Book Review: Glossy-Ambition, Beauty, and the Inside Story of Emily Weiss’s Glossier by Marisa Meltzer

When it came cosmetics, you often went to your local drugstore to get your lipstick and eye shadow. Or, if you were feeling fancy and flush with cash, you went to an upscale department store to get your Estee Lauder or Lancome fix. Cosmetics like Maybelline’s Great Lash mascara and Mac’s Ruby Woo lipstick remain iconic. Stores like Ulta and Sephora are an overwhelming mix of cosmetics, hair and skin care lines, and various fragrances (and now can be found within Target and Kohl’s.) And it seems like every other week, and celebrity or influencer comes out with a beauty and fragrance line.

It seems like in the past 10 to 15 years, cosmetics and other beauty products have become more than something we use to adorn our faces or pamper our bodies. They have become brands many women (and maybe some men) have made a part of their identity. Glossier, founded by Emily Weiss back in 2014. And Marissa Meltzer discusses Glossier and its founder in her book Glossy: Ambition, Beauty, and the Inside Story of Emily Weiss’s Glossier. Meltzer does a deep into Glossier’s rise, fall, and rebirth. She also takes a look at its elusive founder, Emily Weiss.

Before there was Glossier, there was one singular Emily Weiss. Born in 1985 and raised in Connecticut, Weiss showed a passion for beauty and fashion from a very young age. She also showed an incredible amount of drive and ambition. She even asked on of the parents she babysat for for an internship at the company he worked for. They company? Ralph Lauren.

Stylish, tall, attractive, and privileged, Weiss was able to make important connections and allies, and thusly, was able to parlay herself into early success. Probably most people became familiar with Weiss when she appeared in a handful of episodes of the reality show “The Hills.” Dubbed the “super intern,” Weiss proved to be smart and capable, and pretty much left cast members of “The Hills,” Lauran Conrad and Whitney Port, in the dust.

In 2011, Weiss launched her website, Into the Gloss. Into the Gloss featured many notable people in the world of fashion and culture in which they shared their beauty routines with the readers of the website. Into the Gloss became a huge hit and ended up quite the profitable media venture for Weiss. Yet, Weiss wanted more.

Weiss was able to parlay the success of Into Gloss (along with two million dollars in seed money) into developing Glossier. Glossier started out with only four products, but that didn’t stop this new beauty brand from taking off and grabbing the dollars of Millennials and older Gen Z-ers. The Millennial Pink packaging may have helped. Within a year, Glossier was selling nearly a year’s worth of product within a three month period.

Glossier added more products and its success was stratospheric. Glossier wasn’t just a cosmetics company and a beauty brand. It became a part of its followers identity. The vibe of Glossier was femininity, inclusiveness, and making it what the consumer wanted. You could use as much product you wanted or as little. Glossier was a fun club and worshipped by its users.

And Weiss became a rock star of CEOs. Sure, it helped she was young and attractive, but she was also hard working, driven, and had her finger on the pulse of what young women wanted when it came to beauty and cosmetics. The media took notice of Weiss, and she was named Forbes magazine “Forbes 30 Under 30” list and Time magazines “Next 100.” What was I doing when I was around that age? Not getting featured in Forbes and Time, that’s for sure.

But soon Glossier started to falter. There was some gossip that things weren’t so rosy amongst the staff of Glossier and Weiss’s leadership, Weiss confused people by claiming Glossier was more of a tech company than a beauty company, and the pandemic didn’t help things either. However, Glossier is having a resurgence and young women remain fans of its products. I even saw Glossier at my local Sephora.

Meltzer has definitely done her research when it comes to Glossier, and she was able to interview Weiss on several occasions. Weiss doesn’t reveal much; she’s probably a very private person. And though I respect Meltzer for her hard work, I did have some problems with Glossy. At some times, Meltzer acts like she worships Weiss, and at other times, it comes across like she’s trying to villainize her. Weiss isn’t perfect, but she isn’t the female, Millennial Bernie Madoff or a brunette version of Elizabeth Holmes of Theranos.

Also, Meltzer gets quite repetitive in Glossy. I kept reading the same information over and over again. I think Glossy might have worked better as a long article in Vogue or Vanity Fair.

But I think my biggest problem with Glossy was, well, me. I’m a Gen X-er. Glossier was never my beauty brand of choice. And I’ve never treated any beauty brand as part of my identity or something worthy of my worship. Though I did have a thing for Bonne Bell Lipsmackers. Its Dr. Pepper Flavor was the bomb!

Still, Glossy does have some interesting aspects, and I recommend it for anyone who is a fan of Glossy, a fan of Emily Weiss, or anyone interested in the world of beauty brands in the 21st century.

Book Review: By Her Own Design-A Novel of Ann Lowe, Fashion Designer to the Social Register by Piper Huguley

There is a reason why so many fashion shows end with a model wearing a wedding dress. Wedding dresses allow designers to delve deeper into using their artistry, creativity, and finely-honed technique into creating something truly beautiful and aspirational.

