Fashion has become like sports, with its own version of the Monday-morning quarterback. Mostly, all the chatter is good for the industry. The average person, too often estranged from fashion, is taking ownership of it. [Given my job] you'd think my initial reaction to the democratization of fashion criticism would be horror. How dare these self-proclaimed citizen journalists trespass on my turf? But no. I didn't protest. I launched my own show-season blog.
–Washington Post fashion critic Robin Givhan, reminding us that she has other interests outside of Hillary Rodham Clinton's cleavage
Hillary is not the only female pol to have made more news with what she wore than what she said…Yes, men in politics are also subject to fashionbabbling about masculinity. Al Gore was famously mocked for wearing earth tones. Barack Obama was dubbed the pinup in the 2008 swimsuit competition. John Edwards was YouTubed for styling his hair. Even John McCain's V-neck sweater was labeled, at least, "metrosexual." But this is nothing like what happens to women…In the end, the question is not whether a candidate can show a hint of breast but whether you can have breasts and be president. It's not a matter of cleavage in fashion but cleavage in the voting population. Fashionbabblers of the world, let me remind you of the quote attributed to Sigmund Freud: Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar. Sometimes a V-neck is just a V-neck.
–Excerpted from Ellen Goodman's piece in Friday's Boston Globe (in response to Robin Givhan's article on Hillary Clinton's "cleavage.")
"There will always be people who try to make a campaign about make up, clothes, and now, even cleavage," writes Hillary Clinton's senior advisor, Ann F. Lewis, in reference to a recent Washington Post article about Hillary's, er, rack, written by fashion critic Robin Givhan.
"Debates," Lewis continues, in a lengthy email missive directed at Hillary supporters, "should be serious business. We are, after all, picking the next commander in chief. You and I know that this campaign is about what's really important," says Lewis, who then emphasizes her point by giving us some ominous-sounding statistics (or "inconvenient truths," if you will) about everything from inadequate healthcare, to surging oil costs, worsening air pollution and the war in Iraq.
And, after dutifully reminding us that discussions of the candidates' cleavage (or, for that matter, her coral jacket) are actually rather trivial, when you really think about it, Lewis finally gets to the part where she oh-so-diplomatically asks for a financial contribution.
While we have often prodded Robin Givhan, the fashion editor at the Washington Post, we may be forced to admit that the lady has chops. We joke that there is no such thing as fashion when it comes to D.C., but when Givhan comes to the Big Apple, she's not afraid to take a bite out of the scene.
And now that she has her blog at WaPo, there is even more opportunity to spread the dish. Like when she (as did many NYC fashion bloggers) revealed Anna Wintour's seeming crush on tennis pro Roger Federer. Givhan described Wintour at the Marc Jacobs show, writing "She seemed to be rather in awe of him. Did we see her flick her hair with a girlish toss?" That's a risk that most New Yorkers, at least those who want to continue being allowed into the inner circle parties, may not take.
Perhaps she got away with certain opinions — such as "Carmen Electra has been all over the shows, and we still are at a loss to figure exactly why she's so famous that she requires three security guards to escort her out of the building. Anyone? Anyone?" — because WP's online editors read her postings, not her regular section editors, before they appeared online.
Sure, her online editors are probably a bit less stuffy than the paper's staffers. However, keep in mind, she is quite removed from the wrath of Ms. Wintour and Carmen Electra's people. Not to mention there is no way in hell Anna Wintour reads the Washington Post blog, even if it is about fashion.
Blog It Out [Stephanie D. Smith, WWD]
• Exactly 11 people, and four blogs, await the announcement of the Village Voice's new editor. [NYT]
• It was probably Robin Givhan's appearance on the Colbert Report that locked up the Pulitzer for her. [WWD]
• One day soon, Superman will wash his tights in Tide. [WSJ]
• How a Chronicle of Higher Education article about university profs delivering soundbites for the media gets printed without a Robert Thompson mention baffles us. [TCOHE]
• Blogs and Internet pundits, like TV pundits just a few years ago, wield a "disproportionately large influence" on society, says new research. Also, according to new research, "Blah, blah, blah." [Guardian]
• Judging by its' latest cover, it seems The New Republic desperately needs a lesson in subtlety. [Media Mob]
The Washington Post has adopted a new addition to its family in the form of a fashion blog. Who knew the WaPo was such a fan of couture, not to mention underground New York City restaurants that get splashed around blogs, craigslist, and other such internet scene makers.
Asking herself such relevant and intriguing questions, like "why are we hear at the Baby Phat show?" and "why is La Esquina such a magnet for fashion types?" WaPo fashion reporter Robin Givhan gives us her interpretation of style in "Off the Runway."
Will the entire blog be this New York centric? We know the lack of fashion reporting in D.C. is pretty painfully obvious, (not to mention hilariously illuminated during her interview with our nerd crush, Stephen Colbert) but we wonder if she'll actually be covering her own city.
Plus, putting your name on the list two weeks before a La Esquina is somewhat forgivable. Saying that Condoleezza Rice is sexy? Careful not to say that in front of Karl Lagerfeld — he might start spitting some of that Esquina tequila at you.
Off the Runway [Washington Post]
