This is one that will either elicit a “The lady from The Mentalist had a kid?” or “OMG Sarah Bailey from The Craft had a kid!” I’m in the latter category, so excuse me while I get excited for Sarah Bailey’s big news.
Robin Tunney, aka Sarah from The Craft and Debra from Empire Records, is a first-time mom. 44-year-old Robin announced the news yesterday on Instagram that she had recently given birth to a baby boy that was put inside her by her fiancé Nicky Marmet. The photographer who took her baby’s picture confirmed that her baby’s birthday happened around two weeks ago. Oooh, do I smell another secret baby? Actually, this seems more like an “I was waiting to find the right baby basket for his first newborn photoshoot” situation.
A photo posted by Robin Tunney (@realrobintunney) on
Robin isn’t kidding. She kept very hush about being pregnant; someone else actually announced her pregnancy for her. Which is sad, really, because I believe legend has it that every time a famous person gets knocked up and doesn’t Instagram a picture of the piss stick with the hashtag #ClearblueConfirmed, a celebrity angel loses its private cloud booth in Heaven’s equivalent of The Nice Guy.
Onto that baby’s name! As you can see above, Robin didn’t pay tribute to the two greatest credits on her IMDB page by naming her baby Manon or Shockmi. Robin and Nicky named their new baby Oscar Holly. Oscar is pretty normal. But Holly? That’s an odd choice. And you know it’s bound to be something little Oscar gets real tired of quickly around the holidays. “Oh look, you brought me a sprig of holly…because my middle name is Holly. You know, I think I mention this every year, but I’m really more of a mistletoe person.”
Bad reviews are devastating, most of the time—you're a subpar writer, you're never going to sell, your output is lacking, "we" won't finance your next work, your future is doubtful. Certain people like to declare that they don't care what reviewers say or even grin and say that is no measure of success because popular opinion is cheap. Those people are either lying or rich.
When Sofia Coppola's Marie Antoinette was shown at Cannes in 2006, it was booed. The absence of political and historical context angered critics and some members of the public, especially the French. In the newspaper Le Figaro, historian Jean Tulard called it "Versailles in Hollywood sauce," saying that it "dazzles" with a "deployment of wigs, fans, and pastries, a symphony of colors" which "all some gross errors and voluntary anachronisms." Some read the film as self-indulgent or an exploration of Coppola's own privileged upbringing. It was accused of being a case of style and no substance. Commercially it bombed in comparison to her previous successes, Lost in Translation and The Virgin Suicides. But for all the reasons it was hated, it's probably her best film.
I bought the DVD in high school when I was having a stubborn six-month patch of insomnia. Every night I'd get into bed and alternate between Marie Antoinette and Vanity Fair with Reese Witherspoon as Becky Sharpe—I'm not sure why period dramas appealed to me then, but it was probably the escapism. After the sixth or seventh watch, I knew the film so well it was soothing, like slipping on a sweater so well-worn it sits like a second skin. You press play, and every note of music and gag is matched with your own mental audio and the frames become hypnotic. In any case, "Versailles in Hollywood sauce" is a girlish, dreamlike place like none other and should be celebrated as such.
The production was given full and unprecedented access to the palace of Versailles, and the budget from Sony Studios was an impressive $40 million. No expense was spared in creating pure decadence. Ladurée made the delicate pastries, and Manolo Blahnik designed the shoes. It's smotheringly delicious—exactly what Coppola's Antoinette needed when she began to buckle under the pressure of providing an heir to France's throne. Such indulgence was her middle-finger-up to the stifling nature of royal life. These ridiculous visuals, coupled with arty, nostalgia-hued wide shots of fireworks exploding in slow motion over the famous Versailles grounds, or feathers from guest's heads floating around a ballroom, make it a fantasy you'll never want to leave. This film makes every costume piece you've ever watched look like a clumsy middle school play.
The fact it's just another Coppola film about a young woman finding her way obviously appealed to me as an 18-year-old. In actuality, this is far closer to a coming-of-age story than a period drama. The critics hated the fact Coppola favored a girl's emotional life over her status as a controversial historical figure—which says a lot. "It's kind of like a history of feelings," Dunst said of the film, "rather than a history of facts." This is an astute description. Just like the characters in Coppola's other films that everyone loved, Marie is defined by her environment. In this case, one where she's carted off to a distant palace to marry a foreign prince.
