Alexa Chung And Yasmin Le Bon At The 2010 British Fashion Awards

Or: Why I'll never be a cutting-edge fashion blogger.

I know Alexa Chung is considered a top It Girl, fashion icon and whatever. She's a very beautiful woman, for sure, but I've never gotten the magic.  It seems to me she's a little too eager to cross the fashion victimhood line, and that doesn't work for me. Alexa is not making it easier for me to figure her out- this is how she walked the red carpet at the 2010 British Fashion Awards- between the horrible hair and this unflattering Chanel dress (sorry, Uncle Karl), I'm utterly confused.

Now, Yasmin Le Bon is and has always been fabulous. I've even forgiven her for marrying my Simon. But this Christopher Kane dress is not doing her any favors and that's just sad.  So, instead, I'll comfort myself with a vintage Yasmin and Simon Le Bon:

Photos of Alexa Chung  and Yasmin Le Bon at the  2010 British Fashion Awards by Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images Europe.
Yasmin and Simon Le Bon by Gilles Bensimon, 1985

The Return Of The Matching Shoes

I don't know if this really signifies the return of the matchy-matchy style, and as a child of the '80s I'm not sure how I would feel if that was to happen. But as my mom who grew up in a more ladylike era would tell you, there's something to be said for a pulled-together look.

Heidi Klum paired her Victoria Beckham dress with a matching pair of teal pumps. Her hairstyle also works beautifully here. I've combed through several photos of Emma Watson from her Today Show appearance- in some of them her Sergio Rossi peep-toes look more beige and only match her Burberry trench (want!). In others they are more grey, like her Carven sweater dress (I suspect one needs to be Emma's age to pull of this collar). In any case, it's interesting.

Now, let's just hope we'll never see matching scrunchies and socks, OK?

Photos: fashionpatrol.com

Heidi Klum In Mondo Guerra

Here's a little moment of sweet justice. In the Project Runway finale, Michael Kors challenged Heidi Klum to wear Mondo's polka dot dress, and here she is, making it work beautifully. I was deeply upset when Gretchen won- and not liking her personality (at least the way it was reflected in the show) had nothing to do with it- I hated the way some of her peers crucified her in the reunion. I just thought Mondo was a much better designer. Heidi, at least, agrees.

Photo: Dlisted

Victoria Beckham On Lady Gaga

“If I’m being completely honest, is it fair to say she may have become a little bit of a parody of herself? Is that fair to say?"

Victoria Beckham on Lady Gaga

The funny thing is how two or three years ago the same could have been said about Victoria herself. But lately and especially since she launched her own sleek fashion line, I'm finding myself looking at Victoria Beckham's photos, staring at clothes like this tangerine dress (from her Spring/Summer '11 collection) and thinking: "Want!".

Photo: Faded Youth Blog

Eva Longoria Parker At The 2010 MTV EMAs

Eva Longoria hosted the 2010 MTV EMAs on Sunday night. Throughout the evening she's gone through a dozen costumes (you can see some of them here), but this Georges Hobeika dress (?) was her red carpet look. This  Alexis Carrington on top-Vegas cocktail waitress on bottom isn't working for me. At all. Probably because Eva seems to have forgotten the skirt- this is what the Hobeika Couture (from his 2010 Spring/Summer runway) is supposed to look like:

Photos of Eva Longoria: The Daily Mail
Georges Hobeika outfit: georgeshobeika.com

Rosario Dawson In Stella McCartney

Even Rosario Dawson can't win with this fabric. I don't know why Stella McCartney insists on using this kind of satin, because the only hope of not looking like a wrinkled mess is if you have an assistant following you at all times with a steam iron while you avoid sitting, walking and preferably also breathing.

Rosario is otherwise beautiful and the color is perfect on her. It goes well with her jewelry and flawless makeup, and I admit the top of the dress is pretty and offers just enough drama to not look boring without stealing the show.  I just wish she'd have chosen a designer with a better grasp on reality.

Photos of Rosario Dawson at the Los Angeles premier of Unstoppable: Just Jared

Kate Walsh, Boyfriend And Pants

It's official. 2010 will be remembered as the Year Of Really Bad Pants. We might not see too many of these in NYC, but everywhere else it's drawstring galore, super tapered ankles with pleated balloon bottoms and that inexplicable diaper thing.

Kate Walsh should know better than leave the house wearing drawstring pants (somewhere in NYC Clinton Kelly is sobbing into his argyles). Speaking of Walsh, what do you think of the name of her new perfume, Boyfriend? To me it's an instant turnoff, but so are celeb perfumes in general.

