Style Fix

I’m so very confused. I usually detest Balenciaga’s creations, but I usually love art-inspired prints and florals. So what, pray tell, do I think of this Balenciaga floral clutch?

One of the most recognizable names in fashion passed away late last night: Yves Saint-Laurent.

The French designer had been dealing with brain cancer for years, and died with friends around him, in his Moroccan home, around 11 p.m. June 1 (Paris, France time).

Yves Saint-Laurent left home and began working for Dior in 1953, when he was only 17. In 1957, when Dior passed away, a 21-year-old Yves was put in charge of saving the fashion house from financial downfall.

Saint-Laurent met hardships when he was drafted to fight in the Algerian War of Independence. The hazing by fellow soldiers was so intense that he had a nervous breakdown. As a result, he was released from Dior.

Perhaps a blessing in disguise, he immediately began his own company - YSL - and went on the become the first living fashion designer to be honored by the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 1983.

Through YSL, Saint-Laurent brought many signature designs such as the beatnik look, safari jacket, tuxedos for women, and vintage silhouettes.

Unfortunately, it seems he was oft a troubled man, despite his raving fashion success. In 2002, Saint-Laurent retired and became increasingly reclusive. Most of his time, up until his death last night, was spent at home. His brain cancer had been kept secret, revealed only after an autopsy report confirmed it as the cause of death.

Funeral services have been planned for this Thursday, June 5, in Paris, France. The fashion world mourns the loss of Yves Saint-Laurent, a fashion prodigy, master, and legend.

Here, he is shown - with his French Bulldog - attending the Miro Exhibition at the Pompidou Center Museum, Paris, France on January 15, 2000.

Fashion logic is the reverse of high school mentality. Growing up you want to do what everyone else is doing; it’s cool if the masses say it’s cool. But when it comes to fashion - it’s only cool if it’s exclusive. That’s the logic behind the new, hot, online shopping destination Rue La La.

Rue La La sets up two to three day designer boutiques that feature premier brands at private sales of 30 to 80 percent off cost. And when most online sales are offering you last year’s goods, Rue La La brings you this season’s threads. The catch is that you either have to be invited by a current member, or wait out your time on the wannabe list. But once you get your invite, membership is free.

Will you make the fashion club cut? Put your name on the waiting list today!

Who is posing for which company?

All of these celebrity names have recently been snagged up by one of these fashion-based companies. Can you match the starring face with the campaign?

The Players:

1. Lindsay Lohan

2. Tori Spelling and her 13-month-old son Liam

3. Audrey Tautou (in photo)

4. Vanessa Paradis

5. Josh Hartnett

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The Dealers:

A. Chanel

B. Fornarina

C. Emporio Armani

D. Skechers

E. Miu Miu

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Bonus game: Can you name which two players are French? How about which two dealers are handing out perfume-related deals?

Who dealt which players hand? Click the read more link directly below to find out!

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I’ve never been more jealous in my life. It’s not her gorgeous figure, soft yet stunning looks, or multiple money-making talents that cause me to envy Scarlett Johansson. I want to be Scarlett based on the things that happened to her last week/weekend.

1. Ryan Reyonlds - who was totally supposed to be my man one day - asked Scarlett to marry him.

2. My favorite fashion designer - Stella McCartney - is asking if she can design Scarlett a wedding dress.

Yup. Scarlett didn’t ask Stella; Stella is asking Scarlett.

Being a green celebrity, Scarlett is sure to have a green wedding. Stella, being a vegan and thus green herself, wants to get in on the wedding planning.

“I’m definitely doing her wedding dress,� McCartney told People magazine. “She just doesn’t know it yet.�

Oh to be Scarlett Johansson and have Ryan and Stella as friends!

It pisses me off to no avail when people bash a politician’s child for the mere fact that they are a politician’s child.

That said, look how gorgeous Jenna Bush was at her wedding this Saturday, May 10. Word is the dress is by Oscar de la Renta. Her hair, dress length, and flowers are perfect for an outdoor, early-spring wedding.

I know what you want. You want a custom designed Hermes Kelly bag for free, don’t you? I know I sure do: I know that I come nowhere close to having the funds to buy one. And I also know how you can get it.

On the Hermes Web site, you can choose from seven different designs or plain white to decorate yourself (or use as a sewing pattern!), click to open it as a PDF, print, and follow folding directions to create the end result shown here.

Okay, so it’s not you above-average Hermes Kelly, but it’s free! Plus, the designs are awesome: a pencil drawing of trees, a photograph of jelly candy sharks, and my fave - the Hermes sketched man (who appears all over the Web site) carrying five, red, smiley face balloons.

