Thoughts on and for Oscar Whiners

There's a lot of Oscar hate floating around. I don't get it.

I've watched the Oscars faithfully ever since I attended my aunt's Oscar Party while in Maui. My attendance was a forgone conclusion, since we were staying in her condo. I was sixteen. I wasn't into film, not yet, but I loved watching movies.

And I loved clothes. Loving the Oscars was a natural development.

I grew up, some. I went to college. A multi-media course introduced me to foreign and art films. The public library circulated DVDs for free. I got hooked on film.

In my mind, to love film is to love the Oscars. They're a celebration of the silver screen, of the best of Hollywood, of movie making.

No, they're not fair. The award of "Best Film" isn't necessarily for the best film of the year, but the best buzz, the best momentum. The best out of five (now ten) films, but not necessarily the best overall.

Whatever. To the people who beef about the unfairness of it all, I have three words.

Get. Over. It.

Award unfairness is nothing new. They were unfair when Judy Garland lost to Grace Kelly in 1954. Accept it. Deal with it. Move on.

Instead, revel in the good moments. Halle Berry's win over Sissy Spacek and Nicole Kidman in 2001, Marion Cotillard beating Julie Christie in 2007. Glen Hansard and Market Irglova (now the band "Swell Season") winning best song, "Falling Slowly," from Once. Jennifer Hudson winning Best Supporting Actress for Dreamgirls. Roberto Benigni, Best Actor for Life is Beautiful (and the leaping that ensued, now classic footage). Adrian Brody for The Pianist. Shakespeare in Love for Best Picture.

The Oscars aren't perfect. But they're a lot of fun.

Still not feeling the love? Click away -

From the Vault

A Comedian at the Oscars

Hugh Jackman's 2009 Opening (with Anne Hathaway)

Some Swell Season Love

2009 Best Song Medley

Roberto!

For my sister

A presenter with a reputation

For the DWTS fans out there

Mini-rant: Pants

This makes me SO mad.

It's tough being a tall woman in a world where clothing designers design for women who are 5'7. Pants especially. Because if the pants aren't long enough, your options are pretty limited. A lot of the time with trousers these days, there's a pretty deep hem. If you're lucky, you can rip out the hem and re-sew/perky bond (magic stuff) a new hem a lot closer to the actual edge of the fabric. But if there's not a deep hem, and the pants are two short, there's nothing you can do.

I pull out this argument a lot when short women complain. They don't like re-hemmed pants. But, you know, you've got options. You've got fabric, whereas tall women usually get bubkes. Nothing.

Things have gotten a bit better the last few years. Gap has a tall line, and J.Crew is pretty reliable. Mind you, these are usually for pants that are JUST long enough for flats. I keep reading in magazines that they recommend buying two pairs of pants at a time (since pants and money grow on trees) and having one hemmed to wear with heals. Technically, the edge of your pants, with heals, is supposed to be no higher than one inch off the ground.

Are you kidding me? They don't make pants that long, and it's not like I'm that tall. Despite common belief, I'm two inches under six feet. There are scores of pants-wearing women taller than me. Most of them play basketball.

So here I am, 5'10, and I marry a man who stands just over 6'4. He is taller than I am. But here's the thing: we can buy his pants at Costco. And Fred Meyer. Most places make men's pants with a 34" inseam. In fact, they'll give you the option of choosing your waist size and your inseam. Finding a 29"-34" range for inseam is pretty common.

I ask you - why is it that designers acknoledge that men have many different lengths of legs, and women (if they're lucky), are petite, regular, or tall? Or in many cases, just regular?

Tall women are clearly being discriminated against and we don't even have an organization for our advancement with a clever acronym.

Don't even get me started on how rarely you'll ever see the words "hand wash" or "line dry" on menswear. Usually it's "Wash on the tough cycle and dry till crisp."