As Marie is taken off to her fate, she sits in a carriage with other girls; whispering with friends over a tiny portrait of the prince in the same way you'd laugh with friends at a picture of your date for that weekend. Wistfully she looks out at the forest, wondering what her new life would be and what growing up means. Again and again, the viewer returns to this simple idea—a girl watching life from a window.
Once Marie leaves Austria and crosses the border onto France, she has to leave everything she's known behind. Even her silly little dog has to go. As well as the window motif, Marie Antoinette is in love with the ritual of Marie being dressed and undressed. This first time, she's stripped of every last piece of Austrian clothing and redressed like a doll to be sent to the other side. Of course, it's a chance to show the practices of 1800s French royal custom and to indulge in the frilly blancmange costumes. Ultimately, though, it shows that naked, she's a vulnerable young girl, even if aesthetically and maternally she must provide her body every day for Versailles.
In the first "dressing ceremony" at the palace, the curtains of the bed open on Marie, a tiny blond girl in an overbearing bed. As a dozen women gather around, it's explained that the highest-ranking lady has the privilege of dressing her. Marie awkwardly strips off, trying to cover herself while other women come in with more status, replacing the last. It's farcical and asinine; a long-winded pantomime of curtseying and passing silk slips. "This is ridiculous," she says. "This, Madame, is Versaille," is the response. Nothing that follows will be any less nonsensical and rigid. She has truly entered madness.
The pressure for an heir eventually reaches breaking point, and it's difficult not to sympathize, even if you're not a teenage-girl viewer. For all the wealth and luxury she's inherited, she is not her own. Her body is there for the scrutiny, enjoyment, and tasks of others. It's not her fault for not being pregnant—her pathetic husband is limp in all senses of the word—and the injustice is infuriating. When she shuts herself in a room crying, she's stricken with panic, unable to do the one thing she is there to do. Among all the pearls and pomp, how cool it is to be a teenage girl, how awful and unfair it is.
What makes this film better than just aesthetics and feeling is that above all else, Marie Antoinette is fun. The 1980s and 2000s indie soundtrack reminds you that sure, this is a story of French royalty, but the experience of being a girl growing up is universal. How much does it really change through the ages? And who cares about these details, besides critics, when it's so enjoyable?
Take the "I Want Candy" sequence. It's the shopping montage scene you've seen in hundreds of comedy films, where a character blows loads of money, gets hot, gets wrecked, and has the time of his or her life. Here, it's beyond exquisite.
Frilly period heels, dozens of beautiful lace fans laid out on a surface, three girls sat giggling, drinking champagne while being shown the finest silks and trims as a pug scuttles around, ridiculous strawberry tarts and towering desserts of pastel shades placed down by servants in fast-paced shots, piles of pink and peach poker chips tossed around as bubbles fizz and finally, Kirsten Dunst has the big makeover reveal: a comically tall pouf that she's so delighted with, she air-kisses her hair stylist.
We know our response to this scene—it's culturally taught. Bow Wow Wow's "I Want Candy" is blaring, the beat fast and lyrics aspirational. This is capitalism, commercialism. This would—could—be us in another life, and we relish every second of it. Only in this film, you slip into a world more aesthetically pleasing than anything your modern urban life could conjure up.
The fun ends, of course. We all know the story of Marie Antoinette—she found herself under the revolutionaries' guillotine—but Coppola avoids all those facts and vulgarity. In her version, after an angry mob builds outside, she and her family are in a carriage being taken away. The sun is rising in the early hours over the famous fountain, and Marie, again, stares out of the curtains. The film closes on a still shot of a room in the palace, destroyed. Down with the royal family, down with sex, cakes, parties, and extravagance, and down with Marie, a girl who came and failed to do her job.
Eventually I could fall asleep within the hour to those creamy religieuse, shiny macarons, and Kirsten Dunst's beautiful face. I've not watched the film since. If I learned anything other than to trick my body into resting and a lot about Sofia Coppola's pop auteurism, it's that great work gets slammed, or worse yet and evident in this case—buried and forgotten. But eventually it can stand alone as a key work of daring and vision.