Try printing your favorite, and adding laminating paper to your folding process to make a waterproof version that would be perfect to take to the beach! You could also trace it onto fabric and sew it up along the seams. All is fair game, as long as you don’t try to sell anything you make from the pattern. Then you’d be in hot, illegal water.

P.S. Click here to head to Hermes site, then click on the picture of a white Kelly bag that says “I want it. I’ll have it!” (shown here) to be directed to the patterns.

P.P.S. Counterfeit Chic’s post “Bringing Home the Birkin” was where I first heard about this.

What do you get when you mix one part badass, twenty-something man with one part sarcastic, cupcake-loving boy?

Johnny Cupcakes, of course!

John “Johnny Cupcakes” Earle, the 25-year-old creative, business mind behind this clothing venture, can tell you flat out what makes his kookiness successful:

“I started this as a joke, from the trunk of my beat up 89′ Toyota Camry.” Mr. Cupcakes says on his Web site. “A college drop out — drug and alcohol-free lifestyle — turned down a lot of investors — Took countless risks — kept my shirts out of heaps of chain stores.”

I say it’s all about persistence and a gimmick - the gift cards come in ovens, the gift boxes are bakery-style boxes, the Web site is oven-themed, and new designs are labeled “freshly bakes.”

And now his tenacity, wit, perseverance, and self-belief is paying off. Johnny Cupcakes is opening a Melrose Avenue (Los Angeles) boutique next month, where he will sell his cult cupcake tee shirts and accessories.

So … let me get this straight: He’s my age, successful, cute, funny, smart, AND he doesn’t drink or do drugs? Is he single? Sign me up!

Those who don’t live in or near L.A., nor Boston where Johnny originated his calorie-free cupcake business, can buy and browse Johnny’s numerous designs - including a cupcake and crossbones, a boy writing “Johnny Cupcakes” graffiti with icing, ovens spewing cupcakes - online.

The worst part about not living in New York City: missing tons of great deals through momentary-notice designer sample sales.

The best part about the Internet: designers are now offering the same speedy, cheap sample sales!

Google “online sample sale” and you will get a plethora of different designers and sites, changing constantly.

First Natalie Portman teamed with Te Casan to create a line of vegan dress shoes. Now, Leona Lewis is joining the ranks.

Leona Lewis, that girl that won her season of the U.K.’s The X Factor, and who incessantly repeats “keep bleeding, keep, keep bleeding love,” has decided that being vegetarian since she was 12 and not wearing leather or fur (what about wool, Leona? or suede? …) qualifies her to be a fashion designer.

Lewis has only just announced her plans to create a cruelty-free line of clothing, so we’ll have to wait a bit to judge the outcome. I’m trying to remain neutral.

In other, related news … I’m currently wearing the cutest shoes from Payless that are completely vegan and cost a mere $7 as oppose to Natalie’s $300 price tag.

Stella McCartney remains the leading vegan designer, and even has a $1,000 shopping spree contest going on through PETA.

Click on picture to see these and other Christian Louboutin shoes at Barney’s online.

In case you haven’t heard, and weren’t planning on watching Ugly Betty tonight: Watch Ugly Betty tonight.

Project Runway winner Christian Siriano will be guest starring. Plus, Runway judge and fashion editor Nina Garcia will make an appearance.

Spunky, 22-year-old Christian will come head-to-head with Rebecca Romijin’s transexual character - Mode magazine editor-heir Alexis Meade.

The fashion comedy series can be seen on your local ABC channel at 8 p.m. EST … and will end just in time for you to catch the fabulously sexy Winchester boys in a new episode of Supernatural. They are yummy, and last week’s premier to the new season was hilarious!

It’s May which means that tomorrow is my birthday! But, aside from that, most high schoolers are getting ready for prom.

All the prom buzz has me looking back on what I wore, and whether or not I was a delusional school girl with my dress choices.

SOPHOMORE YEAR

I was asked by a senior, and decided to make my own dress. Back then, I was not the sewing machine that I am today. This took a lot of help, but in the end I felt that it was worth it because I had an original … wait! Over there … that senior girl totally has the same dress as me!

I (and crew) used a deep blue, sequined (enter the sewing nightmare: sequin glue loves to ruin needles) fabric to make a halter-style, long and lean cut gown. And Tara, who did not make her dress, and was not pleased to see a little sophomore at her senior prom in the same dress, matched me identically!

