Manhattan Metallics

SHINY HAPPY PEOPLE

It was all about metallics at The Sex and the City movie premiere at Radio City Music Hall on Tuesday Night. Sarah Jessica Parker walked down the pink carpet (how appropos) in a silver Nina Ricci gown, which happens to be one of the most stunning gowns I've seen in a long while. "It looked like architecture to me," she said. "It looked like Manhattan."

The star-studded gathering was all glam and glitz, rife with silver, gold, and bronze. Christian Siriano was no exception. He was there with his model from Project Runway (I forget her name), dressed in a ruffled gold lame shirt that could have been dangerous to the eyes of photographers had their flashes caught it at the right angle. Go Christian!

Here are a few of the outfits that really, ahem, shined:

Trends

CALIGULA UGLIA

I have to vent about the spring's hottest trend: gladiator sandals. Could any footwear be uglier apart from orthopedic shoes? If I wanted to look like Caligula, I'd don a toga before I'd put on a pair of these ugly-ass shoes. Chipped nail polish? Any day. Gladiator sandals? No thanks.

New Cosmetic Line

KAT'S MEOW AT SEPHORA

When I was in Sephora today, I noticed Kat Von D of L.A. Ink has a new cosmetic line made specifically for the store. Based on pin-up rocker girl chic, the line carries only shades of red lipstick and the cosmetic cases are decorated with one of Kat's rose tats. With product names like "Misfit", "Turbo Lover", and "Underage Red", Kat's line is a far cry from Jessica Simpson's "Dessert Beauty" Sephora line.

More Stuff I Want

It's not fashion-related, but I think this would go really well with my new purple shift. A girl can dream. . .

Drinking!

God Damned Miranda

Sex and the City fever is burning up the country and even I'm not immune. Last night I had a barbecue and decided to make one of the Sex and the City cocktails that was printed in a recent issue of Us Weekly. Because I'm a big fan of Campari and a former redhead, I decided on the Miranda. After the first, I started telling people about the colonoscopy I had last year; after the second, I started drunk dialing; after the third, I peed in my yard.

Oh, my aching head today despises all things Sex and the City.

THE MIRANDA:

2 oz SKYY Vodka
3/4 oz Campari
2 oz Pomegranate Juice
1 oz Triple Sec
Squeeze of Lemon

Shake with ice and strain into a chilled stem less flute. Garnish with a large Lemon twist. Refrain from urinating in your yard and telling people about your secret Ryan Seacrest fetish.

Trends

CHIPPED CHIC

Remember when ripped jeans and stockings were considered edgy? Now chipped nail polish is the latest low-maintenance fashion trend. The New York Times reports that the trend isn't just being embraced by the under 21 crowd.

According to Ji Baek, owner of The Rescue Beauty Lounge, a lot of high fashion women are “wearing perfectly-tailored clothes, they have $5,000 bags and equally fabulous shoes, but their nails are chipped and they’re saying, ‘I don’t care.’ They don’t want to be too perfect.” But, she noted, their polish “is so perfectly chipped.” This trend works in my favor since my nails are usually flecked with five-day-old polish.

Link of the Week

My good friend Jim Brown works at The Gold Door, a shop in Portland, OR that carries amazing jewelry, folk and tribal art, and rare finds from all over the world. Owner Jerry Shover and staff (including Jim) travel the globe in search of the rare and exquisite pieces.

Over the years I've received some really lovely gifts from Jim and have been lucky enough to shop in the store. If you're not in Portland or fortunate enough to have Jim Brown as your bud, you can shop their online store. You can also buy gift certificates online. Go Now!

Store Info: 1434 SE 37th Ave, Portland, OR 97215
503-232-6069 or 800-310-6069

Stuff I Want

CHASING PAPERCHASE

My favorite stationary company has some very cute bags available like this colorful bowling bag that I'm absolutely in love with. I'm excited to actually shop in a Paperchase store when I'm in London next month. Perhaps I'll grab this bag if it's still available (and they don't have it at Borders where some Paperchase products are available).

Addicted to Sugar

I haven't posted in a while because I've been getting my fashion ya yas from this site. It's a lot of mindless fun: You can make "bookmarks" of things you like on the web and then put everything into a little wish list. You can make "lists" of things you like, etc. etc. . . and then see what other people are bookmarking and listing. I guess it's sort of a networking site for shopping. Since I have no money to shop in real life, I can "window shop" online and save bookmarks for later. Check it out!

