THE CLOSET: SEAN JOHN 10 YEARS LATER...

BALLERZ & SHOT CALLERZ

Reprising their Sister Slam Show in the Wimbledon final after a five-year hiatus, Venus and Serena smacked big serves, hit hard strokes from all angles and chased down seemingly unreachable balls, like no one else does. Overcoming an early deficit, Venus beat Serena 7-5, 6-4 Saturday for her second consecutive title at the All England Club and seventh major championship overall. "I'm definitely more in tune with my sister's feelings because one of us has to win and one of us has to lose," the No. 7-seeded Venus said. "You could never detract from winning a Wimbledon, so of course it doesn't detract from that. But I'm definitely thinking about how my sister's feeling." No. 6 Serena, meanwhile, was sullen as could be afterward, as though she had just finished losing to a stranger. Which, it turns out, was the way she tried to view Venus. That the champion's trophy stayed in the family did not ease the pain of defeat."It's definitely not any easier," Serena said. "I just look at her as another opponent at the end of the day." Said their mother and coach, Oracene Price: "Well, you know, she's going to have to learn how to suck things up. Say, 'OK, I'm not going to win everything.'"

DO YOU USE YOUR 'GIFT OF FEAR?'

(Oprah.com) -- If you heard there was a weapon proven to prevent most crimes before they happen, would you run out and buy it? World-renowned security expert Gavin de Becker says this weapon exists, but you already have it. He calls it "the gift of fear." One chapter in Gavin's book "The Gift of Fear" has stuck with Oprah since she first read it. The story of a woman named Kelly begins with a simple warning sign. A man offers to help carry her groceries into her apartment -- and instantly, Kelly doesn't like the sound of his voice. Kelly goes against her gut and lets him help her -- and in doing so, she lets a rapist into her home. "We get a signal prior to violence," Gavin says. "There are preincident indicators. Things that happen before violence occurs." Gavin says that unlike any other living creature, humans will sense danger yet still walk right into it. Gavin says that "eerie feeling" is exactly what he wants women to pay attention to. "We're trying to analyze the warning signs," he says. "And what I really want to teach today and forever is the feeling is the warning sign. All the other stuff is our explanation for the feeling. Why it was this, why it was that. The feeling itself is the warning sign."

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Thursday, April 10, 2008

THE CLOSET: SEAN JOHN 10 YEARS LATER...

Posted by THE fly GIRL at 9:47 AM

Say what you will about Sean “Puff Daddy, Puffy, Diddy” Combs, but there is not one person on this Earth that can deny that he is a hustler.

From music, to Vodka, to restaurants, to reality shows, to acting, Combs has turned his own persona into a Trump-like brand. But even with the recent much-needed one-two punch success of his two Bad Boy/MTB groups Danity Kane & Day 26, some might say that Diddy’s true legacy will lay in his most profitable and dynamic company to date: The ground-breaking fashion empire that bares his one true name.

Born in Harlem and growing-up in the Bronx, Combs experienced his fair share of hardship and heartache. At three years of age, Combs lost his father to a fatal shooting and his mother was left to raise her children alone (Combs also has a sister, Keisha).

Leaving New York to attend Howard University in Washington D.C., Combs got his first taste of business as a party promoter while studying business administration.

His talent for talk and negotiation got him an internship at Uptown Records and he was the impetus behind acts such as Jodeci, Mary J. Blige and Boys II Men. After being fired from Uptown in 1993, Combs knew he had the drive and talent to run his own company and sign his own artists. It was the dawn of Bad Boy Entertainment and Bad Boy Records. In a short period of time, Combs established himself as a businessman full of moxie and had a keen eye for talent. And the legendary kinship between he and Christopher “Notorious B.I.G.” Wallace was born.

But the murder of his best friend and biggest artist in 1997 left Combs unfulfilled and aimless and on the advice of the man he calls “Godfather,” Russell Simmons, he made what in hindsight was the natural leap into fashion.

In 1998, Combs launched Sean John (referring to his own first and middle names). The clothing line had a pulse on the hip-hop and urban community. It’s mantra was to take what was hot in the streets and project if forward.

In the beginning, his line (then just menswear) was thought of as “Another Phat Farm,” just the latest in Urban Clothing labels. But it was the creation of something so simple, so conceptually mundane, that brought Sean John into the homes of the Urban and Suburban alike: The Velour Sweat Suit.

The cross over appeal of the suit allowed SJ the room to usher in new ideas. Once an avatar for street wear, Sean John has become a modern and sleek representation of who Combs has matured into. Big shirts have been replaced by fitted, tailored and thoughtful dress shirts and ties. Baggy pants have been replaced by edgy, fitted leather pants and sharply refined shoes. Combs even introduced a women’s line in 2005. Combs’ street wear has become street chic.

The Sean John line has been good to Combs, having sales of $450 million in 2004. A wholly owned private subsidiary, Sean John can be found at Macy’s, but also at high-end department stores and retailers such as Bloomingdale’s and Fred Segal.

In 2004 Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) awarded Sean Combs with Menswear Designer of the Year. After six years, the little ‘urban label’ that could had joined the ranks of Tom Ford, Zac Posen, Karl Lagerfeld and Valentino. It was the legitimacy that Combs had been waiting for.

On Feburary 8, 2008 Combs made his return to New York Fashion Week in Bryant Park, with his first fashion show in five years. Critics, fans, fashionistas and designers alike waited with bated breath to see Combs incarnation of the theme The Kingdom Of Harlem.

Using intense blacks, bold reds and unforgivably bold and chic lines and using only black male models, Sean John showed a collection that was expected by no one and loved by everyone.

When asked about his vision Combs said this:

“I’m telling this magical story in my head. That this is the year 2020 in the Kingdom of Harlem. The young price returns, after the wars and all of that, returns to claim his throne… if we had a child that had the bloodline of Grace Jones, David Bowie, Karl Lagerfeld, P. Diddy, David Beckham, that’s actually his family.”

The MTV documentary If I Were King chronicling the weeks leading to Sean John’s Bryant Park return premieres tonight. It is an honest, inside look at the fashion empire and shows a rare vulnerability of the Urban Icon that makes you remember this man is a self-made king.

"I am so excited that this documentary is airing at such a crucial moment for the Sean John brand,” said the Bad Boy CEO. “What better way to emblazon the current success of the brand and to recognize our unbelievable past. I am honored with the opportunity to present this to the world and to highlight what I have put into this show and this business of Sean John,” Diddy continued. “It is extremely important to me to allow people in to see all the blood, sweat and tears that went into the Sean John show and to relay the important message of honor and ambition and going forward with a dream and there is no one better to portray this message than MTV."