Life lessons from Kimora Lee Simmons

My latest television obsession? The Style Network’s Life in the Fab Lane, a reality series about the sometimes-infuriating-but-always-entertaining life of entrepreneur (and proud mother) Kimora Lee Simmons. The basic premise of the show is that Kimora has quite a lot going for her these days. Aside from being a former Karl Lagerfeld runway model (and still drop-dead gorgeous at the age of 32), she’s also the former wife of Russell Simmons–he’s the founder of Def Jam Records who is probably best known today as the undisuted godfather of hip-hop culture. During the couple’s marriage, Russell launched Baby Phat, an urban fashion company often described as the “corporate sibling” of Russell’s Phat Farm brand. Kimora acts as the public face of Baby Phat, and she and Russell have somehow managed to continue on as relatively amiable business partners, if not life partners.        

The first time I saw Kimora’s show, only five or ten minutes had passed before I was tempted to post something nasty about what a horrible, mean person she obviously is. This woman has the rich-bitch personality thing down to a perfect science, and if there’s anything I hate in the business world, it’s seeing privileged folks treating the less fortunate without respect. And that’s exactly what Kimora seemed to be doing every thirty seconds or so on her show.

But then another episode aired, and then one more came on after that, and before I knew it, it was the middle of the afternoon and I was still wearing my pyjamas and drinking bad coffee. I was hooked. And that’s because after a couple more 30-minute stints with Kimora, I finally got it: She’s not so much a horrible person as she is a person who lives her life under the constant scrutiny of the public eye, and has managed to develop something of an oddball sense of humor as a way of dealing with the inevitable stress. From what I can tell, the woman actually has a very healthy sense of humor. Better than being like Britney.

But not everyone in the fashion world agrees with that conclusion. I did a quick Google search that turned up all sorts of gossipy bits about K-Sims. Check out this fantastic feature from New York magazine, for instance, which is titled Kimora Lee Simmons, the New Queen of Conspicuous Consumption. (Ouch!) Here are a few more interesting pieces from various blogs and the MSM alike. Enjoy! >>>

• Kimora’s motor vehicle violation [Michelle Malkin]   
• Kimora’s pimped-out MySpace page
• Kimora’s mug shot [Smoking Gun]
• The Simmons’ big split [People]
• A look at the Saddle Brook mansion [USA Today]

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