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Gwyneth Paltrow Miraculously Makes A Ruffled Blue Suit Look Good

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You know what they say, Gwyneth Paltrow: If you can’t prove your site’s widely refuted health claims, just throw on a power suit and keep moving. 



Paltrow looked undeniably adorable out in Los Angeles Tuesday. Wearing a baby blue ruffled, short-skirted suit with large metal buttons, fishnet stockings and heeled booties, the almighty queen of Goopland made it work despite the fact that her look is a bit mismatched from top to bottom. 



We’re not sure if it’s the fit, the color, the style or the fact that she might be carrying a jade egg in her vagina that especially attracts us to this look, but something is working. 

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Miss Universe Contestant Has No Time For Body-Shamers

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Siera Bearchell is a body positivity hero.


The Canadian Miss Universe contestant has been under fire on social media recently since she’s gained some weight between her pageant debut and now.  



Bearchell is slated to compete in the Miss Universe pageant this upcoming Sunday as Miss Canada. She took to Instagram to address those who have been critical on her size: 





“I was recently asked, ‘What happened to you? Why have you gained weight? You are losing points.’ This was a reference to my body of course,” her caption reads.


“While I am first to say I am not as lean as I was when I was 16, 20, or even last year, but I am more confident, capable, wise, humble and passionate than ever before. As soon as I started to love who I was rather than always trying to fit what I thought society wanted me to be, I gained a whole new side of life. This is the side I am trying to bring to the @missuniverse competition. The side of life that is so rare to find: self-worth and self-love.”








Bearchell goes on to talk about her complicated relationship with food ― something so many people struggle with ― in another post.


 “To be truthful, I restricted my food intake intensely at previous pageants and was miserable, self-conscious and I never felt good enough,” she writes. “No matter how little I ate and how much weight I lost, I constantly compared myself to others and felt like I could still lose more. My mental perception did not match the physical body I saw in the mirror. There were days I would eat a protein bar, workout for hours and struggle to fall asleep because I as so hungry.”





Bearchell says once she stopped fighting her body’s natural shape, she realized it’s “not naturally lean and that’s okay.”



“I am healthy. I am fit. I am confident. I am me. This is who I am right now and I’m okay with it, so you should be too.”


All the haters have just kept Bearchell going and fighting harder, leading to her post again yesterday with a note that said:


“I will not be brought down by shallow negativity. In fact, the negativity only fuels my fire to keep working on a platform that so evidently needs to be progressed.”






Hear! Hear! Good luck Siera. We’ll be rooting for you, sister. You can tune in to the Miss Universe pageant on Sunday, Jan. 29, on Fox at 7/9c.


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People Are Making Huge Sweaters To Protect Elephants From The Cold

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Remember when that awesome man knit a whole bunch of tiny sweaters for penguins recovering after an oil spill? This is sort of like that, but a lot … bigger.



Staff at the Wildlife SOS Elephant Conservation and Care Center in the northern Indian city of Mathura have been working together to handmake extra-large sweaters for the pachyderms in their care, in light of this winter’s severely cold weather.


Making one of the gigantic sweaters takes four weeks, so only three elephants have them so far, Wildlife SOS co-founder Kartick Satyanarayan told The Dodo. In the meantime, the rest are making do with gigantic blankets.



The center cares for 20 elephants, rescued from wildlife traffickers, abusive circuses and other harmful circumstances. In some cases, elephants who have suffered cruelty are more vulnerable to the cold, Satyanarayan said in a statement.


“It is important to keep our elephants protected from the bitter cold during this extreme winter, as they are weak and vulnerable having suffered so much abuse making them susceptible to ailments such as pneumonia,” he said. 



Satyanarayan added that many of the elephants also suffer from arthritis, which can be aggravated by the cold.


The weather at the center is “comparatively sunny during the daytime,” but the temperatures drop significantly at night, spokeswoman Arinita Sandilya told The Huffington Post in an email. That, in addition to the physical labor involved with caring for elephants, is why the people in the photos are wearing T-shirts.

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Queer, Non-Binary Model Kyle McCoy Opens Up About Life On 'Top Model'

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It’s hard enough to make a career out of modeling, but imagine trying to conquer the fashion world while competing against a gaggle of other girls and having every good, bad and ugly moment filmed and then beamed into millions of living rooms.


Kyle McCoy doesn’t have to imagine it ― that’s how she spent a big chunk of the last year. The 23-year-old model was one of the contestants on VH1’s reboot of “America’s Next Top Model,” which began airing earlier this year ― until she got voted off of the show on Monday night.


McCoy dropped by The Huffington Post on Tuesday to chat with Noah Michelson about her time on “Top Model,” what life for a queer, non-binary person on the show was like (turns out it was pretty good!) and what anyone who is considering trying their hand (and body and face) at modeling needs to know.


