RIP BLOG SPOT

Dear Readers -

Thank you so much for supporting us over these past couple of years. We appreciate your readership / views / comments and think the world of you. We decided to take it up a notch so to speak - we moved our blog over to http://www.ladieslotto.com while awaiting the launch of our new WEBSITE!!!! 

Please visit us at http://www.ladieslotto.com and update your subscription feeds.

Thank you again for reading our musings. We hope to continue our kick ass perspective on culture as well as grow into a more active role.

XOXO,

Ladies Lotto

PARTY WITH STYLECASTER AT SXSW 2011!

 

StyleCaster Presents Hit The Lights

Saturday, March 19th, 2011 @ 1 PM

Cheer Up Charlie's
1104 East 6th Street
Austin, TX 78702

All ages, 21+ to drink

Free w/ RSVP: Rsvp@StyleCaster.com

Artists: Dan Deacon, Pains of Being Pure at Heart, Heavy Hawaii, Dirty Beaches, Diamond Rings, Writer, Manhattan Murder Mystery, Austra, We Are Enfant Terrible, Computer Magic, TV Girl and Superhumanoids

Don't forget to tweet @StyleCaster with #AustinHTL at the event!

To see all the latest SXSW coverage from StyleCaster, be sure to visit http://www.stylecaster.com/topics/38873/sxsw-music-festival!

Women's History Month: Labels and Identities

As American society becomes more diverse and integrated, pressure and discomfort remains when talking about racial and ethnic differences and designations. President Obama's background and ancestry has brought a lot of discussion and sometimes confusion..."Why does he say he's Black when he's bi-racial?"

I self-identify as a woman of color.  As a "mixed" or biracial woman, it has been a comfortable label and I've often felt that it's clearer when people ask or I have to explain. But I've never known the origin of the term "women of color," or honestly thought about it how the term came to be.

In the above clip, Loretta Ross, reproductive justice founder and National Coordinator of the Sistersong Women of Color Reproductive Justice Collective, discusses the origins of the phrase "women of color" and the difference between political identity and biological identity. The designation "women of color" was a political strategy not just cavalier terminology. It was a call to action demonstrating the power and strength in numbers of voices of marginalized women. She asks us to think about our reasons for holding onto specific identities.

Watching this clip I'm reminded of the importance of knowing our history as women in this country and all over the world so that we have some proper context to what's happening in our current lives as "modern" women. It also reinforces the idea that women working together are a force to be reckoned with!

That's ALLEGRI: Serving Up Fashion and Food the Italian Way

Italian outerwear label ALLEGRI celebrated their 40th anniversary last month with a presentation during New York Fashion Week at Lincoln Center. The presentation was located in the Courtyard, with a partial covering from the elements constructed out of hanging, opened umbrellas. Past ALLEGRI creations for designers like Giorgio Armani and Martin Margiela were on display on a group of mannequins, arranged in the center of a platform. On that same platform, the Italian private label had live models walk around the mannequins, wearing the latest Fall/Winter 2011 collection from the Milano-based fashion house.

The ALLEGRI presentation also had some suttle homages to the motherland such as the night's soundtrack consisting only of Italo-disco, Italophones in the crowd conversing in their native tongue, and gourmet pasta dishes being served to attendees. And what goes best with pasta being served during a NYFW presentation? Some Kim Crawford wine of course! Thankfully there were a few bottles of the delicious New Zealand wine on hand at the presentation that many of the fashionably guests got to enjoy.

NYC: How RARE Is Your Hair?

Tons of salons, spas and other pleasure palaces (not that kind) are offering deep discounts on services via Living Social, Groupon and other copy cats. However, how do you know who you can really trust; especially when it comes to your tresses? Have you seen Jessica Szohr's crazy beautiful hair? Do you love its luster and bounce?

Now you can get the star treatment from the same team that gives my favorite Gossip Girl her fabulous hair-dos! From now until March 15th you can purchase four (4) RARE blowouts for the price of (3); only $165! Snatch this deal up and use it before it expires on April 20th.

