Neon Angel: A Memoir of a Runaway
The Runaways, one of our most highly anticipated movies will finally debut in theaters on March 19th. We’ve been waiting a very long time to see seems to be two great actresses bringing to life two amazing performers: Kristen Stewart as Joan Jett and Dakota Fanning as Cherie Currie.
Buy the book at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Borders or an Independent Bookseller.
Click here to read a preview of the first two chapters.
About Neon Angel: A Memoir of a Runaway by Cherie Currie
Cherie Currie, with her signature Bowie haircut and fishnet stockings, was the groundbreaking lead singer of ’70s teenage all-girl rock band the Runaways. At the tender age of fifteen, she joined a group of talented girls—Joan Jett and Lita Ford on guitar, Jackie Fox on bass, and Sandy West on drums—who could play rock like no one else.
Arriving on the Los Angeles music scene in 1975, they catapulted from playing small clubs to selling out major stadiums, headlining shows with opening acts like the Ramones, Van Halen, Cheap Trick, and Blondie. Currie lit up the stage with the provocative teen-rebellion songs “Cherry Bomb,” “Queens of Noise,” and “Born to Be Bad,” riding a wave of hit songs and platinum albums, all while touring around the world.
On the face of it, Currie’s is a riveting story of girl empowerment and fame. But it is also an intensely personal account of her struggles with drugs, sexual abuse, and violence. She and her bandmates, runaways all, were thrown into a decadent, high-pressure music scene where on the road, unsupervised for months at a time, they had to grow up fast and experience things that no teenage girls should. Neon Angel exposes the side of the music industry fans never get to see, and chronicles the group’s rise to fame and their ultimate demise.
Shocking and inspiring, funny and touching, Neon Angel stunningly re-creates a bygone era of rock and roll, all the while providing an inside look at growing up hard under the relentless glare of the public eye, and chronicling one tough woman’s fight to reclaim her life.
About The Runaways
The Runaways is based on lead-singer Cherie Currie’s book ‘Neon Angel’ – a reflection of her experiences as a rock star, but also delivering a strong anti-drug warning to teens and others. David Bowie’s “Space Oddity” serves as a metaphor for the narrative– a slow countdown, a surreal but spectacular rise to fame, then alienation and burnout – a long long way from home.
The movie chronicles THE RUNAWAYS from 1975 – 1977; formed by teenage girls living near Hollywood, CA., and heavily manipulated by their manager Kim Fowley as ‘jailbait rock’ (all the girls were 16 or younger when the band recorded their first album). The band ultimately succeeds on their own merits as musicians, becoming the first all-girl rock-band to ever break into the world of arena-filling hard rock acts.
The movie focuses on the band’s formation, and their meteoric rise to fame. Their first single, ‘Cherry Bomb’, gets some attention in the United States, where THE RUNAWAYS’ U.S. tour hits major venues (Cobo Hall, with RUSH) and sleazy rock-clubs, often pairing them up with The Ramones, Cheap Trick, Tom Petty, and other popular 1970’s rock acts. But ‘Cherry Bomb’ and several other songs from THE RUNAWAYS’ first 2 albums become huge hits in Japan — and their arrival for a set of shows there in 1977 is like Beatle-Mania. The band is overwhelmed by the Japanese reception. Almost prophetic, THE RUNAWAYS’ last big hit song in Japan is ‘Neon Angels On The Road To Ruin’.
Cherie is initially thrilled to be in the band, and lives the rock star life. She pushes the edge — and their records sell well, generating lots of media controversy and hype. But during the tour of Japan, her personal life disintegrates, and she burns out — ultimately leaving The Runaways when they return to the U.S. The bass player (Jackie Fox) quits too, leaving only Lita Ford, Joan Jett and Sandy West. Joan Jett has decided that rock & roll is her life, and that The Runaways is her ‘family’; she is upset by Cherie’s decision to leave, but knows that decision is best — for Cherie.
THE RUNAWAYS’ success was earth-shaking in rock music — changing the rules forever. But with the successful 5-girl lineup no longer intact after the Japan tour, their future was dubious, at best. Lita Ford (guitar) and Sandy West (drums) still think the band can make it big again, so they persevere with Joan Jett.
Where to stay for New York Fashion Week
After a long day of walking in heels and hitting all the shows and parties at New York Fashion Week this February 11th to 18th, without a doubt the best place to return to has got to be Paramount Hotel. As if the highly-recomended Library Bar is not reason enough to stay there, Paramount is offering a Runway Deal tied into Fashion Week.
