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Archive: January, 2010
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| mylifetime.com |
| Mila's winning look. |
Re-capping Project Runway, fashionably on-time.
Week three began with Heidi telling the cast they were about to meet some of the top designers in the world. Tricky, tricky lady: She sent the kiddies to the Metropolitan Museum of Art to meet up with Tim Gunn and ogle 10 original couture pieces from the Costume Institute. The clothes were meant to inspire the eager little beavers for the tasks ahead. Poppa Gunn then doled out $500 for their challenge — the largest sum in PR history — for the materials to make a high-end signature look. The (first) catch with this challenge? Teams of two. Plenty of opportunity here for some diva ego-slashing this week. And what could be better, honestly? With team captains picking their partners, there was even a slight level of authority bestowed upon half the designers.
Like fat kids at kickball, Jesse and Anna were the last two designers to be chosen by a captain. Ping — Captain Crazy — chose Jesse as her teammate, leaving Anna to sew with the talented Mr. Emilio. Team Ping was a sad train wreck from the get-go. Jesse, apparently finding himself to be perfect and his captain to be mildly retarded, decided to boss around and criticize Ping rather than try to work with her to create an ensemble they could both be proud of. And so the two put together a gray-and-black, lace-and-satin atrocity, a mirror image of the head-butting that took place between them. The draping looked tacked on to the dress, and the model had to hold it up. Michael Kors told the disastrous duo at elimination that in order for the dress to even work the way it was intended to, "[the model] has to stand like the Statue of Liberty." Not a vogue pose at all. The dress, in the end, was Ping's demise and she was sent home after a teary goodbye.
Jesus, unfortunately, still remains.
Anthony was dubbed captain of his team, of course, and chose Seth (or Seth Aaron as he's calling himself these days). Although the red was eventually dropped from their original design, Anthony remarked that because of the black, red and yellow dress, they may as well have been "designing a dress for the vice president of McDonald's. However, everybody needs a dress." Oh Anthony, come hang out with me, OK? The team put together a doozy of a ballgown in the color "bumblebee." The black double-wide skirt looked like the world's biggest trash bags with a collection of children hidden beneath. It was painful.
This week's winner, for whatever reason, was Mila. She made this black bat-wing jacket with two white stripes. It looked like a flying squirrel in workout gear, and it gave the woman immunity for next week's challenge. The jacket was thrown on over a dull top and black skinnies that had a fat, white stripe running down the seam on both legs. None of this week's designers were outstanding, really, but I'm not sure that this one was a great example of high-end fashion. Oh, and her poor teammate — and apparent minion — Jonathan, did tons upon tons of actual constructing while Mila modeled her jacket in the mirror and thought about things, I guess.
But it didn't stop at just one outfit per team. Here's where catch No. 2 rears its ugly head, so try to stay with me here. About halfway through the allotted work time, the seven teams were dealt a heavy blow. Not only did they have to finish their design, but they had to make a second piece that was a $50 "look for less" version of another team's high-end design by the end of the following day. They were instructed to be inspired by the signature look, but not to copy it — this was key. Honestly, most of these second designs were boring, and only two were really worth mentioning.
Team Janeane and Ben made as their couture piece a little black dress and jacket that was so dull it was shocking. They were given $500 for materials and came up with this, for God's sake? Pathetic. The only good thing that came out of this was team Jay and Maya's $46 version of this dress. It was 10 times better than the original. They did, however, photocopy the look and add a few more details. Somehow the judges failed to mention much on this plagiarism that was clearly discouraged. To further their embarrassment, Ping and Jesse made a cheaper version of Jesus and Amy's duller-than-day-old-dishwater dress. They got the "cheaper" part down. And if Ping and Jesse were going for frumpy, they nailed it. The drab little number didn't fit the model at all. You know why? Because Ping didn't fit her for the dress! Is it any wonder, then, that this wacky yet imaginative designer was sent packing? Her original dress was dreadful, and the inspired look for less was even worse. While it seemed obvious that Ping was constantly on the verge of losing a challenge, I have to wonder if Jesse's asshole ways and "I'm so much smarter than you" attitude helped remove her from the show. What a punk.