RARE
317 Church Street
NYC
212.343.9133

The RARE team has worked with marquee names including Laura Linney, P!nk and celeb photographers Annie Leibovitz and Gilles Bensimon. Celebrity stylist Ruth Roche serves as the Founder and Creative Director of the RARE brand mission. Owner and Principal Stylist, Fatimah Sheikh has merged her F.S. Charlie brand with RARE to create unparalleled service in the hair arts.

Get more information about RARE services here: http://rarenyc.com

Photo via FFFFOUND!

Flashback: Being Good Wasn't Always Easy

Son of Preacher Man - Dusty Springfield

Hebonics 101

Sneakas : Hebonics 101 Mixtape

Who doesn't love a mixtape?

My friend Yoni aka Sneakas has just released Hebonics 101 hosted by Peter Rosenberg from Hot97 & presented by MC Search (Back to the grill, again).

My favorite track...Hebonics 101, Sneakas take on Big L's Ebonics, Good Day & I'm an American what can I say I'm a sucker for some yiddish with my rapping. Old World slang.

There's no denying his talent, aren't you tired of Whiz Khalifa? Black & Yellow... zzzzz.

You'll have to pay attention Sneakas punch lines come at you hard and fast..... that's what she said.
Download it now!

Download Here: Sneakas Hebonics 101

Babylon Creatures - A Tribute to Ari Up and Lux Interior

THURSDAY, March 3, 2011

Fontana's
105 Eldridge (btw Grand+Broome)
NO COVER!

Come down to Fontana's basement and celebrate Ari & Lux. All proceeds will benefit JFLAG and Best Friends Animal Society. No cover but donations encouraged! A stellar dj line up spins punk, garage, RnR, reggae, dub, ska, dancehall and beyond for your dancing pleasure!


DJs
Eiffel Tower (Bratmboile)
Bag Lady (Two Tears/ Red Aunts)
Dirty Jean (BASSMENT)
Aleix M
Dr. Oh Snap
Boozy Jo
Shark
Nogood Nick
Glamourpuss

Thank Your Lucky Stars

Choo Yilin Artisan Jewelry

When I first heard about Choo Yilin Artisan Jewelry, I was intrigued by the idea of eco-friendly luxury and using jewelry design as a social messaging tool. Design-driven precious jewelry wrapped up in an environmentally conscious package, an admirable concept.

Since launching in 2009, the label has won two grants to show in London and New York, as well as multiple international design awards. No small feat for a former political analyst from the tiny island-state of Singapore. In a life-changing move to Bangkok, Thailand in 2007 as an expatriate spouse, Choo was left wondering about her next career move.

Between her philanthropic work and small-scale jewelry business to private clients, Choo soon found her calling when she started working with the traditional Karen hill tribe artisans in northern Thailand. The collaboration not only created awareness and support for a marginalized group, it also allowed her to plunge full-force into producing sustainable yet extravagant jewelry.

Each of Choo’s ready-to-wear collection tells a story of environmental or social conservation. Her “Alternative to Coral” collection is crafted from natural gemstones and 99.9% reclaimed sterling silver, with some pieces gilded in eighteen-karat gold and black rhodium. The organic shapes are mostly asymmetrical; a nod to nature’s imperfect beauty.

“The collection was an homage to the beauty and the necessity of the survival of coral reefs,” said Choo. “Instead of using real coral that has been used traditionally in fine jewelry, we created jewelry pieces heavily inspired by coral reefs around the world.”

Choo is the first Asian jeweller to reach out and sign Too Precious To Wear’s pledge- a non-profit promoting marine conservation and awareness against using live coral in jewelry. Driven by the campaigns and missions of non-profit groups, Choo actively weaves their ideas into her jewelry design. Her latest collection due to unveil in May, is dedicated to forest conservation and evoked by the United Nations declaration of 2011 as International Year Of The Forest.

Since the inception of the brand, Choo has tried her best to “green” her supply chain where possible. Her best-selling collection is a fusion of textured vermeil embellishment over classic jade pieces. Despite incurring higher production costs, she chooses to import jade from China because of the political ban on Burmese exports to the US. Though it is nearly impossible to acsertain the origin of the raw materials, Choo prefers to maintain complete honesty of her sources in order to protect the integrity of the label.

