On April 12th, comedian Charlie Murphy passed away after a long battle with leukemia.  If you have not seen his recurring bits from Chappelle’s Show called “Charlie Murphy’s True Hollywood Stories,” then you are seriously missing out.  If you have seen them, I suspect you started cracking up the moment you read Shirts vs. Blouses.  Charlie’s skits stand the test of time, which is quite a feat for comedy.  I think a large part of what makes them great is that they describe celebrities who have very defined images just hanging out and being ordinary people (with Dave Chappelle hamming it up as those celebrities in full costume).  Charlie will definitely be missed.

If you don’t know what I’m talking about … or if you do but just want the delight of watching the skits again … here’s a link to the all-time classics, Rick James and Prince:

http://www.cc.com/video-clips/iuegla/chappelle-s-show-charlie-murphy-s-true-hollywood-stories—rick-james-pt–1—uncensored

http://www.cc.com/video-clips/e748yj/chappelle-s-show-charlie-murphy-s-true-hollywood-stories—prince—uncensored

It’s a total toss-up as to which one is better, but I have a slight preference for Prince.  I can see myself being like Charlie Murphy and making some trash-talking remark to Prince if he suggested a game of basketball to me (after all, it’s REALLY difficult to imagine Prince running up and down the court and shooting free-throws).  Of course, I probably would have gone after some low-hanging fruit and referred to his height, and not had the brilliant idea to name the two teams The Shirts and The Blouses.  And then to get schooled by Prince … well, that’s just poetic justice:

So in tribute to Charlie Murphy, I got out in my shiny, magenta blouse by Haider Ackermann that I got from Net-a-Porter (http://www.net-a-porter.com) and shot some hoops.

Thanks for making us all laugh.

Like most people, I was horrified by the video that has been circulating on the Internet of a passenger being dragged off a United Airlines flight after he was unwilling to give up his seat when he was randomly selected by computer to do so.  As I understand it, the airline overbooked the flight but needed four seats to transport crew, and no passengers volunteered to give up their seats for the amount of compensation that was offered.

What is abundantly clear to me is that the compensation that was offered was not sufficient.  At some point, four people would have found it worth it to walk off that plane, but $800 in vouchers did not do it.  The airline put itself in this position in an attempt at maximizing profit, and by the same capitalist principles, it should’ve been forced to have the market dictate how much it should pay to get out of it.  Every passenger had his or her game of Deal or No Deal going on, and if all of them wanted to play of a game of chicken to get the first class airfare for life, then United could’ve just chartered a private plane for its folks.

What it should NOT have done is resort to force to remove a paying customer who was already in his seat and simply had the bad luck of being singled out by lottery in an oversell situation.  I don’t care who he is … doctor, fraudster, family man, criminal … his background is totally irrelevant to him being a person who deserves basic human decency and respect when a corporation determines how to deal with an f-up.

Our world has become way too anonymous to serve as much of a check on our behavior.  It’s so easy to treat someone badly when you never expect to see them again.  But ironically, the Internet, with all its anonymity, has resulted in some accountability … at least when so many of us can see moments of injustice like what occurred on that airplane.

We’re all in this thing called life together, and sometimes I think we can forget that.  I know I can.  I just hope that when we get caught up in the moment, we’re able to pause and think about how we would want to be treated if we were on the receiving end.  That … and boycott United.

Sending love to all of you because there isn’t always enough of it …

xoxo

 

I loved my time at the University of Texas in Austin. I’m not a cold weather person at all, so it was hard for me to take advantage of everything my undergrad had to offer, being as it is in Hanover, New Hampshire (where it snows, like, half the year).  I spent most of my time in my dorm room with my radiator turned to high and my heating blanket covering me.

But I was more than happy to be out and about in Austin.  It never snows, and it gets nice and hot … just like a native Houstonian (or close enough, taking into account the suburbs) like me likes it.  As a result, if I’m going to wear school colors, I pick burnt orange over green every time, even though burnt orange can be incredibly difficult to wear.  I’m always on the look-out for something that does burnt orange well, and this Victoria Beckham dress totally fit the bill.  I think having a little white to set off the orange helps, so I was loving the white leather straps on this dress that buckle in the back.

