Teeny Manolo

There, I said it.

You know, this week started badly, is worsening rapidly, and at this rate I really don’t know if I’ll be able to face Friday without smelling salts. Tell me: Do they make overproof Earl Grey? I’ll have a double.

One doesn’t want to natter on about the Good Old Days before one was born (too much) because they were oppressive and hypocritical and full of ugly, synthetic garments and hostility towards the people who supply the toys for our Happy Meals and our mail order babies.

But.

One is reminded, one is, of the time Mister Walt Disney went to former Mousekateer Annette Funicello and asked her to keep her bellybutton covered during her upcoming beach movie, for the sake of the reputation of the Mickey Mouse Club. Well, she did and they gave her three sequels anyway and as far as we know she’s sitting on a beanbag full of cash, drinking whiskey sours her cabana boy mixed and emailing Perez Hilton corny jokes from the verandah of a swanky retirement villa in Santa Barbara. And good for her.

My, how things have changed. First Miley Cyrus, now this:

From Slate:

After reading of the Cyrus flap, I e-mailed my photo to Disney… How did the company square its position on the Liebowitz photo with its risqué billboard in China?…

Foster said he didn’t know which ad agency prepared the ad, how old the model was, or where the photo shoot took place. But he was sure it was the work of a Disney licensee: Shanghai Zhenxin Garments Co. Ltd… He assured me the billboard would be removed immediately…

It may be a small world, after all, but not everyone shares Burbank’s mores, and you can’t be too careful protecting your brand: You never know when a Chinese licensee, or an American glossy, will deviate from the Disney way.

So to speak.

Sigh. I didn’t really want to go here. I really didn’t. But…

Who exactly are we trying to kid?

All these people who are screeching in outrage at the photo above of a “naked” Miley Cyrus need to step back for a second and take a deep Zen breath. And unfortunately, it seems I must disagree with my esteemed colleague on this issue.

I happen to live in an area that is not only hot, but not too far away from the beach.

Compared to half the girls parading around the area, Miley is looking pretty freaking demure.

A year or two ago it was de rigeur  for teen girls to wear tight crop tees with micro minis, which as a combo happen to show quite a bit of flesh. I mean, go take a look at one of the dresses from Juicy Couture’s current line. Go ahead, I’ll wait for you. Now ask yourself, what is the huge difference? And then tell me, because I’d really like to know.

Is it the sheet? Is it the tousled hair? Is there an uncomfortable whiff of something post-coital about the picture?

Because I don’t remember quite this type of outcry when young Jamie Lynn Spears announced her pregnancy, and she obviously didn’t just hint around at the whole sex thing.

Why are we so surprised that young people are embracing the provocative and sexual?

I mean, we are the country of Brazilians for young girls, of plastic surgery for teens, of flaunting everything we’ve got.  The media role models of these girls are the likes of Paris “Skank” Hilton and Lindsay “Drunk” Lohan.  They see Britney flashing her hoo-ha practically every month, naked photos of Vanessa Hudgens,  and I don’t think they give it much thought.

I’m not saying that it’s a good thing, but there it is.

Frankly, I’m shocked that anyone else is shocked.

And if you truly think this picture is trash-tastic, then I advise you to never go onto MySpace.

*Hat tip to superfantastic reader Seana for alerting me to the SFGate article!

You know, I keep reading about how insecure teenagers are about their bodies.  About how fashion models have made them feel as if they fall far short of the beauty high water mark.

Well, you certainly wouldn’t know it to look at this season’s crop of prom dresses.

These little numbers are a far cry from my choices in 19(cough, cough) where I pretty much had Jessica McClintock or miles of taffeta ruffles and nothing much in between. 

Let’s take a look-see at what is hot for Prom Night ‘08.  Columns are in, and apparently so is an eyeful of flesh. If these dresses look skimpy in the front, you can be assured there is even less in the back. Mind you, these are dresses specifically made and marketed for the prom, not the go-go dancing or club crawling crowd.

