Tiza Prom Dress and Pageant Blog

"There's no answer that's not going to tip you one way or the other. Think about every hypothetical situation: 'OK, we are. We aren't. I'm a lesbian.' I'm just trying to keep something. I'm not going to give the fiending an answer. I know that people are really funny about 'Well, you chose to be an actor, why don't you just f---ing give your whole life away?! Can I have your firstborn child?'"

-"New Moon" star Kristen Stewart, talking to Entertainment Weekly

After nine months of near silence, Rihanna is finally speaking publicly about her incident with Chris Brown: this Thursday, when her interview with Diane Sawyer will air on Good Morning America (and on 20/20 the following day), and she has also been quoted by Glamour, which is honoring the singer at its annual Women of the Year event at Carnegie Hall.

"I went to sleep as Rihanna and woke up as Britney Spears,"  Rihanna told Glamour magazine. "I want to give as much insight as I can to young women, because I feel like I represent a voice that really isn't heard."

Stay tuned.

In totally unsurprising news of high school injustice, Dakota Fanning has been named the Homecoming Queen of her Hollywood private school, Campbell Hall Episcopal High. Don't get me wrong, I have nothing bad to say about the actress: despite some ill-advised shoe choices, the teenager seems smart and as down-to-earth as one can be in her position, and plus she is actually a pretty good actress. But, Homecoming Queen? As a Sophomore? The girl is IN TWILIGHT. It just seems unfair, is all. After all, she already got to see Robert Pattinson basically naked, and become besties with Kristen Stewart (obviously the postergirl for sullen adolescent coolness), and also be a cheerleader -- not to mention, um, a movie star? 

This Saturday in Thailand, 37-year-old Japanese television host Haruna Ai was crowned "Miss International Queen 2009 in Thailand, the fifth annual beauty pageant aimed at promoting the tolerance of transsexuals and transvestites. Haruna beat out 17 other contestants to win $10,000 in the competition's final round, which was held at the Tiffany's Show (billed as the world's largest transsexual cabaret) last Saturday. Apparently, the event is quite a big deal in Thailand -- a culture highly tolerant of transsexual culture -- and millions tuned in. Did anyone catch it? What did you think?

The White House recently revealed that Michelle Obama -- who is, by the way, coming up on her one-year anniversary of First Ladydom (or at least her election as such) -- is launching a mentorship program that will pair 20 local teenage girls with high-powered female leaders -- including not only a bunch of women on Obama's staff, but also the First Lady herself. Criticize the Obama administration all you want, but don't tell me that some 15- or 16-year-old girl is not going to be highly excited to find herself making her way over to... the White House to hang out with...Michelle Obama. Now all they need to do is pass the health care bill (with a public option, duh!) and I will be totally satisfied. For the moment. 

Once, when I was having a really terrible day at work, an old coworker lent me a copy of the film Woman of the Year, and advised me to watch it immediately. The would assuage my sorry mood, he assured me, and make me feel better about my future. This was a wise (also very fashionable) friend, and of course he was right. The film stars Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy as rival reporters/a married couple, whose relationship struggles due to Hepburn's enormous success. (As per the title of the movie, she's named "Woman of the Year" at one point.) In addition to dealing with such issues as inter-romance career competition -- which is obviously always a good movie premise, hello -- the film contemplates the tension inherent in being a successful, ambitious, career-oriented woman. Obviously, these are some fairly progressive concepts for the year 1942, which is when the movie was made. But what's even more awesome about this film is that Katharine Hepburn is not portrayed as some dowdy shrew: she is Katharine Hepburn, the glamorous style icon (and, in the film, a brassy, ambitious, charming career woman), and so she is dressed as such. Instead of lacey, uber-feminine frocks, she's outfitted in her trademark trousers and perfectly-tailored top. The result is simultaneously sexy, classic, and classic -- feminine but not girly, and professional without being the loathsome unflattering business casual.  AKA, signature Katharine Hepburn. Should serve as a lesson to us all.