Check out the conversation above and then head here for more from McCoy. 

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Hooray! ASOS Now Carries Plus Sizes For Men

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ASOS prides itself as being one of the few retailers to get it right when it comes to fashionable women’s clothing in extended sizes. Now, they’re sharing the wealth with dudes, too. 


ASOS now offers plus and tall offerings for men, with sizes up to XXXXL and lengths up to 38 inches. The U.K.-based fashion powerhouse said it will carry an “extended size range for over twenty brands including Burton, Wrangler and Noose & Monkey.”



The market for trendy clothing above size 12 is pretty dismal for women, and the experience for men can be just as bad. Back in 2015, Target employed only one male plus-size model, Zach Miko, who told The Huffington Post it wasn’t until he started modeling for the brand that he ever “put on clothes that made me feel good about myself.” Shopping for clothing, he said, was “terrifying and embarrassing.”


Needless to say, Twitter users seemed to find this news a bit more exciting than ASOS’ other recent menswear launch.  














Bravo, ASOS. It’s about time. Check out more looks from the collection below: 


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People Are Loving This 5-Year-Old's Shoe-Tying Trick

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Meet Colton Lillard. He’s 5 years old and he know how to tie his shoes using his special shoe-tying trick.





Colton’s mom, Ashley, posted a video of Colton demonstrating how he ties his shoes on Facebook. The video has reached nearly eight million views.


“Coolest shoe tying trick ever!!!” Ashley wrote in the caption. “Posting to help anyone who is struggling like we were! Feel free to share”


Colton credits his friend River for showing him the trick, which is helping kids and parents across the social media sphere. 


The comments section is filled with messages from parents who say the video helped their children learn to tie their shoes. While many people had come across the technique in the past, others had never seen this trick.  


Thanks for sharing, Colton!


H/T Scary Mommy

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How Mary Tyler Moore Turned The World On With Her Style

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Mary Tyler Moore, trailblazing actress and comedian who starred in one of the first shows to feature a never-married, working woman as its central character, died Wednesday at the age of 80.


Having made a name for herself on both “The Dick Van Dyke Show” and later on her eponymous show “The Mary Tyler Moore Show,” the star’s status as a style icon ranked right up there with her acting skills and sparkling personality.


Her television persona ― charming, naive and stylish ― taught an entire viewing audience the art of layering and demonstrated just how to make a turtleneck look chic.  


Off screen, Moore’s personality shone through sartorially, too. Having a penchant for bold color, pattern, chokers and form-fitting gowns, she forever had a thoroughly modern flair about her. 


Here’s to throwing our hats off to Moore and her bold, brilliant style, both on screen and off. 







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What Melania Trump's Inaugural Ball Gown Designer Has To Say For Himself

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Melania Trump became first lady of the United States on Jan. 20 and, as so many who came before her, she was front and center in the spotlight over inauguration weekend. 


The issue of dressing Mrs. Trump has been a polarizing one. After earlier reports tapped Ralph Lauren and Karl Lagerfeld as dressing her, only half of that report deemed itself true. 


Hervé Pierre, former creative director at Carolina Herrera, together with Trump, designed the white, off-the-shoulder gown she wore to the three balls she and her husband attended. Now, in an interview with Harper’s Bazaar, Pierre is getting pretty defensive sharing details about both the gown and the decision to make it. 


“I’m not doing politics, I’m doing dresses,” he said, adding, “we are not suddenly brokering a big deal between China and Russia. If people don’t want to dress her, I think it’s sad, but I was honored. I don’t criticize these people ― it’s their choice, and that’s the beauty of democracy.”



“These people” include Sophie Theallet, Marc Jacobs and Tom Ford, who are among the designers who have previously spoken out about not working with the new first lady. Pierre pointed out the fact that he was inundated with activity from the instant the new first lady showed up in his gown.


“Immediately my phone went ballistic with interview requests, I had investors and bankers in Dubai calling, people opened fake Instagram accounts under my name,” he said. 


Crediting Trump’s career as a model, as well as work in a design studio with how “she knows fashion” and “construction,” Pierre said it “was a very organic conversation because we have the same vocabulary.”


Pierre joins the likes of Tommy Hilfiger, who has been quoted saying designers should be “proud” to dress her. Time will only tell who else comes forward one way or the other.  

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Ashley Graham's Cellulite Photo Is Too Sexy And Too Real

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Ashley Graham is a trailblazer, working tirelessly to shift the standards of beauty in the fashion industry and beyond. She’s also a supermodel blessed with good looks that land her in ultra glamorous magazine spreads, covers and advertisements.  


