SOUNDS: On today's playlist

"Fallen Snow," by Au Revoir Simone (click song title to listen)

WARDROBE: Dead wrong: Manolo madness

Don't be mad at us, but we knew that the Manolo Blahnik sample sale was happening today but didn't post it because we didn't want to add to the throngs of women we'd have to compete with for discounted shoes. The sale was a madhouse (as usual) anyway. Read the details here.

LIFE: You've got to be seen green...

I always associate November with my favorite childhood movie “The Wiz” because, for some reason, the television networks always seem to play it in the weeks leading up to Thanksgiving. It was actually the first movie I ever saw in a theater; my mom took me when I was two-years-old and during the scene when the wicked witch melted on her throne, I thought she was being flushed down the toilet. And when Michael Jackson sang in front of those scarecrows, I felt a toddler-version of a crush. And when the dancers in gold lamé leggings danced around the traffic light in Oz to Richard Pryor’s dictums of what’s in and out during the “Gold is Bold” montage, I developed an early love for hot pants and high heels. Considering how young I was, it’s odd that I remember the experience so strongly. Needless to say, I never get tired of watching it.

So I was extra psyched while out dancing one night when the DJ played a house song that began with the horn section from the “Gold is Bold” montage (see the scene here ). I tried to reenact the choreography on the dance floor and started skipping a little too hard, but no matter, “The Wiz” seems to be having a real pop culture moment right now. Because a few days later, we heard Nas’ new single, “Surviving the Times,” which samples Nipsey Russell’s Tinman song from the movie. Maybe Broadway needs to add the musical to its ever-growing list of revivals.

LIFE: Barack O'Dreamy?

The clip of Barack Obama dancing to Beyonce's "Crazy In Love" on Ellen DeGeneres' show sparked a round of emails from you guys about the presidential candidate as sex symbol. Most of you think he's hot (one friend even began crying when she spotted him at a fundraiser making Barack a hybrid of JFK, the Beatles and Denzel Washington), many of you also question why he's sexualized in the media (see Radar magazine's recent cover). Here's a few soundbites from our inbox:

"He's the new McDreamy!"

"Have you seen [that recent] cover of Radar magazine? They recreated the Vanity Fair cover with Tom Ford, Scarlett Johanson, and Keira Knightley and I was really offended that Obama was Photoshopped to be Keira lying in a sexually suggestive position. The political science/Africana studies major in me might be oversensitive, but I hate the way they are sexualizing him everywhere from that Obama girl video to this cover."

"I so want him to be my next President. He's smooth like cream"

SOUNDS: On today's playlist

"The Sloganeer Paradise," by Meshell Ndegeocello (click song title to listen)
Just got her seventh album, "The World Has Made Me The Man of My Dreams," in the mail yesterday and have not stopped listening to it since. We've always been a fan of her punk-influenced blend of jazz, soul, R&B and spoken word. But at times, it felt a little derivative (the New Power Generationesque "God.Fear.Money"). Others, it felt like she was veering into soft jazz/quiet storm territory ("Come Smoke My Herb"). With this album and its fresh collage of drum patterns and pointed lyrics, though, you get the sense that she's producing a sound that's truly fresh and new. The above song (a live version) is good, but many on the album are even better (see "Article 3," and "Virgo").

WARDROBE: Why can't American Vogue covers be this cool?

ART: Kara Walker is still on fire

While her work currently on display at the Whitney primarily looks at race, identity politics and sexuality through the image of the black woman, Kara Walker's exhibit, opening at Sikkema Jenkins & Co. this weekend incorporates black men. The title kind of says it all:

"Bureau of Refugees, Freeman and Abandoned Lands- Records, "Miscellaneous Papers" National Archives M809 Roll 23

Search for ideas supporting the Black Man as a work of Modern Art / Contemporary Painting; a death without end, and an appreciation of the Creative Spirit of Lynch Mobs-"

For the first half, she borrowed (and reinterpreted) the language from the historical Freedmen's Bureau records that documented crimes against freed slaves. While the second half examines the "dissolution of black subjectivity in the context of four, large white panels" according to the press release. And instead of the massive panoramas of antebellum settings, expect to see her signature cut-outs and silhouettes on a smaller-scale.

WARDROBE: Our husband Marc Jacobs: The new concept is to have no concept

Um, we couldn't agree more with Jezebel's headline that Marc Jacobs seems to be having a midlife crisis. The topless photos of him (from the current issue of Arena Homme Plus), while hot, are jarring in their extreme makeoverness. It brings to mind the transformation Karl Lagerfeld underwent when he dropped the pounds, capes and fan and started donning those Hedi Slimane pants and living on Diet Coke. The interesting thing is, the more Chelsea prototypical Marc's exterior gets, the more esoteric and rarefied his clothing becomes (see our earlier post on his Rei Kawakubo references). Crazy. Regardless, we're glad to see that Marc is sober, healthy and happy. See him in all of his tanned, half-naked, jail-build glory here.

