Tag Archives: The Fashion Team

Jenny McCarthy

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Doesn’t Jenny McCarthy look like she would smell good? I didn’t sniff when I met her last weekend, but she was as warm and charming and fun as one would expect. I did a quick interview with her for the Fashion Team. The occasion was the opening of Neiman Marcus – a new, swanky branch of the Westfield mall in Canoga Park (in the San Fernando Valley), an area of LA not known for its chic shops; they are trying to throw down with the OC and Beverly Hills. Jenny was hosting the fashion show, and I was tapped to be a judge. The contestants were real shoppers who entered themselves.

Jenny has been out front with her struggles of having an autistic son. She believes a vaccine he got caused it, and she says he is better now, due to a special diet and play therapy. I can’t weigh in on that, but I do give her a lot of praise for her candor, which I think helps parents who have a child with special needs. She told me that when her son was really bad off, she didn’t brush her teeth for 4 months. And I thought skipping showers was rough!

On a lighter note, she also said she is growing out the adorable short ‘do she has had the last couple of years. Since I am “struggling” with my own short-hair issues, I was all ears. Jenny said, “If it’s not blown out right, I look like Bonnie Hunt.” To which I said, “If my hair isn’t blown out right, I look like Dorothy Hamill.”

Let’s Talk Fall Fashion Trends

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Enough about politics and pregnancy, let’s talk fall trends. I have a tad bit of insight into this from my job co-hosting The Fashion Team on the TV Guide channel.

The Blouse To Have
With a bow or ruffle, it’s lady-like, sophisticated, and can be worn with jeans or a skirt. This blouse is part of the continued trend away from the big A-lines of last year, although on a fat day I loved those big lines.

Jewel Tones
Purple, magenta – have fun with color, saturated color. It is all about solids.

Bushy Brows
Every year there are a few trends I cannot partake in. This is one of them. I hate old pictures of me before I plucked. It may still work for Brooke Shields, but not for me.


Short Boot Shoe
Season two for these monsters. I am not a fan. Thankfully, my faves, the ballet flat, are still in.

Dr. Phil and Me

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Okay, yesterday was a crazy day in TV. A few days ago, I was contacted by the Dr. Phil show regarding my video, Helicopter Moms. They wanted to use the piece as part of their show about “Free-Range” Moms” vs. Helicopter Moms. Apparently, they have way more OCD-inclined helicopter moms.

The standard-bearer for the free-range moms was NY-based mom Lenore, who started freerangekids.com after catching flack for allowing her 9-year-old to ride the subway by himself. I told the Dr. Phil people that I try not to be a helicopter mom, that I think it’s better to be more relaxed, as that is how I was raised. They were like,”Um, yeah, maybe we will just use your vlog.”

Sensing my 15 seconds of syndicated-daytime-TV-fame slipping through my fingertips (although, I used to do some comedic commentary on Ricki Lake as the show’s token white girl – besides Ricki), I called back and said, “You know, I really want to back up the free-range mom.”

The only snag was their taping started immediately after the Fashion Team taping ended. My producers were cool: “Okay, you can miss a segment and leave 15 minutes early.” Great.

Meanwhile, over the weekend, the Dr. Phil people wanted photos of my family at home; I sent them about 9. They wanted home movies of Vivien, and I gave them that. They needed a release from my husband, so we did that, and then they CHANGED THE TIME. Now they wanted me there while the Fashion Team was still taping!

I shoot the Fashion Team (which airs Tuesday at 8 pm on the TV Guide channel – plug!) on Tuesday mornings. It’s only about 10 minutes from the Dr. Phil set. I had a knot in my stomach as I asked to leave earlier. Again, my producers were very understanding – Dr. Phil does get 10 to 20 times our audience – but I did need to shoot most of my segments.

So, on the day of the shoot, I’m all dolled up (great dress, right? I don’t even look pregnant!), thanks to the wardrobe department at TV Guide, which is one of the best parts of my job (as is the professional makeup). I am trying to be calm as the clock is ticking and our Fashion Team shoot is inching along. My co-host, Lawrence Zarian, is very sweet and says he is happy to a few segments without me. Our guest is the costume designer of “Mad Men” (AMC, Sundays at 10pm). She is new to the on-camera world and during our interview she stumbles over a word and starts to break to ask, “Can I do that again?” but before she can, Lawrence Zarian and I jump in. On the break, she says, “I thought we could stop.” I wanted to scream, “If you want to be here all day and blow my chance to be on Dr. Phil, go right ahead!” But instead I say, “It’s better to keep going since they have to stop to make each edit.” Which is true: it takes forever.

