Love.

I try, very hard, to be what I think is "rational" as often as I can. I have very cynical tendencies. Though I may appreciate the devotion of certain "Hollywood" types with thousands of children, in my heart of hearts I will not be surprised when there is an ugly breakup. I sometimes hate people (mostly in waiting lines, on the train, etc.) for no reason. I have a physically negative reaction to most children between the age of 8-18. You know, the usual East Coast, bitter, single woman, curmudgeon-before-her-age stuff. I'm such a Miranda.

But then, there are some things that get me in that soft, gooey, absurdly girly romantic place. Yes, this is a picture-driven post, and sure, maybe it's also a little driven by the creeping, ever soul-crushing, sappiest of sappy (boy, I'm using a lot of adjectives today...) holidays - Valentine's Day. [Keep in mind, this post is coming from a girl who in the past has spent that same holiday cuddling with close friends, watching The Notebook (crying, lamenting loneliness) and then Kill Bill, Vol. 1 (soaking in violence and badassery), and/or by taking a road trip to a $1 Chinese Buffet restaurant, getting carryout and then eating chips, popsicles and leftover Chinese food while watching 30 Rock with friends. What can I say? I'm an old fashioned girl...]

But there are, as there must be, things that will always allow me to retain that faith in 'love'. Chief among those things are black and white photos of old timey kisses, people looking at people with unadulterated love in their eyes (it happens, believe it or not), old people holding hands, It's a Wonderful Life, general genuine love, and tipsy Irish middle-aged couples who, whilst walking down the middle of the street pull each other close and sing to each other a little bit too loudly and smile a little too deliriously and giggle and slow dance and forget that there's a world around them. That kind of stuff. Stuff like this:

Michael Caine and the Wifey

Dr. King and Coretta

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If anyone knows the name or artist of this photo I'd REALLY love to know - I've had it for a while and I have no idea how it came into my possession, what it's called, etc etc. And I love it ever so.

I've always found that the ability to sleep well together is a key indicator of being able to be well together.

That seems dangerous. Dangerous and adorable.

What red-blooded woman hasn't dreamt of a "running into yourself"-esque moment like this?

Scandalous!

Oh - and Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward. If he and I could never be, I'm glad he found a woman like her.

"Why go out for a hamburger when you have steak at home?"

That would be the aforementioned look of love. Right there in those baby blues.

There is just so much adorable love here. They're having much too much fun together.

My Favorites - SAG Awards 2011

Alright, everybody. I'll keep it short & sweet. Here's who I thought wore it best:


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Claire Danes looking great in Louis Vuitton (but being mostly outshone, per usual, by the dreamy Hugh Dancey)

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Ms. Portman looking lovely in a white Azzaro gown

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January Jones in Carolina Herrera (a dress wonderfully accented by just straight up and down handsome to her right (our left))

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Tina Fey (my Oprah) looking probably the best she's ever looked in Oscar De La Renta

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On anyone else, this Prada dress would have looked absolutely absurd. But the 14-year-old Hailee looks positively incredible!

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Another Oscar De La Renta favorite from last night. I must say, I cannot stand Lea Michele. But she does look great

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Mila Kunis in Alexander McQueen Resort looking fiiierce

My Favorites - Golden Globes 2011

Oh good! Good to know some things come full circle. It's that time of year again, people. Yes, it's Awards' Season.

This year's Golden Globes were fraught with drama and controversy. Ricky Gervais made fun of Hugh Hefner and Charlie Sheen. Oh no! But they're national treasures...
Andrew Garfield stumbled on his words! How dare he? How dare he be charming and human and adorable. Helena Bonham Carter dressed in a crazy get-up complete with different shoes! The world is topsy-turvy! Siigh...

BUT! In my own personal world of drama and controversy - Inception got SNUBBED. Snubbed I tells ya! Oh, the overwhelming indignation. Never mind some of the weird nominations - The Tourist? Alice in Wonderland (I know it got some positive reviews, but I personally was let down by all the CGI. I thought it could have been so much more sumptuous and whimsical without it. But, I digress.)

Anyways...On to the part that we really care about - the red carpet! Yaay pretty dresses!

Here are my faves in no particular order, per usual.

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Hailee Steinfeld, the little pistol from True Grit and co-presenter with Justin Bieber (hold the Twitter-related death-threats, 13 year olds. Simmer.) looking fabulous AND age-appropriate in Prabal Gurung. Good for you.

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Sandra Bullock looking...eerily like a Kardashian above the neck in Jenny Packham. I'm not the biggest fan of the hair, but I thought the dress was absolutely gorgeous.

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Mandy Moore in Monique Lhuillier (my favorite designer). Definitely could have sassed up the hair a bit but still she looks incredible.

