Here is Vanessa Traina, an It Girl I’ve only just discovered thanks to a magazine editorial on her grotesque and pretentious crib, which features a large quantity of fur and a stuffed zebra. I was going to devote a full rant to the tragic awfulness of this person (whose mom is Louboutin-hoarder and hack writer Danielle Steele) until I came upon a video of her at a party with It Girl Jen Brill.
They are living big lives, with all that fur! Their combined shoe collections could probably buy the Taj Mahal if turned back into money, but they take their work as Chanel ambassadors very seriously.
Should we hate them, love them, or pity them?
Let me put it another way: Ms. Brill has had to submit to boyfriend Terry Richardson‘s everpresent gargantuan appendage in order to cement her status. Ms. Traina has had to endure the shame of her mother’s celebrated shopping mania, publicity seeking and poor grammar, along with who knows what else.
Share a couple of minutes with these Style Icons here! Go on, it’s worth it. My favorite part is the way Vanessa pronounces “Balmain.” (I’m saying it right now in my head.) Then look at your own shabby shoe collection and give thanks.
P.S. If I wanted to be mean, I’d say that Vanessa looks like a horse and Jen’s legs are chunky, but as a newly minted feminist, I don’t engage in Body Shaming.
All the fur and dead animal trophies in that woman’s apartment make me want to puke.
Taylor – Thanks for the link. They’re always doing that at Jezebel, and the beauty is, YOU CAN”T EVEN COMMENT!
I wish I can say that “existential nausea” is what it invokes in me as well, but REALLY I’m thinking, “Damn – screw grubbing for year-end bonuses! Screw paying bills and being a grown-up! I want to be rich and connected and silly enough to be a ~*brand ambassador*~ and vacuous enough not to care!”
Fuck the self-abnegating crap, fuck living an authentic and examined life, and fuck the green light at the end of the dock. I just want to bathe in Diptyque-scented lucre and travel everywhere, having fun and being a Bright Young Thing.
Sadly, Danielle Steele’s son Nicholas, a musician and recovering opiate addict, died of a heroin overdose. Julie Campbell, his drug abuse counselor, said she thought he committed suicide.
In other news: I AM SO BITTER DURING HOLIDAY SEASON.
Here, here tartadtracly. I don’t know why but everything’s got me down these days.
Also: I had no idea who Jen Brill is, so I googled her and one of the links that popped up took me to a a photo of her posing with/aping a picture of Anna May Wong.
Anna was the daughter of a working-class laundryman who, despite her movie-star charisma and outsized talent, had to fight tooth and nail to overcome the racism and discrimination against minority actors that was so prevalent in Hollywood. THEY HAVE LITERALLY NOTHING IN COMMON. So fuck appropriating one of my icons, Jen Brill.
David Goss – Terrible and heartbreaking.
Aja – NO, don’t be down, that’s an order.
Tartandtreacly – I apologize on behalf of Ms. Brill. Remember: She has to blow Terry Richardson. She is already being punished.
Right on Helen. If her legs are chunky, I’m a f*cking hippo.
my favourite part is the fact that not vanessa,the other girl tell us that she can’t stand in front of the mirror blah blah blah REALLY seriously like she announces the third world war or something.oh my
http://asinneratyourdinner.blogspot.com/
“…saying “pant” is another instance of accented english mimicry”
O good grief Theresa, I can assure you that pants (always plural) in the UK refer to
a) underpinnings; or
b) something naff, or a bit crap
I fear ‘pant’ is hipster-speak for trousers.
Although I have heard reference to trouser.
I’m pretty sure Chloe’s last name is pronounced like Seven-yay. Surely an It Girl would know this..?
annemarie- I remember that interview you speak of, it was from 2007 I think?
And why does no one mention the real travesty here- the first girl is the daughter of Danielle Steel. Danielle effing Steel, who writes books even worse than Tw*light. I suppose when you benefit from the money coming in as a result of that, there’s no point in being embarrassed by the fact that mummy writes retrograde crap for a living (maybe the bright side is, at least it’s a job).
And Sister, I don’t think Jen Brill’s legs are chunky! But I would have fully agreed if you’d pointed out that that leopard-print cardie or whatever it is, is hideous.
blec.
Oh man… That video was so awful, but I think it’s made worse because they cut out the audio of the questions being asked (I think? That’s what it seems like) so it just seems like they’re randomly telling me things I didn’t ask about.
She must have read this: http://thechicspy.wordpress.com/2008/06/20/mission-how-do-you-pronounce-that-designers-name/
Can we call her the Balmah girl from now on?
Cricket9: I am glad you are so courteous as to correct my English. I can see this is the start of a new friendship
My god, Sister Wolf, I love your blog. I always thought I was strange because I love fashion but LOATHE the fashion world and its pretentious hangers-on. I thought you had to love one to love the other. But thanks to you and the collective snark in this comment section, I…think I’ve…found my tribe! *wipes away tear*
Watching those videos made me want to punch someone. Those people are AWFUL. Some nice outfits…but gah. The vapidity. The fey, upward-inflected, affected way of speaking. The banjo-playing-kid-from-Deliverance-esque dead eyes. Eeeeee. And Jeffertiti. There are no words. What a TOOL. I love the comments on his video- all these star-struck teenage hipster chicks talking about his beautiful soul. *puke*
Ahhh. I feel cleansed. Thank you for letting me share. 🙂
Oh dear. Don’t know what’s going on with my spacebar. Sorry ’bout that.
That’s actually the proper way to pronounce Balmain, not how Kanye would pronounce it Ball-Main LOL. ahn at the end but the N is very soft like Vanessa pronounced it.