Kimora Sets the Record Straight

OK! Magazine allowed Kimora Lee Simmons to set the record straight (click the picture above to enlarge it.) after rumors spread that she said she lost 30 pounds by not eating, implying that she was encouraging others to engage in something akin to Anorexia! I knew that was BS from the beginning. Anyway, check out the full article here at Kimora's site and leave her some comments! She's posting far too much good stuff on that website for people to just nosy around and never leave her any feedback. --Sugar

Kimora Sheds More Baby Phat

I'm not going ramble on and on here because the video below speaks for itself. The universe has a way of repaying dirty deeds very aggressively and very effectively. So, there's no question about what's happening. Not even a year ago, Kimora Lee Simmons broke the news via Twitter that she and Kellwood Company, owners of Phat Fashions (Baby Phat, Phat Farm, etc.) since 2004, were parting ways.

The sudden break-up and subsequent slimy "leaked" information (claims that Kellwood was tired of spending money airbrushing Kimora's pictures because she was "fat") that showed up in gossip rags was proof that Kellwood had lost its damn mind and failed to handle the separation properly. They disrespected Kimora, considering all that she did to make that brand, and they disrespected us, her supporters, by not giving us the courtesy of a notice that she would no longer be heading up the brand.

Well, the joke's on you, bitches. Check out the video below, then head over to Kimora's site, http://www.kls.com/ and let her know what you think about her banging new body. Remember, don't buy any Baby Phat or Phat Farm clothing items! None of it! The fragrances that still have "Baby Phat" on them are Kimora's, so spend all you want on those, but don't.buy.those.clothes! No respect, no dollars!!! --Sugar

A Class Action Lawsuit Against Baby Phat?

We are now more than two months past Kellwood Company's disgusting dismissal of Kimora Lee Simmons from Baby Phat/Phat Fashions and still they have not formally announced this fact to the customer base. So, not only are many still purchasing Baby Phat products under the assumption that Kimora is still there, but a new, even more troubling realization has stepped into view.

It is widely known that many young girls, and probably some guys, get tattoos of the Baby Phat cat logo, better known as "Max the Cat". They don't do this solely because they love Baby Phat products. Most of them do it because they love and support Kimora and what she stands for as a symbol of empowerment for women. I've seen countless numbers of her followers and supporters on Twitter expressing utter dismay about having one of these tattoos upon finding out that she is no longer with the company. A fact that Kellwood has failed to make known to the very loyal Kimora Lee Simmons fan base.

I don't know how many girls are still getting these tattoos, but they are still getting them. Just a few weeks ago, one of my own followers on Twitter, who knows how disgusted I am about this whole ordeal, sent me a picture of a car that had been painted pink and covered with "Max the Cat". She said it looked like it had recently been done. So, imagine how that woman is going to feel when she finds out?

Kellwood is grossly negligent here because while painting a car is one thing, permanently etching something onto one's body is quite another. I'm sure some greedy lawyer out there would jump at the chance to look further into this, because Kellwood absolutely knows not only that these girls are getting these tattoos, but also that the customer base would operate differently were it to be informed about the change in leadership.

What do you say, Kellwood? Should we take this to the next level?

Remember, don't buy ANY Baby Phat or Phat Fashions clothing items. They don't deserve any continued support. The really disgusting thing is, on a weekly basis, more people than I can even acurately recall have to be told that Kimora isn't with Baby Phat any longer and the reasons are grimey as hell. The reaction is always the same. F*ck Kellwood. A song for you below you fake bastards. No respect? No dollars. --Sugar

PhotoShop THIS, Bitch

Kellwood, I don't even have time to parse out all of the times you bastards and some new mysterious visitor, that I just KNOW is connected to you, have been over this site and today has been a pretty happy one for Team Fabulosity. So, in honor of Kimora's photo shoot today, I simply urge you to E.A.D. Sick of you bastards. --Sugar

WHAT Are You Looking For?!

When, I checked the stats earlier today, I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw listing after listing after listing in the pageloads with "Kellwood Company" and "Morgan, Lewis, Bockius". Oh yeah, pageloads are different from the "visits". Pageloads give a better idea of what a person has been looking at while visiting a website and both Kellwood and those worms at Morgan Lewis have been crawling all over this blog today. Why? What are you looking for?

