Progress?

I hate those things. Call me a fuddy-duddy, but they are creepy and send girls an even worse message than Barbies.

@rptrcub: My six y.o. got a Bratz “get up” for a birthday gift (when she was five) and I said to my wife: “so, we’ve decided that prostitution is better for our retirement than professional basketball?” I can’t stand that crap, although Barbie is tolerable.

@rptrcub: They are horrific. Of course, I’m convinced the only people who buy Bratz for their daughters are the same people who think it’s cute to dress up their four year olds in sweat pants that say JUICY across the ass in rhinestone. Way to sexualize your child into a prostitot.

@CB: The California daily legal newspaper covered the Bratz-Mattell trial extensively. It was odd to observe these two huge corporations (and their army of LA lawyers, natch) go head-to-head over the most ridiculous and grotesque little dolls.

@SanFranLefty:
Your little dolls they got grip on you
Until you’re just another doll in your dollhouse too

– Bruce

@SanFranLefty: Prostitot. I nominate that as the Stinque Word of the Day.

@rptrcub: I can’t claim credit for it. I’ve seen it in various feminist publications and think it’s such a brilliant way to capture the trend of sexualizing ever-younger girls that it should be used early and often.

SanFranLefty: Another nominee: any tee-shirts with the word “princess” on them — rhinestoned or not, alone or in a sentence (or, usually, a fragment), in whatever color or combination of colors. I’m not for book-burning. Two-dollar-tee-shirt burning, however? Sign my ass up for that.

[TJ: PM Blimpie gets his timeout from the viceroy. Government survives until confidence vote on national budget in January. Fa la la la la.]

@chicago bureau: My cousin’s toddler has one that says “Flirt.” What that is even supposed to mean to a three-year old girl is beyond me.

@chicago bureau: A black woman as the deciderator. Would totally cause a second round of bigot head explosions down here.

Here’s a semi-related TJ for the fashion-savvy girls and gays: An article about what Michelle should wear for the inaugeration, including a slideshow of sketches! Minutes of fun!
http://www.wwd.com/fashion-news/dressing-the-first-lady-1875632

Many of the looks are too Jackie-derivative IMHO and don’t do justice to Michelle’s uniqueness of style or build. But my favorite is the Oscar de la Renta black-and-white one–lovely! The ideas for the Sasha and Malia are particularly off the mark, unfortunately. Many want to dress them identically even though there’s a sizable age gap between the two and want them to look either like Victorian 5-year-olds or mini-adults….and with the mini-adult comment, I bring the threadjack around full circle to be on topic again!

rptrcub: And the previous governor-general was (excuse me) of East Asian decent (Chinese, if I remember right).

Meanwhile, a guy looking like this is in Parliament. Dude’s in the Shadow Cabinet — and is not nearly the only guy of South Asian descent in the building. Show that to some of your redneck pals.

@flippin eck: I liked the purple Lacroix number (#13?) for M.O. but it had a high neck. Girlfriend has some awesome clavicles that should be shown off. Mizhari (sketch #1) had good color choices for the girls but the design for Malia’s dress was weird. Given their past choices, I see all three of them in clean-cut, simple and elegant sheaths in eye-popping color, sleeveless for M.O. to show off those arms of hers, to the elbow for the girls, with wraps for warmth.

TJ, look at the bog balls on the Onion: http://www.theonion.com/content/news_briefs/bush_dragged_behind?utm_source=onion_rss_daily

@chicago bureau:
That would be very close to my neck of the woods. There are several. My MP is someone I went to high school with and I wish I didn’t.

He was an entitled jock prick then and now an entitled prick business lawyer (I attempt to mean no offense to the many masses of lawyer types here who don’t fit in the mold.)

@Prommie: Did you see this one?

@flippin eck: How did Cindy McCain slip in there? Agree with you about Oscar de la Renta’s take — it’s a very fresh look, and the colors are winter-appropriate without being drab. And I actually liked his designs for the girls as well — a simple girly dress for Sasha and a slightly more grown-up (but completely tasteful) one for Malia. Also, Betsey Johnson’s dress is wreteched, but how cute are her notes?

@SanFranLefty: Beautiful.

@SanFranLefty: Christian LaCroix WonderWoman outfits are hilarious and make me think of Edina in AbFab (“LaCroix, darling, LaCroix!) so they’re funny on two counts. And would most likely start a riot if Big Mo appeared in them. Personally, I don’t think Isaac Mizrahi should ever be allowed to dress any human being anywhere. they always end up looking like Christmas crackers. And not in the good way. De la Renta is good. He’s about the closest to couture we have. And I thought the von Furstenberg ideas were elegant. Whoever it was drew them.

Barry will of course be impeccable. Man was born to wear suits. Lets only hope he gets the right shirt size.

But where is Balenciaga now we really need him?

And speaking of the Friday Crush, Newsday keeps us posted…

A no-cutting-in-line conflict between two large groups of shoppers helped to spark the Black Friday stampede in which a Wal-Mart worker was trampled to death, Nassau police said yesterday.

Shoppers who remained inside their vehicles in the parking lot until the Valley Stream store’s special 5 a.m. opening apparently clashed with people who had stood in line for hours outside Wal-Mart, police said.

When the store’s doors opened, the conflict between the two groups — with “a considerable amount of people” who had stayed in their vehicles rushing to enter the store without waiting in line — fostered “mob mentality,” Nassau Police Lt. Kevin Smith said.

Wait a few years for tempers to cool, and you have a Sondheim musical.

@nojo: Crush!

All James Lapine has to do is update the book for Evening Primrose. Sondheim’s already written the score. Instead of people pretending to be mannequins living inside a Manhattan Department store they can shift the location to the WallMart in Valley Stream, hire Patty LuPone as the scariest of the shoppers and Bob’s your uncle! I smell Tonys all round.