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Stepping in GOOP
I wonder if what feels so strange about the site isn't the unattainability of these big-ticket items but the ideas that get smuggled in with it. We're prompted not only to lust after Balenciaga coin purses but also to imagine that the woman who grins and tosses one into her shoulder bag has figured out, in her own ethereal, inimitable way, how to live. GOOP features Paltrow posing in the clothes she recommends, looking coy in $1,000 dresses. Her bent-leg stance and shy smile used to be the stuff that sold merchandise, the quirky glamour of the West Village princess.
Now she looks like she feels sheepish for donning Roger Vivier’s $800 three-inch heel boots as part of her "daytime look." She is telling us how to live, but she barely seems happy about it.
Surely Paltrow must be aware of how silly these paeans to well-funded je ne sais quoi can sound—she's been burned by her upper-crust tenor before. When it was reported in 2006 that Paltrow had complained to a Portuguese newspaper that Americans talked about work and money too much—thereby boring her at dinner parties—there was a chorus of snickers.
Having absorbed the lesson that people don't enjoy lectures about money from an Estée Lauder spokesmodel who'd never, ever had to worry about money, Paltrow now speaks with greater awareness of her privilege. "The hotels are on the pricey side," she writes on the site’s GO section, "but my GOOP girls are doing some research into some more affordable places, which we will personally try before recommending." Should one bristle or apply for a staff position?
It's all rather puzzling, when you consider what made Paltrow appealing in the first place. Young Gwyneth was a delight to watch because she wore her Upper East Side breeding and patrician good looks with Gap-ad ease. She appeared aloof in the way one expects (and wants) the prettiest, smartest, tallest girl at your private high school to be. I once heard a former waitress gush that Paltrow ranks among the most polite she'd ever waited on.
This is how I would have liked to keep thinking of her—as a woman who knew a thing or two about being genuinely pleasant and democratic. If GOOP is any indication, this understanding is hard to communicate online. Or maybe Paltrow’s just not the right person for the job of telling people how to live right now.
In a way, Paltrow has already anticipated the skepticism on the site. The BE section is devoted to that which cannot be bought, and offers thoughts on pessimism. "I have a friend who sees the world in a pessimistic light," one question begins. "This person is highly suspicious of people and situations, and sees, as well as experiences negativity at most turns. Why is this and what does it mean?" Kabbalah Centre co-director Michael Berg, one of GOOP’s guest advisers, offers this assessment: "our judgments are merely an indication of where we are at spiritually."
It’s a good point, and if GOOP starts offering more wisdom on negative attitudes—and where to score recession-ready freebies—it could become something truly provocative. As for all the footwear GOOP currently recommends, we may be better off spending time on Suze Orman's site first.
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Megan Hustad is the author of How to Be Useful. She has written for The New York Times, Salon, Slate, and American Public Media's Marketplace.
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JABMICH
Paltrow has stepped in it....big time. The site is an absolute insult to intelligence of bright ( young and old) women everywhere.
shopreese
just looked at the site..ouch...i have a feeling 2 or 3 weeks of living this "lifestyle" might beat sarah palin's $150,000 (as of today $180,000) shopping spree by a mile...
Veronicaxy
"our judgments are merely an indication of where we are at spiritually."
My husband is a psychologist and I hear stories about what people have survived in their lifetime, it's mind boggling. I'm amazed some of them are even standing alive given what they lived through, 'wrecked, standing and functioning' can be a major achievement.
I know you admire this guy's pronouncement but I actually think it's the perfect ending to your point about the elitism and shallowness of GOOP. You really don't know squat until you've talked with someone, and that kind of compassion (and lack of glib judgment) is a hallmark of spirituality. What they survived might speak far more of their spiritual strength than what many others ever had to muster.
Helena1940Handbasket
Celebrities are self-absorbed and always sure the average person is interested in what they have to say and what they are doing. Your article supports my observation.
Paltrow and mate are awash in millions. Neither has to work another day in their life. The majority reading at DB cannot say the same. I do hope their lives continue to be blessed .... but, I don't believe a self-indulgent site is a path to sharing those considerable blessings of wealth and fame.
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sjburris
It's usually disappointing when movie stars begin to take themselves seriously as cultural commentators, isn't it? Embarrassment for them is the most common feeling. The banality of Ms. Paltrow's site is exquisite, but that requires an ironic reading of it, and I don't think irony is her long suit.
Tridentway1
It's comforting to know that celebrity and money do not automatically guarantee the validity of the words that come out of your mouth. It's the sign of the times, just ask the Big 3, the Treasurer, and Wall Street.
JdeLondon
Oh Dear Gwennie... it would've been better if you'd stayed in bed, flicked on the TV and eaten chocolates all day long. Can luxury shopping be life affirming? Hmm, maybe I need to cool off with some �8.00 per bottle Kabbalah water..."yummy, I feel cleansed to my core". You imagine that we want your advice...um... we don't.
signe1
There is no appropriate time or place for GOOP. It once again reminds us (if anybody needs reminding) that celebrities need to come face to face with the poor and broken middle class and join the volunteers who are trying to make a difference. A passing, pitying glance while strolling down Fifth Avenue ain't gonna cut it.......
maitriquest
So am I the only one who is having scenes from one of Paltrow's best movies, Emma, flash into mind?
This all reminds me of the scolding Emma receives from Mr. Knightly about being completely insensitive to the challenging plight of others who are doing their very best, but have to struggle in ways Emma cannot imagine. I used to so enjoy reading about Paltrow, even her own writings, I found her fresh and insightful, but now I feel as if the wealth and glow of being rich and famous has blinded her. Mr. Knightly we need you!
carter
GOOP me with a spoon! Has she always been this repugnant or is this a recent development? The crack she made a few years ago about how the British were smarter, or more interesting, or whatever the heck it was, than Americans was deeply obnoxious, but I must admit that there was a part of me that wondered if she might not be right. Now I realize that Gwynnie apparently doesn't actually know from smart and interesting; she's not just boorish, she's a bore!
archizoo
Hmmm...and a click on one of the recommended gifts yields a warning from my browser saying that the linked site is an "attack site" and identifies the site components that will be used to steal private data from my computer...first time it's happened in years.
BernieO
Paltrow is just copying Oprah who in recent years has continually pushed luxurey and touted expensive items as affordable. (A blouse over $100 is not a reasonable price for the average American.) In between flogging extravagance Oprah has shows about living frugally, chiding people for running up debt. Talk about being out of touch! It will be interesting to see if she changes her tune given our economic woes.
agering
Carter:
Of course Paltrow has always been this repugnant---and hypocritical. Her husband writes "Fair Trade" on his hand while his wife advertises for Tod's. If she read, say, Roberto Saviano's _Gomorrah_, she'd know that such Italian goods are made by organized crime's slave labor.
NewOrlinNC
She portrays herself as such a liberal Democrat who cares about the plight of the average citizen. Instead, she is just a money-hungry, over-exposed fashion-obsessed celebrity who never had any relevance to anyone beyond celebrity watchers. Whenever she opens her uneducated mouth (I'm sorry but Spence is a HIGH SCHOOL; she has ZERO college degree) to talk politics, I want to gag. If she really cares about the country and wants to change it for the better, why didn't she start a website that focuses on charity work instead of absurdly conspicuous consumption?
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