And, I saw that ridiculously desperate tweet you sent at the Baby Phat twitter page and it proves that you dummies screwed up when you dismissed Kimora as an after-thought. Baby Phat has been around for more than a decade and you damn fools are begging for customers? Know why you're begging for customers for a well-established brand? Because you threw the baby out with the bathwater. I don't know what happened behind closed doors between you dummies and Kimora, but it's a safe bet that with the sorry way you handled this, it was all you. And, you're paying for it dearly, literally, because of it.

The real customer base is turning away from you as the word spreads. Giving you a big ole fat f*ck you. My sentiments exactly. No respect? No dollars. Don't buy any apparel from them. Nothing.

If you want to support, Kimora, visit her website KLS.com. Fragrances always make an excellent holiday gift. :) The song below is dedicated to Kellwood and Morgan Lewis for today's action here at this lowly little blog. --Sugar

Ebony Magazine Takes Easy Way Out

A couple days ago, one of Kimora Lee Simmons's Twitter followers sent a tweet complaining about an ad that Essence Magazine was running that featured a Baby Phat coat. An ad that included Kimora's name as though she is still with them. I haven't seen it, so I can't make a judgment until I do. I've got a major life shift going on right now, so my focus is not exacty as sharp as it should be on some things, but as it turns out, I'm getting two for one because of it.

After the young lady mentioned the Essence ad, I figured I'd go out and pick it up to see for myself. And, I did...or so I thought. I picked up a magazine from 7-11 yesterday and carefully flipped through every page looking for the aforementioned ad. I didn't see it. What I did see was the thing you see in the photo above. Even yesterday, I thought, "This isn't an ad. They just mention that she left." Sure, it wasn't an ad, but I should have hopped on the fact that they claim she "left" immediately, because that's not true. She was forced out in the worst way by a bunch of sexist pigs.

So, today I decide that I'd send some tweets with admonishments to Essence for the lazy reporting...only to realize that I'd picked up an Ebony Magazine! While that wasn't the plan, to get an Ebony Magazine, I'm glad that I did or I would've never seen this lazy piece of information sharing.

Ebony has done a magnificent job of upgrading and modernizing the layout of that the time-honored beacon in the African-American community, so you'd think this Kimora Lee Simmons/Baby Phat story would be the perfect piece to get them some more credibility. You know, make some tough decisions to cover a story that would ruffle a few feathers. But, no. They decided to take the easy way out and I couldn't be more disappointed. If the Huffington Post could get even close to reporting why she actually isn't there any longer, I certainly expect that Ebony Magazine can.

Contact Ebony on Twitter at @EbonyMag to let them know your level of disappointment regarding this matter. Or, let them know via a special survey that they've set up to get feedback on the 65th anniversary edition on their website. The same one with that weak piece of reporting regarding Kimora and Baby Phat. No need to be rude or anything. Just let them know that we expect better of them. --Sugar

For Whom the Tweet...Tweets

Twitter has proven itself a valuable marketing tool for businesses in every industry. It has especially done so for the world of fashion. Within seconds, a designer is able to reach tens of thousands, or even millions, with news about a new product or service. So, an individual tweeter's relationship with his, her or its followers is extremely important.

Kimora Lee Simmons has done a remarkable job of not only nurturing a relationship with her supporters, she is also building an even greater following at an amazing speed. This blog is dedicated wholly to supporting her new efforts and at crushing any future success of the "new" Baby Phat due to Kellwood Company's disgusting dismissal of Kimora just a few weeks ago as creative director of the brand. A dismissal that they have yet to refute was in part due to her then alleged size 10 frame. So, imagine my surprise when a few events surrounding the Baby Phat twitter page recently transpired.

A couple of weeks ago, a quick search for the page revealed that it had been deleted. I mean, it was just gone. Vanished. Nothing. So, a few days ago, one of Kimora's young followers announced that there was a new Baby Phat twitter page, but its tweets were "protected". As in, you had to have permission to follow them and read whatever they tweeted. That doesn't make any damn sense. It defeats the purpose of a business having an account, so I figured they were working on the page and they didn't want to unprotect the tweets until they'd gotten it finished.