SOUNDS: On today's playlist

"Stepping Back," by Gilles Peterson (click song title to listen)
The piano arrangements and vocal delivery featured on this track remind us of the Brooklyn brand of jazz featured on early Spike Lee soundtracks. Mark your calendars: Gilles will be spinning at Cielo next Tuesday from 9pm to 2am. His Brownswood Recordings artist Jose James will perform.

WARDROBE: Out of fashion? Not for much longer.

The panelists





















Photographer Baron Claiborne and Iman
















The sold-out audience

A gathering windstorm of press (features in Metro, Women's Wear Daily, the Guardian and the New York Times, to name a few) and public statements (read Vivienne Westwood's thoughts on the topic here) surrounding the lack of diversity on the runway came to a head last night at the New York Public Library where Bethann Hardison moderated her open forum discussion on the issue last night. Tracy Reese, casting agent James Scully, stylist Lori Goldstein, and model agent David Ralph spoke on the panel while Iman, Vera Wang, Teri Agins, Robin Givhan and many other fashion luminaries sat in the audience. Having followed the current incarnation of this dialogue from its beginning in September, the aspect that strikes us the most is the idea of the starting point. After having sporadic, busy periods in the 70s (Mounia, Alva Chin, Pat Cleveland, etc.), 80s (Iman, Beverly Johnson, etc) and 90s (Beverly Peele, Naomi Campbell, Veronica Webb, Tyra Banks, etc.), "it's hard to except that [the work] was just taken away from us," Hardison said last night. So what happened? Why have the last ten years been so especially dry for black models? Scully attributes the shift to Prada, an industry leader, and its use of increasingly younger, faceless, white girls who "just act as hangers for the clothes." Meanwhile, at a smaller open forum on the subject held in September, an agent observed that things changed for black models because there weren't as many black designers (think Stephen Burrows) championing them. And yet another insider speculates that the problems began when Hardison, a principal voice for black models, shut down her agency in the 90s. The contrasting theories only prove how layered and complex the issue is. Not that the solution is as convoluted. Hardison's next plan of action is to meet with CFDA head Diane von Furstenberg. Sending letters to the modeling agencies (many of which are about to decide which models they'll pitch to designers for the next runway season) might not be a bad idea either. She also noted that there is another powerful woman in fashion who has the influence to change it all, if she really wanted to. Given the amount of media attention the issue has received lately, we're guessing the runway should look more colorful during the fall collections in January. Read full accounts of the event at Jezebel and The Fashion Bomb.

SOUNDS: Speaking of indie rock

We're currently reading Sasha Frere-Jones article on the topic (as it relates to race of course) in the current issue of The New Yorker. It's the best piece of music journalism we've read in a while.

LIFE: On our to-do list this week

1) Kara Walker's "My Complement, My Enemy, My Oppressor, My Love" at the Whitney Museum
We actually went to see this on Saturday. But the museum was so crowded it was difficult to really process her intense commentary on gender, race, and the ideologies that birthed (and was born of) the slave trade. So we're planning to go back.

2) CMJ Music Marathon and Film Festival kicks off tomorrow
This is primarily an indie rock happening, but acts who perform other genres share the lineup. We're marking our calendars for M.I.A. (Friday), Q-Tip (next Tuesday), and Dean & Britta.

LIFE: Race, race, race: To hell in a handbasket: Um, not "a shade or color each week"

Detroit was two seconds away from becoming a real-life "Good and Bad Hair" montage from Spike Lee's "School Daze" when a party promoter attempted to host a light skin-themed bash in which all bright black girls would get in for free. His explanation? "I had planned a party for other shades (of black women). We were going to take a shade of color each week. Next week was going to be a party for 'Sexy Chocolate' and the week after that 'Sexy Caramel.'" Dead wrong on too many levels to outline here. Read the details of the subsequent backlash that forced him to cancel the party.

LIFE: Can race relations get any worse? Unfortunately, yes. The noose returns

Columbia University students have started referring to their campus as Jena after someone hung a noose outside of a black professor's office door yesterday. Read the full account here.

LIFE: Speaking of meaningful dialogue...

Bethann Hardison will be hosting an open forum discussion on the lack of black models in the fashion world sponsored by the New York Public Library and Metro newspapers on October 15. You can get the details here.

LIFE: Channel surfing: Tired of "race"

Watched the premiere of the second season of "I Love New York," which, of course, was way too over the top (Mac Midget?) and channel surfed over to the CW network to catch the last five minutes of "The Game" and noticed a commercial for the "News at 10" which will feature a segment on that Glamour editor who got fired for idiotically telling a group of women during a corporate seminar that dreadlocks and Afros are a "definite no."

Over the past few weeks, the story has gathered steam on blogs and gossip pages. I received about five separate emails on the topic. Black chicks were outraged and the media was indignant. But sitting here on the couch, waiting to see why a group of women are calling for a boycott of Glamour magazine, I see another segment (on the same show), in which an older woman accuses Madison Square Garden of racism. And it hits me that race is, once again, a ratings hot button.

