SL
Issue 13: Spring 2014
DJ Lindsay Luv
LETTER FROM the art director When life gives you lemons - use them as artistic inspiration. Spring. We thought it would never arrive – but it is finally here, and with it: fresh talent. From emerging fashion faces, to film and music fests which catapult artists into the limelight, a new group of stars are about to be born and SLM is on top of it. Wardrobe wise it is time to shed those layers. I know I am not the only one who is excited to don this season’s wonderful spring trends (which thankfully depart from my normal all-black wardrobe). The “spring list”, shoppables, and this month’s DIY have you covered for what to wear (or craft!) once the temp rises. Whether you are headed to class, the office, a screening, or a music fest, this month’s fashion features will keep you feeling fresh and looking cool. In addition to rocking new spring looks, we also have a few pieces about what
you should be rocking out to. This month’s cover girl DJ Luv will soon be a house-hold name, and should definitely be added to your playlists ASAP. Read more about her in our featured article (which also showcases her bad ass style). As always, our pop-culture section will keep you current on all the upcoming releases and introduce some poignant critiques. What to wear, who to listen to, what to see...I think we got you covered for this season. Being part of SLM has given me the opportunity to work with the most driven and talented team, so as the (sweet lemon) icing on top, we have some killer illustrations and designs from our own crop of new talent that is sure to keep you satisfied until next time …
@reiflerk
www.kelseyreifler.com
contributors
Camille Malkiewicz @cammalk
Graham Blackall @glazedblog glazedandconfused.us
Brandon Faske @FaskeTimesatTU
Kimber Lee Alston @KimberLeeAlston
Shay Nematollahi @love_shayda
Clare Austen-Smith @clareausten
Alex Lemley @alexlemley
Nicole Sczesny @nickysczesny www.nickysczesny.com
Carleton English @careltonenglish
Nicky Sczesny
SWEET LEMON CALENDAR
APRIL
12
Coachella Music Festival: Check out our DIY for a festival bag & shoppables for some festival looks.
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5
14
20
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23 24
Boston Marathon: Check out New Balance’s Boston Marathon Sneaks: lucky shamrock on the heel and a map of the marathon on the insole
Earth Day
3
Tune in to see Conan O’Brien host this year’s MTV movie awards
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April Fool’s Day
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22
1
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25
Pharrell’s Birthday (and his hat)
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Jessica Alba & Channing Tatum’s Birthday
29 30
SWEET LEMON CALENDAR
M AY
11
5
13
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19
Happy Cinco de Mayo!
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7
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10
17
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day
4
15 16
Celebrate yo momma (it’s Mother’s Day!)
s B-
Happy Birthday David Beckham
Cannes Film Fest
Fey ’
3
Happy Birthday Cory Monteith R.I.P
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Tina
1
R.Patz turns 28
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26 Memorial Dayhave a BBQ
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Paris
@ParisRouzati www.parisrouzati.com
Paris Rouzati editor-in-chief
Paris is part geek, and part chic. She fancies lame jokes, TED Talks, spontaneous dance parties, and red lipstick. She enjoys witty banter over a cup of tea (or two), and consumes more Nutella than recommended. She believes that a life without giving isn’t really living.
photo: style.com
ali
@alivitali WWW.ALIVITALI.COM
ALI VITALI
VICE PRESIDENT
Ali is a digital journalist with a passion for politics, pop culture, and live-tweeting press conferences. She worships at the altar of Liz Lemon, Carrie Bradshaw, and Sloan Sabbith. Ali is still trying to make “fetch” happen. #RollWave Bow and Drape V Neck J Crew dress May28th watch Chloe ballet flats
photo: style.com
kelsey
Jbrand Jeans Theodora and Callum Towels Michael Kors Sandals Karen Walker Sunnies Mara Hoffman Maxi dress
@kreifler www.kelseyreifler.com
photo: style.com
Kelsey Reifler art director
Kelsey is passionate about creating for a cause, and aims to harness the power of design to make a positive difference. She adores book stores, unplanned evenings, design blogs and rooftops. She never leaves home without headphones, a good book and her beloved Moleskin notebook.
tiffany
Victoria Beckham Bag Vinca Kasia Mules Valentino Sunglasses Anthropologie Ring Tibi Skirt
@TiffanyTweet www.tiffanystyleblog.com
photo: style.com
Tiffany olson
creative director
Tiffany is a stylist, writer and travel lover. She dreams of attending Paris Fashion Week, being BFF with Wintour, and having a separate, large, shoe closet. Obsessed with macarons and peonies before it was a thing. #SorryShesNotSorry about her Royal obsession. Coffee, blogs, Valentino, girl talk. Married to a Sports Journalist, so that explains the frequent sports tweets. Work hard and be nice to people.
zoe
@kzoeb
Zoë Björnson
Marketing Director
Zoë is a California girl at heart, but having spent time in New Orleans, New York and Copenhagen, she’s always ready for an adventure. She digs good food (you should see her Instagram, can you say #foodporn?), fabulous shoes, and sunshine. She believes in the power of social media, but there’s nothing like lunch with an old friend. Sam Edelman Sandals Bite Beauty Lip Crayon in Grape St. Lucia-When the Night First Aid Beauty Ultra Repair (Liquid Recovery) Parker Kaitlyn Dress
photo: style.com
lauren
Rebecca Minkoff Wedges Tory Burch Jewelry Case Rebecca Minkoff Necklace Kate Spade Watch
@laurenrparisi
Lauren parisi
photo: style.com
social media manager
Lauren is a lover of all things fashion and when her shopping addiction hits, there’s no stopping her (seriously, though). Lauren can be found laughing with good friends or enjoying an awesome playlist and a runners high. A N.Y. girl, Lauren lives for the hustle and bustle of The Big Apple and loves nothing more than to pass talented musicians in the subway doing what they love.
emilia @emilialiveslife
Emilia Morano-Williams Social media manager
Emilia is a hopeless anglophile who divides her time between the USA and England. She can usually be found drinking coffee, reading on her kindle or searching for the perfect croissant. She owns too many striped shirts for one wardrobe. She believes in working hard, traveling far and always smiling.
photo: style.com Chinti and Parker Dress Giles + Brother Cuff Lipault Paris bag Fresh Sake Candle J Crew Ballet Flats
adair
Anthropologie Ring Chloe Wallet Haute Hippie Shorts Nike Sneakers Wildfox Couture T-Shirt
@AdairHayesCrane
photo: style.com
Adair-hayes Crane copy editor
Adair-Hayes is a coffeeaddicted, Selena Gomez-loving, musicobsessed writer. As the double name implies, she was indeed born and raised in the South, but dreams of one day making the big move to New York City with her fiance and her cat in tow. She tends to think she’s hilarious, collect too many books she will never get around to reading, and dream of one day writing for Rolling Stone. She believes in laughing with friends, listening to good music, and always following your passion. 1.WILDFOX TEE 2.CHLOE BAG 3. HAUTEHIPPIE SHORTS 4.ANTHROPOLOGIE RING 5.NIKES
natalie
J.Crew Short Swedish Hasbeen Sandals NARS Blush/Bronzer Madewell Lovelock Tote Clinique Moisturizer
@nbmorin
photo: style.com
natalie morin
managing editor
Natalie is a typophile and dreams of traveling and eating exotic food for a living. She lives on green tea, reruns of Friends and books that she can’t put down (recommendations always welcome). She appreciates a wellfitted suit and lives by the Almost Famous mantra that “the only true currency in this bankrupt world is what we share with someone else when we’re uncool.”
rachel
Ted Baker Clutch NARS Lip Pencil Warby Parker Sunglasses J.Crew Sandals H&M Pants
photo: style.com
Rachel gordon social media
Rachel can be found staging the perfect Instagram shot on most hours on any given day, or else in the kitchen devouring a whole jar of peanut butter in one sitting. Rachel spends the rest of her time blogging, jamming to some Sinatra, and painting her nails at least once a week. She’s a social media freak, but will put it aside when it comes to binge watching netflix. Rachel also is known for the over usage of the good ole exclamation point, and doodling on important papers.