Between February 8 and February 20 guests will receive two fantastic cocktails per night in any of Paramount’s bars, a free copy of Amanda Brook’s book I Love Your Style, plus a luxuriant 3pm checkout on your day of departure. And the added knowledge that you’re staying at one of New York’s premiere spots just a few blocks from the Bryant Park and the center of the Fashion Week World. Victoria’s Secret top model Marisa Miller agrees, Paramount is the only place to stay.
Make your reservation HERE and keep up to date on Facebook and Twitter.
Cooler than cool
*** Full Disclosure: I just hijacked this piece from the wonderful website Iceland Review because I like what they have to say. Read their blog. ***
Cooler Than You: The Tragically Hip
Hot damned Reykjavík is cool. Coolest place on earth, always has been, always will be. Cooler than whatever town you are from, even if you’re from Reykjavík.
And if you think you can come here, slip’n’slide your way into the hip crowd. Well that’s just not possible. These kids are hipper than a year’s worth of surgery in a specialist hip replacement ward.
Or that was the case. Until now, until my sure fire 12-step guide to being hip in hipsville.
1. Find your own style.
First and most important. You gotta make your mark in zero seconds flat, from across the room, across the street. Across the town. Every hip kid has his or her own style. Fortunately it’s easy to find your own, just remember this mantra: I want to be an individual, like all the other individuals. Look around, copy, steal.
2. Drink coffee.
This is your daytime activity. From the moment you wake (no earlier than 1 pm) till the kids go home, you are going to subsist in 101 coffee-shops. Latte, espresso, black or with milk, doesn’t matter what you like, that’s not the point. Drink whatever everyone else drinks, just be seen doing it. Books, pen and paper are for hippies, PC’s for losers, make sure to have a Mac in front of you at all times.
3. Drink. At bars, a lot.
This is how you spend the night. Every night.
Weeknights: Drink beer, the watery stuff from the tap. Weekends: Beer and sugary shots. 1 for 1. Spend all your time at the bar, sit on it for extra marks. Never ever try to dance, no one is impressed. By anything. Ever.
4. Eat out.
Always eat out. Time spent at home is time not seen—ergo time wasted. It doesn’t matter if the food is bad. Taste and the hip go together like toothpaste and orange juice.
5. Be seen, be heard. Ad nauseam.
This is a war of attrition people. The hip of the town are the most seen—in the most places, with the most people. If people aren’t sick of the sight of you, then you aren’t working hard enough.
6. Act like you own the place.
You’ve wheedled your way into the communal hip consciousness, now you gotta get the act down. No problem, just remember this one word. Obnoxious: You’re hip, it’s your right, it’s your duty. What’s the word: obnoxious!
7. Talk about projects you are working on.
Incessantly. At any given opportunity. No one was ever hip just for being hip. You need to be seen to be doing something, and people need to know about it. Something creative, exciting, energetic. Something hip.
8. Never ever work on your projects.
Of course no one who was hip never actually did anything, apart from being hip. This isn’t a contradiction, it’s a paradox. A hip paradox.
9. Tell everyone you love them when you are face-to-face.
Diplomacy is all important in a city as small as Reykjavík. Like any good politician, learn to press the flesh.
10. Criticize everyone behind their backs.
As soon as the schmoes turn their back, get ready to drag their name through the dirt.
11. Never express an opinion that might come back on you.
Diplomacy is a balancing act—with no net. Get it wrong and a fall’s coming.
Remember this: your opinion is worth nothing. The only opinion that is, is the opinion of the Greater Hip. If you have to stand up for your words, then they’re the wrong words. He who stands alone, falls alone. Mean what you say, never say what you mean.
12. Take a day off every now and then.
Mystery is good. It gives the impression that you have more important matters. Of course you don’t, but who’s to know?
This is the perfect time to look up those YouTube clips to screen in coffee-shops, and to dream up hilarious(ly hip) updates for Facebook and Twitter. If you aren’t big on the net, you aren’t big on the streets. Just don’t get too big—500 friends maximum.
So, there you go, that’s it. Follow these 12 steps and you too can be obnoxious, arrogant, ubiquitous, irrelevant.
Though when you put it like that, it just doesn’t sound quite so… What’s the word?
Hip.
Poor Michael Furey… He said he did not want to live.
Today we are taking a page out of the playbook of the second best blog on these here internets, FiftyTwoStories.com, and talking about … a short story. But not just any short story. Possibly the greatest short fiction ever written (apologies to “A Perfect Day for Bananafish”).
Why you ask? Because today is January 6th. In addition to being the day Nancy Kerrigan went and got herself clubbed, Mother Teresa arrived in Calcutta and Joan of Arc being born in Domrémy, January 6th is known through all of Ireland as Little Christmas or The Feast of the Epiphany. It was this night, in 1904, that the Morkan sisters threw their annual holiday party where
Lily, the caretaker’s daughter, was literally run off her feet.