Lindsay Lohan (30)
Margot Robbie (26)
Dev (27)
Ashley Tisdale (31)
Johnny Weir (32)
Michelle Branch (33)
Owain Yeoman (38)
Erin Burnett (40)
Peter Kay (43)
Yancy Butler (46)
Monie Love (46)
Doug Benson (52)
Jose Canseco (52)
Samy Naceri (55)
Bret Hart (59)
Jerry Hall (60)
Wendy Schaal (62)
Larry David (69)
Polly Holiday (79)
Richard Petty (79)
Late last night, "Page Six" published an "edited version" of the insanely gossipy resignation email of longtime People reporter Sara Hammel, who quit her job this week after 14 years at the magazine. The whole thing is worth a read (she begins with "It's not me, it's you"), but let's get
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I was going to start this article with my usual "Britney Spears is an American icon, national treasure, etc." tirade, but I've said that all before. And, I mean, obviously. I've rewritten this intro three times, and it's just never enough, and it's always too much. You just can't sum up Britney ...
Based on some very in-depth research (ie. me staring at pictures of his extra-ripped action figure body for ten minutes), I have estimated that Zac Efron’s body is approximately 106% muscle. I know that technically the most muscle a human body could be made up of is 100%, but look at him. He’s clearly storing a whole bunch of extra muscles behind his other muscles. However, don’t think this jacked-up version of Zac Efron will be around forever. There is the possibility that one day you will see a shirtless picture of Zac Efron, and his body will be missing a matching set of bulgy biceps, a pair of plump titties, a washboard upper-crotch area, and whatever those weird muscles are on the side of your body that look like a litter of sleeping puppies.
While walking the red carpet for his latest movie, Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates, earlier today, Zac Efron confessed to UsWeekly that he’d be willing to say goodbye to his rock-hard body and get heavy for the right role.
“I would love to gain 30 pounds and play an aging rock star. That’d be an awesome transformation.”
Somewhere, Axl Rose heard the words “gain pounds” and “aging rock star” and whispered: “He better not be talking about me.”
I would love to see science figure out a way to make Zac Efron gain weight. I don’t think it’s possible. I’m pretty sure that any calories that go in are instantly burned up the second they attempt to make their way through the Spartan Race that is his abs.
Here are some picture of Zac Efron from the premiere of Mike and Dave with most of his body covered up by a suit. I see he’s still working that Mark McGrath-circa 1997 hair. Also included are some pictures of Adam DeVine riding Zac (not like that), as well as Aubrey Plaza and Anna Kendrick.
Luke takes the occasion of the Glastonbury Festival to do a little bit of on-site contractually obligated (we’re assuming) brand modeling.
In really, really tight jeans. We’re warning you now. On a jeans-tightness scale of 1 (e.g., Eminem circa 2000) to 10 (e.g, John Travolta circa 1979), these are gonna rate about a 15.
Luke Evans attends the Glastonbury Festival at Worthy Farm, Pilton in Glastonbury, England.
We didn’t bother writing any further commentary because we know damn well you’re not reading it. That man is FOINE AF.
Style Credits: Coach 1941 Ensembles from the Fall 2106 Collection
[Photo Credit: Alex B. Huckle/Getty Images, vogue.com]
Do you believe in magic? You do? Good. I’m going to let you in on something. What the ancients called “magic” is what we today call “science.” So let’s get in my time machine and go all the way back to a special time called 2014. (Flashing lights. Thunder. Bam.) And we’re here! This is the year that things started to get real ~cRaZy~ for the littlest ass wart, Justin Bieber. Look. That’s his neighbor’s house he egged to prove what a big boy he was becoming. Well, yolk – I mean joke was on him, because bitch got caught and was given probation, community service and a fine. But back to the present. His probation is up. Ugh.
Despite having trespassed on private property and vandalism, Justin, sadly, did not get the punishment he should’ve. He narrowly avoided becoming the lil’est bad boy of the prison yard and instead continued his reign of terror on the helpless public. TMZ reports that Justin’s lawyer, Shawn Holley, went to the court on June 9th to end Justin’s probation a month early because he’s apparently impressed the people at the Probation Department so much. He performed 40 hours of community service and paid the neighbor $80k in damages. The request to end his probation a month early was granted, and now he’s free.
