Scene Stealers and Little Missy's Summer Reading Roundup

Cary Grant and Mae West, I'm No Angel, 1933
Ever see I'm No Angel with Cary Grant and Mae West?  What did you notice?  That Mae stole every scene from Cary?  And what may we deduce from this?  Do like Mae did and write your own lines.  Mae got full writing credits on that picture.  Good one, Mae!  No one else ever stole Cary's scenes again!  And what about these two:

Louis Armstrong and Barbra Streisand, Hello Dolly!, 1969

 These are also two legends, right?  I might have just been a little kid but I could see when a scene was being stolen, and Louis was OWNING the above scene.  Age before beauty, Miss Streisand!

Think about these shining examples if you ever want to steal a scene.  It takes genius, of course (duh, a given), but it also takes SELF KNOWLEDGE!  Knowing who you are so well you will just walk into a room and own that room if that's what you want to do.  Stick to what you do best.  Whether a singer, raconteur, comedian, philosopher, fashion plate or whatever you are, if you want to own that room, just walk in and be yourself.  And if you're good, you will own that room, that scene, just like Mae and Louis.  And if you don't, it's not the end of the day.  I picked four genius performers at the top of their games to show you that ultimately only one can own the scene.

Now it's time for Little Missy's Summer Reading Roundup!

Audio Version but I recommend the book
Carole Radziwill's The Widow's Guide to Sex and Dating is one of the funniest books I have read in a long time.  Claire is a plucky writer in her early 30's recently widowed from her older husband, a sexologist who overshadowed her.  Of course she has friends out of Central Casting who want to to set her up with every stereotype out there.  I would love to give a spoiler alert and blurt out the end because I think Claire makes a big mistake, but hey, I'm jaded, and winding up in Petaluma with my ex's (or in this case late husband's) "stiffest"critic is not my cup of tea!  A lot of New York style chit chat and Hollywood scenes will keep you turning the pages of this chic little book.

If you're thinking what I was thinking you're thinking Not Another One!  Why do we need so many books by these French women telling us like it is?  We don't, but for the new generation who has not been hit with the onslaught Little Missy and others of her age group may have suffered, How to be Parisian Wherever You Are is different.  First, it was written by four French women who are SELF DEPRECATING---an almost unheard of temperament in the City of Light.  All those important things like a few good recipes (floating island, crepes, mayonnaise and vinaigrette) are given freely.  How to kiss and how to spend as little time as possible with your kids are all offered up.  And what you do for yourself!  A bouquet of white lilies, "just because".  A first edition of a classic.  A dish of sea urchins.  Over sized sunglasses.  Massages.  Sweet almond oil as the best and cheapest moisturiser.  These French girls know they are crazy.  They admit they going ballistic once in a while at work (just like in French movies!) but all is forgiven because they are French!  How to cheat on your boyfriend, mais oui!  What would a book on Parisian tips be without that?  And best of all!  To keep the romance going, keep Separate Apartments!  Well, Little Missy might not be a Parisian (I guess they are keeping this gender neutral) but let me offer up  this one tip.  Take these French girls' advice on advice but listen to Missy:  if you want to keep any relationship going, separate living spaces period....whether you are married, dating or whatever!  You don't need to be French to know that!
Well, have a great summer and do steal some scenes and buy some white lilies "just because"---because you are my dear readers and you are worth it!

The Story of  Goldilocks and The Three Shoes
Love to all on Pride Weekend!

 Papa Bear likes Louboutin's sky high Palais Royal heels!

Mama Bear doesn't like Birkenstock, but ugly is chic right now thank goodness!

Baby Bear likes Louboutin's medium height Gladiator heels and this little gladiator is obviously going places!  

This bear liked cupcakes and fell through a sky light to eat them last week, losing his life.

