Can good taste be taught? What to give a girl for her first anniversary? What man would be happy to receive cufflinks as a gift? And finally, how to distribute roles in a relationship in such a way that your husband himself wants to constantly give you gifts? We talked about this and much more with stylist, blogger, shopping consultant and simply charming interlocutor Roman Medny. Men's opinion - first-hand. You can start taking notes!

Roman, you can boast of impressive experience as a stylist and shopping consultant. Tell me, can good taste be taught?

Roman: Yes, I do this all the time. Taste is an aesthetic experience. When a person has “seen enough” of the beautiful, the ugly will simply irritate him. The same is true in clothes: if a person has at least once seen how good he can look, then he will consciously or unconsciously strive for this.

Today, many people know what they want as a gift, but do not know what is best to give themselves. Can a young man give a good gift to a girl by presenting her with some accessory or piece of clothing and without violating her ideas about beauty?

Roman: It all depends on the occasion and size of the gift. But it is always better to give the most fashionable and new. An excellent gift for no occasion can be a compact, charming piece of jewelry that will become part of a pleasant memory. For a birthday, it is better to give something large and original - let it be a piece of jewelry that the girl will wear on special occasions. A gift should not be utilitarian - you need to be bolder in choosing it.

In your opinion, how much can a gift say about the taste of the giver? How important is it to give “stylish” gifts?

Roman: A gift says everything - both taste and attitude. In relationships, it is also a way to express criticism. If you don’t like the way a girl looks, just give her a certificate for service in a beauty salon or a shopping trip together. This rule also applies in the opposite direction.

Today, one of the most common complaints among married women is that the husband has stopped making signs of attention, pleasing with little things, and giving flowers. How to motivate him for this feat? How to “ask” for a gift correctly?

Roman: The problem is that a man must both work and care. When the first heat of the relationship wears off, it’s the woman who has to look after her. In the strongest married couples that I know, responsibilities are distributed as follows: the husband works, and the wife organizes leisure time. The husband is happy because he is tired, he does not have to answer the question of where to go today, and, besides, he constantly receives new surprises and impressions. And in this state, he is more ready than ever to give gifts.

Roman, as a person who understands even the smallest details of style, can you say how important the packaging of a gift is? Why is a treasured box tied with a satin ribbon more desirable than a “naked” gift?

Roman: Because a gift is not an act of transferring property, but an event. Not only the box is important, but also the place, time, and the words that are spoken. Especially when it comes to gifts in a treasured box. Everything should be so that when asked “what did yours give you?” could be answered with a story. And when the donor takes the time to get excited about the packaging, this speaks volumes about his attitude.

At what stage of a relationship do you think it is possible to give such a jewelry gift to a girl so that there is no “obligation” for her?

Roman: There are two types of girls - those who return gifts and those who, even after breaking up, keep them for themselves. A gift is just a gift; it is not an advance payment for services. Confusion can arise when a girl seems to show that she is ready for the next stage, but in fact does not consider this guy seriously. In general, you should not flirt with those with whom you would not like to wake up in the same bed, then there will be no feeling of “obligation”.

What do you recommend as a gift for the anniversary of meeting a girl?

Roman: Many small gifts that will remind you of this year's events. Think about what you would like to keep in your memory forever, and what might be connected with it: a pendant on a bracelet, a fragrance, a box of those same chocolates, etc. Such a gift will take a long time to unpack, and it will give a lot of positive impressions.

A hackneyed question: what do men want? What jewelry gift would be the most pleasant for a young man? When can you give cufflinks, and when should you switch to “serious” gifts like watches?

Roman: Cufflinks should be given to a man who already wears cufflinks. But a watch will always come in handy. Sometimes you can surprise a guy with an ironic tie pin. Another thing is guys with pierced ears...

If you had the opportunity to address each of our readers, what could you wish for her?

Roman: Relationships are a constant exchange of gifts. But the problem is that we give away what we don’t mind, but want to get in return what we lack. This is an unequal exchange, like trading a tractor for oranges. Therefore, in addition to the willingness to give and the desire to receive, mutual understanding is also important. This is what I would like to wish!