Whether happily single or someone who got married wearing a Juicy tracksuit, we can’t help but be drawn to wedding dresses. Many wedding dresses worn by famous people are completely iconic. There was Princess Diana’s puff pastry of wedding dress, which defined the over-the-top excess of the 1980s. And Caroline Bessette Kennedy’s spare, figure-hugging slip dress spoke of the 1990s minimalism style. And then there is my favorite famous wedding dress, the one Grace Kelly wore when she went from Hollywood royalty to actual royalty and became Princess Grace of Monaco.

One iconic wedding dress is the one worn by Jacqueline Bouvier when she married then Senator John Kennedy. Though the dress is easily recognizable even to people who are not followers of fashion, the designer of the dress isn’t as well-known. The designer was Ann Lowe, a black woman. Lowe never quite got her due from the press at the time of Mr. and Mrs. Kennedy’s nuptial’s. One publication refused to name her, and dismissively called her a “colored dressmaker.” Ann Lowe deserves so much more. And with Piper Huguley’s latest book on Ann Lowe’s life, By Her Own Design: A Novel of Ann Lowe, Fashion Designer to the Social Register, this talented woman is finally getting her flowers.

As By Her Own Design begins, Ann Lowe is facing quite the challenge. A pipe has burst in her New York studio. Jaqueline Bouvier’s dress has been ruined just as she’s about to become Mrs. John Kennedy. Many of the bridesmaids’ dresses have also been damaged. Though completely horrified, Lowe has faced many challenges. She knows she can remake the dresses, and enlists her beloved sister, Sallie, and her friends from a local church to help her repair and make the dresses over in time for the wedding. Lowe will not be deterred. As she begins her work, Lowe muses on her life, and how she got to this point in time.

Ann Lowe grew up in the Jim Crow South. She was raised by her loving mother and grandmother (her father was never really in the picture). Both of these ladies worked as seamstresses. They mentored and taught young Ann on sewing skills and design techniques. But Ann had a God-given talent that went beyond hemming a dress or sewing a button on a blouse. Ann was a creative visionary from the start. She was designing beautifully intricate fabric flowers when she was still in knee-socks.

Despite being smart, industrious, and artistic, Lowe never went far in getting a formal education. She never went to high school. Instead, she married a much older man when she was only twelve (only twelve, yikes), and had her beloved son, Arthur, when she was only sixteen. The marriage was not a happy one. Lowe’s husband was very abusive, and fortunately she was able to escape and get a divorce. She did marry again to a much more suitably aged man when she was a bit older.

Lowe never gave up her dream of designer and creating fashion, and always worked as a seamstress. Her work and talent got noticed, and soon she was designing clothing for upper crust women. She moved to Tampa for a while, where she was quite successful. A very generous benefactor believed so much in Lowe and paid for Lowe to be educated about fashion design at a school in New York City. This was a wonderful opportunity to learn and make connections in the the Big Apple’s fashion industry, but sadly, Lowe faced the same bigotry and racism she dealt with in the South. She was even segregated into a separate room from the white students during the lessons. Still, Lowe was one strong dame, and she made the most of what could have been a very negative situation.

Lowe decided to make her home base and her livelihood in New York. She beautiful designs caught the fancy of the very wealthy and elite becoming a very in demand couturier for the ladies of the Social Register. Even Hollywood movie stars wanted to wear Lowe’s designs. Olivia de Havilland wore one of Lowe’s gorgeous gowns when she accepted and Oscar for her role in “To Each His Own.”

Lowe was soon commissioned to make a dress for one young woman’s debut. That young woman was Jacqueline Bouvier. Lowe grew very fond of Jacqueline, and the two grew close. So it wasn’t too much of a surprise when Jacqueline asked Lowe to design and make her wedding dress. And though Lowe faced some challenges in the end, Jacqueline married Senator Kennedy looking stunning in Lowe’s beautiful creation.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading By Her Own Design. I learned so much about the talented Ann Lowe and why she’s so important in the world of American fashion, and why it’s so upsetting her work has been ignored for far too long. Huguley’s dialogue and story-telling are top notch, and she really gets into the spirit of Anne Lowe (and she brings Jackie Kennedy to life). She makes you cheer for Lowe’s success, and at the same time doesn’t sugar coat the obstacles and tragedies Lowe faced-racism, sexism, domestic abuse, the loss of her loved ones, money troubles, and health woes.

I want more people to know about Ann Lowe and her fashion legacy. Perhaps Netflix could do a movie or limited series on Lowe’s life. I believe By Her Own Design is the perfect springboard to make this happen.

Book Review: A Beautiful Rival-A Novel of Helena Rubinstein and Elizabeth Arden by Gill Paul

It’s no secret that the beauty business is a huge and thriving industry. We pay $100 for the perfect salon blowout. We spend time at spas getting the best facials and massages. We spend a king’s ransom at places like Sephora and Ulta. And getting a mani/pedi is as vital as food, air, and water to some people.

