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.
9 comments:
I feel the same way about Veronica Webb -- she is uneventful. Yet still I feel a certain loyalty to her as an African-American model/ style icon. I thought the show overall was not *special* enough. I don't think it was her.. I think it is the concept of the show that is too like everything else out today.
Never cared for the lady, always thought of her as talentless and very pretentious.
Rats! I second (third?) the above posters' comments, but I'm also currently being pitched as a "case" for the show-- would have been amused to have V Dub in my apartment.
Can't offer any substantive opinion of the show, as I've never seen it. Go figure.
I have an irrational liking for Veronica Webb. I don't think she's particularly cute, or interesting, but for some reason, I have a soft corner for her, anyway. Maybe it's because I'm just as "talentless and pretentious", so I feel a kinship with her. **soft laugh**
Style Noir, I can't imagine you being a "case" for that show. Obviously, they've never seen your stylish avatar.
Veronica used to also write for Russell Simmon's OneWorld magazine--I recently saw her on some BBC Style show, don't know if it's the one you're talking about, but she was good enough.
Love your blog!
love vw and have since the early '90s. i didn't think she was so pretty then, but a friend commented that she was. i tend to admire vw though. she was quoted telling off some gu: "i have the right to wear what i want, when i want, where i want w/o any comment from you." and vogue once showed her nyc apartment in the late '90s. i still have the clipping. she never takes the subway (if only).
she was great on that show. very understanding, a real bridge btw gunn and a black client. great fashionista chemistry w/gunn. the premise was kinda brilliant. i just like the way she comports herself.
When I was in high school I used to accompany my grandmother shopping at Nordstrom in San Francisco's downtown Union Square. New shoes are my grandmother's thrill. My grandmother would spend hours in the shoe department, or among the seemingly endless racks of blouses and skirts, which held no interest for me then. During one of these dreary shopping adventures I discovered the designer boutiques upstairs, and the Chanel shop where a single television monitor replayed a spring collection, I don't recall the year, but Inès de la Fressange was still signature face for Chanel and would come out onto the runway and throw her bracelets into the audience.
The only other face I remember was that of a young, doe-eyed Veronica Webb, who strutted down the catwalk, peeling and eating a banana like it ain't no thang, never missing a beat to the sound of "Let The Night Take The Blame" by Lorraine McKane. I was mesmerized by her, and for weeks couldn't wait for my grandmother to go shopping so I could walk upstairs and watch the Chanel show and wait for Veronica Webb to come down the runway with her banana. I will always remember and adore her for that. So hot. So chic. So very black woman.
Hi, if you decide to post my comment from last night, the store where my grandmother shopped was I. Magnin, not Norstrom. I don't think Nordstrom was in Union Square yet.
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