Style Fix

I would have loved to be a fly on the wall when the new reality-based series She’s Got the Look was proposed as an “original reality series.”

Yes, I admit, a Top Model replacement was needed as Tyra has continued to spiral into the realm of insanity … which is why I was pleased to watch Tyson Beckford and Nikki Taylor on the new reality-based show about becoming a model called Make Me a Supermodel after Rachel Hunter’s British show of the same name and M.O. … which was completely different from Tyra’s ANTM because it had dudes, too.

But really, TV executives, another show that will pick a supposed model above other pretty faces? When was the last time Top Model actually produced a top model? And what was the point of Make Me’s winner Holly Kiser’s prize of a contract with New York Model Management when they also signed runner-ups (losers) Stephanie, Shannon, Ben, Casey, Ronnie and Perry? It could have just been called “Meet the New Faces of New York Model Management.”

So, TV Land, regretting your decision yet? I will begin watching your measly six episode series when it starts on June 4; but I hold little hope for it holding my interest.

Oh. Wait. This one is about old people?

I will definitely be in front of my screen then, because unknown 40-year-old women being discovered is exactly what I would consider “reality” when it comes to the modeling world.

Check out an intro to the ten finalists - six of whom are from California, one from NYC, one from Vegas, and only two from normal life locales. The winner will receive a contract (with Wilhelmina) and a magazine spread (with Self), of course.

I have not been able to see out of my less-than-a-year old glasses for a week now. So I heed this warning - found too late by moi - for all other hair mavens who don spectacles:

Hairspray permanently damages eyeglasses.

Let me repeat: If hairspray inadvertently mists your lenses in any amount, you will be squinting through clouded glass. Forever. FOR. EV. ER. (The Sandlot … remember?).

Allure magazine will feature Angie Harmon, along with here-and-there actress Gabrielle Union, singer Jill Scott, Dirty Sexy Money’s Zoe McLellan, and Ugly Betty’s Ana Ortiz, in the upcoming May 2008 issue.

All of these women have revealed the beauty of a woman’s body by removing their clothes for the camera. Their hope is to boost the everyday woman’s image of what is beautiful through this tasteful, artistic nude scene. They want Allure readers to see that beauty is diverse.

“It’s about showing the female body in a positive, beautiful way,” Angie says in Allure.

The women range from verging on too skinny to a curvy size 16 (that is, Jill is a 16 and the rest are skinny). The four are 33 to 37 in age. The four are not overly diverse.

Young and old women are beautiful, too. Have you seen 42-year-old Stacey Dash on magazine covers lately? She’s gorgeous!

I’m not convinced that this will actually achieve giving girls confidence. Most of us aren’t a size 1 or 16; most of us fall somewhere in between.

Hey, Allure: get a real woman naked and then I’ll be impressed. Let’s see the Latino women with a Jennifer Lopez-sized booty. Show me a post-pregnancy body as beautiful. Get Jennifer Love Hewitt to prove that white women are sexy when curvy, too.

Give me healthy celebrity bodies - not under- or overweight ones. That would impress me.

The photo shown here is NOT the upcoming May 2008 issue; it is from 2001, when Angie previously was a cover girl.

Reality, fashion shows always seem to have contestants that cannot pronounce major fashion designers’ names correctly. My thoughts, while watching these embarrassing episodes are usually: “How could you not know that? I could say all of those. I know how to say Hermes (Air-mez) …”

But yesterday my big head was marked down in size. Whitney from MTV’s The Hills mispronounced Givenchy (Gee-von-she). To my shock, I discovered that I also was saying it incorrectly.

So in case you are too proud to admit that you might also be saying a designer’s name wrong (like Carolina instead of Caro-leena for Ms. Herrera), here’s some help to prevent laughter behind your back.

* Gianfranco Ferre (Gee-an-fran-ko Ferr-ay)

For more names, as well as a brief bio on each (then you can know things like whether to say “he” or “she”), the Budget Fashionista put together a great three-part guide on top designers: visit A-G, then check out H-M, and lastly N-Z.

Victoria’s Secret model Selita Ebanks attended the © Murakami exhibition opening at the Brooklyn Museum on April 3. Her look is fabulous! Her skin tone is a perfect shade to pull off silver as a neutral, and a touch of pink is never a bad thing. Pulling off a matching makeup and outfit style is near impossible, but this beauty did it like a pro. With lips the same shade as her shoes, lower eyeliner picking up the metallic sheen of her dress, and no other colors at all this look is exactly right.

I only wish that her dress had finished edges so that it looked less like she had just draped on some torn fabric, and more ike a purposeful fashion.

Imitating Givenchy is not always a good idea. Case in point: just because Givenchy made ugly open-toed boots, Cheyenne, does not mean that you should make similar ankle boots with air holes.

These Tashkent by Cheyenne Morris boots shown here run about $415 for the grey ones (at Piperlime) and $500 for the tan ones.

It is a shame, really, because when Tashkent designer Cheyenne gets it right, she gets it spot on. So do check out the rest of her Spring 2008 shoes.

Let’s all hope that she soon loses this holey boot trend and instead makes more of her awesome sandals and flats.

What do you think? Would you wear them? You can see photos of these, and all Tashkent shoes, in action (i.e. on models’ feet) at Cheyenne’s home page.

The girls of Danity Kane - Puff Daddy’s female creation from MTV’s Making the Band - held an official CD release party this past Friday night, March 28, at the Bank Nightclub at Bellagio, Las Vegas.

Diddy was nowhere to be seen, and my guess is their fashion stylist was hiding out to. At first glance, the girls look cute and stylish, but upon further observation you realize a few notes that the stylist missed.

Critique from left to right, in this picture:

1. Aundrea Fimbres: Definitely one of the more naturally beautiful of the group, unfortunately this dress is battling with her womanly curves. In fact, in photographs taken from behind, her lower curves are peeking out as a result of her upper curves hiking the mini-dress too high.

2. Shannon Bex: One of the less-known of the five, she came closest to make good fashion choices. However, underneath this white, silky dress she wore a nude color bra that was neither delicate nor a match for her skin tone. And since the top half of the dress was not a perfect fit, everytime she twisted or turned photographers caught this laundry-day bra.

3. Dawn Richard: The reddish-orange dress is not bad at all; it matches her bandmates’ nicely. But then send your eyes southward. Her shoes are black with red stripes and pink bows. What was the thought process there?

4. Aubrey O’Day: The most recognizable face from the MTV show was dancing all night at above-the-floor levels, allowing snapshots up her dress. Aside from that, it just is not suited for her frame. It cuts her already-petite vertical line in half, making her look short and almost dumpy.

5. D. Woods: What can I say? I love the dress. I loved it first when Paris Hilton wore it two weeks ago … with better shoes. Speaking of shoes, D. took hers off promptly after entering the bar and proceeded to dance around, pose for pictures, and enjoy the night … barefoot in a Vegas bar.

Take a good look at these two males.

First we have Patrick Dempsey, star of TV’s Grey’s Anatomy and the big screen’s Enchanted.

He’s a handsome, well-put-together, 42-year-old father and husband.

Then we have Petey boy. Pete Wentz is the bassist, back-up vocals, and lyricist of the band
Fall Out Boy. He is a 28-year-old, makeup and hood-wearing, woe-is-me boy who is promised to be engaged to 23-year-old Ashlee Simpson.

But personal lives aside, just take one look at what each man chose to wear today, Monday, March 31.

Need I conclude for you … ?

“H” must be a lucky first letter for a retail name, because that is the only similarity that I can see between two industry stores that are seeing profits rise at a time when most retail companies are struggling to stay afloat.

Both Hermes - the top name known for gorgeous, expensive, silk scarves - and H&M - a haven for $8 cotton tees, cheap accessories, and affordable teen trends - have reported impressive increases in sales lately.

As my search for fabric as impressionistically inspired as Madame Stella McCartney’s latest collection continues, I digress to show you the dress pattern and fabric that I am currently working on.

It is an Easy Sew pattern with three different options for strap and back style. I’m going for the one shown here on the right, not being worn by a model.

In person, the fabric is an antique-looking cream color background with a rose-hued design.

As I don’t have my own sewing machine yet, but rather tote my projects around with me whenever I am headed to someone’s house where I know one is available for my use, I am at a standstill right now with progress. Everything is cut out and pinned, and ready to go.

The Purse Page has a knack for spotting what designer bags celebrities are toting in “seen around town” snapshots.

But when I saw the photos that were posted today of Reese Witherspoon with Jake Gyllenhaal and a $1,500 Bottega Veneta bag it was neither Reese nor her basic-looking bag that I was looking at.

Fact: I am in love with Jake Gyllenhaal and can actually see him from my desk (or at least his likeness on the cover of a magazine).

Myth: Guys look good in sweatpants.

Jake, my love, sweatpants? We can see too, too much when men decide to go the flimsy, soft, cotton route in public. True, I don’t think anyone past college age should wear these out of the house, but especially not men.

Liberated, jumping man bits are not the same as freely bouncing woman parts. No matter how sexy and talented you are, I do not want to see your Wang Chung tonight. End of story.

