There are fashion books that scare me with titles like “How Not to Look Old”, “Color Me Younger” or “Frumpy to Fabulous”. I always wonder how The Gap can still be in business, but I love Old Navy. I feel for retail, whose heads must still be spinning from this Year of Our Covid. The jury is still out whether she will be an active First Lady. The First Lady has always been an object of fashion fascination. Some First Ladies have been dismissed (certainly Bess Truman) if only for their fashion sense (Eleanor Roosevelt). On the other hand do you believe for one minute that Demi Moore (49) really shops at Ann Taylor and Julianne Moore (51) at Talbot’s? They’re attractive women, but we have no idea of their personal style beyond what we see on the red carpet (and that most likely styled by someone else). And what a great issue it is- full of wonderful, personal pieces and sage advice on living, with style (comma intended). His couture years were great. The couple’s behavior and attitude are of great emphasis during the couple therapy questions.
The therapist approach the couple therapy because it is more fruitful for married couples as compared to that of individual therapy. I cringe because he presents the most common denominator basically boring stuff with an even more manic dose of Isaacness than is his usual. While social media has become an integral component of today’s marketing mix, having a social media marketing plan is now common practice. Now we’re all doing it. Right now Trump looks like an Ivy Leaguer gone to seed or a used car salesman trying to look successful. It looks terrible, and what’s the point? London soon followed with its own interpretations of the Paris looks and attempts to best them. Wexner then purchased Victoria’s Secret in 1982, followed by Lane Bryant, Lerner Stores, Abercrombie & Fitch, Henri Bendel, and Bath & Body Works. Wexner started Express, for younger women and men, and Limited Too as a much younger version. Sabrina (Audrey Hepburn version)- I’ve written before that I once paused throughout a VHS tape of Sabrina to sketch all Audrey’s looks in order to replicate them. She never looks relaxed and comfortable. All it takes is one lovely thing to catch your eye, and the (shopping) world looks bright again, the future-well- unlimited.
But there were early problems for Jason Day, the former world No.1 who’d dropped three shots in his first five holes. If on the other hand you got to know him on this year’s “It’s a Brad Brad World”, also on Bravo, you too may have been charmed as was I. More than showing Brad as every girl’s dream of a best friend, the tv show revealed a young man who bloomed slowly, worked hard, was luckily in the right place at the right time and -most important- was smart enough to hear opportunity knocking and brave enough to rip open the door. That location (next door to Tiffany’s) remained the flagship until Bonwit’s finally closed. I met my friend Barbara almost 60 years ago when she was working in Bonwit’s “deb shop” and I was snooping around. Between marriages Avril spent two years involved with reality TV sensation Brody Jenner who is the son of Caitlyn Jenner. She was a favorite of one-time fashion editor Diana Vreeeland (who later became editor-in-chief of Vogue). Diana loved Richard. And so it goes. Nice attempt at an homage to the originals at least. I have definite opinions, though I’m personally not the least bit influential.
Voices from Shakespeare to Mark Twain have stated “Clothes make the man.” I fear this would be a Herculean task. And I fear the Dolce and Gabbana grandmas peppering their ads are only comic relief. Some years fishnets are trashy, some years tres chic. I might mention that “Funny Face” has been a perfect candy box confection of a treat for 60 years and needs no updates. A perfect engagement ring is just 7 steps away from you. Although there were elevators I preferred to take the stairs. No luck. They are all begging and pleading with us to take away their tired sequins and neglected brocades. The drawings by Bernard Seindler superimposed on the photos are (purposely I assume) crude collages and colorized overlays. The fashionable five are Vogue at 800 pages, Harper’s Bazaar at 584, Elle at 528, Marie Claire at 316 and Glamour, the runt of the litter, at 304 pages. The health of a magazine is determined by its number of pages, signifying many or fewer ads. As much as we know it probably won’t fit, hope springs eternal, and pushing the “buy now” button is easy.
Would I buy what she was selling? She’s now selling t-shirts and stretch pants in simpering pastels cut to hide the jiggly bits on QVC. The 32-year-old husband of Ashlee Simpson looked preppy in a Gucci cardigan and a pair of distressed black denim pants with a small smiley face sewn onto one thigh. What a delight to discover that one of the world’s greatest art museums knew you were coming. His courtiers were afraid to tell the emperor what almost everyone else knew. In 2011 she debuted a line of Fashionnova.com reviews on crepe copies or in the spirit of the costume jewelry she loves. I was never really attached to those copies of “Rags”, though I certainly kept them long enough. The following are somewhat offbeat places to consider as you wend your way through the agoras in your life. And they are thrilling! I must Do Certain Things First (like get dressed and feed the cats), but my fingers are itching.
Things may not have been as happy at Glamour. Like most of things in life nothing can be ideal the same is with fashion. There are a few other stores on life support. There would be a few accessories- belts, scarves, handbags, jewelry- to complement the clothing. Eventually there were 19 branch locations, usually located in exclusive shopping centers of wealthy cities. Shopping in general has left me feeling a bit “meh” these days. The merchandise had a bit of a young French feel. It was named The Limited because it specialized in a limited amount of merchandise that turned over quickly. Others have been pegged (Nancy Reagan for her James-Galanos-correctness); others have been swooned over (Jackie Kennedy you think???). I have never forgotten either one. A Rolex has been the ultimate watch that anyone anywhere would like to have around their wrists. I subscribe to most and look at the ones I won’t let into the house (aka People Style Watch) at the gym. A founder of one of the trendiest NYC boutiques, Scoop, she was the ying to Diane von Furstenburg’s yang on the ill-conceived tv reality show “House of DVF”.