And speaking of Austin, one of the best things about that city is the barbecue.  When I was down in Houston this past week, I filled up on TexMex, but I didn’t get my barbecue fix.  Next time, I need to plan a stop by Austin so I can hit up my three favorite barbecue joints there:

1.  Stubb’s.  This place is hands-down my favorite because the barbecue sauce is so fantastic it could inspire poetry (and I am NOT a poet, so that’s saying a lot).  Thankfully, Stubb‎’s started bottling the sauce, so as long as I can get my hands on a brisket in Los Angeles, I can sort of recreate its glory.  Of course, I’ll still be missing the sides, especially the fried okra (because, really, what’s good Texas barbecue without fried okra?).  Stubb’s is also a live music venue, so you can have a great night out with only one  stop.
2. The Salt Lick.  Stubb’s wins because of that sauce, but if you’re looking for the strongest meat … tender and filled with flavor-flav … you’ve got to call it for The Salt Lick.  (Frankly, the holy grail of a barbecue dinner is meat from The Salt Lick with a bottle of sauce from Stubb’s.)  The downside of The Salt Lick is that the original location is far (and Austin does not have Uber).  Once a friend of mine got stranded there (actually, he went to the bathroom, and we didn’t realize it and left without him … OOPS!), so he needed to hitchhike back to Austin.
3. Ruby’s.  Located right near the UT Drag on Guadalupe, Ruby’s is the strongest combination of meat, sauce and sides.  The barbecue is served on butcher paper, the sauce is super-spicy (like Texas barbecue should be) and the mustard potato salad (which I think is the only legitimate kind) is fabulous.  Famous folks headed through Austin always seem to stop here.  My cousin tells a story of David Lee Roth stopping in, and when people commented that they didn’t recognize him, he said … in a way that only David Lee Roth could … that he was “a cat in urban disguise.”  My cousin told him that if he wanted to stay in disguise, he should be careful not to open his mouth to talk.  So very true … I know Sammy Hagar would disagree, but few people have the charisma of David Lee Roth.

Okay, now I’m starving …

My day job is in investment management, so I spend a lot of time participating in discussions about what makes a good investment.  If I’ve learned anything over the last year or so, it’s that retail may be a very BAD investment.  And fashion may fall on the far end of that spectrum.  BCBG, J.Crew, Neiman Marcus, Nine West … all of these companies have either filed for bankruptcy or are seriously struggling.  But that doesn’t stop me from doing my part to keep retailers afloat!  Rather than a portfolio of securities, I have a portfolio of clothes, shoes and handbags, and if Neiman Marcus files for bankruptcy, it’s going to do so in spite of my contributions to its bottom line.

Whenever I buy something really nice, I tell myself it’s an “investment piece,” even though I know this concept is basically just my psychological excuse to splurge.  I’m fairly certain that my fashion portfolio will, in large part, not be a wealth creator for me, but I do think there are such things as investment pieces, which in my mind take one of two forms.  The first are those pieces that you’ll wear so much and feel so great in that you’ll definitely get your money’s worth.  The second are a lot fewer and far between … those pieces that you will actually be able to resell as “vintage” down the road, perhaps even at a gain.

I think everyone should definitely have some investment pieces in the first category.  For women, I think they include a great pair of black pumps (maybe Christian Louboutin because everyone knows the red soles), a cashmere V-neck sweater (which can be paired with everything from slacks to skirts to jeans), a fabulous little black dress and a good handbag (a lot of women choose Louis Vuitton, but I prefer something a little more creative like Pierre Hardy).  For men, I think they include a made-to-measure suit (because every girl’s crazy ’bout a sharp-dressed man AND she notices the stitching on the outside), a good pair of dress shoes and a cashmere pullover (good for lending out to the ladies when they get cold).

As for the second category, that’s A LOT harder.  I think you kind of have to trust your eye about what will survive the test of time.  Chanel has generally been a good bet … I think in large part because the company has so tightly controlled supply and distribution.  But occasionally you’ll see something from a designer that is so amazing and special that you’re willing to bet a few paychecks that it will end up in the Met Costume Institute one day.

I felt that way when I saw this Alexander McQueen leather peplum jacket with embroidery that I got from Net-a-Porter (http://www.net-a-porter.com).  It’s so unique and well crafted … a real work of art.  And I paired it with a Neil Barrett leather skirt I got from Farfetch (http://www.farfetch.com).  For me, this is better than any Facebook or Twitter stock I could own …

I am back from hiatus!  I really have no excuse for not blogging for over two weeks.  True, I was busy at work and traveling a lot, but I don’t want Fashion Ex Parte to go the way of every exercise resolution I’ve ever made … where one busy streak provides a safe cover to throw in the towel and leave the brand new workout clothes, tags and all, shoved in a ball in the back of my closet.

Alas, the hiatus of my favorite TV show Westworld will not be as short.  New episodes don’t start again until 2018!  Whaaat?!?  Fortunately, I got a little pick-me-up last weekend when I attend the Westworld panel at Paleyfest (http://www.paleycenter.org if you want to learn more).  The creators Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy were there to talk about the show, along with cast members Evan Rachel Wood (Dolores), Thandie Netwon (Maeve), James Marsden (Teddy), Jimmi Simpson (William) and, last but not least, the always amazing Ed Harris (the Man in Black).

Not surprisingly, there were no hints about next season.  I got the sense that Jonathan Nolan would hack Reddit with a monstrous denial-of-service attack if he could to prevent those who are really quick at figuring out the twists and turns from spoiling it for the rest of us.  Of course, some of the chatter should not have been entirely unexpected … this is Jonathan Nolan we’re talking about, who mastered non-sequential storytelling in 2000’s Memento.

But the twist that the cast talked about at length … and the one that I agree is the most intriguing … is when Maeve discovers that she has been programmed to understand her reality and revolt.  It makes us ask … Is it possible for robots to become sentient and have free will?  How do we know what free will is?  Can we think our choices are our own when, in fact, they are not?  These are questions that concern not just artificial intelligence but what it means to be human, and you can bet they’ll be explored more in next season (although there’s a strong chance science will have caught up by the time “next” season comes).

In the meantime, I’ll make due with watching the show over and over to catch all the little things I missed (frankly, it would be awesome if some enterprising Reddit user re-edited the show in sequential order).  And when I do so, it’s inevitable that I’ll be inspired to try out some techno-Western look.  For example, I saw this Preen by Thornton Bregazzi ruched metallic skirt on Net-a-Porter (http://www.net-a-porter.com) that just screamed Maeve (there’s sort of a saloon-like quality to it), which I paired with an Alexander McQueen leather and faux fur jacket I got from Forward by Elyse Walker (http://www.fwrd.com).  All I was missing was the hat.

Yee-haw!!!

Okay, guilty pleasure confession time … I’m a total sucker for those TV shows that are set in high school but involve plot lines that are absolutely NOTHING like my high school experience (currently airing primarily on The CW Television Network).  High school for me was seriously tame (or, more accurately, a word that rhymes with “tame” but starts with an “l”).  I went to school, came home and watched TV until it was time to start doing homework, stayed up until 1 or 2 a.m. writing a paper, and then did it all again the next day.  On the weekends, I went to debate tournaments.  I don’t think I ever went to a high school party.  If I were to Psych 101 myself, my love of these high school shows must derive from some deep-seated emptiness about not having a glamorous or cool high school life.

Today’s format of casting really good-looking actors (seriously, do none of them need braces or Clearasil?), dressing them in designer clothes and (generally) surrounding them with plenty of money started with Beverly Hills, 90210.  The show totally jumped the shark in the later years when the kids got out of high school (e.g., Dylan married the daughter of the man who tried to assassinate his own father, and the man then tried to assassinate Dylan but (gasp!) killed his own daughter instead), but early on it dealt with some legitimate teen issues like sex, teenage pregnancy, accidental shootings, underage drinking and anti-Semitism. 

It wasn’t until the late 1990s that the high school shows became even more escapist.  There was Buffy the Vampire Slayer, where high school was (literally) hell but you could (again, literally) kick its ass while having a hot (again, literally) older boyfriend who would (again, literally) totally change once you had sex. There was Dawson’s Creek, where everyone was impossibly quick-witted, one of your friends was having sex with the hot teacher (who was able to skip town without getting arrested, even though she was having sex with the son of the chief of police), and your best friend/boyfriend with the GIGANTIC face convinced you to wear a wire to bust your drug-dealing dad.  And who can forget Gossip Girl (xoxo), where everyone was just living a Dangerous Liaisons / Cruel Intentions kind of existence.

