Jezebel
Leftovers
Posts Tagged “
Dolls
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Leftovers
Tweenage Wasteland
Kit Kittredge: American Girl Or Capitalist Pawn? Is There A Difference?
It's hard out there for a living, breathing American girl. It's a morass of mixed messages, A.O. Scott points out in a Times think piece about Kit Kittredge, the Abigail Breslin-helmed American Girl doll-based movie coming out this week. "Who are you supposed to be, or to avoid becoming? A nerd? A ditz? A flirt? A tomboy?" Scott wonders. "What kind of role models are those make-believe princesses, those Bratz and Barbies, to say nothing of the real-life Britneys, Lindsays and Mileys? Mean Girls, Gossip Girls, Girls Gone Wild, Girl Power, You go, girl! What's a girl to do?" And considering the pervasive skankiness of Bratz and their ilk, the American Girls franchise seems like a bastion of true childhood in an increasingly sexualized marketplace. But, as Scott painstakingly notes, it's still part of the marketplace. Jeannette Catsoulis, reviewing Kit for the IHT perfectly summarizes the intrinsic hypocrisy in this Depression-era film. "When you consider that a Kit doll, complete with book and accessories, will currently run you $105, the movie's insistence on the nobility of the indigent might be a tad more difficult to stomach." More »
The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly
Can You Hear Me Now? Loud Clothes At Verizon Palm Centro Party
Sometimes I wonder about the life of aspiring starlets. Do they just never stay in, ever? Is it considered better to go to some crappy Verizon event on a Thursday than spend an evening by the TV? Or do their agents call and say, "Verizon Palm Centro Launch Party at Elevate Lounge. Jason Biggs might be there! Put on something ugly!" Is any exposure better than none? And, for that matter, does GBU count as exposure? Whoa. Ponder these philosophical questions and look at some fugly clothes, after the jump.
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Tasha Tudor
An Eccentric Life: Tasha Tudor 1915-2008
When I was nine, I wrote a fan letter to Tasha Tudor. For those of you unfamiliar with the children's illustrator who died yesterday at the age of 92, she was as known for her aggressively anachronistic 19th century lifestyle on a New England farm as she was for her delicate watercolors of children and animals. As a pantaloons-wearing third-grade oddball who'd rigged up a fake root cellar in my back yard, the idea that a grown-up could pursue this kind of eccentricity so boldly was very appealing. Born into an old Boston family (about which she talks a lot in The Private World of Tasha Tudor and The Tasha Tudor Cookbook - what, you don't have them?) Tasha Tudor was in fact a hardworking artist who illustrated more than a hundred books and raised four children as a single mother. That she lived by candlelight, had hundreds of corgis, spun her own flax, raised goats and chickens and wore clothing exclusively from the 1830s was almost incidental - which is what made it so awesome. More »
armchair analysis
If You Always Like The Emotionally Unavailable, It's Because You Probably Are, Too
There have been a lot of stories lately (and even a movie) about people in love with inanimate objects. Today, Sega Toys annoyingly announced that it was jumping on this sad trend by creating a doll-sized robot girlfriend, called Eternal Maiden Actualization, for lonely men. While some people who fall in love with inanimate objects call their orientation objectùm-sexuality, it seems to me that such people fall into a larger class of us called "people who are so scared to get hurt that they subconsciously choose relationships in which they won't be." You know, inanimate objects, emotionally unavailable men, we're all just looking to minimize the pain we know is coming. More »
Loose Lips
Haha this is awesome: Samantha's hump-y puppy from the Sex and the City movie has her own blog! Her real name is Gidget Gormley. This bitch is so hot right now. • Wanna see some creepy celebrity dolls? Click here. The best is definitely the Cher doll — it's made of the same plastic as her face is! • Did Anne Hathaway finally dump her sleazy boyfriend Raffaello Follieri? Some "sources" say yes, but she looked pretty happy with him at the Get Smart premiere. [Dlisted, Gidget Gormley: A Blog About a New Yorkie, People, Just Jared]
