This Week’s Haute Links
Michelle Obama’s Brooches Are ‘Part of Her Code’: The Cut
Racism AND Sexism at the NY Post?: The Black Snob
Andre Leon Talley and Kimmora Lee Simons to judge America’s Next Top Model: Gatecrasher
Lawyer’s have invented a new defense to trademark counterfeiting : Counterfeit Chic
Meet the New Black Model on the Block, Kelly Moreira: The Cut
Did Northwestern Students Pay Witnesses for False Testimony?: WSJ Law Blog
EEk! Fashion Industry Downsizes: Layoffs Lomming at Zac Posen, Gucci: Gatecrasher
Lou Dobbs Quits CNN: AverageBro
Asked and Answered: Miss J of Top Model (Whose book released this week, btw): The Moment
Empire State of Mind: Garance Dore
Love Letter: The Stylish Wanderer
The Future Modelling of Sudan Parade: Style Discovery
Chanel Iman Went Blonde: Design Scene
Cocktails
These pictures are old (I had natural hair and I think I had just descovered blush), but I thought of them when I saw this picture of Rihanna wearing a fur stole. Everyone who knows me knows that I die for my fur stole.
We have soooo many memories, me and that scarf. I pull it out every fall and wear it everyday til spring.
One of my friends calls it my “cocktail” (because it multi-colored. maybe I can get some better pictures this year).
Another friend almost saw me have a heart attack one time after I left it behind in the movie theatre. He went back to go get it for me while I waited in the car. When came back saying it wasn’t there, and I about died. He was joking.
It smells like me. So, every time someone picks it up, they’re always like: “mmm. this smells so good.”
You’ll never guess where I got it. Lane Bryant. About 5 years ago for $30.
It’s starting to bald in places, and so I started looking for a replacement several years ago.
I don’t think I will ever be able to part with it.
Unless I find a more fabulous replacement. HELP!
Street Lights and Rompers
They say that New York is the city that never sleeps, but one night Times Square was completely empty…
After prancing around the CITY for a week, I have a lot of work to catch up on!
When Fashion and the Law Collide: Salacious Obscenities
One visit to the American Apparel website, and it’s clear that they aren’t just selling T-shirts (that I so adore). Adolescent-looking models, with dear caught in headlights expressions, in “come hither” poses, are like, well, the retailers trademark. And nipples are often exposed.
Attitudes regarding nudity in Western cultures are often more critical than attitudes in non-western cultures. For example, in the U.S., exposure of female nipples is a criminal offense in many states and are not allowed in public at all, while in the U.K., nudity may not be used to “harass, alarm or distress” according to the Public Order Act of 1986.
However, it was a British advertising watchdog that recently criticized the clothing company for the ad pictured below, after a reader complained to the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) that the ad, which originally ran on the back cover of Vicemagazine in the U.K., but with a series of six images — instead of three — in which the model further disrobes from her flex fleece and where her nipple was partially exposed in one shot, was “offensive and inappropriate because the model appeared young and it could be seen to sexualize a child.” Reuters reports:
American Apparel said that it did not think the partial nudity in the advertisement would cause widespread offense. It said that the model was 23 years old and did not look under 16, nor was she portrayed as a sex object. (because you look naturally sexy wearing a hoodie, right?)
The ASA disagreed, calling the images “provocative,” and adding,
“Because the ad could be seen to sexualize a model who appeared to be a child under the age of 16 years, we concluded that it was inappropriate and could cause serious offense to some readers.”
Sexual materials range between erotic art (which usually includes “classic nude forms” such as Michelangelo’s David statue) and the generally less respected commercial pornography. The differentiation between sexual materials is a particularly difficult one and a contentious First Amendment issue that has not fully been settled. Many cultures have produced laws to define what is considered to be “obscene”, and censorship is often used to try to suppress or control materials that are obscene under these definitions. The definition differs from culture to culture, between communities within a single culture, and also between individuals within those communities.
In the United States, the 1973 ruling of the Supreme Court of the United States in Miller v. California established a three-tiered test to determine what was obscene – and thus not protected, versus what was merely erotic and thus protected by the First Amendment.
Delivering the opinion of the court, Chief Justice Warren Burger wrote,
The basic guidelines for the trier of fact must be: (a) whether ‘the average person, applying contemporary community standards would find that the work, taken as a whole, appeals to the prurient interest, (b) whether the work depicts or describes, in a patently offensive way, sexual conduct specifically defined by the applicable state law; and (c) whether the work, taken as a whole, lacks serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value.
The legal distinction between artistic nudity, and permitted commercial pornography (which includes sexual penetration) that are deemed as “protected forms of speech” versus “obscene acts”, which are illegal acts and separate from those permitted areas, are usually separated by the predominant culture appreciation regarding such. In fact, federal obscenity law in the U.S. is highly unusual in that—not only is there no uniform national standard, but rather, there is an explicit legal precedent that all but guarantees that something that is legally “obscene” in one jurisdiction may not be in another. In effect, the First Amendment protections of free speech vary by location within the U.S., and over time.
However, “mere nudity” was upheld in the Supreme Court case Jenkins v. Georgia , 418 U.S. 153 (1974) and deemed not to be obscene under the constitutional standards announced by Miller. As declared by the judge at trial “… nudity alone does not render material obscene under Miller’s standards.” In the U.S., the word “obscenity” is usually limited to content that directly refers to explicit sexual acts that are publicly accessible, though it has at times encompassed other subject matters, such as spoken and written language that can be publicly transmitted and received by the general public.
With the advent of Internet distribution of potentially obscene material, this question of jurisdiction and “community standards” has created significant controversy in the legal community. So, while the nude content was offensive to some in the U.K. community and it has been banned from distribution through print publication (so that no one else will happen to glance over at the doctor’s office or on public transit to be incited with disgust), the online community isn’t as easily offended by nudity, perhaps, and hasn’t spoken out. So, if you’re in the U.K., and want to see bare nipples, then you’ll have to go to American Apparel’s website, where nipples run free, although, I couldn’t find the other three photos on the website either, only the ones pictured above (there are plenty others, however).
What do you think of the racy advertisements? Offensive? Not offensive?
Fashion is A Way of Life: Mixing Classic and Ultra-Modern Design Elements
French designer Philippe Boulet has created an illuminated furniture collection for those looking to “light” up their life. The Poesy bed, pictured below, is an amazing example of mixing classic and ultra-modern design and is described by Boulet as being a “poem” to modern living.
Too Cool For School: From Saddle Shoes To Oxfords
Nothing’s changed, except now, they’re called “Oxfords,” and have been updated with mondern embellishments. Dress them up or down, and they can be found in street style from here to London town.
Here’s how I’d wear them now. Visit my stylebook here.
No Ma’am!
Miss J has a book coming out titled, “Follow the Model: Miss J’s Guide to Unleashing Presence, Poise and Power,” in which he (she?) tells of a story about being denied acces to a particular fashion show. When he arrived, a man told him, “I’m sorry to do this to you, but I’ve been told they really don’t want you here.” Miss J didn’t cause a scene, but was embarrased. He writes,
I still don’t know why I was shut out of that show…As fate would have it, the same Brazilian designer later begged the producers ofANTM for two weeks to do our final runway show for cycle twelve with them in Brazil. All I have to say about that is God don’t like ugly, and Rosa Cha was such a a [sic] better choice and a total dream to work with.
Brazilian designer? Hhmm…Idk. But, you got to watch where you step in those stilettos. Source
My Fall Fasion Wish List
Pic source
Iv’e already started working on the fall wardrobe. Here’s the list:
1. Leather Jacket
2. More leggings (gotten about 3 pair since s/s list)
3. Schoolboy Blazer (J. Crew)
4. Wild pair of Nike sneakers
5. Watch
6. Jeans
7. Cords (j. Crew)
8. Rain boots (Aldo)
9. Tights
10. Pair of Oxfords
11. Party dress
12. Finally going to be my MJ Blake bag
13. Chunky sweater
14. Clunky boots
15. Coat in a color
Wishing on a Star
Six years ago, Swedish-born stylist (to vogue and elle) Ulrika started the brand Rika. The style is ‘classic with a twist of rock ‘n’ roll’. The famous Rika “star bag” is sold world-wide to celebrities such as Madonna and Helena Christensen. The bags are handmade with passion for detail and finish, and with materials known to get better and better with wear. She designs with her grandmother’s credo”
loving to create with the believe that it’s the tiny details that are key to the beauty of any garment
The first and only Rika boutique ( www.rikaint.com) isbased in Amsterdam and offers the starlight experience: star clutch in brownish grey, star canvas bag in crème, the classic star bag in beige & black, and the big star bag in crème. But there is more (and also by other designers) such as vintage-inspired T-shirts with graffiti and crocheted dresses from unusual sources all of which have been hunted down by Ulrika herself. -Source and Source
I have been looking for an everyday bag. Have searched high and low, and nothing seemed to catch my eye until I came across this Rika bag at Elizabeth and Charles. Unfortunately, the bag sold out before I could purchase it, along with the all classic star bag in black. So, now I am torn between the large star bag in all black or the classic star bag in light grey. The bags are surprisingly hard to find. Only select boutiques across the U.S. carry them. Wish me luck!
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