he’d spoken to, pregnancy from “real” rape is very rare. “If it’s a legitimate rape,” he asserted, “the female body has ways to try to shut the whole thing down.” (The flip side of that message, of course, being that all you girls out there who secretly wanted it are shit out of luck.)

Mother Jones has an interesting post today about how, amazingly, this argument has actually been floating around the far right for a while now: the premise is that the body goes into a kind of shock that makes conception impossible. Anti-abortion doctor Todd C. Wilke wrote about it on the website Christian Life Resources (which, worryingly, is aimed at reaching troubled teens). And Republican senate candidate Fay Boozman was quoted as referring to this purported magical bodily function as “God’s little protective shield in 1998″

Which makes it sound almost cute!  And indeed, it would all be a whole lot easier to laugh at if our reproductive rights weren’t slowly being chipped away at: in Mississippi, pro-choice advocates are fighting tooth and nail to keep abortions accessible. A new South Dakota law requires doctors to tell women seeking abortions that those who have the procedure run an increased risk of suicide. Things aren’t looking so good in Arizona, either.

I know I’ve been banging the drum a whole lot here about Pussy Riot—and I do think their story is meaningful and inspiring and infuriating. I’m inspired by the degree to which it’s galvanized women toward a common cause. But I’ve got to say that—while I don’t feel like we necessarily must direct our gaze completely away from them—it’s time to direct some of our outrage and motivation to what’s going on in our own backyard before things get even scarier .

Can’t say I didn’t ask for it

 

About a squillion of you responded to my challenge to find a catalogue I couldn’t shop, and—as this photo makes abundantly clear—you really knocked it out of the park. In addition to which, you created the most amusing discussion thread in Girls of a Certain Age history. I’m feeling quite fortunate to have attracted such an lively and amusing Girl army, so please do stick around.

The winner gets a $50 gift card from our pals at Beso (which basically means any designer or store they’re affiliated with, which is, like, everyone). I’m calling noon tomorrow as the deadline for entries. And:  excitement! This contest has a Part II, with an even bigger prize. Stay tuned for details.