And that’s why it’s refreshing and exciting to see Graham share images that encourage everyone to love their body as it is, “thick thighs,” “cellulite” and all.




Graham posted an beach photo from the Philippines on Instagram on Wednesday. But it wasn’t the typical glamour shot we’ve grown accustomed to seeing on her page, it was a photo of just her lower body.


“I workout. I do my best to eat well. I love the skin I’m in. And I’m not ashamed of a few lumps, bumps or cellulite.. and you shouldn’t be either. #beautybeyondsize #lovetheskinyourein,” she captioned the photo.


Just a day earlier, she posted a shot in what appears to be the same swimsuit, looking equally as gorgeous.



A photo posted by A S H L E Y G R A H A M (@theashleygraham) on




Get you a hero who can do both. 

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Andrew Christian's Steamy New Book Dares To Bare... And Empower

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Andrew Christian’s new book, Sex = Power = Freedom, features the chiseled hunks and homoerotic images that are instantly associated with his eponymous clothing brand. But the Los Angeles-based designer, whose swimwear and underwear lines cater primarily to gay men, hopes his readers aren’t quick to dismiss the project as yet another collection of male-on-male erotica.


(This article contains images that might be considered not suitable for work.


Released this month following a successful Indiegogo campaign, the 200-page book features 15 sinewy models – including gay adult film stars Topher DiMaggio, Sean Zevran and Ryan Rose – photographed in various stages of undress. What little clothing the men are wearing comes from the Christian catalog; the brand’s signature “Trophy Boy” collection, designed for those requiring, ahem, extra room in the front of their swimsuits, is on prominent display.


With its S&M iconography and glimpses of male frontal nudity, Sex = Power = Freedom isn’t the type of book you’d be likely to leave on the coffee table when Mom is in town. Shot exclusively in black-and-white, it like a stylistic descendent of Madonna’s Sex, with nods to Playgirl and Bruce Weber’s famed Abercrombie & Fitch catalogs. No doubt Christian wants readers to be aroused by the photos, which find the men shackled in cages, relaxing in saunas and lounging in bed. But ultimately, he’d like the book to “empower” the queer community in the political sphere, too.



“Over the years I have been lucky enough to gain a small voice in the LGBTQ community and I have come to appreciate that my words and voice do have meaning,” he told The Huffington Post. “When I first envisioned the book, my vision of it was very simple: it was going to be a book of my half-naked models.” As the concept developed, Christian realized the book “could give [him] a platform to really express [his] views toward promoting LGBTQ empowerment.”


Though the book’s scintillating photos dominate, its text reads like a stream-of-consciousness, with plenty of bawdy, if politically charged, innuendo. “We are programmed to take almost everything at face value. Not only is that wrong, it’s boring,” one passage reads. “Touch, taste, go deep.” And another: “Beat me, berate me, my spirit will never be silenced.”


Christian’s words can be read as pointed rebuffs of President Donald Trump, whose rise to power has thrust the future of LGBTQ rights into uncertainty. The designer sought to give the book a particularly inclusive, multicultural feel with the casting of models of varying ethnic backgrounds, including Arad Winwin. An Iranian native, Winwin fled his home country, initially seeking refuge in Turkey before immigrating to Texas, where Christian eventually discovered him.



In an interview with HuffPost, the model and gay adult film actor called the experience of working of Sex = Power = Freedom “revolutionary” in that it allowed him to explore territory he would have considered taboo in his youth. “If I would have been identified as gay by the Iranian police or government, I would have been killed,” he said. “Most people are unaware of what it is like for those that have to living in countries where they are denied every type of freedom and personal choice… I want to help spread hope to other LGBTQ people who live in oppressive environments.”


As much pleasure as readers derive from Sex = Power = Freedom, Christian hopes they are also reminded “sexual orientation isn’t a protected class under federal law in the U.S.,” especially given the prospective threat to LGBTQ rights under Trump. He plans to drive that message home on an international book tour, which kicks off Feb. 11 in Philadelphia. 


“You are only politically free if you can fuck who you want openly [and] without any negative consequences such as being fired from your job or, even worse in some countries, being jailed, tortured or killed,” he said. “There are many people out there in the world that still believe that sexual orientation is a choice or a disease and would love to rid the world of the LGBTQ community… we need to love ourselves and love each other.”


Take a look at a selection of photos from Sex = Power = Freedom below. 


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Iskra Lawrence Shows Off Her Beautifully Unretouched Body In New Shoot

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Iskra Lawrence became famous for her unretouched photo shoots with photoshop-free pioneer Aerie. But why stop there?


On Thursday the 26-year-old model shared images from another recent photo shoot with photographer Ashley Jo. Lawrence appears in just a sweater and a pair of underwear, showing off her now famous curves and wearing minimal hair and makeup.




