Cindy Gallop's Black Apartment!

 I've had the luxury of experiencing NYC advertising mogul, cougar and fellow blonde Cindy Gallop's uber-chic Black Apartment first hand, while working on a photo shoot for Italian Vogue with the makeup artist Kabuki. Cindy's MASSIVE loft is housed in the old Chelsea YMCA building (yes, THAT YMCA) and is located where the men's locker room used to be (if those walls could talk)! The entire apartment is floor to ceiling black, which accents her vast array of furniture, artwork and collectables. Her shoe collection acts as an art installation and runs the entire length of the apartment. She has a HUGE obsession with Tom Ford/Gucci and the pop artwork of Peter Gronquist; gold Gucci chainsaw, gold Gucci motorcycle helmet, gold Gucci bicycle, gold Gucci stuffed alligator, Gucci riding crop, Gucci leather corset, Gucci bedding, Tom Ford's Vanity Fair cover, Tom Ford's Black Orchid fragrance....even a photo of her WITH Tom Ford! It's EPIC! Let's talk about the bathrooms....yes....plural! 3 to be exact. The master bath is black mirrored tile and completely out in the open....no walls! It feels like a locker room! Guests requiring more privacy can use one of the other bathrooms...complete with BLACK TOILET PAPER!!! She also has a penchant for neon lighting (my kind of girl); 1 pink and 1 yellow Lucite encased YSL logo...and one that says Peep Show! YES! Now, MY apartment ain't too shabby BUT when I become a lady "of a certain age" and a certain tax bracket....I want an apartment like Cindy's!!

The living room

 Shoes!

Gucci, Gucci, Gucci!

I think books are so decorative....don't you think?

The dining area

The kitchen!

 The boudoir!

 Bed, Bath and BEYOND!

 Powder Room!

The black toilet paper in question...YES, I took a photo!

Behind the magic!

MAGNETIC Filthy glaMOUR!

There is an exciting new online trend of Semi Precious Weapons fans (Filthy Weapons) filming home videos of themselves applying makeup while listening to SPW songs! How fucking PEACH! As members of the Precious Empire, Breedlove and I were so inspired that we decided to make our own! Mine is also in homage to an unused Madonna video interlude!

Lil' Blonde Darling: Wonder Woman?!?

This is usually NOT the case but sometimes blonde isn't always better. Sacrelidge you say? Hey, we all know I'm a card carrying advocate of peroxide. However, blonde isn't always for everyone. Sometimes a sultry brunette has it better! Case in point: Wonder Woman! Having had raven tresses for nearly 70 years, Wonder Woman got bored of her look in 1974 and went  blonde......and it was NOT right!

This iconic superheroine was created in 1941, during World War II by Dr. William Moulton Marston, and is the first important female comic book character. Marston, a psychologist made famous for inventing the polygraph (lie detector), was also a staunch supporter of Women's Liberation and imbued the character with his beliefs. He created Wonder Woman as psychological propaganda for the young boys and girls reading the stories, showing a female archetype with all the strength and power of Superman plus all the allure of a good and beautiful, peace loving woman. It's no surprise that when those boys and girls grew into adulthood in the 60's, the Feminist Movement burst into full swing.

Princess Diana

The origin of Wonder Woman is as follows: When the plane of US Intelligence Officer Steve Trevor crash lands on an uncharted island of immortal Amazon warrior women, the beautiful Princess Diana is chosen as champion of her race. She is sent to "Man's World" as an emissary to help fight for freedom and democracy against the wicked evils of man. Once in the States, she assumes the secret identity of Lt. Diana Prince, Steve Trevor's assistant and aide.  Blessed by the gods of Greek mythology, Wonder Woman has superhuman strength, speed and agility as well as limited telepathic abilities. Able to only glide on wind currents short distances, Wonder Woman uses her invisible robot  plane to fly (a product of advanced Amazon technology). One of the most magical things about Wonder Woman is that even her accessories have superpowers! Her golden belt is her source of strength away from her mystical island home, her bracelets can deflect bullets, her royal tiara can be used as a boomerang and her golden lasso has the magic ability to force people to tell the truth and obey her (remember, her creator invented the lie detector).

Diana Prince

It took over 30 years from her debut for a live action version of Wonder Woman to appear. In 1974, ABC produced a TV movie of the week as a pilot for a weekly series based on Wonder Woman. Now, you would think that the powers that be in Hollywood would have a bit of respect for a character with such history and longevity.....not so much! They cast blonde tennis star turned actress Cathy Lee Crosby in the title role?! Really?! While the basic premise of an Amazon princess leaving her island home to fight crime in the U.S. is in tact, the producers took liberties with everything else! It is a true re-imagining of the Wonder Woman concept.

 Wonder Woman

The plot revolves around Diana Prince, a U.S. spy codenamed Wonder Woman who works for Steve Trevor at an unnamed government agency. This highly capable but non-superpowered agent is sent on a mission to retrieve stolen code books containing classified information about U.S. field agents. Armed with her intelligence, bravery and Amazonian martial arts knowledge, Wonder Woman also had a collection of high tech gadgets at her disposal; an invisible spy plane, bracelets that contain homing devices, explosives, and can be used with the hidden golden rope inside her utility belt as grappling hook. And while she does don a patriotic uniform towards the end of the film, it by no means pleased viewers or fans.