I checked the page today and it's not a new page at all. It's the same old page, with a different background and now a blank icon (it used to be Max the Cat), but the same old tweets from before are there, with the ones that mention Kimora noticeably gone. What the hell are they up to? They are currently only being followed by 33 thousand people, but they used to be followed by close to 100 thousand. They aren't following anyone although they must have been following Kimora, at least at some point, because she sent a tweet last week that had her followers abuzz for a while. She tweeted:

do NOT follow me @babyphat! im NO longer there! @OFFICIALKIMORA has left the fuggen building! Pls RT! #TeamFabulosity my loves, lets do tha dam thang!! #fb

I'm not sure whether the onslaught of retweets shook them up or whether Kimora blocked them, but they aren't following anyone today....

I don't also know whether that is an actual Kellwood owned Baby Phat page or whether a fan started it, but considering the fact that the old tweets are there, I'm guessing that Kellwood does own it. If so, who is the moron who's operating it? It's bad enough that they've hijacked the company, refusing to give the customer base a proper explanation for the rude dismissal of Kimora, but this Twitter move is like, what the fugg? It shows how lost they are without her. They don't know what to do. They realize that the customer base is more quickly being informed about what they did and they don't like it. Well, too damn bad. I predict that by next year this time, Baby Phat will be closing up shop and Kimora Lee Simmons will be an even more powerful force in the world of fashion than ever before.

Don't buy any clothing items from Baby Phat or Phat Farm. Nothing. No respect? No dollars. They can go to hell. --Sugar

Right Around the Clock

The past few weeks have been very refreshing and enlightening where this boycott is concerned. For one, there are still people out there who have no clue that Kimora Lee Simmons was so rudely dismissed from Baby Phat/Phat Fashions and two, we are reaching them. As I've stated here before, the reaction is always one of disgust and outrage.

I had a very interesting conversation via Twitter with a young lady yesterday who freely admitted that she was a size 16. When I revealed to her that Kimora was allegedly dismissed from Baby Phat in part due to her alleged size 10 figure (a woman who's had 3 children mind you), she immediately began swearing and declared that she wouldn't buy any additional Baby Phat items. She declared her continuing support for Kimora and told me how grateful she was that I'd told her the news. This didn't have to be this way. It shouldn't be this way.

Reactions like that are the reason why those lilly-livered cowards at Kellwood Company declined to make a formal statement or send Kimora off with dignity and class. They knew the customer base would be pissed. What they don't know is, or at least they don't seem to want to face, when the women of this nation as a whole find out? It's a wrap. All of those brands are going to crumble apart. Do dirt, get dirt. I told your asses that I wouldn't stop if it took me a year to make sure that everyone knew about this. I mean that.

See how that visit number keeps going up? Those are unique visitors. Let's say for instance that each of those people only tells two people and those two people tell two people and on and on and on. You get the drift...I'm on you, Kellwood. Right around the fugging clock. Even when I wake up at night, insomniac that I am, I check twitter to see if some other poor unsuspecting soul has sent Kimora some "Oh, how I love Baby Phat", tweet and immediately I let them know the deal. They always react the same. Fugg Kellwood. This will continue. You don't treat people like this. We will see to it that you don't get away with it. No respect? No dollars. I know you mad, but so what? --Sugar

One Month Old!

I just realized that today marks the one month birthday of this little water cooler in the blogosphere! Aren't you happy, Kellwood? :) I know you are. I'm still strategizing and trying to figure out new and more devious ways of sticking it to the man and we'll get there. And, it's absolutely "we" now Kellwood because the natives are stirring. We really have touched nearly every corner of this globe so far. I'm excited. The word is getting around and were it not for the power of the internet, you would be able to get away with what you did to Kimora Lee Simmons. But, you won't.

See that picture above? That's a lioness by the name of Tamara. She's one of the premiere attractions at the zoo in Amman, Jordan. Those are her little month old cubs in the picture with her. She got a tad agitated when the photographer went to snap that picture of she and her little ones. Funny thing about we females. Very protective of our families and our friends. That's what's going to ruin you, Kellwood. Women get pissed when they hear the whole story about Kimora's departure from Baby Phat/Phat Fashions. See how innocent and benign the cubs look? Like they wouldn't harm a flea. Meanwhile, Tamara looks like she's ready to rip somebody's head off. Yeah. We all know how this story goes. The cubs will grow up and they too will some day be ready and able to rip somebody's head off. Same with this little blog, Kellwood. No respect? No dollars.

