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Betty vs. Veronica

Posted on May 26, 2009
Filed Under Everything Else | 6 Comments

I read a ton of Archie comics when I was growing up, so this recent news caught my attention: Archie, the hapless, boy-next-door figure, is going to choose between Betty and Veronica and propose marriage in an upcoming issue! That’s right kids, in a blog post about a week ago, the folks at Archie Comics revealed the news. Forget Cheney and Sotomayor, this is MAJOR NEWS. But who will he pick?! For those of you who haven’t been reading, Archie and his gang live in a fictional small town named Riverdale and have been in high school since 1941, when the cast of characters was originally drawn. And you thought the kids of 90210 never seemed to graduate! Betty Cooper is the sweet, girl-next-door type who is from the same ain’t-that-America sort of background as Archie. Veronica Lodge, naturally, is the rich brunette. Think Jen versus Angelina. As much as I am on Team Jolie and have been for quite some time (ever since Foxfire, basically), I think Betty needs to be the victor on this one.

To illustrate, I give you the “Betty” handbag from Cynthia Rowley via Gilt, a useful-looking tote with wholesome, preppy styling. It looks like a picket fence!

And then there’s the “Veronica,” a sleek and rather frivolous design from Big Buddha (Clutches with that type of handle drive me a little nuts. Too fussy).

See? The obvious choice here is Betty, even at a still-whopping $228 versus Veronica’s $60.

In a sense, I’m a little sad that this love triangle should come to an end. The character archetypes never really get old, but I guess it’s a reaction to the relevance of print media, particularly comics. When the same kids who were reading Archies fifteen years ago are now tuning in to Gossip Girl, I suppose you have find a way to compete (though guys, please, drop the blogs). In any case, I’ll gladly pony up $2.50 later this summer to find out if nice girls finish first.

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Water World.

Posted on May 20, 2009
Filed Under Everything Else | 1 Comment

I love absolutely everything about Anthropologie’s dreamy, water-themed May 2009 catalog. It came in the mail and swept me away with its lush, sun-soaked photography and floaty product shots (shell-bedecked bag swimming underwater – love!). So many pages reflect my idea summer day: swimming in a secluded river with a good book, digging my toes in the dirt…all while wearing an impossible cute, retro swimsuit of course!

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Women: They Want to be Beautiful.

Posted on May 15, 2009
Filed Under Events | 4 Comments

I had the pleasure of not only seeing the docu-film Valentino: The Last Emperor last night in Bethesda (part of the Front Row events) but also talking privately with the filmmaker, Matt Tyrnauer. Who is completely droll and hilarious. The film opens with a fantastic, slightly kitschy montage of Valentino and his models over the past 45 years, set to “Bette Davis Eyes” (note to self: download immediately!). At the outset of the film, Valentino is asked, “What do women want?” to which he replies, “They want to be beautiful.” In that same interview, he says, “I love beauty. It’s not my fault.” That line could easily summarize the way he is portrayed in the film, which is, at times, alarmingly real. This is a man who is very clearly interested in being publicly famous, but who is also intensely private. The film is revealing in that it shows Valentino as a designer, boss, and a lover, without being deferential in its treatment of what we all know as a slick fashion brand.

We’re largely taken away from the glossy ads and marketing (but not to worry: there’s plenty of ooooooh-inducing fashion!). We see Valentino – the man – his bad (obnoxious, self-important moments, insistence that others read his mind) but also his good: his humor and charm, his creative talent and energy, and most wonderfully, the tender relationship between he and his longtime partner, Giancarlo. As Matt told me after the film, “it’s really a universal story about a relationship…how to make a 50-year marriage last.” You see them quarrel, but only the way two people who truly love, understand, and respect one another can. And at a time when gay marriage rights in this country are gaining some ground, it paints a portrait of a love just as complex as any.

Perhaps most interestingly, the film conflates Valentino’s future within his own company with the fate of the fashion industry. Valentino is portrayed as the last man standing of The Real Fashion Industry: from the era before things got global and became all about money and marketing and celebrities. Valentino announced his retirement shortly after the film wrapped. And now that the industry is struggling to hold onto its monied facade, it begs the question: has fashion lost its way?

If you missed the film last night, fear not: we hear there are plans to bring the film to downtown DC.