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Ok, some people have been hating on Ms. J-lo. I, for one, think she looked quite lovely. This Zuhair Murad gown, I think, is Old Hollywood in that forgotten way. When people think of Old Hollywood they forget about dresses with structure like this - but this is a modern twist on a classic. And Jennifer has the regal look to pull. it. off. Bravo.

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Speaking of Bravo (oh wait...it's on Lifetime now....whatever) here's Ms Heidi Klum in Marc Jacobs. I liked the look a lot - I thought it was fun and young, which is really what Marc Jacobs is about (that and sass/fabulousness). And I thought the shoes and accessories made the look even better. If I were to have one qualm with her look it would be that maybe it was a bit too summery and casual, but, in the end she looked a hell of a lot better than I could on any given day so go 'head.

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Now, when I first saw this I was like "Eh. Maybe I don't like this? It looks like armour? In not a good way? Did she steal a dress from Rue McClanahan's closet?" Clearly, by my overuse of question marks I was uncertain. But upon further speculation - I like it. Hey! I like it! Don't really know why...but I do. Let's leave it at that.

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Shut up, y'all. She looks GREAT. Her dress is romantic and gorgeous and flowy and she's pretty and I love her so, as my dad says, "forget yas all" (edited for your sensitive little eyeballs, my sensitive little eyeballed reader).

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Mila Kunis, who was, by the way, incredible in Black Swan (which I loved so much I might have to write an incredibly nerdy post on it later when I have time...don't worry. You don't have to read it) looked equally incredible in Vera Wang this Sunday. Green was a big color on the red carpet (and for good reason - it's beautiful on just about everyone), and everyone from Catherine Zeta-Jones, Elisabeth Moss and Angelina Jolie rocked it, but I think Mila's dress might be my favorite. She accessorized it simply and didn't overpower the delicate drapery of the finely crafted dress. She's definitely top 5.

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Emma Stone looked ab.so.lutely lustrous in this peachy-coral Calvin Klein Collection dress. It set off her newly blonded locks and her dewy California girl glow off perfectly. The high neck was set off (much like Ms. Hathaway's dress) by the low low back that just screams elegance and class and ease and just..well done. It's in a category of minimalism - but not in a Tilda Swinton-y, inaccessible way...more of an "I-look-awesome" way.

Well, those are the ladies I thought rocked it. Feel free to let me know if you had any favorites that I missed!

Girl Power!

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So upon re-reading my last post, I saw that I had briefly spewed some sort of vague, late-90's feminist slogan in half-jest. This got me thinking...

I am a fairly fierce feminist. I don't try to hide it. I don't think I should. I believe that in today's day and age, if you're not honestly a feminist...well, you're retarded (I mean that in the simplest, most semantic sense of the word). For some reason when most people hear the word "feminist" they cringe at the image of snarling, Lillith-fair attending, bra-burning, man-hating, surly women talking about "Society" and "Repression".
Feminism, again, in the simplest, most semantic sense of the word (hey...so I like etymology. Shoot me - I was an English major), is purely the idea that women have just as much to offer society (scarequotes removed) as any other gender. What an utterly scandalous notion! Preposterous!
Perhaps it was just the home I was raised in - a strong tradition of even stronger women on both sides -or the fact that I was raised in the 90s and early Aughts, but I'm proud of my hippie-dippy stance on gender equality.

Thusly, I would like to introduce my soon-to-be-annual Baller Women of the Year. Here they are in no particular order!

Drew Barrymore

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Reasons for Ballertude:

1.) Won the Golden Globe and the SAG award for playing Little Edie in Grey Gardens. Holy transformation.

2.) Is an Ambassador Against Hunger for the United Nations World Food Programme

3.) Other than being a very well-known actress, she is also a mega-producer with Flower Films - a company she founded.

4.) Has announced that she has an interest in branching out in to photography, and that she'll be putting out a book soon.

Nicole Richie

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Ok, this is a weird one for those who know me. I generally despise and loathe with all my heart anyone and everyone that has to do with reality television. I mean...despise. Like work-myself-into-a-unnecessary-tizzy-about-how-this-is-what's-wrong-with-the-world despise. But, if my inclusion of Drew Barrymore (a former 14-year-old rehabee who has thusly turned her life around) in this list is any indication, I'm totally down with the ladies who get their act together. Anyways.

Reasons for Ballertude:

1.) House of Harlow 1960 - Miss Richie's line of accessories, jewelry and shoes that won her the title of Entrepreneur of the Year by Glamour Magazine. She also designs Winter Kate, named after her daughter Harlow's (as in House of) two middle names.

2.) The Richie-Madden Children's Foundation, a charity that she and her hubs founded that recently opened up a playground in LA to encourage kids to get out and play this February.

3.) She is a board member on the Environmental Media Association, an organization that mobilizes the entertainment industry to bring global attention to certain environmental concerns.