Call it the Britney Spears of social issues. It started with Don Imus, continued with Barack Obama (come on, is there really any question that he's black enough?) and now everyone can't get enough of race. Gawker's post on the Afro-hating Glamour editor was one of the site's most-viewed posts. And the Jena controversy sparked outrage from hundreds of thousands of people, as it should have. Now to be clear, I think these issues should be discussed. But discrimination never went away. So the cynical journalist in me can't help but wonder why all of the media coverage now? And will all of the coverage spark meaningful, long-term dialogue or only temporary attention from well-meaning white liberals?

SOUNDS: Today's playlist

"Boungie" by Steve Spacek (click song title to listen)

WARDROBE: In other MJ news...

The Sundance Channel just snagged U.S. rights to the Loïc Prigent documentary "Marc Jacobs & Louis Vuitton," which follows the designer at work and includes interviews with friends and collaborators including Sofia Coppola, Takashi Murakami and art dealer Larry Gagosian. No word yet on when this will air, but you can get a taste of MJ on the big screen now in Wes Anderson's "The Darjeeling Limited." He designed the 11 suitcases that Adrien Brody, Jason Schwartzman and Owen Wilson kept tossing around.

WARDROBE: Marc Jacobs gives more bags to covet

Marc Jacobs once again earned mixed reviews this season. This time, for his directional Louis Vuitton collection in Paris, which featured a much-hyped series of gorgeous handbags created with artist Richard Prince and go-to-hell cultural references like “SpongeBob SquarePants.” He also cited Rei Kawakubo as influence (critics accused him of biting her for his spring Marc Jacobs work). Apparently, he’s still bristling over all of the reviews of his New York collection, because during an interview with Style.com’s Sarah Mower backstage, he defiantly owned the collections notes of Comme des Garcons. Marc is not the first or last to use Rei’s work as a springboard for his own, though. As one friend who has worked with Rei recently put it, most ideas begin with her and then other designers take bits and pieces from her collections and re-work them in a more commercial vein. So there you have it. Whether or not his interpretation of her ideas are necessarily brilliant, is up to the critic or consumer. We personally love the Prince's treatment of the classic LV logo in the handbags and the trippy series of sexy nurse uniforms.

LIFE: Current events

Is Logan County the next Jena? The scrutiny surrounding the unbelievably brutal racially-motivated kidnapping, rape and torture of a 20-year-old black woman by six white men and women who claimed they don't like people who look like her is picking up speed in the news and email circuit. Read about it here.

Congo is still a terrible place for women. Only now, according to the New York Times it's more dangerous than ever considering that most of the military, rebels and civilian men in general seem to have an inexplicable vendetta against mothers, wives, sisters and daughters. “The sexual violence in Congo is the worst in the world,” said John Holmes, the United Nations under secretary general for humanitarian affairs, in the article. “The sheer numbers, the wholesale brutality, the culture of impunity — it’s appalling.” If you're as appalled by this story as we are, check out this charity or this one where you can donate money to help the women there.

WARDROBE: Coordination replaces undone

Nicolas Ghesquiere's Balenciaga collection is, hands down, our favorite of Paris fashion week so far. His series of ultra-mini dresses in futuristic silhouettes and romantic fabrics reveals one of the smartest juxtapositions of the spring collections. And his gladiator boots? To die. But we can't help but wonder if all of his coordination (boots complimenting the floral prints perfectly) will signal a return to the old-school notion of matching?

LIFE: Snapshots of gentrification

After a walk home from the 2/3 train station at Lenox Avenue and 116th Street, I realized that it's official: The transformation of Harlem is complete. Here's proof:

-Spotted on the 2 train approaching the 116th Street stop: A white gay male carrying an arm-load of full, Barneys shopping bags.

-Spotted on the 2/3 train platform leaving the station: Two separate sets of seemingly middle class white parents with babies in strollers.

-Spotted on the corner of 116th and 5th Avenue: A dirty blonde male hipster wearing skintight gray stovepipe jeans and canvas pointy-toed kicks.

WARDROBE: Colette gives photo bloggers their cool points

Always a reliable source for a slamming Paris Fashion Week party, Colette threw a cocktail fete for their newest exhibition, “From the Street to the Night,” in its store on Rue Saint-Honoré last night. The show highlights work from the Colette gang’s favorite photo bloggers including Scott Schuman (aka the Sartorialist—that’s one of his pics above), Amy Arbus, The Misshapes, Mark Hunter (Cobra the Snake) and Jeremy Kost. The show runs through November 3.

WARDROBE: A few things we like about the European spring collections

1) The fact that Duro Olowu's (London) cultural references were more subtle and not as literal as the Nigeria-influenced graphic print dresses he originally made his name with. Not that we don't love his African prints, we're just glad to know that he won't be a one-trick pony.























2) Miuccia Prada's (Milan) bell bottoms. She wasn't the only designer to show them, but her's were the most wearable and least kitschy.





















3) The clever way Vivienne Westwood (Paris) used her show as a platform for political protest.