Visit KLS.com to find a number of ways to support Kimora. Buy nothing, especially Baby Phat clothing items, from Kellwood. Besides, I need to find out where they're getting those items made anyway. I sure hope I don't find out they are getting that shit made in some sweat shop in Asia. We'll see. --Sugar

Pray the Devil Back to Hell...or Missouri

I just finished watching the critically acclaimed documentary, Pray the Devil Back to Hell and while it was far too short for my desires, it was SO amazingly uplifting and inspiring to me where this effort and so many other things in life are concerned. Just average, ordinary women decided that they'd had enough of the madness in Liberia as that tyrant Charles Taylor trampled around and they made a humongous difference.

I'm tired of watching women, especially those of us of color, being treated in the business world as though we are so dispensable. Kimora Lee Simmons has been handling this situation with Baby Phat/Phat Fashions and Kellwood Company with impeccable grace, but I don't have the restraints that I'm sure she's dealing with. So, Kellwood prepare for this effort to go to new levels in the coming weeks. The worse thing that could have happened for you idiots is for me to have watched that documentary tonight. Those women got it DONE! If they were able to, I, with the help of other women like myself, can do the same. You have nobody to blame for this but yourselves.

If only you'd handled this like professionals and at least made a statement. Sent Kimora off with the parting that she deserved. Not just toss her out....maybe this wouldn't be necessary. But, you decided to handle it the way you did. Like assholes. I'll return the favor in kind.

So, while we can't pray you back to the hell from whence you came, we can pray you back to Missouri to lick your "in the red" wounds. Head bowed... --Sugar

Why Kellwood Can't Get Away With This

This past weekend, I felt pretty awful. I really wanted to push forward and continue to get the word out about the boycott of all Baby Phat apparel, but I just didn't feel like I'd be able to give it my best. So, I abstained...only to decide that I needed to shuffle my Netflix cue this morning and in the process be brought to shame for my weakness. My American frailty.

I watch a lot of documentaries. They can be entertaining and informative and that's exactly what I need in my life with days that are sometimes jam-packed with to-do lists. So, as I was looking through my Netflix queue, I was pleasantly surprised to find a film by the name of Pray the Devil Back to Hell. I think that it had been there (in the queue) for a while, but I just kind of forgot about it. Today, I felt like something was pushing me towards it.

So, I decide to see what the film was all about and it was all that I could do to keep from weeping right there at my desk at work. This from the film's website:

Thousands of women — ordinary mothers, grandmothers, aunts and daughters, both Christian and Muslim — came together to pray for peace and then staged a silent protest outside of the Presidential Palace. Armed only with white T-shirts and the courage of their convictions, they demanded a resolution to the country’s civil war. Their actions were a critical element in bringing about an agreement during the stalled peace talks.

A story of sacrifice, unity and transcendence, Pray the Devil Back to Hell honors the strength and perseverance of the women of Liberia. Inspiring, uplifting,and most of all motivating, it is a compelling testimony of how grassroots activism can alter the history of nations.

Check out the trailer below:

Absolutely, we are not talking about bringing an end to civil war in this situation between Kimora Lee Simmons and Kellwood/Baby Phat, but again, it's relavent. It's extremely relavent to the other women in business and the fashion industry, in this country and in fact, the world.

Let me break something down for you. In that last post, I quoted some stats from the United Nations and Oxfam that claim that women do 2/3rds of the work worldwide and yet earn peanuts where salary is concerned and barely own anything where property is concerned. So, these Liberian women, of both of the predominate religions in that country, joined together to make a difference. They don't, for the most part, have access to all of the trappings that we have here in the States. But, they were tired of being made to feel as though their voices were irrelevant and ineffective in helping to bring about change in the midst of such turmoil--and guess what? Their decision to make a stand...worked!

Those women could have been slaughtered...hacked to pieces and fed to animals, but they didn't let that stop them from taking a stand against the injustice that sat before them. If they, our sisters among those who decided to go back to the "Mother land" way back when, could find the courage to stand up against bloodthirsty thugs and a known warlord, we can damn sure stand up against a bunch of cowardly, spineless, limp-dicked corporate thugs who wield nothing more than threats as a part of their arsenal.

