Category Archives: Uncategorized

For the spring 2012 issue of Notre Dame magazine

By Paige Wiser

One of my favorite childhood photos is a fashion shot of me at about age 3. I’m standing on our pea-green carpeting, next to a jug of fake flowers, wearing an orange-and-yellow knock-off Pucci tunic vest. I’m hesitant to make eye contact with the camera, with a wary expression on my face that says, “I look like Bea Arthur. I will never forgive you for this.”

Sure, you could blame the ’70s. But when are parents going to step up and take some responsibility? Why don’t they just admit it? “When we dress our kids, we don’t always have their best interests at heart.”  Read more...

For the November 2012 issue of Michigan Avenue magazine

By Paige Wiser

Thanksgiving is our Valentine’s Day.

Our feelings on this day aren’t so much “grateful” as “lustful.” In Chicago, it’s a celebration of our first love:

Meat. Glorious meat.

Sure, there must be scrawny vegans here and there. Chicago is the 10^th-most “vegetarian-friendly” city in the country, according to GrubHub.com; based on their name alone, it sounds like they know what they’re doing.

But if there are vegetarians here, they’ve wisely learned to keep quiet. Maybe the soy poisoning has made them too weak to speak. Maybe they’re trying to bicycle their way to California.  Read more...

For the September 2012 issue of Chicago magazine

By Paige Wiser

In June, Vogue editrix Anna Wintour whisked into Chicago to host a fund-raiser for President Obama at Harpo Studios. She traveled with an entourage that included fashion heavyweights Jason Wu, Rachel Roy, Narcisco Rodriguez, Chanel Iman, Thakoon Panichgul, and Prabal Garung.

One accessory she was without: her signature security sunglasses. It could have been a sign of respect for Obama’s custom Hart Schaffner Marx suits, or for Michelle Obama’s championing of the skinny belt.  Read more...

For the September 2012 issue of Michigan Avenue magazine

By Paige Wiser

Known for her outrageous wit, blonde good looks, and plentiful paramours, Jenny McCarthy is a hometown girl who is serious about her career and her role as a mother. In many ways Jenny McCarthy is your typical Midwest suburban mom. While chatting in preparation for this story, she was hosting a play date for her 10-year-old son, Evan, and his horde of friends. “I don’t think the frogs are here yet, guys!” she shouts.  Read more...

Chicago is tired of being used.

Sure, Hollywood loves to set projects in Chicago, which is understandable. They fall in love with the place. It’s not bad looking, after all, and our extreme weather certainly looks dramatic onscreen. They can’t resist our better-than-fiction brand of colorful corruption, our mob nicknames.

It seems to be the only city they can think of where “normal” people might live. We do not correct them on this.  Read more...

For the summer 2012 issue of Michigan Avenue magazine

By Paige Wiser

Bethenny Frankel has achieved the impossible: She gives reality TV a good name. The Bravo star conquered the cruelest medium by using it to publicize her brand and now is embarking on the next episode of her career with her first novel and her own talk show. All this, and she still has her dignity, too.

Being “real” is rare enough in reality television, but Bethenny combines her big-city brashness with an irresistible combination of approachability, humor, and resilience—the kind that you can only get in Chicago.  Read more...

Chicago, which has long been the center of the universe, has its share of power couples. The Obamas. The Burkes. The Crowns. Mike and Molly, who may be fictional, but who have nonetheless conquered Monday nights for CBS.

They are all impressive. All to be toadied to.

But the top spot? The prom king and queen of Chicago?

Don’t even bother fixing the ballot box, because the titles are taken. Permanently.

Abraham and Mary Todd Lincoln have never been hotter.  Read more...

For the March 2012 issue of Michigan Avenue magazine

By Paige Wiser

When Chicagoans are thinking about winter ending, there are two things we refuse to believe:

1.) There is technically a season called “spring” – yes, even here; and 2.) It’s time to give the black clothes a rest.

The weather itself is not likely to give you any clues, but the time has come to retire your stark noir winter wardrobe. Relegate them to storage, along with the “parking dibs” chairs that have been staking out your shoveled spot.  Read more...

For the March 2012 issue of Michigan Avenue magazine

By Paige Wiser

Jennifer Morrison has been tasked with saving a magical town in Maine. But with a little luck, she just might end up saving network drama, too.

One fall TV season, not too long ago, there were not one but [ital]two[unital] new shows based on fairy tales unleashed on the public. The people did not rejoice. Fairy tale drama is a tough sell to the masses, long accustomed to watching youngsters screeching at British judges, and trophy wives clawing at each other’s fake eyelashes.  Read more...

For the February 2012 issue of Michigan Avenue magazine

 By Paige Wiser

It’s the start of a new year, traditionally the time to feel bad about ourselves and set impossible goals. As Chicagoans, it’s a time for us to pull together and ask some tough questions about our place in the universe. Questions like “Is this who we want to be?” “Are we doing our best?” And “Do we get extra credit for having the most comfortable footwear in the country?”

If I may answer for the rest of us: no; no; and for God’s sake, have some pride.  Read more...