Sting is doing tomorrow night's Academy of Music's 153rd Anniversary Concert with the Philadelphia Orchestra, a bunch of locals known as the Fabulous Philadelphians and a quartet of jazz cats — Dominic Miller on guitar, David Sancious on piano, Vinnie Colaiuta on drums, and bassist Christian McBride. He's up on the classical tip, what with having grown a great big bushy beard and releasing oh-so-wack pretentious albums such as If On A Winter's Night... (why didn't he end that thought?) and the lute-filled Songs from the Labyrinth, so those in attendance will be satisfied. And anyone who has been hanging around Broad Street has probably spied Sting hanging around the Kimmel (where he was sighted on Wednesday) and the Ritz-Carlton, where he was spotted with his missus, Trudy Styler.
Here's the press on the Ball. Have at it, bow-tie daddies.
World-renowned singer/composer/actor Sting will headline the spectacular Academy of Music 153rd Anniversary Concert on Saturday, January 30, 2010, in performance with The Philadelphia Orchestra and his own quartet of outstanding jazz/pop/rock musicians, conducted by David Hartley. The classical portion of the program will showcase Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos, chief conductor and artistic director of the Dresden Philharmonic, leading The Philadelphia Orchestra in a program of masterpieces featuring guest tenor Juan Diego Flórez, a thrilling performer famous for his high C's. The Academy Ball, chaired by Mrs. Fred L. Hudson III and Mr. Joseph A. Frick, immediately follows at the Park Hyatt Philadelphia at the Bellevue.
Concert program: The Academy of Music continues its tradition of presenting popular music in grand fashion. Sting will be backed by the Fabulous Philadelphians and a quartet comprised of Dominic Miller on guitar, David Sancious on piano, Vinnie Colaiuta on drums, and Christian McBride on bass, performing notable songs from the Police repertoire and Sting's solo career, in original orchestrations. Esteemed bel canto tenor Juan Diego Flórez, a Peruvian native known for his expressive, effortless, and virtuoso singing, will perform a selection of beloved arias under the baton of Maestro Frühbeck, who leads The Philadelphia Orchestra for the concert's first half on the same stage where he made his North American debut 40 years ago. (In February 2010, Juan Diego Flórez reprises his headline-grabbing Metropolitan Opera performance as Tonio in La Fille du Régiment.) For the fourth consecutive year, the concert is being created and produced by Wayne Baruch and Charles F. Gayton.
The theme of this year's event is "Beautiful Spaces, Fabulous Places," a testimony to all of the remarkable Philadelphia landmarks and the wonderful supporters who grace their presence. The concert will begin with musical arts students from the Philadelphia area performing a musical salute to the newly restored Academy Ballroom. The restoration of the Academy of Music's magnificent chandelier and the renovation of the Ballroom back to its original splendor add tremendous meaning to the incredible "spaces" the Academy of Music offers the cultural landscape.
Dinner and Ball: The gala champagne dinner and ball at the Park Hyatt Philadelphia at the Bellevue hotel follows the concert. Eight dance orchestras will be located throughout the facility. The gala is being chaired by Mrs. Fred L. Hudson III and Mr. Joseph A. Frick. For gala information, call the Academy of Music Restoration Fund Office at 215.893.1940.
This concert and ball are sponsored by CIGNA, Joe and Amy Frick, Ambassador David F. and Constance B. Girard-diCarlo, Independence Blue Cross, Pennsylvania Real Estate Investment Trust, PNC, and Wachovia, A Wells Fargo Company.