And so begins James Joyce’s “The Dead.”
Here is a story that captures the holiday season as none other can. A packed house on a cold, snowy night. Music and singing and dancing and food. A middle-aged man breaking the promise to his mother of not getting drunk again. A dozen or so young women fearful of spinsterhood approaching. Dinner conversations of music and travel, religion and an increasing lack of it, politics and the decreasing amount of rights and freedoms, traditions and the younger generation’s lack of interest in them. And more politics. And more religion.
But above all else, there is the ghost of the past. The remembrance of a life cut short. The ultimate act of love.
Poor Michael Furey… He said he did not want to live.
And the realization – the epiphany – that the great life you are living should have belonged to someone else.
Generous tears filled Gabriel’s eyes. He had never felt like that himself towards any woman but he knew that such a feeling must be love. The tears gathered more thickly in his eyes and in the partial darkness he imagined he saw the form of a young man standing under a dripping tree. Other forms were near. His soul had approached that region where dwell the vast hosts of the dead. He was conscious of, but could not apprehend, their wayward and flickering existence. His own identity was fading out into a grey impalpable world: the solid world itself which these dead had one time reared and lived in was dissolving and dwindling.
Read “The Dead” or visit it and celebrate January 6th.
No uncertainty about Uncertainty
We are all faced with hundreds, maybe thousands, of minuscule decisions each day. Bus or subway? Where and when to go to lunch? Work late or cut out early? The other day during a much-needed day of hookey from the YIL-factory I was walking by the IFC Center and saw a poster for Uncertainty, next showing in twenty minutes. I was sick of walking the streets in the cold and not buying Christmas presents so I ducked into the theatre and am very glad I did.
Manhattan or Brooklyn?
Easy question. Where to spend the 4th of July. Your girlfriend’s family’s party in Brooklyn or your buddy’s party in Manhattan. Flip a coin.
That’s how Uncertainybegins. With the flip of a coin. What follows are two separate movies: one follows Bobby (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) and his girlfriend Kate (Lynn Collins) to Brooklyn. Intertwined is the second movie – what would have happen had the two chosen to spend the day in Manhattan.
At first glimpse the premise is reminiscent of the less-than-stellar Gwyneth Paltrow 1998 film Sliding Doors (I much prefer her Great Expectations from the same year). To keep both Uncertainy story lines separate the film’s writers/directors used color: Yellow for Manhattan (clothes, taxi that brings them there) and Green for Brooklyn (clothes, minivan that brings them there). A much more clever device than Paltrow’s odd blonde/brunette hair cut and coloring.
What follows are two incredible stories as different as can be. In Manhattan Bobby and Kate find a cellphone in the back of a cab that leads to a fast-paced, gripping espionage story of murder, blackmail and what two people would be willing to do for more money than they could ever fathom having with action scenes of roof jumping that rival the Jason Bourne films. Not an easy feat for an independent film.
In Brooklyn, surrounded by her family, Bobby and Kate come to terms about their feelings for each other, their future, her mother’s disapproval. It is an intense, sometimes stifling, family/relationship drama.
The in-depth, claustrophobic nature of the film and the relationship presented on screen set to a defined period of time of both the Manhattan and Brooklyn films reminded me of a mix of Ethan Hawke/Julie Delpy Before Sunrise and Jonathan Rhys-Meyers/Scarlett Johansson Match Point.
While not the perfect movie – a few of the loose ends seem to tie up a bit too easy at the end – Uncertainly certainly is a movie to be seen. Levitt, once again as he did in (500) Days of Summer (which you may or may not have heard I kinda liked), proves his ranking as one of the top actors under thirty today and Lynn Collins shows her dramatic abilities are far superior to her roles in True Blood and X-Men: Wolverine (which is a damn good show and a fine movie themselves).
Its too late to see Uncertainty at the IFC Center in New York (though it does seem to be still playing in LA), but the smart folks over at IFC released the movie On Demandsimul with the theatre release. So look for it there.
Our Favor!te Things 2009: Kevin
Considering he saw (500) Days of Summer eight times (at last count), we’re pretty surprised that our marketing head honcho Kevin Callahan actually had time to enjoy other pop culture delights this year. Apparently he did, and apparently these were his favor!tes.
Favor!te Film: (500) Days of Summer. Because “this is not a love story.” Because in the hands of actors less talented than Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Zooey Deschanel the movie could have taken an entirely different direction, but what they do in it is remarkable. Because I want to live in Tom Hansen’s apartment. Because of this.