”Because we are all good enough, and what’s beautiful is that we’re imperfectly perfect and all one of a kind thank you @ashleyjophoto for celebrating women in your shoots and never retouching me,” she captioned the image on her Instagram account.


Lawrence has emerged as a body image icon over the past year, thanks to her honesty and candidness surrounding body image, as well as her past struggles with an eating disorder.


That commitment came a bit under fire in January, after she became the face of a New Year’s diet plan for Self Magazine that many called too restrictive and triggering. The plan has since been removed from Self’s site, and it’s great to see Lawrence back in the spotlight for her work to help all women feel beautiful in the skin they’re in.



Pretty in pink with @iskra

A photo posted by Ashley Jo (@ashleyjophoto) on



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Meet Riley, The New Gerber Baby Contest Winner

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It’s a new year, so naturally, there’s a new Gerber baby on the scene! Today, the baby food brand announced the winner of its annual Gerber Baby Photo Search contest. Introducing 7-month-old Riley from Lewis Center, Ohio.



A panel of judges selected Riley from a pool of over 110,000 entrants. As the 2017 Gerber “spokesbaby,” Riley ― and his parents, Kristen and Devin Shines ― will receive a $50,000 prize and $1,500 in Gerber Childrenswear. The baby will also appear in a 2017 Gerber ad.


“Originally, my husband laughed at me for entering the contest because there were so many submissions!” Kristen stated in the official press release. “Now, we have the opportunity to start a college fund for our beautiful baby boy.”


She added, “Riley brings such joy to our family with his infectious laugh and big, gummy smile, and we can’t wait to share that joy with the rest of the world! We are truly honored to be joining the Gerber family.”


The Gerber Baby Photo Search contest began in 2010 and pays tribute to Ann Turner Cook, whose face has appeared on the brand’s iconic logo since 1928. Turner recently celebrated her 90th birthday. 


“This year, the judges loved Riley’s expression and how well he captured their attention through a simple photograph,” Gerber’s Senior Promotions Marketing Manager, Robyn Fitter, explained the press release. “We are all thrilled to name Riley as our 2017 Spokesbaby!”


Congratulations, baby Riley!

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How Fitness Culture Enlisted Ballerinas To Profit Off Our Insecurities

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It’s 5 p.m. on a Wednesday, and the exercise studio is starting to fill up. Participants are filtering in, each of them claiming a place at the ballet barres that are bolted to floor-to-ceiling mirrors along every wall. There’s not a leotard or a pair of tights in sight; everyone’s wearing running leggings and t-shirts. Their hair is in ponytails, not stiff ballet buns. And the music that soon starts pumping through the speakers is not classical piano, but pulsating EDM and Rihanna remixes. This looks like a ballet studio, but there’ll be no ballet happening here today. Welcome to barre class.


Ballet is having a cultural moment right now. From Misty Copeland’s crossover into mainstream celebrity to the proliferation of barre classes and the use of ballerinas as models for athleisure and fashion lines, ballet is once again fashionable and aspirational.


As a fashion influence, ballet has come and gone for decades: legwarmers cycle in and out of style, and American Apparel spent years trying to convince hipsters everywhere that leotards are comfortable. Ballerinas from New York City Ballet and American Ballet Theater are currently serving as models for luxe clothing brands like Wolford, Thakoon and Negative Underwear. But ballet’s current mainstream moment goes beyond fashion, crossing over into fitness culture and serving as a revealing reminder of the kind of female athleticism ― the kind of female bodies ― that American culture deems acceptable and admirable.


This is not surprising. After all, the ballerina is the perfect emblem of our anxieties and aspirations around female athleticism: she’s fit and physically strong, but she also bears a striking resemblance to a catwalk model. The ballerina, as most of us envision her, is everything women are encouraged to aspire to be: thin, ultra-feminine, wealthy and white.


Let’s start with barre classes, the blend of pilates, yoga and basic dance moves, some of them done while holding on to the same kind of barre that ballerinas use while warming up and strengthening their bodies at the start of every ballet class.


Barre has spiked in popularity in the last several years, with Pure Barre and Barre3 franchise studios popping up all over the country. Barre was “the breakout trend for 2016,” said Ashley Hennings, the Head of PR at Class Pass, in an email to The Huffington Post. Hennings says that last year, barre accounted for 17 percent of all classes booked through the subscription program, and saw the highest yearly increase in bookings of any fitness category.


Barre bears little resemblance to what ballerinas do in a ballet studio: It’s a lot of squats, there are exercises that require free weights and inflatable balls, and the music is for getting you pumped, not for dancing.