Yet, just a little over a hundred year ago, women focusing on their beauty, getting massages, facials, and other spa and salon treatments seemed overly vain and self-indulgent. And as for cosmetics, well, only ladies of ill-repute rouged their cheeks and painted their lips scarlet.

Two women changed that type of thinking. Elizabeth Arden and Helena Rubinstein believed beauty was every women’s birthright and a worthy goal to obtain, and little bit of war paint never hurt anyone. Both women were from very humble backgrounds who rose to great heights and grabbed the brass ring of success. They did this through hard work, dedication, clever marketing, and yes, quite a bit of chicanery.

Despite their huge success and being women at time when women were only supposed to fulfill the domestic sphere, Arden and Rubinstein were fierce rivals and bitter enemies. And all of this is fully encapsulated in Gill Paul’s latest book A Beautiful Rival: A Novel of Helena Rubinstein and Elizabeth Arden.

A Beautiful Rival begins in 1915. Elizabeth Arden and her salons dot the New York City landscape and are very popular with high society. Her line of cosmetics and face creams are also quite successful. Women are realizing that focusing one one’s beauty doesn’t make someone shallow. In fact, it is quite necessary in capturing and maintaining a significant other. And wearing lipstick doesn’t mean you’re a dreadful whore. Painting your lips crimson, pink, or coral might even perk you up a bit.

Arden is relishing her success when an interloper arrives on the scene-Helena Rubinstein. Rubinstein has already established successful salons in Australia, London, and Paris. Now she wants to set up shop in the United States, and New York City is the perfect place.

Rubinstein turns out to be a daunting adversary for Arden. There are rumors that Rubinstein was a doctor and her products are “scientifically formulated,” which may give her a bit more credibility that Arden might lack. Rubinstein also becomes quite buddy-buddy with New York City’s smart set. Arden is not happy about this.

Thus begins the rivalry between Arden and Rubinstein. They were determined to out-do each other, and took to great lengths to screw over each other. They did this anyway they could. They send out spies, they stole employees, and spun outrageous stories about themselves and each other for the press.

But as much as Arden and Rubinstein hated each other, they did share some traits and qualities. Both were shrewd, smart, and savvy. Both of them came from less than desirable backgrounds. Though Arden managed to an old-money WASP aesthetic, she actually grew up poor on a farm in Canada. Helen Rubinstein grew up in Poland and was pretty much estranged from her father after she fellow in love with a Gentile. Both women were unlucky in love, and Rubinstein was hardly a devoted mother to her two boys. And with Arden’s disdain of having sex with her first husband, I wondered if she might be a lesbian or asexual.

A Beautiful Rival is told from the point of view of both Arden and Rubinstein in alternating chapters. Not only does this book examine the foibles, triumphs, both professionally and personally these two formidable women dealt with, it also uses history as a backdrop, including the Great Depression and World War II, and how both of these things affected both Arden and Rubinstein.

Though at times Paul had a habit of telling instead of showing throughout A Beautiful Rival, I still found the story of Elizabeth Arden and Helena Rubinstein quite fascinating. Today it is not uncommon to see successful women in various industries, but women like Arden and Rubinstein was quite uncommon a century ago. A Beautiful Rival gives us a glimpse of what it was like for women to succeed in the cutthroat world of business. Beauty can be quite ugly.

Book Reviews: Strip Tees-Memoir of a Millennial Los Angeles by Kate Flannery

“I was in Los Angeles for less than a month before I got scouted by a cult.”

This is how Kate Flannery’s book Strip Tees: Memoir of a Millennial Los Angeles opens. And with a line like that how could I not keep reading? Scouted by a cult? Tell me more!

Kate Flannery (no, not the actress who played Meredith on “The Office) was a recent graduate from Bryn Mawr. Not finding fulfillment in her post-grad job at Urban Outfitters in Philadelphia, Flannery left for the sunny climes and a new start in Los Angeles. However, things weren’t going so well. Flannery was out of a job, and her funds were dwindling. She was in a deep funk.

While drowning her sorrows at a dive bar, Flannery was approached by an attractive woman, a complete stranger, who wanted Flannery to interview with the clothing retailer American Apparel.

American Apparel may be a sleazy footnote in retail history, but in 2005 American Apparel was hot, hot, hot. The company was lauded for its American made, non-sweatshop made clothing, which included T-shirts, shorts, bathing suits, and the like. American Apparel was the brainchild of creator Dov Charney who initially was seen as a good guy with his non-sweatshop clothing made in the USA that paid its workers a decent wage. But soon rather nefarious details began to emerge about Charney about his less than savory behavior.

I’m getting ahead of myself. American Apparel was the clothing choice of many Millennials like Flannery, and after an interview, she was hired to work at one of the stores. Though probably a bit too educated and over-qualified to be a shop girl, Flannery was thrilled to have a job and grew close to many of her co-workers. She did so much more than ring up customers’ purchases. She managed hiring and took photographs for American Apparel’s very infamous and very recognizable advertisements.

It wasn’t long before Flannery ascended the ladder at American Apparel and went beyond her shop girl role. She went on the road, scouting new recruits, and opening new American Apparel stores (including the now closed location in my lower east side Milwaukee neighborhood).

