The last couple of weeks Fitz and The Tantrums has been getting heavy rotation on our local non-pop, not quite totally edgy, yet still kinda cool  radio station in Atlanta — Dave FM.  When I first heard the track I thought pul-eeeze, such a rip-off of ABC with Martin Fry. Yet– something about it still intrigued me. So, I dropped the Divatude and did some research. Turns out they are really cool and I love their style and sound. The whole, soul, pop, blues, indie vibe is so fresh, clever, creative and genuine. There are no auto-tune indulgences, tiresome sampling or rap inserts featuring DJ Fancy Frog or whomever.

At first I thought they would’ve been from the UK but they are from the good Ol’ US of A by way of Los Angeles.
Ladies and Gents..all the way from the left coast…Fitz and The Tantrums!

I have downloaded the entire album plus a few special releases..I highly recommend them. Check out their website or Facebook page or listen to the entire album right now!

Compare them to ABC’s Look of Love after the jump.
I may have thought they had the same aesthetic as ABC because they both have a Motown feel.…judge for yourself.

Having a glass of wine “just because’” really is about enjoying the Sweet Life. Something as small as this is a celebration in itself. The problem is, most of the time a decent bottle of wine is at least $18 — $25 a bottle. That’s not a lot when you’re out with friends at a restaurant, but when you’re at home, that’s not a casual price.

I’ve found the answer — how does $10.99 sound?
Yes, you can truly buy a nice bottle of wine for $10.99. To top that off, it comes with a delightfully charming name and label; Cupcake Vineyards.

Don’t just take my word for it, The Wine Spectator gives the Chardonnay 88 points.

I’ve tried the Chard and the Cab. Both are very good and I highly recommend them.

What’s even better is that you can give this as a nice host/hostess gift and it’s classy and reasonable.

Give it a try — what have you got to lose?

DISCLOSURE OF MATERIAL CONNECTION: http://cmp.ly/0

To get me started, I’d love your input! Could you spare a few moments to answer 10 questions?

It’s completely anonymous.

I may have a few more surveys in the coming weeks — stay tuned.

You’re opinion matters! You may see the very changes you suggest in the near future.

CLICK HERE TO GO TO THE SURVEY

Thanks again for taking the time!

La Dolce Diva, Inc.

Life’s a bath, Soak it up!

Some family friends of my Diva-Girl Niece have started a fresh niche business that I wanted to tell you about.

Graphic designers, John and Danny Clavijo said “Enough with the negative!” and decided to do something about all the rude, crude and not-so-cool stuff they were seeing kids wear at schools, parks, shopping malls… you name it.

Something positive needed to be done. So they did it.

“Random Positive Messages” (RPM) featuring stylish graphic tees designed for kids (ages 8–12 a.k.a. “Generation Z”) and in support of parents trying to teach the right things.

“Positively Charged!” is the official slogan for RPM tees. It represents the spirit of the product well considering the partners determined that each and every design must answer affirmative to the question, “is it positive?”

“We fully realize there are a lot of tee shirt products out there. We are aiming to give RPM shirts a purpose — to serve as a simple reminder for the wearer and the those around him/her to THINK POSITIVE”, says Danny, “after all, where else can you find a shirt that says things like “RESPECT for others… I owe it, I show it, I’m never above or below it.”

The messages are intended to support parents, teachers, coaches and youth leaders…(I think they forgot Aunties, I’ll be speaking to them about this.)

“Our goal is to create shirts that kids will see as cool and stylish to wear, and that parents will feel good about buying,” commented John Clavijo, “because it supports what they try to impress upon their children daily.”

While soft, colorful and eye-grabbing, the RPM tee shirts display inspiring and encouraging messages based on positive values such as respect, kindness, manners, optimism and “The Golden Rule”.

The unique and diverse designs developed by a group of talented and award winning graphic artists, are printed on 100% ringspun cotton tees that provide an ultra soft, ultra comfortable feel.

Available at RPM’s web store, www.wearrpm.com, the shirts come in a variety of colors and catch-phrases and are available in both youth and adult sizes.  Prices for shirts range from $18 — $22.

What do you think? Actions speak louder than words. Send a postive message!