the list
THE NEW HUES
MIDI HEELS
PYTHON
GLADIATOR
FESTIVAL
Nicky Sczesny
y i d f
t s e
l a iv
g a b
Camille Malkiewicz @cammalk
d iy
I’ve been completely inspired by Pendleton wool for some time. The prints are bold, bright, and of the highest quality. I’m not an expert seamstress, but when I finally talked myself into purchasing some of this beautiful fabric, I knew exactly what I wanted to make: a 5” x 8” mini bag to take on the run. This is a hand sewn bag utilizing both a whip stitch and a backstitch. If you’re feeling nervous because you’re not a seamstress, DON’T WORRY. This is the perfect project for beginners and will give you some sewing confidence.
you will need: 12”x12” square of Pendleton Wool (or the fabric of your choice) 12”x12” Canvas sheet from Canvas Corp (to be used as an interior liner) 7” zipper Great fabric cutting scissors Needle & thread Ruler Beads or other fun embellishments
directions Step 1
Cut the wool and canvas to size by placing the zipper at the top and measuring out dimensions. Leave about 1/4” where the zipper does not touch the fabric. (see pic)
Step 2
Cut two even pieces of wool and canvas. Lay them out on the table with the front side of the fabric facing up and the canvas beneath the top layer of wool.
Step 3
Pin the zipper to one side of the wool. As you can see when you flip the fabric, it’s pinned within close proximity to the zipper.
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5a
5b 2
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3a
Step 4
Thread your needle through and tie a knot at the end of the thread.
3b
Step 5
Complete a backstitch, using the zipper’s seam as a guide. (To see how to complete a backstitch click here)
Step 6
Here’s what it will look like when you flip the fabric.
Step 7
8a
Repeat on other side.
Step 8
Now you should have both sides attached to the zipper. Fold together and begin your whip stitch at the top. (see left)
Step 9
Once the bag is completely sewn shut add some fun, quirky elements to the zipper. I found this amazingly unique skull charm from a local Indian craft store.
Step 10
8b
Style it and you’re ready to make a statement!
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Hazelnut Amaretto Cake with Nutell a Cream Cheese
By Graham Blackall @glazedblog www.glazedandconfused.us
Nutella Some call it chocolate hazelnut spread. For me, it’s a way of life.
Have you ever met somebody who doesn’t love Nutella? If not, congrats! You’ve succeeded in surrounding yourself with people with some pretty badass tastebuds. If you do in fact know one of these people, I think it’s time to re-evaluate the friendship. For real though, Nutella is a gift from God via the great nation of Italy. (The same place that brought us the greatest food known to man, one worthy of it’s own food group — pizza.) Seriously, if you can name a better condiment, please let me know. Though eating Nutella straight out of the jar is delicious enough on its own, it’s even better when it’s incorporated into a delicious cream cheese frosting that’s layered on top of a giant mound of moist cake. Even better when said cake is full of chopped toasted hazelnuts and spiked with amaretto liqueur. Sinfully delicious! I suggest you pull out that jar you have hiding in the back of your pantry. You won’t regret it.
Hazelnut Amaretto Cake 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted but ter, (room temperature) 1 cup vegetable oil 1 cup sugar 5 eggs, separated 1 tablespoon vanill a extract 2 tablespoons amaret to liqueur 2 cups all purpose flour 1 tsp baking powder 1 tsp baking soda 1 cup but termilk 1 cup toasted ha zelnuts, chopped
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour three 9-inch round cake pans. Beat egg whites on high speed until stiff peaks form. Set aside. In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, and baking powder. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the butter, oil, and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add in the egg, vanilla, and amaretto liqueur and combine. Alternately add the buttermilk and the flour mixture to the wet ingredients. Mix. Fold in egg whites and chopped hazelnuts. Pour the batter into prepared pans. Top each layer with 1 tablespoon of sugar Bake for 20 minutes. Cool.
N utella Cream Cheese Frosting 12 oz cream cheese, sof tened 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted but ter, (room temperature) 1 1/2 cup Nutell a 4 cups confectioner’s sugar
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together cream cheese, butter, and nutella until light and fluffy. Gradually add the confectioners’ sugar until combined. Whip on high speed for 3 to 5 minutes to aerate. Ice the cooled cake layers. Top with chocolate shavings and toasted hazelnuts. Serve.
w o L v Lu By Zoë Björnson @kzoeb twitter | @kzoeb instagram Photography by Christopher Doody www.doodyphree.com @doodyphree
w
n w o d
Topshop dress, Linea Pelle bracelet, Pamela Love Earrings
Growing up, Lindsay Luv was your poster child music kid. She could be found at concerts like Guster and Dave Matthews Band by night, and was sharing their tapes (tapes!) with friends excessively by day. Luv was your textbook street-style music promoter, promoting her favorite bands before the age of Facebook event invites, Twitter, and Instagram. Now, Luv is one of the most sought-after DJs, spinning for major fashion brands, celebs and running her own lifestyle blog, LUVLIFESTYLE, cataloguing it all. While you might think Lindsay was destined to be in the music industry, Luv actually earned a communication degree from University of Massachusetts at Amherst, and soon after began an internship at Comedy Central in New York City. After quickly realizing that sketch comedy writing wasn’t her forté, Luv took a job doing brand partnership and development, at The Orchard, one of the biggest digital independent music distributors at the time. From there, Luv took on bigger projects, like managing The Raveonettes, a Danish indie-rock duo, and pushed further into the music business. Lucky for Luv, one artist in particular took notice. “One of the artists I booked was DJ AM,” she said. “He took me under his wing when there were very few female DJs. I would always send him new music, and one day, he told me that I should really consider DJing because I knew so much about music. So I gave it a shot and began learning how to DJ in my free time. I bought all the same equipment that he used, vinyls and a computer, and taught myself how to DJ during the day at a friend’s club.” Eventually, Luv broke into the New York music scene, and got her start as the awesome DJ she is today. Currently, Luv resides in LA and works both DJing and as a sound designer and blogger for major brands like Victoria’s Secret and Juicy Couture, and DJ’s for the world’s elite, read: Richard Branson (who is apparently a super nice guy!) and former Spice Girl, Mel B. Read on for some more insight into the Luv Lifestyle, how she got there and what lies down the road.
Helmut Lang Leggings, Steve Madden Heels, Boohoo Jacket, Alexander McQueen Bag, Dita Sunglasses, Vita Fede Ring
Asos earrings, Pamela Love Dagger Necklace, Alexander McQueen skull necklace, Chanel chain wrap around necklace, Boohoo Jacket
SLM: What would you say was your first big break?’ Lindsay Luv: When you’re an artist, there are so many times when you’re like “This is a moment.” For me, there are quite a few [moments] that stand out. For one, there’s Webster Hall in New York. That was a real honor and a turning point. Then there was when my spread in Time Out New York came out. Finally, when I moved to LA, the first day I moved here, I played at the Playboy mansion, and that felt like a really big turning point, as it is an iconic American institution. Then playing the Today Show with Mel B, an iconic New York institution with a Spice Girl; that’s when I really felt like my career had come full circle. SLM: How do you think your knowledge of the music industry changed the way you DJ? LL: They always say that there is a difference between an artists and business person. I really feel like I can essentially bridge that gap, and that has helped me in so many ways. So many elements of the business side of things really complimented the artist sides. I also think that [my knowledge] has allowed me to have a better understanding of what music hits with the right audience. SLM: How do you think being a woman in this field has affected you? LL: Being a female in a male-dominated industry is always going to have negatives and positives. In one way, you can stand out as a female. You can wear brand’s clothes and promote them in a different way than men.