Bieber also got really lucky. TMZ says that Bieber’s Cleveland ass-whooping happened only a few hours before Shawn Holley went to court. Holley got to court before the news broke, and therefore helped Justin dodge a potential parole violation.
TMZ repeatedly calls him a “free man” in the story and I take issue with that. Man? Man?! Does a man horrify the public with these? No. Does a man do this to his fans? No! Which brings me to the fact that the Probation Department was apparently impressed with how well behaved Canada’s biggest brat has been for the past two years. What? Just to name a few of his heinous actions in the past two years: subjecting a majestic tiger to his douchey presence, terrorizing Mexican ruins, and worst of fucking all, being rude to Bette Midler! Good behavior my fanny. He should be locked away for at least a lifetime just for the Bette Midler snub.
“The Girlfriend Experience” actress Riley Keough attends the 2016 Coach and Friends of the High Line Summer Party on the High Line in New York City.
Hmmmm…
We … think? We … like it?
Okay, maybe notdefinitely not the floral wrestling championship belt part, but the blouse and skirt are kind of cute. And the head-styling’s pretty good too. Could’ve done without the nude pumps, but even they don’t bug as much as they used to – probably because we’re not seeing them on 9 out of 10 celebuladies a day anymore.
We don’t know. We can see the issues with the high waist, but our hearts seem to be full of love on this one. We were going to subject it to an “IN or OUT?” vote, but we were afraid you would all yell at us for being crazy.
Style Credits: Coach 1941 Ensemble Featuring Long-Sleeve Top with Pearl Buttons and Floral-Print High-Waist Skirt from the Fall 2016 Collection
“Went to Grease II. It didn’t live up to the first one, but it was pretty good. Good-lookin’ leads. Shallow characters, tho.”
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“… hour long Facts of Life on. It was sad. They graduated.”
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“Went to Beatlemania. It was really good. They were really convincing & we heard some good music.”
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“Quarterflash was o.k. but Loverboy was excellent! Every guy in that band is great!! I almost died on the spot. I’ve never seen so many drunk & high people in one mass!”
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“Chuck & Diane Royal Romance was on. I liked it better than the one on Friday night.”
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“…went to Quest for Fire… It was really stupid & a waste of $4.”
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“Baryshnikov had a special on tonight & it was good & funny.”
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“Barry Manilow concert!! I cannot believe how good it was!! He is a real performer & he really brought down the house!! Oh!”
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“Side by Side was on. It’s the story of the Osmonds. It was really rank acting, but sorta good.”
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“Black Sabbath & The Outlaws! Totally awesome. I’m in love. I wasn’t too fired up ‘cause I knew everyone there would be freaks & it would be drugs galore…then we got settled & it was great!”
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“Went to the Aldo Nova air guitar contest with Geoff. We saw 3 people do it. Hilarious!”
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“I came home and gave G a perm. Looks good!!”
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“RUSH!!!! In concert! It was awesome. Geddy is totally impressive! We were down on the floor in the midst of the action for most of it. Yow!!”
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“Billy Squier! Totally awesome! What a fox! Nazareth (sigh) was supposed to open, but gosh-darn it, they cancelled! Local group Mirage opened. They were o.k.”
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“I got a letter from Jenni. It was neat. She told me how she’s accepted Christ into her heart. I’m glad and envious.”
Evan Rachel Wood and Elle Page attend the premiere of “Into The Forest” at ArcLight Hollywood in Hollywood, California.
We think it’s safe to say…
They coordinated.
Nothing wrong with that, although they do tend to look a bit like two employees of a very expensive and intimidatingly chic, but stark and severe boutique hotel. “Welcome, to L’hotel du Goth. I am Prudence, your concierge. Please let me know in low, chic tones if there is anything I can do for you. This is our desk clerk, Disma. She will check you in with the maximum amount of sneering and eye-rolling the law allows.”
Ellen’s outfit is pretty much perfect for her kind of thing, but she wears the exact same look every time she steps out. Evan’s is a bit more interesting, but we honestly think it could use a little editing. The patterned collar is really cute. We didn’t need the railroad stripes competing with it. And the silver pumps are a total needle scratch.