Movie: Julie & Julia 2009

We all know how this ends, Julia Child’s Mastering of Art of French Cooking is published and becomes a world wide success. It’s in practically every chef’s kitchen library, whether the book has been cracked open or not. It is there. After you see this movie, you’ll  probably be inspired to crack it open and make the Boeuf Bourguignon a La Julia Child. I hope that didn’t spoil anything for you.

So, we know what happens at the end of the story, which is really the beginning of Julia’s success, at what the French call “a certain age”..meaning old and over 40. If you have read My Life In France based on letters and mementos saved and sent home by Paul and Julia Child, you may wonder why this wasn’t made into a movie on it’s own. Or maybe not. If it’d been made into a movie, it would probably not have been anymore than a docudrama that had a foodie based cult-following. It needed a spin and a sexy way of bringing it to the masses for box office bonanza. Enter Meryl Streep. Followed by Julie Powell.

Let’s start with the lesser known, Julie Powell. I will address her as I know her from the movie, I won’t go into the foodie-blogger– backlash she has received or her actual Julie & Julia Blog itself (I never read it), you can look into that yourself. Just Google Julie Powell Backlash.

Julie Powell is a novelist that never finished her novel, has a seemingly adorable and adoring husband and  some sort of Post 9/11 support job in a cubicle in Lower Manhattan. She’s not happy about her current work situation, friends and herself. Aside from her marriage, she feels lost and out of sorts. Who doesn’t really. She mentions to her husband that one of her friends has started a blog (weblog) and maybe she should start one too. She is a writer after all! They hit upon the subject of cooking, Julia Child, Julia’s book… and voilá!, the Julie & Julia Project Blog: 365 Recipes in 524 Days was launched.

For one year, Julie made and blogged about every recipe. It seems normal now, but a few short years ago, blogging wasn’t as ubiquitous. Sharing every waking thought that enters one’s head wasn’t as normal then as Twitter has made it seem today. To top that, there were actually people that read theses things, who knew?

Before we talk more about the movie, ahem, enter Meryl Streep. What better person to portray this larger than life (literally, Julia was 6’2″), ebullient, joyful American and not seem like a  SNL skit?

Meryl Streep does an amazing job of inhabiting the Julia character. Her voice and mannerisms seems over-the-top until you see actual Julia footage and realize how spot– on Meryl’s portrayal actually is. Hair and Makeup are the main reasons. I read in Vanity Fair Magazine that Meryl has her own Hair and Make-Up artist, J. Roy Helland, that she works with on her films. Helland changes Meryl’s eyebrows in almost every role. I guess if the eyes are the windows to the soul ‚the eyebrows are the window-dressing. It is a trick to change and shift the shape and look of someones face.

Also, an interesting point, the makeup union rules state that actresses have separate hair and makeup artists on a film. Somehow, Meryl and Helland worked out an exemption decades ago.

Back to the movie, Julia is feeling  as if she needs “something to do” in France, as the wife of a U.S. Foreign Service Officer, Paul Child, she doesn’t want to be a Parisian housewife — is there such a thing? It’s mentioned briefly, that Paul is actually an artist and served as designer of war rooms for British and American Generals.

Over their first lunch as new inhabitants of Paris, Julia falls in love with French cuisine — a life changing lunch — she calls it. Later, during another lunch, Julia laments her discontent with just doing nothing. She tries a few different things until she hits upon attending cooking school, because she loves to eat! She enrolls in Le Cordon Bleu.

So, the premise of the movie is based on the “parallels” of Julie and Julia’s lives.

Let’s see, a woman a bit discontent with the status-quo, happily married, turns to food. That describes a lot of people. The twist is the Julie & Julia blog. This element transports Julia’s story to modern day by intersplicing  Julie’s day to day posts with Julia’s life in  leading up to and writing  Mastering The  Art Of French Cooking.

The scenes of retro Paris are wonderful. The lifestyle of the Childs was definitely not working class. The apartment they lived in and parities they attended were ultra chic and glam. Not something you really associate Julia Childs with. At the same time, you see Julie’s world of a less than glamorous Queens neighborhood, subway rides, cramped apartment and cubicle life.

I did enjoy both stories and sometimes forgot there was a second story line until there was transition to the alternate storyline. This applied to both sides. At a certain point though, I began to tire of  the modern Julie’s storyline. Maybe because it is closer to my experiences, dramas and meltdowns. I don’t know if it was the actual Julie or Amy Adams’ portrayal. I find her kind of annoying after a while.