Roman, thank you for the interesting conversation!

• Photo source: http://medny.ru/ and Roman’s personal Vkontakte page.

Straightforward and honest - these are the words that come to mind first when you study the blog of the famous stylist and columnist Roman Medny. Roman dresses famous women of Russia and Ukraine, and also runs a daring blog, medny.ru, where he examines the sociology of fashion in a manner unique to him.

Today Roman Medny talks to styled.asia about women's fashion, the work of a stylist and what mistakes should be avoided in creating an image.

Roman, why do you think your blog has become so popular among the wide variety? Did the so-called provocative materials, in which you evaluate the wardrobe of celebrities from young to old, play a role?

On the one hand, yes, it attracted and continues to attract attention, but on the other hand, not only I do this, but for some reason it is my blog that attracts thousands of readers every day. In addition to laughing, people also want to learn something useful, and here I am probably the most humane of fashion bloggers, because I try to write about what is applicable to real life, and not just about fashionable must-haves for the soft European climate. In fact, this combination of humor and practical use is the secret of my popularity. I now use this approach, tested on the blog, on television and in my video courses.

- How do you cultivate taste? Do you often experiment with style?

Taste is the experience of aesthetic experiences. Moreover, these experiences should concern not only clothes - this is a special way of thinking. Aesthetics is in everything - in the art you perceive, in the books you read, even in what you eat. I hone my taste in art - it is the most striking illustration of the spirit of the times. Fashion follows art, and everything here is quite predictable. Art teaches you not to think in stereotypes: “a pencil skirt goes with both jackets and cardigans,” but to see shape, color, and boldly handle them, without being attached to clichés.

Regarding experiments with my own style, I have periods here. Sometimes I’m a fan of clothes and just buy everything I see, and sometimes I’m just imbued with a slight antipathy towards the object and can go for several months in the same sneakers. I never suck anything out of my fingers, I don’t force myself to look for it - somehow it’s all there on its own. There are just things and people that inspire, and again you can’t help yourself - you open the closet and think about combining the incongruous.

How do you assess the development of fashion in the territory of the former USSR? Why do we continue to cultivate all kinds of clichés, while in 90% of cases you can always recognize our citizens in a crowd abroad?

We started dressing quite recently and haven’t “gone full” yet. At the same time, we do not have an aesthetic tradition - all of us had parents who dressed moderately poorly, even if it seemed good at the time. And now we must go through certain stages. To eliminate total illiteracy - to show men that a suit can be worn not only for weddings and funerals, but because it is beautiful and comfortable, for women to learn that a down jacket is clothing for very extreme conditions and the cold is not a reason to look bad. Then we will gradually begin to look more adequately at ourselves, at our strengths and weaknesses, and emphasize one while hiding the other. Now they don’t emphasize it, but stick it out all at once. Over time, we will become saturated with brands and understand that if it doesn’t suit you, no matter how branded it is, it will not add beauty. All this takes time and effort, because nothing happens on its own. But the effort that women are willing to put into looking good suggests that it won't take us that long.

Some people believe that going to a stylist means you have no personal taste - how can you comment on this? Why, by the way, can’t your beloved friend cope with this role?

In our country people go to the dentist with acute pain, they go to the surgeon when they can no longer bear it, to the hairdresser when they are completely overgrown. And for some reason it is believed that you need to go to a stylist if everything is really bad. But that's not true. A stylist is a person who can impartially look at you from the outside and give objective advice. He is not afraid to offend you, and does not think about how you will look together, he does not feel hidden envy towards you, which often guides a friend’s advice, because, as we all remember, a woman’s happiness is a bald friend. A stylist's advice is needed not only for those who realized that they haven't dressed for 30 years and just hung some rags on themselves. Women with good taste and an established style regularly come to me to get a boost of new ideas, some fashionable solutions that can make this style more interesting. Some people are willing to spend several hours every day collecting and analyzing this information, while for others it’s easier to set aside a couple of hours every six months to meet with a stylist who has already collected and analyzed everything. This means going to the dentist every six months to check the condition of your teeth, and, if necessary, carry out gentle procedures in order to please everyone with your smile for six months.