Photos: Faded Youth Blog

LeAnn Rimes Flies With A Stephanie Bag

LeAnn Rimes never struck me as a DVF girl and she probably still isn't- I doubt Diane von Furstenberg would have approved the rest of LeAnn's outfit, even for a flight.

In any case, she's carrying the Stephanie bag which seems to be a celeb favorites for the last couple of years (though this is the large size that's no longer made). This fact alone is usually enough for me to skip an item, but I admit the medium version in Emerald is very appealing:

DVF Stephanie medium hobo ($875) is available from dvf.com, Saks and the other usual suspects.

Photos of LeAnn Rimes: Just Jared
Khloe Kardashian: coolspotters.com
Stephanie bag: dvf.com

Marion Cotillard Gets It All Wrong

Everyone has bad hair days, so I'll ignore the Courtney Love-inspired coiffure. The lipstick is too harsh (and looks too dry), but that can be a lighting problem. It's the dress that's unforgivable. Apparently you can go wrong even with Dior. Especially if you insist on pouring yourself into a gown two sizes too small.

Photos: Dlisted

Want

Victoria Beckham's luggage

Dita Von Teese's gloves

Jennifer Hudson's lipstick


Photos: Just Jared and Faded Youth Blog

Milan Fashion Week: January Jones At Versace

At first I thought it might be an odd angle, but all the photos I've seen of January Jones from this event (Friday's Versace show during Milan Fashion Week) look similar. There's some odd proportions here- the geometric dress, the hair and January herself. She's beautiful, of course, and can pull off just about anything, but this dress isn't working. Or maybe a softer hairstyle would have fixed the problem.

Opinions?

Photo: Just Jared

Are Bloggers The New Black?

I wasn't around this Fashion Week. My brother-in-law, the Blond's little brother, got married last week, so we were away for the entire time. I missed all the shows, parties and events, not to mention FNO festivities. I was a little disappointed, but in the grand scheme of things it didn't really matter. I saw the photos on WWD, skimmed some articles and took a couple of notes for future reference. I admit to not reading 95% of the PR emails giving detailed breakdowns of hair and makeup looks from the shows. I don't post this stuff, after all, and I doubt most of my readers are losing sleep trying to figure out how to recreate this:

Or this:

Something that has become very clear in recent years, though, is that bloggers (fashion, beauty, hair or nail) are now an integral part of the scene. It makes sense, after all. Why should we wait for the magazines (and incestuous relationship with various corporations) to tell us what's going on? I'm not sure why Abe Gurko of I Mean... What?!?, a fashion/pop culture bloggers who is even crankier than me, was surprised:

Leading up to fashion week I was inundated with news about fashion bloggers. New ones, old ones, newly famous ones, bloggers photographed by Anna Wintour, a blogger that actually hired a publicist, others touting their front row-ness, bloggers who were cast in ad campaigns, bloggers sponsored by major fashion brands, bloggers with capsule collections, bloggers hosting events…and then I realized…that fashion bloggers are the new black. And that’s not necessarily a good thing.


The phenomenon of fashion bloggers rising to power has surprised me as much as it has magazine publishers. Who would have thunk that in many cases bloggers would be deemed more relevant than established fashion editors; replacing them in the front row and dressed up as the new guard?

Abe is worried this might be a passing fad. I'm not sure why, really. The world and the media have shifted in a very fundamental way. It will take years until we will be able to fully assess the change and the depth of its impact. I don't know where we go from here, but definitely not away. Black is black, no matter who brings you the commentary on how to wear it, and I plan to stay around and tell you which lipstick goes best with it.

Top photo: myvintagevogue.com
Fashion Week photos: WWD

Are you willing to give up your mascara?

Vogue UK predicts we'll see some naked lashes and eyes this fall. Based on designer Christopher Kane's fall/winter 2010 ready-to-wear show, Vogue UK names the no mascara look as one of the hottest new beauty trends of the year. Looking at photos from the show, it's not just mascara that's missing. Eyes are barely defined and the liner, if any is used, is soft brown. This explains the several medium brown eye pencils that have appeared around here (I have a couple of reviews coming), but I can't say I'm excited about it.

As someone who's rather keen on looking alive and is no longer a spring chicken, defining my eyes is quite an important part of doing my makeup. Otherwise it comes scarily close to exposing the world to the way I look when I first wake up. This particular pleasure is reserved for my nearest and dearest, most who are feline and don't care one way or the other.

How about you? Are you ready for pale lashes? It works for Tilda Swinton, after all.

Photos: vogue.co.uk

Is Salma Hayek Going To The Renaissance Faire?

I hope she is, otherwise it's hard to explain why Salma Hayek found it necessary t o squeeze herself into this serving wench costume. It looks highly uncomfortable.

