Gisele Speaks!

Uber-model(and one of my favorite models) Gisele Bundchen spoke out on the issue of anorexia last Friday, stating that weak families are to blame for anorexia, not the fashion industry. Yep, you heard me right, she points out that it's the weak families that should be held responsible for eating disorders as opposed to the oft criticized fashion industry that notoriously promotes waifish silhouettes. In last Friday's edition of Brazil's O Globo newspaper, she states, "I never suffered from this problem (anorexia) because I had a very strong family base. Parents are responsible, not the fashion industry." Up for until now, all I've heard was that it was time that the fashion industry took some responsibility in this arena. It's good that finally someone within the industry itself spoke out on this, usually to refute the critics who blame the fashion industry unfortunately, but this time it's someone who points out that while thin is the norm in the industry, however, that doesn't mean that the industry should take all of the blame. Something tells me that Gisele does know something about eating disorders, but she also points out that she never had that problem due to her very strong family base, imo.

Gisele states that there are people who were naturally born with the right genes, but she also states that she was teased for being skinny by other kids when she was a child. Once she started to work in the fashion industry, she says that she finally felt accepted, but she also never felt lonely because she always relied on her family.

She DOES raise a good point that the blame should NOT fall entirely on the industry itself, but that both parents and models individually should also be responsible. Now, I'm really starting to advocate that the industry should educate not only models, but designers as well about this issue. Yet there should also be some requirements much like the ones adopted by Brazil, England(London), Spain(Madrid), and Milan here in NYC.

Yet the one thing that pisses me off to no end that there are so many people in the industry who completely deny that anorexia is a problem amongst the models, let alone the fact that it even exists within the industry. One such person(and one of my favorites as well as a favorite designer), Karl Lagerfeld, denies that anorexia is even a problem within the industry's models, stating that "We don't see anorexic(girls). The girls are skinny. They have skinny bones." Okay, Karl, I love ya to death, but I disagree with you on that. First off, there's no such thing as skinny bones...that's like me stating that I'm not overweight; I have big bones(which has been disproven since there's also no such thing as being big boned). Yea, I don't deny that there are some models who are naturally skinny, but if I were you, I'd keep an eye out for those models who have unusually protuding ribs and hipbones, chances are that they may be anorexic.

What do you all think?



Source: Us Magazine, http://usmagazine.cm/gisele_bundchen_0

Hear ye, hear ye...

The US Fashion Council has issued a 'health initiative' for models last week, I know this is a repeat of an earlier post on this issue, but I decided to repost with the actual guidelines that were issued. Now for one thing I was hoping the guidelines would be of the same caliber as the guidelines that were put into action in Madrid or Milan, boy was I wrong there. While I applaud the fact that they also propose more education and awareness about eating disorders in the industry, however, I don't like the fact that they're still allowing models under 18 to still walk the runway. What's worse is that these guidelines are recommendations rather than them being requirements. Well, okay, so they're recommendations....at least we're getting somewhere(I hope). However, they should put out requirements and set them in stone. One such requirement should be that models under the age of 18 are forbidden to walk the runway because they're underdeveloped. Another good one would be have models who aren't total beanpoles walk the runway. What's wrong with allowing a model who actually has some meat on her bones as opposed to a majority of the models currently walking the runway a chance to display an outfit or dress from a designer's collection? Nothing at all, at least there's a person there who isn't skinny for a change. Another good one is the requirement to meet a certain BMI number in order to participate and for a physical to determine if the model is in good health(ie, not anorexic) to be able to participate. So much for progress, which in this case has proven to be a dreaded four letter word(yes, I know that progress is actually an 8 letter word, but to these guys it's pretty much a curse word)for these people. If they want to make progress, one best bet would be to keep Vogue editor Anna Wintour out of this. While she's not to blame for the eating disorders in the industry, however, she shouldn't even have a say in this since she pretty much has a problem with these initiatives to begin with. Another reason why is that the bitch needs to fucking eat for a change since she looks like the poster woman for eating disorders in women who are in their 50s(although she appears to be a full decade older, imo). Another thing though, is any modeling agent who thinks a naturally thin model is still 'fat' or that a model who may not be tall and thin, but they're slim with curves is still 'fat' should be fired because if that's what's driving these models to look like living skeletons, then maybe it's about time the modeling agencies(and the agents) get re-educated on this issue too/

In fairness though, they really aren't solely responsible for the rise in eating disorders, but at least they're recognizing that there are models out there who do have an eating disorder.



