2013 Grammy Awards: Best & Worst Dressed
Damn, was this hard. With Lady Gaga and Nicki Minaj inexplicably absent from the Grammy festivities last night, we didn’t get the same sorta drama on the red carpet. For the most part, everyone looked sane, yet stylish. So stylish, in fact, that I couldn’t even rank my best dressed.
BEST
Janelle Monae
Matador-chic? Is that a thing? Guess it is now. And I like it!
Kelly Rowland
Apparently she and Beyonce switched roles for a night. And with this daring Georges Chakra Couture number—accessorized with her chiseled arms—Kelly made Beyonce look like a chump.
Kimbra
I’m probably alone in my adoration for this dress, but how do you fight something so Pretty Pretty Princess meets the Ice Capades? You don’t, that’s how.
Adele
It’s not black! Hooray!!
Katy Perry
Even though she’d look a lot better with her hair up and boobs in, I’m obsessed with this sea-foam green Gucci gown. And the slightly tacky embellishments make it very Grammy appropriate.
Rihanna
Wasn’t sure how she was going to top the incredibly sexy and simple goddess gown that she wore to the MTV Video Music Awards, but I definitely didn’t expect she’d do it with an equally sexy and simple dress.
WORST
Pauley Perrette
The Grammy’s were almost as boring as this outfit.
Lisa D’Amato
Uhhhh…ummm…like, the fuck is this?
Lady Gaga’s Born This Way Ball And Her Born Brave Bus Tour Stop In Philadelphia In 11 Days
This is a strangely tough post to write. On the one hand, there’ve been many times in the past four years when I’ve heard Gaga’s singles come on the radio and I’ve changed the channel; or when they’ve come on at the club I’ve gotten off the dance floor. It’s hard to deny, though, she’s got her brand of pop cultural domination down to a science. And, to her credit, there are a bunch of B-sides and songs buried deeper on her multi-platinum-selling records The Fame (and The Fame Monster) and Born This Way that are delightfully camp and fun. There are a handful of singles, however, like “Bad Romance,” “Just Dance,” and “Paparazzi” that’ve gotten maybe just a little too much air play and club spins. And personally, I think there are just so many other pop divas that are way more creative, entertaining and sonically original than Stefani Germanotta’s brand of over-the-top, dance-heavy, electronic-friendly pop. Much ink has been spilled on the topic of Gaga being derivative, especially the single “Born This Way” and its aural relationship to Madonna’s “Express Yourself.” And there’s no way you can listen to her records and NOT hear a little bit of Cher, Madonna, Kylie, or Gwen Stefani, let alone Queen, Bowie and other glam pop bands of the ’70s and ’80s. But this is all to say, there’s no hate here. She’s an LGBT hero and she is literally putting her money where her mouth is.
On this Born This Way Ball tour, a tour she’s already dragged across Asia and Europe, she’s actually bringing along an entirely separate bus connected to the Born This Way Foundation she founded last year with $1.2 million of her own dollars. The Born Brave Bus Tour is available to 13 to 25-year-olds, ticket holders or not, for three hours outside of each venue along her stadium-sized tour, seeking all kind of things: help, guidance, support, direction, or just someone to listen. The bus sets up a system of pods, basically, where teens and twenty-somethings can be guided towards information about mental health, anti-bullying resources, local support networks or just network with other little monsters in their area to make themselves feel not so alone. The bus is helmed by a Dr. Sue Swearer, the bus team’s lead behavioral health counselor, a veteran in the field of bullying and LGBT youth outreach. And even she’s been moved by what she’s seen since the bus began, in earnest, to change young people’s lives just last month in Tacoma, WA. The fact that these services are available to more than just ticketholders is inspiring and unbelievably philanthropic. In this informative Rolling Stone piece, she (via the Born This Way Foundation’s chief ambassador and singer/performance artist, Breedlove) says that this Brave Bus initiative is “the most important thing in her life right now.” Pretty awesome.