The Story of the Three Shoes goes like this:

Once there was a fashion loving little girl called Goldilocks who got lost in the big forest of Paris and ended up in the Palais Royal.  She was even wearing Christian Louboutin's sky high Palais Royal heels!  It was no easy feat negotiating the cobblestones, and one could say Goldilocks was risking her life for fashion!  Also probably trying to impress some guy, like Papa Bear! She was already a tall girl and a fall in those skyscraper shoes would have been a long way down to the ground!  Like that bear up in Alaska, who fell through a sky light of some body's house and ate all the toddler's birthday cupcakes before he was shot by authorities!  I mean Goldilocks probably wouldn't have gotten shot in Paris, but it's what we do for the stuff we can't keep away from!  It's horrifying!  My friend the esteemed writer for the San Francisco Chronicle, Carolyne Zinko, even wrote a story about the new trend for safer, albeit ugly shoes.  So Mama Bear doesn't exactly like Birkenstock sandals but guess what?  Little Missy has bought her first pair and you won't kick me out of them!  And I have searched my soul (lol) and I won't be wearing Birkenstocks with Chanel until Karl gives us the green light!  Who knows?  Maybe he has!  Little Missy had a busy spring with all kinds of major stuff happening and maybe an announcement was made that Birkenstock sandals were OK ed by Karl and I missed it!  After all it's for sure he used to appear on the runway in something that looked like black Uggs!  As in Uugly!  OK, so now we're talking about what Baby Bear liked, the Gladiator medium heel.  Duh, Child is the Father of the Man.  The Baby Bear intuitively knew that you don't have to be ugly or uncomfortable and unsafe to be sexy!  She picked the Gladiator medium heel and told Goldilocks the news!  Gladiators galore!  Right on, Baby Bear!  Well that's the story of the Three Shoes, and does this story have a point?  Don't ask so much out of Little Missy!  

Little Missy's Spring Grooming for Men

 

Does this guy ever not look good?

So men, if George Clooney is one of Little Missy's standard bearers, what is she saying?  Avoid marriage at all costs!  Get an amazing place on Lake Como!  Have constant massages and facials!  Control your projects as much as you can!  So you won't ever be able to walk in Central Park again because you are so fabulous?  You can walk around Lake Como, where the Italians aren't so obsessive about movie stars!

If Little Missy was going to truly pamper her man today, this is what she would do:

She would fly us First Class United to London on her frequent flyer miles (duh!) for five days.  We would stay at Little Missy's favourite spot, Claridges.  After Swan Lake at the Royal Opera House (you love ballet),  a light dinner at Joel Robuchon.  The next day would be devoted to Savile Row appointments, beginning with Gieves and Hawkes, ending at H. Huntsman & Sons.  From there we would walk to Jermyn Street to Turnbull and Asser, where Little Missy would help you pick out a dozen fabrics for custom made shirts.  Then on we would walk up Bond Street to Hermes for ties.  Oh yes, you sometimes wear ties.  Then to John Lobb for your bespoke shoes.  After so much excitement, you would pick the place out for dinner!  I like The Greenhouse!

Gieves and Hawkes

Turnbull and Asser

John Lobb

The next day (Day Three, but who's counting?) would be spent on treatments for you at my favourite spot, Gielly Green on George Street.  If it's good enough for me, it's good enough for you.  From ten in the morning until two in the afternoon you would be coddled over and made to feel like a king.  Shai would style your hair after your facial, massage, manicure and pedicure.  You would leave walking on air, in time for tea at Claridges.  By George, it's now coming on to the dinner hour!  We've been invited to the Electric by friends who are members.  We run into Sienna, Jude, Kate and some others we kind of recognise!  Well, now it's Day Four---what you say?  We are going to Lake Como???  Oh Sweetie!   I love you!!!!!

By George I think he's got it!

 

Happy Easter

 

Here are Christine and Patrick Suppes

Easter 2006

 

 

 

 How Little Missy Loves Her Easter Flowers

 

 Little Missy Sends Love To Her Mother And Father

Little Missy's Beauty and Fashion Myth Busters for Women

 

Essie Davis as Miss Fisher from Miss Fisher Murder Mysteries Proves Missy's Point

Myth Number One

A woman should always go with a lighter hair colour as she gets older.  A darker shade will age her.

Fact:  A woman can look quite washed out with pale blonde hair as she gets older.  If she wants to go darker, use Miss Fisher as an example and rock that dark bob.

 

Myth Number Two

As a woman ages, she needs a little more meat on her bones to make her face look more full and youthful.