I race out to my car, texting the Dr. Phil show that I am on my way, as I was 15 minutes late already. They have a golf cart waiting for me at the studio gate. The show is ready to go, and the warm-up guy – one of the hardest and most unsung jobs in show biz – is vamping for time, making jokes and giving away Dr. Phil mugs and books. I am finally seated in the front row. The studio is so cold my teeth are chattering.

Lenore starts with the doctor telling her story. Then it goes to a super over-protective mom. I’m waiting… then there’s another over-protective mom across the aisle from me. Um, where are those pictures of my stepdaughter and Viv hand in hand? Finally Dr. Phil introduces me. He shows part of my vlog, I think it got a good response, but I am thinking, WHICH ONE OF MY MANY WITTY ANECDOTES WILL I SHARE WITH DR. PHIL? I am not sure how much give-and-take there will be. He addressed me and I blurt out in a nutshell that I came to think I needed to get over myself and be a calmer, more open mom. He asked, “Why?” So I told him why, then he turned to the A guests (those on stage) and explained the lesson I helped illustrate.

More segments, but no more of me. On a break, Dr. Phil looked down at me, smiled and nodded. I’m thinking, “Um, I have more to say, um, where’s my home movie?”

These kinds of talk shows are very well-produced, but maybe too well-produced. There’s no forum for give-and-take. But then I’m sure not everyone would be as television-savvy as I would be, and they may really blather on. Also the show became a parade of the disasters of the overly controlling mom. Though Dr. Phil did have good advice.

I don’t know when it will be on, but I will announce that here on Cool Mom, of course, when I know.

I hope I get my MiniDV back.

Oh No, She Didn’t! The Sarah Palin Speech

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Okay, for what it’s worth, I can’t close out the week without summing up my take on the Palin speech at the RNC. I hear that WHITE, MARRIED MOTHERS are who decides elections. Hey, that’s me!

I have many friends who have been fuming about her latest speech. I got messages like “I hate her,” “nasty bitch,” and “Well, I’d sleep with her.” (That last one was from a Republican guy friend.) I watched her speech a bit after the fact, on Tivo, after Vivien went to bed. I tried to watch with an objective eye, but I expected to want to throw her glasses on the ground and smash them. Surprisingly, I didn’t feel that way when I watched it. Here’s what I was thinking.

Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

In The Beginning
To start, where was the music? Where was the bio video, ’cause I love those. The Republicans know how to sell a war to us, but can’t figure out basic production value and stagecraft? Come on! I had to hand it to my niece – she won the bet on how Palin would wear her hair, which was mostly down. She looked nice, as did the family, but The Fashion Team side of me (BTW, this Tuesday we will do some political fashion critiquing on the FT at 8pm on the TV Guide Channel) feels her youngest daughter has to be worth a couple points in the polls. Her youngest daughter is a happy-spirited girl who lovingly held her baby brother – awwww! And the pregnant daughter gets an ovation. Which is kind, but can we try to remember it’s probably best not to encourage that?

Special Needs
Sure, Palin scored points with a lot of people by saying she’d be a friend to families who have kids with special needs. No specifics, but it was Bush #1 who signed the disability access law, so who knows? Then there was Todd, the first dude, who was happy to have his ovation.

Better Parts Of The Speech
She mentioned Truman? They wouldn’t let her shout out to Ferraro or Clinton anymore, but she got one Democrat in there. The pit bull line was great, and she ripped into Obama’s community organizing.

Sorry lefties, this was long overdue. I was just talking with my brother-in-law about this during the DNC. What the frig is “community organizing”? They keep saying it like I should care, but I don’t. Say something specific, like “helped drive old ladies to get medicine.” Or “took slumlords to jail.” I don’t know. It reminds me of when my friend used to work in “supportive housing.” After five years, I think I finally figured that out.

Palin scored another “ouch” moment with her “styrofoam Greek column” line. The crowd was so whipped!  She could have farted in tune and they would have loved her. I noticed Newt Gingrich in the audience was holding his applause.

