Fashion Meets Music: Grace Jones

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Androgynous, enigmatic, and by far one of the most original divas to ever lend her voice to the disco scene; Jamaican born, New York raised Grace Jones is the definition of fashion meeting music. The amazing Ms. Jones began her career as a model before moving into music and eventually wooing Andy Warhol and being photographed by him and his longtime collaborator, Richard Bernstein. At the height of her career Jones was in several films, including a James Bond flick, where she always played an over the top, eccentric, independent woman who was a bit of a caricature of herself. Currently, Jones is playing the part of ultimate muse to some of pop music’s most popular performers.

Model turned muse, Amber Rose is obviously a serious fan of Ms. Jones as a model and performance artist. From the top of her blond, buzzed head to her well heeled feet, Amber Rose is taking cues left and right from the diva. She even recently recreated one of Jones’s most iconic poses, FYI this isn’t the first time Amber has paid homage to Jones via a photo and surely won’t be the last. If Amber Rose is the president of the Grace Jones fan club, Lady Gaga is her second in command.


La Gaga has done the best job of channeling Jones as a performer. Her music clearly has its roots in the high energy beats of disco and like Jones, Gaga’s sound moved from the club scene to the main stream thanks in part to her kooky style. Both women used their eccentricities to catapult their careers and both insanely talented. However, while Gaga dreams of having worked with and known such prolific artists as Keith Haring and Andy Warhol, Grace Jones actually did. Jones was the pioneer for bringing the underground art scene into the mainstream through her visual appearance, thereby making performers like Gaga possible. Both women are aware of this fact, which is why Gaga recently asked Grace Jones to collaborate with her to which Jones replied,"I’d just prefer to work with someone who is more original and someone who is not copying me, actually."

Burn. It seems as though while Gaga may be enamored with the iconic songstress, Jones is less than dazzled with the younger performer. I guess she isn’t flattered by imitation, then again no old school diva ever really is.

Reading is Sexy!

This book review was originally written for MissOmniMedia.com and the images and words are property of that publication. To view this post in its original format go to, Reading is Sexy: Bad Shoes and the Women Who Love Them.

Growing up in a home where my mother covered the floor of her closet with pumps, sandals, flats, and more shoes than Imelda Marcos could shake a foot at, it’s no wonder that at 25 my shoe collection is nothing to play with. Being that my closet is filled with heels ranging from 3 ½”- 5”, I was quite skeptical when I began reading Bad Shoes and the Women Who Love Themby Leora Tanenbaum. While I do not plan on trading in my Calvin Klein platforms for a pair of Aerosoles, I have been convinced to be a bit more practical when deciding which shoes to wear to work versus the ones to wear on date nights.


Leora Tanenbaum is no stranger to shining a light on some of the everyday issues that plague women in this seemingly modern age, her first three books dealt with slut-bashing, cat-fighting, and women reclaiming God. As a feminist writer, it seemed only natural for her to tackle to phenomenon of perfectly sensible women wearing shoes that are unhealthy in the name of fashion and feeling feminine. In the attempt to issue a much needed wake up call to the stilettoed masses, Tanenbaum enlists a bevy of experts on feet, fashion, and the Carrie Bradshaw wannabes who walk Manhattan in Louboutins to the detriment of their bodies.

Most fashion girls won’t be persuaded by Tanenbaum’s assertion that Carrie Bradshaw is “a desperate, disempowered character” and that her closet of clothes and shoes is representation that she is unable to plant her feet firmly on the ground. They also won’t turn down a pair of Manolo’s because they read that the pointy toe box and ultra slim heel is representative of a phallus, or of society forcing us to confrom to another unattainable standard of bueaty that we are too image conscious to ditch. They will however stop in their tracks when they read a quote from Vogue’s Uncle Andre calling for them to stop being fashion beasts and get real.

I, for one, am over the mania for the high, high heel. Too many career women look like a herd of fashion beasts, aping one another in impractical shoes. -Andre Leon Talley

Overall the book is not a call for us to burn our heels but for us to become more informed consumers. Hopefully if you know that the brand new pair of shoes you just spent your entire paycheck on will eventually make your feet look like a Hobbit’s, you will think twice before wearing them all day, every day. For me, while cleaning out my closet is not an option, I have begun to notice how the pain in my feet is connected to the pain in my lower back and that a set of $12 insoles can keep that pain at bay without me having to kick off my flat boots(flats without arch support are jsut as bad for your feet as heels) the second I leave work.

Death of a legend

This morning the world mourns the passing of the incomparable Lena Horne. Born in Bed-Stuy in June of 1917, Ms Horne made history, broke barriers, and became an inspiration to all with her beautiful voice and graceful good looks. From a chorus girl at the Cotton Club to an award winning actress and singer, Lena Horne's career has spanned generations. Her presence will surely be missed althogh her legacy is sure to live on.

Girls bully too.

This article was originally produced for MissOmniMedia.com, all images and content if property of that publication. To view this piece in its original format clik here, Ladies, can't we all just get along?

Recently Phoebe Prince, a 15 year old high school student killed herself after suffering months of bullying at the hands of her peers. The sad thing is that situations like Phoebe’s are becoming more and more common. Young girls are wounding each other beyond repair over guys, clothes, and whatever other superficial things teenagers obsess over these days. Even more serious is the fact that these teenaged aggressors, unlike the characters in Mean Girls, very rarely learn their lessons and go on to become mean women. Ladies, why can’t we all just get along?