Carmen Dell'Orefice

Fact: A hefty gal doesn't get around as quickly as a more slender gal.  Dispute this fact.

 

Myth Number Three

A party lifestyle destroys natural beauty

Fact: Kate Moss is but one example that this is not always true.

Little Missy Further Remarks:  Make hay while the sun shines

 

Myth Number Four

Rock and Roll Women Always End Up Looking Like Old Hags

Fact: Tina Turner says "Excuse me?"

Are you starting to follow me?

Myth Number Five:

Hit the gym at least three times a week
Fact:  Jane Fonda had a very complicated relation with her body and hitting the gym did little to help her self esteem.  Jane's story is enough for me.  Little Missy has never hit the gym and never intends to.

Myth Number Six:
French women know more about beauty and fashion than American women

Fact: Mireille Guliano's high handed book "French Women Don't Get Fat" gave the secret---subsist on watered down cabbage soup.  She stopped looking good to me once I got her secret.

Myth Number Seven:
Red lipstick is tricky to apply and wear

Fact: Who could ever forget Scarlett Johansson putting on her lipstick without a mirror in the brilliant movie "Lost in Translation"?

Little Missy realises that myth busting is not always easy to interpret, let alone assimilate into ones regime.  But for heaven's sake, make it a little more easy on yourselves!  Happy Spring!  And watch out for Men's Grooming and Lifestyle Myth Busters, coming soon!




 

 

 

 

 





 

 

A Dream Come True!

Kim Kardashian Gets a Wedding Dress and a Vogue Cover 

Kim and Kanye, America's Sweethearts

Persona non grata by Vogue Magazine just one year ago, Kim Kardashian now graces the cover of this noble publication, proving that hindsight after all is only 20/20.  Little Missy isn't sure if Kim and Kanye actually have the date for the wedding, but they have little North West, the gown, and most importantly they now have Anna Wintour in their pocket!  Yes, As the World Turns!  While the rest of us are trying to pay our bills, stay healthy and keep up with the latest like Putin, the Ukraine, the missing jetliner, the new head of the Federal Reserve (more about her later!) the Kardashians have been positioning themselves for this great moment!  Well for heaven's sake, don't ever say Little Missy didn't tell you it was coming!  Yes, there was a terse moment in the history of Miss Wintour  and Kim Kardashian:  Kanye was performing at the Met Ball, but Kim was not exactly made to feel welcome.  I guess all is forgiven now! And what a beautiful cover, gold and ivory, black and bronze...so couture!  What else is left to say?  Only this:

Fashion Changes But Style Endures

May this issue fly off the shelves across the Americas and abroad.  May Anna have her greatest success to date. 

 

"Janet Yellen's Awkward Day"

Good call, New Yorker.com!  That was your headline.  Janet Yellen held her first press conference and one thing is clear...yes, Anna Wintour has a new assignment it seems!  Janet Yellen, the new Chairman of the Federal Reserve is now the most powerful woman on the planet!  Even more powerful than Anna Wintour or Kim Kardashian, if you follow Little Missy!  If Janet were a guy, no one would care!  Who cared what Alan Greenspan or Ben Bernanke looked like?  No one!  But Janet needs to rock a better American look than she is now doing, and she needs to take elocution lessons pronto!  Anna, step up to the plate. Figure this one out!  It may not sell issues of Vogue directly, but it sure will indirectly! 

For Heaven' sake!  Little Missy is for once in her life speechless!  What a world this is....flotsam floating to the top and the black box at the bottom of the sea.

 

 

 

 Little Missy Goes to the Movies

 

And you know Little Missy, there are only two movies she wants to talk about, Her and In a World...

Let's talk about Her.  How much do we love Spike Jonze?  Wouldn't it be fabulous to get inside his mind for five or ten minutes just to understand  how he thinks from point A to point B?  And Spike produced, wrote and directed this sci-fi romance, which takes place in 2025.  The main character, played by Joaquin Phoenix, writes for a company that produces personal letters from clients unwilling or unable to perform such tasks.  And he's about to get divorced from his wife, Rooney Mara.  OMG, there is still letter writing and divorce in ten years!  That's not much of a sci-fi!  And what about the high waisted pants the guys all wear?  And all the orange shirts and sweaters?  And the dress for success seventies looks the girls have to wear?  It's a look, all right, and Little Missy admires its cohesiveness!