Britney is making a cameo in the new Pussycat Dolls video, "When I Grow Up." In the vid, Brit will be driving a car, waving at the Dolls as they pass…• Poor Janice Dickinson! Her lil' chocolate lab ran away. TMZ is being snarky about it because Janice is a loon, but you can't hate on a woman who lost her puppy. It just ain't right. • Oh GAWD. Paris Hilton pregnancy rumors are clogging up the internet because she was photographed with a teeny tummy "bump." [Us, TMZ, Dlisted]
it's a small world
Coming Out Of The (Dollhouse) Closet
So, earlier today when I added the item about Viktor & Rolf making two-foot dolls to wear miniature replicas of their best designs, I played it down. I tried to pretend it was just another fashion item. I even called the dolls "sinister" because I know many people find doll-life as creepy as clown-life. But in my heart, I was singing. And I think it's time to admit something I've kept a closely-guarded secret for the past twenty years: I am obsessed with dolls. More »
a fashionable life
Yves Saint Laurent, 1936-2008
As you've probably heard, Yves Saint Laurent died yesterday at 71. The cause was revealed to be brain cancer, but we were pleased to learn that both his longtime companion, Pierre Berge, and longtime muse, Betty Catroux, were at his side. (As WWD reports, there is a rad Parisian funeral to come.). Naturally the obits are flying — am I the only person in the world who didn't know he was Algerian? — detailing Mr. Saint Laurent's accomplishments and petitioning for couture sainthood. After the jump, a minor digest of obituaries, plus a somewhat major rant over the NY Times' inability to come out and call a spade a spade.
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toy stories
Barbie Sales Flatten Worldwide -- Are Bratz & Miss Bimbo To Blame?
Several financial news outlets are discussing Mattel's falling first-quarter results, and most place the blame squarely on the slim shoulders of a certain doll named Barbie. Barbie, which was introduced in 1959, is now first-runner-up for the under-12 set, in part because of competition from edgier, increasingly-popular brands like Bratz and Hannah Montana dolls and in part because of the emergence of web-based toys. According to Portfolio, "Children want Web-based toys, and they want them at younger and younger ages" the magazine cites the success of interactive toys like Webkinz, and let's not forget the potential pleasures of Miss Bimbo). But the real reason Portfolio believes that Barbie is no longer the reigning beauty queen in toy world is because "at 49, Barbie is becoming obsolete." More »
leftovers
Pussycat Doll Sells Out For Soap; Women's Basketball In Iraq Scores Big With Kurds
Pussycat Doll takes shilling to high extreme, sings song for Caress body wash. • An Indian man beheaded a woman he believed was a witch. • 18-year-old girl genius makes the natural transition into academia. • "Whether or not we're in a recession, it doesn't matter. That day is the most important day of your life and a memory for a lifetime." —bride-to-be on expensive weddings. • Men undergoing treatment for sleep apnea sleep better when sleeping with their wives. • The U.S. Marine Corps is attempting to recruit women through advertisements in women's fitness mags. • Only 35% of Afghan schoolchildren are female, despite advances in getting Afgani children educated. • A woman sells eggs to fund her Everest climb. • They may be short, but Iraq's female basketball team has dreams as high as mountains! • Fast fashion is out, sewing machines are in! • Don't you know? Asshole male drivers are just getting in touch with their caveman roots. • Awesome 55-year old grandma runs marathons to come to the aid of meth addicts.
veggie tales
Do More Men Really Go Vegan Because Of Pamela Anderson's Boobs?
Last month when I disclosed my prejudice against vegan guys, hackles were raised in the comments section about the manly men who love poon as much as they love quinoa. Well today's NY Times "Thursday Styles" section profiles one Johnny Diablo, who has made a career out of combining poon and quinoa: he opened a strip-club-cum Vegan restaurant in Portland, Oregon, called Casa Diablo Gentlemen's Club, where the strippers wear pleather! Local feminists (of which there are many) have been less than pleased. One "feminazi" as Mr. Diablo calls them, "came in here once. I could tell she had an attitude right when she came in. She was all hostile." But Mr. Diablo's not the only one using the female form to sell an animal rights agenda — Pam Anderson has been posing in her skivvies for PETA for a while now, and in L.A. there's a Pussycat Dolls-ish group called Vegan Vixens — and many vegan activists are wondering whether it is contradictory to use women as meat when you're anti-using animals for meat. More »
rag trade
OMG: More Clothes Are Coming From Kate Moss!
