Fun: November 2009 Archives

I am really excited about this new teen-girl pop group, OMG Girlz. And not just because of their name! (Which, for the record, I love.) But also because members include Lil Wayne's daughter, "Baby Carter" Reginae, and T.I.'s daughter, "Star" Zonnique, as well as Beauty and Lolo, neither of whom are the children of hip-hop moguls. Tiny, T.I.'s fiancee, will be managing the band, which, btw, already has a single. Listen to it here! Because it's totally catchy. Also, sources say that Wayne himself will guest on a track before he goes to the big house next year. Awww.

At Pasco High, in Dade City, Florida, students who need to get dressed up for special occasions - including job interviews, competitions, graduation, or even *duh!* the prom - but who can't afford the wardrobe, are getting a little bit of help by a group called the Pirate Angel Project. The Project, which was co-founded by Debbie Smith, the high school's cafeteria manager, has set up a system which will allow students to browse a boutique-style room for clothes and accessories. The fund - which is also a memorial for three students from Pasco High who passed away within the last few years - is supported by community donations. So lend a hand! Contribute those discarded, age-old prom dresses you'll never wear again to a worthy cause. (If your parents paid for said garments, maybe ask first?) For more information, check out the Pirate Angel Project on Facebook.

 

 

Bets on how many times he will wear his shirt during this episode? (Which will air the weekend of December 12.) 

When last we saw him, the fair Dan Humphrey -- inexplicable ladies' man and NYU sex god -- was curled up in bed with his two latest conquests: 1) his girlfriend, movie star Hilary Duff, who happens to be friends and roommates with Dan's best friend, Vanessa Abrams, which brings us to the second conquest: 2) Vanessa Abrams. Surely, no awkwardness will result from this supremely ill-thought out menage a trois! This is what Humphrey is clearly thinking when we meet again, in the current episode: The show opens with Dan strutting down the street, whistling, feeling sexy, and high five-ing anyone who comes his way. It is actually quite authentic of how (we imagine) a teenage guy in his circumstance would act! Of course, ten seconds in, Nate Archibald - the actual ladies' man on this show - steps in and shares with his sad friend the obvious rule of involving your girlfriend in a menage a trois: The third party must be a stranger. Certainly it cannot be your sexy best friend of forever with whom you used to be in love and vice versa. CERTAINLY it cannot be your girlfriend's college roommate. Nate sets him straight (invoking the extremely convincing authority that: "I know things. I went to Europe. I'm best friends with Chuck Bass") and Dan, being Dan, ignores Nate and continues on his merry way. For like, one second, before (spoiler alert!!) inevitably losing both his best friend and his girlfriend. Who knew?! Good bye, Duff. See you next fall? 

Is not who you might have suspected...

Last night at the AMAs, Rihanna performed "Hard" and "Wait is over," while simultaneously wearing an only semi-existent jumpsuit. It was sort of amazing! I think that seeing the outfit is perhaps more important than seeing the performance, but you should definitely check out the truly amazing video for (equally awesome) song that she did with Jay-Z, called Run This Town. In the meantime, I leave you with this:

The Twilight Saga: New Moon opened in theaters everywhere this weekend, and apparently earned the third-biggest opening weekend numbers of all time, bringing in $140.7 million. I contributed $14 to that $140.7 million, and... well, I will say that the movie was certainly worth its weight in underage ab shots. It was also high on melodrama, but I guess that is the whole point of The Twilight Saga? Personally, I thought the werewolves could have been a little more realistic, and the film about 45 minutes shorter. Also, not that I am Stanislavski or anything but, maybe Robert Pattinson should learn to speak with his mouth slightly more open? Dakota Fanning, however, was excellent. And that is all I will say on this. 

A few days ago, Swedish singer and Twilight soundtrack star Lykke Li, released a cover of the Shirelles classic, Will you still love me tomorrow? Guess what? It turns out this song is really tragic, actually. I suppose I had never listened very closely before. But Li's version cuts out all of those 60s girl-group Phil Specter distractions, and is just super sparse and beautiful and sad. You should listen to it, especially if you are feeling lovelorn and/or introspective! 

The other night was the premiere for The Twilight Saga: New Moon. What is that, you ask? Lol JK hilarious. Anyway, there was a star-studded premiere featuring (duh) Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson, plus like, 50 Cent? And basically everyone else in the universe. I will be withholding judgment on the actual film until Sunday at 11:10pm, when, um, I will apparently be seeing it, according to my ticket.

Until then, let us please analyze the outfits/postures/body language/hand placement of all of our favorite Twilight friends. Yay!

First up: Kristen Stewart


Hey, look who got dressed up all fancy! I think that sometimes people forget that despite her surly demeanor, Kristen Stewart is just... really pretty. (Which is why we allow her to be so surly in the first place.)  Yay for her. She looks nice.