“Our rationale was that we felt in the bigger scheme of things, conveying this inadequacy was more important that maintaining a façade of perfection,” she said. “We needed to highlight a seemingly intractable issue in the industry and acknowledge that we could not evoke the necessary changes by ourselves.”

From a modest investment capital and a purposeful dream, the young entrepreneur has built a profitable label with solid ethical values. It is impressive and inspiring to see the grit, determination and class from which Choo runs her business. Her passion for change and originality is clear.

“Coming from a background as an artist-designer whose primary mission was to create original work, I was especially inspired and challenged by Bornstein’s (book: How to Change the World) accounts of individuals that had created business models that were unique in the market space and were essentially tearing down the status quo for good,” muses Choo. “I realized in retrospect, there were some similarities between a designer and a social entrepreneur – this desire to create original designs that were better than the status quo. I was inspired to do the same.”

Visit Choo Yilin Artisan Jewelry at ChooYilin.com for more information.

Flashback: Ladykillers

Ladykillers by LUSH

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oMFGuzgIGLE

Do you remember this one? A big 90's tune by the female heavy British band LUSH. On the heels of "girl power" Lush seemed legit with this single about the trials of being the pick up subject of rico suave narcissists lurking out there.

And The Award For Best Cocktail Goes To...

The 83rd Academy Awards presentation will be held on Sunday, February 27th and celebrating Hollywood’s biggest night with the perfect mix of cocktails can be just as important when entertaining guests as the dress Natalie Portman will show up in. X-Rated Fusion Liqueur is one of Hollywood’s favorite go-to mixable liqueurs and we have three special Oscar-inspired cocktails for your Academy Awards at home viewing party. 

X-Rated Fusion Liqueur’s sensuous blend of ultra-premium French vodka and blood oranges, mingled with mango and passion fruit from South America, is unapologetically pink, delectable, and easy to mix. Spoil you and your guests with these Oscar winning cocktails such as the Red Carpet Xperience and The Queens Speech. And for your male attendees, serve up the palate-teasing True Grit Punch.



Red Carpet Xperience
1 oz X-Rated Fusion Liqueur
1 oz Grapefruit Juice

Top with Champagne, serve in a flute




The Queen’s Speech
1 oz X-Rated Fusion Liqueur
1 oz SKYY Infusions Citrus
Splash of Fresh Lemonade

Top with Champagne, serve in martini glass with lemon twist



True Grit Punch
16 ½ oz X-Rated Fusion Liqueur
25oz SKYY Vodka
16 ½ oz Orange Juice
16 ½ oz Pineapple Juice
8oz Grenadine

Combine one bottle of SKYY Vodka, 16 ½ oz of X-Rated Fusion Liqueur, 16 ½ oz of Orange Juice, 16 ½ oz of Pineapple Juice, and 8oz of Grenadine in a bowl. Serve mixture directly into ice filled glasses and stir to cool the mixture. Garnish with slices of orange.

Gloria Steinem for T Magazine

Gloria Steinem for T Magazine today on women in politics - the main event versus side show acts (or to some freak shows).

We all too often hear about the CRAZY Michele Bachmann's and Sarah Palin's who are fiercely anti-female and little about the Nancy Pelosi's (who has been named by some scholars as the greatest Speaker of the House the US has yet to have) and Gabrielle Gifford's (before she was shot).

Read more from Gloria: http://tmagazine.blogs.nytimes.com/page/2/

Sweet Old Lady is An Anti Neo-Nazi Crusader

Don't let her fool you. Irmela Mensah-Schramm may look like a sweet older lady you might see hanging with your grandmother but she is a force of nature. A one woman army dedicated to destroying Neo-Nazi propaganda in her hometown of Berlin for over 20 years, she's finally receiving the recognition she deserves. 

See what Ms. Mensah-Schramm has to say about her duties in this short doc by FOTOGRAMMA.

http://vimeo.com/fotogramma25/irmela

 

 

THE HATE DESTROYER (Demo-version) from Fotogramma25 on Vimeo.

Here is a link to an interview with Ms. Mensah-Schramm:

http://www.coe.int/t/dg4/anti-discrimination-campaign/ressources/Interviews/interview_schramm_en.asp

This whole thing reminds me of The Specials song "Racist Friend" because it's important to speak out about your convictions, particularly when it comes to universalism and unity.