When NY Fashion Week kicks off on February 2, a panel on health and beauty with regards to the new recommendations will be hosted. Don't quite know why they're doing that, but maybe it's another one of those meetings where the panelists and designers and any other attendees can voice an opiinion on whether or not these recommendations should be requirements. Let's hope.




Source: Fashion Wire Daily. visit their site @ http://www.fashionwiredaily.com/

A Review of Alberta Ferretti's Spring 2007 Ready to Wear Collection

Alberta Ferretti apparently decided that a change in the way her runway models' hair was styled would do some good for the unveiling of her Spring/Summer 2007 Ready to Wear collection, and rightfully so. Stylist Orlando Pita explained "that the hair at Alberta Ferretti this time is down, which is different for her, and it has a lot of volume, but we're creating that with crimping the hair first and then we're curling it so it's creating volume without tease(think mid-'80s to mid '90s big hair) so it's light and easy rather than being too stiff." I say that he did a great job with it and now I might go out and purchase a hair crimper now because I already have a curling iron. The makeup the runway models are wearing is very light and shimmery, with the eye makeup being shimmery and sparkly. The lips and cheeks are sheer, the cheeks are a light pink(light pink blush). The goal was to give them a light, glowing look. Ms. Feretti's collection is very beautiful, using a variety of light flowy fabrics in a variety of colors. The main color of the pants and the cropped pants appears to be white, which seems to be the color of the moment, for those of you who watched the entire Golden Globes ceremony on Monday night would already know if you saw the color of the dresses worn by the actresses. She also has put in the color silver in her collection as well, as evidenced by the flowy (silky?) jumpsuit that was worn by one of the models as well as a dress. I've seen some dark colors such as blue, maroon, purple mixed in with some neutral colors and pastels. Some clothes are topped off with some sparkly embellishments which is still tres chic for now(probably won't last though), however it's only noticed when light reflects off of it; it's there, but it's also subtle. NOT TACKY! Her clothes, which are evening clothes mainly, are feminine and elegant. And as the editrix of Italian Vogue notes, she has always gone towards the elegant and feminine side even when the sexy look was fashionable in Italy. Well said, mainly because I agree.






Source: style.com video podcast. To subscribe to style.com's video podcast, go over to itunes and search for style.com.

What to wear with....

To answer Keziah Brown's question about she should wear with her Miss Selfridge Brown Cable Jumper(that's what they call sweaters over in England) besides leggings, you can also pair it with a pair of dark indigo skinny jeans or a pair of dark indigo or stonewashed slim-fit jeans(with a slight flare at the leg). You can even pair it with a pencil skirt or a floor length mermaid-cut skirt if you want to. You could pair it with Pat Benatar-style boots, flats, heels, a strand of pearls and some bangles. A crochet-knit skull-cap or a head scarf would really give it that seventies twist. The jumper would look cute with a belt around the waist, imho. I would think that an A-line skirt would also work well with the jumper, too. Good luck and I hope my advice helped.

First Milan and Now New York...

Just 2 hours ago,word is out that New York is the latest fashion capital to issue guidelines this week concerning skinny models. The CFDA(Council of Fashion Designers of America) has announced that guidelines concerning the issue of skinny models will be issued to designers, modeling agencies and production companies by the end of the week, just before casting for next month's fashion week begins. A special committee was formed to look at the issue and consists of the new council president, designer(and one of my favorites!) Diane von Furstenberg, a nutritionist, psychiatrist, trainer, and a representative from a fashion PR firm. A shock to me and some of you out there was the fact that Vogue Editor Anna Wintour(yes, [i]that[/i] Anna Wintour) was also in attendance. There was also an agent from DNA, a modeling agency was there too last Friday. The debate over skinny models took heat after the death of Brazilian model Ana Carolina Reston last November from anorexia. Since then, Sao Paulo's fashion week has taken steps to ensure that this doesn't happen again. This was all after Italy adopted guidelines that barred models who didn't meet the bmi equivelant to 121 pounds(55 kilos) for someone who was 5'7"(1.75 meters) from taking part in the fashion shows. Once again, the former CFDA president, Stan Herman, stalled on adopting guidelines similar to that of the ones in place in Milan and Madrid. He claimed that those guidelines would expose the organizers to possible legal action, adding that he "wouldn't touch it with a 10 foot pole" since people could sue and that it was like banning someone who's too fat. Yeah, right. Like anyone who was obese would want to walk down the runways anyhow. Face it, you just like 'em thin enough to the point that they look like pre-pubescent boys.

