Is There No Stopping Gwyneth Paltrow's World Domination?
This is an important question we are asking ourselves today: can Gwyneth Paltrow be stopped? The human-shaped collection of sunlight and feathers has already conquered the acting world, has become the nation's preeminent country-western-singer, and is now poised to take over the food industry. Her new cookbook, My Father's Daughter, is selling like gluten-free hotcakes and now the New York Post wonders if she could become the next Martha Stewart.
Yes, Gwyneth as lifestyle guru! I mean, isn't she already almost there? She's got her fabulous GOOP newsletter, which is basically the go-to living guide for harried working moms the globe over, and now this cookbook has rocketed her toward the top of the mass market foodie heap. Does she have the stuff to make an empire out of all this? One expert tells the Post:
"The thing about Gwyneth is she really does have hip and cool down. She's in that world, but it's not too indie. It's not Chloe Sevigny. She's mainstream. She's true Hollywood," says one lifestyle- brand expert who consults food celebrities and spoke on condition of anonymity.
For sure! Nothing more mainstream than "true Hollywood." Now, while some of these experts worry that Gwyneth might be too perfect, thus making her imperfect, most agree that it's her perfection that makes her... so... relatable. What?
On the cover of "My Father's Daughter," she sports a sailor shirt that manages to be both approachable (it's something anyone might find in their closet) and effortlessly chic (Jean Seberg in "Breathless," anyone?). While many find her flawlessness unapproachable, it could be her big selling point.
"Listen, Martha is a very attractive woman. [But] people relate to Martha more like your neighbor next door," says [Lee] Schrager. "I don't know that my neighbor looks like Gwyneth. That she is beautiful and talented is the reason we're talking about her."
And while Paltrow's homey, easy-to-follow style is far from the elaborate spreads that made Stewart a household name, her approach appears to be true to who she is.
"As long as she's not claiming to be something she's not, she's fine," says [Allen] Salkin.
So she's more perfect than Martha, but somehow less elaborate. Gotcha.
What do you think, dear reader? Can Gwyneth become the new century's new lifestyle diva? Would you follow her willowy blondeness to the ends of the Earth? (Specifically the ends of tony London and chic downtown Manhattan.)