On the flip side, there are certain people that might believe that women can’t do the same things that men can do, which is unfortunate and can cause problems and make it hard to get gigs, especially the huge club gigs or Coachella. It’s really hard to get those gigs. You’ll see maybe a few female DJs amongst a sea of male DJs. It’s extremely hard to break into that zone and it can be really pressing and hard to ‘prove’ yourself. There was definitely a need for some [male DJs] to press me on my skills and “What equipment are you using?” There’s often some haterade going on. But on the other hand, I believe that my work speaks for itself and I’ve worked really hard and I try not to let [the negative] stuff define me and I am exactly where I want to be in the music meets fashion side of this industry.
“You’ll see maybe a few female DJs amongst a sea of male DJs. It’s extremely hard to break into that zone and it can be really pressing and hard to ‘prove’ yourself.”
Lindsay Luv x Andrew Marc LUV leather jacket, Frends headphones, Helmut Lang leggings, Topshop heels, Noir spike ring, Moschino Gennaro Phone case
SLM: We’re big fans of your LUVLIFESTYLE Blog at LindsayLuv.com! Where did your love for fashion come from? LL: Fashion has always played a huge part in my life. In my mind, music and fashion go hand in hand. I also noticed throughout my career, a lot of the brands could identify with me wearing their fashions and combining the music. I started my blog because I wanted to share that and show people how the two play off of each other and create a really unique voice that bridges the gap between music, fashion, food, DIY, travel and everything else. I like to say that I put a soundtrack to everything in life - it’s my LuvLifestyle. SLM: What would be your ideal collaboration? LL: There are four things I really love in life: leather jackets, sunglasses, shoes and accessories. My dream would be to have some kind of line of my own, maybe something with Steve Madden, so it’s affordable and cool. I’m also a big fan of Rihanna’s collab with River island, so maybe something with another music artist and a brand. Obviously it would be a big dream of mine to have my own line, but we’ll just have to see! I am also a huge nail polish fanatic so working with a polish brand would be ideal!
“I like to say that I put a soundtrack to everything in life - it’s my Luv Lifestyle.”
Topshop dress, Pamela Love dagger necklace, Hermes Bracelet, Boohoo Jacket, Isabel Marant x H&M fringe booties
Marciano black tunic, Hermes bracelet, Helmut Lang leggings, Vintage fringe bag, Rihanna x River Island Opening Ceremony boots
“Ultimately, I love DJing but I want to keep growing and have [my career] fit my lifestyle and who I am as a person at each stage and age.“
SLM: What would be your ideal collaboration? LL: There are four things I really love in life: leather jackets, sunglasses, shoes and accessories. My dream would be to have some kind of line of my own, maybe something with Steve Madden, so it’s affordable and cool. I’m also a big fan of Rihanna’s collab with River island, so maybe something with another music artist and a brand. Obviously it would be a big dream of mine to have my own line, but we’ll just have to see! SLM: How has your career changed over the last five years and where do you see yourself in the next five years? LL: I have been DJing eight years now and in the beginning it was kind of like fake it til you make it. I never went to DJ school, so I was learning as I went. One day there was that turnover where I really knew what I was doing and then taking things to the next level and building my brand out, and building it out to be more than just DJing. In the next five years… I really see myself taking that a few steps further. So catapulting my own brand into greater ventures in the music world; continuing growing my blog and grow my work as a sound designer and music curator and just take everything further. I worked into something I could really grow with. Ultimately, I love DJing but I want to keep growing and have [my career] fit my lifestyle and who I am as a person at each stage and age. SLM: If you could DJ anywhere for the rest of your life, where would it be?
LL: I would probably say New York because in New York, they are the most willing to hear new music. [In LA], it’s often a very ‘Top 40’s’ game and people love to hear the same stuff they hear on the radio. In New York, I find that there are more openings for DJs to break records and people are more curious to hear new stuff and I really like that, as a music lover. I really like the opportunity to open people up to new stuff I’m finding. New York and LA are both wonderful places to DJ, and luckily, in LA a lot of events allow me to [break new music], it’s more the club scene that [doesn’t]. SLM: Who is your all time favorite song or artist? LL: My very favorite is Madonna. Everytime I get ready for girls’ night or even date night, which is sometimes unfortunate for my husband, I love to listen to Madonna. Confessions on a Dance Floor just had this awesome club, dance sound that I love and I actually worked on the album release party for it and just love that clubby feel! It gets me ready for the night and I think that’s the album that I’ve listened to the most, ever. SLM: When life gives you lemons… LL: Create and market a killer lemonade stand! To put it simply, DJ Lindsay Luv kills it. Spinning for stars and enjoying the perks of her passions on the side, it’s pretty clear she’s got it all. She’s a powerful woman who knew what she wanted and went after it. Isn’t what what we all want in life? What’s next? Well we’ll just have to wait and see.
Marciano Tunic, Vintage Fringe Bag
Marciano Tunic
s ’ v u L y a s d g n n i i L y DJ owPla N # Jhene Aiko NoNoNo Dum Dum Girls Deap Vally Poolside Seasick Mama Alt-J Purity Ring
The Raveonettes Arctic Monkeys Warpaint Gavin Turek Yuna Haerts BOY Mr Little Jeans
By Ali Vitali @alivitali Photography courtesy of Lindsey Calla
The
Blogosphere & Beyond
because I felt that was where it was going.” But this was a time when “people didn’t really know what blogs were” (ah, a simpler time) and so they passed on her idea.
You’d think that landing a job with Cosmopolitan would be it -- especially when it’s in the Fashion Department. That’s the moment to celebrate the glory of a dream realized. The time to bask in the glow of a closet continuously filled with endless fashion treasures. You’d think. For Lindsey Calla - known to many as Saucy Glossie - Cosmo was just her starting point. That’s not to say she takes it for granted. But when the recession hit, so did the realization that her job prospects within the company were relatively stagnant. “I remember editors leaving and never coming back,” Calla recalls. “I realized I’d be stuck as an assistant forever.” In that moment of career confusion, Calla found the perfect opportunity for a leap of faith. With her boyfriend moving to Australia at the time, she decided to go along and start a new chapter in her career. But Calla’s love for affordable fashion went Down Under with her. While at Cosmo she pitched the idea to document her outfits for the web after a successful spread in the magazine that featured her modeling some of her favorite, “every girl” trends -- at every girl prices. “I remember pitching the idea to document my outfits for their web
After returning from Australia, none of the job opportunities coming Calla’s way felt right. “So I ran with [the blog]”, she says. Living at home (outside of Philadelphia), she honed her craft. “After a few months of posting, I started to get a good response.” During those months, Calla did what she thought blogging was. “I was just writing about things...but then I started to take outfit photos and I started to see comments happening.”
What’s a Saucy Glossie? “It’s an Aussie thing. Magazines are ‘glossies.’ And there wasn’t much that rhymed with glossie! So when Saucy Glossie popped in, it had no meaning but it sounded easy to say. I like the idea of glossy because everything I was doing was more glam and glossy and dressing polished.”
Lindsey’s Trends to Watch for this Spring • sheer paneling • pastels • textured whites It’s not hard to imagine why. How many of you scroll your Instagram feed and ‘like’ -- but simultaneously lust after -- all of the #ootd posts on your feed? Or put on your outfit in the morning, think you look pretty good, then snap a selfie and add a filter before posting it and walking out the door? Guilty. (continued on next page)
“[Blogging] is a very crowded space. So if you can bring a following already, it makes you more valuable. The more you can do, the better.” Fashion police! What’s your worst look? “At the beach...I just remember people being like ‘that is so dumb, why are you posting that outfit at the beach?’...I just wanted a pretty background!”