It's about damn time!

Last month Milan was the latest fashion capital to ban ultra-skinny models from the catwalk due to pressure to promote a healthier image. The city has formally barred ultra-skinny and under-age models from participating in runway shows, which are starting in February to showcase their latest collections. On the 19th of last month, the city signed the agreement between them and the fashion industry. The agreement also calls for courses on healthy eating and exercise and also calls for a variety of clothing sizes in shows. Any model that weighed under 122 lbs would be barred from walking on the runway. If you already know, Spain actually spearheaded this campaign when models who didn't meet the required weight were banned from participating in Madrid's shows. Brazil appears to also follow suit, especially since one of their own died from complications brought on by anorexia...and yes, she was a model. I can only say that Milan should've done this immediately after Madrid started this, but instead they resisted. You should thank Mario Boselli, the head of a lobby group Italy's National Fashion Chamber for the 3 month long delay. Why he resisted was because he claimed that only a paltry "one girl in a hundred" was probably too skinny. Boselli, keep telling yourself that, better yet have some of the fashion houses you represent do it for you.
However, despite his disagreement with the ban, he's willing to work with the government on this ban. He had better!


What do you all think?

I just checked my email for any fashion news...

I opened an email from one of my favorite Italian fashion shops, Forzieri, and discovered that there was a new trend emerging at that store. Disco '70s is back in style at Forzieri, and upon seeing their new items, they're back and shinier than ever! Now, I don't know if this is a foreshadowing of what we're going to see the models rocking on the runway when NY Fashion Week starts up with the latest shows for their new collection or not, but if so, then I will be saving up every dime I have from my paycheck to purchase some of their items such as a watch I saw over there To show you what I'm talking about, I'm leaving you a link to where you can find the watch, which is designed by Moschino. My favorite designer! The watch is an elastic watch, but it's a fuchsia and pink retro bracelet watch.

The watch, by Moschino


I'm not sure that Forzieri allows direct linking to their products as well as using a photograph as a visual, so I've linked the site both here and under the section of links I have under places that I like to browse at online.

So just do a search for Moschino at the site and look for watches and you'll find it.

Kate Middleton have the same style as Princess Diana?

This is a question best open to one's own interpretation, but I felt that it's worth taking a wild stab in the dark on this 'burning issue' in the British Royal family. Now before I go on, I present to you my own take on the classical SNL Weekend Update's segment that would repeat the top story(in my case it's the first sentence only) for the hard of hearing(ie. Emily Litella). I instead did a little combo of Headmaster of the School for the Hard of Hearing and Emily Litella . The only difference is that I couldn't get Garrett Morris to record the first sentence of this entry, so instead I'll repeat that first sentence to you in all caps: THIS IS A QUESTION BEST OPEN TO ONE'S OWN INTERPRETATION, BUT I FELT THAT IT'S WORTH TAKING A WILD STAB IN THE DARK ON THIS 'BURNING ISSUE' IN THE BRITISH ROYAL FAMILY.

Now, back to what I was going to type about. Kate Middleton having the same style as the late, great Princess Diana...It may just be me, but I don't see it at all. If you ask me, Kate Middleton's style and Princess Diana's style are both different. Plus, Princess Diana's style changed gradually from the time she was courting Prince Charles up to her untimely death nearly a decade ago. Kate's style of late pretty much smacks of someone who tries too damn hard to look stylish because she's the girlfriend of Prince William. Within a matter of months of them dating(in the public arena that is), Kate's style evolved quickly before the eyes of the British public almost as if she's being groomed to become the wife of Prince William. It also appears to me that she's trying to copy Wills's late mum's style...yet the end result for Middleton sometimes turns out not to be in her favor. Just this last June she was pictured wearing an aquamarine ribboned gown by designer BCBG(stands for Bon Chic Bon Genre[sp?])Max Azria to the Boodles Boxing Ball that she attended. Nice dress, I'll give her a plus there, however, it looks as if she was about to trip as she was walking down the aisle. It's all in how the dress was made; form-fitting at the bodice, but rest of the gown wasn't fitted.

