Only 80 meters? … no marathon? … you call that pumped? The Stiletto Sprint …

The world record for the number of people running a race while wearing stilettos has been broken in Australia.

A total of 265 competitors, including some few men, dashed their way around an 80m track at Sydney’s Circular Quay wearing three-inch heels.

The race was won by 400 metre professional hurdler Brittney McGlone by several clear lengths who took home £2,500, and a pair of gold stilettos.

The 18-year-old left the other competitors in her wake as many fell, suffering scratches and scrapes to knees and hands.

Other sprinters had to be treated for bruises, it was reported.

Former Australian sprinter Melinda Gainsford-Taylor inspected the athletes and ensured they were wearing the mandatory three-inch heels.

“All the girls were pumped,” she told Australian media.

“I don’t think I’ve experienced such energy since my racing days,”

Australia’s Age reported her as saying.

A spokeswoman for the event said the world record had topped the previous world record of 150 which was made in Holland.

Regarding the catty and transphobic rant from Caitlyn Scott (”America’s Next Top Model features hot tranny mess“) last Tuesday in the LSU student newspaper, The Daily Reveille. I suppose Ms. Scott does not have too much to fear in calling Ms. Banks a “hot tranny mess,” but she needs to be careful in commenting on someone’s (”horrendous crimped”) hairstyle — just ask Don Imus …

Ladies and gentleman, the inevitable has happened — Tyra Banks has lost her freaking mind.

No, I’m not talking about the horrendous crimped hairstyle she recently wore to celebrate Vogue Italia’s first all-black model issue.

I’m not even referencing the recent reports that she kept an audience for her talk show waiting for two hours while she gabbed with stagehands around the snack table backstage.

I’m talking about Isis, Banks’ newest headline-snagging protégé.

Fourteen contestants are taking part in Cycle 11 of “America’s Next Top Model,” but only one of those 14 has the distinction of being born a man.

The 22-year-old aspiring model and Maryland native told Us Weekly that she is a woman who was born a male.

Now, I understand everyone is different — and transgendered persons have just as much right to be America’s next top model as anyone else.

But I personally find it a little hard to believe that Isis is more qualified to strut her stuff down the runway than the thousands of actual women she beat out for the part — including a bevy of Baton Rouge beauties when auditions were held in our fair city.

Which leads me to my next question — Is Isis pre-op or post-op?

She is tall, thin and leggy with boyish good looks that could lead to either conclusion.

Perhaps this is the final push in the campaign started by Twiggy in the 1960s and revived by Kate Moss in the 1990s of having runway models with the figures of 13-year-old boys.

Instead of having high-strung cocaine addicts who puke after meals as role models, young girls can idolize the bodies of modern- day eunuchs.

Perhaps Isis’ inherent testosterone will make her less of a cat-fighting attention whore than the other divas in training.

If Banks, the CW and co. want something to talk about, why not just allow men to participate in the show? Then Isis could stand and deliver without the surgery.

Do men want to be snipped at by noted fashion photographer Nigel Barker and runway diva extraordinaire Miss J. Alexander so badly that they’ll go to excruciating lengths to reach their goal? Are they aching for face time with Paulina Porizkova so hard that they’re willing to castrate themselves?

I wonder how Isis’ past will influence her performance on the show.

The ANTM judges have always expressed their love of androgyny in contestants like Cycle 5’s Kim. But what about Kim’s fellow castmate Coryn, who was frequently chastised for being too masculine?

I wonder if such comments directed at Isis would be considered offensive.

If this was a true attempt to be open-minded and progressive, I would applaud the ANTM team. But I call a spade a spade, and shameless plays for ratings make me reach for my Daily Reveille-issued shovel.

Plus-sized models are old news. We’ve seen scores of confrontational contestants. We’ve had race issues out the wazoo. There was even a lesbian hook up in Cycle 5. Now we’ve reached the final frontier of edgy reality TV.

Can a woman — born a man, but now a woman — make it as a top model?

This must herald the final chapter of “America’s Next Top Model.” How do they top this? Lizard people?

ANTM has a rich and diverse history of capitalizing on the differences of one girl each season.

Cycle 3 winner Eva was short – for a model.

Cycle 5 contestant Kim was a lesbian and Cycle 10 winner Whitney was plus sized.

They even had Heather — a contestant with Asperger’s Syndrome — on Cycle 9.

Banks recaps the chosen sob story at the front of every episode in an effort to strengthen the contestant’s emotional chokehold on the audience.

And honestly, if Isis is cool with being exploited who am I to contradict her? I’m sure this is the big throbbing break she’s been waiting for all her young life.

Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation president Neil Giuliano told Us Weekly this is “an unprecedented opportunity for a community that is underrepresented on television.”

I have to respectfully disagree with Mr. Giuliano.

Is he completely disregarding the character of Mrs. Garrison on South Park?

Besides, no one encompasses the phrase “hot tranny mess” better than Tyra Banks — and I see her on TV every day.

It looks like this sort of thing is spreading (more on that here) … and though we’re on the subject of cracks, I’m going to resist making one about the “flinty” police chief’s last name …

Police chief says no to crack

A US town’s new police chief has banned low hung trousers that expose wearers’ bums.

Police Chief David R Dicks, of Flint, Michigan, says his officers will arrest people who wear their pants too low.

“This immoral self expression goes beyond free speech,” he said in a statement. “It rises to the crime of indecent exposure.”

Some Flint residents are backing Police Chief Dicks, reports the Flint Journal newspaper.

“It’s overdue,” said Sam Berry, 73, of Flint. And Gwendolyn Allen, 72, agreed: “It’s so disgusting… It’s disgraceful.”

But others disagree. Claude Carter, 49, said wearing pants low was a fad - not a crime.

“I see young and old wearing their pants that way,” said Mr Carter. “It doesn’t annoy me.”

Greg Gibbs, a local attorney, says how people wear their clothing is a form of expression - but warns that not all of those forms are protected by the constitution.

“The issue is: Does it violate the First Amendment?” said Gibbs, adding that he plans to research the issue further.

I guess the Coppertone Girl won’t be welcome in Flint either.

By the way, it’s worth recalling that the Delcambre (La.) ordinance stated “It shall be unlawful for any person in any public place or in view of the public to be found … in dress not becoming to his or her sex … ” Just remember to use good fashion sense (we don’t need no “tranny messes” around here) so as to not offend fashionistas like Mayor Carol Broussard …

The clause about “dress not becoming to his or her sex” doesn’t forbid cross-dressing, Broussard said. “A dress, I wouldn’t find that obscene. As long as he covers himself and it’s not too short.”

Two interesting features worth a look in tomorrow’s New York Times Sunday Magazine (6.29.2008) …

Genes, money, drive … if you have’em, you might have a chance of looking and performing like Dara Torres at 41 years of age …

NEAR THE WARM-UP POOL AT THE Missouri Grand Prix swim meet, in Columbia, a crop of Olympic hopefuls lolled around in practice suits and towels on a Saturday morning in February. Fully clothed among them stood some relics of Olympics past: Scott Goldblatt, who won a gold medal in the 2004 Games, wore an aqua sport coat and a striped tie and was doing on-air commentary for Swimnetwork.com; Mel Stewart, who won two golds and a bronze in 1992, wore the same goofy get-up, working as Goldblatt’s sidekick. Meanwhile, Dara Torres, who won the first of her nine Olympic medals in 1984, a year before Michael Phelps was born, stripped off her baggy T-shirt and sweat pants, revealing a breathtaking body in a magenta Speedo. She pulled on a cap marked with her initials and prepared to swim. Torres is now 41 and the mother of a 2-year-old daughter, Tessa Grace. She broke her first of three world records in 1982, at 14, and she has retired from swimming and come back three times, her latest effort built on an obsessive attention to her aging body.

Torres’s retinue includes a head coach, a sprint coach, a strength coach, two stretchers, two masseuses, a chiropractor and a nanny, at the cost of at least $100,000 per year. At the Olympic trials, this week, in Omaha, Neb., she’s expected to swim fast enough to make her fifth Olympic team. If she does, she’ll be the first American swimmer to compete in five Olympics (despite sitting out 1996 and 2004). She’ll also be oldest female swimmer in the history of the Olympic games.

…

The rest of “A Swimmer of a Certain Age” may be read here.

And Times fashion writer Guy Trebay has a feature on filmmaker and “fashionista” Daphne Guinness …

Because the archetypal women in Daphne Guinness’s short film, ‘‘The Phenomenology of Body,’’ revolve on turntables, it is somehow easier to think of her as a D.J. than as a director. Because the chic images she assembled appear in some sense random, it seems appropriate to think of her as more a sampler than any kind of auteur. And because the story depicting women through the ages is, as its creator points out, not exactly linear and only accidentally feminist, it is easy to see in it hints of autobiography, the personal history of a slightly anachronistic sort of being, less actor than spectator, a woman upon whom the events of life impress themselves.