Flannery was exhilarated to be doing so well with American Apparel, and for the longest time she relished her work despite the travel and long hours. She was working for the hippest clothing company around, and it was intoxicating.

However, things weren’t always so rosy at American Apparel and much of it had to do with Dov Charney, the king of sleaze. Dov was known for sleeping with many of his subordinates (called “Dov’s Girls). He had no shame and would walk around in his underwear and have sex with girls in the stores’ dressing rooms. He was also accused of masturbating in front of a writer from the now defunct Jane magazine while she interviewed him. Ick.

At first Flannery tried to ignore Dov’s behavior, thinking these women were just uptight. It was the time of “indie sleaze” and “do-me feminism.” But after a while, Flannery just couldn’t ignore Dov’s behavior and the behavior of other employees including one asshole who tried to sexually assault her. And though initially American Apparel seemed to be about sexual liberation, it soon became clear it was more about sexual exploitation. Flannery soon realized she needed to make a change in her life. So she did. And through it all she came to grips of what was really important to her.

It’s now American Apparel is now out of business. Flannery has gone onto better things like writing for the reality show “Rupaul’s Drag Race.” But Strip Tees is a riveting tale of a singular time in fashion and one Millennial’s coming of age in the aughts. I found American Apparel to be a riveting and fast-paced read whether your a rapidly aging hipster still coveting your American Apparel t-shirts, or anyone interested in everything from the world of retail, growing up, and finding oneself..

Book Review: The Kingdom of Prep-The Inside Story of the Rise and (Near) Fall of J.Crew by Maggie Bullock

J.Crew, the quintessential clothing label is so much more than apparel. It’s been the go-to fashion pieces from its roll-top sweater to sequined ballet flats for around 40 years now. Starting off as a catalog, it has morphed into a collection of brick and mortar stores, a popular internet presence, and seemed to reach its apex during the Obama administration with fashion retail icons like Mickey Drexler and Jenna Lyons at the helm. But what is the exact story of J.Crew? Fortunately, fashion journalist, Maggie Bullock gives us the skinny in her extensive book The Kingdom of Prep: The Inside Story of the Rise and (Near) Fall of J.Crew.

It was the early 1980s, and being preppy was all the rage. Lisa Birnbach’s The Preppy Handbook was a huge bestseller (didn’t matter it was satire). Muffy and Chip were layered in polo shirts (often with popped collars) and had dock siders on their feet. Being a prep was all about the Ivy League and being a total WASP. And even if you went to a state university and your last name was Esposito you could still look like a prep. All it took was the right uniform.

Like today, preppy clothes weren’t exactly hard to find. You could find khaki trousers and polo shirts at places like LL Bean and Land’s End. And if you were looking for a more elevated and stylish, and not too mention much more expensive fashion of prep, there was Ralph Lauren.

Arthur Cinader, already a successful business man with his catalog Popular Club Plan, was inspired by the whole preppy style and look, and wanted to offer a happy medium between lower priced brands like LL Bean and Land’s End and pricier fair like Ralph Lauren. Thus, in 1983, he created J.Crew and offered clothing for men and women with a preppy flair. It didn’t matter Cinader had no experience in fashion, and J.Crew’s earliest company was located in the very unglamorous New Jersey. Cinader had the entrepreneurial prowess and know-how to make J.Crew work. Arthur’s daughter, Emily, soon joined J.Crew after graduating from the University of Denver with a degree in marketing. It was Emily’s classic and fresh-faced style that helped hone J.Crew’s look and image. And no, there is no person named J.Crew. It’s made up.

Slowly and surely, J.Crew became very successful soon after its debut. It’s catalog was a welcome sight in shopper’s mailboxes and J.Crew’s rolled neck sweater became a must-have. Even writer, Bullock claims to have coveted a rolled neck sweater herself. J.Crew’s catalogs featured attractive and athletic models, both female and male, often doing something quite sporty rather than posing like soulless mannequins. And J.Crew hit the big time when they booked the top supermodel, Linda Evangelista, for their catalog.

J.Crew went from strength to strength. It expanded to include actual brick and mortar stores, and Cinader was quite exacting in how he wanted his stores to look like. J.Crew moved its location from New Jersey to the much more fashionable New York City. However, by the 1990s, J.Crew was failing to keep up the pace. This was when Cinader decided to sell 90% of it to a private equity firm. This did not help for many of the CEOs brought along didn’t exactly jibe with J.Crew’s unique vision and image.

However, help was on the way. Mickey Drexler, who had a great deal of success with The Gap, was brought on as CEO. And the fashion icon, Jenna Lyons (now on The Real Housewives of New York), was brought on as womenswear director. Combined, these two brought a J.Crew resurgence in the 2000s. Jenna, especially, gave J.Crew a new twist. Though J.Crew was still preppy, it was preppy with a twist. Jenna gave us sequined ballet flats and bold statement necklaces. Michelle Obama was a big fan of J.Crew. She wore their gloves on inauguration day in 2009, and her daughters, Malia and Sasha, were adorably outfitted in J.Crew’s children’s line CrewCuts. In fact, when it was found out that the Obamas were J.Crew fans, the company’s website crashed the day after Barack Obama was sworn in as President of the United States.

Of course, J.Crew has had it’s ups and downs since then, and has also been embroiled in juicy gossip regarding Jenna Lyon’s love life. And Bullock goes into great detail chronicling every stellar moment of J.Crew and as well as its lower moments. Bullock is clearly a lover of both fashion and fashion history, and she clearly did her homework when researching the history of J.Crew, fashion, retail, and the preppy lifestyle. I learned so much about J.Crew and I really appreciated all the fabulous photographs with the book. In fact, I wish there were more. And now I’m hankering for a J.Crew rolled neck sweater.

The Kingdom of Prep is a knowledgeable and interesting read for anyone who is a fan of J.Crew or interested in the business of fashion and retailing.

Reading to Reels: The September Issue

With the my review of Amy Odell’s Anna: The Biography, I decided to dust off this movie review I wrote for another blog ages ago. Enjoy!

To a lot of us, fashion seems like a fluffy and superficial profession. But to countless fashion insiders everywhere it is a deadly serious business. This is a business where people know the difference between puce and plum, and where hemlines and necklines are of utmost importance. And that cute handbag you just bought from Target? Quite likely it’s a knock-off of a pricier designer handbag a fashion editor claimed was the “must have” of the season.

And there is probably no more important fashion magazine than American Vogue. At the helm is the British ex-pat Anna Wintour and Vogue is the bible to fashionistas everywhere. And no issue of Vogue is more important than the mammoth September issue, chock full of fashion and beauty layouts, articles, celebrity profiles and yes, lots and lots of advertisements.

Documentarian RJ Cutler (The War Room, which focused on the 1992 Clinton presidential campain) turns his unblinking camera lens to the creation of the 2007 September issue of Vogue in the documentary The September Issue. The September Issue follows Wintour and crew as the September Issue begins with some nuggets of ideas to a fully-formed magazine on the newsstand.

The September Issue begins with Wintour reflecting on the power of fashion and how it can make some people nervous. Known mostly for her whippet-thin figure, swingy bob and dark sunglasses, it was a bit jarring to hear Wintour speak. Sure, she’s not warm and fuzzy, but there is a reflective side to her that makes her quite human.

During the film we see Wintour meeting with staff to discuss the issue. We see her jetting off to London, Paris and Rome to attend fashion shows and meet with designers. Wintour can make or break a designer with one raised eyebrow so I wouldn’t be surprised if even established designers like Jean Paul Gaultier and Karl Lagerfeld felt a bit nervous about meeting her. But when Wintour likes a designer she is behind that person 110%. Wintour was an early supporter of Thakoon (one of Michelle Obama’s fave designers). Her support of him, dare I say it, is almost sweet.

Wintour is also the editor that put celebrities on the covers of Vogue over models, and the chosen celebrity for this September issue is British actress Sienna Miller. Sienna comes to the Vogue offices and is outfitted in beautiful couture gowns, many which will end up in the magazine. However, the staff is flummoxed by Miller’s hair, which is growing out awkwardly, and not quite up to the magazine’s standards. Later, Wintour is not happy with Sienna’s photo layout shot by legendary photographer, Mario Testino, and the design staff scrambles to make a viable cover.

Though Wintour is at the top of the Vogue heap, she is not alone in making Vogue what it is. In September Issue, we get to meet editor-at-large (literally) Andre Leon Talley, the cape wearing and Vuitton-loving male Auntie Mame who seems to be employed to kiss Wintour’s skinny ass. I can’t imagine what Talley actually does for the magazine, but he definitely added a fun element to the movie. If he didn’t exist, a Hollywood  would have to create him.

And then there is the brilliant creative director Grace Coddington. Coddington started out as a fashion model in the swinging sixties. But after suffering a horrific car crash, Coddington turned her talents to fashion a role behind the camera. Coddington is the yang to Wintour’s yin. If Wintour is all about commerce and wondering if it will sell, Coddington is all about art and creating beautiful and over-the-top fashion layouts that are all fantasy.

Not surprisingly, Wintour and Coddington don’t always see eye to eye. As the issue is being put together, Coddington is creating a 1920s Parisian cafe society fashion layout inspired by the designer Galianos. Coddington’s vision is pure magic, yet Wintour is not pleased with one of the photos, and wants it deleted. Coddington is not happy. This layout is her baby. Yet, I could see both their points. The shot is gorgeous, yet it doesn’t quite work with the rest of the photographs. The offending photo is cut.

However, Coddington does get to make one final decision. During a last minute photo shoot for another layout, Coddington taps the documentary’s cinematographer, Bob Richman, to join the model in a photo. He happily obliges. Wintour takes a look at the resulting photo and wants to airbrush Richman’s slight pot belly. Coddington nixes the idea, saying, “Everybody isn’t perfect in this world.” Richman’s belly stays in the picture. Finally, after months of preparation, the September 2007 issue of Vogue is released. It weighs over four pounds and is over 800 pages, the largest issue in Vogue history.

