Bravo Leaves Veronica Webb Looking for Work

So apparently, Veronica Webb is out as co-host of Tim Gunn's Guide to Style and stylist Gretta Monahan has been hired to replace her. There is no indication on Bravo's website as to why Webb's role was recast.

As much I as studied all the top black models of her era, Veronica Webb was never one that I had any particular fondness for but I was still pleased when I heard that she got the co-hosting gig with Tim Gunn. I am always desperate to see black women on TV in roles that don't involve being someone's sassy sexless girlfriend or a reality show demon.

That said, I've only seen about three episodes of the show. It just got a little too repetitive for my taste. However on the airings that I did catch, Webb and Gunn seemed to have nice enough chemistry so maybe there's a juicier reason for the ousting. Especially since they are trading down for an unknown stylist.

When I think of Veronica Webb, three things pop into my head:

a) That she was the first spokes-model for Revlon's short lived Color Styles collection in the 90s, which at the time was a big deal.

b) Her relationship with Spike Lee, and

c) The time Mary J. Blige threatened to kick her model ass after the two spent together while Webb was interviewing Mary for Vibe Magazine.

Okay, to be perfectly honest, I don't really care about the first two but the Mary J. Blige story flashes across my mind every time I see Webb on TV or in a magazine. I mean, back then Mary wasn't the serene, married, drug-free Zen loving queen of R&B she is today. Back then, Real Love Mary would not hesitate to beat your ass.

If I were Veronica Webb, I'd still be scared.

Black Hair Is...

Black hair can be a lot of things.

It can be political:


It can be conservative:


It can have more fun:


It can be edgy:


It can be sculpture:


It can be bold:


Or, it can just be itself:


But under no circumstances should it ever be a mullet:


Jada Pinkett Smith, consider this is your hairstyle intervention. We love you and are here waiting for you with some deep conditioner and scissors. Come on home girl.

Tracee Ellis Ross' Closet

It's not nearly as grand as Kimora's but I could pass a lot of time in Tracee's closet, trying on her mother's old Mahogany costumes and making snow angels with those handbags would take up at least half a day.

Kimora Lee: Hit or Miss?

Kimora Lee Simmons seems to be catching a lot of flak for choosing this colorful Kevan Hall Couture gown to wear to the Costume Institute Gala but aside from the fit (which seems a bit too restricting up top) I don't think it's that bad. After all the theme of this year's gala was "Superheroes: Fashion and Fantasy." It this color saturated composition doesn't scream comic book panels then I don't know what does. Most of the attendees played it safe and dull. At least someone was able to go out on a limb with her gown. I'm probably letting her off too easy though, I am a fan of Detroit born Mr. Hall who seems to be one of the only designer out there who gets "safari chic" right, referencing the influence of African tribes like the Dinka and Maasai and Zulu without looking like a trend vampire.

Costume Institute Gala 2008

The Costume Institute Gala is second only to The Oscars for whatwasshethinking? fashion rubbernecking. Just as interesting as who wore what is figuring out why some people were invited in the first place (Sarah Silverman? Really?) This year's celebration doesn't disappoint, there are some high marks (I think Thandie Newton and Zoe Kravitz look great) but the lows are out in full force as well. Anna Wintour's get up makes me crave a plate of escargot baked in tinfoil for some reason...

Pictured: Paula Patton, Joy Bryant, Beyonce, Kimora Lee Simmons, Janet Jackson, Mary J. Blige, Venus Williams, Thandie Newton, Andre Leon Talley, Sophia Coppola, Marc Jacobs, Jordan Dunn and Peter Som, Ziyi Zhang, Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen, Kate Bosworth, Iman and David Bowie, Jennifer Connelly, Eva Longoria Parker, Eva Mendes, Katie Holmes, Jennifer Lopez, Anna Wintour, Zoe Kravitz.

Sources: Lipstick Alley, Bossip, Getty, The Fashion Spot.