There is an opinion that several very recognizable and trendy things in one set make a look boring, do you agree? Do you think it’s worth getting rid of the habit of “I’ll wear all the best at once” or is it still a special style?

There are three main methods of working as a stylist - harmonic, iconic and silhouette. A trendy item is definitely iconic. This method involves creating a neutral background for a bright accent. Moreover, this emphasis is not placed at the last moment, when the image seems grayish, but the entire image should “grow” out of this emphasis. If you think with this logic, then there is no way to insert a second celine bag, because there must be one center. Trying to cover up a lack of taste with fashionable mastekhevs is like pouring mayonnaise on a failed dish.

- What to do with obvious logos?

There is no more effective way to sign the lack of personal taste than to dress in a branded total look. I consider any attempt by a brand to promote itself at the expense of the buyer as unacceptable impudence. And I will never understand who buys Chanel terry slippers with a logo for 500 bucks. Even if you cover them all with logos, they still look like free hotel slippers!

Have you, as a stylist, ever reconsidered your view of this or that thing that was previously considered unacceptable?

I generally have very few things that I consider unacceptable. You can find a context for almost everything, even rhinestone boots. The exception is the outright trash described above.

Recently, the topic of eliminating the use of fur in clothing has been especially actively discussed, what is your position? Do you accept fur in accessories - on bags (like Fendi this winter, for example)?

I am extremely calm about this topic. I understand the position of vegetarians on this matter, but when meat-eaters begin to speak on the same topic, it smacks of hypocrisy. So, you can’t gas hamsters, but you can gas cows? It only hurts when I see the mediocre use of fur and realize that 300 chipmunks died in vain. The cemetery must be worn with dignity.

Is it worth looking for decent options from local designers or is it preferable to have more global “names” in your wardrobe?

The main problem of domestic designers is inadequacy of pricing. Yes, we do not have a developed infrastructure, but designers are not trying to develop it in any way, quite calmly setting a price tag comparable to the price tag of European fashion houses with a history. At the same time, without offering fundamentally excellent quality. And then these same designers cry about how they are not understood. Our designers lack technological thinking - it is simply impossible to collaborate with them. They either offer you an item that has been worn out from shows and filming, or it is stupidly custom made. Attempts to order something from a lookbook end with the item being performed in a completely different material and everyone pretending that this is how it should be. I don’t collaborate with domestic designers; it’s easier for me to go to Europe for a couple of days than to waste my nerves trying to achieve the desired result.

- Your wishes to the readers.

If you're reading this, it means you're already concerned about your appearance. But don’t forget that style is not just clothes, it’s a way of life. Therefore, I wish you more pleasant travels, interesting books and delicious food.

Let's! But Kirkorov is such obvious trash that it’s not even interesting to talk about him, besides, why bother grandma! And not at all a useless grandmother. For example, today’s heroine, when she was about to conquer Russian show business, turned to Philip for advice and he, despite all his love for real money, replied that he did not see Kamalia as a Russian star, it would be cramped for her here, let her immediately focus on the Western market. Considering Kirkorov’s previous experiences in conquering the West, consider him screwed. Kamaliya took the advice literally and is now going on a tour of the pubs in Britain. I suspect that this is how the UK authorities plan to fight drunkenness. I would also advise Putin to use Kamalia to disperse the protesters. So you, my lovers of cookies in the cold, wouldn’t you be afraid of this?

This is the latest image. She will go with him to the British. And not just with him - but also with two “hits”. This video was filmed in Miami, but Kamaliya definitely has talent! With her presence, she turns any picture into a Ukrainian TV show (television, if anyone hasn’t figured it out).

But this, another hit, was filmed, I bet, in Kyiv. Because nowhere else on the planet can they split the budget so that it seems like all the money is in the frame, but at the same time the gag reflex does not leave.