4.) She has written two (if semi-trashy...) novels - one of which was a New York Times Bestseller.

Anna Dello Russo

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Reasons for Ballertude:

1.) Fashion Director-at-Large for Vogue Nippon

2.) Her epic blog, which brings her bubbly, passionate and yet approachable sense of fashion to the masses. And she released this year her adorably packaged Beyond perfume

3.) She has her own apartment for her clothes. I'm sorry maybe you didn't understand me.
She has her own apartment for her clothes. (please disregard the insanely creepy
photographs)

4.) She has potentially changed the face of fashion - and cites my next nominee as a hero.

Lady Gaga

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Another weird one, for those who know me. But say what you will about the Lady, she's pretty baller.

Reasons for Ballertude:

1.) Ranked as one of Forbes' Highest-Earning performers of the year, with The Fame Monster ranking #1 worldwide for records sold.

2.) Her efforts for gay advocacy is just this shy of heroic. This is a woman who is dedicated to her "monsters". She has cited her gay fan base as her biggest supporters, and that, as well as her own admitted bisexuality has driven her to lead an admirable effort on behalf of Gay Rights.

3.) The Meat Dress. Ok. I don't advocate the wearing of meat. I very much am icked out. However, what I am for is the fact that she got people talking. I'm stiiilll a little fuzzy on how a Meat Dress is a statement on Don't Ask Don't Tell...but I'm flexible. I must say, Seth Meyers said it best when he stated: "It's kind of hard to be the girl in the meat dress on Sunday and the voice of reason on Tuesday", but somehow she's doing it?

4.) The Gaga Zeitgeist has so profoundly penetrated our culture, USC is offering a course entitled: "Lady Gaga & The Sociology of Fame". Seriously.

Dr. Hawa Abdi and Her Daughters

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Reasons for Amazing:

1.) These women defy all superlatives. I actually and literally don't have words for what these women have done - what they continue to do. And I realize that it's ridiculous for me to have Lady Gaga and these women on the same list...but...it's my blog.

2.) Dr. Hawa Abdi was Somalia's first female gynecologist, and with her success she bought for herself and her family a farm of several hundred acres. Amidst civil war, Abdi has been successful in harboring almost 100,000 refugees, giving them (mostly women and children) a place to learn, farm, raise their families, and even train as physicians.

3.) Earlier this year, Al-Qaeda-funded terrorists, stormed her camp and held them hostage for a week. Her strength and bravery, along with heavy protests from the UN, eventually forced out the militants.

More on Dr. Abdi and her daughters here.



Runners Up:

Kathryn Bigelow - for breaking the glass ceiling for women directors everywhere - and for sticking it to her ex in the process with class.

Kate Middleton - must I explain?

Sandra Bullock & Elin Nordegren - for dealing with a very personal and painful situation with quiet grace and dignity.



So those are my ladies. Let me know what you think!

Ye-Ye Girls

So, yes. It's been a while. Sorry. But I promise I'll try to make it up to you.

...the proverbial "you" seeing as how I have no real proof that there's anyone out there :( love me, cyberspace!

Anywho. Tonight's post: Yé-yé.

This has been quite an obsession of mine going on some years now. For those who don't know, yé-yé was a musical movement in the early sixties, mostly in France. Coolly enough, it was a genre that showcased almost exclusively women! Girl power! The music itself is cute and fun - deliberately innocent, but, because most of it was written by friggen Serge Gainsbourg, mostly amazing!

But more than the music, the STYLE of these girls is...outstanding. I'm not sure if it's because of the era or because of the pure and simple fact that they're FRENCH (though honestly, it's probably a combination of the two), but every single girl has this gamine, I-stole-this-from-my-boyfriend-but-it-looks-better-on-me-anyways but super feminine style. I know I'm gushing but these are my A-listers. They're like my Ghandis of Fashion.

Coolest. Conversation. Ever. Francoise Hardy & Bob Dylan

Francoise Hardy is my unabashed favorite. I'm unnaturally obsessed with her.
This is how every leather jacket should look.

Classic Trench. And those sunglasses!

The bangs, the watch, the nice show of jambes

Glamour Girl Sylvie Vartan - who married this dude, and is the aunt of this dude. Great hair and less than stellar teeth.

Serge Gainsbourg and Jane Birkin - Ye-ye's Power Couple. Both of whom are incredibly stylish. Serge's peacoat rocks...but Jane's steals the show. Oh ps: they're the parents of this powerchick. Yeah I love their offspring, too.

This was my desktop background for a very long time. Maybe bring I'll bring it back...Shirtdress + scarf + perfect bangs = Jane

Brigitte Bardot, when she wasn't busy sexifying the world with that pout and that hair, actually moonlighted as a ye-ye singer.
I know technically she's not "wearing" "anything"...but doesn't she still look so much more stylish than anyone today?

Oh, Francoise.