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Happy Valentine's Day! (And, it's a cold one in these parts, but only outside... There's a blizzard raging here in Chicago!)
photo: WisDoc ( flickr)

Dreamgirl to Cover Girl

It's official. Jennifer Hudson will grace the cover of March Vogue. The award-winning Dreamgirls actress and singer was photographed for Vogue by Annie Liebovitz at Harlem's Apollo Theater in January. At the time, the magazine would only confirm that the shoot had taken place, but stated that the cover had not been decided.

Now that the choice of Hudson for the cover has been made public, Wintour et al. look poised to score a coup. For one thing, with the release of the March issue being so close to the Oscars, it's well-timed. Hudson also has an innate appeal, that elusive "star quality" that's always easier to identify than to describe. And it's so powerful that André Leon Talley hails her as a "walking sun". Unlike the A-list actresses who supplant models on Vogue covers that are essentially interchangeable, Jennifer Hudson stands out. She has that "something". In abundance.

Although I haven't seen Dreamgirls, and I've only caught clips of American Idol on television; I'm rooting for Jennifer. (Agh... those tortured auditions by Idol hopefuls, and the rather brash critiques of the three judges that follow them.) Jennifer is one Hudson Vogue can bet on.

Dashing Through the Snow

There's no shortage of eclectic, artsy types in New York magazine's The Look Book. From the Look Book profiles of these people, it’s easy to get a less than favorable impression. Not terrible, by any means, but you’d probably expect someone a little removed and slightly amusing if you were to meet them. Jewelry designer, Bess Abraham and her preschool-aged daughter, Kaia, included. But I want to like mama Bess and little Kaia. Really.

Bess is rather unassuming when describing her own style. She looks comfortable in the striped leggings, red flats, and poncho that she’s wearing. About this last piece, the poncho, Bess adds that it "was my mom’s, and it’s maternity.” As if to say “Oh, this old thing.” She seems all too aware of her precarious position. A likely swank New Yorker, too easy to dismiss as more privilege than style and more style than substance. Note: The leggings are from Barney’s. No real problems here, though.

It’s with daughter, Kaia that mom runs into trouble. Mom turns a question about her daughter’s hat into an opportunity to declare that Kaia is “very specific about her style.” I don’t doubt that Kaia is a girl who knows what she wants, a girl behind her own heart, even at the tender age of three. Like countless other three year-old girls “she’s really into pink” and Hello Kitty. OK, fair enough. Mom still has some cred. But then she has to go and add that Kaia’s favorite food is miso soup and avocado sushi, and she‘s lost me.

At least Kaia looks happy and warm skipping around in her puffy pink coat and fun hat. And, well, normal. Mom might just be alright, after all.