Day 11: Favorite Movie Soundtrack

Day 11 is a song from the soundtrack of my favorite movie.

I don’t know about you, but I’ve been told by some — Dylan –that my favorite movie,  Closer, is too morbid.  I’ve always found it fascinating.  The casting was perfect.  I didn’t think that I’d ever see Natalie Portman become a stripper or Jude Law become a dick.  I mean, he was quite a dick in Alfie but in this one, he was more like a wimpy dick.  But still hot.  And Clive Owen?  Oh wow.  Fantastic delivery and acting.  Julia Roberts was almost forgetful until that honesty scene in their house.

I love love love this movie.  Especially the opening and closing credits.


The song is true, fitting and endlessly haunting.  You cannot deny the poetry that just happened there.

Usually, I would close with a photo of the artist — in this case, Damien Rice — but it’s my favorite movie!  Hence, it ends with the poster.

The 2012 Oscars Fashion IMO

Okay, so I needed an extra day to process the variety of dresses that sashayed down the red carpet at the 84th Academy Awards over the weekend.  I am psyched at the fantastic polarities — Meryl Streep finally winning again after 17 nominations, silent film The Artist bagging Best Direction, Best Actor and Best Picture — but mostly, I am very happy with the differences in dresses!

I took a day to group them into three:  YAY for the ones that hit it out of the ball park, NAY for the ones that just failed on the spot, FENCE for the ones I neither hate nor like.  I’m not really on good authority to judge any, but come on.  This is one of the joys of being a spectator!  All of a sudden, you become a fashion guru and start telling yourself “No that doesn’t suit her” or “That is so not flattering for her body type” or “I KNEW she’s look good on marbley yellow!”

Here are the YAYs:

This Tom Ford piece made Gwyneth Paltrow look like a statuette herself!  Absolutely loved the elegance and simplicity.

The perfect picture of the girl-next-door, Cameron Diaz in this Gucci dress just floated.  The asymmetrical ruffling and the semi-athletic bodice fit her personality well.  Rachel Zoe, fantastic styling!

Penelope Cruz always manages to break out in the dreamiest dresses, now in Armani Prive.  I think most girls would imagine wearing something like this on a big ball night.

Tadashi Shoji knew exactly how to emphasize Octavia Spencer’s figure and beauty.  She looked like a winner right off the bat.  It’s not a wonder she ended up winning the ‘hottest man in the room’.

I remember Rooney Mara as Mark Zuckerberg’s girlfriend in The Social Network, but since she became The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, her style just grew exponentially.  She transformed to this fashion forward femme, this time in Givenchy, just like how Anne Hathaway become the Chanel girl after The Devil Wears Prada.

Viola Davis stepped out for the first time in her natural hair donning two of my favorites:  Vera Wang and the color green.

I love love love love love polka dots!  So when Natalie Portman showed off this micro dotted Vintage Christian Dior, I just died.  And it’s red!  Talk about power color!  And did she seriously gave birth?!  Super fan mode on.

Oh Mila Jovovich.  I just want to bite your shoulder and lick your wounds clean.  Hahahaha.  She’s so hot here, in Elie Saab Couture.  Ladies, it is so hard to get it wrong with Elie Saab.  I think most of my dream dresses are from this designer!

Tina Fey looked such a classic cool mom in Carolina Herrera.

Michelle Williams, here in Louis Vuitton, chose such a daring color!  I don’t know if Pantone will consider this as tangerine tango, but damn!  Orange looks amazing here.  This woman really knows how to dress in color.  Remember her yellow dress a few years back?  That can easily be the next timeless piece.

Filipino designer Monique Lhuillier made Judy Greer look like she’s dripping in everything delicious and shiny.  This column dress is so modern and amazing!  Instantly slimming too. :)

And of course, my absolute favorite of the night…

Emma Stone in Giambattista Valli.  The color.  The hair.  The lip.  The jewelry.  That fucking amazing bow.  Ah.  She’s so gorgeous.  This funny lady just knows how to eat fashion for breakfast.  AH.  MAZE.  BALLS.

So yeah.  Those are my favorite Oscar dresses.  What are yours? :)

JCPenney Shirt is an epic fail


JC Penney has discontinued the sale of this merchandise.  Their official statement reads:

J.C. Penney is committed to being America’s destination for great style and great value for the whole family. We agree that the ‘Too pretty’ t-shirt does not deliver an appropriate message, and we have immediately discontinued its sale.  Our merchandise is intended to appeal to a broad customer base, not to offend them. We would like to apologize to our customers and are taking action to ensure that we continue to uphold the integrity of our merchandise that they have come to expect.

I am quite infuriated with this bland statement, so I’ve decided to just enumerate the reasons why.

  1. We agree that the ‘Too pretty’ t-shirt does not deliver an appropriate message… – If you agree, like ABSOFUCKINGLUTELY agree that is does not deliver an appropriate message, why was this approved in the first place?  Why did it pass design and conceptualization?  Production?  Quality check?  I bet it’s made of fantastic material, but the content?  Really?!  COME ON.
  2. Our merchandise is intended to appeal to a broad customer base, not to offend them. – So your broad customer base still includes young women thinking that they cannot do as well in academics as young men can?  Your broad customer base still includes girls aged 7 to 16 years old who have the mindset that women cannot be both pretty and smart?  Your broad customer base still includes young women that does not see the likes of Natalie Portman, Julia Stiles, Rashida Jones, Maggie Gyllenhaal and Jodie Foster as iconic women who are stunningly beautiful and from Ivy League schools?
  3. We would like to apologize to our customers and are taking action to ensure that we continue to uphold the integrity of our merchandise that they have come to expect.  – I think by now what consumers have come to expect, especially after the Barbie fail in 1994, is the fact that the playing field is even for men and women.  The consumers have come to expect that purchased clothing is to boost their self-esteem, reaffirm their self-worth and NOT question their ability and their potential.

This is so disappointing.  And frustrating.

And I seriously hope they do something about the purchases of this item of clothing.  My nieces Myah, Madison and Lily are all in New Jersey and I’d be stumped if one day they saw someone wear that ugly piece of crap.  I do not want anything that will make them think that they are less capable and that the boys can just do all the work.