Chic and Untroubled

Chic or Troubled: Lady Gaga's Kermit the Frog Couture Sheath

Tiffany Neal — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 09:00:20 -0500

Surprise! Lady Gaga decided to go bottomless in a recent interview with German Press. Yeah, pretty uneventful. However, not to be outdone by the tiny painted on lips or purple-streaked platinum wigs she has been donning lately, the "avant-garde" pop singer decided to slip on a sheath covered in Kermit the Frog puppets over her black opaque tights. She topped off her outrageous ensemble with a little Kermit headband and frosted pink lipgloss. Unreal.

Unfortunately, the chat above was conducted in the German interviewers native tongue but once you lock eyes on Gaga's outfit you won't be able to tell what language is entering your ears. Enjoy.

MOB's New Model? The Hipster Grifter!

Tiffany Neal — Mon, 04 May 2009 12:05:06 -0500

We love MOB. A lot. But there's something remarkably whack about them co-opting the anomaly known as The Hipster Grifter. Have you heard of her? She's the woman who's been conning everyone in New York and is currently wanted for arrest back in her home state of Utah. Head on over to Gawker for the back story if you're still loss.

But we digress.

MOB outfitted Keri Ferrell for an interview she did with Animal New York. In it, the beard-loving twenty-something gives a half-ass apology for ruining a lot of people's lives. It's bad. She looks even worse. There's absolutely nothing cool about stealing someone's social security card or telling people you have cancer to get them to feel bad for your trifling ass.

Now, if the criminal would have jacked some banks and gave the proceeds to recently laid off car workers or single mothers struggling to provide for their kids during this recession, this may not have been as bad. Unfortunately, that's not the case. Keri Ferrell is no modern day Robin Hood and why MOB felt like giving her a cape is beyond us. Unless, of course, unrepentant sociopaths are the inspiration for their next collection.

WWD Talks to Albert Maysles About Grey Gardens and the Mental Health of the Beales

Tiffany Neal — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 09:24:29 -0500

Did you watch "Grey Gardens" on Saturday night? Drew Barrymore and Jessica Lange were amazing and the way in which HBO explored the special relationship between "Big" and "Little" was simply beautiful. Still, after watching the film with my own lovely mother, we were both left with more questions than answers: Why didn't "mother darling's" other children help out when the house started crumbling? Why didn't Jackie O hire the two women a weekly cleaning service after she initially stepped in? Were the two fallen socialites mentally unstable?

Well, Women’s Wear Daily’s Jacob Bernstein tackles our latter thought in an interview with 82-year-old Albert Maysles, who filmed the original documentary “Grey Gardens" with his brother David (now deceased) back in the 70s. In their chat, the two mean discuss HBO's new project, the measures the director took to protect himself from the fleas in the ramshackle home, and the mental health of the eccentric icons he filmed.

WWD: So here we are with yet another chapter in the “Grey Gardens” saga. Are you surprised it’s gone on this long?

Albert Maysles: Yeah, I think anyone would be. The musical, the HBO film, there have been a couple of books already. My two daughters just finished a book on it.

WWD: What did you think of the HBO film?

A.M.: I thought it was good. I’m not an expert on fiction. I make documentaries and a good deal of the film takes place before that. But the stuff that was contemporary with the filming was accurate.

WWD: There’s a hilarious moment in the HBO movie where you and your brother are putting on flea repellent. {Continue Reading

Tara Subkoff Talks Grey Gardens With HBO's Costume Designer

Tiffany Neal — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 09:00:56 -0500

In anticipation of HBO's take on the lives eccentric mother/daughter duo "Big" and "Little" Eddie, Interview managed to contain its excitement long enough to get designer Tara Subkoff to chat with Grey Garden's costume designer, Catherine Thomas. In their conversation about the two women and their fabled journey from high society queens to secluded maidens, Thomas discusses how Little Eddie took her hair loss in stride and created an iconic look in the process. "Yes, the turbans! Really, she handles her hair loss in such a progressive, positive way. She makes it her own. It was so essential to reach beyond the years of the documentary. We start in the 1930s-even the white satin hooded gown that Little Edie wears to the bohemian party is a beautiful metaphor for what's going to happen later to her, covering up her head. Obviously, we compiled a lot of research. Surprisingly there were more photos of Little Edie than of Big Edie. For the 1930s, Big Edie was really what we imagined her to be like."

Sally Quinn Talks About Her Life in Grey Gardens, Crazy Little Eddie, and the Treasure Trove She Found in the Attic

Tiffany Neal — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 10:00:01 -0500

In five days, HBO's highly-anticipated look into the lives of the eccentric mother-daughter duo of Big and Little Eddie and their stay at Grey Gardens will finally makes its way onto television.

Based on the Maysles Brothers' classic documentary about the two women, HBO's film will explore what led the women to lose their money, reject all social norms, and lead the rest of their lives secluded in the dilapidated and cat infested mansion known affectionately known as Grey Gardens.

In light of this media event, W magazine caught up with Sally Quinn -- owner of the restored East Hampton estate. Here are a few highlights from their chat:

The house was so filthy when Sally went to check it out that her real estate agent refused to enter:

"We got to the house and my real-estate agent said, "I will do anything to sell the house, but I will not go inside." So she waited outside. Well, you had to have flea collars on for one thing. There were 30 cats in there and the stench was beyond belief. And Little Edie opened the door-her mother had died two years earlier-and apparently everyone had made offers because she was asking $220,000 for the house."

Sally Quinn and husband Ben Bradlee, former Washington Post executive editor, got the house for a steal: