About Me 0123: Being Right or Making Money

She provided tidbits about the fabric, including an iridescent multi-hued jacquard made of three colors of threads that criss-crossed to create a rainbow of shades. Beckham took great pride in what was the 100th dress that she’d designed, a mustard-hued faux wrap style with a wide gray zipper slithering up the back. And she lamented a sleeveless red dress with a deep V-neck and side pockets: “Every season, there’s one dress that looks really simple but is a nightmare,” Beckham said. “This is that dress.”

The front rooms of the townhouse were filled with the editors in chief of most of the major fashion glossies and Beckham seemed a bit nervous, never making eye contact with anyone in the audience. This woman who has performed on stage in front of millions seemed acutely aware that she was being judged by an extremely tough crowd and afterward she said, “I’m just so glad it’s over” and joked that she was practically having hot flashes of nervousness. She needn’t have worried. The collection was lovely. It wasn’t filled with razzle-dazzle, but rather the kind of clothes that women—at least those with money and the right sort of figure—would be happy to wear. And Beckham, a wife and mother who is pregnant with her fourth child, noted that the collection was a reflection of her own maturity.

But if one might have thought the audience would have been encouraging and well, equally mature… you would be so terribly wrong. There were muffled giggles, knowing glances, and plenty of eye-rolling over the non-stop narration. Certainly, Beckham’s chatter was a throwback to a 1950s fashion industry. But that was her point—to make the presentation more personal and without the hype of the modern business. It also called to mind the manner in which Tom Ford presented his women’s collection for spring. His rolling monologue drew gushing praise from the industry. Of course, Ford’s presentation dripped in irony. And Ford is the reigning prince of charm.

Beckham’s great crime, it seems, was her earnestness. She was not being ironic. She was not being self-consciously hip. And the cool girls turned on her. It wasn’t pretty.

Looks from Victoria Beckham Dresses Fall 2011 presentation during Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week at Private Studio on February 13, 2011 in New York City. 2nd from right: Victoria Beckham arrives at her fashion presentation (Photos: Chris Moore; Startracks)

Beckham’s great crime, it seems, was her earnestness. She was not being ironic. She was not being self-consciously hip. And the cool girls turned on her. It wasn’t pretty.

While the fashion business is overwhelmingly for and about women, it always seems that women have the hardest time capturing the imagination of the industry’s king—or queen—makers. Today, women such as Donna Karan and Diane von Furstenberg have a large footprint on the American fashion business. Karan has evolved into the kind of designer who attempts to capture the soulfulness and power of femininity—and for fall she did it with a collection that was all lean pencil skirts, cinched waist jackets and luxurious coats done up in a sensual iridescence inspired by pearls. And von Furstenberg’s fall collection of artful print dresses layered over slender trousers, her raucously sparkling tunics and jackets, and her sense of easy glamour reaffirmed her status as the quintessential New York designer. She represents the supremely confident and sexy dame that most every young woman in the fashion industry imagines herself to be.

All right, so we knew former Bell officials were bellying up to the public trough. But is there a difference between a pig and a hog?

I decided to check after reading about this e-mail exchange between former Bell Assistant City Administrator Angela Spaccia and Randy Adams, who was about to become the police chief:

ADAMS: "I am looking forward to seeing you and taking all of Bell's money?!"

SPACCIA: "Okay … just a share of it!! LOL … well you can take your share of the pie … just like us!!! We will all get fat together … Bob has an expression he likes to use on occasion … Pigs get Fat … Hogs get slaughtered!!!! So as long as we're not Hogs … All is well!"

Bob, of course, is Robert Rizzo, the former city administrator who made nearly $800,000 a year. Bob is looking at 53 felony counts in the alleged looting of the city of Bell, so I think you could say the slaughter has begun.

Adams was paid more than $400,000; and Spaccia, who made $376,000, is charged with misappropriating funds. They all got fat together, in other words, and whether you use the term pig, hog or wild boar, what can you say to any of this but oink, oink, oink?

The exchange between Spaccia and Adams was released in the midst of Monday's preliminary hearing, and Spaccia's attorney Russell Petti wasted no time in putting a cloven hoof into his own mouth. He told Times reporter Jeff Gottlieb we shouldn't get the wrong idea about those e-mails, because Spaccia was actually "trying to save the city of Bell money."

Thanks, counselor. I'll believe that when pigs fly, as they say.

Petti also said: "The intent of that is, 'Look, we're all very well compensated by the city and let's not be pigs about it.' "

Yeah, sure. Spaccia tells Adams they'll all get fat together, Adams ends up making more than police chiefs in Los Angeles and New York, and she's out to save Bell money?

But I digress. Is there a difference between a pig and a hog?

Apparently so.

The dictionary says a pig is "any of several mammals of the Suidae family." Or, "any person regarded as being pig-like, greedy or gross."

A hog is defined as a pig weighing over 120 pounds, and also as a "self-indulgent, gluttonous or filthy person."

So are they pigs or are they hogs?

To be safe, should we just go with swine?

-- Steve Lopez

Photos: (Left) Randy Adams in June 2010. Credit: Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times. (Right): Angela Spaccia in October 2010. Credit: Al Seib / Los Angeles Times

bench craft company scam

About Me 0123

Thursday, February 17, 2011

Being Right or Making Money

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