Women within the narrow little world of  what they call “tastemakers” or “influencers”  from the Snobette point of view have gotten the short end of the stick.  We won”t bore you with our in depth analysis of the situation and maybe that is slowly changing. One of our faves–so far the only WOMAN who managed to have a Jordan under her belt, Miss Vashtie Kola is featured in the New York Times!  A mag feature does not bring legitimacy to talent, influence or just flat out cool factor, but when we look at the shine obtained by her male counterparts, honey, we are snapping, clapping and twirling with joy. Read the feature here.

New York Times T-Magazine interviewed Nicki Minaj in its most recent issue, dressing her (above) in an Yves Saint Laurent skirt and bra and Nina Ricci shoes.  Minaj is doing press around the release of her first album, “Pink Friday,” which currently sits in the No. 2 spot on the Billboard 200 chart, sandwiched between Kanye West, who owns No. 1 and Susan Boyle with the No. 3 spot. After the flip, a video interview.

We highlighted M.I.A. on the coverage of Complex yesterday and mentioned that her marriage to a richie-rich combined with her incendiary politics was likely to draw heat, and sure enough, a recent New York Times profile goes in deep on M.I.A. and shines a very unflattering light on her dichotomous personality, making the backlash official with a capitol “O.”  To add gasoline to the fire, via CollegeFashion, we’ve learned that M.I.A. retaliated by tweeting the phone number of Lynn Hirschberg, who wrote the story! Fire!!

How insane are these Jil Sander woodland wedges? Good crazy of course, though I do believe you might need a step ladder to climb into them! They were featured in New York Time’s T Magazine, whose theme is spring fashion for women. You can view the entire issue on line, including the many ads, which are like a who’s who in label heavy hitters.

There’s a story in the Style section of the Times laying out the premise that it is now okay and even cool to walk around with a busted manicure. And there is some truth to that. But it’s not just about nail polish. In general, busy young females no longer feel like beholden to ANY beauty or fashion regime. Chipped nails are not so much hip as they are a reflection of the crumbling of insane female beauty standards. Which is a good thing. Women shouldn’t feel like they can’t leave the house just ’cause everything isn’t perfectly on point.

^^Photo: NY Times by Melena Ryzik

All that being said, I can’t get with that days-on-end, chipped nails look. It drives me NUTS! And there’s nothing that brings me greater inner-happiness than gazing upon my own, brand new, fresh and clean manicure.