A sister has been wronged here. I love her to death, but no matter your feelings towards her, which I can almost guarantee are based upon at least one fistful of lies and misinformation, she deserves just as much support as anyone else in this position. There aren't enough women of color in the fashion industry doing what she does for Kellwood to have disrespected her in this manner. And, unless we forget, they disrespected her and the entire Phat Fashions customer base, of all demographics, when they so nonchalantly discarded her as if we didn't matter.

I'm here to let them know that it did and it does and we are sick and tired of it. This post will make 11 so far for this blog, yet in its infancy, and yet both Kellwood and lawyers representing them, Morgan Lewis, have been crawling all over this space. Feast your eyes below on a few screen shots from the StatCounter (click on the image to enlarge):

What are they so concerned about if they haven't done anything wrong? Why are they crawling all over this blog? And, trust that the two listings for Morgan Lewis are but a cursory glance of their visits to the site. Those are just the two times that I decided to grab at this late hour. They weren't noticeably on the site today, but that doesn't mean they weren't there...

Anyway, what I'm getting at is this. The fashion industry, with its built-in barriers for women and men of color, has enough black eyes without this mishandling of Kimora Lee Simmons and her supporters, the customer base of Phat Fashions, to add to the list. We will not be shooed away this time as you snicker under your breaths, convinced that we will still buy these goods. It ends here. No respect? No dollars. And, I've got a lot more to discuss about this racism and sexism in this industry for the rest of this week. You should have handled this appropriately. How dare you send Kimora off as a mere after-thought and say nothing to us as if we are fools. We'll see who the fools are and I'm just getting started. Others are joining in on the effort. The blog isn't even a whole three weeks old and today I didn't tweet a single post and we got new and varied visitors...planting seeds and farming bitches. I'll expand this week. Holidays are upon us. Remember, red Christmas for you. --Sugar

Kimora's Struggle is That of Every Woman

Women work two-thirds of the world's working hours, produce half of the world's food, and yet earn only 10% of the world's income and own less than 1% of the world's property. (Source :End Poverty 2015 Millenium Campaign)

Oxfam tweeted that and other shocking bits of information about women and equality a few weeks ago and I have been unable to get it out of my head. Women work two thirds of the world's working hours, yet earn only 10 percent of the world's income. And, own less than 1 percent of the world's property. That's a serious gut punch. Let it marinate in your mind for a bit...what it means for alllll of the women in the world to do most of the damn work and yet earn a mere pittance of the income and own less than a pittance of the property. Not 2/3rds amongst poor women. Not 2/3rds amongst middle class women. Not 2/3rds of the hours amongst wealthy women. But, ALL of womankind does 2/3rds of the work globally. Not even Oprah could save us from this sorry statistical state that we're in.

So what? So what is that as this situation between Kimora Lee Simmons, Kellwood and Sun Capital plays out, I think it's important that women, especially, really consider what's happening here. If you haven't ever had to deal with a sexist pig at your job, trust me, just give it time and you'll get your chance. They are rude and disrespectful and the last thing they want to deal with is a woman with some power and an opinion. They can't stand it. The way that Kellwood handled parting ways with Kimora reeks with the stench of at least one such pig and it makes me sick.

I think that many women tell themselves, "Kimora's wealthy. She doesn't need me to care. She doesn't need my help. Our struggles are not the same." But, that couldn't be more wrong. Does wealth mean that a woman becomes void of all emotion, incapable of feeling disappointment? Hell no! I imagine that if anything, in moments of reflection, a woman of considerable wealth must shudder to think that even with all of that cash at her disposal, she still has to deal with such bullshit.

Imagine how you would feel had your local newspaper published an article that said you were dismissed from your job (in Kimora's case, a virtual empire that she built from the ground up), in part, because your supervisor thought you were too fat. You'd feel terrible and who wouldn't be able to understand!? Kimora is tough, and at least publically, she's handling this like a champ. Absolutely, we don't know how she's dealing with it away from all of the prying eyes, but as a woman I can imagine and I would hope that any other woman reading this can do the same.

