Happy-Happy Sunday everyone!
We start off with a few early photographs of pieces from the Richard Chai for Target Collection due in stores August.
Our thanks to Nylon magazine for these. It will be fascinating to see them in person, and also to read Nylon’s in-depth piece on Chai. They look fun, don’t they?
For a substantial portion of our readers this time of year means not only transferring life from city to coast, it also means increased time out of doors on the golf course, the tennis court, the open sea, the Great Lakes, wherever, whenever – you name it, we’re there. The opportunities are endless and we want to go charging into all of them, eyes and arms wide open.
However, on rare and isolated occasions you will find some of us huddled inside, regardless of the weather outside. We are approaching one such occasion: the Wimbledon semi-finals, depending on the match-ups, and the finals. And lest you think we are hopeless relics of another age, we are aware of devices that record the goings-on on the little screen and even if we did know how to Tivo-ize the matches and watch them at a time that wouldn’t intrude upon beach time, tee time, you-know-the-drill-time, trust us, we might. But you see, when taking into consideration the time difference and well, accounting for the little interruptions wrought upon slumber by one’s advancing years, there is every chance we may see some of this in real time.
All of this a very long-winded way of saying how much we enjoy Wimbledon. And also nudging ourselves that we promised to follow-up Tuesday’s post in which we mentioned Roger Federer’s creamy cardigan, the one worn onto the court prior to his first and second round matches.
There were a few inquiries and/or comments about the cardie as they are called in other parts of the world, but my goodness, not nearly so many as we had about Ms. Sharapova’s Tennis Tuxedo. Lordy, did that cause a few folks to reach for their blood pressure meds! And just when you thought it was safe… well, more about the tennisnondress that didn’t belong anywhere near Wimbledon in just a sec, but first, the details on St. Fed’s sweater.
As you no doubt noticed, it did have that swooshy gold Nike embellishment, but you won’t find it at Nike.com, unless something has changed. The Gatsby-esque sweater is a cashmere and linen blend, which must be an absolute dream to have on. Despite the herringbone pattern that gave it a heavier look, we bet it is über breathable. Only 230 of these treasures have been created, representing the 230 weeks Mr. Federer ranked as the #1 tennis player in the Galaxy. It would appear what we have is a limited edition sweater. For the curious, the five gold buttons symbolize the Swiss superstar’s five consecutive Wimbledon titles. The Princess is not entirely clear on how these sublime sweaters will be sold, although we fully expect some to be used as gifts for high-end corporate sponsor types and others to be auctioned off with the proceeds going to one of Mr. Federer’s charities or perhaps another cause yet to be named. There are also reports some may be available at the NikeTown in London, others at the Nike shop that practically sits on Centre Court, but TP is unable to substantiate that info. When we learn more, we’ll let you know.
Now back to the story that will not die! In TV News parlance, the preceding wasted verbiage joining two adjacent segments of a television newscast together is often referred to as the “toss.”
You sly dog…. you recognize the term. You know this. Why, you have seen it happen! Night after night! As when the anchor ‘tosses’ it to the Weather Bunny who tosses it to back to the News Units who may or may not ‘toss’ to the break and then we’ll ‘bump back in’ to the segment with a wide shot of the news anchors who will then toss nicely (we hope, and we can only hope you see, for if we are in the booth producing this nightmare and not out on the desk reading the hits, then we have no control over what The Talent does and sometimes as you may have also seen, The Talent is not nice to each other and therefore they don’t ‘toss nicely), we hope to the Sports Dude… and if SportsDude does the Sports in the precise time allotted, then perhaps tonight’s newscast will end precisely on time, as expected. You know, at the time viewers, station management and countless others expect it to end. Yourself included, so that you might catch the beginning of Leno, or Nightline, or whatever, but you do sort of expect it to end at the proper time, yes? Indeed. Thus, one of the problems with The Toss and The Talent, but we simply won’t go there today. No.
The above then (well, the above that was above the above), that was an elongated (long-winded too), version of ‘a toss,’ so ‘long’ in fact, we would have ‘gotten out late’ of the newscast, or ‘gone long.’ But since that old clock isn’t tickety-tocking in my ear, let’s chat up that Tennis Tuxedo that really wasn’t. It is a very cool look in some respects, not our preference for Wimbledon, too reminiscent of a waitress’s uniform (seriously, we finally figured out what was bugging us), but still a stylish look cool for another purpose but most definitely not a Tuxedo, Tennis or otherwise. Still, the Tennis Tuxedo was the look of choice for Maria Sharapova.
But it was not a look Alla Kudryavtseva cared for at all, an unfortunate turn of events for Ms. Sharapova, as Kudryavtseva was her Wimbledon opponent Friday. Ms. Kudryavtseva claims it was her substantial distaste for the headline-grabbing Tennis Tuxedo that provided motivation for her to trounce Sharapova on the court, eliminating her from competition.
As described in yesterday’s post, the comments were somewhat nastier than portrayed here, but at least we thought that was the end of it. Until we learn today of Nike Senior Designer Colleen Sandieson’s reaction to all of this.
“I was quite shocked when I heard she had been saying this about the outfit. I didn’t think it was very sporting. The outfit is 100 per cent functional for tennis, although it has a glamorous look.
“I shouldn’t say too much about it in case it starts trouble.
“Both girls are Russian and there will be a fierce competition there.
“I have seen Kudryavtseva’s outfit and without going into it too much, I would describe it as understated.”
It may not be sporting, but my, it could well sell a few more Tuxedo tops. If I am at the Nike Mothership, I am thinking it is possible, nay, likely this little controversy might sell just a few more garments. Just a few more. It was one thing to have known with certainty that Ms. Sharapova’s attire would generate conversation, consternation, perhaps even some controversy. But really, can’t you see the Nike marketing folks getting over their sadness at the Sharapova loss in a big hurry while listening to the post-match news conference with Ms. Kudryavtseva? ‘Nuff said.
We also promised to let you know what attire had ‘prima ballerinas and ‘fashion folks chatting it up together.’ Here it is:
Urszula Radwanska of Poland in a skirt some found reminiscent of a tutu, with its multiple layers of material. We *wish* we could say who the designer is, but despite the gold swooshyness, we can’t find anymore information on the skirt. When we do learn something, we will advise of that information.
Clarification: Knowing some readers may have a concern that The Princess must be perilously close to an attack of Logophobia as a result of all the golden swooshyness we have witnessed of late, rest easy. Somehow in our genetic makeup the appearance of small (ahem) courtside logos is not the irritant it can be on ‘street clothes.’ We don’t know why this is the case, but we are ever-so-grateful for the good fortune. We’re sure you are as well, for we know you couldn’t possibly bear another hysterical diatribe to listen to our mewling about the topic.
One final item in what must be a rotten week for Ms. Sharapova: the Grand Pooh-bahs at the Russian Olympic Team have said ‘Nyet” to her request/offer to carry the flag during the opening ceremonies of the Beijing Olympics. Not because of what she has or hasn’t worn at Wimbledon, or how she did or didn’t play, but apparently because they don’t think standing around for 3-4 hours in the hot weather will do Maria, or her game, any good.
Just so we end our missive on an up note and send us all into the next week smiling, news of a wedding to share. And this one is also tennis related! (There’s that little toss thing… okay. We stop now.)
Chris Evert and Greg Norman were married yesterday in the Bahamas. The couple (both of whom are 53, if you can believe that!) exchanged vows in a sunset ceremony; all three of her children participated as did Norman’s son Gregory.
The Preppy Princess 