Photo: I'm Not Obsessed

Emmys 2010 Live Blogging The Red Carpet

I was close to giving up on live blogging the Emmys red carpet. Between being semi high on DayQuil for an ultra-wicked cold and watching Ryan Seacrest trying to interview the Jersey Shore people, I was ready to doze off with the sound of little Sophie purring in my lap. Seriously, what could I possibly say when after a brief exposure to Snooki I start thinking Kim Kardashian is one of the classier looking women out there?

But then some trends started to emerge, I saw Lauren Graham in a gorgeous Yigal Azrouel gown that had all the magic of old Hollywood and the Mad Men ladies dropped the ball so spectacularly that I actually found a thing or two to say.

So back to Kim Kardashian, who really looked stunning. Both the dress (Marchesa) and her hair and makeup are a serious upgrade from what we see from her too often.

Lauren Graham plays an insufferable character on Parenthood, which is probably not very easy. Her red carpet appearances are usually great and this dress is no different. It's the hair that I'm not really loving. There's so much great hair tonight, whoever worked on Lauren could have done better.

**Did I just hear Giulianna Rancic telling Dianna Agron from Glee that she's not big enough a star to not talk about her personal life? Can someone please slap this woman for me?**

Back to hair, there are some clear trends all on the soft side- soft wavy updos, pony tails that aren't pulled back too tightly and natural soft waves (from experience, I can tell you that some of us need about 4 hours of work to get that "natural").

Two people had cleavage issues: Seal and Christina Hendricks. Seal can only blame himself (and maybe Heidi) for not buttoning up, Christina was camera-abused by the director in that juvenile move. Ugh. Then there was her hair, which can only be described as a mess. And was it my TV screen or did she have something stuck in her teeth when she arrived?

Another Mad Men mess was January Jones and the blue Versace dress on its stiff crinoline, uneven length and those little ramekins at the front. What was that all about?

And wasn't the opening act the best one ever?

Photos: Faded Youth Blog and Just Jared

Hilary Duff, Yellow Shoes And An 80s Nightmare

Hilary Duff was born in 1987, which means she doesn't remember the eighties. I guess it's a good enough excuse for this outfit, but seriously- doesn't it look like she's hearing Kajagoogoo in her head?  Personally, these jeans are giving me nightmares straight of my junior high years, but I almost like the yellow pumps. They just need a better outfit to go with them.

Photo: Socialite Life

Anya Ponorovskaya- Fashion On Elizabeth Street

I love NYC's Elizabeth Street and not just because of Le Labo. It's full of indie designers and retro stores and I always manage to find something special to wear. Last weekend it was a gorgeous dress by Anya Ponorovskaya. The tiny boutique feels like Wonderland for those of us who likes exquisitely cut feminine dresses. There's a vintage vibe there, but Ponorovskaya's designs are timeless and very sexy and the fabrics- cotton and silk- are modern and crisp.

There are also shoes and accessories, but it were the dresses that mesmerized me. They are so well-made and have no other purpose than to make you feel pretty. The dress I got has a similar shape to the one above, but is made of a lace overlay and a red silk slip. It's figure-friendly and made me feel like I just stepped out of the Mad Men set.

Just call me Joanie.

Anya Ponorovskaya has four boutiques- the one on 235 Elizabeth street as well as a bridal store on 167 Elizabeth (there's a gorgeous white version of my dress), and two other locations: in Brooklyn and in Miami. If you're in the area, check out Caffe Falai on  265 Lafayette Street. It's a great Italian place, as authentic as they come. I love their poached pigs with ricotta cheese and their crepe cake is dreamy- layers of thin delicate crepes with perfect creme patissier. Seriously- don't miss the desserts.

Photos:
examiner.com
cherrypatter.com

America Ferrera At The Imagen Awards

I usually like America Ferrera's style. She goes for curve-hugging, romantic silhouettes that enhance her figure and go well with her face. I'm just not sure this Catherine Malandrino dress is the best choice. Malandrino is quite infamous for cuts that don't embrace the idea women might have breasts, while America Ferrera definitely has them. I'm not all that crazy about the draping or whatever it is on her hips, but it might just be me. Still America is glowing and pretty (and has a cute fiance).

Photos: Just Jared

J. Crew wants your bridesmaids to hate you

Aptly named the O'Hara gown, this embossed organza dress ($2200) is the best tool to make your bridesmaids weep, just as the J. Crew model is about to do in the photo.

Photo: jcrew.com

Rihanna in a ruffled polka dot jumpsuit. Really.

Fill in the blank:
In 10 years Rihanna is going to look at these photos and________________________

Photos: Just Jared