It’s fun to see how other men and women wear their clothes. The same pair of shoes, shirts, or pants on one person can look totally different on someone else. That’s one of the things that makes fashion so great! Calla capitalized on that -- and she capitalized on it early, before many had jumped on the blogger bandwagon. “A lot of people created things during the recession,” Calla told me. I had never thought about selfies and outfit of the day posts as innovation, but in that moment I realized just how wrong I was. Some of Saucy Glossie’s success was a case of right place, right time. But let’s give some credit where credit is most definitely due: Saucy Glossie found a relatively empty niche, dressed it up as her own, and is now one of the loudest -- and best dressed -- voices in the blogosphere. Now she uses her blog as a launching pad for other aspects of her career. “I wanted [Saucy Glossie] to be a launching platform for TV hosting, so I used my blog...for that. It helped me define my voice in a huge blogging world and I was able to translate was I was doing [on the blog] into a traditional medium: TV.” And a versatile skill set is something Calla says others should strive for. “[Blogging] is a very crowded space. So if you can bring a following already, it makes you more valuable. The more you can do, the better.” But for Calla, Saucy Glossie “was always part of a bigger picture.” That picture is definitely coming together nicely. Calla was a TJ Maxx Maxxinista, has participated in makeover segments on TBS, and is featured as a host and fashion expert during the awards season on Yahoo!’s digital platforms. The big takeaway? Once you get to the Fashion Department at Cosmo, don’t stop dreaming. Call proof that it’s definitely possible to rise higher.
“When life gives you lemons… I say you open your own lemon stand and triple your profits.”
Springtime Romance
Effortless yet edgy, achieve this unforgettable cat eye with a touch of teal in five easy steps:
*Prime Lids with Urban Decay primer (http://www.sephora.com/eyeshadow-primer-potion-tube-original-P284716 Primer will help keep your shadow looking fresh all day. *Using blending eye shadow brushCelebrate apply the taupe Springa is the season for romance. the matte shade by Urban Decay in the color “Laced” into your cr *Darken the crease with a darker brown color such beauty of the season with Sweet Lemon. From as Urban Decay’s shadow in the shade “Desperation” to create a ent effect from thetocrease romantic violets poutyupward. lips and coral lipstick to *Add liquid liner from the inner extend luscious skin and hair, spring iscorner about and being out it past the lash line upward towards the brow and connect to th tom This in will give youfresh the cat eye effect. To create an edgy eye use Urban Decay’s 24/7 Waterproof Liquid withlash theline. old and with new looks. liner ( http://www.sephora.com/24-7-waterproof-liquid-eyeliner-P292015?skuId=1348697 ) in the color “Perversion”. To a softer look try the brown color called “Demolition”. *Use the Urban Decay 24/7Glide-On Eye Pencil in the color “Junkie” ( http://www.sephora.com/24-7-glide-on-eyecil-P133707?skuId=1499078 )to add a bright touch of teal to the upper inner corner of the eyes. (Primer1.jpg) (TealPencil2.jpg) Find your favorite touch of teal! MAKE UP FOREVER – Aqua Eyes in Blue With Green Highlights (MUFETeal3.jpg) SEPHORA COLLECTION – Teal (SephoraTeal4.jpg) NARS – Eye Liner Pencil in Kaliste (NarsTeal5.jpg)
Written By Shayda Nematollahi | @LoveShaydaXo Photographer Yen Ngoc Phan (Krop.com/yenngocphan) Makeup Artist Shana Allen (@Yurfayce) with Yurfayce Studio (yurfayce.com) Hair Stylist Sep Germani (@Sep_Scissorhands) with Shear Impressions by Homa and Son (Shearunoressionsalon.com)
Effortless yet edgy, achieve this unforgettable cat eye with a touch of teal: 1. Prime Lids with Urban Decay primer
Primer will help keep your shadow looking fresh all day.
2. Using a blending eye shadow brush apply the taupe matte shade by
Urban Decay in the color “Laced” into your crease.
MAKE UP FOREVER – Aqua Eyes in Blue With Green Highlights SEPHORA COLLECTION – Teal NARS – Eye Liner Pencil in Kaliste
3.Darken the crease with a darker brown color such as Urban Decay’s shadow in the shade “Desperation” to create a gradient effect from the crease upward.
4. Add liquid liner from the inner corner and extend it past the lash line
upward towards the brow and connect to the bottom lash line. This will give you the cat eye effect. To create an edgy eye use Urban Decay’s 24/7 Waterproof Liquid Eyeliner in the color “Perversion.” (To create a softer look try the brown color called “Demolition.”)
5. Use the Urban Decay 24/7Glide-On Eye Pencil in the color “Junkie”
to add a bright touch of teal to the upper inner corner of the eyes.
Touch of Teal
Shine Boost
Give your hair a healthy kick and a shine boost this spring! 1. GKhair Round Brushes are heat-resistant with easy
air flow. The ceramic iconic elements eliminate frizz, speed up dry time and straighten even the coarsest and curliest hair types. Creates perfect sleek blow dry styles or soft curls while adding volume! / $17
2. Add volume, smoothness, conditioning, strength,
4. Soften brittle and dry hair with this super
Macadamia Oil Moisturizing Mask By Organix. This product, which includes bamboo extract and sugar cane for moisturizing and softening, smells amazing too! / $8
5. The Golden Hair Brush by Sonia Kashuk helps
and polish in one treatment with LIVING PROOF Perfect Hair Day 5-in1 Styling Treatment. Parabens, sulfates, and phthalates free! This powerful formula also provides heat protection and static protection. / $26
with easy and quick styling, with its beautiful mix of natural boar and heat resistant nylon bristles that will leave your hair lustrous. Don’t overlook the gorgeous gold finish! / $16
3. Chemically treated hair? Need extra TLC and
6. You can’t go wrong with a CHI Air Ceramic
hydration? No problem! DEVACURL Heaven In Hair is the perfect intensive moisture treatment to add hydration and deep conditioning into processed or curly hair! / $25
Hair Dryer! Dry your hair quicker than ever with the comfortable to use dryer. The ionic technology helps to prevent hair damage and is ideal for all hair types. / $96
Stila High Shine Liquid Vinyl Eye Liner / $22 Maybelline Color Sensational Vivids Lipstick / $8 YSL Rouge Volupté Shine / $35 NARS Duo Eyeshadow in Violetta / $35 Stila Color Balm Lipstick in Gemma / $22
Violet Femme The word femme by definition means woman and violet is of course the lovely bluish purple color. Thing spring celebrate your femininity with stunning purples and pinks, and rock your violet femme look for everyone to admire.
Favorite Floral Femme Fragrances Flora by Gucci – Violet Leaves, Oris, Violet Petals, Suede Accord / $72 Violet Blonde by Tom Ford - Violet Leaf, Baie Rose, Musk, Cedarwood / 1.7 oz $110 Daisy Eau So Fresh by Marc Jacobs Fragrance – Natural Raspberry, Pear, Violet, Plum
Violet Femme
Try this soft and sexy side ponytail with loose curls. It’s a perfect pony for any occasion and a gorgeous way to compliment your Violet Femme look this season
Green Smoke Fall in love with sultry smoky eyes this spring. It’s time to let go of the basic smoky eye and create a more springinspired smoked out eye with soft and dark greens. SLM has picked out our favorite greens for this season.
NARS Single Eyeshadow in Night Porter / $25 Stile Eye Shadow in La Douce / $18 MAC Shadow in Humid / $15
Don’t just rock green, but try going green this spring! Let LUSH cleanse your skin. LUSH makes products from fresh organic fruit and vegetables and only the finest essential oils and safe synthetics. All products are made by hand and use only vegetarian ingredients. Mask of Magnamity is a mix of China clay and fresh peppermint, which reaches deep down to pull debris out of your pores, while giving your skin that cleansing tingly clean sensation. Herbalism does wonders for oily, blemish-prone skin. This herbal cleanser provides you with a gentle exfoliation, and contains chlorophyllin, which is extracted from alfalfa plants: rich in nourishing vitamins and minerals, essential to balancing your skin’s oil production. Aqua Marina is a creamy gentle cleanser made of mineral-rich nori seaweed to nourish your skin, with a mix of aloe vera gel and a sprinkle of sea salt to give you a super gentle exfoliation. You can use this on your face and body!
Green Smoke
TIP!: Get a gorgeous pout by adding a nude lip and some gloss to this green smoky eye. MAC’s Viva Glam II nude is a lovely nude lipstick and goes beautiful with almost every skin tone. Add this Too Faced Lip Inject gloss that contains a serum to make your lips look even plumper.
MAC Viva Glam II / $16 Too Faced Lip Inject Gloss / $28
Tip: Apply on the apples of your cheeks, blending downward and also toward your hairline to diffuse the color. Balance is everything with corals! Keep your eyes fairly neutral and play up your lashes if you want with a pair of falsies, and leave the attention on your lovely lips. Tip! Balance is everything
Retro Coral
Coral lips are going to big this spring. It’s a great way to add a pop of color to your face and it really brightens up the skin. Try using a light bronzer to warm up your skin and create a sun-kissed glow. For fairer skin tones, try using a blush to give your skin a naturally highlighted glow.
Sweet Lemon Coral Picks STILA Stay All Day Liquid Lipstick in Carina / $22 OBSESSIVE COMPULSIVE COSMETICS Lip Tar in Grandma / $18 Clinique Chubby Stick Intense Moisturizing Lip Colour Balm in Heftiest Hibiscus Revlon Super Lustrous Shine Lipstick in Lover’s Coral / $7 M.A.C Cosmetics Lipstick in Vegas Volt / $16
TIM ON TIME
Picking the brain of young entrepreneurs is one of our favorite things to do at Sweet Lemon. We couldn’t wait to sit down and chat with Tim, who has recently launched a watch band company in New York. Oh and he happens to be a GQ insider, so he knows a thing or two about men’s fashion. Mix cutting edge fashion and new business ventures and you’ve got my attention…
Tiffany Olson @tiffanytweet
Where did you grow up and where have you lived?
I was born and raised in Colorado and moved to New York two years ago.
How did Colorado influence your style?
Colorado has very dramatic weather, especially in the winter. One day it’s 5 degrees and snowing and the next day it’s 65 and sunny. You can’t simply unpack your winter parka and hope to make it through the season. You have to be extremely adaptable and get dressed with purpose every day. For that reason my style is very practical. I don’t layer a sweater and a rain coat just to layer a sweater and a rain coat. I wear them because it’s cold and raining outside. It’s important that the things I wear express my personality but at
the same time are functional and serve a purpose.
Where did you go to school and what did you study?
I went to the University of Colorado and studied Architectural engineering. Black and Gold baby go Buffs!
How did that help you with what you’re doing now?
I don’t use this degree anymore, but at the core of my education I learned how things work systematically. This has become a staple of my style and design aesthetic. It’s important that components in a system complement each other this holds true for a 100 story skyscraper and in fashion.
Who is your style icon and why?
JFK, without a doubt. He was quietly confident and always so put together. His style stood out among his peers and he always commanded the room, even before he was in office. His style was just so effortless and understated which I definitely try and emulate.
How is the fashion in your area different from everywhere else?
I live in NYC. The fashion capital of the world and the reason why NYC is different, isn’t because it has all these different style buckets (street style, office style, etc) – because all cities have this. NYC is different because the line between these different styles is fading, and fading fast. Guys at the office are now wearing camouflage ties and print shirts. Guys in the “streets” are now buttoning their shirts all the way up to their adam’s apple and wearing tailored trousers with very clean lines. It’s really cool to see how all the different styles in New York adopt trends from one another.
What’s the Men’s fashion scene like right now in your opinion?
On fire. The market for menswear is huge right now. There has been a major culture shift and it’s now publicly accepted for men to invest and care about his hygiene and appearance. I attribute this in large part to the NBA. A few years ago the NBA commissioner made it mandatory for all players to wear a suit and tie to and from every game. This was initially met with a ton of resistance from the players, but fast forward 5 years later and now the NBA locker room looks more like a NYFW runway show. You can’t flip through any major men’s fashion publication without seeing the likes of like Lebron, D. Wade, and Russ Westbrook. These guys are the most masculine dudes out there and they are embracing the way they dress/look and our society is taking a ton notes…
Wait, did we see you in GQ? Explain!
I was in back to back issues last fall and still don’t know exactly how it happened. One day I woke up and found my picture sandwiched between Tom Ford and Emily Ratajkowski - I had to pinch myself. GQ is actually what originally spurred and birthed my interest in menswear - and to now have GQ consider me one of today’s most vocal and influential tastemakers in men’s style is incredibly humbling.
Tell us about Sons of Manhattan.
Sons of Manhattan is a men’s accessory line that we launched at the beginning of the year. Our objective was to make it easy for men to tailor their watch face to every outfit, for every occasion - without breaking the bank. Our interchangeable watch bands are the first collection we created and they fit with just about every type of watch face you can imagine that has a band on it (Rolex, Timex, Daniel Wellington, etc.). All of our products are constructed using traditional tailoring and are carefully handcrafted right here in Manhattan using premium suede and designer fabrics.
How has Sons of Manhattan initially received?
We’ve received a ton of great feedback from men, but also women which came as quite a shock. We’ve received some great endorsements by major tastemakers in the industry. Everything has happened so fast and we are really looking forward to growing our business and expanding our product line.
How do I purchase one of your watchbands? Our online shop is now live at sonsofmanhattan.com.
Where did you get the idea to create this brand?
I’m a very active guy in the city. I’m in board meetings with executives; attend fundraisers, and all kinds of events. But I also enjoy my time in the gym and traveling to the beach in Long Island. I refer to myself as a “Manhattan Man” because I’m always on the go and have to have a very versatile wardrobe – and there are some many other guys out there in New York that have very similar lifestyles to
mine. I had this vision where I could tailor my watch to every outfit, for every occasion. I wanted to be able to dress it up or dress it down, I wanted a watch that had versatility. Then this idea hatched, where we took a handful of designer fabrics and stitched each to a thin suede backing. All of the sudden we had a collection of diverse interchangeable watch bands that we could wear anywhere!
What was the biggest hurdle you had to overcome when starting a new venture like this?
Production. Every brand is competing with one another and people are very tight lipped about where they have their good manufactured. This made it very difficult to get our foot in the door and find a reliable manufacturer that had the capability to make our watch bands.
Do you have any background in entrepreneurship?
I’m an entrepreneur at heart and I really enjoy identifying niches and creating solutions to fill those niches. I founded two start up businesses in Denver a few years ago and they really catapulted me to where I am now and gave me the necessary experience and business acumen to get this brand off the ground.
What is your customer like?
Our customer is often a trendsetter who likes being ahead of the curve in terms of his style. He appreciates quality and is confident taking sartorial risks. He enjoys making bold statements, but is quietly confident. He lets his style do the talking – just like JFK.
What’s your best advice to young entrepreneurs like yourself?
Network, network, network! Once you network call in every favor you need to get your business off the ground. Never ever forget those people that helped you get your start and be forever loyal to them. Engage with your customers and listen. Starting out, you should be more concerned about connection, not collection.
“Our objective was to make it easy for men to tailor their watch face to every outfit, for every occasion without breaking the bank.�
Don’t worry about who isn’t following you, worry about who IS following you. Take care of those people, be genuine and you won’t go wrong. Everything else will follow suit.
Favorite Food? Dine in or go out?
That’s a tough question, but I’m going to have to say Sushi. I love to cook, but I also like to chase the scene and I enjoy the downtown hotspots. I’m dining out.
Favorite sport/team?
The Denver Broncos... And on that note, I think we are done. Still a sore subject.
Okay, but one more question, when life gives you lemons…
Plant the seeds, harvest your fruit and start a lemon business.
“Don’t worry about who isn’t following you, worry about who IS following you. Take care of those people, be genuine and you won’t go wrong.”
www.sonsofmanhattan.com
On Marriage Equality, America Goes For Gold
“I can’t change / even if I tried” and showed the audience and television viewers that being gay was not only okay, it was something to be celebrated. Thirty-three couples exchanged vows that night, by the power vested in Queen Latifah no less, sending a message that music industry greats support the civil rights issue of the 21st century.