This one reminds me of Jeannie on acid or something.  Maybe it’s just all the pink.  Make it stop.

Sure to be voted “Most Likely to Become a Pole Dancer.”

This one just makes me hope that those laces are tied verrrry tightly, or the date might very happily receive a free show.

At this point, why not just wear a skirt and a bikini top?  Why bother with the superfluous fabric in the middle?

Because yes, prom night is all about fun and innocence.  Right?

And the last piece de resistance is a favorite of mine, which I have dubbed “The Milk? Yeah, it’s For Free.”

Shape of: a superhero! Form of: a contest!

Okay, I hated the Wonder Twins as much as anybody, but how often can you write “captions in the comments, please” without going completely nutzoid?

These delightful beach capes come from Bo Bo Brooklyn.

In honor of the new Manolo Moda, I am highlighting a Latina designer, Paulina Quintana.

Born in Chile during the regime of dictator Augusto Pinochet, her family was persecuted by Pinochet’s government and   Amnesty International brought them out of exile to establish their lives in America.

Paulina graduated with a degree in Art from UCLA, and designing children’s clothes was not her original career goal.  But she began a line, and with their bright colors and contemporary graphics, her clothes eventually caught the eye of Barney’s and since then she has become a noted designer. Quintana insists on paying her workers a living wage in non-sweatshop conditions and runs her business in an environmentally conscious manner.

I really like Quintana’s clothing.  She really tries to do different things with color and designs.  I appreciate that she is not afraid of color, because we all know that colors are a mom’s best friend when it comes to doing laundry.

We can’t keep the whole blogosphere to ourselves, and we can’t put these topics any better than these guys did, so we are simply handing you a heaping helping of links from around the parentblogosphere and instructing you to enjoy them responsibly. Post in moderation. Wait one half-hour before swimming or operating heavy machinery.

Mini-Me fashion designers from Harper’s Bazaar (Sassybella) Mini Lagerfeld? The corruption of innocence was never so fabulous, darling.

Prepare for the Monday Melee! (Fracas) Your syllabic resonant consonants will never be the same.

Rosette Nebula (Maya’s Granny) My God! It’s full of stars!

Heart-Shaped Nebula (Smoke & Mirrors) What’s at the heart of the universe?

Notes to a Stressed Past Self (Work it, Mom!) Now who do we get to deliver it?

Tadpolecast (Petite Anglaise) The Tadpole sings in tongues.

Are You Kidding Me? (WhiteTrash Mom)  St. Mary’s Academy of Stupidity

Back in My Day, a Man Was a Man and a Stroller Was a Stroller (dadsmacker) and we had to tame them ourselves, uphill in the snow

Which Celebrities are Packing a Passenger? (Celebrity Baby Scoop) And Colin Farrell has alibis for all of them

Wheel Chairs for Iraqi Kids (lilSugar) Donations accepted

Lessons from a High School Dropout (Fluttering Butterflies) Some lessons you learn too late

Bra-vo! (Kvetch Blog) Somebody’s girl has a head start on the superfantastic life

This is How New Parents Spend Friday Night (dooce) The human brain goes missing when it comes in close proximity to a chubby baby

or Princess, as the case may be.

Now, it is rare indeed that you will find me flogging clothing for children that is specifically marketed as a “Black Tie Collection,” for rarer indeed than unicorn sightings at a Paris Hilton performance are the occasions on which children are properly invited to attend black tie functions (which of course begin in the evening) and naturally the use of “Black Tie” as a swanky euphemism for “expensive” is horribly infra dig if not actually nouveau riche.

But then, how is Marie-Chantal, Crown Princess Pavlos of Greece to know? Heiress, socialite, It Girl, designer and model Her Highness Marie-Chantal (formerly “Miller”) undoubtably totes her tykes to all manner of state dinners and debutante balls, and I’m sure she’s never met a nouveau in her life, especially since Warhol died before she reached puberty.