My (sarcastically) high hopes were not met for the two designers that I was watching on Tuesday’s runway.

Balenciaga disappointed me, sure (first photo, click to see collection), but it just wasn’t with the same umph and va-va-voom that he usually offers up, causing me to groan. During spring fashion week, he made even Jennifer Connelly look bad; a feat seemingly impossible to accomplish.

This season, however, he simply turned out drab basics. Out came five slight variations of the same little black dress, then five grey-and-white versions of a bad work outfit, and then … even more black, grey, and white versions of these same designs.

Then, a spark of color … could it be? But, alas, it was five different colored version of the same simple top. The one thing consistent about this designer: he does not understand a woman’s figure.

Surely, though, J-P Gaultier (second photo, click to see collection) would still impress me with his use of musical score, and horrify me with exotic animal hides … right?

Nope.

More black, and more grey. More blah; more dullness.

I never thought that I would be longing to see Balenciaga bring back his floral gladiators. If you are going to disappoint me, at least do it with a pop and some pizazz.

First up from Paris Fashion Week Fall 2008 …

CHRISTIAN DIOR by John Galliano

“Well, Hello Mrs. Robinson …” was the lyrical stage-setter for the show. If you can guess from music alone, the theme and feel of the collection was very ’60s: bright, bold colors and prints; clean, sharp, feminine lines; work and play merged into one outfit.

Project Runway judges would not be able to use their standard critiques - the show told one cohesive story. Witnesses of the show, however, have been expressing grave dissatisfaction with Galliano’s turnout this season.

Be it because the designs are far too reminiscent of Versus by Versace from 2004, or simply because Galliano can - and has - done impressively better.

I must say, though, from perusing photographs online, there are several Couture pieces that catch my eye and many from the Ready-to-Wear Collection (highlights shown here) that I would rock for a night in the city.

I have just two critiques:

1. Stop it with the fur already!

2. I love pink more than the next girl, but for a fall collection? The runway was overwhelmed with bright oranges, pinks, and more that, while they do fit the theme of the show, they don’t fit the season.

The newest Fendi bag creation - one which everyone should know about, but very few should actually buy - is available for pre-sale order.

The Fendi Artist Baguette, available in select stores and online through the likes of Bergdorf Goodman and Neiman Marcus, is the first (expensive) designer take on the DIY trend of taking Sharpie permanent markers to a blank canvas tote bag.

For $1,300, you can have your own, personalized, Fendi clutch complete with interlocking “F” magnetic closure. The kit, shown here, comes with a plain white, leather (boo!) clutch and a set of Pantone markers.

Internet-wide, the buzz is that Fendi has gone of their rocker, but bear with me as I tell you why this might succeed.

1. It’s a gimmick, and gimmicks work. Go ahead, Google “Fendi Artist Baguette;” you’ll see hundreds of articles about it already.

2. It has great celebrity-sponsored, charity-benefit auction potential. Pay $1,300 to botch my own design? No way! Bid $2,000 on a Fendi purse that Hayden Panettiere decorated and signed? Heck yea!

3. Anything is better than their ’80s-ish orangy-pink Rainbow Degrede Hobo!

4. Artists can really rock it! Check out the LATimes’ display of what a handful of talented people did with kit.

Sitting on the bus ride home yesterday evening - amongst a particularly loud and obnoxious group of city folk - I couldn’t help but notice the number of large, screamingly fake bags surrounding me.

With hope, these gum-snapping, females knew that their totes were obvious rip-offs and did not pay more than a few dollars for them. However, it did get me thinking about designer fakes in general, and more specifically: would I be able to spot the difference between genuine goods and noteworthy knock-offs (if said knock-offs were better that the fakes that I see on the bus)?

Apparently the Bag Lady had a similar commute as I, because she stole my thunder this morning. She also helped me out, though. I was going create a game/quiz with a variety of pictures side-by-side of designer gear and their cheap look-a-likes.

Voila! Miss Bag lady, being the clever diva that she is, dug up the fancy “Spot the Knock-off Interactive Quiz” from Portfolio in July, 2007. Check it out here via The Bag Lady.

BONUS: Of the two photos on this page, one is a designer handbag costing $295; the other brags about being a good knock-off and is only $34. Click on each picture for the truth - the real one will lead to the designer’s home page; the fake will direct you to a blatant knock-off site.

My opinion, as brief as I can get it, on the whole subject of real vs. fake: If you want the designer look, pay the designer dollar. If you don’t want to spend several hundred for a purse, then buy something cute at a less expensive store. Buying fake goods is creative theft from the designer, can hurt our economy, and often supports criminals.