2010

Happy New Year!!!! xoxoxoxox

Beyonce: Entertainer Of The Year

Okay, technically Beyonce's "I am...Sasha Fierce" album was release on Nov, 18, 2008. (BTW, Lady Gaga's "The Fame" was released on Oct, 28, 2008 and she's on everybody's "best of" 2009 list. Gaga is good, but Beyonce is better.) But it was in 2009 that all the songs rolled out--and one BIG video. Maybe Kanye West was right, "Single Ladies" is a really, really good video--not only good, but ICONIC. Note to pop stars, a video can and does sell a song (or more importantly an image), so please try harder.

Then there were also, "If I Were A Boy," "Diva," "Halo," "Ego," "Sweet Dreams," and finally to wrap up the year, "Video Phone." And who could forget the class act and the showstopping performance at the VMAs? It's absolutely amazing for a singer to have seven singles and videos released in one year off the strength of one album. ( My favorite song is "Halo," if I were ever to get married I want that to be my wedding song.) If that wasn't enough, she also starred in a movie, "Obsessed," and toured. She kept us entertained through her movies, music, videos, clothes, and tour for the ENTIRE year. Wow.

2009 was truly the year of Beyonce, put a ring on that.

Model Of The Year

LARA STONE

Magazine Covers Of The Year

Television Shows Of The Year

Because it's smart and sexy. Because they actually fuck and suck. Because it's everything that Twilight isn't.

Because she's misunderstood, and when you watch her show you finally UNDERSTAND--the woman is a kinda genius. Because she loves fashion. Because she's awesome and says awesome things. Because she's bananas and OOC. Because she's absurd and obsessive. Because when it comes down to it, it's about the hard work and the passion--and she does and has both in spades.

Books Of The Year

Over the course of a year I read a lot of books. I basically have read all of Haruki Murakami's books over the course of this year. Two new books that were published in 2009 standout in my mind. Both Muriel Burbery's "The Elegance of The Hedgehog," and Chris Cleave's "Little Bee" were amazing books that shared a common trait--excellent writing that told universal stories through different voices. Stories about identity, love, loss, forgiveness, hope, despair, anger, regret--stories about life and our understanding of it from the outside and most importantly from our inner selves.

"What is it about?" is a common and perfectly understandable question I'm asked whenever I recommend a book. But that question can also be very difficult to answer because a book CAN be about something, but there is no guarantee that you will emotionally connect with the book the same way.  For me it's about the connection with the writing.  If the writing is good, the connection for me is instantaneous. 

The jacket of Chris Cleave's book explains the dilemma perfectly. It reads:

"We don't want to tell you WHAT HAPPENS in this book. It is truly a SPECIAL STORY and we don't want to spoil it....Once you have read it, you'll want to tell your friends about it. When you do, please don't tell them what happens. The magic is in how the story unfolds."

Movies Of The Year

To quote Mr. Valentino, "I love beauty. It's not my fault." And all three of my favorite movies of 2009 have the quality of beautiful images. Of course a movie cannot be sustained by images alone, there needs to be a strong narrative and these movies have both.

"G.I. Joe" is probably the most under-rated action movie of 2009. It was glorious, pure entertainment and I loved every single second of it, especially Sienna Miller's performance and outfits. "Valentino: The Last Emperor" was a mesmerizing documentary that gave us an insiders look into the world of haute couture and the making of beauty. It was also a beautiful love story. And "Fantastic Mr. Fox" was just a highly stylized, delightful movie about quirky talking foxes.

I want a movie to stay with me in some level, to mix with my molecules and to connect somehow with my life. All three of these movies has served its purpose on some levels. A good movie for me is a movie that I can keep in my mind, something I will remember, something that will entertain me now and forever. A memory to keep.

Just Because

She's the best ever! Look at her dress! I love the song. The scene is pretty funny too.

Don't Look Back

Fashion is just like farming, I was thinking. They both must follow the changes of seasons and the rites of nature. And with the comings and goings of Winter, Spring, Summer, and Fall each season produces a crop--sometimes bountiful and wondrous, sometimes small and disappointing.

Now Spring 2010 has arrived and the harvest has brought us the ads and the images. Trends: bold prints, denim, Spanish romanticism, i.e. lace and boleros, and some 1980's thrown in--the usual stuff.  

My observation is that fashion is always looking back.  Nothing here references the present or even the future.  These ads and clothes are a reflection of who we wish we could be, not now, but in another time.   That time is never the present and not even the future, what we want is the past; not only a memory, but a better, improved sense of remembrance, and fashion allows that to happen.  Fashion is about the idea of reconstruction.   Of course fashion is also about escapism and  fantasy, so by default fashion will never be a thing of reality or the present. Here's a look at Spring 2010. I love Chanel.

Wish You Were Here, Xoxo

Lifestyles of the rich and famous. 

Kate, Sienna, Kate. Can you tell them apart? Looks like blondes do have more fun.

Crush

Awesome! I'm especially crushing on those adidas sneakers! :x

photo: Jak & Jil

Back For More

I love Sienna Miller. I didn't before, but she first won me over in my favorite movie of last year, "GI Joe: Rise of the Cobra" and in her Broadway play, "After Miss Julie."

She gets a bad rap for sleeping around, especially with married men, but hey, the girl is only human and I love her even more for her perceived "sluttiness." She also gives great interviews that shows off her sense of humor and candidness. I'll take more Sienna over any manufactured Hollywood slutbot.

Here she is reunited with Jude Law, on winter holiday in Barbados.

Kate Moss wore the same Agent Provocateur "Kerry" Bikini!