 

Joaquin loves his orange shirt

 

Geek Chic

Rooney Mara gets a seventies stock tie blouse for the divorce talk scene!

And of course let's not forget the voice of the OS Joaquin has fallen in love with--Scarlett Johansson's!  What a tease!
Voices are all-important, not only in Her but of course in In a World...the brilliant peek into the voice-over industry written, directed, produced and starring Little Missy's new favourite Hollywood powerhouse, Lake Bell.  Style-wise, Lake is more about the eighties.  The eighties like Everybody Wants To Rule The World by Tears for Fears

Lake struggles in the same industry with her ego maniacal father

And wins!

In a World...is different in that it is not sci-fi.  It's a loving look at the industry of voice over, starting with the death of a real voice over mega star, Don Lafontaine, and takes place right now in Los Angeles with fictional characters in their thirties to fifties who look so familiar to me I swear I know them very well. And whether Lake is sitting in her plaid pyjama top eating peanut butter out of a jar for breakfast or surreptitiously recording unsuspecting voices for her voice archives (her speciality is accents), we want her to win--because in the real world, men's voices are still considered more sell able than women's.  Yes, that's a tough one for us girls, especially as Scarlett's sexy voice was such a hit in Her, when her off screen womanly wisdom and infinite grace stole the picture!
Well, you be the judges, Readers!  I thought both of these pictures were amazing, but Little Missy gives the edge to the slightly edgier In a World...everyone has an idea about movie genius and this was mine!

All The Beautiful Things of Spring
 

Goat hair Alice Jacket by Isabel Marant, Spring 2014

Isabel Marant's leather boy pant, Spring 2014

It doesn't take a genius, but it does take an eye.  Hidden off to a side at Neiman Marcus in San Francisco, Little Missy uncovered two of the best spring pieces she has seen in the stores.  Put these two pieces together and Enter Rome Like A Conquering Hero! 

Little Missy is loving Miss Dior

So right for Spring!

Christian Louboutin Classic Pump

Not the Fifi La Rue supertramp platform!

 

Your invitations must be from The Wren Press

Beyond chic, darlings!

 

 

Go West Young Man! 

 Flower Power Cowboy Vintage

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now it's time for Little Missy's Mail Bag and do I have a good one for you!

Dear Little Missy writes in ithappenedonenight:

You write your blog site like you have an agenda.  What is your point?  Dear ithappenedonenight:  if you don't read tea leaves then read pillows.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Blue Hawaii  or Trouble in Paradise

 

"But time will not permit: all is uneven, And every thing is left at six and seven." Shakespeare, Richard II

When in doubt, some of us go to Hawaii.  Good old reassuring Hawaii.  Any of the islands will do.  My particular memories have been on Oahu, the Big Island and Kauai. But a lot of Little Missy's friends do time on Maui.  Or as Little Missy's mother used to call it, The Wild Island.  Where all the crazy stuff happened.  Where I never went.

Wild Anthurium

The first time I consciously recognised racism was on Oahu when I was fourteen years old.  We had just come from the Honolulu airport to the parking lot of the condominium in which we were staying for the month. Two beautiful Hawaiian girls had gone to the beach and parked in the lot.  The condominium manager was hassling the girls, demanding five dollars from them or else he was going to have them towed.  The girls were crying because they did not have the money.  I jumped in and pulled five dollars out of my purse--a huge chunk of my pocket money that summer long ago. My mother agreed with me, and stood by me. The mean old manager, a tall skinny guy we later nicknamed "Stretch", refused my money and let the girls go.  He tried to make remarks to my mother, brothers and me about Hawaiian people always trying to get away with stuff, and we dismissed him.  Needless to say, I was not popular with management. A few days later, the girls brought me a bouquet of anthurium, which grew wild in the hills behind us and we became friends.  They taught me how to rock climb and how to swim far out into the ocean.  One day I was walking down the highway with my friends and a Hawaiian woman almost ran me off the road, shrieking "Haole!"  There was a lot of mutual disregard between Hawaiians and Haoles.  One of my friends had a brother we used to swim with for miles a day.  He later served in Vietnam, and wrote us letters. That was a long

time ago...

