Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, and My Fair Lady all use the love-at-first-dance trope. Aurora meets Prince Phillip “once upon a dream,” dancing in the forest. Eliza Dolittle “could have danced all night” with Professor Higgins. And, Cinderella, as we all know, falls in love… Read More ›
Asia has inverted many of America’s courtship rules. While princess-ish femininity holds strong, it is the boy who acts aloof to generate female interest and not the other way around. No cheesy pick-up lines here ladies: instead, picture Darcy hounded daily… Read More ›
Recently, one of our guy friends gave us some romance advice. Mixed in with “let him open the door” and “let him pull out your chair” was the suggestion “wear the guy’s shirt.” Wearing a man’s shirt is Chick-Lit gold–a… Read More ›
The Kindness to Animals trope is a significant one in romance as the heroine must demonstrate her nurturing capacity by being kind or good with children, animals, or the infirm. Think all those cute, cuddly Disney sidekicks were just a… Read More ›
Yoga is a Chick-Lit standard. Heroines, busy with their work, balance all that stress and havoc on their bodies with Yoga, Pilates, and Yogalates (a mix of the two). Between dinners and drinks, diet cokes and chocolate, the Chick-Lit heroine… Read More ›
The Hipster, though growing popular in rom-coms (through the help of Zooey Deschanel) as a supporting character, usually takes back seat to the true heroine. No surprise there–hipsters with their anti-establishment irony would never be center-stage in such genre …. Read More ›
On day 17, April plays a damsel in distress wearing monochromatic browns in honor of My Big Fat Greek Wedding’s Frump Girl. In one of the best scenes ever written, Toula realizes her boyfriend remembers her from a time before… Read More ›
Princess Peach—a well-known Princess-in-Pink—is not the biggest princess phenom is Taiwan. She takes second place to the Taiwanese Baby-Doll Princess. On day 16 of Romance in Real Life, BwB continues our week-long Distress in This Dress mini-series, and April plays a damsel in distress wearing… Read More ›
The Lady in Red… Popularized in such films as Moulin Rouge, Pretty Woman, Gone with the Wind, and The Matrix, the Red Dress is a cultural sign that clearly announces a woman’s passionate nature. On day 15 of Romance in Real Life, BwB continues our… Read More ›