Promotional copy for Pure Barre promises “a full-body workout concentrating on the areas women struggle with the most: hips, thighs, seat, abdominals and arms,” and reassures that “each strength section of the workout is followed by a stretching section in order to create long, lean muscles without bulk.” Barre3’s copy says the workout “mixes athleticism, grace, and the latest innovations designed to balance the body,” and promises that it will “tone and lengthen all major muscle groups,” resulting in “proportion in the body that is shapely and attractive.” It purports to improve your posture, too, presumably to help you to stand tall and regal, like an elegant ballerina. The words “long” and “length” appear a lot on the Barre3 website. “Lean, not bulky, muscles” are the goal here. “The technique works to defy gravity by tapering everything in and lifting it up!” the Pure Barre website assures, perkily.



Long, lean, lengthy, lean muscles that definitely aren’t bulky don’t come cheap.


In New York City, a class at Barre3 will run you $33 for an hour of exercise. In Dallas, a single Pure Barre class costs $22, with discounts if you buy a package of classes. Classes are tailored to their markets, so a single class in Fayetteville, Arizona, is $15. And a monthly subscription for online Barre3 workouts, complete with recipes and a chat function to consult instructors, is $29. Pure Barre recommends that beginners start by taking four classes a week “for optimal results.”


Then, there’s the gear: studios sell workout wear, weights and balls you can use at home, plus special socks purported to improve your grip and balance during a class that most people do wearing regular socks, or nothing at all, on their feet. The workout wear is pricey, too: There are $56 cotton tank tops and $98 leggings. The “grip sox” are $16.


The gear isn’t mandatory or necessary, of course, but it is part of what the Pure Barre website explicitly calls “more than just a workout ... a lifestyle.” Barre life isn’t just about the squats. It’s about the gear, about carving out time for you, about doing exercises designed for women and taught by women. This is about “creating” a particular kind of female body ― one that is strong but not bulky ― and living a particular kind of feminine life. An expensive one.


Purity or proximity to classical ballet aside, barre classes do claim to offer participants a way to sculpt a ballerina-esque body. Despite its tenuous connections to actual ballet, barre uses the promise of a ballerina body to market to customers (Pure Barre was founded by a former dancer; while the founder of Barre3 describes herself as “renowned wellness expert” and “media personality”).


Barre studios are not the only ones in the fitness industry who are doing so. With the rise of athleisure, brands have begun hiring ballet dancers to help them market apparel for the gym, yoga, running and other workout activities. New York City Ballet principal dancer Sara Mearns serves as a model for Cole Haan’s recently announced athleisure line. Fellow principal Lauren Lovette models for athleisure line MPG Sport. New York City Ballet corps de ballet member Olivia Boisson models for Puma, and the brand just released a Swan Lake-themed line of workout and athleisure gear, created in partnership with City Ballet and modeled by their dancers. American Ballet Theatre soloist Calvin Royal III models for GapFit, along with a racially diverse set of ballerinas. And American Ballet Theatre principal Misty Copeland has a high-profile endorsement deal with Under Armor.




There are many forms of exercise that require, or seem to require, the kind of athleisure wear that has been embraced by retailers and celebrity merchandisers at a staggering rate in the last few years. And there are many forms of exercise that will give you, or promise to give you, the kind of long, lean muscles advertised by barre studios charging $30 per class. Plenty of workouts will leave you looking athletic, muscular, toned ― all those words that reveal the truth behind the “strong is the new skinny” movement, which is that, in addition to being strong, you should still, wherever possible, please be skinny. Yet it’s ballerinas who are increasingly modeling the athleisure wear, and it’s barre classes that are spiking in popularity.


The choice of the ballerina’s body as a way to market exercise gear ― and of ballet as a marketing tool for exercise classes (excuse me, “lifestyles”) ― is not coincidental.




The rise of athleisure highlights the extent to which a body that is regularly exercised has become a status symbol. Athleisure wear, which gives one the appearance of always heading to or from a gym, and reveals your size and shape and musculature in a way that regular street clothes do not, is one means by which to flaunt that status symbol. At a time when, for women, wealth and low weight are correlated, and where poverty and obesity often go hand-in-hand, athleisure wear, and the body you’re clearly meant to have or aspire to when you’re wearing it, is not just about having the right kind of female body ― it’s also about having the right kind of bank account with which to dress it.


It makes sense, then, that ballerinas would be recruited to market athleisure wear and the barre classes for which you supposedly need it: Ballet is, in the public imagination, an activity for the elite. It’s not only the ballerina body that’s aspirational; so, too, is the economic status that the art form of ballet itself suggests.