Favor!te Concert: Nirvana, Live at Reading. Because very rarely can you be transported back in time and witness something amazing happen.
Favor!te Album: Green Day, 21st Century Breakdown. Because five years ago Rolling Stone wrote “Tell the truth: did anybody think Green Day would still be around in 2004?” and Green Day not only proved their importance then with American Idiot but far-surpassed it in 2009 with 21st Century Breakdown. Because seeing Billie Joe Armstrong in concert is a religous experience. Because What’s the latest way that a man can die / Screaming hallelujah? Because even though Billie Joe has a son in high school, you still believe him when he tells you how mom and dad will never understand.
Favor!te Book: The Selected Works of T.S. Spivet, Reif Larsen. Because every now and then you can get completely lost in the mind of a book’s character and forget that he doesn’t actually exist. Because Reif Larsen has created an inventive forms of storytelling. Because the interrior looks like this.
Favor!te Art-type thingy: Hamlet. Because Jude Law made the funny lines actually funny. Because he didn’t over do “To Be or Not to Be.” Because the scene of Polonius’s murder was the best version I’ve ever seen. Because in my opinion Getrude is the toughest role to have and Geraldine James was incredible in it. Because the costumes and set decorations were brilliant in their simplicities. Because it snowed on stage. Because I’m a Hamlet snob so for me to like it as much as I did, it must be good.
Favor!te Fashion: Hoodies. Because a hoodie under a blazer is warmer than a winter coat. Because 2007 was the last time GAP made a decent hoodie. Because 2007’s hoodies are now perfectly worn-in.
Favor!te TV Show: Gossip Girl. Because I lost a little faith after Seaon 2, but Season 3 has more than made up for it.
Favor!te Blog/Website: HTMLGiant. Because it contained the Best Essay of 2009: Blake Butler’s “James Joyce does not exist.”
Favor!te Real Housewives: Dina Manzo and Caroline Manzo from Real Housewives of New Jersey. Because they are thick as thieves.
Favor!te Twitterer: @God. Because, well, he’s God.
Favor!te You Tube Video: When Pandas Attack. Because this is the video proof that underneath all that fur, pandas are mean fuckers.
Bonus:
What are you most excited about for 2010? Emile Hirsch’s Hamlet may surprise a lot of people. Ed Westwick as Heathcliff and Gemma Arterton as Cathy in a new Wuthering Heights. And I still have high hopes for Shutter Island.
Who do you most want to smooch on New Year’s Eve? Patricia Highsmith. Because “My New Year’s Eve Toast: to all the devils, lusts, passions, greeds, envies, loves, hates, strange desires, enemies ghostly and real, the army of memories, with which I do battle — may they never give me peace.” – Patricia Highsmith, January 1, 1947. 2:30 am.
Dita wows London (naturally)
The US may have Wal Marts and Sarah Palin’s bus tour, but the UK really know how to throw a book signing. The lovely, amazing, inspiring Dita Von Teese recently signed copies of her new book Dita: Stripteese at Waterstone’s Piccadilly location and proves that Palin isn’t the only woman fans will stand in line for.
On a steel horse (or train) I ride…
A few days ago we caught you up on all the goings on with Bon Jovi. And there’s more!
New Jersey Transit Commuters – be on the look out for the poster below on your trains through out the month of November. Take a photo of the barcode on the bottom left with your barcode enabled smart phone, sit back and enjoy some great content on the Bon Jovi mobile website. It will make your commute fly by.
Then take a photo of the poster and email it to YourItList@HarperCollins.com and we’ll send the first 10 people a free copy of Bon Jovi: When We Were Beautiful.
Lancôme invites you to meet Nina Garcia
Meet Nina Garcia at Saks Fifth Avenue in New York City on November 12th and hear her discuss her latest book The Style Strategy and to hear about Lancôme’s new Genifique Eye Youth Acting Eye Concentrate and Absolue Precious Cells.
The $75 reservation fee is redeemable in Lancôme products and you will receive a free copy of The Style Strategy. Space is limited so RSVP today!
Can’t make it? Stylists from Marie Claire will be making appearances at Lancôme boutiques in Brea, California and Short Hills, New Jersey on October 28th. Details below!
Saks Fifth Avenue New York
Nov. 12th, 5 to 7 p.m.
RSVP: 212-940-2187
Lancôme The Boutique, Short Hills, New Jersey
Oct. 28th, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
RSVP: 973-258-0790
Lancôme The Boutique, Brea Mall, Brea, California
Oct. 28th, Noon to 7 p.m.
RSVP: 714-671-0267
Bon Jovi, it’s their life
Bon Jovi, America’s favorite band, has a busy fall coming up.
