Color is the New Black
 

From the New York Times:

For Spring, Color Is the New Black
By GUY TREBAY

Well before a bum economy, terrorism and war had entered the picture, retailers were intoning a mantra suggesting that Americans already owned all the basic wardrobe elements anyone could ever require. After submitting the image struggles of chains like the Gap to endless dissection, their underlying problems turn out to be rooted in something surprisingly simple: khaki fatigue.

One could credit springtime, or swipe a term from the pollsters (try "apparel purchase intent"), but consumers appear to be making forays back into stores. The reason is that there are some new things to look at, and those things are pattern and color. For too long, there was too much of very little to look at, industry insiders say. The collective eye got bored.

The Gap diagnosed the problem and responded by filling its stores this season with surfer-style apparel in graphic floral prints. It is far from the only retailer to suddenly decide to "banish the black," if one may resuscitate an overquoted line from "Funny Face," and to bring back clothing that is patterned, colored, playful and exuberant. After years of bad gags about black being the new black, the streets are unexpectedly populated with people wearing trippy stripes, flowered graphics or clothes the colors of Bazooka or the walls of the playhouse where Pee-wee Herman held court.

Full text: http://www.nytimes.com/2003/04/22/fa...DRES.html?8nyh

Reality TV--classy?
 

It's All About Class, Guys and Gals

(NY Times article on class on the bachelor and Mr. Personality)

Best line (among several): "former White House intern Monica Lewinsky, gets to play the Linda Tripp role, coyly giving the show's young bachelorette, Hayley insincere comfort and advice."

It also recounts the Olive Garden discussion.

Color is the New Black
 

And yet, the present theme of the two Gaps I walk past on my way to work are "Black and White" and the windows are filled with mannequins dressed in - you betcha - lots of white a black.

not7y(Hate it when the Yankees are on the left coast)S

Real Estate Question
 

If someone will sell you title insurance (not just the bank policy, but a buyer's policy, too) then I don't think it's that big of a deal. But, get a commitment from the TI people soon. (I assume they're looking into this quite actively at this point.)

Lets talk about sex baby
 

Originally posted by greatwhitenorthchick

That's nothing, I could do that in high school and didn't even do yoga.

What's impressive is the trick the yogi's do where, supporting themselves with their hands, they hold their body from the shoulders down parallel to the ground. But I consider that more an acrobatic or gymnastic feat than yoga.

Reverend Greenspan
 

Originally posted by SlaveNoMore

You and plate say that, but the only way that's happening is if the revenue is recouped through higher income taxes. Neither of you would like that.

Since we are bashing religions
 

AI - Thank You America (But you're still stupid)
 

Bottom three were Trenyce, Josh and Carmen.

Thank God! I don't have to suffer through any more of her off-key bleating.

The Marine is next. Please. If there is a God in heaven, the Marine is next.

Reverend Greenspan
 

Or they could just cut spending. How much longer do we need to subsidize the milk industry, airlines or the government of India?

Since we are bashing religions
 

Not to tie threads or anything, but I think the Mormons probably frown on that sort of activity, too.

Reverend Greenspan
 

If that happens, we'd have to move the capital (or Capitol, if you prefer, either one) to Fantasyland.

Lets talk about sex baby
 

OK moron, we could all do it in highschool without doing yoga. What's your point? My point was that I am now happy I can do it again (now with the benefit of yoga) even though I spend at least eight hours per day on my inflexible ass in front of a computer and am pushing 35.

Color is the New Black
 

You cannot blame them for trying to spin "color" as the new black. They need us buying.

The article tickled me because it reminded me of my teens and early twenties when my high-falootin society aunt would visit us in the provinces and declare: "purple is the new neutral" or "red is the new neutral." The needle has been stuck on "black is the new neutral" for a very long time.

Last year, with the bohemian thing, you saw a lot more white and color than had been seen in a long time. Still, I doubt I will see many people dressed as if for the easter parade wandering around downtown.

Given the present economic circumstances, I am far more likely to buy a new pair of shoes than a new ensemble. My shopping is mostly limited to two big overhauls a year (spring and fall), rather than shopping two or three times a month.

Even(my personal shoppers miss me)Odds

Ariel, Izzat you?
 

From cnn.com, the nation's most trusted and unbiased news source:

NEW YORK, New York (Reuters) -- New York City has to fork out $10,000 for arresting a woman who appeared topless at the 2001 Coney Island Mermaid Parade, her lawyer said Wednesday.

The 31-year-old Brooklyn woman, Amy Gunderson, wore only a thong and body paint at the annual Mermaid parade and sued the city for violating her First Amendment rights after police arrested her.

"A woman has a constitutional right to appear in public topless, the same right that men have," her lawyer, Ron Kuby, said.

The city settled after the charges against Gunderson were dismissed. City lawyer Deborah Meyer said the city "makes business decisions every day" and it was "in our best interest to settle."

Kuby said Gunderson planned to make an encore appearance at this year's parade. He did not say whether she would be wearing a shirt or not.

Poll -- does your spouse/SO/ISO know about the FB?
 

As I recover from the first round of the playoffs, I thought that it would be interesting to revisit an old topic -- namely, whether your spouse or significant other or insignificant other (or all three) knows about us.

You know, the FB. Home of salacious talk with imaginary friends. Or about the related PMs, IMs, emails, etc.

And, per the rules for these sorts of polls, I'll go first. Not Bob's Answer is No. I wrestle with this, because I don't think that anything I do or say on the FB (or via IM or email) rises to the level of being in the same zip code as Conduct Contrary To Monogomous Wedded Bliss, as measured by objective standards.

But (and this is a-bigger-than-J. Lo's "but"), my wife wouldn't like it. None of it. Men and women, chatting on the computer? Egad. Talking about the things that are discussed here? (See eg the kama sutra thread) Yoikes.

So I rationalize that it's like a bad habit that one doesn't share -- like the secret cigarettes or shots of heroin that some spouses hide from the other. Yeah yeah yeah, I know -- it's self-justifying rationalization.