My very best friend in this world was once in a very public position and things went South hard and fast when the pig she was working for crossed the line and then retaliated when she wasn't cool with it. I can remember sitting on the phone with her literally for hours some days as she shared her frustration, shock and disappointment. Her career was just taking off and the drama couldn't have come at a worse time. I will never forget spending hours helping her draft documentation for a mediation session dealing with that bullshit, and that was several years ago. Situations like that just sort of burn themselves into your memory bank and just sit there, ready to provide the needed juice to help another woman get through her own "situation". It's driving me now to help Kimora in this Kellwood situation in whatever small way that I can.

Do not let your intimidation of Kimora's financial status cause you to miss the fact that just like you, she's a woman, a wife, a mother, a daughter and a friend. Men support one another, and most definitely I would hope that they too are as upset about all of this as I certainly am, but we women have got to band together in situations like this. We will never be able to change statistics like those at the top of this post until we do. Support Kimora by visiting her website, KLS.com and find out how you can buy products that she owns without putting a red cent into Kellwood's pockets. No respect? No dollars. Kimora will be stronger than ever once all the dust settles from this mess. I can't wait. It will be a triumph that all women should be proud to witness. --Sugar

Are You Kidding Me?

I thought about naming this post "Ain't This a Bitch?", but for the sake of Bing and Google searches, I figured this title would be more prudent, and still make my point. As I write this, I'm still shocked at the most recent developments in this Kellwood/Baby Phat/Kimora Lee Simmons situation. I recently started following one of her young supporters and yesterday, she sent a flurry of tweets that alluded to some new crap that Kellwood Company was pulling. But, I was tired and I figured it could wait until today. Oh how I wish I had looked into it last night.

This morning, the angry tweets continued from several of Kimora's young supporters, again obviously upset with Kellwood about something. So, I decided I'd hold my nose and visit the Baby Phat Twitter page to see what all the fuss was about. I gasped the second the page fully loaded when I saw this:

I thought to myself, "they can't be serious." The "new" twitter page. No, that's the old Baby Phat twitter page, you just changed the background image and logo if my memory serves me well. The thing is, I still can't really decide what pisses me off more. The whole "new twitter page" bit or the "new collection that just hit stores and babyphat.com" line. Well, yes I do. It's the new collection that "just hit stores" line.

It's been just over a month since Kimora officially announced that she wasn't going to be heading up Phat Fashions, which includes Baby Phat, anymore. An announcement that she solely made. There has still been no official statement from Kellwood on the matter, and before I go any further, let me let them know that at this point, they can go to hell where a statement is concerned. I mean, what might they say to loyal Baby Phat supporters now, a month later, that is sufficient and truly contrite? Not a damn thing. So, the only thing I'm shooting for now is a full and complete boycott that cripples the brand altogether. You had your chance Kellwood. A statement at this point is like popping a birth control pill after unprotected sex. Too late. You're fu#ked.

So, before I ramble on for too long. This is the short of it. Yesterday, Kellwood had whatever lackey is managing the Baby Phat Twitter page send a tweet with this "big" announcement. That they had a "new" Twitter page, which it isn't, and that a new collection had just hit stores. They managed to take care of all of these things, including reworking the Facebook page, but could not find a spare moment in the past month to properly handle parting ways with Kimora Lee Simmons. Who the HELL do they think we are? A bunch of fools?

Let me remind readers what happened in this whole saga. Kimora was booted from Phat Fashions, against her wishes and unceremoniously, no proper explanation was given to lifelong fans of the brand and allegations continue to swirl that Kellwood thought that Kimora, a 6 foot tall mother of 3, is too fat in her alleged size 10 figure.

No matter who I relay this information to, young and old, the reaction is always one of shock and disgust at Kellwood. I mean the insensitive fashion in which this was all carried out is just shocking to say the least. Kimora and Russell built a powerful brand, a movement, that now spans the globe and would have brought with it a most loyal customer base. No exaggeration, every single day several twitter users (from all over the world) reach out to Kimora so excited about some new Baby Phat store or apparel that they've discovered in their city. The reaction once she graciously tells them that she is no longer with the company is always one of shock and disgust. They always tell her some variation of, "if you're not there anymore, I'm not buying it anymore." This will continue.

