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23:31
rabiul islam
Kate Middleton’s latest contribution to fashion: pantyhose. After two straight weeks of pairing knockout designer dresses with '80s-style sheer stockings, the Duchess of Cambridge has proven that everything she touches—really everything—turns to style gold.
The last time Leggs were in fashion, Melanie Griffith was teasing her hair and rambling on about 'Trask'. But after a few months and a North American tour showing off shimmering gams, Kate's bringing back the look for a new generation.
Egg-crate color is out, and clear, almost fairy-dusted iridescence is in. But the song remains the same: she's got Leggs and she knows how to use them.
“Sheer pantyhose look quite elegant,” writes the Boston Globe’s Beth Teitell, after scanning photos of Prince William’s wife in a carousel of dresses over the past two weeks. Teitell welcomes the redux as an antidote to shaving cuts and dry, unevenly fake-tanned knees.
Already, the trend has caught on in the UK, with a significant spike in nude hosiery sales since Kate's made them part of her dressing routine.
But skeptics say Kate's hosed-up look has less to do with her own invention and more to do with protocol. It's an unwritten rule that royal ambassadors and guests attend events dressed to make the queen proud: closed-toed shoes, mid-length skirts and pantyhose. Lady Di’s sheer stockings (DKNY’s were her brand of choice) were such a staple of her regal look, they were incorporated into replica Franklin Mint dolls. Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, a former cutting-edge catwalker, has been spotted at official events in the less-than-edgy hose. Even Kate’s sister Pippa Middleton, a by-proxy royal, has been spotted in the sheer legwear.
On a recent royal visit, Tom Hank’s wife, Rita Wilson complained that she was required to wear hosiery for an event at Buckingham Palace, sparking murmurs of a palace dress code. “Women must wear closed-toed shoes – and get this: stockings! Sheer disbelief – I don’t even own a pair of sheer hose,” she told Harper’s Bazaar.
the palace no longer has a dress code, but those hoping to gain admittance to royal events in the UK or abroad, even members of media covering an event, are expected to “comply with the dress code on formal occasions out of respect for the guests of The Queen, or any other member of the Royal Family.”
For guests of a royal wedding that means evening gowns. For female journalists at any type of palace-sponsored event that means trousers or a skirt suit. And if we’re talking skirt suits, a staple of the '80s business woman and the queen, we’re also implying sheer tights.
In the office, sheer stockings have become dividing line between two generations. The younger, embracing bare legs and self-tanner, over the old guard’s corporate mandate of stockings. But in the business of being a royal, the queen still has an indisputable style influence, even over one of the world’s biggest trendsetters. Now it looks like that influence is spreading internationally.
But don't expect it to overtake the White House. First Lady Michelle Obama, though known on occasion to sport the legwear, is not a fan. "I stopped wearing pantyhose a long time ago, because it was painful and they'd always rip," Kate's fellow style icon announced on "The View" in 2008. "Put 'em on, rip 'em..it's inconvenient."
22:33
rabiul islam
Keith Olbermann returns to television Monday night in his new gig at Current TV. The show will air at a familiar time (8:00 p.m.) and with a familiar name, Countdown with Keith Olbermann.
Where’s the Digital Focus?
One of the more disappointing aspects about the launch of the new Countdown is the lack — at least thus far — of a clear-cut digital strategy. It’s more than a little ironic that Current TV, a network that was originally formed with a focus on online content, is remaking itself to be more of the standard cable network, especially in an age when the established cable networks are trying to be more social.
Olbermann’s former network, MSNBC, has long had as strong digital presence. Not only are clips from its various programs available online (and the network has streaming deals with certain telecoms for mobile TV initiatives) almost instantly, the network has provided video podcasts of its primetime shows — including the former incarnation of Countdown. MSNBC also has a strong presence in the mobile app space.
In contrast, Current has reduced much of its online video presence to clips and promos for certain series. The website for Countdown, while beautiful and well-designed, will bring users exclusive behind-the-scenes video clips and curated clips from the nightly show. In other words, if your cable provider doesn’t carry Current, you won’t be able to watch the full show.
To combat that, Current is actively embarking on a “I Want My MTV”-esque campaign to get users to use social media, email and the phone to petition cable operators to add Current to their lineup.
Here’s a video that Olbermann made addressing cable television provider Cablevision:
It’s a little frustrating that the network is knowledgeable enough to know that Twitter and Facebook are important outlets to get the attention of cable operators, yet aren’t willing to take the next step of offering online access to content.Unlike CNN, Fox News and MSNBC, Current TV isn’t a cable news lineup staple. For that reason, Olbermann is not promising blockbuster traditional ratings. He pointed out that Countdown in the early days on MSNBC was only getting a small fraction of its audience circa 2011.
That’s a fair point and one we will certainly keep in mind when the reports are released. Still, we have to question the reliance on a traditional cable strategy when the industry model as a whole is moving to a more malleable and digital space.
My hope is that Current TV and Olbermann will learn to embrace digital audiences sooner rather than later. Yes, it’s important to target the existing cable market, but the focus should also be on the growing segment of users that consume their content — including news — online.
