I agree! She also goes into some detail about understanding the kind of party you'll be most comfortable throwing. Not everyone's cut out for big parties, or for elaborate dinners. And that's perfectly fine!

$60 for the to-do list costume? You have got to be kidding me. I could make that costume for about a dollar. If I wanted to, that is. Belle de ville - I think that's a fantastic idea. I actually think everyone should have more costume parties. They're so much fun.

TypePad HTML Email You can watch them online, too, Lisa!

Ha! I might have been a TAD bit hyperbolic about that cave...

John Forum, your commenting on this post demonstrates my favorite thing about the internet. No matter how disconnected a few things might seem (Barbie-Reason-foosball), someone can always find a connection. Then someone else can comment with a ton of additional relevant information!

Lindsey - that makes me think about the generational gap between you and me. We're not that far apart in age, but there's a gap somewhere in between (I think kids born in 1977 or 1978 are the tail end of "my generation"). In Prep, Curtis Sittenfeld wrote about the way girls in her high school class dressed and the music they listened to, compared to girls just a few years younger (her character graduated in 1994-a year after me). For her character, and for me, there was a childlike approach to fashion(Laura Ashley, Jessica McClintock) and a tendency to look backwards for music (the Annie Leibovitz Jim Morrison poster was a fixture in the book and in my high school life). By the time my sister was in high school (9 years after me), those things were ancient history. Nobody was listening to classic rock anymore and the Gunne Sax dresses DEFINITELY didn't show up after 6th grade graduation. I can't tell, though, if there's a shift in values, generation-to-generation. Since my sister and I span the gap, I might be too close to it to evaluate.

I got Met Home, too. Sad to see it go, especially since I subscribed after Domino folded. And since I also get Elle Decor, I'm not quite sure what I'll be getting in its place.

Lisa - the Manolo's got some pretty (warm) boots on his blog today. I wish I'd bought them a month ago. Virginia - that's an interesting observation and you're right. There's glamour here, but Baltimore's not a glamorous city. It's an artsy city, a quirky city, a charming city (obviously), etc. - but not a glamorous city. Conveniently enough, my mail just arrived and with it, the March issue of Elle Decor, which includes a little article on Baltimore. I think the authors get the city. I like this quote, "As exciting as the revamped areeas are, they don't fully represent the diverse, unpretentious, and yes, quirky soul of this postindustrial city...."

Oh I bet that ad agency mostly intended it to be interpreted the way you read it. The dirtiest minds I know all work at agencies... (I worked in advertising for my first 8 years out of college. It's quite a culture.)

Normally I think Lady Gaga looks kind of insane, but I actually really liked her red carpet outfit (even if it wasn't exactly conducive to sitting down). It had a Jetsonsy/Tomorrowland vibe that I find very appealing. I think Taylor Swift looked nice, too, but better in the video than in still photos, where the dress laid sort of strangely across her chest. The Fug Girls write a lot about the importance of considering how you'll look in photos, in video, AND in real life when making awards show decisions - I think that might be an issue there. And I think Rihanna's an interesting star to watch, too. I hate a lot of what she wears, but I definitely admire the risks she takes and the way she's developing her own style. Your point about rap and rock stars is interesting, too - especially with respect to rap stars. The relationship between rap and haute couture (and other luxury brands) is complicated - there's the matter of the street influencing the runway in some ways, and also the understandably touchy matter of some brands not wanting to be associated with rap stars (I'm thinking about Cristal here). There's a lot to say about the relationships between race and class and brands and glamour - it gets messy and touches on a lot of taboos.

My style definitely runs more towards the bed on the right, rather than the left, though I do see its appeal. This post reminds me of my natural reaction every time I see the Fragonard painting, "The Swing." I kind of hate it - it's way too much for me. But The Manolo, whose taste in clothes and shoes is usually in line with my own, loves it enough to have written about it more than once.

A 12-pack of Diet Coke doesn't actually sound all that bad to me. Weight Watchers, though - that sounds bad. I find my worst gift story a little funny, and it's along the same lines. When my husband and I had just started dating, he gave me a belt for my birthday. Even then, I knew his mom had bought it (confirmed when I saw his sister wearing the same belt). It was WAY too small. I felt like I had to tell him, since he'd probably notice I never wore it (I realize now that he would never have noticed). He gave it back to his mom to return. She got me a size up. Still way too small. At that point, I just left it in the closet. And on Lottay...I'm just not sure I could ever get past the Miss Manners factor, though I did register for wedding and baby gifts, and Miss Manners hates that, too...

Champale - good point. Bottles AREN'T everything. Of course, there's always Miller High Life (the champagne of beers). But I agree with Corky Boyd - the ceremony and snob appeal are an important part of wine drinking. I'm certainly not above drinking box wine (especially Black Box) but it's not as fun as popping open a cork. I don't even like synthetic corks - they're too squishy. Just hoping that nobody decides to start marketing juice box-sized boxes of wine...

The Sofia cans are really not a terrible $5 champagne fix. Except for the can part... I think the Paris prosecco was supposed to take off in clubs, or something like that. Even if I went to clubs, though, I think I'd have a hard time ordering something endorsed by Paris.

I do agree with you, Thea. I'd definitely rather see models on fashion magazines...because it's supposed to be about the clothes. I guess they just don't sell the mags like stars do...

I think it makes perfect sense to go for "quirky" with Tina Fey - and I do think she's pretty, though not the most beautiful person to ever grace the cover of a magazine. But I also think it doesn't make any sense to dress her in a fancy cocktail dress if "quirk" is what you're after.

I really enjoyed this interview - not only because I find plastic surgery interesting, but also because Dr. Hirmand's passion for her work shines through her words. Plus, I agree completely about sailboats AND the second version of The Thomas Crown Affair. In fact, I've always thought that the sailing scene is one of the things that makes that movie so glamorous.

I suppose this type of debate and disagreement only adds to the mystery...which bolsters the myth, right? As I just wrote on Virginia's post about Ralph Lauren, I sometimes forget that brands as wholly American as RL's are, in fact, glamorous. That glamour can actually be fresh-faced. I think I might choose to blame the "French women myth" for that, too...(j/k)

Great article - I'm a big RL fan (and former employee - briefly, in college). As a result, the photoshop/firing mess makes me sad. I have a pretty good idea of what 5'10", 120 lbs. looks like, and it is nowhere near chunky. I forget sometimes, too, that the Ralph brand is "glamorous." It's so healthy and American that it feels wholesome to me - so different from cigarettes, champagne, and Karl Lagerfeld. At least, it was...before this whole mess.

Maybe I haven't evolved being little girl (it's very possible) but I love the idea of balloons holding up the train. I didn't have a train myself (I'm too clumsy - plus, Annapolis is hot in June, so I didn't want any more fabric than necessary). But if I had...I can think of worse ways to walk down the aisle.

It was. But it was also really beautiful.

That "great body" thing is part of the reason why fashion can't shake smoking. I knew lots of girls in college who smoked, at least in part, to keep from gaining weight. Then, when all the pretty, skinny girls are doing it, other people want to do it...