History of the Academy of Music and the Anniversary Concert and Ball: This year's annual January gala is the 53rd to benefit the restoration fund for the Academy of Music, a National Historic Landmark and home to The Philadelphia Orchestra for more than a century, from the ensemble's founding in 1900 to the opening of The Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts in 2001. The first Anniversary Concert and Ball took place on January 26, 1957, and celebrated the Centennial Jubilee of the Academy of Music. Chaired by Mr. G. Stockton Strawbridge, with Mrs. Francis Boyer as program book chairman, the event showcased a star-studded line-up in which Eugene Ormandy shared his podium with Danny Kaye. Guest performers included classical artists Marian Anderson, Hilde Gueden, Arthur Rubinstein and Isaac Stern, and popular singer Dinah Shore.Concert Program includes:
Mozart: Overture to The Marriage of Figaro
Donizetti: "Ah! mes amis," from The Daughter of the Regiment
Donizetti: "Una furtive lagrima," from The Elixir of Love
Giménez: Intermezzo, from The Wedding of Luis Alonso
This concert will be performed without an intermission.
This concert and ball are sponsored by CIGNA, Joe and Amy Frick, Ambassador David F. and Constance B. Girard-diCarlo, Independence Blue Cross, Pennsylvania Real Estate Investment Trust, PNC, and Wachovia, A Wells Fargo Company.
Members of The Philadelphia Orchestra are graciously donating their services for this concert in support of the Musicians' Pension Fund.Gala tickets are available. For information, please call the Academy of Music Restoration Fund Office at 215.893.1940.
Concert-only tickets are available in the Academy of Music's Amphitheatre for $200. Please call 215.893.1999 or visit www.philorch.org/academyofmusic.
I had to follow up on the ceasing of CineFest 2010 and the future of this autumn's Philadelphia Film Fest with someone, right? So after I got hold of J. Andrew Greenblatt, Executive Director of the Philadelphia Film Society, last week for his role in the 2010 Philly-filmed flick Cafe (see Icepack this week), I nabbed him aaaagaaain to discuss this year's PFF and how he felt about losing CineFest.
"I think it's a real shame that CineFest is canceled, however I don't think it will have a substantial effect on the 19th PFF, as our movies are more often based on distribution schedules than competition between the two fests over films," said Grennblatt via e-mail. "Likewise, 18 1/2 PFF had an entirely different group of sponsors than 18 PFF/2009 CineFest. We have seen some great potential films at Sundance and are excited to get to work on the 19th PFF, slated for Oct 14-24, 2010. We're also exploring whether it may be possible to do something small in April 2010, but I don't know how realistic that will be, based on the short time frame."
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| christopherricebooks.com |
Last week I telephoned gay mega-author Christopher Rice to chat about his trip to Philly this weekend. He'll be in town hosting a cocktail-hour reading and fundraiser to benefit Giovanni's Room, which you can read more about in this week's A&E section. While I had him on the line, I also probed him for insight about current gay legislation, his writing process and if he got a free ride into the publishing world by having a famous mother — Anne Rice.
City Paper: As a gay author, you probably have an especially personal reason to want gay bookstores like Giovanni's Room to stay in business.
Christopher Rice: Absolutely. I think the reasons are many — not just the pure marketing reasons for gay writers. There's the idea that they're like community centers that aren't exclusively about the sale of alcohol and pursuit of sex. If we lose them, we better replace them with something — and an Internet chat room is not a suitable replacement for a gay bookstore.
CP: You live in California. Do you feel the latest movement to repeal Prop 8 seems promising?
CR: I've always believed this battle will be won in the courts. The majority does not have the right to rule on the rights of the minority. That's not how this country works. I am concerned about how it will fare in the Supreme Court, though. With the way the court is stacked now it could be a very close call, but even if we do lose there, a victory at the federal level will be incredibly meaningful. The people in California who voted on Prop 8 were wrong. They voted out of fear, ignorance or the worst kind of childish selfishness. They withheld a right from a segment of the population that only wanted to do good with that right. I will never understand their position. I will never sympathize with it and I will never celebrate them.
CP: I want to talk about your career path as a writer. As the son of Anne Rice, did you catch a lot of flak in the beginning about having an easier way in than other writers?
christopherricebooks.com
CR: You get respected in the industry if you produce a product that sells. That's the bottom line. If I had been just Anne Rice's son and the first book hadn't gone anywhere, then you probably wouldn't be interviewing me today, but I'm still around and still given the opportunity to publish novels, which is amazing. I think the famous last name obviously opens a lot of doors, but it's still my responsibility to do something once they're open. You can't just coast right through and keep reminding everyone of who your mother is and expect to keep having a career — at least in the publishing world. But if I were backed in the wall about it, it's been nothing but a blessing from the beginning. There are very few complaints I can make about my journey in publishing. I'm still around and my fifth book, called Moonlit Earth, is coming out in April.