There’s no denying her success. Millions of fans worldwide will be pouring in from miles around to catch her at the Wells Fargo Center on two consecutive nights. After she leaves Philly she’ll take to NYC’s Madison Square Garden for two nights and another night at Brooklyn’s Barclay Center a couple weeks later. Philadelphia’s lucky to be one of the handful of two-city stops on this tour, seemingly the last effort to perform her catalogue of dance party burners before a new record of material, Artpop, which is anticipated to drop sometime this spring.
The Fame’s arrival in 2008 was a surprisingly slow build. It wasn’t until 2009 that “Just Dance” became ubiquitous and started soaring up Dance, Pop and Radio charts. But sure enough, combined with the extended play, The Fame Monster, which hit audiences about 14 months after The Fame, has gone 3 times platinum in the U.S. and sold 15,000,000 copies worldwide. When you put those kind of numbers together with the two massive tours she undertook, The Fame Ball Tour and the Monster Ball Tour, the latter of which was one of the biggest selling tours in the past five years, you can’t deny she’s one of the biggest and most powerful pop stars in the game/to date. And with, essentially, two LPs. It’s mind-boggling.
But when a pop star puts over a million of her own dollars, and gets all kinds of scientific and academic organizations to get on board, into a charitable effort that seeks primarily to empower troubled and scared young people, you learn to love the 101st time you hear “Just Dance” come on at Woody’s at 1:45a.
Lastly, if you’ve read this post and thought of a young person in your life who would benefit from the Born Brave Bus’s two evenings at the Wells Fargo Center on the 19th and the 20th, please forward this link along as a gesture of good faith: you’re not alone, you are loved, it gets better, and Lady Gaga cares about you.
Indique Boutique Comes To Philly
No longer must the women of Philadelphia be left to suffer with ratchet weaves!
Last night, a special reception event was held for the opening of Indique Boutique, the first and only shop in town specializing in hair extensions or, more specifically, high-quality, 100 percent virgin human hair extensions.
With a total of five locations along the east coast, including three in New York, Indique (pronounced in-dee-ck) has actually garnered a list of celebrity clients such as the likes of Lady Gaga, Ciara and Philly’s own Jill Scott.
Catering to women of all lengths, color, styles and textures of hair, basically the boutique is the best place to turn should you be looking to experiment with your do without necessarily making a huge commitment. And unlike other extensions on the market, which almost always mix in synthetic or animal fiber despite what they might advertise, Indique’s hair is sourced from India and Southeast Asia has never been mixed, chemically altered or processed.
Best of all, their pieces can be washed, blow dried, curled, permed, colored, flat-ironed and reused for up to a year while maintaining it’s original vitality.
Having run my fingers through several of the extensions on display, I can assure you it was the most authentic hair I’ve ever touched that wasn’t literally attached to someone’s head. They’re also not kidding when they claim that they’re hair doesn’t tangle.
Although the boutique doesn’t actually apply the extensions, the knowledgeable staff will direct costumers to
someone in their network of partner stylists in addition to providing hair consultations, color matching and everything else you need or want to know.
Since I know very little about extensions—or hair in general—I’m glad Indique’s co-founder and creative director, Ericka Dotson was at the reception event last night to explain how they go about helping customers choose the ideal piece as well as the differences between their six individual hair collections: Pure, Hysteria, Sea, Keratique, Bounce by Indique and the Studio Collection.
The gals behind the register were also more than happy to explain to me the secrets behind Rihanna’s ever-evolving and always amazing hairstyle.
Located in the newly bustling South Street West neighborhood (1607 South St.), the boutique will officially open its doors to the public today with a ribbon cutting ceremony at noon. They will also be offering various giveaways, cocktails, hors d’oeuvres and 20 percent off your entire purchase till 4 p.m.
Local Gifts For The Kiddies
Baby Gaga Onesie, $29.50 / Born Yesterday, 1901 Walnut St.
Volta Organics Baby Balm, $10 / Available at Craft Foundry (701 Belgrade Ave.), JuJu Salon and Organics (713 S. Fourth St.), Nice Things…Handmade (1731 E. Passyunk Ave.) and VIX Emporium (5009 Baltimore Ave.)
Schmidt Happens Youth Thermal, $21.49 / Philly Phaithful, 737 N. Fourth St.