In the U.S., ballet – watching it and doing it – has long been viewed as an elite activity. In her book Nutcracker Nation, dance historian Jennifer Fisher writes that there is a “rarefied elegance” associated with the art form, which has an “aristocratic subcode” and a “tony profile.” Ballet has a “perceived exclusive quality ... conferring on its participants the gloss of something ‘high class.’” She describes a mid-1990s documentary in which a fundraiser for London’s Royal Opera House called elitism “one of [her] biggest selling points.”







“We like it because it’s elitist, that’s why people come here,” the fundraiser says. “Part of what makes this place special is that the audience is special.”


This attitude is implied in the U.S.’s grand ballet spaces, like Lincoln Center and the Kennedy Center, and Fisher notes that it applies to both watching ballet and to learning it: in her ethnographic research, people repeatedly referred to ballet “as a ‘classy’ thing to do.”


This perception is rooted in fact: Ballet tickets and ballet training are expensive. Even the cheapest tickets to a premiere company like New York City Ballet can cost close to $50. Ballet classes and gear are costly, too, especially as children grow quickly out of leotards, tights and shoes. Pointe shoes start at about $50. This is to say nothing of the cost of performance costumes, competition fees and, for very advanced students, room-and-board at full-time residential ballet schools.


All in all, ballet is not simply perceived as a feminine pursuit, but as one for wealthy women and girls. No wonder, then, that ballerinas – so strong and lean, so athletic in their pricey leggings and racer-back tank tops, so fancy – would be used to market athleisure and fitness classes. They’re a way to sell apparel and exercise by advertising aspirational upper-class feminine beauty.



And that upper-class feminine beauty is white.


The archetypal ballet dancer, in the public imagination, is not only a woman ― she’s a white woman. That’s largely because of the whiteness of the ballerinas who, historically, have risen to the top of the ballet world and become known beyond it. True, there are notable exceptions, reaching back to the beginning of American ballet: Maria Tallchief, widely considered the U.S.’s first ballet star, was Native American. Still, those exceptions are just that: deviations from the norm. The norm in ballet, particularly in the highest ranks and the most prestigious companies, is white.


The most obvious contemporary exception to that norm is, of course, Misty Copeland, the first black woman to become a principal dancer at the American Ballet Theatre. There are other visible exceptions – New York City Ballet’s Boisson and American Ballet Theatre’s Courtney Lavine (who is the face and body of an Avon perfume) – but Copeland is by far the nation’s best-known ballerina, of any race. In addition to her documentary, her several books and her leotard line, which are marketed at dancers, she has her more mainstream endorsement deal with Under Armor and another with Seiko. She’ll appear in Disney’s live-action Nutcracker movie, and she has her own Barbie. She has emerged as a ballet star, a civil rights figure and a celebrity of sorts. Still, her celebrity and her visibility rest not just on her talent, but also on her status as an outlier in the world of ballet. She is a principal because she is a terrifically talented, hardworking and beautiful dancer; she is famous because she is the only black woman in a world of white ballerinas. 




Exceptions aside, ballet remains, in reality and in the public imagination, overwhelmingly white. And GapFit notwithstanding, the ballerina body that is deployed to market athleisure gear is usually a white one, and the aspirational lifestyle that is marketed via ballet-adjacent barre classes is implicitly for white women. While the websites for Pure Barre and Barre3 splash sleek professional photos of ethnically diverse classes, the roster of barre enthusiasts who say the regimen has changed their lives for the better is almost entirely white. Barre classes may be a new and growing trend, and ballerina-fronted athleisure may be booming like never before, but scratch the surface of ballet’s new visibility, and there’s very little that’s novel about it.


For those who love ballet and prefer it to be present in mainstream culture, rather than cosseted away in what Fisher calls its usual “swank milieu,” it’s tempting to be cheered by its current popularity and prominence. Now, for the first time in perhaps a generation, ballerinas are visible and accessible to mainstream audiences, held out as role models and as actual models.


But it’s worth looking closer at how the idea of ballet, and the bodies of ballerinas, are being used to sell women on an acceptable vision of feminine athleticism ― one that’s muscular but not bulky, strong and skinny ― and on a version of femininity that promises a body, and a lifestyle, marked by wealth and by whiteness. The goal of all that squatting and pulsing remains unchanged, the costume of athleisure leggings and fitted hoodies is for the same desired performance: be thin, be rich, be white. Be the right kind of woman.


As barre enrollments around the country swell and athleisure brands proliferate, you have to ask: Isn’t this just the same old dance we’ve always done?

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Natalie Portman Channels Demi Moore's Famous Pregnancy Photo For The New Vanity Fair

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Vanity Fair released the cover of its Hollywood Issue on Thursday, and at least one of the images inside the mag will look pretty familiar.