Their new single, “We Weren’t Born to Follow” is currently playing on every station. Their new studio album The Circle drops on November 10th, they just announced today a tour in early 2010 (including the first concert at the new Meadowlands in May), Showtime will air a behind-the-scenes documentary about the band on October 24th and on top of all of that the band has a book coming out November 3rd - Bon Jovi: When We Were Beautiful – which celebrates their 25th anniversary with never-before-seen photos and stories from Jon, Richie, David and Tico.
The book is available now to pre-order and you can get an exclusive, early SNEAK PEEK INSIDE THE BOOK before it goes on sale.
Check back with YourItList.com as we will be releasing more information about the book and the band over the next few weeks.
Green Day sets a new stage on fire
I know I’m not the only Green Day fan who wishes he lived in San Francisco.
Photo c/o Berkeley Repertory Theatre
Ever since American Idiot first exploded in 2004 comparisons to The Who’s Tommy were endless. Rolling Stone’s review called the album an “old school rock opera” and there’s been continuous talk of bringing the album to the stage. And that time has finally come – almost 5 years to the day since the album came out - with the recent world premiere of American Idiot: The Rock Opera at the Berkeley Repertory Theatre.
National reviewers have not been invited to see the play, though the New York Times has a decent feature about the opening. The San Francisco Chronicle seems to have the most extensive review coverage of the play itself (as well as photos):
Heidi Schumann for The New York Times
“Wildly entertaining…The music of Green Day practically blasts the lid off Berkeley Rep’s Roda Theatre. The cast and creative crew match the pulsating wall of sound for sheer energy and pump it up with Broadway-quality pipes, stage-rattling, thrashing choreography, flying bodies and walls crammed with pulsating video and projected images. Never has the Roda appeared more expansive yet bursting with images and action…The rock opera that opened Wednesday, in a world premiere with Broadway aspirations written all over it, packs plenty of excitement and entertainment into a remarkably theatrical rock concert…The lyrics are crystal clear as well. Every poetic twist and angry pun of Armstrong’s words comes through.”
One comment I’ve been reading about – which is something that I can see being an issue – is the flow of the narrative of the play seems to stall at times. The play follows the songs of the album, bringing in the songs’s charaters (St. Jimmy, Johnny, Whatshername, Jesus of Suburbia) to life. The problems lies in the fact that the entire play is only the lyrics from the album. No additional text has been added, no bridges to connect different scenes, no overarching narrative to connect the storylines.
That said, it still must be one helluva show. American Idiot has some of the most powerful music Green Day has ever written, mixed with director Michael Mayer and starring John Gallagher Jr. (both of whom just won Tony awards for Spring Awakening) an eventual Broadway debut seems likely.
At least that’s what I keep telling myself to keep me from booking my flight to San Francisco (the limited engagement has been extended to November 1st).
John Gallagher, Jr. and Tony Vincent star as Johnny and St. Jimmy. Photo courtesy of mellopix.com
John Gallagher, Jr. as Johnny, Rebecca Naomi Jones playing Whatsername, and Tony Vincent playing St. Jimmy. Photo: Liz Hafalia / The San Francisco Chronicle
Nina Garcia answers some questions
Last week Your It List had the honor of hosting Nina Garcia as she guest blogged about her new book The Style Strategy. Today we have Nina back to answer some questions about her style, her book and how to look your best and paying less!
Your new book, The Style Strategy, is about shopping while saving money. Is that even possible?
Of course it is! You don’t have to spend a fortune to look fabulous, or sacrifice style when you’re on a budget. The Style Strategy is not about doing without; let’s be clear on that. It’s not about feeling deprived. It’s about realizing that you can get the same euphoria that buying high-end brands may give you by simply reworking the clothes you already have, or finding great bargains and turning these items into the perfect expression of your personal style. This past year has reminded us all that we MUST be conscious of the money we spend. And being practical while remaining stylish is the ultimate chic.
What was the inspiration for this book?
My absolute favorite new mantra is: Shop Smart, Stay Chic, and Make it Last! This mantra has fueled every single page of this book. The sense of accomplishment you get from knowing you’ve truly lived by this mantra, and look great while doing so, is the best feeling in he world. Every shopper should be armed with a strategy. This book guides shoppers through a strategy that works.
Why do you think women will respond to the advice in this book?
If we ladies are anything, we’re resourceful. Long before we earned our own paychecks, we were in charge of stretching pennies for the entire family in order to create and maintain a warm, comfortable home. Through the ages, we’ve seen it all. No era has been without its crisis. And women have always been a tremendous part of the glue that holds everything together while working through such a crisis. Our ingenuity and flair for survival has saved the world many times over. But our ability to beautify the world as we save it is what really makes it all worthwhile. I think women innately know solid advice when they read it, and they will appreciate the fun spirit frugal fun and pampering that line this book.