Wikipedia writes that Kamalia has a coloratura soprano and a range of four octaves. Did you hear? Apparently, like her, she sings into the table.

But this is all window dressing and commercialism, let’s look at our star in the home interior. I think the interior would also cause a lot of envy among other style icons, but for sure!

Once, under a similar photo on her Facebook page, Kamalia wrote “Me and me again.” But I think you’ve already assessed her level of English from the clip. It’s a mystery to me: what language do she and her husband communicate in? Although, looking at the latex trousers in the bedroom interior, it becomes clear that there is no time for communication there.

Looking at this luxury, you want to attribute all the star’s success to her Pakistani husband, but Kamalia is not like that! Do you think that if she had at least once contributed to his billions, her musical career would have been at the same level of the plinth? Once in a while she would become a superstar, but she would do it all herself, little by little, either sing a duet with Kirkorov, or take a photo with Thomas Anders in the image of a transvestite seducer.

My husband is already trying to help in this way and that. He even organized a music award in Ukraine so that his wife would definitely not be left without an award, but Kamaliya was used to achieving everything herself and came to the award with her bare bottom, so that there would be no doubt about the objectivity of the award!

Well, now we have no doubt. Once the decoy has been uncovered, it means there is already a claim to the star.

In general, Kamalia’s decoy is the engine of her career. She apparently sincerely believes that if you rub it against the wall of the studio, good luck will come. Or, for example, this trick. Here is Kamalia in the form of a hermit crab, which fixes its backside in an empty shell and leaves it only when it finds a new one.

A few years of hard work with a microphone and you can change the sink to a more spacious one.

Here the decoy attracted a ticket to the resort. First line, sea view.

A little more and the decoy is already on the yacht!

Under this photo, Kamaliya wrote that they were relaxing during breaks between filming. Judging by the costumes, hair and makeup, they were filming porn. It remains a mystery to me how my Pakistani husband encourages all this. For example, this is how they go out together.

He is not afraid that, from old memory, she, looking at her watch, will ask - will you extend it? Although she may be keeping him at bay. There is something. Even if I didn’t have a gun in my hands, I would have huddled in a corner just by looking at it, shedding tears, take everything, just leave it alone!

Although maybe they have a big white shapeless wife - that's cool! And if she is also such a miracle of nature, like a blonde with black eyebrows, then voila!

Kamalia regularly appears in gossip columns. This is how she draped herself for the Person of the Year Award.

It seems that the housekeeper simply decided to put the cloth in the most visible place, so as not to forget to clean it, and then, as usual, she forgot. But in this form Kamalia went to Germany for a music award.

A perch on your stomach, a guitar neck on your neck... clacking! Kamalia also represented Ukraine at the Mrs. World competition. The fundamental difference from the Missok competition is that they know where their homeland is located on the map.

She eventually won the competition and her triumphant march along the red carpets of Europe continued.

And here she is at Cher's benefit. Judging by the face of the woman on the right, Kamaliya has the ability to evoke sorrow with her appearance.

A classic of the genre - a photo on a private plane.

And here she is in an Orange Revolution costume. As meaningless as her dress...

Somehow we completely forgot that she is still a singer. And quite productive. She posted about 600 (!) photos on Facebook from her December concert! If there’s a like for every photo, Justin Bieber never even dreamed of it!

Look at the girl's face on the right. Apparently, not all the nuances of talent are conveyed by photography; there is something that we do not feel. And I am immensely happy about this!

Okay, let’s not say any more nasty things, otherwise the trolls will come running, telling us what a good person Kamalia is, who has helped everyone, saved a lot of lives and is bringing light. For example, he loves animals.

“Look at the career that awaits you!” - she says to the dog, pressing him to her fur coat.

And here is this dog again, but in a different capacity.

And the hand, out of habit, wants to press someone to its chest. Maybe you?