- Kate Moss's fifth collection for Topshop launches today. It's inspired by "travel." Oh, bite me. [Vogue UK]
- Spanx bras — to flatten your back fat, of course — in stores now! [WWD, sub req'd]
- You will be so proud of Eva Mendes! She overcame that whole nasty rehab debacle to be chosen as the face of Calvin Klein underwear. Yay Eva! And yay Calvin Klein for taking a chance on a star who is trying to overcome adversity. [WWD, sub req'd]
- Pussycat Dolls founder Robin Antin has extended her evil empire to include a lingerie line (entitled, sickeningly, "Pussycat Dolls...shhh") and a costume jewelry line. [WWD, 3rd item]
- Nicole Richie doing a maternity line? Why, God, why? [LATimes]
maghag
The Gothic & Lolita Bible: Japanese Girls Are Living Dolls
In Japan, the Gothic Lolita trend is pretty huge. In fact, they have a magazine dedicated to the darkly cute (or is it cutely dark?) fashion fad, called Gothic & Lolita. This special issue, the Gothic & Lolita Bible, has everything you need to perfect your look — freaky contact lenses, skirts with stiff crinolines, babydoll shoes and parasols. Step into a world where dark meets light and women are playthings, after the jump. More »
Plastic & Fantastic
Did you celebrate yesterday? It was Barbie's birthday! Launched in 1959, Barbie was controversial from the beginning: She was one of the first dolls for little girls with breasts, and her proportions (36 inch bust, 18 inch waist) were rather unrealistic. (Her waist was widened in 1992.) Author Peggy Orenstein, who's written extensively about issues affecting girls, tells NPR, "You either see her as the embodiment of oppressive, Teutonic standards of beauty, or you see her as all that is good and sweet and innocent about your childhood. But you can't not have a relationship with Barbie." (Like many, we like to torture her.) Still, with Bratz and Strutz and whatnot, Barbie seems downright pretty and old-fashioned these days. And homegirl looks good for 49. [NPR, Babble]
Did you celebrate yesterday? It was Barbie's birthday! Launched in 1959, Barbie was controversial from the beginning: She was one of the first dolls for little girls with breasts, and her proportions (36 inch bust, 18 inch waist) were rather unrealistic. (Her waist was widened in 1992.) Author Peggy Orenstein, who's written extensively about issues affecting girls, tells NPR, "You either see her as the embodiment of oppressive, Teutonic standards of beauty, or you see her as all that is good and sweet and innocent about your childhood. But you can't not have a relationship with Barbie." (Like many, we like to torture her.) Still, with Bratz and Strutz and whatnot, Barbie seems downright pretty and old-fashioned these days. And homegirl looks good for 49. [NPR, Babble]
clips
Pussycat Dolls Present: Girlicious Is "Pussylicious"
Pussycat Dolls creator Robin Antin is putting together another pop girl group to be called Girlicious. A 10-episode, elimination-based reality show — which premieres tonight on the CW — will document the journey of what exactly it takes to manufacture an image that represents inorganic music. It's basically a hoochified America's Next Top Model with fake gold bamboo earrings. In the first episode, one of the girls shows the others her vagina, and another girl ruptures a cyst in her ovaries and is forced to dance in a wheelchair, if you can imagine that. Clip above.
You Wanna Be On Top
We don't exactly know what the deal is with the America's Next Top Model dolls other than that we desperately want them. MGA Entertainment (makers of Bratz) have released four dolls in the name of the series—Sienna, Sidney, Paisley and Tascha—but we're having a hard time finding them for sale other than on eBay, or used on Amazon. What makes matters even more confusing is that rival doll company Mattel (makers of HBIC Barbie) have also released a series of "Top Model" dolls that actually have nothing to do with ANTM. Oooh, we smell another lawsuit coming on! [Popwatch]
We don't exactly know what the deal is with the America's Next Top Model dolls other than that we desperately want them. MGA Entertainment (makers of Bratz) have released four dolls in the name of the series—Sienna, Sidney, Paisley and Tascha—but we're having a hard time finding them for sale other than on eBay, or used on Amazon. What makes matters even more confusing is that rival doll company Mattel (makers of HBIC Barbie) have also released a series of "Top Model" dolls that actually have nothing to do with ANTM. Oooh, we smell another lawsuit coming on! [Popwatch]