A bunch of post-apoc genre cliches anchored by what looks like some pretty solid performances. Someone check back in a month and tell us if we got it right.
[Photo Credit: Frazer Harrison/Getty Images – Video Credit: A24 via YouTube.com]
Last year, Kim Kardashian forever changed the way the world communicates with her game-changing Kimoji app, which allowed her fans to text tiny cartoon images of her crying face, censor-barred chest — and, of course, her infamous derrière, all for less than the price of a Starbucks. In the grand tradition of Kardashian-Jenner enterprises, the app was a huge (and lucrative) hit, and it wasn’t long before other celebrities launched emoji packs of their own; today, Justin Bieber has Justmoji, Amber Rose has MuvaMoji, and Blac Chyna has Chymoji, to name a few.
It’s no question that when it comes to celebrities and custom emoji, business is booming — so why aren’t some of the world’s best-known (and most social media-savvy) stars on board yet? How is it possible that rapper Fabolous — you know, the guy best known for his 2001 single "Young’n (Holla Back)" — has a custom emoji set, but Rihanna does not? Below, I’ve offered up a few dream celebrimoji packs I’d happily pay $1.99 to download. Wouldn’t you?
Taymoji
Picture this: It’s Sunday morning and you’ve got brunch plans, but you had a few too many last night and, well, aren’t exactly in the best shape. Rather than dash off the usual "hungover af, don’t judge my sweats" text, why not use Taylor Swift’s mascara-smeared "Blank Space" face to communicate your current psychophysiological state? Or a tiny image of Tay mom-dancing at an awards show, to show that you’re ready to rally (blinding headache be damned)? And, of course, no Taymoji pack would be complete without an appearance from the pop star’s beloved cats, Olivia Benson and Meredith Grey.
Beymoji
Roommate (or significant other) driving you up the wall again? Let a baseball bat-wielding Beyoncé do all the venting for you. Getting ready for a night out with the girls? If texting your favorite single ladies a bunch of dancing Beys isn’t the perfect way to pre-pregame, I don’t know what is.
Teigmoji
Abundant snacks with a side order of awkwardness? You just described Chrissy Teigen to a T(eig) — not to mention 99.9% of most texters’ conversations.
Britmoji
Five out of five frequent texters would prefer sharing an emoji of Britney dancing with a snake at the 2001 VMAs over the standard winky face, according to a statistic I just made up.
Rihmoji
The question isn’t when you’d text someone a tiny image of Rihanna twerking on Drake or smoking a blunt, but rather, when you wouldn’t.
um vivica a fox has not aged since the first independence day
Darlings, the heroes of the world apparently have to save us from aliens again, but before they do, we’d like to say a few words about their style choices …
Charlotte Gainsbourg
If she was mauled by a bear or something we would accept the state of her ensemble and the fact that it’s lacking crucial elements (taste being foremost among them, but also a skirt or pants). A quick perusal of the google indicates that she was not, in fact, mauled by a bear at any time recently, which means we are forced to conclude either that she’s crazy or that her stylist is trying to destroy her.
Lady, this shit’s hiddy, is what we’re trying to say here. And damn, does the design of those shoes bug the hell out of us. Your toes are free to breath, but you can barely rotate your ankle. We don’t see how that doesn’t result in constant trips and falls.
Liam Hemsworth
All he needs is an earpiece and we’d have confused him for the security for this event. C’mon, son. You’re a movie star. Stop dressing like a rent-a-cop.
Vivica A. Fox
Y’know, if you combined this with Charlotte’s … thing, it would form one complete dress.
Joey King
It’s okay. We’re glad that she’s protecting her thighs from mosquitoes. The red carpet is a den of malaria if you don’t take precautions.
Jeff Golblum
Yes, daddy.
Jessie T. Usher
The fit’s way off and it looks to us like that jacket lost its lapels somewhere during the journey. The color works well for him, but he should’ve picked a lighter pair of shoes. Also: that shirt called for an undershirt.