RJ Cutler’s “fly on the wall” film making style is what helps make this movie so interesting. You get to see everyone in their element without film maker commentary. I was stunned to see the staff look at the mock ups on a huge wall where pictures and layout can be moved by hand rather than doing it on a computer. I was also pleasantly surprised to see how un-Botoxed and unmade-up the staff was even though most of them, like their leader, is very, very thin. Also, I was surprised how plain the Vogue offices are. I was expecting something ostentatious and grand, but the offices are quite non-descript.

But most of all, I was surprised how much I didn’t despise Anna Wintour. Sure, she isn’t at Vogue to make friends, but she isn’t the vicious harpy the media makes her out to be. Yes, she’s reserved and exacting but so are a lot of people in any cut throat business. And I doubt any negativity thrown Wintour’s way would be applied to a successful man. But still, Wintour does show some vulnerability as when she talks about her siblings, all of them in more serious professions, who are quite “amused” by her career.

September Issue is a fascinating look at both a legendary magazine and the talented people who make it happen. It is the “must have” for both fashion and film lovers.

Book Review: Anna-The Biography by Amy Odell

American Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour is probably one of the most powerful women in fashion and media. But despite her fame and influence, Wintour remains an enigma. Who is the woman behind the bobbed hair and dark sunglasses?

Fashion journalist, Amy Odell, whose book Tales from the Back Row: An Outsider’s View from Inside the Fashion Industry I reviewed last fall, also wanted to know more about the imposing and elusive Anna Wintour. And through incredibly thorough research and countless interviews, Odell delivers with Anna: The Biography.

Long before she became the editor-in-chief of Vogue, Anna Wintour was a young girl growing up in London. Her father was the editor of the newspaper, The Evening Standard so media was in Wintour’s blood. She also had a mad passion for fashion. Wintour just knew she had to combine fashion and media and make both her vocation.

Wintour moved to New York City when she was in her early twenties. She first worked at Harper’s Bazaar. She then procured jobs at magazines that are now defunct, including Viva, a Playgirl-like magazine that was found by Bob Guccione, Yes, the guy who gave us the nudie magazine Penthouse. Yes, Wintour worked on fashion layouts in a magazine that featured dicks. And after a briefly editing the British version of Vogue, Wintour was tapped to take over the American version of Vogue (and pushing out the sitting editor-in-chief of Vogue, Grace Mirabella).

Wintour’s first issue of Vogue was quite revolutionary when it comes to its cover in November of 1988. It featured model Michaela Bercu wearing a Christian Lacroix jacket with a pair of stonewashed denim jeans. Now a days, many fashionista combine high and low fashion, and designer streetwear featuring $1,000 hoodies is quite common. But nearly 35 years ago, this look was quite shocking. Readers knew Wintour would transform America’s fashion bible in many ways.

With Vogue, Wintour brought on two fashion icons, Grace Coddington and the late Andre Leon Talley. Vogue featured the top super models of the day, Naomi, Cindy, Linda, Christy (no last names needed). And later Vogue started using celebrities as cover models, something that is still a mainstay at Vogue. Vogue was simply the magazine to read for those in the fashion industry and its wannabes.

But things weren’t always rosy at Vogue with Wintour at the helm. Under Wintour’s helm, Vogue was often seen as too out of touch, and there was often accusations of racism within its ranks. A lot of people weren’t too happy with Wintour’s love of fur and featuring fur within the pages of Vogue. And to work at Vogue, one usually had to be tall, thin, rich, white, and come for the right family. Heck, Wintour even wanted Oprah to lose 20 pounds before she could be on the cover of Vogue-yes, Oprah!

During Wintour’s reign at Vogue, she’s gotten the reputation of being a bitchy ice queen, which seemed to be even more apparent with the release of the novel The Devil Wears Prada written by her former assistant, Lauren Weisberger. And of course, we can’t forge the delicious movie based on the novel which featured Meryl Streep as the Anna Wintour inspired Miranda Priestly. If Wintour was hurt by this book and the movie, she really doesn’t show it. She has much better things to do.

Another feather in Wintour’s couture cap is the Met Gala, which she transformed from a charity event to a major fashion event and showcase of celebrity, glamour, and opulence. For the uninitiated, The Meta Gala raised funds for the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute in New York City.

Anna: The Biography also covers a personal side of Anna Wintour, including her marriages relationships and subsequent divorces and breakups, and her devotion to her two children, Charles and Katherine (nicknamed Bee). Wintour is now a doting grandmother and even changes diapers. Hopefully, she’s not getting poop on the Prada.

I loved Anna: The Biography. Those looking for a lot of gossip and bitchery will probably be disappointed. Odell humanizes Anna Wintour, showing the good and the bad. Anna: The Biography is a fascinating read and one I think fashionistas and anyone interested in mysterious, yet powerful public figures will probably love.