Her delivery was confident, strong, and in charge. I found myself thinking, “If McCain loses, she could very well be the nominee in 2012.” Maybe even her against Hillary? She was slinging some insults, but no more than I expected all along from the GOP. When Obama fans were decrying the “rough” treatment the Clintons were supposedly giving him in the primaries, I thought, “Babies, the Republicans are going to rip him to shreds, just you wait.” I think one of the most cutting things was that she didn’t use Obama’s name until 3/4 of the way through the speech. As if to say, “I won’t dignify him by using his name,” which is meaner than the Democrats did to McCain at their convention.

Weaker Parts
I needed more bio. I needed to hear what motivated her to go from the PTA to the Governor’s Mansion. I think that’s a lost moment. I felt like we went from “Hockey Mom” to “Obama Sucks.” I needed the in-between.

I’m fine with snarky comments, but then she went into bold-faced lies and scary stuff: That Obama will raise your taxes (if you make over $250,000 and, of course, if he can get it passed, which is another thing), then there was the matter of claiming near-victory in Iraq… Hmm, not really. And the oddest statement along those lines was, “Instead of catching terrorists, he would rather read them their rights.” Oh yeah, a nation of laws is such a drag! Didn’t she just tell us for the 4,359th time about McCain being tortured as a P.O.W.? Wouldn’t it be nice if our country, above all others, learned from that? That was the point at which she really turned me off. And the more she plays up McCain’s heroics, the smaller it makes her look. The war hero and the hockey mom? Doesn’t help sell the idea that she could take his place.

The Billing
One thing I like better about the GOP than the Democrats is that they gave Palin equal billing compared to McCain. Her font is the same size as the McCain font, whereas Biden is smaller than Obama’s, like Biden is the sidekick.

Joebama better keep tearing into the economy, because Palin and the rest of the GOP really left that out. Since Obama is such a chicken about talking about being pro-choice (the lame response at Saddleback is a PERFECT demonstration of that), they better get some snappy sound bites about the party of Hoover if they want to win. At this point, I think Palin is an asset.

If only Obama had picked Hillary as his running mate…

Mommy Must Have

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Here’s a cute thing that was one of the first products I featured on my “Mommy Must Have” segment on my TV show, The Fashion Team. Although come to think of it we haven’t done that segment in months, which means the producers must have cut it without telling me…hmm. Typical.

Anyway, I was trolling a star-studded benefit for the March of Dimes last year, eyeing the swag available to the famous and hoping to get ideas for my show. When low and behold I see a very nice, unassuming mom with her t-shirts and matching books. These are not just shirts with a familiar story or song on them, they’re Nursery Rhyme Tease, and each shirt comes with a little book that matches. So I got Vivien “Wheels On The Bus,” and “5 Little Monkeys Jumping On The Bed.” She loved them, got so excited when I gave them to her. She likes reading the books, knows the words and wears the shirt like a rocker wears his AC/DC shirt, to show what a fan she is!

As I recall they were about $25 dollars for the set. Order a few and have them in an emergency gift nook for when you realize, “oh, crap, we have a kiddie party today!”

That’s my plug.

BOTOX

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So a while ago I said to Nikki, my executive producer of the Fashion Team, “I can’t believe this show can’t get me some free BOTOX.”  A few days later she called and asked if I was serious; there was a segment they wanted to do and I could get free BOTOX by a reputable Beverly Hills doctor who has been on Extreme Makeover (a show I always loved) on TV.  I said, “Why not?  I’m going to tell everyone anyway.”  I would never pull a Star Jones and conceal I lost half my body.  I can’t keep much of a secret. If someone compliments my outfit I can’t just say “thank you” – I have to say, “TJ Maxx, $25!”.  Maybe I’ll be classy when I grow up.

Anyway, it was done by Dr. Jon Perlman.  It felt like tiny little pricks.  Waxing is a hundred times more painful.  Not only would I do it again, I might even pay for it.

Meeting Karina Smirnoff

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I keep meaning to write about this. A couple of weeks ago, Karina Smirnoff of “Dancing with the Stars” was on my show, The Fashion Team. I love “Dancing with the Stars” and always admire the leanness of the dancers’ bodies. Imagine having NO back fat!

