Crystal Renn is Hungry no more

Crystal Renn seems to be making waves in our weight-obsessed world with the launch of her book Hungry today. She's a Missississippi-born beauty who, like most models, starved and exercied herself silly in the pursuit of success and celebrity in the fickle world of fashion. Well done to her for becoming, in the wake of it all, America's highest-paid plus-size model and now an author. The subject (weight, both loosing and gaining it) is a tireless one that we simply can't get enough of. It's not news that models go to extreme measures to look the way they do, but hopefully this tell-all will have more meat to it than a 14 year-old on the cover of Vogue. We'll be ordering it from Amazon just as soon as we get through Jean Godfrey-June's 2006 novel, Free Gift with Purchase.

If the IP laws in your country permit it, watch Crystal Renn talk about Hungry on ABC here.

Brigitte Bardot through a lens

She may have become a reclusive eccentric in her later years, but Brigitte Bardot did and still does represent an ideal of womanly beauty that I, to be honest, long to see today... maybe a touch too sex kitten too often, but it beats the hell out of the strange mix of androgynous boy-girl and quasi-prostitutes (a la Pussy Cat Dolls) that have replaced said former ideal of feminine beauty (I suppose at least there are a few now (ideals) instead of one).

If you're ready to see more than just 'interesting' beanpoles during London Fashion Week this fall, the James Hyman Gallery in London will be exhibiting 75 vintage prints of Bardot taken between 1956 and 1970 by famous photographers (and paparazzi).

Brigitte Bardot and The Original Paparazzi
September 3rd to October 3rd
James Hyman Gallery, 5 Savile Row, London W1S 3PD (020 7494 3857)

Agy not channeling Marilyn at Met

As this is going to be an op-ed section, the first post, fittingly, is my strong opinion on Agy's channelling of lead female in an episode of Magnum PI with her look at the Met Costume Institute Gala last week.

Not working.

Wipe off the bronzer and brush out the bouffant. I read a journo's comments on her, saying she was  'channeling Marilyn Monroe' that night. Hardly. The only similarity (notice that word is singular) lay in the platinum tresses. She's no more Marilyn than Pink is Marlene Dietrich.

One of the behaviours in the beauty/fashion media that sets my teeth on edge is the ability to draw comparisons between iconic figures and model/actress/girl du jour based on a single feature or characteristic, natural or not. The single feature that caused the Marilyn comparison here? Blonde coif.

Silver screen? No. 1980s glamour? Yes. Call a spade a spade, friends. Thomas Magnum would look more at home on her arm than Arthur Miller would in this get up.

Agy is an interesting model so why water it down with attempts at retro, calendar girl glamour? She falls left of the model center with her flat cheek bones (well done with the contour powder here) even though she possesses requisite button nose, doe eyes and big lips. She's an English punk, which is endearing, not a traditional beauty with mass appeal. Part of why she's a good, successful model is her everyday-ness. She's almost like a -- gasp! -- regular person with slightly exaggerated features and a thinner, tallish physique.  Work with that and put her in a cool shift or tartan frock with funky makeup. I'd take an edgy Agy any day over the packaged version in this picture.