JUNIOR YEAR

I went to prom at another school besides mine. Sneaky, smart Drew asked me light years
before. I was working at 5*7*9 at the time and snagged a clearance rack, satiny, pale mint green, empire waist number with bead and sequin work on the bust.

What I loved (and still do) about this prom look was how I accessorized: I got my makeup done at a Clinique counter, and had fabulous shimmery mint eyes. My hair was done up, in massive, soft curls with one of those boingy metal butterfly clips (with mint green jewels on his wings).

SENIOR YEAR

I didn’t go to my prom, or even the same school from my junior year. I went to a third school’s dance, with a guy that I hit on when he ate at the pizza place where I was hostessing.

I wore a white streamed-line dress that was also a 5*7*9 clearance rack find, and also had sequin and bead work on the bust.

Mom and I decided that the spaghetti straps were not flattering - so we took them off and made it strapless. Then, we saw my bare chest, back, and shoulders as a canvas. Intentions for Mom to paint a design on my back were foiled (see the irony, Mom? That was your idea and now I have a tattoo there) when the hair school that I went to for an up-do took hours and hours to style my hair.

Here’s the kicker to this get-up: I used eyelash glue to attach fake diamonds to my chest, continuing and extending the sequin/bead pattern from the dress.

I spurt out all of this, because the Heatherette boys recently interviewed with ELLEgirl magazine about prom. Aside from the gorgeous pictures with them styling model/heiress Lydia Hearst, they mention several ways to make your look your own … hence, I got thinking about how I did this.

Heatherette interview clips and photos up next, including what they wore to prom. … and possibly photos of all three of my prom looks. Do I dare?

The Miley saga continues.

Post-controversy measures are flying fast around anyone and everyone involved in Miley Cyrus photo scandal du jour.

Photographer Annie Leibovitz is, obviously, still defending her shoot of the young teen sensation for Vanity Fair, saying repeatedly that the photo was meant to show Miley’s innocence.

Miley herself first reported thinking the shoot was fun and cute, saying that it was “really artsy. It wasn’t in a skanky way. And you can’t say no to Annie.” Later, however, formal statements - purportedly her thoughts - were released, all with a perfectly scripted tone about how “embarrassed” she is.

Vanity Fair just keeps repeating that her parents were there, and that she and they saw and loved all the digital prints.

Mr. and Mrs. Cyrus claim they left right before the most controversial picture was styled and taken.

Disney - essentially her Hannah Montana boss - says they won’t be taking action, but decision like these obviously effect her fame with her current fans. Gary Marsh, the president of entertainment for Disney Channel Worldwide said, “For Miley Cyrus to be a ‘good girl’ is now a business decision for her. Parents have invested in her godliness. If she violates that trust, she won’t get it back.”

The latest point of view to be tossed into the mix of scripted opinions, is the stylist himself, Michael Roberts. His statement led to a three page article in Women’s Wear Daily yesterday. Essentially, he said … Americans are crazy; he’s European and over there this would portray innocence. It was not a bed sheet, it was a dress. It’s all a joke, but not funny because he is offended.

And, of course, I am sure that you have all been on the edge of your seat, waiting for what I believe to be the best thoughts on the matter yet. My mother’s (summarized, because that would just be weird if I tape recorded our convos):

1. Why is nobody mentioning the creepiness of the daddy-daughter pose?

2. That was by no means an innocent shot.

3. She looks sweaty, makeup-less, and … well … post-sex.

4. Hopefully, she gets through this okay, and can move on with her life.

For more on this … oh, nevermind. There is no way that you want to hear more about this, is there? Turn on your TV, open the newspaper, or just Google “Miley Cyrus” and you’ll be flooded.

The snapshot of the daddy-daughter duo shown here is from backstage, before the 2008 CMT Music Awards.

What do you get when you cross a designer sandal with an 1980s pair of jellies?

Something that should never be worn, made, and definitely should not cost hundreds of dollars. But, alas, Givenchy, Gucci, Fendi (of course Fendi would), Marc Jacobs have all jumped on the recycled 80s trend bandwagon. So have more reasonably priced companies like Steve Madden and Xhilaration.

The first photo here is Marc Jacobs’ $160 jelly ballet flat. The second is by Xhilaration, available for $7.99 at stores like Target.

So it is cool that there are vegan designer shoes and all, but come on: no one wants sweaty, sticky feet that reek! Do you remember how horrid jellies made your feet smell?!

READ MORE: The Los Angeles Times did a very jelly informative article, complete with links and prices to a dozen different styles available now.