In contrast, I wanted Julia’s storyline to go on. There’s a lot to the back story that is subtly portrayed, Julia wanting children, McCarthyism and family relationships.

The underlying question of the movie, that we know happened or there wouldn’t have been a movie, is the success of Julie’s blog and her thrust into the big time. Obviously this does come, but, after the emotions and kind of whiny hysterics that lead up to and follow it, you don’t really get that excited. Nor is it really satisfying.

After seeing Julia and her co– author, write, edit and TYPE ( on multiple layers of onion-skin paper and carbon paper) the cookbook for EIGHT — TEN years, mail packages back and forth, try to get an editor and then waiting, waiting, waiting. It’s hard to get that excited over Julie’s “triumph” of getting a blog she wrote over the period of a year, in simple daily posts, that was auto-published online, based on another person’s work and then having received numerous offers for book rights following a NY Times feature.

Um, no. Just really an eye-roll from me. But the world is full of lucky stories like that. It won’t happen again until it does.

The upswing is, I really enjoyed the movie. It wasn’t that dramatic, pretty well-acted, upbeat, happy and enjoyable. I don’t know if Meryl will get an Oscar nomination, but it’s still worth seeing.

Bon Appétit!

P.S. Let me know how your Boeuf Bourguignon a La Julia Child turns out.

Reuters

If you think that that Meryl Streep was over the top in The Devils Wears Prada as Runway editor Miranda Priestly, you are sadly mistaken. In case you didn’t know it, she was based on real life Vogue Editor-In-Chief  Anna “Nuclear” Wintour.

Known to be quite ferocious, demanding, condescending, powerful and any other adjective you want to throw in that implies she may eat her young, have been used to describe her.

What can’t be denied is her work ethic and survival instincts. Ms. Wintour has been Editor-in-Chief at vogue magazine for 20 years.

She is probably not on your radar at all. But in my world, as a fashion designer, she is IT. I would say Rockstar…but, that implies like-ability.

Of course, I don’t know Anna. Who does? She appears to be one of the most aloof people you will ever come across. I am only going by second-hand accounts and the history of her coverage in the press. Plus, how would one acquire the nickname “Nuclear Wintour”, that takes dedication.

Considering that aloofness and Anna’s seeming pleasure of being a force-to-be-reckoned-with that is mainly recognized on the fashion front, it is quite amazing that now that there is a documentary on her and Vogue. With Project Runway, The Fashion Show and various fashion documentaries on prominent designers, Anna probably grew tired of the spotlight being taken off of her crown.

The September Issue will premiere in the United States on August 28th in all it’s glorious wickedness, I’m sure. I cannot wait until it comes to my town, at the very least, it’s going on my Netflix waiting list.

The September 2007 issue of Vogue magazine weighed nearly five pounds, and was the single largest issue of a magazine ever published. With unprecedented access, The September Issue, directed and produced by R.J. Cutler, tells the story of legendary Vogue editor in chief Anna Wintour and her larger-than-life team of editors creating the issue and ruling the world of fashion.

The September Issue won the Grand Jury Prize for Excellence in Cinematography at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival.

You can also view a 60 minutes piece here.

I am embarrassed to say that this is the type of stuff that gets me excited, I love the fashion industry. I love that the more you dig the shallower it gets. But what I especially love is that people write off fashion as unimportant. They don’t get it.

Here is my favorite scene from The Devil Wear Prada..

Miranda Priestly: [Miranda and some assistants are deciding between two similar belts for an outfit. Andy sniggers because she thinks they look exactly the same] Something funny?
Andy Sachs (her female bohemian assistant who doesn’t “get” it at first): No, no, nothing. Y’know, it’s just that both those belts look exactly the same to me. Y’know, I’m still learning about all this stuff.
Miranda Priestly: This… ‘stuff’? Oh… ok. I see, you think this has nothing to do with you. You go to your closet and you select out, oh I don’t know, that lumpy blue sweater, for instance, because you’re trying to tell the world that you take yourself too seriously to care about what you put on your back. But what you don’t know is that that sweater is not just blue, it’s not turquoise, it’s not lapis, it’s actually cerulean. You’re also blithely unaware of the fact that in 2002, Oscar De La Renta did a collection of cerulean gowns. And then I think it was Yves St Laurent, wasn’t it, who showed cerulean military jackets? I think we need a jacket here. And then cerulean quickly showed up in the collections of 8 different designers. Then it filtered down through the department stores and then trickled on down into some tragic casual corner where you, no doubt, fished it out of some clearance bin. However, that blue represents millions of dollars and countless jobs and so it’s sort of comical how you think that you’ve made a choice that exempts you from the fashion industry when, in fact, you’re wearing the sweater that was selected for you by the people in this room. From a pile of stuff.

