WOTY candidate, but only because it's misspelled

[Laurence Horn]

Note "trendonista" in third paragraph of this piece in today's Times:
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New York Times
May 19, 2009
Yes, I Look Fabulous, but Inside I'm Saving
By BROOKS BARNES

LOS ANGELES - In a place where appearance is almost everything, and
where studio back lots are filled with fancy veneers concealing
plywood and chicken wire, hard times are summoning a distinctly
Hollywood response: maintaining a fabulous facade on the cheap while
paring expenses behind the scenes.

Locals joke that the only slimming down this town knows is
liposuction, but the higher-end shopping districts quickly disprove
that theory. Robertson Boulevard, home to the celebrated Ivy
restaurant, has 12 storefronts empty or emptying on just a five-block
stretch. On Montana Avenue in Santa Monica, about 30 boutiques are
either closed, about to close or vacant, according to the merchants'
association.

"The *trendonistas* still flock to Barneys, but it's just to eat
lunch and buy a lipstick," said Leslie Wright, a fashion-forward
executive at Bonhams & Butterfields, the art auctioneer. "That way,"
she continued, "they can still drop into conversation that they spent
all afternoon someplace chic."...
=============================

Only one earlier Nexis hit (from this February), and that wasn't even
from the U.S. (Financial Post, Canada), and not many google hits.
BUT: lots of hits for "trendinista", going back to 1996, with this
definition in the Sydney Morning Herald.

Trendinista: a social activist who combines heightened political
consciousness with stylish clothing


So nothing terribly new here after all, even the fact that the Times
needs better copy editors.

LH

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