Fall Semester Is Around The Corner

Monday, August 25th - fall semester officially begins.

Lately, I've been really lazy [sloth-mode].
This whole month I've been watching so many movies, it's insane. I've never done anything of the sort before.

In theaters only, I saw:
- Savage Grace on Thursday, August 7th
- Brideshead Revisited on Sunday, August 10th
- Priceless {Hors De Prix} on Thursday, August 14th
- Dark Knight on Saturday, August 16th
- Tell No One {Ne Le Dis à Personne} on Sunday, August 17th

I didn't get to see Roman De Gare, as anticipated. Eh well.
I might watch [the documentary] Man On Wire next week though.

The other films I really want to see, in theaters, are:

Genre: Comedy, Romance, Drama.
Rated PG13. Running Time: 1 hr. 37 mins.
I mostly want to see it because of Penelope Cruz's character and for the beautiful city of Barcelona, Spain.
At first I didn't really want to even see the film because I had no idea what it was about and I'm not really a huge fan of Scarlett Johansson, but after I saw the trailer I fell for it and I really want to watch it now.


Also known as "Une Vieille Maîtresse".
Genre: Art/Foreign, Drama and Adaptation.
Running Time: 1 hr. 54 mins. Not Rated.

It's a French film about a man who is about to marry a virgin that belongs to French royalty, but a lot of the townspeople think the marriage should be "forbidden" because everyone knows the man she is about to wed is addicted to his mistress whom he's been with for years. So basically he's torn between two women - the virgin whom he is about to marry and his long-time mistress. I think Asia Argento, who plays the mistress, has done a great deal of wonderful acting in this film, which I'm solely judging from watching trailers. I'm not very familiar with her work as she's an Italian actress and I haven't seen any of her previous films but I'm sure this film will be wonderful.

Also, I might watch Tropic Thunder - the Ben Stiller comedy flick.
My friend wants to watch it and I sort of want to watch it.
I like Ben Stiller and his movies are hilarious, but I usually really like watching thought-provoking films that have a true essence to them.


Yesterday I checked out the book Deluxe: How Luxury Lost Its Luster by Dana Thomas at the local library. It's "an essential reference for any student of fashion, finance or culture" according to Rose Apodaca, who was the former West Coast bureau chief for Women's Wear Daily [WWD].

Last night I only read the "Introduction" and I immediately fell in love with this book - although I've had immense interest for this book for a long time.

I'm going to share a few fascinating tid-bits I read last night...

1.) The importance of luxury in contemporary society, as quoted by Christian Dior when interviewed by Time Magazine in 1957:
"I'm no philosopher, but it seems to me that women - and men too - instinctively yearn to exhibit themselves. In this machine age, which esteems convention and uniformity, fashion is the ultimate refuge of the human, the person, and the inimitable. Even the most outrageous innovations should be welcomed, if only because they shield us against the shabby and the humdrum. Of course fashion is a transient, egotistical indulgence, yet in an era as somber as ours, luxury must be defended centimeter by centimeter."

2.) [Corporate tycoons] bought - or took over - luxury companies from elderly founders or incompetent heirs, turned the houses into brands, and homogenized everything: the stores, the uniforms, the products, even the coffee cups in the meetings. Then they turned their sights on a new target audience: the middle market, that broad socioeconomic demographic that includes everyone from teachers and sales executives to high-tech entrepreneurs, McMansion suburbanites, the ghetto fabulous, even the criminally wealthy. The idea, luxury executives explained, was to "democratize" luxury, to make luxury "accessible". It all sounded so noble. Heck, it sounded almost communist. But, it wasn't. It was as capitalist as could be: the goal, plain and simple, was to make as much money as heavenly possible.

To realize the "democratization", the tycoons launched a two-pronged attack. First they hyped their brands mercilessly. They trumpeted the brand's historical legacy and the tradition of hand-craftsmanship to give the products an air of luxury legitimacy. They encouraged their designers to stage extravagant or provocative fashion shows - at million dollars a pop - to drum up controversy and make headlines. They spent billions of dollars on deliberately shocking advertising campaigns - Dior's grease-smudged lesbian ads to sell purses, Yves Saint Laurent's full frontal male nudity shot to sell perfume (M7) - that made their brands as recognizable and common as Nike and Ford. They dressed celebrities, who in return told every reporter lining the red carpet which company had provided their gown, jewels, handbag, tuxedo, or shoes. They began to sponsor high-profile sporting and entertainment events such as Louis Vuitton at the America's Cup and Chopard at the Cannes Film Festival.
The message was clear: buy our brand and you, too, will live a luxury life.


3.) Luxury brands are among the most counterfeited products today - the World Customs Organization states that the fashion industry loses up to $9.7 billion per year to counterfeiting - and most of the counterfeiters' profits fund illicit activities such as drug trafficking, human trafficking, and terrorism.

*FYI: I suggest the book, Illicit: How Smugglers, Traffickers, and Copycats are Hijacking the Global Economy by [Venezuelan economist and the editor-in-chief of Foreign Policy magazine] Moises Naim.

4.) The tycoons' marketing scheme has worked. Today, luxury is indeed democratic: its available to anyone, anywhere, at any price point.

5.) The luxury industry has changed the way people dress. It has realigned our economic class system. It has changed the way we interact. It has become part of our social fabric. To achieve this, it has sacrificed its integrity, undermined its products, tarnished its history, and hoodwinked its consumers. In order to make luxury "accessible", tycoons have stripped away all that has made it special.

Luxury has lost its luster.