Vintage Covers: Interview Magazine 12/72 Andy Warhol and Naomi Sims

The American Society of Fashion Editors voted this cover as one of the "40 Greatest Magazine Covers of the Past 40 Years" back in 2005.

Naomi Sims was a popular model before I started consuming fashion magazines so I don't know much about her. I will share however, that her skincare line was among the first department store skin care products that I ever purchased.

I recall being stunned as a high school student to discover it being carried by Nordstrom. The saleslady didn't even get half-way through her spiel before I agreed to purchase the kit. It cost me a whopping $65 which was a lot considering that The Colonel only paid something like $3.15/hr at the fried chicken emporium that was my after school job.

I can't remember it doing anything miraculous to my skin but I sure felt sophisticated using her products when I went away to college. You couldn't talk to me when I was in the mirror rubbing that potion into my fat cheeks, because I was the shit.

I wonder if they're even still making that stuff...

ETA: It is still being made

Rogan for Target

Target continues to seek out an interesting array of designers to produce lines for the Go! International collection.

Later this month the man behind the other man behind Edun, Rogan Gregory, will debut his eco-friendly clothes at the mass retailer. What caught my eye earlier this week was the news that the entire line will be available for a three day preview at none other than Barney's NY. Clearly, Gregory has a lot of fans in high places.

I haven't been thrilled with recent Go! offerings but this one has piqued my interest. I'm not touching any of the leopard print but there are more than a few basics in the collection that might be worth a closer look especially at Target's price points.

Riahanna Covers Elle Magazine 6/2008

As always, she's a lovely young woman but I hope the photos in the spread are nicer than the cover choice. Poor girl is crushed between all that pink and black text. Also, by her smirk and the way she's posed I would guess that she just let one rip.

Source: Cover Awards

Real Life vs Runway: Thandie Newton in Roberto Cavalli

Looking at this Roberto Cavalli gown on the runway model does absolutely nothing for me. It just hangs on her like a sequined boho feedbag.

Designers like skinny models because they get to use less fabric in creating the runways looks and because bony models supposedly don't distract from the clothes themselves.

To my eye, they don't seem to add much to them either. I would never have looked at this particular dress and thought it would even be worth salivating over but it truly becomes something else entirely on Thandie Newton (who, to be fair, is pretty petite herself.) I just think she looks fantastic in it.

I've often thought that the reason celebrities provoke such clothing hysteria is because it gives the average person an opportunity to see how designer clothes look on someone who eats more than once a week. Of course, there are exceptions to this but it is rare that become enamored of I see something I see on the runway these days.

Photo source: Scriptgirl/TFS

The Independent: Black is finally in fashion at Vogue

...Mr Knight blames business people at the top of the industry. A common attitude among them, he says, is that black models are "not aspirational" or "don't sell in Asia"...

Franca Sozzani, editor-in-chief of Vogue Italia, told The Independent on Sunday: "We are using a lot of black models, like Iman, not only the models of today – a lot of different girls." Asked why she had decided to do this, she said: "Because nobody is using black girls. I see so many beautiful girls and they were complaining that they are not used enough."

Ms Sozzani admitted the issue could yet prove to be unpopular among some in Italy, where the xenophobic Northern League is part of the new coalition led by Silvio Berlusconi: "Maybe in our country it is not the best idea. But I don't care. I think it is not my problem if they don't like it – it's their problem."

Read the rest of the article here

First, I'm going to have to start a rock band called The Not Aspirational Black Girls.

Second, for as much as I am looking forward to gobbling up this issue as soon as it hits the stands a few things continue to vex me. Like:

--Why does this issue have to come out in July? July is the weakest month for newsstands magazine sales across the board. When I first heard the rumor about this issue and there was no date or details attached I wondered with optimism if it would actually be the big ass September issue but I guess that's just too big of a risk to take.

--Is it just me or is anyone else tired of these grand gestures? Be real, they always seem to let people down. Vivienne Westwood is probably still patting herself on the back over her grande dame gesture of using Ajuma for her Spring ads and you already know how I felt about that campaign.

