The lobby of the Somerville Theater was a blue/gray sea of denim, chambray, and fleece. “Yikes!” I said to my husband. “These are my peers?” We were there to see Joe Jackson, Brit rocker of olde, and as I wondered if that nasty AARP card issued automatically at my big 5-0 could have maybe gotten us a discount, I also registered more than a little remorse that this is how my generation was choosing to express itself sartorially. I should have worn my wig!

The mostly male and solidly middle-aged crowd was as entertaining as the band, fervently swinging to the beat while singing along full throttle. I felt like a fly in a car ride of teens on a beer run. Except this time, the elation I was witnessing related to temporary liberation from pressures due to recession, marriage, and parenting. (more…)

This week we had the chance to catch up with several 50-something rock stars live on the stage here in Boston, which isn’t hard considering that Led Zeppelin, the Police, and the Rolling Stones won’t quit in spite of their venerable ages. No point in reviewing the music here because, well, we’re not qualified to judge.

But we figure that after two shows we are now fully qualified to comment on the aging rock star aesthetic. So what does a 50-something former punk wear? How does he deal with turkey neck, balding, and the burgeoning mid-section? And does he still rock?

Warning: the following may give the current tattooed and pierced generation pause, because, friends, you too will get old.

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Back when it was perfectly acceptable for a kid to spend hours in front of the television, I was an incredibly dedicated Smurfs devotee. Why it took the Hanna-Barbera people 17 years after the show went off the air to issue The Smurfs, Season One, on DVD, I can’t imagine. Anyway, I bought it, and the daily lives of Papa, Brainy, Vanity, Jokey, et. al. are as compelling as I remembered.

One Saturday morning and a few bowls of Froot Loops later, I am totally brainsmurfed. I’ve never been one to fall for a trend I see on TV or in the movies — in fact, as far as I’m concerned, once Rachel Bilson makes an appearance in anything, it’s pretty much jumped the shark. And yet, how else to explain this weekend’s extravagant, and eerily Smurf-like, purchase?

The platform slingback Jimmy Choo heels I took home from Gretta Luxe yesterday measure in at 4″ tall (about the height of a Smurf), and are a Smurfy shade of royal blue. These shoes are completely fantastical — not unlike Smurfs. Also like the Smurfs, they may remain a well-kept secret. (more…)

Reality TV stars can’t be trusted. From false professors of love to tax-evading survivors, we’ve never looked to this particular breed of megalomaniac for anything other than mindless—often cringe-worthy—entertainment. So the idea of a clothing line fashioned by MTV reality darling and Hollywood Hills resident Lauren Conrad didn’t exactly inspire confidence. And then we saw the clothes. (more…)

As we should, Fashion Week Mom and I typically differ on the type of Hollywood hunk that gets our reels going. She dreams of Dennis Quaid and Sam Shepherd, while I prefer the male cast of Friday Night Lights and even Michael Cera. But there’s one leading man that we both drool for, and that’s Eric Bana.

Ever since Munich, he stole our hearts with his sensitive but masculine stare and not-too-pretty boy looks. So when it came to choosing which movie we would see Sunday afternoon, it was a no-brainer: The Other Boleyn Girl, starring Bana as our King Henry VIII.

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For years, glitz-loving New Englanders—the kind whose idea of fun is more blackjack than backpacking—had two choices: Foxwoods or Mohegan Sun. But starting in May, before Massachusetts even gets its own gambling going, they’ll have two new area places to play and stay.

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Because we don’t already have enough going on, this weekend Boston magazine, in collaboration with Boston.TV, rolls out the first of our monthly television series: The Best of Boston magazine. Airing tomorrow night at 11:35 p.m. and again Sunday night at 11:45 p.m. (what? you have someplace else to be?) on WCVB Channel 5.

The debut show will feature behind-the-scenes highlights from our March issue. There’s exclusive interviews with Bringing Down the House author, and John Gonzalez profile subject, Ben Mezrich (”Ben Mezrich: Based on a True Story“); on-set footage from our Spring Fashion shoot with local hard rock phenom Bang Camaro (”Bing Bang Theory”); scenes from the Fenway Park Bar in Kyoto, Japan (”Land of the Rising Sox”), and more. (more…)

SPOILER ALERT: If you haven’t seen episode 12 of Project Runway, season 4, you might want to stop reading now.

In what has become a highlight of each season, Tim Gunn began the show by visiting the remaining four designers as they prepared their collections for New York Fashion Week. Unfortunately this episode did not provide the geographic exploration as seen in previous seasons (Uli in Miami! Jay in Pennsylvania!), as all but Rami had been living and working in New York City. The New York-centricity of the episode was driven home when Jillian invited Tim to visit her family—all the way on Long Island. Jillian’s mother once visited a clairvoyant, she said, who told her that one of her children was to be famous. We wished we’d met the psychic, too. (more…)

At this very moment, all of Hollywood is experiencing a hangover from last night’s Botox and boob-tape filled festivities. In case you missed it (and you didn’t miss much, trust us) the Academy Awards were held yesterday, and actresses of every caliber were dressed impeccably. In other words, no fun for Bostonista.

This year, the buzz word of the night was red, with everyone from Katherine Heigl to Anne Hathaway dressed in shades of crimson, scarlet, and vermilion. Is it wrong that Bostonista thought Miley Cyrus was one of the best-dressed of the night, decked out in a goddess-y red Valentino? When even 15-year-olds look sophisticated, we know that our worst-dressed list is going to be scant. (more…)

We’ve been counting down for months and the day is finally here: Tyra the Great kicked off Cycle 10 of America’s Next Top Model Wednesday at 8 p.m. on the CW. (Note: There’s also a Top Model casting call for Cycle 11 this Saturday at the Park Plaza from 10 a.m.-3 p.m.)
As devoted vans know, predicting the Top Model winner is trickier than guessing which crazy weave Tyra will wear at any given judging panel. It’s not about being the prettiest or the most striking. Instead, winning ANTM is about smiling with your eyes. Or at least that’s what Tyra says. And what she says goes. But since we can’t really figure out how to recognize this eye-smiling business, we’ll be putting our cheering behind the local contestants. (more…)