Thoroughly Thinspired

Eating disorders are making a comeback! Just when I thought the head cases of today relied on prescription pills, cocaine consumption and a steady stream of Ballerina Tee to stay thin, good ole’ anorexia and bulimia are popping up all over pop culture. How 90’s!

We were just talking about that Lifetime Original where the bulimic girl stores her vomit in Tupperware containers and stacks it in her closet. That visual is forever burned in our minds. Classic ’94 after-school special in the post-Tracey Gold days.

The 2007 resurgence started with last week’s episode of Nip/Tuck when Eden, the show’s newest Lolita, successfully convinces 12-year-old Annie that she has to become either anorexic or bulimic to gain the attention of her schoolboy crush.

They weighed their options—no pun intended—with a pro-eating disorder website and tried to decide which of their “good friends” to side with, “Ana or Emi.” Sadly, we came to discover that such websites actually do exist. But then again, of course they do.

But Nip/Tuck is always sick and twisted, so this didn’t surprise us much. But when Blair Waldorf had a bulimia montage on last night’s Thanksgiving episode of Gossip Girl we knew that eating disorder “it” status was solidified.

It comes as no surprise that Blair is, or was, a bulimic. Her fashion-designer/socialite mother is always saying things like “change into something enchanting” or “wear pearls with that,” her father is a fairy who ran off to Europe with a male model, and she has spent her life living in the shadows of her best friend S.

She’s a classic case. But controlling your weight does not add control to your life, B! Plus, no one ever got THAT thin using the binging and purging method anyway. Though I did enjoy watching her house that entire chicken potpie! That baby did not stand a chance.

In addition, I love that the word “thinspiration” has now been added to the lexicon.

Final Word: Thin is in! Confidence and perspective is so passé. Everyone knows that. Everyone does.

How Sweet It Is

Sweet Bessie's: The Better Bakeshop.

Cupcakes are most certainly the new “it” dessert. Sex in The City—and the tour that now immortalizes it—did wonders for Magnolia’s sales and the competition has been popping up all over the place. Billy’s Bakery, Cupcake Café and even the now defunct Burgers & Cupcakes, which made a go on 23rd Street (the name explains the demise).

And the craze is not only in New York, I was in LA last week and my friend requested none other than Sprinkles cupcakes for her birthday celebration. I waited in line for half an hour and dropped nearly $40 on a dozen.

I totally understand the buzz around cupcakes. They’re a nostalgic little food that brings us back to a life less complicated, when birthday celebrations meant pin-the-tail-on-the-donkey and not 30-person dinners at Mr. Chow (just to kick the week off, of course).

Cupcakes are fun and make people happy. In a world with so many choices and preferences, cupcakes are a dessert that is so easily personalized. Why bring a pie to a dinner party when you can bring 12 varieties of cupcakes? There’s always something for everyone.

My only problem with these designer cupcakes is the fact that they are so overloaded on sugar that eating half of one makes me want to kill myself. I cannot move and my appetite is non-existent for at least 12 hours. A cupcake coma, if you will.

So imagine my delight when I discovered Sweet Bessie’s.

Sweet Bessie’s is a brand-new Manhattan-based bakeshop that boasts of 25 flavors of all natural, organic, allergen-free cupcakes. The little cakes are sweetened with natural sweeteners like agave nectar and fruit puree. All the recipes have been created and perfected for years by secret family recipes.

This mom-and-pop bakeshop is sure to be the next big thing. Well, if I have anything to do with it.

Final Word: Sweet Bessie’s makes its official debut Thursday November 15 at the Doucette Duvall/ Madison Harding sample sale & cocktail celebration. More details to follow.

An Open Letter to Arden Wohl

New York is always on the hunt for its next PYT. Likewise, PYTs are always on the hunt for some fabricated fame. But what New York loves even more than its next it-girl, is its next anomaly.

Ahn Duong, Celia Dean, Yvonne Force Villareal – all idosyncratic women of the beau monde, set the standard. With an affinity for eccentric head gear, avant-garde fashion and real careers (mostly in the art world) these black swans have carved their own niche in New York high society that make them not only mysterious to a gaggle of Bergdorf Blondes, but also enviable. This seemed to be the case with girl about town and “aspriring filmmaker, Arden Wohl.

Dear Ms. Wohl,

First, let us congratulate you on your success. You are regular on Style.com’s party pages and becoming a fixed icon in stylish social circles. But curiously, in a recent interview, you told Gawker you would never hire a publicist because you “hate those girls” and “don’t go to a lot of events”. We're a bit perplexed at the discrepencies between your words and actions. Who cares if you like to party and get your picture taken? Nobody called you Paris. We even respect your choice in off-beat togs and indie arm candy (who doesn't love Benjamin Cho?) Just don't act like you hate it when you love it.

This contrived humility was cemented when we recently stood behind your feeble frame at a West Village juice bar aggressively barking vegan orders to an innocent hipster while shouting into a Blackberry about some flippant fete that evening, disrupting the whole Zen vibe of the environs, not to mention my post-yoga chill. The whole scenario was more obnoxious than a Great Neck Soccer Mom at dismissal line. It was scary.

We hate to pass judgment (actually, who am I kidding), but if you are so keen on not hiring a publicist, we would suggest reigning in that temper and try to avoid behaving like a spoiled brat who regularly blows her trust fund on green juices, designer duds and an endless selection of not-so-ironic American Apparel leggings. Just a thought.

With Love,
The Blackberrie

Final Word- We have Leslie Sloane's email when you need it.