Link of the Week

In the latest issue of Lucky, I read about a website called Beauty Habit, which has been all the buzz in the beauty world. They carry beauty products from all over the globe, including some very beautiful and sought-after fragrances from France.


The site is full of elixirs, aromatherapy items, candles, and facial products. They also have a really cool "sample program" that allows you to choose 6 samples of anything for $12. Every product on the site looks so delicate and pretty, it makes me want to buy the products based on the packaging alone. Check it out here.

Tyyyyyyraaa Maaaaiiiillll!!!!!!!

I TURN MY CAMERA ON

On last night's episode of America's Next Top Model, the girls were asked to go behind the camera and take photos of Paulina. Fatima won the challenge for knowing exactly how she wanted Paulina to pose while being very polite at the same time. Whitney came in at a close second for being straightforward and decisive. Anya, on the other hand, was all over the place not sure of what she wanted Paulina to do. Same with Dominique whose photos ended up depicting Paulina wearing various "cactus hats" because she kept shooting her in front of cactai.

Fatima won 50 extra frames on her photo shoot this week, which was "starlet being caught by the paparazzi with mystery man." Despite her challenge win, Fatima needed those extra frames because she had trouble following direction on the shoot. Her best shot did look pretty, but not at all "surprised" by the paps. Anya looked stunning in her shot and a lot like a movie star thus she was called first this week. Whitney did well also and was called second. Again, she was criticized for being a little to "posey" and not using enough of her "va va va voom." Wasn't she cricized last week for using too much of her va va va voom?


It was Fatima and Dominique who ended up in the bottom two this week. Nigel pointed out that due to her deep angles and not being the softest of the bunch Dominique might not be the best candidate to promote Cover Girl makeup. This prompted Miss J. to say, "that's why it's called Cover Girl because it covers up the man in you." So it was Dominique who was sent packing. I must say that despite all her "blah blah blah" this season, she left with poise and dignity.

So that's it. One down, three two go. Put your bets in now: Who will be "on top"?

Hump Day Style Icon

JULIE CHRISTIE

Julie Christie made Omar Sharif swoon in Dr. Zhivago and had her hair done by Warren Betty (who she became romantically involved with ) in Shampoo. Born in 1941, the British beauty (originally born in India) was a style chameleon.

She has embodied the blonde bomb shell, but was just as convincingly a brunette and redhead. She has sported every hairstyle imaginable from curls and ironed-straight tresses to bouffants and short cropped hair. It's hard not to imagine her without the Cossack hat she wore in Dr. Zhivago or as a sun-kissed glamour puss.

In the 60s, she embraced the swinging-London trends and was one of the first celebrities to bring the mini skirt into the limelight. French director François Truffaut, who directed her in Fahrenheit 451 in 1966 has said "Julie's was the first miniskirt I laid eyes on. It wasn't common at the time. I thought she was a bit crazy... In fact, she was merely ahead of the times."

Despite her influence on fashion, she has been a reluctant style icon, saying that her beautiful face has gotten in the way of more important things (she temporarily retired from Hollywood in the 70s to live on a farm in Wales and got involved in political activism). Surprisingly, she was reportedly very nervous and awkward in person and was never happy with her looks. Now looking back she has said, "I think I'm probably so vain it's quite impossible. But I look back now and I see photos and I think, "Coo! Phwoar!" And I think, wouldn't it have been nice to have had that knowledge when you were walking into a room?"

Now 66 years old, Julie has returned to acting, most recently winning a Golden Globe for Away from Her. She's still as gorgeous and stylish as ever, challenging what it means to look like a "senior citizen."

The Hills

I'M NOT EVEN MENTIONING HEIDI OR DOUCHE BAG, SPENCER

More drama at the Lauren-Lo-Audrina house this week. Lo proved just how immature and icky she is by trying her best to put a barrier between Lauren and Audrina. After Audrina invited them to join her in the recording studio with Alkaline Trio (Arghhh! Alkaline Trio are now on the Hills???), Lauren was clearly excited to go. Lo dragged her feet, however, and as soon as they entered the studio she began texting someone and complaining about how hungry she was. Lauren gave in to her whining and they left about two minutes after arriving. They asked Audrina to join them for sushi, but since Audrina was working, she couldn't leave.