Emma Stone, Lupita Nyong’o, Amy Adams, Natalie Portman, Ruth Negga, Dakota Fanning, Elle Fanning, Aja Naomi King, Janelle Monae, Greta Gerwig and Dakota Johnson star on the cover shot by ― who else? ― Annie Leibovitz. 


The group of “wonder women” is pictured in a bevy of red carpet-worthy gowns in metallic and pink hues. Inside the magazine, a pregnant Natalie Portman posed for a truly breathtaking image in little more than a sheet.



It’s a clear nod to the iconic 1991 photograph of naked and pregnant Demi Moore, famously shot by Leibovitz for that year’s August issue of Vanity Fair. As noted by Vanity Fair itself, while “the reference is clear, the moment is Portman’s alone.”



Indeed. Head to Vanity Fair to see more gorgeous images from the shoot and be sure to pick up your own copy when it hits newsstands Feb. 7.

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'The Devil Wears Prada' Is Coming To Broadway. That's All.

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It’s official: “The Devil Wears Prada” is coming to Broadway. 


Even better? Sir Elton John will write the music along with Paul Rudnick, according to Deadline. We’re already imagining the musical number for Andy’s fashion closet makeover and Miranda’s “cerulean” speech. 


“Reimagining ‘The Devil Wears Prada’ for the musical theatre is super exciting,” John said in a statement obtained by The Wrap. “I’m a huge fan of both the book and the feature film, and a huge aficionado of the fashion world. I can’t wait to sink my musical teeth into this hunk of popular culture.”


A timeline for the project is still to be announced, but the show will be produced by Kevin McCollum (”Something Rotten,” “In the Heights”), Fox Stage Productions and John’s Rocket Entertainment, Deadline reports. 



The story (based on Lauren Weisberger’s book of the same name) follows Andy, a post-college 20-something looking to make it in the world of journalism. She lands a job at a major fashion magazine, as a second assistant to the icy editor-in-chief, Miranda Priestly, played in the film by Meryl Streep. (Naturally, Streep earned an Oscar nomination for her work in the film.) 


No word yet on who will be cast in the production, but we’ll be over here just praying that Streep reprises her role for the stage. It would put her one step closer to the coveted EGOT accolade, so really, it’s a win-win situation. 






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Kim Kardashian Pierced Her Nails And Now You Can't Stop Staring

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The Kardashians have always been known for being major trendsetters. Their fashion choices tend to create quite a stir, and Kim’s latest manicure makeover is certainly doing just that.


She recently Snapchatted her pierced nails and honestly we can’t stop replaying the video. 


 




Our initial thoughts summed up in one GIF?





Pretty much. Clearly the nails are fake, but it still just looks so insane (and weirdly painful?).


Will this be the new trend? We honestly hope not because it’s already hard enough to maintain a decent manicure. But we’re not about to doubt the power of Kim K to change the nail game.


Plus, the edgy trend has already been spotted on social media.



A photo posted by Snobette (@thesnobette) on




A photo posted by Rave Nailz (@rave_nailz) on



Well, Kimmy, we hope your bling nails don’t get caught on anything or make it too difficult to go to the bathroom. You still look fabulous, either way.





type=type=RelatedArticlesblockTitle=Related... + articlesList=588a2579e4b061cf898d3e44,5888f9ebe4b0024605fd520d,5888f64fe4b061cf898c4a00

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Frances Bean Cobain's New Modeling Gig Is So Not Surprising

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What do Cher, Willow Smith, Susan Sarandon and Frances Bean Cobain have in common? Why, they’re all Marc Jacobs muses, of course. 


Cobain is starring in Jacobs’ spring/summer 2017 campaign. In an interview with Vogue, the 24-year-old rock offspring called Jacobs an “underdog for the masses,” for whom she made an exception when she agreed to model. 


“I wouldn’t have done it with anyone other than Marc,” she said.




In the debut image, Cobain wears an embellished long-sleeve dress with minimal hair and makeup. Her own personal style ― vintage T-shirts and black jeans ― sounds decidedly grunge. But her feelings about ‘90s fashion, which her parents Courtney Love and Kurt Cobain helped inspire, might surprise you.


I don’t fucking care what they did in the ’90s,” she told Vogue. “I wasn’t around and it’s not relevant to me. Yes, the ’90s were influential, for sure, but it’s just not my cup of tea. When it’s shoved down your throat every day for 24 years, you just stop caring.”


“I find it interesting where grunge originated from, and then where it was taken, which was high fashion,” she added. “My dad was so poor that they kept going to Goodwill to get donated ripped jeans. It wasn’t a fashion decision; it was an ‘I don’t have any money, I have no other choice’ type of decision.”


Jacobs, who said on Instagram that he has “long admired and respected” Cobain’s “beauty, uniqueness, and strength,” hit another home run with this one. 