There are a lot of wonderful information which can be learned in this book - if you aren't already aware of the corporate leaders destroying the essence of high-fashion, etc. Also, there are many quotes by Coco Chanel and various other important, revered fashion industry elites.
Plus, at the end of the book there are various sources for other great fashion reads.
One of which is "DV" - the autobiography of Diana Vreeland, who was a noted columnist and editor in the field of fashion. She was fashion editor at Harper's Bazaar, then became editor-in-chief of VOGUE from 1963 to 1971, and completed her career at the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute.
Diana Vreeland was not classically beautiful, but was always fashionable and extremely creative. She knew what suited her and she knew what she suited. She was slightly eccentric and demanding, but when it came to fashion she was always right. She is also known for her proclamations like, "Pink is the navy blue of India!".

Take Me To A French Film

In 2 weeks, my fall semester college classes start.

I have to sign up for classes still. I tried signing up online but my student login is not working, so I think I have to register on campus.

Lately, all I've been doing is watching independent films.
{Although I should be doing so much more...}


Last Thursday @ 4pm, I watched "Savage Grace".
Ever since I saw the trailer and read the synopsis for the film - I've been dying to watch it!

As John Powers from VOGUE reviewed it best: "A tabloid fiesta of money, kinky sex, and murder. You keep watching to see what could possibly happen next."...(read more)

It's an amazing film! The acting was superb! The story was a bit disturbing in some scenes, but even more disturbing is the fact that it's based on a true story.

I really admired Julianne Moore in this film. The real delights for me were [British actors and male models] Eddie Redmayne and Hugh Dancy. They are amazing actors that truly will do almost anything to capture the essence of a role/character for a film.

The film is told through (Redmayne's character) Antony Baekeland's point of view - regarding his wealthy family and their fabulously lavish, yet tragic life story.

There is a true essence in this film and I really loved it! Unlike most Hollywood movies which butcher the essence of a film for commercialization purposes - this independent film was mind blowing!

It's definitely a movie for mature individuals - there are a lot of sexual scenes that are more provocative than Tom Ford's uncensored advertisement campaigns. Some scenes even shocked me... and I've seen almost everything (from hetro to homo to tranny) and I don't get shocked that easily when it comes to movies so you can only imagine. But, beyond the amazing homo-eroticism and insane sex scenes (some which are really unexpected and shocking), there lies a true story about love, life and betrayal.

After I saw the film, I wanted to see it again because a lot of it was so surreal and simply brilliant. I couldn't help but contemplate over the sheer amazement of the film as I was driving through traffic. But, I couldn't watch it again as the day I went was the last day the film was playing in theaters - hence my major determination to watch the movie. Oh well, I'm really glad I watched it!


Then, on Sunday @ 10:20am, I watched "Brideshead Revisited".

I had been looking forward to this film since I first heard about it, which was 2-3 months before it was released - where I read about it in MARIE CLAIRE and HARPER'S BAZAAR.

Gorgeous British actors (Ben Whishaw and Matthew Goode)... Amazing acting, story, cinematography and film! I highly en...(read more)joyed watching this film and the costume designs were absolutely magnificent!

Now I am deeply tempted to read the 1920s novel written by Evelyn Waugh, which the film was inspired by.


Another movie I'm hoping to watch this week is "Priceless (Hors De Prix)".
It's playing at the Angelika Film Center & Cafe and I'm hoping I can convince my friends to watch it with me. I think it stops playing in the theaters this Thursday so I definitely have to see it this week!

It's basically a modern day French film similar to Audrey Hepburn's 1961 classic "Breakfast At Tiffany's".
It's a really cute and funny romantic-comedy, that lasts 1 hr and 44 mins. Rated PG13. And although its in French, there are English subtitles.
There's showtimes this week @ 4:40pm and 7:15pm.

I'm hoping my friends and I go to the 4:40pm show because movies before 6pm are bargain price ($7) and I keep attending bargain shows since I'm currently unemployed + trying to save what little money I do have [sadly, no more Sephora splurges].
However, I'm not sure if my friends will watch the French film because my friends usually watch Bollywood and/or Hollywood "blockbuster" films only. They aren't very open-minded compared to me.
Plus, one of my friends only likes to watch PG13 rom-coms and musicals. I don't mind seeing them, but often times those "typical chick flick" Hollywood rom-coms are so boring and so damn predictable!! I swear, it's such a struggle watching films with her. I always have to worry about which movie to take her since she is so fragile (emotionally + psychologically).
That's why lately I've been going to see independent films alone, but I can't drive to Angelika Film Center & Cafe alone because it's really far from my house (1+ hr distance) and it's located in downtown, which I'm not very familiar with. I would much rather go with my friends first and then possibly in the future, if I must, I'll choose to go watch flicks alone or with some other friend that isn't so damn fussy about their preferences in films.

All I know is I never like to waste my money on whatever I feel is not important or worthy. If I spend my money on a movie, I like to research and know about the movie/film before I see it - to make sure I really like it and to make sure I believe it's a total must-see, otherwise I don't bother. I'm very picky!!
I don't like to listen to the "hype" and/or the critics! I go with my guts and listen to my heart (that inner feeling).


Another film I may watch is "Roman De Gare".
It's a French thriller starring Fanny Ardant.

I really want to see it! I may go for the 2pm showing some time this week.
I will definitely go alone for this film because it's rated R and my friends don't share my love for French films + thrillers. Plus, I think it is better for me to watch a movie alone sometimes because I'm a hardcore film junkie and I like to really get into a movie... concentrate on the essence, image and overall entirety of a film.
I guess I'm not like my friends or those average mojo-jojos my age who go to movies to just hang out with their friends, waste money and watch a film that serves no purpose.

Plus, I really want to watch these amazing foreign and independent films while they are in theaters because it's really hard trying to find them or rent them once they are on DVD.

Note: I always, constantly, think to myself that when I grow up I may move to Europe (if not live in New York City) because America has too much censorship - which one can notice when you look at the difference in films and high-fashion mags!