CP: It sounds science fiction-y. Are you trying something new this time around?
CR: No, it's not sci-fi at all. It's a thriller. It's about a young woman whose gay flight attendant brother is on a security camera leaving a hotel in Hong Kong with an unidentified man when a bomb goes off that kills 60 people. Suddenly he's missing, he's not among the dead and he's not in touch with his family. The main character then flies to Hong Kong to find him, save his reputation and his life.
CP: The main character is a straight female? Does that mean there is less of a gay theme in this book than the ones you've written in the past?
CR: The central character is a female, but I think gay readers will be happy with it. It is similar to my last book. The first three books were about sexuality, period. There was gayness included but the stories were about sex. The last book, Blind Fall, and this book are about sexual identity. The gay people in the stories are seeking to remain in the closet so they don't lose their status and don't lose their career. They're lives aren't focused on sexual behavior. There are many gay characters in Moonlit Earth, but you won't meet them in the bathhouse. [Laughs]
CP: The storyline sounds like something you'd see on Nancy Grace. Do you get story ideas by watching the news?
CR: I think a lot of writers in the mystery and suspense genres look at how news stories are playing on TV or online and they say, "Well, based on the limited information given, I bet I could fill in the gaps of that story and give it a better ending that's more satisfying for everyone." I think a lot of us do that.
That sounds interesting. christian louboutin peep toe shoes
Thanks Christian. He was a really nice guy.
Collectors of pretty things, take note: Every Friday, we're rounding up a what's-what of what we [heart], culled from the scores of design blogs, artist sites and Etsy treasuries we can't help but stalk on the regular.
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| twelvesouth.com |
Before we let our nerdy design hearts get carried away with themed Coveted roundups (letterpress Valentine's cards, your time is nigh), we'll start simply with a quick tour of lovely things to lust after, both locally and not-so.
First up: Twelve South's BookBook (pictured, above), a charming, old-school laptop case that snugly encases MacBooks and MacBook Pros, shielding them from the elements. No two hardback leather cases are alike, and since the BookBook looks like an old musty library volume, it's not likely your neighborhood thief's gonna think to swipe it from you. (Books are so 1997.) Watch Twelve South, a company that makes computer accessories solely for Mac users, for the inevitable BookBook for iPad. How meta. $79.99, twelvesouth.com. Spied first at designspongeonline.com.
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Next: We blogged about the Etsy Hearts for Haiti shop last week, but here's a friendly reminder that the site — which donates 100 percent of proceeds (except for PayPal/Etsy fees) to Doctors Without Borders — is still up, and there's a ton more stuff to choose from this week. We think it's pretty great that Etsy artist-crafters are so willing to donate their wares (we bought goodies from Shagpile and Iktomi so far, and we ain't done shopping) to such a great cause, especially Hightower Botanicals, whose rosemary necklace is molded straight from the real thing. Snap it first, before we cave and snatch it ourselves. $79, etsy.com/shop/heartsforhaiti. Spied first at balancedcrafts.com.
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And then: By the time we turn 30, we will have approximately 8 million unframed prints hung haphazardly on our walls. We cannot stop buying them; we have a problem. Fine. But look at this: The Working Proof's This Land is Your Land 8-by-10 digital print, a much greener vision for these our United States. Fifteen percent of sales go to American Forests, a nonprofit conservation org that promotes healthy forest ecosystems. Really, everyone wins. $45, theworkingproof.com. Spied first at poppytalk.blogspot.com.
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Oh, also: Local gal Sarah Louise Hunt, proprietress of Mouse Trap Vintage, may be keenest on mice (she's got city and country mouse pins for sale, in any fabric imaginable, on her Etsy site), but they eek us out a little. We much prefer hedgehogs, or at least the idea of hedgehogs, which is why we are sweating hard her vintage 4-inch hedgehog dish, all crackly and sunny and not likely to be found sniffing around our apartment, unlike some critters. Does this mean the owl fad is finally over? $12, etsy.com/shop/mousetrapvintage.
P.S.: Speaking of cute, Philly sculptor Darla Jackson, who created an anthropomorphic under-the-sea bunny world at Mew Gallery last year (we miss you, Mew; we miss you, anthropomorphic bunnies), is back — this time at the Philadelphia Art Alliance, with the new exhibit "While You Were Out." Her blog is worth checking out, too — it's where we found her "Surprise Party" installation, featuring gorgeously crafted, anatomically correct wild animals wearing vibrant party hats. We can't afford Surprise Party (Birds) by any means, but we can make it our desktop background, thankyouverymuch. $300, darlajacksonsculpture.com.
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We want to know what's on your RSS feed. Hit us up (carolyn.huckabay@citypaper.net) with tips and treats.
Thanks for including me in this post! Awesome, totally covetable stuffs! :)
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By now you've heard J.D. Salinger is dead.
All those obits that were written decades ago have started popping up online. Seriously, what updates did they have to make? How he died. Natural causes. And then that thing from last year where he sued the dude who tried to publish a sequel to The Catcher in the Rye.
It sucks that he's dead, because even though he stopped publishing four decades ago, it was nice knowing he was out there, the legendary writer who didn't want to be bothered. And it sucks because, on some level I was hoping this was a comeback story, as in: The legendary writer returns at extreme old age to make one last literary statement.
Of course, there's still some kind of hope for that. I doubt Salinger was just kicking back for the last 45 years in New Hampshire. I'm sure he stopped to smell the roses, and Google himself once in a while, but surely he was also writing, right?
It's a shame he's gone from the world, a world with whom he couldn't quite get along, a world whose adoration, it seems, drove him into isolation. But the silver lining is that, hopefully, some great literature may now come out of hiding.
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| Courtesy of Party Photographers |
Every Thursday, we give you this week's LGBTQ to-do list.
— If you've seen the documentary Paris is Burning (if you haven't, you should), you know all about the history of New York's legendary Ballroom Scene, which was made famous by Madonna when she introduced the world to voguing. But did you know there is a newly budding ballroom scene right here in Philadelphia? On Sat., Jan. 30 at 9 p.m. at Sin City (258 E. Allegheny Ave.), you can pay $20 to see Father Joshua Ninja, creator of PA's House of Ninja, and his crew popping, dipping and spinning their asses off at their first official mini-ball. Ninja presides over a house of 16 LGBTQ males and females who'll burn up the dance floor with old and new voguing, and a touch of runway theatrics that I guarantee would have Naomi running in shame. And speaking of models, I've received word that Tyra's pal and America's Next Top Model coach Benny Ninja will be in attendance — so I hope you're ready to bring some fierceness up in this biznatch. Strike a pose!
— The dykes in search of sexy chick music to jam out to this weekend should head to Tritone (1508 South St., 215-545-0475) on Sat., Jan. 30 at 9 p.m. for $7. Local music promoters Sugar Town will be throwing their 9-year anniversary party with the musical aide of three girl-fronted bands: Bells Bells Bells, Frisky or Trusty and Party Photographers, and one DJ, Maria T. The music ranges from raucous to melancholic to just plain gory, so there's something for even the snobbiest of music lovers — and if not, you'll at least enjoy checking out the hot ladies writhing behind the mic and turntable.
— If doing drag is your thing, then you may want to pick out that hair piece and slap on a little (or a lot of) rouge for a competition at Albert's 2nd Story (3180 Grant Ave.) on Sun., Jan. 31 at 10 p.m. If not, then the show alone will be worth the $5 cover. The queens will take to the stage to be judged based on how well they do their makeup, their performance, how creative their outfit is, and their overall mystique. The diva walking away with the crown will also be taking $1,000 and a chance to be on Rupaul's Next Top Drag Race on Logo TV — so you know the competition will be on fire. Also scheduled to perform is the fabulously big and busy Victoria "Porkchop" Parker. This is just a random thought, but as prominent as drag queens are in the gay community, shouldn't there be a "D" for drag included in the LGBTQI acronym? It's something to think about.