From age 12-17, I went to an all-girl’s Catholic school and know firsthand how vicious teenage girls can get when a false sense of competition is involved. I’ve seen girls get nasty and force alienation on someone who they perceived as a threat, and make that person’s life a living hell. They hunted in packs like wolves and wielded the female tendency to form bonds verbally and emotionally as a weapon. It was more like watching a pack of wolves take down an animal on National Geographic than watching high school drama. Sadly, almost ten years later I know for a fact that some of these ladies only got older and not wiser. Need proof, just turn on the TV.

The women of The Bad Girls Club, Real Housewives of ATL/NYC/the OC/Jersey, and that new abomination Basketball Wives, all prove that for some odd reason women have been made to believe that we are in constant competition with each other. I bet if you look back into any of these “ladies’” pasts you’ll see that they were high school mean girls or girls who were bullied and believed that the only way to survive was to eat or be eaten. These are the same women who spread rumors at work, get crazy when their man looks at you in the club, and are prone to insane amounts of drama. Trust me ladies, being a professional mean girl is a sure way to end  up alone, no man wants a drama queen and no one wants to be friends with one.

At the heart of this petty behavior are deep seated insecurities that often stem from a false sense of limited supply and unlimited demand. Since I’m no Frasier Crane, nor do I pretend to be, I have to say that we need to wake up ladies. There is no need for this, whether you’re 18 or 48 it is not acceptable to go around hurting other people for whatever reason your therapist made up this week. Do you realize that if we pooled all of energy, time, and creativity wasted on tearing each other apart and focused it on doing whatever it is we were put on Earth to do, women could rule the world? Instead we’re stuck dodging bullets from middle school to the nursing home. Shame on you.

Movie Merchandise: Who buys this Stuff?

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Remember back when times were simpler and movie merchandise was relegated to lunch boxes, tee shirts, kid’s meals and the toy aisle? Back when a new Disney movie dropped and you were anxious to get a Princess Jasmine toy with your cheeseburger or an Aladdin for the boys. In the golden age of Disney movies, waaay before Hannah Montana, I had the Aladdin sheet set, a Pocahontas that rowed in the bath and Land Before Time hand puppet. Now, years later, I’ve started to notice that the same movie execs pushing Disney merchandise in the 90s have caught on to the fact that those of us weaned on buying movie merchandise have grown up therefore are now selling random merchandise for PG-13 flicks.

I don’t remember my mom or older cousins buying Waiting to Exhale anything, besides the book, or snagging “Nobody puts Baby in a corner” martini glasses. However it now seems that no movie goes unmerchandised. Sex and the City has spawned Christmas tree ornaments, walk clocks, and even a set of character themed thongs, all of which are aimed at girls in their late teens and twenties. Alice in Wonderland’s recent release brought us the usual Disney merchandise along with make-up palettes, nail polish, and a line of Disney Couture jewelry, not to mention a ton of pieces inspired by the film. I won’t even being to touch on the madness that I am assaulted with when entering my local Borders that goes by the name The Twilight Saga, Harry Potter may have an amusement park, but Edward Cullen has perfume. Even B movies like the upcoming Kick-Ass have branded merchandise these days.

Seriously, as a die-hard movie and fashion fanatic who grew up with a mess of movie memorabilia, I have to ask who is buying this stuff. Admittedly, I did get a Twilight t-shirt as a gag gift for my 24th birthday but I never wear it in public, and as hard core as I am about Harry Potter the closest I come to HP merch is my collection of hardbacks. While I may pick up an item that was expertly placed in Carrie Bradshaw’s closet of a piece inspired by a film, as a grown-up I would never buy something that has a movie’s logo or characters on it. I also tend to shy away from movies that over saturate the market with a ton of junk-yeah James Cameron, I’m talking about you and your Avatar stuff. I also get a wee bit embarrassed when I have to wait in line to see blockbuster movies on opening night, but I digress.

Someone has to buying this stuff…not it!

Fashion Meets Music: Andre 3000

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Since it ain’t where you from its where you pay rent, it is seemingly safe to say I’m an Atlantan, for now. That fact, in addition to me being born and raised in the South, makes this post a little bit sweeter for me. Since hitting the scene in 1994, Outkast and Andre 300 have become the ambassadors of cool for the South in general and for Atlanta in particular.

Before the cartoon, the clothing line, Erykah Badu, and being named one of the “World’s Sexiest Vegetarian Celebrities”, Andre 300 was Andre Benjamin, Atlanta native, a student of the violin and already picking up both musical and sartorial influences like a sponge. When Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik dropped in ’94 Andre was far from the space-aged, Southern gent that we now know him to be and was more of just your typical guy from around the way knocking around in his Braves jersey. Nothing about mid-90’s Andre hinted at the brilliance simmering under the surface. From there both his style and Outkast’s music took a turn to the surreal, obviously influenced by funk and his relationship with the equally trippy Erykah Badu, with the release of both ATLiens and Aquemini. At the same as his music took a turn to the space age, so did his style. What began with turbans to accent his outfits turned into high-waisted pants, wigs, and a sort of 70’s revival complete with multicolored outfits and crocheted hats. Eventually, Andre exited the mother ship and returned to the influences from his middle classed with his album The Love Below and again his style followed suit, with the introduction of Depression Era threads, seersucker, and pastels.

Perhaps the most appealing element of his style is his ability to constantly reinvent himself. Andre’s evolution, unlike that of some other celebrities, has as much to do with his own personal journey towards truth and discovery as an artist than it does record sales. His ability to find something from the past and reinterpret it for today’s audiences in a way that keeps him constantly perched on the next level.

New place to find me!

So, this is kinda new, news but not so much. Now in addition to blogging at MissOmniMedia.com and Examiner.com you can also find me waxing lyrically about women's issues adn my daily life at Skirt.com-the online home of Skirt! Magazine....that is all.

FYI this pic is totally irrelevant, I just like it.