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Into the Wild

Posted on May 15, 2009
Filed Under Around Town, Women | Leave a Comment

Just had to quickly share this photographic awesomeness, submitted by a reader, of an attendee at last night’s Zoofari, the National Zoo’s annual fundraising event. Apparently there was also matching fedora. Purrr!

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Lights, Camera, Fashion!

Posted on May 12, 2009
Filed Under Shopping Events & News | 2 Comments

Not to equate fashion with celebrities (often, quite the opposite is more the case), but there are a number of fashiony events starting Thursday, a handful of which have enough star power to please those of you who didn’t get to do the straining-with-digital-camera-overhead thing this past weekend.

Above: Christian Siriano, Lauren Goldstein Crowe, Glamour.com’s Tracey Lomrantz, and THE VALENTINO MOVIE!!! (that I’m, well, obviously, dying to see) and a ton more at The Front Row in Bethesda this weekend. Bethesda just got about eightybajillion times more interesting.

We hear that the premiere of Night at the Museum: Battle of The Smithsonian will take place Thursday evening at the Air and Space Museum, with red carpet arrivals at 6:30. Bring your cameras, star-struck Washingtonians: expect Amy Adams (in the movie as Amelia Earhart = awesome), Ben Stiller, Owen Wilson, Robins Williams and Hank Azaria.

And don’t forget – on Thursday, Macy’s Metro Center transforms from a department store to a gallery, showcasing the impressive artwork from students at the Corcoran College of Art + Design, all alongside hippie fashions inspired by The Summer of Love. More details here.

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Prom!

Posted on May 12, 2009
Filed Under Events, Only in Washington | 1 Comment

The Washington Times’ Stephanie Green wears a corsage

The Examiner’s Kiki Ryan with Meghan Mccain

The Post’s Jonathan Capehart with political analyst Michelle Bernard and crew

Ted Gibson

I didn’t take a ton of celeb photos this year for the WHCA weekend, mainly because I skipped the photo-op-happy pre-dinner gathering and Tammy’s brunch and just enjoyed myself at the Cap File party Saturday evening. What impressed me the most were some of the outfits I saw on the “regular” folks in attendance. The responses from three particularly well-dressed women I stopped: “Marchesa” “Phillip Lim” “Mayle” (the backless black ruffled number above). I wore a favorite vintage tiered ruffle one-shoulder dress and, by around 12:30 a.m., some very uncomfortable shoes. A highlight of the evening: I met the ineffably charming Ted Gibson and he lovingly touched my hair (it’s the little things…).

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Only in Washington.

Posted on May 8, 2009
Filed Under Events, Only in Washington | 1 Comment

from the White House flickr photostream

Prom is this weekend! And by that I mean the White House Correspondents Association Dinner (see why many refer to it as just “prom”?), a big ol’ dinner that, for the past handful of years has been a bit of a snooze, followed by sponsored after-parties that are always the fun part. I don’t think I need to spell out how and why this year’s dinner – and of course, the after-parties – will be some of the most exciting and glamorous this town has seen so far. The recession may damper things a bit, but I think the star-power will certainly blind most to say, cheaper wine or fewer appetizers.

Faces of Washington, New York, and LA at least year’s WHCAD.

I snapped for Washingtonian last year and got a ton of great photos (Donatella Versace! Heidi and Spencer!), everywhere from media maven Tammy Haddad’s insider-essential brunch to the pre-dinner gathering and Bloomberg after-party.

Desiree Rogers and Valerie Jarrett came to the Corcoran in March to shoot the cover for Capitol File’s Summer 2009 issue (designer.clothes.everywhere!), which will be unveiled at their after-party tomorrow night, also at the Corcoran. Peek at the spread here. Washington event designer extraordinaire Andre Wells designed the event, and guests will include both Rogers and Jarrett and a host of other faaaabulous celebrities so faaaabulous that I don’t even know who they all are yet. But there will be photos, promise!

Wells just got a great shout-out in the new May Vogue, as did Washington Life magazine and its Young & The Guest List party, novelist Jane Stanton Hitchcock, Post writer Jim Hoagland, florist Sue Bluford and, in a particularly hilarious line that anyone whose been to the restaurant will understand, Cafe Milano). Its Norwich Notes column declares that “Washington, D.C. is the new New York.” Um, what? Really, Washington is the new Washington, a phrase many here have uttered recently. In fact, can that be our city’s new slogan?

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