Wednesday, June 4, 2008

I'm kind of mad at Olivier Theyskens.

Let me respond to three reader questions right now, while I'm thinking of it, at the very top of my post. First, yesterday's clothes are from Old Navy, some from the regular women's department and some from the women's plus department, because at the moment I straddle the two categories, which is great for me but means that those of you who fall firmly into one category or the other may be disappointed. Second, two weekends ago I wound up baking chocolate chip cookies from Definitely RA's recipe, and oh my god, they were the best cookies I've ever had, and I seriously did not know that anyone except a professional chef was capable of baking such wonderful cookies. Third, we don't know yet what we're going to get in terms of wedding rings, but I'm thinking of this, which matches my engagement ring, and then Torsten would get a wider version of the same thing.

Okay, I think that addresses all the questions I've been meaning to answer, but if I'm wrong and you have a burning question that requires a response, please say so in the comments and I will do another roundup soon. No promises as to exactly when, though, given that one of the questions that I just answered was asked in April and it's now June.

Oh, and speaking of? Yeah, it's June. June meaning the first month of summer, meaning less than five months until the wedding, meaning the first month of having every other Friday off instead of just one per month, meaning squabbles at night because I want to turn on the fan (ON MY SIDE OF THE BED. POINTED ONLY AT ME) and Torsten doesn't want me to turn it on because he claims he can feel the wind (NOT TRUE).

Unfortunately, June does NOT mean parathyroid surgery, because my surgeon's assistant was not able to move up my appointment. Despite my repeated (but polite) badgering. But actually I'm okay with that, because the surgery is scheduled for July 1, which is a Tuesday, and then July 4 is that Friday, and since it's a holiday that would normally be my Friday off, I get Thursday July 3 off instead, which means that I only have to use two days of personal time for the surgery and I should be all better and ready to go back to work the following Monday.

So it works out well, and I've decided to be very zen about this whole thing and not worry about the scar and if I have a scar on my neck in my wedding photos, so it goes and the world won't end. (P.S. I learned this zen attitude from Stephanie, who is a super planner like me and yet has managed to transform herself, over the past few months, into this totally laid-back, roll with the punches kind of girl who moves on with her life without getting hung up on the things she can't control. I admire her transformation and desire to emulate it.)

Oh and while we're on the subject of complete and total randomness? Let's briefly discuss the whole Sarah Jessica Parker SATC dress debacle. For those of you who haven't heard and don't feel like clicking the link, when SJP selected her dress for the New York movie premiere, she specifically asked the designer, Olivier Theyskens of Nina Ricci, if it had been worn on the red carpet before, and he assured her that it had not. He personally assured her of this, and then the day after the premiere, a photo surfaced of him standing next to Lauren Santo Domingo wearing the exact same dress at the Met Ball earlier that month.

The point is, he lied to her. And yes, we're talking about a dress and several cases of wounded vanity. But if I were SJP, I'd be pissed, and probably more than she is. She is known as a trendsetter, a fashion icon on the very cutting edge. The New York premiere of the SATC movie was the biggest possible stage for this. She asked the designer himself to assure her that she would be the first to wear the dress on the red carpet, and he flat-out lied to her face about it. That's a pretty big deal to me.

And the worst part is, he didn't have the grace to admit it afterward, to apologize for his error in judgment, send her a fantastic apology gift, and then move on. Instead, he pretended like he thought that what he had done was totally acceptable, acting like Lauren Santo Domingo doesn't count as "on the red carpet" because she isn't that famous (which I'm sure she appreciated reading--and also, it doesn't matter WHO is wearing if if someone is wearing it on the red carpet, specifically at an event as high-profile as the Met Ball) and being dismissive of people who noticed by asking if everyone looks at Style.com as though that's a bad thing (a tad hypocritical coming from a fashion designer).

I mean, come on, dude. The woman asked if anyone had worn the dress on the red carpet before because she knew what a big deal this was. You yourself know that there is way more to who wears what on the red carpet than just a pretty dress--this is a business, the bottom line is profit, and exposure means everything and is sometimes contractually obligated. You yourself KNEW that this event was a big deal, and you KNEW that if you answered the question honestly, she wouldn't wear the dress. And so you lied, and you got what you wanted, and now you are being a sleaze about it, and I hope as a result that celebrities who could be making you tons of money by shilling your clothes on the red carpet in the future choose to go with a different designer instead.

Am I alone in this? I mean, I realize--as does SJP herself--that this is a tempest in a teapot, but fashion icons and the red carpet are what this guy's career is about, and SJP's as well, particularly when it comes to her role on SATC. I can't be the only one who thinks he's only compounding the damage by trying to make her look petty for being irked. Or am I? What are your thoughts?

43 comments:

  1. I'm with you on being annoyed. Granted, this isn't a BIG issue on the list of BIG issues in the world,- but I think it's annoying and doesn't really make sense. Why lie? I mean, didn't he realize that people were going to figure it out? Such acts by people make my brain hurt.