And This is Now...Snoop Dogg, we love you.  And we love you, Martha!

 

Too much drama for Little Missy!  Don't want to get her going on her childhood stories!  Let's talk about the stuff we want to talk about ...like let's talk about Rodarte's show today in New York



This little ensemble works for Little Missy

 When in doubt, show some skin

Don't whine, be glamorous

You see, the fundamental problem with Hawaii, as any fashion lover will tell you, is that you cannot really dress up.  It's all about bikinis and cover ups, which is was great when Little Missy was a teenager.  But now I want a Rodarte gown!  A better way to show skin! Wear these gowns and the world will be a more beautiful place....like the wild anthurims  growing in the hills of Oahu.

 

 



Looking for the Green Light!

No New Year Resolutions!

Leo Looking for the Green Light in The Great Gatsby

 

Little Missy was watching television news early one morning this past week.  Some new miracle face cream was being advertised.  "Expression lines virtually disappear"!  Expression lines (wrinkles???) virtually disappear (are photo shopped???)  Who are these cruel monsters preying upon women as we awaken and get ready for our days?  Expression lines?  Embrace them! Virtual disappearance?  Photo shopping!  Embrace this art form too, but understand it!  It's branding! 

 

We can all use a fresh spin once in a while! Re-inventing can be a good thing!  Look at Madonna! Impressive!  And she goes to the branding master, Pascal Dangin. Pascal brands everyone!  LVMH, movie stars, rock stars, everybody!  Everybody except Chanel, and he even worked for them until he told Karl that Karl was a lousy photographer!   LOL ouch!  Then Pascal got fired from Chanel, but he is known as "The Photo Whisperer" in the business. That means that if Pascal chooses, and he usually does,  Expression Lines Virtually Disappear!  Wow!  Magic! 

Pascal Dangin is the Virtual Disappearance Guy!


Little Missy took a hiatus over the holidays.  For one thing, I was tired as I had spent most of the past year travelling.  Secondly, I did not want to do one of those New Year Resolution Lists.  Hello!  Little Missy does not believe in New Year Resolutions, or any other promises she cannot keep!  But here is an idea I read about on Facebook:
 Sitting is the new smoking!

What about Anna Wintour having the new wing of the Costume Institute at the Met named for her?  OMG!

Here is the main thing, maybe!  Look for that green light and pass through!  At a legal speed!  No traffic tickets, please!  Happy New Year Everybody!   Best in 2014!

Photographed by the master, Frederic Aranda in Hyde Park








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Little Missy's Guide To The Two Buzz Phrases Of The Day

 

We Can Only Be Talking About Disruptive Innovation And Mindfulness!

Don't Worry, Be Happy!

 

So, who else has seen Disruptiv1 buzzing around in his Tesla up and down 280 between Palo Alto and San Francisco and who knows where else?

Disruptive Innovation at its most elegant!

Catch Disruptiv1 for Little Missy if you can, readers!  He's my dream man!  Merry Christmas, Christine!  What is Disruptive Innovation, anyway?
As I have written in these pages before, a picture tells a thousand stories.  

The Real Boston Tea Party was a force to be reckoned with!
 



Steve's iPad!   Talk about Disruptive Innovation!

 

Alexander McQueen's Highland Rape Collection was not a Highland Fling!

And when you get tired of so much genius being flung all over the place and in your face, try

Mindfulness

This is very simple...Little Missy has been preaching it all year, since she discovered how to blog!  Talk about Disruptive Innovation!
Mindful means
In the Moment
Being in the Moment
not
Of the Moment

You see, Disruptive Innovation requires you to be of the moment, right there at the right time with your creative disruption that will change the world.  Mindfulness asks you to be in the moment, to recognize that you have the choice in how you want to respond!  That the choice is yours and yours alone! In fact you cannot even begin to enjoy all the Disruptive Innovation without Mindfulness!  It's a juggling act!  The Universe it telling us to be Disruptively Innovative and In the Moment!  I mean if the time for Intuition was ever Now, this is NOW! OMG!  Little Missy is no Guru!  Just trying to make sense of things.  In the Moment, as Ever!