[Photo Credit: PRPhotos.com, David Gabber/PRPhotos.com]
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Wednesday, June 22 marks the opening of the Bay Area’s first Dunkin’ Donuts, located in the serene backdrop of Walnut Creek. The opening of the popular East Coast chain caused quite a stir among Bay Area transplants, who lined up in the wee hours of the morning for a taste of home. To get the scoop, your humble editor ventured into the dark, June morning to see what the fuss was all about — here are seven things we learned at the opening of Dunkin’ Donuts. (Check it out for yourself live on our Facebook page, or on snapchat @eatersf).
1. People have been waiting "forever."
Seriously, some of the more hardcore line-waiters said they’d been waiting 10 or 15 years for one to open in the area. They’ll be pleased to know that 26 more are planned for the region, including one in San Francisco.
2. Fans have their orders down.
Most people, when asked, could quickly rattle off their standard order. One man’s pro order is six doughnuts: three Boston kremes, one jelly-filled, two coconuts (one light, one dark).
3. Boston kreme is the clear favorite .
Almost everyone planned to order this popular treat, which is DD’s top-seller.
4. The Dunkin’ Donuts mascot is named Cuppy, and he’s got major dance skills.
We assume that he has iced coffee running through his veins, so this makes sense.
Cuppy, the Iced Coffee mascot of Dunkin’ Donuts
5. The crew expects to serve 1,000 dozen doughnuts (12,000!) on opening day.
It’s definitely time to make the doughnuts, guys.
6. That cute photo of a baby and a doughnut hanging inside is of franchisee Matt Cobo’s baby.
It’s a family affair.
7. While DD’s fancy coffee drinks are hyped up, most people say they order regular hot or iced coffee.
The Palermo botanical garden, with its luxuriance and variety of plants, was the inspiration for the new Dolce&Gabbana collection. The banana leaf, a key motif of the season, is matched with plant elements and small insects which come to life on exquisite embellishments and appliqués.
Irritabelle, the personification of an irritable colon in a wig! (“I thought the personification of an irritable colon in a wig was Donald Trump?” – almost everyone)
Many commercials for meds are so weird that they make you feel like one of the side effects of the pills they’re trying to sell is “hallucinating some real fuckery,” and the commercial for Viberzi does just that. Viberzi (which sounds like the name of a chocha rash you get from overusing a vibrator) is a pill that’s supposed to help people whose IBS just won’t let them live their life, because their ass cheeks have to be cemented to the toilet seat at all times.
The makers of this ad campaign for Viberzi decided to put a face on diarrhea and abdominal pain. The current face of diarrhea and abdominal pain for many of us is this year’s presidential election. But according to the makers of this ad campaign, an irritable colon looks and acts a lot like a Kathy Griffin impersonator. So they hired actress Illana Becker, slapped a ginger wig on her and put her to work. Irritabelle’s shoes alone are giving me the wet shits:
Illana talked to AdWeek back in April, when the ad campaign launched, about how she tackled playing a colon:
“Irritabelle doesn’t intend to be irritating, or even remotely hurtful—so I wanted to be sure the character came from an honest yet playful place. Also, as someone who has struggled with stomach issues myself, I wanted to be clear on how frustrating the condition can be and not make fun of it in any way.”
Meryl Streep, WHO?! And I hope this leads to Irritabelle playing the annoying ex-girlfriend of Slim Goodbody in the Slim Goodbody movie that needs to happen.
I’m at a VIP opening night party for the CurvyCon, where colorful hair, loud prints, and general cool-girl attitudes announce the event as a fashion party. But it’s unlike any Fashion Week event I’ve ever been to, mainly because it’s so damn fun — and inclusive. Women of all colors and sizes sip rosé and tiki cocktails while dancing to top 40 hits. Friends pose for photo booth pics with flower crowns and oversized glasses against a shimmering, sequin backdrop. Despite feeling awkwardly underdressed in jeans and a T-shirt, I receive three compliments as soon as I walk in the door.
Someone hits the lights and the whole room lines up with cell phones ready for the main event: a fashion show of Rachel Antonoff’s new collection for Gywnnie Bee, an all-you-can-borrow clothing rental membership service akin to Rent the Runway, but exclusively for women who wear sizes 10–32. As each look walks down the runway — flouncy pink floral dresses, fruit-print tops with shoulder cutouts — the crowd goes absolutely wild.