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Jewelry Designers to Know in 2017

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2017-01-26-1485408566-3623567-Mizuki.jpg
Mizuki, Courtesy of Stone & Strand


Last month, in the midst of a conversation about gift recommendations, a jewelry-editor friend asked me a rather interesting question: Were there any designers I had my eye on for 2017? I did, in fact, and so did she. We ended up having a great exchange, which I then mentally filed away for this column. There are so many great young talents out there, and I'm excited to share them with you. And what better time than now, as we're in the swing of the new year?

Vancouver native Wing Yau is a jewelry designer who has been quietly building buzz ever since she launched her WWAKE collection in 2012. But 2016 was really the year she began to break through for her artful, intriguing takes on heirloom jewelry -- like her delicate bejeweled rings with a surprise arc. Yau was named one of Forbes' 30 Under 30 (Sarah Jessica Parker was among those on the judging panel) and had a marquee moment during New York Fashion Week in September when she launched her secondary line CLOSER on Amanda Phelan's runway. CLOSER is the yang to WWAKE's yin, beautifully "brutalist," as she calls it, with bold sculptural origami-like folds. The new designs tie back to her background in sculpture. I'm impressed that the New York-based Yau, a RISD grad who -- fun fact -- started out as a barista, can so early in her career carve two distinct aesthetics that still feel authentic to her. She's primed to soak up more of the spotlight in 2017.

I profiled Sabine Getty, née Ghanem, in 2014, but she's back on my list because of her recently opened salon, a jewel box of a space in London's Mayfair district. It's glamorous and daring, much like her designs, with an emphasis on color brights by way of the Memphis Group. Some interiors intel: The Ettore Sottsass lamp and Michele De Lucchi table are from Getty's actual childhood bedroom. (Her mom was a collector.) Getty's designs have always been fun, but I'm really enjoying the collection's new direction, which is more in line with the spirit and humor of that Memphis movement, and can't wait to see where it goes next.

Other designers on my list for the upcoming year: Carine Larretgère of AIMÉE.AIMER, Mizuki Goltz and Nektar De Stagni. All three offer an element of the unexpected in their designs, albeit in very different ways: Larretgère punches things up with a lively charm, Goltz fuses the unpredictable with high elegance while De Stagni always injects a soupçon of cheerful irreverence. I've grouped them here together, though, because their collections all include some beautiful pearl pieces -- which continues to be a trend, one that's only growing stronger in the new year. Plus, their approaches to the pearl are all delightfully out of the box. Nektar De Stagni, a Miami native who's also a DJ, embellishes hers with decorative gold dots and diamonds -- she even has a smiley face pearl ring. Goltz plays with proportions, using oversized baroque pearls in a way that, while bold, still reads as very delicate and refined. As for Larretgère, she isn't afraid to use pearls in a graphic way, creating cool patterns and contours -- like with her lovely Constellation earrings.

2017-01-26-1485408689-7511964-WWAKE.jpg
WWAKE, courtesy of Stone & Strand

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GQ Totally Trolled Donald Trump With This Presidential Makeover

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Despite Donald Trump’s transition from developer to reality star to president of the United States, his wardrobe and temperament haven’t changed a bit. 


Though no one seems to be able to do anything about his disposition, GQ decided to step in and give Trump a YUGE presidential makeover in a hilarious new video. The men’s magazine trolls the president BIGLY with advice on how to solve his slouchy suits, Scotch-taped ties and wrinkled pants. They even offer tailoring tips to make his hands look bigger.



After losing a few shades of bronzer, getting tailored and having his blond coif trimmed, Trump looks ... different. Just check out the video above. 


But as GQ says:




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This Photo Of Kristen Bell Crying At Her Wedding Is Just Too Much

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Kristen Bell is great. Dax Shepard is great. Together, they’re fabulous. 


Proof of that fact is in this new photo from their 2013 wedding ceremony, which Bell posted as a throwback on Instagram Thursday. 


#tbt to when I cried at our wedding and @daxshepard thought it was really funny,” Bell wrote alongside the photo. 



#tbt to when I cried at our wedding and @daxshepard thought it was really funny.

A photo posted by kristen bell (@kristenanniebell) on




The longtime couple, who have two daughters together, tied the knot at the Beverly Hills courthouse three years ago. The no-frills ceremony (the bride wore black!) only cost them $142


“Friends of ours came to the courthouse, and it was just Kristen and I at this lonely courthouse, so they brought us this cake afterwards,” Shepard told Jimmy Kimmel. “‘The World’s Worst Wedding.’ How many people can say they threw ‘The World’s Worst Wedding’?”


To us, this looks like The World’s Best Wedding. 

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