Book Review: I Feel Bad About My Neck: And Other Thoughts on Being a Woman by Nora Ephron

It was such a loss when Nora Ephron died in 2012. Ms. Ephron is mostly known for writing movie scripts for films like Silkwood and the rom com classic, When Harry Met Sally. She was also a director who directed films like You’ve Got Mail and Julie and Julia. Ephron also wrote the novel Heartburn, which was closely based on her messed up marriage to journalist Carl Bernstein and was later made into a movie starring Jack Nicholson and Meryl Streep.

But before all that, Ephron was a journalist and she wrote several books filled with essay about the female condition. Her essay, “A Few Words About Breasts” is iconic.

In 2006, Ephron published I Feel Bad About My Neck: And Other Thoughts on Being a Woman.” In this book, Ephron opines about entering her dotage and all that getting older entails.

In the opening essay, the same as the title of the book, Ephron is not happy about her neck. A woman can get a face lift and use fancy creams costing 150 bucks. But your wrinkly, spotted neck is going to give away your age, sweetie. Sure, you can complain about your neck. But you can also cover it up with a turtleneck sweater or a pretty scarf.

Ephron continues this theme in her essay “Maintenance.” She muses about all the products we use in order to maintain glossy hair, smooth skin, and a taut body. We need day cream and we need night cream. And don’t forget about eye cream. A long time there was just shampoo. Now my bathroom contains shampoo and conditioner for color treated hair, a deep conditioner, and a color enhancer for my dyed red hair.

Ephron tells us about her time working as an intern in the Kennedy White House. No, she didn’t have an affair with him. He barely noticed her. Ephron is also candid when discussing marriage and the varied stages on parenthood. Ephron talks about finding the perfect apartment and finding the perfect strudel in New York City.

But my one favorite essays in I Feel Bad About My Neck is “Rapture.” No, this isn’t the type of rapture Evangelical Christians warn us about. Ephron was Jewish. I was raised Catholic. We don’t do the rapture. No, instead, Ephron talks about the rapture of reading and finding a treasured book. Being such a great writer, I’m not surprised Ephron was a voracious reader. In “Rapture” talks about her favorite books from childhood onto her adult life.

I Feel About My Neck is a charming, intimate, and quick read. If you are a fan of relatable essays and funny ladies, you should probably pick up I Feel Bad About My Neck. Though unfortunately, Nora Ephron is no longer with us, she had left us a legacy of books and films to treasure.

Retro Review: Fabulous Nobodies by Lee Tulloch

Imagine a time before reality television and social media influencers. Imagine a time when the likes of Carrie Bradshaw and her coterie of sex and fashion obsessed pals were merely a gleam in Candace Bushnell’s eyes. It’s the late 1980s. New York City is teaming with the hippest and hottest clubs-Danceteria, Palladium, Limelight, and Club 57. The clubs are teeming with the young, hip, and fashionable, many of them yearning to be famous.

One of these people is Reality Nirvana Tuttle (yes, her mother is a hippie). In Lee Tulloch’s 1989 novel, Fabulous Nobodies, Reality is currently working as a “door whore” at lower Manhattan’s latest, hippest club, Less is More. Reality’s job is to only allow people in the club who meet her exacting standards. They must have the best style and a unique flair.

Reality is only 20 years old. She escaped her upper New York small town and her mother’s hippie lifestyle to live among the coolest people she can find in New York City. Her friend, Phoebe Johnson emulates Audrey Hepburn and is the junior shoe editor at “Perfect Woman” magazine. Freddie Barnstable is a transvestite (transgender by today’s vernacular). Freddie is always on the hunt for the perfect fashion find and has a dog named Balenciaga. And then there is Hugo Falk, a gossip columnist with the magazine “Frenzee.”

Reality lives for fashion, and has a collection of designer frocks that she has named after famous people and characters-Petula Clark, Gina Lollabrigida, and so on. Not only does she have a collection of designer frocks, Reality also talks to these frocks as if they are cherished friends. However, there is something missing from her clothes closet, and that’s a Chanel suit. How Reality can afford her designer duds is never fully explained. She can’t make much money as a door whore at Less is More. But there is talk of her shopping at some vintage stores that dot her Manhattan neighborhood.

Reality has another desire. She wants to be famous? But how do you got about this before a time of reality show stars like the Kardashians or taking up precious internet space as a fashion influencer? Reality figures she can cozy up to Hugo Falk and he’ll write about her for his column in “Frenzee.”

But of course, things don’t go quite smoothly. Reality loses her job at Less is More when she doesn’t recognize Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, and denies her entry into the club. Completely forlorn and at a loss, Reality is convinced by Freddie that they should turn their apartments into a club. Despite this probably being illegal, they turn their apartments into a club, which attracts the fabulous and fabulous adjacent.

Other things happen, too. Reality’s friendship with Phoebe is tested. Reality finds the elusive Chanel suit of her dreams, but is a Chanel suit really her? Reality acquires an admirer/stalker named Brooke. A bit of a mishap occurs while people are partying at her and Freddie’s club, which really puts a damper on things.

And then Hugo interviews and writes a piece about Reality for “Frenzee” magazine. Unfortunately, this feature on Reality isn’t exactly flattering, and a very weird encounter with Hugo jostles Reality a wee bit.

In the end, Fabulous Nobodies is a satirical look at a very specific time. Reality never shows much growth as a character, but then again she’s only 20. I was left wondering where Reality would be in the 2020s. She’d now be in her fifties. Would she have gotten married, left Manhattan for the suburbs, had a bunch of kids, and was just an average middle aged woman with a crazy past? Would she have become a fashion influencer, showing off her frocks and interviewing them on her Instagram page? Would she have ended up on Bravo’s “The Real Housewives of New York City?” Who knows? But Fabulous Nobodies certainly showcases the huge desire people have for being famous no matter what…and the perfect Chanel suit, of course.

Book Review: The Gospel of Wellness-Gyms, Gurus, Goop, and the False Promise of Self-Care by Rina Raphael

You’ve done Keto and have eschewed carbs. You invested in a Peloton and go to a hot yoga class weekly. You try to align your chakras and think only positive thoughts. You berate yourself for eating a brownie or for skipping a day at the gym to just “Netflix and chill.” You know it’s a good thing to exercise, get fresh air, and eat right, but at times you wonder if you’ve gone a little to far on your journey to better health, self-care, and enlightenment. Perhaps you are treating wellness, physical, mental, and spiritual, as some type of intense worship.

Rina Raphael understands this mindset, and she writes about many people’s addiction to this issue in her book The Gospel of Wellness: Gyms, Gurus, Goop, and the False Promise of Self-Care.

Once caught up in the worship of being a higher state of being herself, health and wellness journalist and former senior producer and lifestyle editor at The TODAY Show, Raphael takes a very important look at the wellness industry that takes in trillions of dollars. Many of these wellness practices are rooted in positive and effective practices like fitness, eating right, and getting plenty of sleep and fresh air.

However, the gospel of wellness is also filled with far too much hyper consumerism, crackpot theories, and desperate hope for millions of people who want to better their lives physically, mentally, and spiritually. And sadly, there are far to many opportunistic grifters only too willing to take advantage (and a whole lot of money) of people who want to achieve greatness. Though some in the wellness industry rely on encouragement and positive affirmations to encourage followers, many of them manipulate people’s insecurities, especially women. So many women feel so out of sorts these days, whether it comes to work, relationships or the home front. And the pandemic only made things worse. Women are desperate to have some semblance of peace and command over their lives. So does it hurt to buy a $30.00 tranquility candle?

Well, that candle may make your house smell nice, but it won’t lessen sexism in the workplace, improve your marriage, or give you thinner thighs.

The Gospel of Wellness takes a very thorough look and examines the various products and practices that have become popular in the past several years. She looks at how fitness influencers and instructors have become like rock and roll demi-gods and goddesses to their faithful followers. She attends Gwyneth Paltrow’s GOOP wellness retreat and gives us the scoop on GOOP’s quackery and money making endeavors.

Raphael also explains on why so many women have eschewed so many mainstream medical practices in favor of new age healing methods and advice. Raphael looks at some women’s addiction to eating only “clean” foods and slathering one’s body and face with “clean” beauty products even though there isn’t always science to back these practices up.

And the path to better health and an elevated state of being isn’t a phenomenon of the modern age. People have been trying to obtain these things for eons. The Gospel of Wellness goes down memory lane informing us about different practices people in decades ago did to remain hale and hearty, like the precursor to Pilates, the Mensendieck system, which was practiced in the nude during the 1930s. Or Pinkham’s Vegetable Compound, a “health” tonic from the 1870s, which claimed to cure women of headaches, menstrual cramps, indigestion, and labor pains. And more currently, I can remember the promise of oat bran, Dexatrim diet supplements, and aerobic dance studios. Today there is an app that somehow helps you align your workouts to your menstrual cycle!

There is one issue that Raphael examines in The Gospel of Wellness that really made me think. It’s the idea of “Wealthness,” that health and wellness is often only accessible to people with a great deal of wealth and time. Gyms, especially fancy boutique gyms are quite expensive. Purchasing a Peloton and its monthly subscriptions are quite pricy. Organic food is more expensive than non-organic food, and some people in urban and rural communities live in food deserts and don’t have access to proper healthcare, let alone a gym. Sure, someone can always get exercise by walking but some communities don’t have sidewalks and others are plagued with violence. And if you’re working two, three jobs just to survive, it might be easier to go through a McDonald’s drive-thru than go home and cook a healthy meal.

While, reading The Gospel of Wellness, I got such an education. Raphael has most definitely done her homework. And I must admit, I, too, have gotten caught up in the gospel of wellness. I’m still kind of beating myself up for indulging in to much fattening food between Christmas and New Year’s. And I’m still pissed off at myself for not going to the gym for several days when I had a bad head cold last November. Yes, I know this is nuts, but I still feel like I got off track. Thank goodness, The Gospel of Wellness let’s me know I’m not alone.