I also wonder what the next step is for Franca Sozzani. After this issue will there be a return to business as usual at Italian Vogue? Are there any plans in place at the magazine to include more models of color across the board? Why this grand segregation gesture instead of say, just using more Black and other non-white models in editorials overall?

Whatever. I guess we'll all have to wait and see.

If Someone Calls You an IT Girl, Run!

Why is it that being the black "it" girl doesn't usually translate into long lived success? Pimping may not be easy but being the sole black girl of the moment has its own share of hard knocks.

Black "it" girls are prone to meltdowns (see: Hill, Lauryn), excessive wackiness caused by deadly accidental overdose of patchouli and bohemianism (Lisa Bonet and daughter Zoe), drug abuse and shiftless men (Whitney and Dorothy Dandridge, or horrible circumstance (R.I.P Aaliyah.)

While white "it" girls sometimes travel in packs, gaily laughing arm in arm while exiting The Ivy, in general only one black woman at a time is allowed it status and thereby allowed to enjoy its spoils (designer clothes, makeup campaigns, magazine covers and film offers.)

Sharing is strictly frowned upon but on occasion a crumb may be brushed from the table for other aspiring it girls of a darker hue to enjoy. For example, Beyonce may have had a starring role in "Dreamgirls" but did you also know that Kelly Rowland (also of Destiny's Child) was a co-star in "Freddy vs. Jason?" or that Michelle Williams gets to keep all those outfits that Mama Knowles designs? That's how Matthew Knowles spells parity.

Anyway, I write all that because I came across an article in this month's Bitch magazine that answered a question of mine, namely what ever happened to Gerren Taylor?

For those of you who aren't familiar with the model once branded as the "next Naomi*," 12 year old statuesque Gerren exploded onto the modeling scene about four or five years ago and was immediately everywhere. She walked for many major designers, appeared in ads for Marc Jacobs and was a darling of Tommy Hilfiger. Her wide set alienesque eyes laid the groundwork for similarly featured models to come like Gemma Ward. She was quite literally everywhere and then POOF! she seemed to fall off the face of the earth just as quickly as she appeared. These days her name never comes up in discussion of who's who among top black models.

Turns out that when the slender girl grew up and developed a few curves she was labled "obese" by the industry and her bookings (and self-esteem) vanished. She says of the name calling: “It hurt for a while, because I didn’t really understand why they were saying that. A part of me was saying that I wasn’t obese, but what they were saying was making me think twice about why I wasn’t booking jobs ... whatever — so my feelings were fluctuating.” For the record, "obese" here means a gain of 6 cm across her hips and 8 cm across her chest.

For a girl who, according to America the Beautiful documentarian Darryl Roberts "bas[ed] her self-esteem on her work in the fashion industry," this was a terrible blow. At NY Fashion Week that season, a few designers used her in shows for the publicity her name garnered but grumbled about her size. She wasn't booked at all during Paris Fashion Week.

Robert's documentary is playing in festivals around the country. It deals with this country's obsession with beauty and how the the cosmetics/fashion industry underminds the development women, particularly young women by building an industry around making them feel bad about themselves. In interviews he has said that companies have a vested interest into getting us to buy into a monolithic view of what is beautiful. In another interview one of the producers of the film added that cosmetics companies in particular "bring women down to sell them products to bring themselves up."

Of course, I totally agree with these sentiments but at the same time, I am very aware of how much I buy into them myself. I can't tell you how many times I've gone to a cosmetics counter or makeup aisle to buy a little something to perk myself up. For me, being aware of how women like me are played by the industry hasn't dampened my enthusiasm for the myriad of products they offer.

Honestly, I don't know what that makes me (hypocrite with lipgloss?) but I'm still looking forward to seeing Robert's doc when it comes to my town or DVD.

Darryl Roberts's blog
Gerren's MySpace

*is it just me or has the only model to ever successfully become the "next" Naomi, Naomi Campbell herself?