Diana Prince: Wonder Woman

Now some could say this new version of the character was inspired by a brief stint in the comic book during the late 60's/early 70's, where Wonder Woman gave up her powers, moved to Greenwich Village in NYC, ran a mod boutique and became a globe-trotting, karate chopping adventurer a la Emma Peel in The Avengers. While the film was not a complete ratings disaster, the producers did not move forward with a series.Thankfully, ABC executives went back to the drawing board and a year later, in 1975 a new TV movie pilot hit the air....this time starring the statuesque, brunette beauty queen Lynda Carter in the familiar costume. Based entirely on the original concept, the producers firmly distanced this from the prior film by calling this second attempt The New, Original Wonder Woman. It was a runaway hit and eventually went to series, which lasted 3 seasons from 1976-1979. The brilliant casting of Lynda Carter as Wonder Woman is possibly the BEST example of an actor completely personifying a superhero role. While there have been several Supermen, Batmen and Spidermen, Hollywood has been unable to find another actress suitable for filling Lynda's patriotic bustier.....and the new Wonder Woman film has remained in pre-production limbo since 2001.

 The only time the Cathy Lee Crosby version appeared in a comic book was in 2006, as a Wonder Woman from a parallel universe.

Anyone that knows me well knows that I've had a deep seeded obsession with the Wonder Woman character since I was 4. She was the catalyst for my love and appreciation of strong, beautiful and powerful females who can kick ass in high heels. Didn't I do a good job of figuring out how to talk about her on a blonde themed blog?

Do blondes have more fun?

Or do brunettes do it better?

Lil' Blonde Darling: Boy Toy Madonna!

Blonde Beauty Icon Boy Toy Madonna

Of all the looks Madonna has featured over the last 28 years, none have been as important or had as much impact on culture as her original Boy Toy look circa 1983-1985. After years as a struggling artist on the L.E.S, pimping out her demo to any club DJ that would listen, she was finally signed to a small singles deal with Sire Records in 1982. During this time, Madonna lived on e4th St and Ave C in seedy and dangerous "Alphabet City" and hung out with a clique of graffiti artists that would soon become darlings of the art world; Jean-Michel Basquiat, Keith Haring and Futura 2000 etc. They christened her with the tag name "Boy Toy" and she began spraying it all over town. When she released her first two dance club singles, “Everybody” and “Burning Up”, they were successful enough to warrant the creation of a whole album, self titled MADONNA in 1983.

Madonna's first promo shoot, 1982

Madonna's look at this point was typical starving artist; a mish-mash of thrift store finds and hand me downs from friends. Now that she was going to release a full album, Madonna called in a friend from the club scene for style help. That friend was Maripol, a French fashion stylist and jewelry designer who was also the art director for the hip Italian boutique Fiorucci.  With Maripol's help, Madonna burst onto the music scene with a look that was soon to be copied by teenage girls EVRYWHERE: rubber bracelets, rosary beads and bangles, crucifix earrings, lacey hair bows and frilly lingerie. A key to the look was using colors that clashed rather that match, as well as the lack of symmetry; NEVER wear the same earring on both ears! 

Madonna and Maripol
 
Madonna released her second album in 1984, titled LIKE A VIRGIN and it, along with the title track, became one of the biggest hits of her entire career, reaching number one, and put her in the spotlight. Her performance of the song at the first MTV Video Music Awards, during which she writhed on the stage wearing the Maripol-styled combination bustier/wedding gown, lacy stockings and garters and her then-trademark "Boy Toy" belt, was the first of several public displays that boosted Madonna's fan base and created a ton of controversy. 

 Madonna Wannabes

Due to this success, Maripol opened her own jewelry store Maripolitan, and launched the official Madonna line of jewelry and accessories. These items were sold at Madonna's Virgin Tour in 1985, as well as in Macy's on 34th St, in a section of the store called Madonnaland, built to capitalize on this new teenage trend! By 1986, Madonna shocked the world by completely re-inventing her image, the first of many style changes that would become her trademark....but I think her Boy Toy look will always be my favorite!

Graffiti Denim!

Coral eye shadow!

Yes!

Stringy!

Smokey!

That eyeshadow choice is...interesting!

My favorite makeup look!

Frosted purple lipstick...why not?

Midriff!


My favorite Madonna song from my favorite Madonna movie, which made me want to move to NYC.

Pretty in Pink!

That Keith Haring skirt got A LOT of use!

Virginal!

Black lips!

WHAT IS THAT EYESHADOW?!

A great look at Madonna Wannabe's in their natural habitat!

Healthy!

Bedazzled!

fun with weaves!

This interview with Dick Clark at the end of her performance of Holiday on American Bandstand is LEGENDARY!! I think she lived up to her word!

Award winning fun!

feeling blue

Bite down!

Madonna's first performance of her debut single Everybody in 1982! You can really see how much her look evolved.

...and here's ME giving my best Boy Toy look circa 2005! Oh, and peep the Maripol chunky rhinestone bracelet! Madonna is wearing it in like half the photo's above!