“I Mean…What?!?” – Abe Gurko

Ahhh, the journey of one person’s struggle to become a celebrity. How many of these situations have we watched unfold in front of our eyes. Lost count? I sure have. But I’d like to stop and discuss a few of these people who have hit the airwaves with a thunderous boom and share my perspective. Today’s article in The New York Times Style section about Jesus Luz, Madonna’s boyfriend, is a searing, riveting tale of how one poor, little boy in Brazil made his way to the top of the New York City heap, complete with publicist. Grab your hankies.… Read More »

Not too long ago I did a piece Fresh Cheeks on cheeks. No, not the cheeks on your butt, there’s always Levi Johnston’s spread in Playgirl for that. I’m much more obsessed with the ones on your face…especially after they have been enhanced. As Christmas is upon us, I wanted to see who’s been naughty or nice…well…who cares about that really, I wanted to see who’s been getting fresh cheeks.… Read More »

The article of the week is by Eric Wilson of The New York Times Style section about the Berlin based fashion label, VONROSEN. Thank you Eric for introducing me to probably the most annoying new “luxury brand” on the planet. Get this…you have to apply to get access to their website, which is the only place to peruse their schmattas…I mean collection. Now, don’t get me wrong, I love good snob appeal, a.k.a. the entire luxury goods business. But when some uppity fashionista thinks that the Studio 54 philosophy of marketing applies to buying a nothing special cardigan sweater for… Read More »

I don’t have much to say about last night’s State Dinner besides that it is part of the White House protocol and that it must be maintained. Is it annoying? Perhaps to those who are not invited. Does it do anything for us politically? Maybe but probably not.  Are rituals and institutions a good thing? One could argue this in either direction. The fact remains, we have them, and with this new White House, the affair needed to be amazing. Why? Because. And if you don’t like that answer? Too bad. Michelle Obama looked fantastic, the space was elegant, and… Read More »

Who doesn’t love a good Best Dressed List and to that point, who doesn’t love a Worst Dressed List even more. I see all your hands raised by this point. The thing about Best and Worst Dressed Lists are that they are so subjective. You have to take the comments from the source. For instance, I have my favorites from the American Music Awards. I made my selections early yesterday because I was traveling back from Iceland while the show was on. My Best Dressed List concurs with style.com‘s Look of the Day, whereas my choices and Huffington Post‘s collide.… Read More »

Far be it from me to not appreciate a good marketing opportunity, but a blatantly gross one is surely worth mentioning, if not brech-ing from. Last night at the American Music Awards, a.k.a. the sell-out awards of the century, Coca-Cola hosted some kind of area that celebs went to in order for Coca-Cola to shnorr up a few photo ops. Naturally, since Pepsi has so effectively aligned themselves with the music industry over the past couple of decades (Michael Jackson, Britney, Mariah, etc.) Coke needed to think fast on garnering some of that limelight, without actually pushing what the music… Read More »

I’m in Reykjavik, Iceland and now that the sun finally came up (11am-ish) I can get out of bed and into the streets. Not coming up with any pearls of wisdom, or anything to laugh about. Am here supporting my friend Steinunn who is having a retrospective exhibition at the Reykjavik Art Museum. She was also just honored with the title Artist Laureate, first time ever to a fashion designer. How this collection does not transcend the borders of the US is astonishing. Everything she does is seasons a head of the curve. Case in point, ruffles. The big story… Read More »

In 1982, the Olivia Newton-John song, “Let’s Get Physical” became the alma mater of the exercise craze that swept the nation and the business of fitness was off and running. Gyms began sprouting up like dandelions and the healthy California lifestyle, along with the accompanying fashions became a huge trend. It was the first time that I can recall that New Yorkers were taking a cue from Californians, against their better judgment. There was a small group of us that were already body conscious that worked out at one of the few gyms in New York City, namely Better Bodies.… Read More »

Man does not live by gossip alone. Well, that’s not true either. Sometimes there’s nothing like a good crumb of dish to get you through the day. There are so many levels of dish these days with the feeding frenzy of the internet that fuels innuendo, if not inciting outright lies. Who are we to believe? Who is THE go to source? Just Jared? Perez Hilton? People Magazine? TMZ?  Page Six? Gawker? All of the above? None of the above? As for I MEAN…WHAT?!?, what I do as purely a social commentary on all the madness rather than being a… Read More »

You gotta love Clint Eastwood for calling it as he sees it in the December issue of  GQ, “We’re becoming more juvenile as a nation…now, we have a bunch of teenage twits.” Oh no you didn’t, Dirty Harry. To Clint’s point: You don’t have to be 79 years old to see that our childish fascination with pedestrian nobodies is why perhaps his new movie Invictus, Nelson Mandela‘s true story with the South African rugby team that helped usher the country out of apartheid, might have a challenge finding an audience. So, what better tactic than to call us all a… Read More »