Louis Vuitton Sues Artist Over "Simple Living" Darfur Charity Image

Artist Nadia Plesner created this image to satirize the lack of media attention a genocide like Darfur gathers compared with the relative overexposure of say, skinny white women with little dogs and designer bags.

Louis Vuitton (who one writer claims, had ties to the Nazi Party) has responded with a lawsuit demanding that Plesner stop producing the image (which appears on shirts and as a poster print) and an additional $20K per day in damages for copyright infringement.

Now I know very little about copyright law so I have no idea where satire ends and infringement begins so I can't comment with any authority there. I do however think it's in poor taste (to say the least) that LV would even bother with a lawsuit. For all the money they are spending in legal fees, they could have just as easily made large splashy donation to Save Darfur! instead and reaped the benefits of good press.

Vogue Italia to Publish an issue featuring Black models

According to Fashionista blog, Steven Meisel has already shot an entire issue of Vogue Italia with all black models. His hope is that the other Vogues will take note and start to diversify their own pages. I couldn't find any information on which lucky models will appear in the issue or when it will go to press. I just know that I might have to camp out at the newsstand when this one lands and if I see any animal print on the cover somebody is going to get hurt. Thanks to Carmen at Racialicious for the update. My vacation is nearing its end and I should be back home updating this blog around the end of the month, much fatter and poorer thanks to French wine and cheese and the unspeakably awful USD exchange rate in Europe.

Going offline

Hey, everyone! Just wanted to let you know that I won't be updating this blog again for a few weeks.

If Bey-Z gets married and there are no photos released, did it really happen?

There is an article over at the NY Daily News today that wonders out loud if tabloid magazines are bias against non-white celebrities.

In this instance they're pointing to the soft coverage given Beyonce and Jay-Z's recent wedding.

Of the major celebrity tabloids, only US Weekly gave Beyonce the cover while most of the other relegated the wedding to the sidebar. Interestingly, People Magazine (the bathroom literature of choice for Middle America) gave Beyonce the cover as well.

According to the article a "top" tabloid editor said that the wedding was played down because (wait for it) "African Americans don't sell covers." Another source shared that ""We have a saying, 'Only Oprah.' Oprah is the only black celebrity big enough to put on our cover."

Yep, we are sharing air with people who think that "stars" from fake reality TV shows trump established actors for space on magazine covers. No big surprise here.

But is the lack of attention from tabloids really a bad thing?

I'm reminded of an article I read a few years back about Raven Symone who is one of Disney's top moneymakers yet rarely appears on the pages of celebrity magazines alongside other Disney stars like that dude with they eyebrows who kind of looks like a robot and that girl who posted nude pictures of herself online.

If I remember correctly, the conclusion of the piece was that this fact was a double edged sword.

On the one hand, black celebrities don't have to deal with the unwanted attention that fame brings while the flip side makes them less visible to the people in Hollywood with enough clout to keep them gainfully employed.

Then there is the issue of certain black celebrity focused blogs.

I'll admit that I read them. I am just as curious about who wore what wear and general entertainment news but I usually have to draw the line at reading the mainly anonymously posted comments given about any particular actress. I'm just too old and the comments are usually just too mean. The focus of some of these blogs is "who are we going to hate on today" instead of just providing the mindless entertainment I crave.

Now, this isn't to imply that celebrity magazines represent the bastion of journalistic integrity but damn, at least someone over there has to talk to a publicist every now or maybe do the most basic fact check.

So back to Beyonce. I think it's great that it appears that she hasn't sold her wedding photos to the highest bidder and is keeping the whole affair private but....

I do want to know what her wedding dress looked like and if it was designed by her mama.

I want to know if the former members of Destiny's Child sent gifts.

I want to know if the Popeye's chicken that was reportedly served at the reception was served on fine china or if they just passed around a bucket.

Lastly, I want to know the identity of the guest (or guests) that is rumored to have brought a handgun to the ceremony (I know in my heart that it was Gwenyth Paltrow.)

I'm just nosy like that. I love weddings and babies and cake. Sue me.