A regular column for Forbes Woman, filming on Ukrainian television, a popular blog (medny.ru), a novel, familiar to many from the “Style Icons” section, where our hero does not hesitate to call a spade a spade - for his 27 years he has achieved quite a lot in interesting yourself in the sphere. Let's start the conversation with this:

Roma, what is the secret of your success? Many people dream of “getting on TV,” but you somehow managed to do it by itself, and since 2012, your column in the program “Everything will be fine!” is popular.

It was necessary to prepare a lot so that “everything would work out on its own.” The producer of the show noticed me on YouTube, and to be noticed on YouTube, you need to be noticeable, you need to be able to stand out somehow. My originality played a role here. Everyone was already tired of campy bunnies and was looking for something new. The STB channel found it in my face. Now our program is the most popular in its segment and in terms of audience ratings I am several times ahead of other media stylists in Ukraine.

On the set of the program "Everything will be fine"

- Will they recognize you on the street? How do you react when this happens?

Yes, it’s very funny that they don’t know me in the party, but at the same time they constantly recognize me on the street. I can’t sit on the summer terrace in a cafe on a busy street, because people will constantly come up. I have a good attitude because most often people approach me with a positive attitude. It’s unpleasant when they ask me for advice right now, because most often they ask stupid things, I apologize and say that “I don’t give advice on my knees.” Many funny situations arise. For example, in a queue at the airport, one man said that it was an honor to stand behind the “maestro of shopping,” and one prisoner first showered him with compliments, and then asked for twenty. The comedy comes from the fact that a person has seen you many times and thinks that you are his old acquaintance, but you are seeing him for the first time.

You are not quite an ordinary stylist, it seems to me. In the sense that you do not impose an image that is alien to a person simply because it is fashionable. Or I know that the “before” and “after” stories are not about you, you don’t like this format. Why?

Because I think it degrades a person. Look, before he was a sucker, and after working as a stylist he became a king. Although both photos are of the same person. A person should remain himself, he should be comfortable, and my job as a stylist is to help a person relax, feel himself and express it through clothes. Sometimes dramatic changes take time. I am often compared to a psychoanalyst. Therefore, most often, if a person asks for “before and after,” then this is not my client, this is a person with a lot of complexes who is looking for a magic wand, but at the same time does not want to work on himself. And style is always the work of not only a stylist, but also a person. After all, we build here, and you live here!

I've worked on before-and-after television shows, and I know the people on those shows come home, take off their clothes, hang them in the closet, and never take them out again. I want the clothes that I choose for a person to be worn for a long time and with pleasure.

- I know that you are not a frequent guest at social events, including fashion shows. What is this connected with?

There was a time when I spent a lot of time attending events, but later realized that this time was wasted. A party get-together is not the level at which I would like to work.

Have you never been awarded “Style Icons”? The column is painfully truthful, and the characters there appear are quite... large-scale, let's say.

Gulnara Karimova promised to curse, the singer Lama still writes in the comments, Olga Ibragimova was rude in a private message on Facebook. Once, the organizers of Vasiliev’s performance in Kyiv asked me to say a few words about him, I simply sent them a link to the icon in response. In general, we live happily, threats come regularly, especially in the “who knows” genre. And you understand that our show business is a temple on both legs, not only because many people look bad, but because many still do not treat themselves quite adequately. Although, as I have long noted, there are practically no mentally healthy people here, which is why I try to stay away from the stars, although offers are regularly received.

- For yourself personally, what brands of clothing do you mostly choose?

For me, shopping is always chaotic and unpredictable. I try to travel more and if I come across an interesting store somewhere, I buy half the assortment. During the May holidays I was in Barcelona and “carried out” half of Il Ganso, before that there was a period of passion for COS, and even before that I was delighted with Suit Supply suits.

needs no introduction. At least that's what she thinks.

She calls herself a secular reporter and considers herself a social and political figure, but she has already gone down in history as a mouthpiece for everyday prostitution. Finding herself in front of the closed doors of Moscow for the first time, she did not pretend to be hard to touch, cherish her ambitions, or take things with force, but immediately headed for the back door. She chose a buffet table profession and made friends with, as she herself calls them, nymphs. Lips, a fur coat, fishnet stockings - the uniform of aspiring conquerors of the capital.