And now there’s Riverdale, the Archie Comics meets Twin Peaks extravaganza.  I read the Archie Comics when I was a kid, so seeing Archie, Betty, Veronica and Jughead in the flesh, but in a noir-style, murder mystery plot line, scratches some itch I didn’t even know I had.  And the best part?  They make it too-legit-to-quit for those of us who grew up on high school shows with Luke Perry (of Beverly Hills, 90210), Robin Givens (of Head of the Class and Mike Tyson fame), Skeet Ulrich (of Scream), and Madchen Amick (of Twin Peaks, Dawson’s Creek and Gossip Girl, bringing it almost full circle) as the (questionably) responsible adults.

I’m totally loving it … just like I’m totally loving this Prabal Gurung ensemble that I got straight off the runway at Moda Operandi (http://www.modaoperandi.com).  Now THIS is how I wish I could have dressed in high school …

When I was growing up, we didn’t have the overwhelming amount of viewable entertainment options that we have now.  In 1992 Bruce Springsteen released a mediocre song called “57 Channels (And Nothin’ On),” which became more and more dated with each passing year since TV channels + Netflix + Amazon + Hulu + YouTube + countless other streaming services = you have to be more jaded than I think is humanly possible not to find something to entertain you.

But before there was all of that, or even 57 channels, there were three network channels and some local options, and they offered movies of the week, in addition to TV shows.  And for a generation of us, there were two movies of the week in virtually constant rotation that we never missed … The Wizard of Oz and Grease.

And as they say in the song, Grease is the word.  It came out in 1978, but we’re still talking about it almost 40 (yes, 40!?!) years later.  In 2016, Grease Live! was a television event that garnered five Emmy awards.  And just recently, a theory circulated through social media that Sandy really died when Danny tried to save her from drowning that summer at the beach and Sandy and Danny taking off in the flying car at the end of the movie is really her going up to heaven after dreaming the whole thing.  (Sorry, whaaaaaa?!?   I just thought it was a visual representation of “and they lived happily ever after.”)

We’re still singing karaoke to “Summer Loving” and dressing up for Halloween as sexy Sandy at the end of the movie, even though we all know intellectually we shouldn’t support the good girl having to slut it up for her man.

And for me, at least, I’m still thinking of Cha Cha DiGregorio, “the best dancer at St. Bernadette’s” (with the worst reputation), whenever I wear a full skirt that I can shake and twirl around.

And so yesterday, when I was wearing this Barbara Casasola black dress with full pleated skirt that I got from Net-a-Porter (www.net-a-porter.com), I couldn’t stop myself from getting outside and having my Cha Cha moment.

Now only to find a Danny Zuko to steal …

Have any of you been to a work holiday party where some guy is totally busting a move on the dance floor like he’s John Travolta from Saturday Night Fever, and when you look closer to see who it is, it’s so-and-so from Accounting? I figure it’s because accountants spend all day with numbers, which can be mind-numbingly boring, so if there’s an opportunity to let loose, they’re more inclined than most to take advantage of it.

Seen in this light, the off-the-Richter-scale f-up at last Sunday’s Oscars seems almost inevitable.  ‎Year after year, two PwC accountants and their briefcases have been surrounded by glitz and glamour to the infinity power, but have been expected to stay loyal to their numbers. And let’s face it, Emma Stone is way hotter than an HP calculator:

Look, there’s no excuse for what happened, and I feel bad for the LA LA Land team who had their victory stripped from them in the middle of their speeches, and the Moonlight team who had a belated victory marred by confusion (admittedly I don’t feel that bad for Warren Beatty, who seemed to derive enjoyment from throwing Faye Dunaway under the bus). But the accountants certainly gave us all something to talk about … perhaps more so than any Oscars before or after… kind of like so-and-so from Accounting at the office holiday party.

And let’s talk a minute about Emma Stone. Besides being the face that launched the incriminating Tweet (sort of a modern-day twist on the face that launched a thousand ships), she was the belle of the ball in her amazing gold dress by Givenchy Haute Couture by Riccardo Tisci and subtle-but-effective Planned Parenthood pin. After seeing her win her gold statuette, I couldn’t help but don a little gold myself … in this case, a black Altuzarra sweater with gold buttons that I got from MatchesFashion (http://www.matchesfashion.com) and a gold distressed pencil skirt by Maison Margiela that I got from Saks Fifth Avenue (http://www.saks.com).