There are a lot of interesting facts and history in The Style Strategy. What made you decide to include such information?
I want people to know some of the specific moments and ideas throughout history that women have exhibited incredible ingenuity and flair in the name of looking great. When going through a rough economic downturn, sometimes it’s easy to forget how good we have it in comparison to other periods throughout history. I truly admire the women who lived through the American Civil War, the Great Depression, and World Ward II. They were really tough, and so creative. I want to honor them by writing about the great strategies they came up with, and all without the help of huge discount stores and sample sales that we’re so used to.
What is one piece of advice you would impart from the book?
There is so much wonderful information to choose from! But if I had to pick just one, I would say that a good rule to follow when out shopping is to never buy anything unless you have at least three items in your closet that it will go with. A smart shopper always creates options for herself.
You include great quotes from celebrities in this book. Do you have a favorite?
I have the hardest time narrowing down the many quotes I find through my reading. There are so many brilliant people in the world, saying such thought provoking, inspirational things. But if I had to choose one quote that specifically applies to the message I convey in The Style Strategy, I would have to choose one by the legendary designer, Vivienne Westwood, who said “Buy less, choose well, and mix it all”. That pretty much nails it. I simply elaborate on how to do just that.
There’s a real social component in The Style Strategy. On more than one occasion, you encourage readers to gather as often as time allows, share saving tips, clothes, advice on what looks good, and even go so far as to show how to throw a good “swap party”. What’s your aim in including this in the book?
It’s so easy to feel deprived, and even a bit isolated, when you are forced to financially tighten your belt. I want to remind women that community, friends, and family are important, and such a vital part of getting through difficult economic times. And of course I love any excuse to have a party. We’re all in this together, and there are few things more uplifting in life than playing dress up with the girls.
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With her signature eye for style, Nina Garcia is best known for her appearance as the unerring, formidable fashion judge on the hit show Project Runway. An elite authority in the industry, she has worked in fashion houses and in fashion media, with everyone from Marc Jacobs to Elle magazine and Marie Claire. She is also the New York Times bestselling author of The Little Black Book of Style and The One Hundred. Originally from Colombia, she now makes her home in New York City.
Nina Garcia talks Style
We are thrilled to have the amazing Nina Garcia as a guest blogger on Your It List. The new season of Project Runway has just debuted and Nina’s new book The Style Strategy hits stores this week. Her latest book is filled with smart shopping strategies for style on a budget, interesting fashion tidbits and lists of bargain fashion musts.
Photo by Barbara Nitke
I am a working mother and a wife. I am a sister and a daughter. I am a student of fashion and a shopper of everything. Each experience in my life fuels what I do, who I am, and, more important, who I see myself evolving into as tomorrow dawns.
I have goals. For myself, for my son, for my family, and for the people who listen to what I have to say about fashion and style.
Every day I plan, I organize, I schedule, I strategize. And the most important thing I’ve learned is that while no amount of planning fully prepares one for life’s inevitable speed bumps, knowing that I’ve built a strong foundation enables me to negotiate such bumps with assurance. I must problem-solve at a moment’s notice. And sometimes even change course altogether in order to adapt to whatever circumstances are thrown in my path. I have to be quick. I must embrace spontaneity while always keeping my feet on the ground. I must have unwavering trust that I’m making the right decision. If I even begin to doubt myself, I crumble, and nothing gets done. Or rather, nothing gets done correctly.
It is with this goal in mind—of imparting my strategy for achieving this level of self-assurance and confidence, while also economizing—that I decided to write this book. As I look at the women around me—on television, in the news, and throughout the world—I realize that although different circumstances may rule each of our lives, we share the core elements of who we are. We’re survivalists. We’re nurturers. We’re women.
An essential aspect of being a woman is not only taking care of everyone around us, but also taking care of ourselves and each other. We figure out new ways to look and feel gorgeous. Sharing our notso-secret tips with each other is probably the easiest, and definitely the most fun, way we care for ourselves. As women, it is in our nature to reach for perfection. And although perfection may not be 100 percent possible, getting close is. In fact, I see women getting closer to perfection every day.
I witness this striving toward an aesthetic ideal in the wonderful designs I handle as a fashion director. I see it in pristine garments, astute styling, and impeccable tailoring, among many other examples of the craftsmanship I’ve come to adore. But I also see perfection embodied in the women walking down my street. Fearless, creative, stylish women who inspire me.