Hollywood has been faster to embrace the social climate. In early February, Academy Award and Golden Globe nominated Ellen Page announced she was gay at a Human Rights Campaign event -all the while receiving marginal media coverage. Why? Because the industry has been ahead of Popular culture cannot always be relied on to blaze the trail of progress, but when it does, credit the curve. And has been for some time. The New must be given where it is due. Americans love their York Times wrote in 2010: “The love that dare not speak its name has been speaking up an music, their Hollywood, and their professional awful lot lately. So much, in fact, that people are athletes. Often these institutions of American life ignore their social responsibility--think Hollywood starting not to notice when it happens.” That was and gun violence, or Major League Baseball and almost four years ago. Now to say that so many celebrities coming out has made it unnoticable performance-enhancing drugs. Yet, on marriage is an overreach, but it can be said that this has equality, these institutions have embraced the become a somewhat normalized practice. movement. Yes, some have been slower than According to The Times in that same article others, but the trajectory is clear. Americans “greeted the news [of celebrities coming out] largely with a shrug.” And now? Just The first few months of 2014 have seen this February a Public Religion Research Institute remarkable milestones for gay rights in the study found that 53 percent of Americans support United States. While courts across the country have been nullifying marriage bans for same-sex gay marriage. That’s up from 32 percent in 2003 couples (see: Texas - yes, Texas), celebrities have when Massachusetts became the first state to legalize the practice. been using their social stature to indicate where America is finally going. The conversation surrounding marriage equality has evolved due to the work of tireless activists. Ryan Lewis and Macklemore used their They deserve the lion share of the credit. commercial success to earn a stage at the Hollywood, though, deserves credit as well—from Grammy’s to perform their single, “Same Love.” both industry icons to individual productions It would have been easy for the musical tandem sending a strong message in support of equality. to perform the song, take in some applause, and watch as the iTunes purchases rolled in. In the realm of professional sports, an openly gay Rather, they took the song’s enduring message By Brandon Faske
athlete has signed a contract in one of the “top 4” professional sports organizations. Jason Collins, who publicly came out as gay late last year, has been suiting up for the Brooklyn Nets marking a historic moment both for the National Basketball Association and the equal rights movement. In a few weeks, Michael Sam, the SEC Defensive Player of the Year from the University of Missouri, will take a phone from an NFL general manager and begin a professional career. The major professional sports leagues in the United States—the NFL, NBA, MLB, and NHL— have lagged behind the other headline-making, entertainment industries on social issues--largely because of their aversion to any polemic debate. This is exactly why the Jason Collins signing by the Nets is important; and why the courage of Michael Sam, the openly gay NFL prospect, cannot be overstated: they pave the way for those who follow them; they break the ceiling.
(Source: CBS New York)
Youth sports are possibly the most widely enjoyed activity by young American children. These same children watch their favorite athletes on ESPN, marvel at their skills on Sportscenter, and try to emulate their moves on the field. Jason Collins and Michael Sam demonstrate that being a professional athlete and living an open lifestyle are no longer mutually exclusive.
In the realm of professional sports, an openly gay athlete has signed a contract in one of the “top 4” professional sports organizations. As a counterpoint to progress, there is of course the International Olympic Committee (IOC). While the Winter Olympics should have never been awarded to Russia in the first place, the IOC (that same organization who refused to acknowledge the 30th anniversary of the deadly attack on Israeli athletes in Munich at the London Games) allowed Russian President Vladimir Putin to go on a charm offensive with the games despite several bigoted Russian laws against the LGBT community and concerns about safety in Sochi. The same IOC denied the request of 40 Ukrainian athletes to compete with black armbands in solidarity with their violence-ridden nation, a nation which is still topping news hours across the nation as sanctions are levied against Russian officials and pieces of Ukraine “vote” to rejoin Russia. After all, the Olympics are where we are all supposed to come together despite our differences, right? Sure, this is the Olympic ideal but two weeks of the Olympics gave Russia two weeks of media coverage focused on the pageantry of sports rather than the reality of its policies. It’s hard to contextualize the state of Russian state-support for Bashar al-Assad in Syria while watching cross-country skiers trek across an awe-inspiring terrain in the Caucasus Mountains.
the United States, did not go easy on its coverage of Putin’s Russia. In particular NBC Sports’ Bob Costas presented just a “partial list”
(Source: ABC News)
NBCUniversal, who broadcast the Olympics in the United States, did not go easy on its coverage of Putin’s Russia. In particular NBC Sports’ Bob Costas presented just a “partial list” of Russia’s current transgressions: There was a thin-line to toe between accurately covering the large picture of human rights, while also not losing sight of the events at hand. Ostensibly, Russia put on an Olympic games that, despite some of Sochi’s early embarrassments, were modern and successful. IOC President Thomas Bach closed the games by declaring“tonight, we can say Russia delivered all what it had promised.” Zero mention of Syria. Zero mention of intimidation through imprisonment. Zero mention on the anti-gay laws so widely spoken about on cable news in the lead up to the games. It would have been courageous to make those statements. But there is only so much you can expect from certain organizations. Progress is never without its obstacles. Certainly, it is ironic the Jason Collins signing happened as the Sochi Winter Olympic games came to a close. Sometimes progress is ironic in that way. Seventeen states, plus D.C., now allow for samesex couples to marry, with more dominoes falling in the direction of equality. Even in previously conservative strongholds like Texas the barriers of intolerance are being chipped away at with rulings from federal judges deeming same-sex marriage bans unconstitutional. That change came from somewhere; that change came from lots of places. Individuals - famous and not-so famous, organizations, industries, politicians, activists. But make no mistake: popular culture has taken it upon itself to advocate for social change. Now let’s keep our eye on the prize. Let’s go for gold.
Top 3 Rules to Follow When Breaking the Rules A TYPE-A GUIDE TO BREAKING THE RULES
Despite years of working in the financial services industry and having parents who raised me to know better, I am not immune to money mishaps. In the past year, a string of bad luck (and some bad decisions) tore through my savings cushion. Making matters worse, in December, an unexpected and very expensive car repair brought me to tears. It seemed for any extra money I brought in, there was always a random bill ready to claim it. BUT every financial hit I took in recent months strengthened my resolve to realize a lifelong dream: moving to New York City. Sounds crazy, right? Why on earth would I ignore common financial sense and move to one of the most expensive cities in the world when I was in financial crisis? Simply put: I knew there were more opportunities in New York than in Philadelphia and personal crisis made me hungry enough to hustle. There are times when we need to go against conventional wisdom and be willing to break the rules in order to succeed. However, rule breaking comes with it’s own set of rules. I learned them the hard way so now you don’t have to.
Carleton English @careltonenglish photo c/o tumblr.com
Make a Plan
Many people arrive in NYC with big dreams. For those who know what they want and are willing to work, the city will do a lot for you. Those without a plan flounder. My plan is to continue my entrepreneurial work in finance. One downside of entrepreneurship is uncertain cash flow, so I needed to find work that permitted side projects. My plan involved figuring out the the absolute minimum salary I needed to cover housing, health, food, and a cushion for networking and building my business. This number was surprisingly lower than my current standard of living but it also made me think harder about how I budgeted my time. Action: Know what you want and exactly what you need to do and to have get there.
Know Your Assets
We’ve already determined that my current financial assets are minimal, so I had to get creative. Suddenly I viewed everything in my apartment with a price sticker on it. Seldom worn dresses went to consignment shops. Random furniture and electronics went on Craigslist. And finally, my own apartment, which often sat empty due to frequent NYC trips was listed on AirBnB. This cash helped me get out of my hole but I also needed to be smart about my other assets: my career skills. Finding a long term job may be difficult but in the short term I had a diverse portfolio of websites I’D built and I had a list of friends who wanted help getting started with their own sites. Action: Discover and grow your assets. In a pinch, what can you do to earn extra money and what money-making skills can you develop to make you a stronger candidate?