Founded by Christine Hunsicker in 2011, Gwynnie Bee came onto the plus-size scene with the idea that fashion should, above all else, be fun. Customers pay a flat monthly fee for a shipment of one to three items at a time, wear them as many times as they want, and send the pieces back when they're ready for something new.
The company has set itself apart from other subscription rental models by serving a community that rarely gets asked: What other brands do you want to see? What cuts and styles do you want to wear? Turns out what curvy women want is pretty far from what most stores are trying to sell them.
"The more statement we can get it, the better it does," Hunsicker tells me. And Rachel Antonoff’s exclusive collection for the brand, which launched online on Sunday, is pretty much "statement" in a nutshell.
"This is a market we’ve been really wanting to break into but we didn’t really know how."
Known for flattering cuts in off-kilter patterns, the New York designer’s eponymous label is favored by the quirky girl elite, including celebs like Lena Dunham and Zoey Deschanel. Some of her most popular pieces are a dissected frog print dress and a uterus sweatshirt. (While the uterus shirt isn't part of the Gwynnie Bee line up, the frog print made it in.) "Not a lot of people do what Rachel does," says Hunsicker. "And certainly not a lot of people pull it off in a non-kitschy way. Her collection in particular takes the statement piece for plus size women and amplifies it to a new level."
Speaking to Antonoff about her first foray into extended sizing, it’s clear the designer cares deeply about making fashion accessible to everybody, no matter the size on the tag. "When they first approached us we were so psyched," she explains. "Because this is a market we’ve been really wanting to break into but we didn’t really know how. I think a lot of people are under the misconception that you just grade up, and that’s not what it is. It’s a nuanced thing."
To take some of the pressure off designers who typically work with straight sizing, Gwynnie Bee completely takes over fit — something that, according to Hunsicker and Antonoff, can be a big point of angst.
A photo posted by Rachel Antonoff (@rachelantonoff) on
And judging from what I can see, Hunsicker’s team certainly made good on their promise. From the models strutting down the runway to Gywnnie Bee sporting tops and dresses after the runway show, Antonoff's collection looks great in all sizes.
So why are high fashion designers so afraid to go there? While brands like Asos Curve and H&M plus have made strides in offering fun, trendy pieces in curvy sizes, Rachel Antonoff is one of the first cool-girl designers to make the leap.
Both Antonoff and Hunsicker feel we’re getting close, but the industry still has miles to go in terms of inclusivity. "When you look at Fashion Week, it’s so embarrassing how uni-size it is," says Antonoff. "I mean, why are we not having more diversity in the shows? From a cost perspective I know the answer to that, which is just that it’s cheaper to make one size pattern across the board, and then grading is costly, but how is that not a cost that’s worthwhile?"
"When you look at fashion week, it’s so embarrassing how uni-size it is."
Though fashion and business media have been buzzing for years about the opportunity to serve a market that encompasses most adult American women, we’ve yet to see much change. The past year has seen Christian Siriano team up with Lane Bryant and Rachel Roy offer extended sizing, but those are small drops in a big bucket. "I think we’ve kind of been on the edge of it totally blowing up for like 5 years," Hunsicker says. "It always feels like this is the moment. Because how ridiculous is it that this hasn’t already happened? But I think we have a better shot of it actually happening this time."
We may have longer yet to wait before we see plus-size options from the big heritage fashion brands, but in the meantime Antonoff is running full steam ahead. The designer says she’d like to incorporate curvy sizing into her regular collection, but the next step is another exclusive collection with Gwynnie Bee for fall — which might include some version of her famous uterus sweater. "Maybe we’ll even make an exclusive uterus dress."
Check out some of the key pieces below, or shop the full collection at Gwynnie Bee.
Sam shift dress in frog print
Rico top in tutti frutti
Sam shift dress in floral
Daniel dress in tutti frutti
The unattainable, barely-there makeup look got a rather literal reinterpretation today when the trend hit the runways at Milan Men’s Fashion Week. That’s right, dewey-skinned models are out, and pimply acne-ridden faces are in — well, sort of.
When the Malaysian designer Moto Guo showcased his debut runway collection during Pitti Uomo on Monday, he had makeup artists cover his models’s fresh faces in all sorts of pustules, zits, and blemishes, GQ reports. The end results ranged from bright red problem spots to full-fledged Accutane-ready rashes.