One can argue endlessly about which woman is a prostitute and which one simply lives for her own pleasure. For me, the line here is more or less clear: a prostitute is a woman who has had tens of times more ugly men than handsome ones. Ulyana Tseytlina, Bozena Rynska, etc. can talk for years about how wonderful they are, how they have achieved everything themselves and get the best from life, but once you look at who you sleep with, it becomes clear that they are clearly not getting the best.

We will not analyze Bozhena’s personal life. Now she is seriously getting ready to get married, although her husband, according to rumors, has not yet divorced her previous one, but Bozhena is already cohabiting with all her might and posting reports on her blog. The situation had been familiar to her for a long time; she was no stranger to sailors. But that's none of our business. Our business is style!

At the very beginning of her career, Bozena had a chic image.

Such a Jewish fanatical revolutionary. If I were her, I would still stick to it. I would go to social events in a red scarf, ask the bourgeoisie if lobster fits into their mouths when the masses are oppressed, and then write smart columns on the topic “There is no limit to the vegetation of the upper classes.”

Humor is more ennobling than a Chanel 2.55 bag. But, most importantly, within humor there is always the opportunity to develop and change. How did Sobchak go from a glitter-sprinkled shack to one of the smartest women of our time? All thanks to humor and irony. Bozena is not capable of this - as soon as Birkin became a reality, everything else lost its meaning for her.

And the race for expensive dresses began. At the same time, Bozhena has a rare talent - to choose everything that is as ill-fitting, wrinkled and sticking out as possible.

The tenacity with which she flattens her already not rich breasts is amazing... Okay, a long dress, there’s no need to make a bow here. But when it comes to combinations, our revolutionary’s taste is revealed in full force!

In a nightmare, I could not imagine this combination, but Bozhena embodied it and wears it with her chin raised high. Or here are a couple more randomizers.

It seems as if a light bulb in the wardrobe has simply burned out and a socialite is getting dressed in complete darkness. Although when she showed her wardrobe to other journalists, there seemed to be light there.

If you read Bozhena’s LJ, you’ll be amazed at how persistently she takes care of her closet. She constantly talks about what she altered and how, where to restore cashmere, and to which second-hand store all this can then be sold for weight. It is amazing that persistence does not affect the result.

She loves to talk about her hair care in her LJ, but at the same time she always looks as if her bald head was smeared with glue and hair cut from different heads was thrown on it.

Speaking of furs. Another feature of Bozhena is the complete absence of the “appropriate-inappropriate” division. I have a distant relative, as a result of a birth trauma, his development went along an alternative branch and he cannot determine whether his behavior is appropriate or not. For example, he can quite calmly talk about masturbation at the table. In general, he could raise this topic in another context and there this conversation would be acceptable, but not at a family dinner. Bozhena shows signs of the same deviation. For example, in a restaurant she considers it appropriate to poke another visitor with a stun gun, or, for example, no, no, and she will ask on LiveJournal where you can go in fur in the summer. And in this photo she is on a plane wearing a necklace over a turtleneck.

What if the plane crashes, how will they know that she is a VIP? Or, for example, appear on the red carpet in country peignure. What if there are terrorists - who will believe her that she has a dacha near London if she doesn’t have a dacha peignoir?!

At the same time, as you can see, Bozhena has the gift of posing. Here in this photo she noticed someone and looks at him like he’s shit.

Oh no! She's the one looking at us like that!

But hopefully all this is in the past. Now Bozena is posing with all her might in the pose of an ass-headed mollusk against the backdrop of the family estate. I would like to believe that she will have enough strength and perseverance to cleanse herself of all the dirt that she spread around herself and on which, as it seemed to her, she could make a career.

I stole some of the photos from Gossip Magazine, some from the heroine’s LJ, for which I thank her.

Updated 18/09/15 15:37:

Bozena is a beauty

From my last post)