Wednesday
Aug112010
Desiree Rogers's Next Move
Wednesday, August 11, 2010 at 3:46 PM 
Photo by Bill O'Leary/The Washington Post/Getty Images
Since leaving her post as White House Social Secretary in February, many have wondered what Desiree Rogers's next move would be. Today it was announced that she has been named CEO of Johnson Publishing Company, which publishes magazines such as JET and EBONY. In her new role, Mrs. Rogers will run day-to-day operations for the company, alongside chairwoman (and longtime friend) Linda Johnson Rice. The New York Times has more on the story, here.
Congratulations to Desiree Rogers on this exciting new chapter. This calls for one last look at her fabulous (if controversial) Comme des Garcons frock.
Reader Comments (31)
Congratulations to this brainy, beautiful and brassy (in the best sense of the word). Her inimitable style is greatly missed in the White House.
Greatly deserved. Big Congrats to this Desiree. She will do great things at JPC!!!
I still have visions of her in that amazing CdG dress (shown) - it's wayyyy out there for a formal White House function - incredibly daring and fabulous on her!
there should be no s after the apostrophe in Rogers'.........one says Rogers'........not Rogerses
Maria, I believe that's a grammatical rule that can go either way, no? The NYT piece I linked to also uses Ms. Rogers's. Some style guides, such as The Elements of Style, back up this up: http://www.bartleby.com/141/strunk.html
On the other hand, I know the AP Style Guide advises using an apostrophe alone for possessive singular popular names ending in S, in which case, it would be Rogers' as you suggest.
She left staid Washington behind when she strutted in this frock. High Fashion, baby.
Salude!
Maria,
As a grammarian and college English prof, I must disagree. Mrs. T has written "Rogers's" correctly. Any singular word, even those ending in "s," form their possessives by adding an apostrophe and an "s." The only exceptions are for words with more than one "s" sound such as "Isis," where adding yet another "s" would make pronunciation awkward.
And one who is concerned about grammar begins sentences with capital letters and ends them with periods. :)
Actually, Mrs. T, I was applauding you for getting this right.
Congratulatons to Ms. Rogers...and...step on my sistah...I applaud you!
This shows me that I am not a fan of "high fashion" . While I usually like what Mrs. O wears, and I was most impressed with the job Ms. Rogers did at the White House, I think this dress looks a hot mess.
To me, it just looks like it was very poorly made and doesn't fit correctly. I know this puts me in the minority. Oh well... (I do like her shoes and jewelry!)
Congrats to Miss Rogers. I am sure she will doa fantastic job.
Oooooops! Before anyone else catches MY grammar error, I'll correct it myself! My third sentence should read either "Any singular word, even one ending in 's,' forms its possessive . . . " OR "All singular words, even those ending in 's,' form their possessives . . . "
Congratulations!! Proud of her!
Good for her, I wish Desiree well. Maybe this will be a better fit for her than Washington proved to be. By the way, is that a Monique Pean bracelet she is wearing? Looks like it!
Every woman is entitled to one fashion faux pax and, in my opinion, this is clearly hers. Good luck to Desiree on her new position. She is brilliant and will surely do a grand job.
I don't like this dress any better than I did the first time I saw it. That being said, I think Desiree is FAB!
Rogers's is correct.
This dress is still disastrous-looking. An attractive woman wears her clothes; they don't wear her. Rogers would draw enough attention without stunt clothes like this. A runway shocker, it was never intended to sell - until Rogers picked it up. Perhaps for a song?
the dress... is it an impressionistic concept of a dress? it's the idea of many dresses, in deconstructed dress-ish form.
it a) gets your attention and b) I think it looks rather awesome on her.
Commes des Garcons strikes again!
Hmmmm ... (Incorrect use of the elipse--or is that elipsis?) Perhaps picky discussions of punctuation on this blog ought to be relegated to the same bin as digression into politics. There is a place for precision and attention to proofing written work; however, the spirit of a blog is one of immediacy. As a genre blogs are expected to be a litle rough around the edges, or HURRIDLY BANGED OFF IN ALL CAPS, as one frequent contributor does. It's suggestive of the speed and passion of the contributor.
Back to fashion for a moment. The dress. Ah, yes. The dress. Is that what it is? Reminds me of a cross between a scrunched up parachute and grandmother's cast off curtains cobbled together in what we used to call "playing dress up." All it needs is the oversized heels, gloves, and a gaudy necklace of pop beads to complete the look. (We thought we looked splendid, too.)
Congratulations to Desiree. Ebony definitely needs some fresh ideas. The outdated adverts for Kools cigarettes and Fashion Fair have not changed since the late 70's when I first started reading it.
By the way, I loved Desiree in this dress. It was different, trendy. fashion forward and risky on a evening when other women were wearing safe (alomst dowdy) confections. I don't think I would have worn it myself but loved loved loved it on her.
I SOOOOOO hope we're not going to rehash the opinions of this outfit! The lengthy discussion from a few months back must surely be available for anyone who wants to read what everyone thinks of this dress. Just saying.
I am very happy to hear that Ms. Rogers has found a position that will allow her to use her considerable talent and energy! Congrats to her!
Actually, Philly, the grammar discussion had already moved to the chat rooms before you reintroduced it here.
I've never liked this dress or the fit.
Having met Msl. Rogers on many occassions, I adore her and think she will work wonders at JPC.
@philly ... surely life can bring you more pleasure than scanning each message looking for spelling and grammar errors on blogs. As so many of the participants have suggested - if you can't or don't like what you are reading - then move on and save your punctuation comments for the 5th grade class that may need this feedback.
if there are any misspelled words in this message ... I put them there for you... enjoy !
Congrats to Desiree on her new power gig!
Too bad she had to lose her job to the trash that wanted to make a fifteen minute name for themselves but everything happens for a reason. Desiree will remain an iconic black woman and will continue to inspire. She fell but she got right up.
Women power!
Poor philly had to take the misdirected heat for Maria and BarbG. :(
No heat for me!!! I did not introduce the topic. I only corrected the "corrector."
hehehehehehe!!! ;-)
Good for her!
Just so you know, Philly never takes any heat that isn't hers. She's too busy taking life's pleasures, such as the delights of this blog-- the griping, sniping, swiping, hissing, or dissing from time to time included.
I comepletely disagree with BarbG and completely agree with Mrs. T. Either use of the apostrophe is correct, as Mrs. T. stated. The use of the double "s" with the apostrophe in between is a rather new approach. As a university graduate with a double major in English and Print Journalism, I was always taught to use the single "s" with an apostrophe after.
Christen,
As has already been mentioned, the grammar discussion has long since moved to the chat room.