A photo posted by Roberta Betti (@roberta.betti) on
The awkwardness didn’t stop there. Models were also given disheveled, mousy hairstyles to go with their whimsical, childlike clothing. Highlights from the collection, dubbed “Picnic in the Society,” included childlike pussy bows and bibs, oversized tweed trousers, and embroidered sweaters.
In all honestly, the true trend here isn’t the makeup, it’s the nerdy-chic collection Guo sent down the runway. That quirky weirdness is back “in” at the moment in fashion, thanks to Italian designers like Gucci’s Alessandro Michele and Miuccia Prada at Miu Miu and Prada.
Fake blemishes probably won’t be the next big makeup trend of 2016, any more so than the fake freckles and braces of seasons past. But Guo’s show was definitely a playful (albeit painful) reminder of what it was like to be young.
Since I first learned of it, in 2005, watermelon and feta salad with mint has become a staple summertime dish at my place, and I've learned a few things when adapting that recipe for home use. One: You can get rid of pretty much all of the extraneous ingredients. Two: The quality of the watermelon and, more critically, the feta is of utmost importance. And three: A little zest goes a long way.
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If you’ve been longing for those early aughts glory days of spending hours IMing your friends while downloading the latest Blink 182 release (actually a mislabeled Sum 41 song), then you’re in luck: Rhapsody is rebranding itself under the Napster name and logo. The rebranding comes in the wake of years of slowed business for Rhapsody, thanks to the rise of forces like Spotify, Apple Music, and a little visual album called Lemonade on Tidal. Indeed, Variety reports that Rhapsody recently laid off workers and is closing its San Francisco office. So, facing a slow march into the silent night, the company has announced its latest surivial plan: resurrect the Napster name.
Napster, the premier file sharing service that turned us all into free music-loving pirates, was bought by Rhapsody from Best Buy back in 2011, years after its peak popularity. While Rhapsody has been operating under the Napster name overseas since then, it is only now making the shift in the U.S. The rebranding is a change in name only; subscribers will keep the same services, prices, and playlists, but the company is banking on American’s love of nostalgia. Remember how you convinced your parents the software wasn’t going to give your computer a virus and they actually believed you? Good times.
I’ve always thought that wearing overalls SANS SHIRT is only okay if you’re a member of Dexys Midnight Runners and the year is 1981, or if you’re Minnie Ripertonand the year is 1974, or if you’re Jordan Knight and the year is anytime, or if you’re a hillbilly toddler trying to catch crawfish with a tree stick fishing rod in a creek outside of your memaw’s house. But Heidi Klum obviously doesn’t agree with me, because yesterday in NYC, she slapped on a pair of anti-chaffing nipple pads (I’m guessing) and slid on a pair of overalls to bring some “Come On Eileen” glamour to the streets. (By the way, while doing research for this highly important post, I found out that there’s no coma in the title “Come On Eileen.” That song has taken on a whole new meaning for me.)
On one hand, I am into this 70s mess for the simple fact that Heidi isn’t wearing a choker. It seems like every famous trick nowadays has been ruining the 90s for me by wearing a choker with every single outfit they wear. So I’m thankful that Heidi kept this ensemble choker-free. But on the other hand, Heidi’s outfit makes me want to slap on a choker and a red wig to channel Clueless’ best character Ambular as I say, “She could be a farmer in those clothes.”
Luke Evans attends the premiere of Disney’s New Musical “Aladdin” at the Prince Edward Theatre in London, England.
Still not in love with the goat whiskers and we wish he’d take his hands out of his pockets, but GURL…
We are fanning ourselves like Miss Celie in church here. That man knows how to do good casual style and still look impeccable and hot. He also has a real talent for wearing skinny pants. And by “talent,” we mean “the hips for it.”
[Photo Credit: Landmark/PR Photos, Stuart C. Wilson/Getty Images]
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Sam shift dress in frog print
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Rico top in tutti frutti
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Sam shift dress in floral
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Daniel dress in tutti frutti
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Photo: Getty Images/Victor Boyko
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Photo: Getty Images/Victor Boyko