To the moms and dads, big sisters and brothers, aunts and uncles, grandmas and grandpas who are getting those holiday shopping lists together, whether it be for Christmas, Hanukkah or Kwanzaa gifts, do not buy any Baby Phat apparel. The brand is tainted now. Do not support a company that has so little respect for its customer base or for a woman who did so much to make it a brand that you'd even consider supporting. If you want to support Kimora, visit her website, http://www.kls.com/ and check out the number of ways that you can do so. It's too late Kellwood. A song below for those mamas who were planning to pick up some Baby Phat gear for holiday gifts. No respect? No dollars. --Sugar

The Black Dollar is a RELIABLE Dollar

An article in Friday's Philadelphia Business Journal, Focus: Black Buying Power gets to the heart of the issue that I have with Kellwood Comopany and their unceremonious and disrespectful (to both her and the Black and urban customer base) dismissal of Kimora Lee Simmons from Phat Fashions several weeks ago. In the article, Athena Merritt writes:

The nation’s 1 million black-owned businesses account for more than $100 billion in annual sales. Black buying power is estimated at $913 billion this year nationwide, meaning only 10 percent of dollars spent by blacks are supporting the enterprises, said Nicole Giles, acting executive director of the African American Chamber of Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware.

Nearly a TRILLION dollars. That's massive. Merritt's article discusses the attempts by Black business owners in the Philadelphia area to get more of those dollars in their hands. Especially with the holiday shopping season coming hard and fast.

This is something that Kellwood Company obviously didn't consider--this powerful Black dollar--when they dismissed Kimora in the fashion that they did--disrespecting her loyal fan base. There was a proper way to go about cutting ties if that's what Kellwood felt needed to happen, but this wasn't it.

It is absolutely amazing to read people's reactions on Twitter and elsewhere on the internet when they finally learn that she is no longer with Phat Fashions. Instantly, they say they will not buy anything related to Baby Phat anymore. As we get closer to the holidays, I will work to make sure that many, many more individuals are aware of this. Buying nothing from them. No respect? No dollars. --Sugar

It's Kimora This Time, Who's Next?

First they came for the Jews
and I did not speak out
because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for the Communists
and I did not speak out
because I was not a Communist.
Then they came for the trade unionists
and I did not speak out
because I was not a trade unionist.
Then they came for me
and there was no one left
to speak out for me. --Attributed to Martin Niemoller, protestant pastor and social activist

While the impetus for Niemoller to speak the oft-quoted words above was a very dark time in world history, they can be applied and have been applied to many different situations. I think they apply quite well to the situation involving Kimora Lee Simmons' dismissal from Baby Phat/Phat Fashions because the relative silence about the matter has been deafening. Where is the outrage by Black media, including radio? Where is Al Sharpton? Where is Tavis Smiley? Where is Essence Magazine's reactive piece? Because while it may be Kimora on the receiving end of this unjust action now, it will be someone else before long.

How can this story be getting such little attention when an absolute injustice has occurred? No, nobody was killed or beaten, but an assault on the spirit of innovation has taken place and that does deserve a closer examination. Kimora is one of only a handful of women of color in an industry that is notorious for discriminatory practices. At the very least, I expect that some of the opinion-makers in Black America will ask some questions about what's happened here. Kimora has stated repeatedly that she did not want to leave Phat Fashions and yet Kellwood Company unceremoniously dismissed her without offering the customer base, predominately urban and African-American might I remind you, a single explanation. In fact, they are still poaching off of sales of Baby Phat wear as customers continue to make purchases, assuming that they are doing so in support of Kimora.

And, lest we forget, the issue is about more than fashion. It's also about the allegations that Kellwood Company dismissed Kimora in part due to the fact that she, a 6 foot tall mother of three, including a not yet two year old baby, allegedly wears a size 10. The allegations alone should have created a firestorm in the media. Discussions about women of color and body image, especially what's acceptible in the "mainstream", the message being delivered to young girls about what makes them beautiful, all of it. Instead, it's been so quiet it's eerie and I don't like it.

So, Kellwood, I will do the job that the media, both mainstream and otherwise, has failed to do. And, I'm pretty good at it, as evidenced by you snooping around here already. But, I'm only just getting started. I didn't have time to go down into the "belly of the beast" this past weekend, but I will and momentum is slowly building. Stay alert. No respect? No dollars. --Sugar