“I Mean…What?!?” – Abe Gurko

Oy, talk about a flap…and I mean the flapping mouth of Douglas Hannant regarding his (possibly) out of context statement about Michelle Obama, “Everyone compares her to Jackie O–she is not the next Jackie O.” Naturally, these words were met with gasps. No one in the fashion industry is allowed to say anything bad about the First Lady. Oscar de la Renta took a little heat when he dished Michelle for her wardrobe choice when meeting Queen Elizabeth II, “You don’t go to Buckingham Palace in a sweater.” The issue here is not what Douglas said or Oscar, and I… Read More »

Yes, the I Mean…What?!? fashion coverage is important to get out as it is news, but surely when I noticed the many style faux pas on the MTV Video Music Awards Red Carpet, I had to share this newsflash. Especially with some of the doozies I’ve noted. Part of what is so wrong with our world is that the youth centered awards shows have become a low-rent, tacky shit show. How do we expect to get back to a more genteel time, when the barometer of what is appropriate is so low? It’s why I’ve been saying, “The end of… Read More »

No, I have not yet seen The September Issue yet…film or magazine. I’m going to do the ritual this weekend, see the movie then flip through Vogue. I’ve said it once, I’ll say it again, I think Anna Wintour is fierce. Anyone from Lauren Wiesberger to Maureen Dowd can say what they want about Anna, but they are simply riding her Oscar de la Renta coattails. Having worked for years in Hollywood, inside the inner sanctum of celebrity, you learn really quickly that “those” people are not what they seem. When I moved to Los Angeles, my goal was to… Read More »

Michelle Obama is fierce…but…not everything she wears works. Today’s New York Daily News did a pictorial on “Michelle’s Smashing Summer Style”. Now, I will be the first to say that Michelle is fierce…she has had quite a few sensational looks since entering the Vanity Fair International Best Dressed List. But like every other human, one can not be flawless 365 days out of the year. Unless you are Blaine Trump or Carolina Herrera. That said, since Michelle–prior to White House duties–was a working attorney mom, she definitely proved a great sense of style, considering lawyers are known for their fashion… Read More »

When Ali (Not-So) Wise, PR girl extraordinaire (at least in her own mind), was arrested for hacking into interior designer, Nina Freudenberger’s privates, it was major, delicious dish. Wise–who clearly does not live up to her moniker–compromised her client Dolce & Gabbana, as they were now thrust into the middle of a seriously distasteful PR scandal…debacle. But, wait one minute, that arrest happened around July 10. And today, July 30, the news is that she has been terminated from her post. Can someone explain to me the 20 day black out here? Were Domenico and Stefano in Fiji, no phones,… Read More »

I simply must get political with you for one minute. Sure, Obama’s in (yay) and Republicans are dwindling like ad revenues from glossy magazines (boo), but something extremely odd happened yesterday in the state of New York and I am not sure what to do about this. For sure I need to share my histrionics. In a horrendous twist of fate, two Senate Democrats in New York state have crossed the aisle to become (shudder at the thought) REPUBLICANS! This is as bad, worse, than Darth Vader crossing over to the Dark Side. This is like the Evil Empire Strikes… Read More »

Whenever people make a point that something is au courant, they say “Bla Bla is the new black”. Isaac Mizrahi thinks “Competition is the new black” (in an effort to promote The Fashion Show on Bravo) and Queer Eye guy Carson Kressley, once declared “Gay is the new black,” (well, perhaps it was in the late 70’s, but definitely not when his show was happening. If anything “gay became the new annoying”). The phrase originated in 1983 when Gianfranco Ferre referred to his somber collection in the LA Times that, “Grey is the new black”. We can agree on one… Read More »

The other thing about non-interesting media whores who get to the top of the heap are those who write “memoirs” or “tell-alls”. There is a vast difference between an obscure writer, compelled to tell their life story, which strikes a chord and becomes a best-seller (Elizabeth Gilbert’s Eat, Pray, Love) versus Sarah Palin’s seven-million dollar book deal that will have as much depth as my shoe. Or how about the upcoming Studio Head by Jon Peters (Barbra Streisand’s ex hairdresser turned producer) who plans to reveal dirty details about all his trysts and even several of Streisand’s trysts as well.… Read More »

Uch, such pressure. I was reading an artcle in Women’s Wear Daily about the top U.S. designers response to being snubbed by Michelle Obama. Now, granted, I think her Jason Wu and Thakoon obsession is not that warranted, but it’s really cool of her on some level. What level, I’m not sure, but a level. And I see the point that Donna Karan, Oscar de la Renta, Vera Wang and Carolina Herrera make. Oscar was even bold enough to say, “You don’t go to Buckingham Palace in a sweater.” Oh, no, you didn’t. Good for him, though. What does he… Read More »