Itching for more gay events? Check out our LGBTQ listings.
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We like American Idol. Too much.
Dallas Auditions
After he watched American Idol last night, Barack Obama gave his first State of The Union address. He talked a lot about jobs and health care, even gave the gays a shoutout, but surprisingly didn't mention why Randy Jackson had a shirt on that just said "dude." You would think a man desperately trying to reconnect with the American people would at least give a few minutes to talk about American Idol. Mr. President, prove you are not just a president of words, but of song, as well. Rahm Emanuel probably wouldn't let him bring it up; he much prefers America's Got Talent as a cultural barometer. Plus, he loooooves the Hoff.
There haven't been a lot of great cities in this season's audition tour, but Dallas proved to be chock full of talent as it has in past seasons. I'm a born and bred Texan, and I think Dallas sucks and I hate the Cowboys so saying Dallas is awesome isn't easy. But facts don't lie. 31 people from Dallas went to Hollywood, putting all the other cities to shame.
Lloyd Thomas busted out some Stevie Wonder as well as a Texas-sized portion of charm. If Lloyd, NPH and I ever get together in one room, there might just be a charm Chernobyl. Lloyd has a beautiful, sweet voice that probably sings his daughters to sleep every night or at least rocks the mic at company parties. Doogie gave the best diagnosis, though, saying that he needed a little more pizazz in his performance. Let some of that charisma out on the stage and it'll be as Lloyd put it himself: "delicious."
Erica Rhodes, the Barney girl, kind of freaked me out and it freaked NPH out too. As any reasonable human being should be freaked out, because that performance of the Barney theme in vinyl booty shorts and a whip was like something you'd find under Captain Kangaroo's mattress. Dave Pittman gets an A+ in song choice. When most people go for a Sam Cooke song, they go for something like "You Send Me," so it was nice to hear something new. And he showed some real sack getting up there with Tourette's. It wasn't even the hilarious type of Tourette's, either.
When Todrick Hall said he wrote his own song and started to sing about himself, I thought he was bound to fail. Once I got past the cutesy wootsey-ness of the whole shtick, he turned out to be a good singer with a lot of rhythm. But to stick around he's got to turn out an amazing song in Hollywood unless all the themes are "Todrick Hall." He's a wild card and I like betting on the wild card, so I think this guy will turn out to be better than he was in his audition.
Christian Spear was my favorite girl to come out of Dallas. She's sweet and pretty with a siren's voice. Joe Jonas was thinking about handing in that V-Card a little early during her performance. I know that look. She automatically gets points for singing Etta James, which is impressive for a 16-year-old. And 16-year-old's are typically more annoying that they are impressive. Spear has a leg up on the competition because she is so young. Her voice can grow and grow on the show, you know? As long as she doesn't start to blow or set the bar low I think she'll go. Far.
Normally the part where I get to talk shit is the hardest because there is so much suck to sort through, but it was pretty clear this week. Julie Kevelinghan, Season 1 hopeful, came back after an 8-year Idol training period ready to walk all over that damn Kelly Clarkson. Clearly, this will end with security forcing her out of the room. She didn't even leave enough space for her own name on her pep sign — an image that pretty much summed up the whole performance. The only other awful person I couldn't stand was ray of sunshine, Vanessa Johnston. Someone needs to take that thing down a peg or two or at least call animal control. Personally, I thought everyone was too easy on her. Simon called her a "nightmare," which is putting it lightly. In my nightmares my eyes are ripped out by a mutant three-toed sloth. Unfortunately, in reality my eyes must be subjected to Vanessa Johnston.