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  2. I can't comment on the SJP dress issue because when I clicked on the link all I noticed was her face and her cheekbones. Please tell me she has injected something in there? Because stuff doesn't look right.

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  3. Yeah, I think it's pretty clear that SJP is in the right here, and furthermore no one is EVER going to want to wear any of his designs again if you can't TRUST the dude not to LIE TO YOUR FACE about it.

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  4. I like your new fund zenness. I gotta give it a whirl.

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  5. my husband hates the fan, too. which is mildly annoying -- but this summer he will accept the fan going all night since i am super hot due to pregnancy hormones and we do not have air. gotta love old houses. :)

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  6. I'm so glad you liked the cookies! I love them so much, and it is a lot of fun spreading the joy.

    Now, to read the rest of the entry...

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  7. I've basically been pretty laid back my whole life, its a wonderful way to be, congrats to you on new found laid-back-ness. Those cookies sound wonderful and I will be baking them soon!

    And yes, I would be pissed if I were SJP as well.

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  8. I am with you on the whole dress issue. He actually will be the one hurt most by this publicity because other people will not trust him and his reputation will always carry (no pun) the SJP issue.

    But of all things to lie about...really! He should at least man up and apologize.

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  9. it's pissing me off that so many people are all "OMG, people, SJP got to wear a GORGEOUS FREE DRESS, she has NO GROUNDS to complain about something so PETTY." because, yes, all that is technically true, but also MISSING THE ENTIRE POINT. it's hard to explain to someone who doesn't understand the importance of a red carpet dress - especially on SJP, at the SATC premiere - if they don't already get it. but, uh, all this was a long way of saying: i totally agree with you.

    i'm afraid i'm with torsten on the fan, though :-) i HAAAATE the feeling of fan-wind on my face and it's super-distracting when i'm trying to go to sleep. IT'S TRUE.

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  10. Dude Lindsay Lohan also wore that dress for some Disney thing. SO not ok!

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  11. at first when i saw the sjp thing, i thought she was just being a drama queen, but after thinking a little about it, i guess i would be mad too if someone lied to me about something like that. and she is a huge style icon and always the first to do crazy things so i understand that she would want to be the first one to wear that dress on the red carpet.

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  12. Oh no; yet another recipe claiming to be the best chocolate chip cookie recipe ever?? Now I have to try it! And just when I thought I'd already FOUND the best recipe ever...

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  13. My fiance and I have the fan fight too...except that it's because I hog it and he can't feel it, and our bedroom gets so hot!

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  14. I totally agree with you on the SJP thing. She's the most famous person in a high profile movie about (at least in part) fashion. I can understand the designer's temptation to lie to get his dress seen in a more high profile way than it was previously seen, but he should have resisted. He should have told her that yes, the dress had been worn, by a famous person, to a high profile event. Maybe he could have offered another dress that had not been worn anywhere before. Surely that is not the only dress he's designed. And not manning up now and admitting that he lied is totally ratty. I hope stars do boycott him, because I totally would if I bought high priced designer clothes.

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  15. I'm totally with you on the Theyskens thing. He lied to her to get her to wear that dress for the same reason she wanted to wear something that had never been seen before- that premier was HUGE deal. Plus you know, I love her despite the fact that she is probably secretly awful.

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  16. If there is a scar:

    1) Whoever's doing your makeup can minimize it.

    2) Your photographer can be mindful of it.

    3) You will have so many photos to go through, there will be plenty where it won't show.

    4) If there's a photo you absolutely must have, and it shows the scar and you don't want it to, have it lightly Photoshopped.

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  17. I don't know how you can just decided to be zen, and then be zen. It's like those people who decide to diet, and then just diet. Oh wait-you're one of those people too! I can't be zen OR diet. I need to go to a Jess Workshop.

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  18. I agree that, yes, that was absolutely shitty and manipulative behavior on the part of the fashion house.

    But I do commend SJP on her attitude and not making a huge stink about it. The gal's got class.

    Also- if you properly care for a thyroid scar, it's barely visible. Lots and lots of cocoabutter! My mom had her thyroid removed back in '98 and once it had healed you could barely see it. Don't stress it!

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  19. I think the Dude has written his own to ticket to "Has Beenville". Who would ever trust him again when he just bold faced lied. Sorry, but I am with Torsten on the fan thing too, cannot STAND for air to blow on me EVER!

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  20. The surgery plan sounds good.

    I hadn't heard about the dress thing before this post, but I agree with your point of view.

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  21. I think it's wrong that dude lied to SJP. But I also have to keep in mind that it's a dress. She was never a trendsetter in my eyes anyways. Chances are she has stylist's that dress her and they do a good job, I think THEY are the trendsetters and SJP is just the canvas. But I'm often wrong, so maybe I'm wrong on this, too. Either way, she's a cutie and looks great in almost anything.