Let me know what you think. Do you get it? Or do you not even care?

P.S. If you are wanting to know even more, here is a review from The Independent.

Imagine my delight and surprise when my sister presented me with a Goddess Mother’s Day gift (I call myself Goddess Mother instead of “Godmother” to my almost 2 year old Dinky Diva niece). A complete volume of everything Elvis, all Elvis, all the time.

I may have mentioned, a time or ten, that I am a devoted Elvis fan. Not the creepy, know every detail, groupie, obsessed kind of fan…but with this encyclopedia, I am am equipped to become one, if I so desire.

Just about every detail Elvis’ life has been meticlously researched,  detailed and chronicled.  As the author, Adam Victor notes, ” this encyclopedia is longer than the Old Testament”; a comparison to higher powers? I will leave that up to you to decide. I know my vote is in on that count *wink*.

I have already made a spot on my coffee table for this handsome compendium, if someone could just help me by prying it out of my hands.

But that’s just it, Tom Jones is a man, not a boy-toy. With an albeit cheesy past related to tight trousers and the aforementioned panty-tossing (which, as a kid and now, as an adult, I think is weird), but it was Tom’s schtick and he rode it.

I’m not sayin’ that JT or (insert any current teen-heartthrob’s name) is any less talented, or that I am proud of Mr. Jones’ too-tight trousers and panty-tossing fans. I’m just sayin’, Mr. Jones had grown women in the palm of his hand…and still does today. They are just a bit more reserved, like he is now.

I have long been a fan of Mr. Jones, not a knicker-tossing fan, but a fan non-the-less. About 10 years ago, he was at the top of the charts with a critically acclaimed album called Reload. Well, not the top of the charts in the U.S., but in a much cooler place music-wise, England and the rest of Great Britain. I just happened to be there on a trip when I heard Burning Down the House in a way David Byrne could never have imagined. It was the top video, and you heard it everywhere. The same happened when Mr. Jones recorded Prince’s KISS a few years earlier. It was far more convincing coming from Tom than Prince. And did you know that was Tom Jones singing SexBomb which was featured in Sex and the City?

Repackaged and renamed in the States as Reloaded, it is a very different CD than the one I picked up in London. I guess the producers were afraid of not including his earlier works that most American would recognize like What’s New Pussycat, It’s Not Unusual, etc., which makes the American version far less impressive and innovative than the British release.

In the MP3 player, above, pay attention to Mama Told Me Not To Come, Burnin’ Down the House, Motherless Child, Sometimes We Cry, KISS & Baby, It’s Cold Outside. Reload was originally a “duet” type of cover album where Tom was paired with a wide range of musicians, such as, The Cardigans, Van Morrison, Robbie Williams, Stereophonics, Cerys From Catatonia, Natalie Imbruglia and Simply Red. The original CD is available on Amazon, click here: Reload.

Tom Jones has a new CD out called 24 Hours with all original songs. I didn’t want to jump into this recommendation without a little background for you. Those that know me well, know I like to pass on every tid-bit of information I have on a subject, so that they can have just as much useless information stored in their heads as I do. Although, I don’t think that would be possible.

I received 24 Hours as a Christmas gift from my friend, Evette. Funnily enough, she had called me a few weeks ago to let me know that Tom Jones was going to be on the Today Show. “Oh, Probably because he has a new CD coming out. I have it on my Amazon wish-list. It’s on pre-order right now..”, I said. To her credit, she did not convey an “I’m laughing with you-not at you” tone in her voice as she answered “You would.” No, I would say it was a straight-up “I’m laughing at you” tone. She can’t laugh too hard though, because she actually asked for a copy of the original Reload CD and she went with me and my Mom to see Mr. Jones in concert a couple years ago.