But getting there is a process. It requires a strategy. Taking command of your style and staying chic is but one step in this process— an important one, mind you, but not the only one. Shopping smart and saving our hard-earned money is another very important step. And although it can be a challenge, being practical while honing your style can also be a damn good time. Trust me.
The Style Strategy by Nina Garcia
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With her signature eye for style, Nina Garcia is best known for her appearance as the unerring, formidable fashion judge on the hit show Project Runway. An elite authority in the industry, she has worked in fashion houses and in fashion media, with everyone from Marc Jacobs to Elle magazine and Marie Claire. She is also the New York Times bestselling author of The Little Black Book of Style and The One Hundred. Originally from Colombia, she now makes her home in New York City.
Remembering Les Paul
RockHall.com
News came today of the death of Les Paul, one of the most revered guitarists in history and the father of the electric guitar.
Paul held the unusual honor of being the only person to be inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the National Inventors Hall of Fame, and the National Broadcasters Hall of Fame.
Most recently Paul wrote the foreward to the book Guitar Heaven: Most Famous Guitars to Electrify Our World, which is really an excellent piece and a look back at the instrument Paul brought into the modern age.
In 2008 Slash, Billy Gibbons and Richie Sambora honored Les Paul in this video tribute.
Seminal moments on television (circa 1986 to 1989) Part I
www.htmlgiant.com
Thanks to Matthew Simmons over there at HTML Giant, I just had the most vivid flashback I’ve ever had that did not stem from some mind altering drug.
Simmons brought me back to when worlds collided and Diff’rent Strokes’s Arnold (Gary Coleman) snuck onto the set of Knight Rider and meet David Hasselhoff as he’s filming an episode. There the lines of fiction vs. reality blur in head-hurting detail, which Simmons eloquently explains in his evaluation.
This then brought back a flood of images and episodes of various programs I will loosely define as circa 1986 to 1989 (being that I must have seen these episodes during that time regardless of it they were new or repeats).
In no certain order, I present Seminal Moments in Television (circa 1986 to 1989) Part I:
Punky Brewster – Cherie in the Fridge
www.rottentomatoes.com
Poor Henry. Old, slow, broken, not as cool as once was. I’m talking about his refrigerator, of course. Off to Sears to buy a new one. Cart the old one off into the backyard. Let’s just put it here beneath the tree house where all the neighborhood kids will be playing.
Punky: Hey Cherie, let’s play hide-and-seek!
Cherie: She’ll never find me if I hide out in this old refrigerator!
Fast forward: There’s no air in the fridge! Cherie is unconscious! Punky will use her Punky-Power! (and CPR class) to bring her back to life… and a generation of people will never throw away a fridge without unscrewing the door again. Video.
ALF – The be continued (still waiting)
http://alf.fanspace.com
I remember the first episode of ALF. September 22, 1986. My 6th birthday. But that is not the seminal moment in this classic sitcom…
After years of struggle on this stupid earth-planet Gordon Shumway (derogatorily nicknamed ALF by the non-cat-eating humans) is finally able to return back to Melmac and to his long-lost love “Help Me” Rhonda. As our hero makes his way through the woods, into the clearing to finally have the chance to be free he is seized upon by the FBI, the CIA, the damn Tanner family and their indentured servitude contract. The space ship appears… the flood lights turn on… the guns are pointed… and… and…
To be continued.
A classic cliff hanger. Children across the country screamed. And then… cancellation. NBC pulls the plug. The resolution episode never airs. And Gordon will remain in perpetual limbo for all of time (note: ignore the horrible made-for-tv-movie Project ALF that came years later). Video.
Valerie (aka Valerie’s Family; aka The Hogan Family) – Where’s Mom? She’s dead. But here’s Sandy Duncan.
http://timstvshowcase.com
Seriously, NBC. People in the mid-to-late eighties watch your cheesy little sitcoms to be drawn into the perfect, funny little world Ronald Reagan kept telling us existed. A world where the dad’s a pilot, the fat-red-headed neighbor Mrs. Poole brings over brownies, the older brother is obsessed with girls and his hair and there are stereotypical twin boys (one jock, one brain). Ya know what we don’t tune in to watch? Death.
We know, we know it must have been tough re-negotiating that contract with Valerie Harper. She’s tough. Look at all the times Rhoda sabotaged Mary Tyler Moore’s dinner parties. So lets just kill her off, rename the show, bring in Peter Pan and all will be good. Not good. If I wanted to be all dark and depressed and cry I’d just look at my own family. This one’s not even worthy of a video link.