Learn to Hustle
To be successful, a plan has to be set into action. Some associate hustle with insincere networking but I view it as being strategic. I previously mentioned budgeting my time. Moving with uncertain financial prospects may make you want to say ‘yes’ to every opportunity but to be successful you have to quickly tell the difference between real opportunities and glad-handing. Sit through one too many lunches that doesn’t end in a business deal when you can’t afford subway fare home and you’ll know what I mean. Action: Own your time and your inner circle.
Breaking the rules is hard. We like to imagine the whimsical character throwing away the rule book with wild abandon and stumbling into a role that pushes them immediately to their dream job. (Who wouldn’t want to find their own Miranda Priestly?) But in reality, successful rule breakers rewrite their own book. Grab your pencils and start writing.
An empowering thread Lion's Thread is on a simple, but very sassy mission
Bow ties. When former Berry College
classmates Brin Enterkin and Sydney Hulebak crossed paths, they quickly recognized their joint talents could create something much bigger than them. Together, they created Lion’s Thread in fall 2012, the bow tie company for the fashion and socially-conscious. The company splits its time between the U.S. and Uganda. In Uganda, Brin, its CEO, has recruited local women to create beautifully bold bow ties from raw materials found from their home country.
Alex Lemley @alexlemley
The beauty in this business plan is to sell these goods in America at market value and utilizing that profit to not only pay the women of Lion’s Thread, but to help them create a dream. A majority of people who donate to nonprofits are women. Women are more prone to spend money on a charity that is near to their hearts and most in the fundraising game market to donors of the female persuasion. Many nonprofits cater to them with jewelry, scarves, handbags and cosmetics for a cause. Therein lied the problem, or more so, the epiphany for Brin and Sydney, the creative director, when brainstorming how to make a greater impact in Uganda, the country they both fell in love with in undergrad while studying in different regions of the African continent.
“They’re bow ties with a social punch. You’re bold enough to wear it, but also have the social punch for our mission in Uganda."
Collectively they spent their formative entrepreneur years teaching women and aiding children in the violence- and illness-riddled countries. Their hearts told them they had to make a difference. The two women wanted to tap into the men’s market to get that edge, they chose to create and market bold bow ties. “They’re bow ties with a social punch. You’re bold enough to wear it, but also have the social punch for our mission in Uganda. We’re hiring women in rural Uganda to hand design the bold and unique designs with African textiles and selling them in the US to American men,” Sydney said. The project started with in-depth research and not only knowing the nonprofit sector, but the fashion world. Then, Brin moved to Uganda to employ Sarah Nabirye - Lion’s Thread’s first seamstress. “She had no standard of bow ties and she replicated an example impeccably… she’s already moved into a leadership role and loving it. She takes her sewing machine, with an old school foot pedal and all, on the back of her bicycle to rural villages and taught the women under a mango tree,” Sydney said. Then came Florence. Under Sarah’s tutelage, Florence, like many of the women Lion’s Thread aims to support, had little or no source of income and now uses the money from their creations to buy a house to live in with her children. But Florence was just the tip of the iceberg. Brin and Sarah are now training three other women and hope to see that number rise. This month, they’ll launch a Kickstarter and
online store at www.lionsthread.com. A few pop-up shows are also in the works for the greater Atlanta area. Looking good and doing good, that’s the Lion’s Thread’s mission as they move into an exciting 2014. “We’re about making a quality product. We are a fashion company. In nonprofits quality is often compromised, but not with Lion’s Thread. It’s about the cause but it’s also about creating a product…” Sydney said. And with something this good looking, it’s hard not to want to. The passion and expertise that went into making it is just an added bonus. “Don’t feel sorry for these women and children, empower them,” Sydney said in closing. “Promote this totally different message; don’t give money to help… give money to support them...to have them buy a house.”
Why Beyonce’s latest album has everyone talking sex, gender roles, and the f-word
By Clare Austen-Smith @clareausten Photos c/o www.billboard.com
Beyonce has made feminism mainstream again -- or, if not mainstream she’s definitely got people talking about it. The immediate flood of articles on Beyonce’s new album demonstrates the hunger to see feminist figures in the spotlight. Eventually turning into a sardonic hashtag #beyoncethinkpieces (which, of course, I am guilty of contributing to), the reaction to her album was swift and mostly celebratory. I was among those celebrating. And why not? It was exciting to hear Beyonce go from her 2011 Harper’s Bazaar UK stance of feminism (”I don’t really feel that it’s necessary to define it. It’s just something that’s kind of natural for me, and I feel like… you know… it’s, like, what I live for.”) to a decidedly less vague stance. In her HBO documentary Beyonce stated: “You know, equality is a myth, and for some reason, everyone accepts the fact that women don’t make as much money as men do. I don’t understand that. Why do we have to take a backseat?” As well as saying in a GQ interview earlier this year “…let’s face it, money gives men the power to run the show. It gives men the power to define value. They define what’s sexy. And
men define what’s feminine. It’s ridiculous.” Beyoncé eliminated any doubts – and hopefully, silenced any haters – about her feminist leaning with her surprise album. She may have toed the line in the past, but this album very clearly defined and defended her feminist sensibilities. And while the entire album is worth listening to (on repeat), I took it upon myself to highlight the top 3 songs (as I saw it) that demonstrate Beyoncé’s avid feminist stance. In the words of Anderson Cooper “It’s Beyoncé’s world, and we are just living in it.” 1. Blow Beyoncé has never avoided expressing sexuality in any of her albums, but this one seems to be turning the heat up a little more than I’m used to. Don’t take this as complaining – it’s definitely not. “Blow” is a song that is literally, well, all about getting good head. Jay Z must be really killing it to have inspired a song like this. “I know you never waste a drip / I know you never waste a drip” while licking her lips and getting down in a 70s style roller rink. Talking about receiving oral sex so openly is a pretty bold move for pop’s reigning queen, especially given today’s pop culture climate. Evan Rachel Wood recently went off on Twitter about the cutting out of a scene in which her character receives oral sex to avoid an NC17 rating – and Ryan Gosling had the same complaint in regards to his movie Blue Valentine. Which of course begs the obvious question: you can show people being decapitated a strangled on camera, but god forbid you show a woman receiving oral sex. We hear so many songs on the radio that glorify male sexual pleasure – songs like “Slob on my
Knob” by Three Six Mafia, “Lollipop” by Lil Wayne. But songs that do the reverse are markedly less common. Additionally, when we do hear women singing about sexual pleasure on the radio, it is usually centered around how good a man is making her feel through intercourse. Celebrating female pleasure that is not dependent on a penis is still pretty rare, which makes “Blow” all the more radical. To quote Tumblr user melusine-enraged: “If Beyoncé roller skating in a Wonder Woman shirt while singing about cunnilingus ISN’T what feminism is supposed to be about, I have no idea what it IS supposed to be about.” (continued on next page)
“It’s Beyoncé’s world, and we are just living in it.”
2. Pretty Hurts This song is a carte blanche take down of the constant pressure to be physically perfect all the time. The accompanying music video stars Beyonce as a pageant contestant, turning the pageant into a literal analogy for the societal pressure that women face to be pretty in American society. She name checks the conflicting messages women receive from the media: “Blonder hair, flat chest, TV says, ‘Bigger is better.’ South beach, sugar free, Vogue says, ‘Thinner is better.’” Then she ties them back to the struggle of self worth: “When you’re alone all by yourself / And you’re lying in your bed / Reflection stares right into you / Are you happy with yourself?” Most men and women can identify with this struggle. I remember being in third grade and looking the mirror, thinking about how fat I was already and what I could do about it. When Bey comes home from the pageant and smashes the trophies she’s won in the past, they become a metaphor for the standards of beauty and behavior for women. When she’s smashing the trophies, she’s smashing the false standards of beauty in our culture. It may strike some as a simplistic metaphor. But most pop stars sing saccharine self love songs that fail to do much more than preach cliches. Creating a space for this sort of cultural criticism in pop music – and on a chart topping album – is in itself groundbreaking. She ends the song with the question “Are you happy with yourself?” and answers with a resounding “yes.”