Judges' Table
Neil Patrick Harris will always be in my top 10 favorite people alongside Ben Franklin, Hakeem Olajuwon and Levon Helm. I can even forgive him for being best friends with Kara. I'm sure there was some point when he thought he might need a beard. Interestingly, Kara is not any cooler by being friends with the coolest person ever. Weird. I actually found myself siding with NPH more than Mr. Cowell, who had some chip on his shoulder during day one. He was probably just feeling a little out-charmed, out-styled and out-awesomed. And did anybody else see that little twinkle in Seacrest's eye when he was getting the NPH Halftime Report? I hear wedding bells.
I feel like I should hate the Jonas Brothers on pure principal but after this week's episode, I have no qualms with the Jonas clan. Joe Jonas had a tough act to follow so of course didn't shine as brightly as Barney Stinson, but he did alright. He was in an awkward position because he had to try so hard not to be a dick, which meant all he could do was just sit there and nod his head politely. Joe Jonas has got to make a buck and he can't do that if he makes 15-year-old girls cry.
it's a great contest in an America. American Idol and it's really a very good platform for youngsters..
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| Courtesy of Pig Iron Theater Co. |
Philadelphia's freewheeling, progressive theater company, Pig Iron, will bring its annual benefit cabaret and auction to the Trocadero this Friday. But what's with the event's hammy name, "Hams Across America"? "We're nerds who love wordplay," says Pig Iron star Dito van Reigersberg. "And the campaign in the '80s that tried to make a human chain across the country. And failed. We also love failure."
Fri., Jan. 29, 7 p.m., $25-$75, Trocadero, 1003 Arch St., 215-922-6888, thetroc.com.
In this column's past, Critical Mass immersed itself in one neighborhood each week and found its most stylish inhabitants. We're switching things up. Now, this will be a space for us to find fashionable folk all across the city. But we're still keeping the hood theme — kinda, sorta — by taking note of where we found our subjects and trying to glean which trends are specific to which neighborhoods.
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| Photos | Josh Middleton and Julia West |
We took the Neighborhood Watch challenge to the max this week by carting over to NEast, spending the afternoon alongside mall walkers in Franklin Mills. What we found was a ton of sass, mass-produced duds and enough camel toe to cross the Sahara three times over. But what do you expect out of Franklin Mills? When we weren't dodging a pesky mall cop on a segway telling us to put our camera away, we did find a few gems who we feel represent the best of NEast mall fashion.
Anthony S. (17 — don't worry, dad approved) took a moment to speak with us while he was shopping for himself and his little brother. "I pick out everybody's clothes in the house," says this aspiring fashion guru. It was fortuitous that we caught him in H&M because he says his love of fashion blossomed when he discovered the store, a provider of his and his family's entire wardrobe.
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| Photos | Josh Middleton and Julia West |
Ryan C. (20) wins our "Sexy of the Week" award. One of our favorite parts about doing NW is being able to steal a few minutes from some of these cuties just for ourselves. Don't be jealous, girl. He is currently into the cowboy look, hence the boots (soon to be adorned with spurs), the flannel and the fact that he wants to spend his upcoming 21st b-day with a mechanical bull at a Western bar. "It's all about the cowboy thing. I just want to ride a bull." Well, ride on cowboy!
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| Photos | Josh Middleton and Julia West |
Shya W. (22) says if her style were a song, it'd be Ciara's "Like A Boy." We agree: The hoodie, the parachute pants and the Tims all make for a masculine look, but the ice and the '70s "Tell Me Somethin' Good"-Chaka Khan hair add just enough funky femme to balance out the androgyny.
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| Photos | Josh Middleton and Julia West |
We approached Tamera B. (26) while she was sitting at her Urban Soundz kiosk playing Tetris. Like Anthony, she also dreams of being a fashion designer. "I'd like to start a nice winter line," she says. Her inspiration comes from fashionistas like Rachel Zoe, which is totally apparent in her choice of dangly necklace and over-size beret. Zoe would never wear boots like that, but we definitely noticed that it's a theme among the NEasters.
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- Free Online Game
- PSP
- PlayStation 2
- The 1-Upper
- Wii
- Web Junk
- CAGE MATCH
- Free Online Toy
- Weekend Omnibus
- Win