And so ends Seminal moments on television (circa 1986 to 1989) Part I. Stay tuned for Part II where we’ll explore the day nucleaur war threatened the peaceful tranquility of Our House (not to mention rocky relationship between Shannen Doherty, Chad Allen, Deidre Hall and the Quaker Oates guy), the often-forgotten spin-off of Who’s the Boss starring Halle Berry and Leah Remini, that episode of Facts of Life where Blair tries to kill her friends (and everyone ignores this guy) and more!
Go Mad Men yourself.
Mad Men is finally coming back. For real. It is about time. August 16th will be a big night.
I’m most excited for more Pete/Peggy. It’s pretty obvious they are setting up a storyline involving Pete’s inheritance not being granted unless he has a child. Luckily he has that bastard child he doesn’t know about lying around… of course this is just my guess at a new storyline.
Like most Mad Men watchers I’ve always felt I would have done very well in that time-period of the late 50s/early 60s and I would have fit in well at Sterling Cooper. Drink and smoke in the office? Sign me up. But I guess it was not meant to be. It’s a shame being born in the 80s.
Until today when in the custom of “Make yourself a Simpsons character” that was all the rage last year, AMC unveiled Mad Men Yourself.
That’s me, circa 1963. Hot, right?
The public passion of Justin Timberlake
I’ve always been oddly interested in celebrities’s hobbies that have nothing to do with what they are well known for doing. Case in point: Justin Timberlake and golf.
(Photo by Scott Halleran/Getty Images North America)
Timberlake once said the greatest achievement of his life was appearing on the cover of Golf Digest. Really. That, to me, is remarkable. The guy has achieved a lot. A LOT. So for him to be so passionate about something so far from what he is known for, you gotta respect that commitment.
And golf is hard. I’ve never been able to get the ball through the blades of the windmill, let alone have the dedication to achieve a 6 handicap in between recording sessions, multi-platnum albums, movie roles and the occassional Saturday Night Live appearances.
This past weekend a dream of JT’s was finally realized when he opened Mirimichi, an eco-friendly golf course outside Memphis. And this is not a case where a celebrity puts his name on something and has little to do with it.
JT has rumoredly spent millions of dollars himself to bring the course to fruition. And this is not the upper-class, private, members-only club. Its a public course whose fees are far below what they could be considering the beauty and quality of the course.
In addition to the course, Mirimich is “designed to be a community gathering spot, a beacon for environmental stewardship, an incubator for new golfers and even the headquarters for the singer’s enterprises,” according to the Memphis Commercial-Appeal.
Mirimichi is getting great reviews and attention – and not just from JT’s fans who have his name entered into Google alert and will post comments anywhere he’s mentioned, but from the old guard golf world. A tough world to break into. But the design of the greens, the signifigance of its launch at a time when more people are playing golf on a Wii than on a course and the detailed involvement of the man who dreamed the idea originally.
Hear from JT himself in this exclusive interview posted on his website.
If you like it hot…
In honor of the 50th Anniversary of the classic film Some Like It Hot and the publication of Some Like It Hot: The Official 50th Anniversary Companionby Laurence Maslon, the Hotel del Coronado is hosting a contest to win a weekend this September at the famed San Diego hotel and setting of the “greatest film comedy of all time” (American Film Institute). Enter the sweepstakes here!
Not just any weekend at the Del, but a Some Like It Hot-themed weekend with special guest, the man himself, Tony Curtis. The package includes airfare for two, two nights in the hotel and invitations to the various Hot events over the course of the weekend.
Seriously. How can you not love Some Like It Hot? Tony Curtis. Jack Lemmon. Billy Wilder. Cross dressing, gangland shootings, hiding from the mob, musical interludes and the object of the world’s affection: Marilyn Monroe. Watch Laurence Maslon discuss the Some Like It Hot and discuss the impact of setting the film at the Hotel del Coronado.
Then pack your bag and get ready for a weekend to remember.
You got five dollar?
If you have $5 and don’t know what to do with it just go to Urban Outfitters for their $5 and under sale. Where else are you going to find Wildlife Plates ($4.99, Was $8.00), Nature Calls Toilet Deodorizer Drops ($4.99, Was $10.00) and of course, Cupcake flavored dental floss ($2.99, Was $6.00).
Christmas has finally come to July. Peace on earth and all that.
A small gathering of friends
www.rockhall25.com
The evite went out today for The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s 25th Birthday Party at Madison Square Garden in October. So far a few friends have replied that yes, they will be attending. Bruce Springsteen, Stevie Wonder, Simon & Garfunkel, Crosby, Stills & Nash, U2, Aretha Franklin, Metallica and Eric Clapton. More friends expected to reply in the next few weeks.
Tickets go on sale for Amex card members on July 27th and to the rest of the world on August 3rd through Ticketmaster.
Bono is baking the cake.