While few outside the style world are likely to have heard of Guinness, she exercises considerable fascination in fashionable circles and the tabloid press. The daughter of the Guinness brewery heir Jonathan Guinness, formally known as Lord Moyne, Guinness is also the step-granddaughter of Sir Oswald Mosley, the British fascist; the ex-wife of Spyros Niarchos, of Greek shipping fame (she married him at 19; he settled a reputed $40 million dollars on her when they divorced in 1999); and lately the subject of tabloid rumors related to her friendship with Bernard-Henri Lévy, the wealthy, and married, French writer whose intellect is almost as celebrated as his luxuriant head of hair.

…

The rest of “Her Feminine Mystique” may be read here, and her film’s below …

And it’s a deliciously satirical (but painful) reminder of our last Presidential “election” …

~~~

Related …

Legendary designer Yves Saint Laurent dies at 71

Yves Saint Laurent, Fashion Icon, Dies at 71

~~~

h/t SwiftKids For Truth

Thanks, but I think I’ll just stick with something a bit more practical …

A Japanese lingerie firm has unveiled the perfect gadget for eco-friendly sun worshippers - the solar-powered bra.

It comes with a detachable solar panel which can produce enough energy to power an iPod or mobile phone, reports the Daily Telegraph.

It is also equipped with plastic pouches that can be filled with water, allowing wearers to quench their thirst without having to buy and then throw away drinks bottles.

The bra is made of high quality organic cotton, to ensure its production has the smallest possible impact on the environment.

But the ‘Photovoltaic-Powered Bra’ won’t be on shelves any time soon. It is still at the concept stage and has several problems that need to be ironed out. For one, it is damaged by rain.

Triumph International Japan concedes the bra will not become popular in its current form, as outer clothing renders its solar panel ineffective.

“People usually cannot go outside without wearing clothes over it,” said Yoshiko Masuda of Triumph.

Triumph has previously released a bra than can be turned into a shopping bag and a bra designed to encourage the use of reusable chopsticks.

Solar-powered bra

Hills in the hometown, a Guy on dresses and … whatever …

We have hills in Asheville.

I was out running today. Most days I run. I’m no spring chicken anymore though. Weather’s getting warmer, I got out later in the day today, pushed the mileage. The motor’s still working. I’m not complaining. But …

We have Hills in Asheville …

I have enough years on the odometer that, as I commented here not long ago, I’m not particularly keen on any of the Presidential candidates remaining in this contest. But, Hills was here the other day, wooing and maybe wowing some folks in what has been a generally conservative CD (and first-term Democrat, Rep. Heath Shuler is a Republican in Dem drag, for what it’s worth) …

Sen. Hillary Clinton told a raucous and inspired Asheville crowd Thursday that as commander in chief she would end the war in Iraq while enacting universal health care and reviving a faltering economy.

This is not a comment about isolationism, global disengagement or any of that serious stuff, but, apropos of the setting (Thomas Wolfe Auditorium), America needs an Angel (whatever gender) to Look Homeward now.

Not leaving Hillary entirely behind as you’ll see, but off to the subject of fashion (There used to be, some years back, by the way, a group of local women from Asheville performing musically as “Crimes of Fashion.”) … where I’ll leave it to you, dear readers, to make your own political and fashion sense out of this …

Borrowing from the male wardrobe is hardly new …

the prevalence of mannish jackets represents a real shift from the girly dresses dominating runways in recent seasons - and may be a sartorial signal of something more. Judging from fashion history, masculine styles often signal a moment when women are looking for clothes that assert authority.

Designer Peter Som says he was thinking of Hillary Clinton …

The ‘boyfriend jacket’ comes on strong

… and …

Just look, Hil. All those pants.

It’s not exactly a state secret — the U.S. senator and presidential hopeful is pro-trouser. And why not? She looks good in them. (Better than those drab dresses …

Who’s wearing the pants here?

… and from a Guy’s perspective …

“The eye is looking for something new, and so is the psyche,” Anne Slowey, the fashion news director of Elle magazine, said last week from the set of “Fashionista,” a new fashion reality show in which she will play herself, a fashion editor, only meaner. “The dress has been done to death,” Ms. Slowey added, “not to sound really cliché.”

…

This prediction will come as a surprise, perhaps, to retail analysts like the folks at NPD Group, who not long ago termed 2007 the year of the dress, pointing to sales of more than $5 billion in the 12 months that ended last April, and a rate of growth in dress sales fully 30 percent higher than the year before.

“The first hint of chill in the air, and the full-legged, pleated high- and low-waisted legions will be out in the urban jungle,” said Ms. Slowey, already so adapted to her new television role that she speaks in thought bubbles. The expiration date for the dress, she claimed, “is end of August.”