Okay, back to PwC… man, was that a massive f-up.

The first Batman movie with Michael “Mr. Mom” Keaton came out when I was just starting high school.  Jack Nicholson played the Joker, and while he definitely drew on some of his “Here’s Johnny!” creepiness a la The Shining, his performance now seems almost innocent in the wake of Heath Ledger in The Dark Night (awesomely brilliantly creepy) and Jared Leto in Suicide Squad (just plain make-your-skin-crawl creepy).  Apparently, Jared Leto even sent his co-stars gifts like a live rat and a pig carcass in furtherance of his method acting, which makes me think this game of upping the derangement level of the Joker has to stop before someone gets seriously hurt.

Fortunately, along came The Lego Batman Movie!  It might feature a Joker with razor-like teeth along the lines of Jared Leto, but this Joker also has some heart, like when Batman is calling it quits to their superhero-villain relationship.  Joker’s face just gets sadder and sadder with each sentence out of Batman’s mouth, and you can’t help but want to give him a hug because … well, let’s face it … we’ve all heard that speech before and know exactly how it feels.

He’s also not the worst villain out there.  That award goes to the Eye of Sauron (from Lord of the Rings), followed by other baddies like the Wicked Witch of the West, Lord Voldemort, the Gremlins and Medusa.  It’s a great pop cultural mash-up, with battle scenes that are unforgettable because every character voices a “pew pew pew” gun sound in place of a true sound effect, just like you would if you were playing at a Lego battle at home (although judging by my ex-husband, my son and the boys in my son’s school, the male genetic code seems to allow for the making of more sophisticated gun sounds than just “pew pew pew”).

So after getting won over by the Lego Batman Joker, I thought I’d have my Harley Quinn moment in this red and black striped, stretch-silk satin shirt dress by Ann Demeulemeester that I got off of Net-a-Porter (http://www.net-a-porter.com).  It has a loose fit, so I cinched it with a black belt from Vince.

And while Harley Quinn is definitely more on the unstable side of the scale, I do have to agree with one thing she said … “I’ll never understand why Superman wears the same outfit every damn day.”  That would put me in Arkham Asylum for sure.

I love a good post-apocalypse movie or book.  It gets me to thinking about how I would survive if society as we know it was completely ripped to shreds.  After reading The Road by Cormac McCarthy (which was subsequently made into a movie, but the book is worth reading, if only to up your SAT vocabulary score by a hundred points or so because Cormac McCarthy has the most extensive vocabulary of any person I’ve ever encountered … try Blood Meridian if you don’t believe me), I realized that I’m severely lacking in any sort of practical “rebuilding from the ground up” skills whatsoever and would surely perish within the first 24 hours.  So I ordered all of these “how to” books off of Amazon … mostly centered on electricity and electronics because how can I stop Skynet if I can’t even build a rudimentary circuit … and they’re sitting in a closet with some jugs of water in case that day ever comes (and if it doesn’t, the water still helps for the earthquake that could hit Los Angeles, so I’m not entirely crazy).

But another thing that fascinates me about the post-apocalypse is the fashion.  It’s generally conceived as being all edgy and militaristic, with well-placed cut-outs and metal trim (do a Google search for “Mad Max fashion,” and you’ll find it’s totally a thing), and I think it’s super-awesome.  And nobody does this look better than Dion Lee.  I was so excited to go to his fashion show at New York Fashion Week this past weekend because I knew there would be a really utilitarian, futuristic feel to the clothes, with interesting fabrics and trim, and the color-blocked leather and metallic cross-body cording didn’t disappoint:

And it was perfect for the freezing, snowy weather in New York!  I had never been to Fashion Week for Fall/Winter before, and it’s very hard to dress to impress when you also want to stay warm.  I ended up repeating an outfit from a few weeks ago … a Givenchy zippered jacket I got from Farfetch (http://www.farfetch.com), leather leggings I got from Net-a-Porter (http://www.net-a-porter.com) and Rag & Bone boots … but next year, I can wear that amazing pink leather skirt with black trim and a pair of black knee boots …

And if we come to the end of the world as we know it?  I know I’ll be dressed just fine.