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  22. I think I need to make those cookies!

    I'd be pissed if I were SJP too! She and the rest of Hollywood should boycott his designs...

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  23. I can see why she's mad, but it's one of those "issues" that makes me sort of roll my eyes. Then again I have no interest in fashion.

    Surgery plans sound good!!!!

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  24. it is wrong wrong wrong what that designer did to SJP.

    talk about stepping on some serious fashion toes.

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  25. I'm so with you about the dress debacle, and I can't believe I even really care about it but it bugs me.

    I might have to try out that chocolate chip cookie recipe. What a perfect cure for irritation about some celebrity "news" story that doesn't affect my life in any way whatsoever!

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  26. I"m not so up on the latest to the minute fashion, but it was flat out wrong to lie to her. The fact that this was an event with high emotional investment for her and her career compounds the magnitude of his lie.

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  27. He was wrong. How rude... seriously. Also, good for you for going zen! The last thing you need right now is more stress, so you're really going the right direction! I cannot wait to see the invitations though, so hurry up with it already! :P

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  28. SJP is totally right. She said herself that in the "Grand scheme of the world, it's not big deal but that there is a certain understanding between designers and celebrities" balbla.
    She's right on.

    The dude totally lied to her.

    Period.

    Too bad he right NEXT to the woman who wore the dress. He can't really pull the "Oh, I HAD NO IDEA" story.

    Idiot.

    Gorgeous dress on SJP though. :)

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  29. I would have ripped him a new one, but thats just me.

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  30. I think it's downright stupid of Oliver T. not to take care to treat SJP right! I mean, the woman has LEGIONS of aspirational fans who worship her and consider her a style icon. This is not the story you want YOUR label attached to.

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  31. I am totally on the side of you and SJP: this is not about a dress, this is about a LIE.

    I think planning a wedding can go either way: it can turn out people who get more and more uptight and put more and more importance on small things---or it can be an excellent exercise in zenitude.

    Guess who's off to make cookies? GUESS!!!

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  32. I'd be more pissed if I was SJP too. Also - LiLo was wearing it - ick!

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  33. He lied after she specifically asked him if anyone had worn it.

    He should be boycotted forever.

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  34. You're totally right. It's primarily the lying, but also how he's making her look petty. But I think people will dislike him because of it, so he got it back in the end!

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  35. This was a great post - happy and zen-y and ranty all in one!

    The husband's wedding band is one of those comfort fit ones and he LOVES it. Sometimes I like to borrow it and wear it just to remind myself what an awesome ring-picker-outer I am. Har!

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  36. Meeh, I'm kind of on the fence here. I think the designer is a scumbag for lying, but I also think it's ridiculous about the whole "wearing something once" thing. SJP did wear it better tho :)

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  37. I agree- I'm annoyed by it all.

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  38. Agree completely about SJP and the dress. Badly handled by Theyskens and Grauso. Not only was what they did in poor taste, but so was their response after-the-fact. Your wedding ring, on the other hand, is fabulous. I adore the simple clean band. But it did get me wondering, why have I not yet searched your archives for an image of the engagement ring?! Off to do just that...

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  39. a few thoughts.

    first, hi! i feel like i haven't commented in a while (so busy at work) but i have been reading and not that it's 6:30 and no one else seems to be at work, i finally get to stop and say hello.

    second, don't worry about the scar! really. i've always found scars, birth marks, all those "natural" things that can be found on people really beautiful. it's distinctive. rock it. i know you can.

    third, yes. this whole dress mess. while some people may just blow it off as a "what's the big deal, it's a dress" ... there is a bit more at the core of the issue. i agree with everything you said about how poorly the designer handled the issue - if nothing else, after having lied directly to someone's face, have the good grace to just apologize and, yes, send a fabulous one of a kind dress or something! what i think is so irksome about the whole thing is the guy's inability to just admit he f'ed up. sigh. people suck. like brandy said, "such acts by people make my brain hurt" ... and i don't like having my brain hurt. maybe that's why this whole thing irks me. boo, OT. you're making my brain hurt.

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  40. I agree that the guy was dumb for lying. I wonder if that designer is headed for the drain now?

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  41. I have a small fan that blows on me during the night. Sid and I are polar (ha!) opposites when it comes to preferable room temps.

    I'm with you about the whole dress thing. And the zen thing, too!

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  42. Why haven't I read your blog before??? I see you all over so many of the blogs I read... Well, that's going to change now. I'm reading. =)

    Also I have a very good friend who had her thyroid removed, and her scar is very difficult to see. A cute necklace should cover it, if you even need to do that...

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  43. Olivier Theyskens is dishonest, treacherous, arrogant and excessively ambitious. Years ago when Theyskens, at only 25, was interviewing at Givenchy asked for a salary twice that of Alexander McQueen's when he started.

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