Taylor Lautner
He almost creepily does not look like a 17-year-old. Especially when you see him as a THIRTEEN-year-old. Seriously, watch this video. It is amazing. Oh, but don't they look so cute here?

Robert Pattinson

I know that everyone, everywhere, is going to disagree with me on this, but I actually thought Robert Pattinson looked slightly strange. Like maybe an actual vampire? But what do I know, I have only read book one of this series.

Ashley Greene
This dress feels slightly too old for her, but Ashley Greene looks lovely anyway.

Dakota Fanning

This girl is perpetually age-appropriate. I approve of that quality. Also this outfit.

Jennifer Love Hewitt
Wait... what?  Why is she here?
 

Taylor Swift was on the cover of December's In Style magazine, and the teen country superstar (who recently racked up a crazy amount of awards at the CMAs) claims that she and Twilight's Taylor Lautner -- werewolf hunk and super-buff teen dream extraordinaire -- are totally not dating. She is happy to be single, she says, because it is by choice. And also because not having a boyfriend frees up her time for activities such as: writing in her diary, and lighting scented candles. O Swifty! That is too adorable. Excuse me while I go watch the totally Jane Austen-inspired video for Love Story. 

Last Friday, Fantastic Mr. Fox -- Wes Anderson's long-awaited film adaptation of the beloved Roald Dahl book -- was released in theaters. The film, which Anderson wrote with The Squid and the Whale's Noah Baumbach, does not feature any live humans on camera (although Meryl Streep, George Clooney, Jason Schwartzman and Bill Murray all supply voices) -- it is stop-motion animation, and the actors are tiny dolls -- and yet, Anderson has managed to create characters so lifelike and so distinct that they might as well exist in the same universe as Ritchie and Margot Tenenbaum. Except for that they exist in that of Roald Dahl. The story, which expands upon Dahl's slim original edition, tells the story of a charming, scheming, somewhat reckless father fox (Foxy, voiced by Clooney) who accidentally jeopardizes the lives of himself and everyone he loves. It is a witty, sometimes emotional, and fantastically beautiful film: every tiny detail is tended to with great care, right down to the thumbtacks on walls, or books on shelves. And, of course, there are the outfits. Foxy wears a suit cut from the same cloth (literally) as one of Anderson's custom-made corduroy numbers, but even those characters who spend the majority of the film in their pajamas have distinct -- and distinctly Andersonian -- identities. And perhaps you won't come out of the movie with new outfits in mind (unless you ave a thing for matronly frocks), but this one is a must-see regardless. Aren't style and fashion   basically the same thing, after all? 

This is a fashion-world development I hadn't expected: Apparently Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt will design a limited edition collection of high end jewelry for Asprey. The collection, inspired by snakes (I'm surprised the inspiration is not DAGGERS, frankly, but whatevs) will start at $525 -- for a silver baby spoon! -- will go on sale this week, and all proceeds will go to the Education Partnership for Children of Conflict, which was co-founded by Jolie in 2006, and which raises awareness and money toward the education of child victims of war, conflict, and natural disasters. Jolie released a statement over email about the cause: 

This week on Gossip Girl, there was a threesome, featuring Hillary Duff. There was also a Cotillion, featuring what I would consider to be a number of very un-debutante-like ball gowns. (Perhaps the ladies of Constance Billiard should have consulted with Sherri or Alisha Hill?) There were the usual Constance power politics, and the requisite ungodly volume of extensions as sported by Jenny Humphrey, and the standard wildly slutty habits of Serena Van Der Woodson. So! Business as usual! Now on to the threesome:

Last weekend, Taylor Swift hosted SNL, and in addition to every variety of sparkly dress imaginable (I can't find many stills but you can watch the episode here), there was also a lot of... you know, actual funniness, and the young Swift proved that she is a) endearing b) a really good singer whose ability to write catchy songs about very little is admirable, and c) a pretty decent actress! Swift started with an appropriately self-deprecating monologue, in which she sang a little song about boys (Taylor Lautner, douchebag exes, Kanye West) and her affinity for sparkles, and then proceeded to do harpy teen, herself, Kate Gosselin, deviant member of the law enforcement, and... Shakira -- her impression was spot on -- as the night went on. What more could one ask for in a 1 1/2 hour late-night television experience?  

Sherri Hill has just unveiled her 2010 Prom Dress Collection, and the looks, which involve all manners of florals, sheers, layers, and pastels, invoke a sort of Midsummer Night's Dream feeling: irreverent, but also romantic and a little bit dreamy. The dresses are flowy and tulle-laden, but also (most importantly) fun, and unique. Check them out here.
 
 

"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

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? 

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.