Philly Onesie, $26 / Verde, 108 S. 13th St.
Children’s Magic Revolving Lamps, $32.95 / Gourmet of Olde City, 26 N. Third St.
Owl Bookends, $39.50 / Born Yesterday, 1901 Walnut St.
Bunny Love/Little Kitten Baby Onesie & Bib Sets, $28 each / Smak Parlour, 219 Market St.
My Christmas List
Before unveiling PW Style’s Holiday Gift Guide this week, it only seemed fair that I reveal what I myself am asking Santa for this Christmas. Here’s just a few of the many items on my list:
Lady Gaga Fame Eau de Parfum, $79
Because I don’t just want to look like a drag king, I want to smell like one too.
A Little Baby’s Gift Certificate
Any value between $10-$500 would be fine. Don’t think I can eat $500 worth of Little Baby’s frozen creations? Then clearly you mustn’t know me that well.
Concrete Polish’s double cubani link ring (silver), $175 / tree trunk crystal growth ring (rose gold/silver), $275
Love both. Want both. Would wear both every day.
Rather than just stalking the Website each week, it would be nice to actually buy something for a change.
Root, $35
It’s the one bottle of booze I really want to have in my liquor cabinet (night stand) and yet, I’ve never been able to justify buying it for myself.
Irregular Choice, “Bubba,” $142
While I’m particularly fond of these adorably gaudy heels, really any Irregular Choice shoe will do. I repeat: ANY IRREGULAR CHOICE SHOE WILL DO!
30 Rock zip hoodie, $50
I’d like to have at least something to memorialize the show once it goes off the air.
Dental Insurance
That’s right, all I want for Christmas is my two front teeth (along with my molars, incisors, premolars and canines). Actually, I suppose this is really more of a need than a want. It turns out Obamacare doesn’t include dental after all.
Add A Little S&M To Your Wardrobe
I’ve always been a big lover of nods to counter-culture in fashion. I love anything black, mesh, leather, studded, fringed, or ripped enough that I might get a look of disapproval from my grandmother. And I adore harnesses – they add a little danger to a sweet summer dress and a little edge to a solid tee shirt or oxford. While I might not wear them on their own like Lady Gaga or Nicki Minaj, I love the irony they add to an otherwise innocent outfit.
Kristen Gallegos for Stylecaster in Zana Bayne Necklace Harness,$185
Ivania Carpio of Love Aesthetic in Zana Bayne Orion Harness (N/A) and Petite Harness, $130
Lady Gaga in a custom Zana Bayne harness
Chromat Shoulder Cage from Olive Shoppe
Chromat Kimono Harness, $150 and Underwire Bralette, $190
2012 Grammy Awards: Fashion Freak Show-Down
I inspected the fashions last night at the Grammys with the intention of posting a roundup of the best dressed today, just like I have with the last few award shows. But while there were a few ladies who caught my eye—Taylor Swift, Rhianna, Paris Hilton, Carrie Underwood and Kelly Osbourne—it was really hard to get past the array of wacka-do ensembles.
Now I realize that the Grammy’s are notorious for notorious fashion, but our top recording artists really kicked the crazy up a notch this year. In fact, trying to find a well-dressed celeb on the red carpet was like, well, trying to find a sane person in an insane asylum.
So I’m really only left to rate them accordingly.
Good Crazy: Lady Gaga & Nikki Minaj
Both ladies successfully achieved the level of artistic extravagance they we’re going for. For Nikki it was really all about the Pope. Had she come stag wearing that hideous red frock, she would have fallen into the “moronic” category instead of the “hilariously bizarre” category.
Bad Crazy: Robyn & Bonnie McKee
These outfits seem less like a bold fashion statement and more like a desperate cry for attention. It turns out that Bonnie McKee is actually really hot and talented. But you’d never know that looking at her, would ya?
Best Crazy: Sasha Gradiva
I don’t even know who this chick is, but she blew me away (get it?). The Russian songstress wanted to shock people and she did—in a very original and interesting way. More importantly, she was smart enough not to go Terminator, head to toe.
**All photos courtesy of People.com