When I first listened to the new 24 Hours CD, I wasn’t sure how I felt about it. There were tracks that I liked immediately, and the ones I didn’t, have grown on me. It is an interesting combination to a throwback ’60’s beat but with more sophisticated arrangements, sound, and production with a cool club vibe that I could sing along to, all the while, sounding like true Tom Jones. His voice is powerful, playful, soulful and fun. One of the few singers today that can rock out and sing a soulful ballad of a man who has lived life to the fullest– I’m just guessing here.

My favorite tracks on the CD are Style and Rhythm, Sugar Daddy, Seasons and Give a A Little Love.

Like my other favorite singers, Elvis and George Michael, Mr. Jones is all voice and charisma. I think he has been sold short on the true talent that he is. Packaged and sold as a sex– symbol early on in his career, I think it has been harder for him to be taken seriously by the American public. In Great Britain, he is iconic, in the States, not-so-much. But I will do my part to change that and encourage you to open your musical taste up to a man who’s contribution to music cannot be denied.

Will Justin Timberlake be able to deliver Rock Your Body, Señorita, Cry Me a River or any of his hits, as convincingly in 30 years? Time will tell.

But as Tom tells us in Sugar Daddy, “Don’t send a boy to do a man’s job.”

I’m just sayin’.

Chic Critique gives beauty product reviews for the modern woman.  They are very honest (they loved our products– so of couse they are totally honest *wink*) and humorous too! I think you will enjoy reading about La Dolce Diva as well as their other reviews.

I especially liked their recent pictures on wearing “natural” and complimentary colored eye-makeup.

Enjoy…and thanks again Chic Critique!

In our world of commercialization and mass production, there are many designer brands that have been so worn down that they barely have a glimmer of the original spark that made them special. In some cases, the luxury brands we know today were known for a specialty far different than we know them for now. For example: Gucci; leather, Hermes; equestrian and artisan leathers, Louis Vuitton; steamer trunks, Chanel: hats, bell-bottoms, layered costume jewelry.  What– you think Madonna came up with that? Puleeze!

As popularity and notoriety of the different brands grew, their clients came to depend on them for quality merchandise and requested they expand into other areas or there was just a natural growth that occurred. While some of these brands made the decision to stay small luxury shops, others licensed their names to everything from cars to dog collars.  This distinction did not always lead to a cheapening of the brand, sometimes it simply broadened it. The real eye-opener is where the money comes from. For the most part, all the licensing of perfume, accessories, watches etc., is what pays the bills and for the marketing that keeps the brand’s identity in the luxury column.

All this was a long way around to recommend a book that I found utterly fascinating, Deluxe: How Luxury Lost Its Luster.

Deluxe, takes you through the story and growth of many of the well-known luxury brands. Dana Brown is unflinching and unbiased in her revelations of where some of those brands are today and how they got there — good and bad. Underneath it all, I still sensed that she held a respect and regard for the fashion business.

In Ms. Brown’s easy story-telling manner, you will learn how luxury leather-goods are produced in the same factory as well-known Private Label brands. How Chanel No. 5 came to be. Why actresses started being “styled” by designers instead of dressing themselves. The reason high-end perfume cost so much. The use of Logos for branding. That Caesar only wore silk togas. How mega-luxury-brand corporations were  formed by scooping up the low-hanging fruit of floundering status names. The management and marketing of brand identity in magazine advertisements. That fashion is a business first, but must have the art to be successful.

As some of you may already know, I attended The Fashion Institute of Technology in New York for four years. So, for me, fashion is my livelihood, a business, an art and a passion. I am definitely not a major status fashion plate, by any means, but true luxury brands are important to me. Even though so many luxury brand name items can be acquired for not-so-luxury prices, at the heart, there is still a history and an aesthetic that I respect.

I realize that many find fashion superficial and trivial. But the truth is, fashion is one of the first ways we assert our independence as a child. It is a powerful force in social situations throughout our lives. Remember that Benetton Rugby Shirt, Calvin Klein jeans, Polo oxford, Reebok high-tops, Pappagallo purse you just had to have? Is that too much of a throw-back?…How about Manolo Blahniks, Seven for All Mankind jeans, Juicy Couture sweats? Ring any bells? Whether you actually acquired the objects of your affection or not, can you admit that at some point in time, fashion has had some impact on your life?

I am La Dolce Diva and I am addicted to fashion…are you?

What luxury item did or do you just have to have?