Later Lo and Lauren got a new puppy they named Chloe. When Audrina came home from work to find the two playing with Chloe, she joined in and smiled a lot until Lo made a comment like, "She's so lucky he has two mommies" obviously leaving Audrina out of the equation. Audrina looked so genuinely hurt, I actually spent a couple minutes wondering if the show is really a reality show and not scripted.


Meanwhile Justin Bobby acted like a decent human being and said things to Audrina along the lines of "you shouldn't be uncomfortable in your own house." He also suggested that she look for a new place to live. This got the wheels turning in Audrina's head. It's too bad because Lauren obviously loves Audrina, but Lo is such a little biotch, that she . . .

OH CHRIST. How can I take this show so seriously? Where was the fashion? Where was Whitney? Where was crazy Kelly Cutrone barking out orders and yanking racks of clothing around? Give me back my old, preoccupied-with-fashion Hills!

GO International at Target

ROGAN FOR TARGET

Beginning May 18, Target will feature a new GO International line by Rogan. From the video I watched on the website, it looks there a few promising peices, but a little too many animal prints for my taste. I guess I'm still an Alice Temperley fan. Check out all the Rogan looks over at FabSugar by clicking here.

Vintage Photo of the Week

PRE-MADONNA VOGUEING

Dior (in Vogue) 1947

Link of the Week

I've been trying to find out where I can get my hands on the bathing suit Shayne Lamas wore on Monday's episode of The Bachelor. It was a black one-piece that had a lot of straps going across the back. Very pretty and very tasteful, while still being sexy (and I'm not referring to her trampoline show for Matt).

So I went looking on a website called Seen On that that gives info on where to get clothing that you've seen on your favorite shows. Unfortunately for me, they don't cover The Bachelor. It's probably just as well; it probably cost a small fortune. But if you see a dress on your favorite show, you may be able to own it one day. Oh, the joy! In any case, It sure beats QVC for TV shopping.

Tyyyyyyyraaaa Maaaaaiiiiilllll!!!!!

MAMA MIA (MEEEEE MEEEEE MEEEEE-AAAAAA)

Tonight the girls of ANTM got a lesson in gladiator fighting and then were photographed in gladiator gear slapping swords with a big he-man. Whitney won the challenge, which earned her 1000 Euro to go shopping in Rome. She had a choice to keep it and use it all on herself or to split it with a friend. She chose to divvy it up with Anya and the two went to the shops together. I have to say I was surprised. I never thought Whitney would share it. She gets points from me for that. And Anya has been making out lately on the challenges, si?

The girls when they went on the road as an opening act for Gwar

During the challenge, Fatima was visibly confused and it showed in her shots. Despite that, she was her usual cocky self and finally relaxed during the final photo shoot which resulted in some amazing photos.

Tyra was the photographer for this week's photo shoot, which was a renaissance-woman-with-a -modern-twist theme. The girls were fitted with multi-colored, geometrically shaped wigs and wildly beautiful outfits. The whole shoot took place in a gorgeous Roman castle with big columns and dark hallways. Tyra called herself "MaMa" and shot her girlies from the stone floor as they posed in a foyer.

Did I mention it's all about meeeeee?


Katarshyna channels Nick Rhodes circa 1980.

Tyra's photographs were amazing, I must say, but when it came time to judging, she took full credit when Nigel said that the shot of Anya looked as if it came out of Italian Vogue. It was as if she didn't think Anya's amazing modeling had anything to do with it.

Anya's lovely photo all thanks to Tyra.

Whitney was criticized in this shoot for having too many curves and looking to "hoochie". During the shoot, Tyra kept telling her to stop sticking her butt and boobs out. For once, I think Whitney was at an unfair disadvantage and earned her "I'm a plus model and it's so much harder for me" complaint.

I'm sure it's a lot easier if you have no ass or tits to work the high-fashion avant-garde look they were shooting. Even if Whitney did scrunch her chest inward as Tyra suggested, I'm quite sure she would still be too busty for the judges. Thus, she wound up in the bottom two this week along with Katarzhyna. But it was Katarzhyna that was sent packing for having to little "oomph." I did think that she looked a bit dead in the eyes in her final photo, but I think she was just a shy girl who wasn't into the whole "I want to be a TV reality star" thing. Of all the girls, I think she's the most stunning and she'll go far in modeling.

"Could you just pretend you're a size 0, Whitney?"

For some interesting ANTM news, check out what happens when friends get together to watch the show and things get wayyy out of hand.