The Price is Right - The Henry Holland Version

House Of Holland A/W 2011 from TEST on Vimeo.

London designer Henry Holland is back again with his latest collection for London Fashion Week, paying homage to the "Me Decade" of the 1970s with flare-legged pantsuits, crochet knits, and plaid tweeds.  In this short film highlighting his newest looks, Holland pays homage to the Home Shopping Networks of yesteryear, still-stuck-in-the-70s-aesthetic day time TV show The Price is Right, and TV broadcasts of bingo/lotto games from the disco era - that last one being a totally UK thing.

To see more fashion videos from your favorite designers and brands, be sure to visit StyleCaster!

A Los Angeles Sunday Night Dinner

Dear Los Angeles,

Let's catch up over Sunday night dinner. Meet at Rush Street in Culver City at 7pm. We're making reservations, so please email natalie@ladieslotto.com to be counted.

Very excited to see what's been happening with you and see how we might be able to build together for the rest of the year and beyond.

Sunday, Feb 20th

7pm

RUSH STREET

9546 Washington Blvd

Culver City

See you there....

x

Flashback: Kids in America

Kids in America - Kim Wilde

Classic 80's tune and Kim's style is on point. Inspiring for this upcoming Spring season!!!

Buy, Borrow, Bite

After hours of checking the Fall RTW from last week's New York fashion shows, I realized that fashion basically falls under three categories: Buy, Borrow and Bite: Things you MUST have, things good for one night only, and styles that can be ripped from the runway and found on the cheap.

Buy Buy Buy: Pieces so versatile that they are worth the price

Buy: I think it would be GREAT to see... and fit in this Herve Leger in my closet 50 years from now. Seriously.

Buy: Betsey Johnson's designs are always pretty extra, pair these skull pants with a loose black tee and it's fun yet basic.

Buy: Victoria Beckham's take on the short trench is perfect. Bring this out every other fall, pair it up with jeans or a dress and you're GOOD.

Buy: This Mara Hoffman is loose and light, perfect for September almost anywhere, day or night.

Buy: This jacket/cape mashup by Imitation would be great with leggings and high boots: a little bit military, a little bit equestrian.

Borrow till tomorrow: These dresses are so unforgettable, they scream "once but never again."

Borrow: This Doo Ri dress is done right, showing just enough skin.

Borrow: Jeremy Scott's bright red minidress with the words God plastered on the front might be hard to forget and you will be impossible to hide if you wear it.

Borrow: This is the Marchesa dress you wear when you're 99% sure youre going to win an award

Borrow: This is the other Marchesa dress you wear when you're 99% sure youre going to win an award

Borrow: Dress by VPL: Where you go is up to you...

Bite! These should all be in your closet, if not you can find basic pieces like this virtually anywhere at a range of prices

Bite: These loose pants and fitted tank by Karen Walker scream "L.A" to me

Bite: Aminika Wilmont: No, thigh highs aren't for everyone...but if you're gonna do it, this is what it should look like

Bite: Thakoon: Dressing monochromatically isn't just for neutrals, any color can look really cool with the right hues and textures.

Bite: In theory this Theory jacket and top should be inseparable, definitely a low light look

Bite: DKNY: I know a million girls like this, they know how to use Photoshop, their hair always look good and they'll bum you a cigarette with a smile...this might be you



-Lynnette Astaire

Two Of Hearts: Nire & Jasmine's New Mixtape

NIRE & JASMINE SOLANO "Two Of Hearts Mixtape" from Jasmine Solano on Vimeo.

If you're a freestyle freak like myself you're going to LOVE this TWO OF HEARTS mixtape by the lovely DJ Nire & Jasmine Solano. With everything from Debbie Deb to Nice N Wild to Stevie B! You're going to love this mix, perfect to get ready for a night out to or just grinding in the office. 

Download link: http://bit.ly/gqn207

Flashback: Caught Out There

Caught Out There - Kelis

As Kelis says "I HATE YOU SO MUCH RIGHT NOW!"

Happy Valentine's Day. :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N3JFwd1bk4Q