This prediction will come as a surprise, perhaps, to retail analysts like the folks at NPD Group, who not long ago termed 2007 the year of the dress, pointing to sales of more than $5 billion in the 12 months that ended last April, and a rate of growth in dress sales fully 30 percent higher than the year before.

It may also come as unwelcome news to the female members of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, whose wildly anachronistic Laura Ingalls Wilder frocks, Skechers and wave-pool hairdos have become as much an obsession in certain Manhattan circles as their polygamist habits and 416 children.

It is also, for what it’s worth, unwelcome news to me.

That is because, unlike Ms. Slowey, I am not eager for women to become “a little more hard-core, a little more androgynous, a little more butch.” Yes, gender play is fun, and trousers are a useful wardrobe default for the woman in business. But unless you are Thomas McGuane and find nothing sexier than a woman with crow’s feet, tight Wranglers and suede chaps, you will have to concede that, for flattering a woman’s body, nothing is quite like a dress.

Irwin Shaw covered all this is in his classic story “The Girls in Their Summer Dresses,” the tale that secured him a permanent place in anthologies if not exactly a perch on literary Olympus. And for all the creakiness of this warhorse about the fragile dynamics of love and desire, there remains in Shaw’s descriptions of the women on the streets of Manhattan, in their ripe young multitudes, something unexpectedly fresh and also recognizable.

Shaw wrote the story decades ago, in the era that directly preceded the feminist one that first killed off the dress, a time when women wore them all the time and not with irony …

Long Live the Dress (for Now)

… and then this comment on Guy’s piece …

Might as well throw some heterosexism in there too. And women wearing pants is “gender play”? I didn’t realize trousers were still a “man’s” piece of clothing.

…

The sad thing about this piece is that it won’t do anything but discourage women from wearing dresses this summer, despite some women’s love to wear them. (Ahem.) I guess they didn’t get the message that women wear their clothes for comfort and fashion, not someone else’s fancy.

NYT makes me never want to wear a dress again

(Before Vanessa’s time this. And though we probably should Goethe off this subject, there’s more … )

… and …

In today’s “Styles” section, Guy Trebay devotes a whole article to proving why Elle’s fashion-news director, Anne Slowey, could be wrong about the dress going out of style come September. Wishful thinking, he says, gathering quotes from trend forecasters, the fashion director of Barneys, and random dress-clad women on the street to make his case for the dress. And we must say he did so as compellingly as one can when covering such a topic, though it was kind of unfair he didn’t quote anyone who agreed with Slowey. Anyway, it felt like the perfect opportunity for the Cut’s first-ever point-counterpoint debate!

…

Is Anne Slowey Right About the Fate of Dresses?

And, not to neglect the guys, there’s this …

A few weeks ago, we told you about “Booty Pop Panties,” the padded underwear that makes your ass look bigger. Well, Kelly Ripa went nuts over them on Live With Regis and Kelly the other day so, not to be out-assed, Regis found a version of the undergarment for men called “Bottoms Up” and bandied them about on air today. Unlike the Booty Pop Panties, these appear to come with a padded back and a padded front. Here’s a product description:

• A defining centre back seam separates our butt pads creating an anatomically correct bottom for a more natural look.
• Our contoured front pouch, allows for comfort, style and support from the double layer of fabric…
• For first time optimum effect we suggest you put your jeans or pants on BEFORE you look in the mirror.
• The weight and fit of your pants compresses the pads — the most natural look is achieved with you pants on.

You can even purchase extra pads in “Quarterback,” “Halfback,” and “Fullback” sizes. Is this supposed to appeal to women? Because we think a nice cologne is a better route than sub-pant bulges.

Men Can Pad Their Nether Regions, Too

Moving on … from the Washington Blade today …

Equality Maryland is intensifying its efforts to protect a transgender rights law that may be in jeopardy.

Dan Furmansky, the organization’s executive director, said a review of signatures collected to overturn the Montgomery County law has been hastened so it can be completed by month’s end.

…

Legal battle over trans law intensifies in Montgomery Co.

… and, finally, from the Southern Voice …

On Friday, students at 6,000 schools around the country, including 130 here in Georgia, took part in the National Day of Silence — keeping quiet for all or part of the school day to protest the silence forced on gay people every day. One of those schools was my alma mater, Columbus High School.

Not too long ago, whenever someone asked me where my hometown of Columbus, Ga., is located, I would answer that it is “about 100 miles and 100 years south of Atlanta.”

It’s exciting to know that through the efforts of brave young people like those who joined in the Day of Silence, even towns like Columbus are changing for the better. And it’s amazing to think that some of the Columbus High students participating in the protest today were not even born in 1991, the year I graduated.

…

Would you have joined the Day of Silence?