Back to the comparison that I don't see with the styles of both Kate and the late princess, I believe it was Princess Diana that ultimately was the one to have a feel for fashion. Kate just seems to scream of a slave to fashion, not to mention the fact that she has dressed this way ever since she started dating Prince William so she'll always be noticed by everyone even when she isn't out and about with him. When Princess Diana(then known as Lady Diana) was dating Prince Charles, she didn't seem to be in any rush at all to look stylish. Her style would start evolving from the time she and Charles were wed, mainly because all eyes were on them, but it wasn't rushed or forced on her.

I have a link to a site that has some pictures comparing the styles of both Princess Diana and Kate Middleton.

Daily Mail

Congratulations to fellow blogger Kristen Kelly!

Congratulations to Beauty Addict blogger Kristen Kelly for being nominated in 3 categories for the Glam Awards! She's up for awards in Best Beauty, Best Overall, and Daily Must-Read. So if you haven't done so yet, but have been meaning to do so, please vote for Kristen's blog over at Glam.com. If you haven't registered as a user at Glam to vote, please do so before you proceed to vote. You have to be a user there already if you want to vote.

Click on the link for her blog that's listed under "Favorite Blogs". Once you're there, scroll down to today's entry entitled "Rock the Vote". There you'll find a link to click on to send you over to the website(glam.com) and vote.

Congratulations once again to Kristen Kelly and good luck!

The first post of 2007 and the first one of many(actual total will be determined later) about the way style was in 2006

I was thumbing through a September 24 issue of NY Times Style Magazine, Travel Fall 2006 edition, when lo and behold the magazine featured Los Angeles as "The Place"(I guess it's referring to the place to visit, maybe not) in the spread written by Maura Egan. Apparently Los Angeles has become California's version of NYC's Times Square(post-Giuliani sleaze eradication Times Square)in recent years. Gone are the seedy mix of the street mimes and runaways and the like that was the main reason why I wanted to visit Los Angeles(the prominent seediness that sharply contrasted the glamour and beauty of the city) in the first place. In its place is a newly beautified clean city brought to you by my own worst enemy, gentrification. Well, now this transformation that took place in Los Angeles now confirms what I've been saying about Hollywood within the last 5 years...that I can't believe how fake it's gotten. That very seediness was pretty much the same reason why I wanted to visit NYC when I was younger because of the abundant wealth and glamour that had sharply contrasted the formerly seedy area of 42nd street and a strip running along Times Square's main thoroughfare that had all but disappeared by the time 1998 came to a close(I managed to see only a few "seedy" places along a strip of Times Square that were still open when I was there in March of 1998 on an Art Honor Society field trip back when I was a freshman in high school). I know, I'm a sick twised perverted person since I appear to always be attracted to the very grit and seediness of a big city in addition to a few tourist attractions and the shopping districts.

This section of the magazine consisted of an ideal(to me becauase I ain't gonna follow most of it, instead, I'll add in some things to do instead that don't involve taking a tour of one of the many mansions that Tom Cruise may or may not have owned at one time) itinerary of the perfect day in the real L.A. Most of what I'll do will consist of either shopping, eating, exercising, clubbing, and relaxing. Of course, I will look at some historic sites and mingle because you'll never know who you'll meet in the city of angels, but I'm also going to take in the underground culture of the city. The piece on L.A. was very well written despite the fact that I won't be following most of the stuff on there. The main focus of the magazine as a whole is on Sofia Coppola's Paris. Yep, you heard it right, Sofia Coppola's Paris. That's funny, I didn't know Sofia Coppola was the one person out of many of the rich and famous who claim the city of Paris as theirs. Then again, I'm not surprised because when your father is a famed fim director/producer, you pretty much get by on your family name and the connections attached to it. Yep, nepotism is alive and well unfortunately.