Karina Smirnoff and Daphne Brogdon at The Fashion Team

Karina was so sweet and still so heartbroken over her break-up with Mario Lopez. Yeck, yick, blech. His half-naked body was all over the cover of the latest issue of TV Guide Magazine, so her publicist was rounding them all up in the studio so they wouldn’t be face up as Karina walked into the green room or the dressing room. Like being a good girlfriend.

At one point after we bonded I told her, “You can do better than Mario Lopez. He is coming off as a big narcissist with all his naked body pictures.” She was wistful and said, “For two years, I was so in love, I didn’t see it.” Me: “Well, that’s what your 20′s are for. Now, onward and upward!”

I told her about my blog and said, “Look, mommies don’t look like you and don’t go on big dancing shows, but what’s your advice for some easy glam tips?” She said lip gloss and Scott Barnes body glow. I’m a firm believer that a spray tan makes you look 10 pounds lighter, so I am sure she is right.

On the show, I asked her if she was bummed when as a dancer they get stuck with a turkey partner, like Penn Jillete. She was kind and said you never know who is going to do well. They must be though, as they get paid per week, and if Monica Seles (video) is your partner, that’s a slim payday.  Whenever the show starts up again, I will be rooting for Karina.

Brooke Burke Visits The Fashion Team

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As is so often the case when I meet a really skinny and beautiful mother of four, I wanted to find something about Brooke Burke to dish on. (Actually, I don’t know if I have ever met a skinny, hot mom of four.) Alas, she was very nice, professional and down-to-earth.

Brooke Burke and Daphne Brogdon on The Fashion Team

She was a guest yesterday on my show, The Fashion Team. I am always slightly fascinated when a woman who has had multiple babies still has a fab body. But she started with one, so there is that. Brooke also swears by her Taut, one of the products she has developed for would-be or new moms. Basically it’s like a girdle that you wear after giving birth, for 40 days. I said, “Isn’t that uncomfortable? I think it would make me even more cranky than I was.” She said she would take it off to nurse or if it was bugging her, but she believes it helped her get her figure back.

Her fourth child is 4 months old, and Brooke looks good. Almost as impressive was that she didn’t have that super-haggard look I associate with myself and other new moms. I was trying not to be obvious as I scrutinized around her eye and barely saw one line. She said having four kids is a challenge (and three isn’t?).

I asked her how the older kids dealt with a new baby, since I often wonder how I would handle that if I have another. She said she tried to make the older kids feel that the baby is theirs, too. Letting them hold it and if they are not holding it properly don’t yell at them, just change the holding in a gentle way. Sounds good to me.

This “Lost” Star Is a Cool Mom

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In my job as one of the hosts of “The Fashion Team” on TV Guide Channel – or, as I like to call it, “deep cable” – I meet various celebrities. One of the great aspects of motherhood is the insta-connection you can make with people of all stripes. Between takes on my show, it’s best to chat with your guest, get to know them, make them comfortable, distract them so they don’t notice it’s taking 20 minutes to set up a shot. Some are more fun than others.

Elizabeth Mitchell, “Juliet” on “Lost,” was a recent fave. We all loved her. I remember her from 10 years ago as Angelina Jolie’s girlfriend in “Gia” (hot!). It took us about 10 seconds before we were chatting about our kids, who are only a couple weeks apart. Mitchell’s not a Hollywood mom; she lives in Hawaii for the show half the year, and Seattle is her homebase and she doesn’t have a nanny. Her husband and relatives help her out. Love a Mister Mom!

I asked her what’s one of the beauty rituals that’s gone out the window with motherhood. She said, “I’m doing it.” She said she only puts nail polish on the toes that peek out of her pumps and since she doesn’t wear those much (for motherhood or “Lost”), she doesn’t bother with a full pedi – it’s outfit dependent. Good tip! (No pun intended.)

She gained 70 pounds with her pregnancy. Wow, that’s a lot of girl. She is tall so she could carry it better than I – I would have been a perfect circle. She’s lovely now, so I asked her how she lost it: “Nursing and running.” We chatted about how nursing peels off the pounds. I have the knees of 60-year-old, so the running isn’t happening for me anymore.

I asked her if I could quote her on my blog. Being Ms. Perfect, she said (paraphrasing), “Oh, yeah, I think motherhood can be really hard, all that goes with it, and I like to demystify it.”

I gazed at her, “You had me at the toenails.”