“I Mean…What?!?” – Abe Gurko

I am a Democrat. I am also furious. Not that we lost the House. We all should have known that was coming and been psychologically prepared for the landslide. Seeing Barack Obama dumbfounded the next day at the press conference proves that, as he even referred to, “the glass bubble” has kept him at arms length from the American people. After all, every bloviator accuses him of that or being an “aloof Harvard professor”. Say what you want about Obama, but first look at this website that documents all the great things he has done in the last two years.… Read More »

Just wanted to take a much needed frothy gossip break from all these Tea Baggers and report that Blake Lively and Penn Badgely have officially called it quits. Does this mean that what happens on the show Gossip Girl actually foreshadows the real-life truth? I mean, their characters Serena van der Woodsen and Dan Humfrey were an item, kind of the wrong side of the tracks storyline and here we have the real-life break up. I never thought they were a match anyway. Not sure why. No judgment. Just didn’t feel it. Another example of Gossip Girl’s truthiness is how… Read More »

You gotta love the Gap. Well, maybe not enough to buy anything for yourself, unless you are in a pinch, or in a mall while visiting your family. But for the way the Gap treats themselves like a serious fashion collection. The Gap showed their Spring ’11 looks in a bunker somewhere in London…très hip…and sure enough, WWD, Vogue and style.com were there to review it, like it was something other than the Gap. Granted, they have a great designer, Patrick Robinson. And surely, if he and a slew of assistants are putting together forty some odd looks, they will… Read More »

Not only are the 70’s and 80’s experiencing a resurgence on the fashion runways across the globe, but so are the the mores and attitudes towards men. We are in the throws of a (yet another) redefining moment. Two seasons ago, men were like Pre-Raphaelite creatures whose waif-like bodies and fair skin made them the object of desire for both men and women. Manboys were sensitive, angelic creatures. Dior Homme was the look du jour and these men ate quiche. In 1982, Bruce Feirstein‘s book, Real Men Don’t Eat Quiche spent the year on The New York Times Bestseller List,… Read More »

Everyone and anyone in the fashion/media industries has been monitoring the major changes that recently took place at W Magazine. With Stefano Tonchi at the helm, having left his post at The New York Times Magazine, all eyes are on each issue of W. The recent covers shot by Inez van Lamsverde & Vinoodh Matadin have been dynamic and the fashion editorial pages look great. Much of the filler content seems old…but that is due to the internet delivering content at the speed of light. When I read that Kim Kardashian will be nude on the cover of the November… Read More »

When I say, “Now I have seen everything”, I am not lying.  As the runways are now being influenced by the real world…which used to never be the case…elements of fashion are creeping onto the runways that defies my perception of runway chic. Especially out of Paris. There was a time when fashion was the unachievable goal. To play in the sandbox of fabulosity meant being part of the exclusive, illusive dream machine. Now that fashion has been democratized…gross…we see now that the fashion houses are buckling under pressure to deliver the people, that which will make them feel special.… Read More »

Oh, please with this controversy about the new Elle magazine cover photo featuring Gabourey Sidibe. Yikes. First of all, Essence magazine must be kicking themselves for not putting her on their cover first. Say what you want, she ain’t pretty enough to be on the cover of a fashion / beauty magazine. And I am dying to see how many more issues will sell (such a poet) with Gabourey gracing (for lack of a better word) the cover. W magazine did something like this a couple of years ago by featuring Ugly Betty‘s America Ferrera when that show was popular.… Read More »

There are millions of opinions about Fashion’s Night Out and half of them belong to me. My client, the Meatpacking District, was agog with festivities, in the streets, in the stores, the energy was palpable from the second the clock struck 6PM. It was like New Year’s Eve came early…only with shopping. Did you buy something? I did. Everyone that participated in Fashion Lives Downtown did a fantastic job and this new found retail holiday needs to happen every month. Maybe not with such a fervor and expense. But Fashion’s Night Out needs to be monthly. Period. Retailers needs more… Read More »

What do Selma Blair, Christina Ricci, Kelly Rowland, Sean Lennon, Robin Thicke, Charlotte Kemp Muhl, Helena Christensen, Miike Snow, DJ Cassidy, Ali Hewson, Harley Viera Newton, Mia Morretti have in common? Fashion’s Night Out in the Meatpacking District, which we have sub-named…Fashion Lives Downtown. Say what you want about Fashion’s Night Out, that Anna is only doing this for Vogue, or that Jews in Borough Park are mortified because it falls on Rosh Hashanah, or that this is about drinking and not shopping, but Fashion’s Night Out is like The (Fabulous) Blob and literally engulfing all of Manhattan. Yes, I… Read More »

There is a great article in Sundays’ The New York Times Magazine about Fat Fashion called Plus-Size Wars. It is appropriately titled, because the Battle of the Bulge is a lifetime commitment, most often, a losing one at that. Fat and Fashion rolled into the same conversation is not the sexiest of topics, however it is a growing (no pun intended) market, yet the F word still has its adverse effects on the industry. No one wants to be called fat. Having been a fat child, I know all too well how painful it is to be ridiculed for just… Read More »