Mainly this bit on Sofia's Paris came about when she was over in France filming her latest movie, Marie Antoinette(the 1938 or 1939 version of the same movie that had Norma Shearer as the lead character was much better, imho)the movie that I think was poorly cast because if you're an actress who's Sofia's BFF, you're more likely to be given a lead role regardless of whether or not you look like the character you're portraying with very little makeup on. Yep, I'm referring to Kirsten Dunst, because while she's a good actress, she simply didn't fit the role. However, that doesn't matter if you're buddy-buddy with Sofia Coppola(a director who got to where she is due to her family name and connections, while many people her age are now starting out in making their very first movie since they actually worked to get to where they are )because you'll automatically get the role. What's wrong with an unknown actress who has a closer resemblence to the real-life Marie Antoinette instead? Anyway, Sofia apparently was able to rent an apartment in the 6th Arrondissement of Paris(yep, connections once again played a small role here since her parents have an apartment there too)while this movie was in production where she'd have meetings. Then she goes on to boast about how even though her family is Italian(father is...I don't think her mother is though)her family came here a lot when she was little. Well bully for them, my family is Italian-Swedish mainly and we've been fortunate enough to only travel outside of New Jersey and spend a whole week there(Ohio, Florida, Georgia, and Virginia...we lacked the money and connections to be able to travel in luxury and style overseas), yet you don't see me boasting about how I come to be one of many people who 'own' a certain part of each of the three states that I have visited so far in my lifetime because of how fortunate I am to have a connection somehow and somewhere. Hell, I was 17 when I discovered that I had cousins(from my late maternal granfather's side of the family; his nephew and niece)who lived in Florida, but that really doesn't matter since I'm not famous like Sofia Coppola. Then Ms.Coppola goes on to say that she came here as a teenager and spent two summers interning at Chanel(no wonder she's probably able to get a certain limited edition product or any type of clothing from their latest collection before any other wealthy person winds up having one...and the rest of us urchins are lucky enough to get our hands on one that isn't a counterfeit version of a real Chanel piece). Well Sofia, I personally don't give a flying fuck about how you were able to intern at Chanel for 2 summers since most people who would die for a chance to become an intern have to work HARD in order to get that position. Your own name pretty much was one of the reasons why you got that internship. Then she watches shoppers in Hermes "compete for the privilege of buying their coveted handbags" like someone like I would probably watch an episode of Jerry Springer(if they don't care about being labeled as white trash if they like the show since liking the show is apparently something society frowns upon...the pseudo highbrow hipster chunk of society that is). Only difference is the fact that I don't have a prominent family name that would guarantee my privilege of obtaining one of their handbags like Sofia does. Personally, I agree with Sofia about how we rush to get everything done as opposed to how Parisians get things done, which I think is the best way to get it done, by taking your time.

I guess when your father is a director who works with award-winning crew members(such as production designer Dean Tavoularis), you pretty much cut back on costs to hire such help especially when research is needed on a certain person and period the film is focusing on. Apparently, the production designer had researched the period for a movie he ended up not doing and explained things to her about Marie Antoinette, her age, her relationship with her husband Louis. Hell, I learned about half of that stuff in my history classes as a public school student when I wasn't just looking this stuff up on my own. Despite the many things that bug me about Sofia and her movie, the one thing I like about her is the fact that she has a creativity that this country needs more of in every socioeconomic background. It's cool that she had combined her music soundtrack with both post-punk '80s music and classical music, and I do say rather grudgingly that I like her style. I don't hate her completely, I just don't like the fact that she was able to get where she wanted to be because of her family name and magazines completely ignore that since if you're the child of someone like her father who is an acclaimed producer/director and you follow in your parent's footsteps they automatically call them a prodigy because they get into the same career that their parent is in at an above average early age while the rest of us are lucky if we get to where the person is now before we reach retirement age no matter how hard WE work....it doesn't matter because we're the only person in the field and we don't have a parent or blood relative working in the same field who is very highly regarded. Plus I don't like the fact that she's easily able to get something that the rest of us have to fight one another to get a hold of such as an Hermes purse. An interesting article, but then again, it focused on the reader who is wealthy and fortunate enough to be able to spend an x amount of time in Paris and own a nice little apartment there and doesn't have to worry about the money they spend while shopping because they'll be able to pay off the debts if they're smart enough to do so. Next time, try focusing on the majority of people who read this magazine but actually have to watch what they spend money on and how they use their credit cards and still manage to spend a luxurious vacation in Paris without doling out a lot of money. Overall, it was an interesting article and when I'm able to travel to Paris I'll probably stop at some of the places Sofia shopped at and purchase something. I might eat at some of the restaurants that she ate at too. I'll probably only make a point to visit the Salon de Hercules...that's the only place that piqued my interest. I might visit some of the places at Versailles too, but that will remain to be seen.

Welcome!

Welcome to the new home of Individual style! There'll be another post coming up later on, so keep your eyes peeled.