As I said, it goes against my stuffy, literal-minded grain to promote such a thing, particularly when the designer is all, like, “Oh, we just called the brand plain old Marie-Chantal” to be all down-homey while featuring a baby wearing a crown as her logo. Plain old Marie-Chantal indeed.

But.

But.

Would you look at these clothes? And, furtherto and forafter, would you look at the prices?

NAT
Lace Collar Shirt
Price: $102.00 Sale $30.60

NELL
Baby Girl Fancy Halter Dress
Price: $125.00 Sale $37.50

So you’d be getting a gorgeous little baby party outfit of heirloom quality for $68.10 instead of the completely-out-of-the-question $227.oo. That is what I’d call a frugal indulgence, and most definitely something to be considered when one simply has to commit an act of Salvation Armani.

For girls sizes 2-12:

God, I want that for myself! Yes, I confess it: I miss Laura Ashley!

NANETTE
Peal Style Cardigan
Price: $141.00 Sale $42.30

NEEMA
Raglan Blouse
Price: $134.00 Sale $40.20

NEW YORK
Reversible Dot Skirt
Price: $154.00 Sale $46.20

And the boys are not forgotten. They are just camouflaged as their grandfathers:

LANCE W07
Cashmere V-Neck Vest
Price: $141.00

NOAH
Boy “Grand-Pa” Shirt
Price: $122.00 Sale $36.60

NEWTON
Boy Dress Trouser
Price: $147.00 Sale $44.10

NORWOOD
Boys Blazer
Price: $218.00 Sale $65.40

One notes, one does, that Plain Old Marie-Chantal knows that good cashmere never needs to get marked down to sell.

She’s such a practical girl at heart.

This week’s fashion spotlight is shining on a designer who already has quite the few spotlights shining her way already.  I’m talking about Gwen Stefani and her line of clothing, Harajuku Lovers.

Harajuku is actually a train station in Japan.  Due to the proximity of parks as well as upscale shops on Takeshita-dori,  the station became a popular hangout for Japanese youth.  And we all know that when a bunch of young people congregate, trouble creativity is bound to happen.  The Harajuku station bathrooms became the place for teens to change from their normal clothes into the fun, spirited, and outrageous fashions that the area is now famous for.

Harajuku fashion is seen as a form of dress-up, not necessarily a lifestyle.  It is all about freedom of expression and of course, the age-old rebellion thing that teens have a well-deserved reputation for displaying. The picture below is an example of this.

Source

To be honest, I was fully prepared to hate Gwen Stefani’s line for girls.  I kind of wanted to look at it and say, “Woman, stick to the music!”   I wasn’t fond of the entourage of “Harajuku girls” that Gwen surrounded hersef with for a time. But, suprisingly, I think the clothes are cute, and unlike many clothing lines for young girls nowadays, totally age-appropriate.  The clothes reflect the colorful, cartoonish style popular with Japanese youth.  They are casual and comfortable, with an emphasis on shirts and hoodies.

Source

As I was doing my usual stumbling around on the internet, I came across a site that I am very happy to promote on Teeny Manolo.

It is called Global Mamas. 

On the main page, they explain their mission:

By purchasing Global Mamas products, you are offering sustainable livelihoods to women and their families living in poverty.

All proceeds go directly to the women and to nonprofit programs that assist them with business development.

Global Mamas is a Fair Trade Manufacturer, which means they met stringent criteria set forth by the Fair Trade Federation, which is based in the United States.

I really like the idea behind this enterprise, and I feel that we here in the US are not offered as many Fair Trade products as other countries, such as Canada.   Next to the description of each piece of clothing, there is a link to both the batiker and the seamstress who made it.  Think of it as being a bit like your own personal version of Kiva, but getting cute clothes in the bargain as well.

While you may not win a Nobel Prize for Economics, it just might make you feel as good as if you had.