3. ***Flawless (Feat. Chimamanda Ngozi Adiche I think I might have screamed when I listened to this song for the first time. You may recognize this as a reworked version of the previously released “Bow Down/I Been On” from earlier this year. And if you remember, Beyonce took a lot of heat for using the phrase “Bow Down” as well as the word “bitches” in this song. In my opinion, that was Beyoncé asserting her musical greatness at the top of the game and there was nothing offensive about it – and nothing we haven’t seen male artists do before. In Beyonce’s words: “the reason I put out ‘Bow Down’ is because I woke up, went into the studio, I had a chant in my head, it was aggressive, it was angry, it wasn’t the Beyoncé that wakes up every morning. It was the Beyoncé that was angry. It was the Beyoncé that felt the need to defend herself!” As for using the word “bitch” in her song, I am a firm believer that a woman using the word “bitch” imbues it with a power and agency that is absent when used by a man to denigrate women. Context matters, as always. But the most “flawless” part of this song is the sample of Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s Ted Talk, which essentially becomes the song’s second verse: “We teach girls to shrink themselves, to make themselves smaller.” We say to girls, ‘You can have ambition, but not too much. You should aim to be successful, but not too successful. Otherwise you will threaten the man.’ Because I am female, I am expected to aspire to marriage. I am expected to make my life choices always keeping in mind that marriage is the most important. Now marriage can be a source of
joy and love and mutual support. But why do we teach to aspire to marriage and we don’t teach boys the same? We raise girls to see each other as competitors – not for jobs or for accomplishments, which I think can be a good thing, but for the attention of men. We teach girls that they cannot be sexual beings in the way that boys are. Feminist: the person who believes in the social, political and economic equality of the sexes.” The message of “***Flawless” couldn’t be more explicitly feminist. She uses Adichie’s speech to cement her feminist beliefs. In opposition some of the criticism Beyoncé’s received for contradicting herself – critics have attempted to juxtapose “Pretty Hurts” with “Flawless” – I see this song as a manifesto of empowerment. When Beyoncé sings “I woke up like this – flawless” she doesn’t just mean it on the mornings when she looks well rested and Blue Ivy slept through the night. She means it on the mornings when she has bags under her eyes, crusty mascara from the night before, and bedhead. And that makes it accessible for the rest of us as well. Not that the world should always agree with me in all things Beyonce (it should), but responses to Beyonce’s album was overwhelmingly positive. Publications from Variety to Pitchfork came out with rave reviews. And of course, the feminist internet contributed as well. The well known black feminist collective Crunk Feminist Collective came out with a piece entitled “Five Reasons I’m Here for Beyonce, The Feminist” pointing out to critics that “academic feminism ain’t the only kid on the block” and in regards to the fracas surrounding the choice to use the phrase “bow down bitches,” they remind us that “marginalized groups have the right to self-define.”
The message of “***Flawless” couldn’t be more explicitly feminist.
But, as with all things on the internet, not all responses to the album were...eloquent. In fact, many were pretty poorly thought out. Slate’s Amanda Hess failed to understand the message behind both Pretty Hurts and ***Flawless, asserting that the songs speak to conflicting ideals. “Today’s beauty queens don’t just project their images by restricting access to the candid paparazzi shots that fuel ‘worst beach bodies’ slideshows,” she wrote. “They also do it by rejecting beauty ideals vocally even as they reinforce them visually.” Expressing affirmation for one’s looks and appearance in one song while discussing the complicated social pressures to look good in our society apparently negate each other. Many critics seek to confine Beyonce to one, singular identity - and in this they will fail. In continuing to criticize Beyonce’s media control, Hess writes that “In Beyoncé’s ‘documentary,’ she is writer, director, and star.” What a compliment! At least if you ask me. A woman taking absolute control of her image is revolutionary and assertive. But to many Beyonce honing the public perception of herself is viewed as narcissistic, while other pop stars don’t take that responsibility upon themselves. What Hess seems to miss here, is that Beyonce and women like her have the gall to take control of the image they present to the world rather than filter it through someone else’s lens - and that is what seems to be her problem. Not necessarily the projection of the image; but who is controlling it. Another major point of criticism that has met Beyonce’s new album is regards to Jay Z’s lyrics on
“Drunk in Love.” He raps, “Baby know I don’t play…I’m Ike Turner…now eat the cake Anna Mae.” Mia McKenzie of Black Girl Dangerous neatly sums up the reference: “In case you’re not up on your wife-beater trivia, that second line is a reference to an infamous incident in the verbally, physically, psychologically and sexually abusive marriage of Ike and Tina Turner wherein Ike forced Tina (Anna Mae) to eat cake by smashing it in her face.” So what place do lyrics like this have on a song celebrating Beyonce & Jay Z’s marriage? Sex is taboo, and women and men engage in fantasies and fetishes that they would be horrified of if they played out in reality. Which is why those fantasies are relegated to the closed doors of the bedroom. It’s obvious - not just easy - to interpret Jay Z’s reference to the Ike & Tina Turner scene as being abusive. In a decidedly raunchy song on an at-times filthy album, I think I have to assume that Beyonce is smarter than that. Perhaps that’s my rabid Beyonce bias, but maybe King Bey and Jay Z like to role play as Ike and Tina Turner after Blue Ivy goes to sleep and they both get a kick of reenacting an unhealthy, abusive, albeit glamorized, relationship. And that could read as the most ridiculous sentence someone has ever written about Beyonce. But if we’re going to excoriate every potential pitfall and negative aspect of Beyonce’s performance feminism, why don’t we give the same attention the potential positives that exist? That maybe, just maybe, in the raunchy theme of the rest of “Drunk in Love” Jay is referencing a sexual, fantastical relationship rather than the very true and very sad story of Ike and Tina. And to be honest, what Beyonce and her husband Jay Z have, at least from a public perspective, is a loving relationship. One which very clearly contradicts and negates the criticism Beyonce received for allowing the
Anna-Mae lyric to be included on the track. And once again, why is the criticism being leveled at Beyonce? Where are the #jayzthinkpieces about why he included the reference to Ike & Tina Turner? People say that pop stars are reflections of our culture at large, and in turn, they shape their own public stage. Does Beyonce singing along to the “Anna Mae” lyrics during their Grammy performance read as support of what Real Colored Girls referenced as “bottom bitch feminism,” or is there still something radical to be found in supporting your husband? I think the answer is yes. By singing along with the controversial lyrics was Beyonce’s way of pushing back against the critics. White feminism, the capital “F” feminism for years and years, did not include space for the intersecting identities of race and gender. Ignoring the different experiences of women of color in our society only furthers an uneven playing field. Different acts for different women towards different goals can still be considered feminist. For decades, slavery in our country meant that Black women were unable to control their own bodies in ways that White women were able to; Beyonce dictating her image and controlling her own sexuality is radical when acknowledging this context. Hadley Freeman of The Guardian is a prime example of the “white feminist” that fails to acknowledge the intricacies of race, simultaneously critiquing Beyonce for posing in her underwear in GQ while praising Lena Dunham for appearing naked on her show. One is not better or worse than the other; the answer is that there is nothing wrong with either. People say that pop stars are reflections of our culture at large, and in turn, they shape their own public stage. We all look for representations of
ourselves, our values, our dreams in people whose identities become iconic. We want to see ourselves on the big screen, that magazine spread, singing on that hit track. As we nitpick Beyonces every move, looking for affirmation of feminist or non-feminist behavior, this is what we are really looking for: a validation that she has not failed us, or in some cases, that she has. To me, the debate on whether Beyonce is a feminist or not has long been answered. Is she the best feminist version of herself? Maybe not. But that doesn’t necessarily matter. The conversation no longer serves us a feminist community. While we look for reflections of our values in the more “perfect� version of ourselves on the screen and the radio, we cannot forget that they are human, too.
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