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RSSLet’s be honest: Among the pleasures of watching the Summer Olympics is not only the display of world-class athleticism, but also the sight of all those tanned and toned bodies. Hey, we’re only human.
Let’s be honest: Among the pleasures of watching the Summer Olympics is not only the display of world-class athleticism, but also the sight of all those tanned and toned bodies. Hey, we’re only human.
It was raining that fateful Sunday night when 17-year-old Trayvon Martin walked to a Sanford convenience store for Skittles and iced tea, and never made it home.
Was the rain the reason Martin reached for a hoodie before he headed out? "It’s good protective gear against the elements," says Lori Durante, executive director of Delray Beach’s Museum of Lifestyle & Fashion History.
Australian-born Nikki Poulos of Delray Born is one of 14 designers competing on NBC's 'Fashion Star' for a chance at launching a collection at Macy's, H&M or Saks Fifth Avenue; at right is Poulos' Byron bikini design. (Poulos photo provided; bikini photo courtesy Nikki Poulos)
Nikki Poulos grew up in the Australian outback on a 54,000-acre cattle ranch. "We were incredibly isolated. No electricity. No television. Our parents flew us to school in a small plane," she says.
When she was 8 years old, Poulos started sewing and making clothes for herself. "I read a lot and fantasized about worlds outside my own, and imagining that one day I would be exploring them dressed in fabulous clothes."
Those daydreams have become reality for the 43-year-old Delray Beach designer, who spent several weeks last summer in Los Angeles, filming the reality TV series Fashion Star, which premieres at 9:30 p.m. Tuesday on NBC.
Poulos is one of 14 designers competing for the chance to launch a collection in Macy’s, H&M or Saks Fifth Avenue.
Model Elle MacPherson is the host and producer of the series.
"She’s really nice, down to earth," Poulos says. "She is an Australian icon, after all, so it was a bit of an honor to work with her."
The way Donna Schneier sees it, South Florida is the perfect place to attend a contemporary art jewelry sale – and to wear the kind of conversation starters that you can buy there.
"You’re not encumbered by heavy coats and hats and gloves," says Schneier, a longtime collector of art jewelry and chairman of Bijoux!, the sale and fundraiser taking place later this week at the Norton Museum of Art.
She may be chic and petite, but don’t mess with Victoria Beckham. She offered a no-nonsense, tough-girl fall collection at New York Fashion Week on Sunday that she said she hoped would forge an “emotional attachment between the garment and the wearer.”
She explained in the notes for attendants of her small runway show at the New York Public Library that she used this season to explore her interest in details and technique. The crowd did include husband David, in his Sunday-best suit.
“The idea of how the body can connect to the clothes through their construction and detail fascinates me,” she wrote.
The catwalk translation of that was shiny python shirt-style collars on second-skin dresses with gold hardware, and zip-back striped sheaths. Interesting twists included dresses with epaulets but no sleeves to hang them on, and harness-style backs on dresses that had high necks in the front. There was a hint of a schoolgirl vibe in some looks with the collars and flared-hem skirts.
Rachel Zoe has that old-school, rock-star girlfriend thing down — and, as she showed Saturday at New York Fashion Week, she does it well.
Zoe, best known as a celebrity stylist, seems to realize she doesn’t need to reinvent the wheel to gain traction as a fashion designer: Why not flaunt the signature look that has made you famous?
The runway at the Empire Hotel was a parade of faux fur coats, skinny-style tuxedos, maxi dresses and thigh-high boots that you imagine young jet-setters wearing as they shuttle from London to Los Angeles — perhaps with a pit stop in New York. They’re outfits for the type of woman who can pull off gaucho pants, which were indeed part of the lineup.
There was a mashup of rich textures, including velvet, sequins, leather and tweeds. It was that mix that made the jewel-tone bow blouses under menswear style jackets feel modern.
She said in her notes that she drew inspiration “from the rock and roll glamour of London in the late ’60s and such fashion icons as Marianne Faithfull and Mick Jagger.”
Asked by reporters whom she had in mind to wear the clothes, Zoe said: “They’re for everybody. There’s no age cap. You’re never too young, you’re never too old. It’s just for a girl or woman that loves fashion, that kind of is not trendy, but she’s on trend, a woman that wants to enjoy life.”
Zoe, who has a line sold through QVC, added that she wants to “design incredibly beautiful clothes that people can buy and people can wear and they can collect, that’s at a reasonable price point.” The QVC clothing and accessories are mostly priced between $50 and $200.
With winged dresses and swirls of piping to evoke veins, Christian Siriano paid homage at New York Fashion Week to Fay Wray and vampire bats in a stark, cavernous runway space worthy of the creatures of the night.
The fourth-season winner of “Project Runway” said he was inspired by old horror films, particularly “The Vampire Bat,” a black-and-white from 1933 starring Wray.
He used a near blood red, silvery gray, midnight black and shimmery gold brocade to set the scene, along with a bright white as a nod to Fay’s skin tone and wardrobe in the movie.
“Think of it almost like you’re watching an old film,” Siriano said. “I thought this whole idea of bats, these flying demons in the night, was kind of cool and very different.”
The theme, including blood red lips on models, is darker than Siriano’s previous looks. He was helped along by shiny black leather jackets and skirts, some in snake and crocodile patterns.
Iris Apfel has collaborated with MAC Cosmetics on a limited-edition collection. (Courtesy mac.com)
For most of us, the march of time slows our pace. And then there’s Iris Apfel, an increasingly busy, in-demand 90-year-old.
Celebrated for her eccentric style and instantly recognizable in her round, oversized glasses, Apfel is enjoying a higher profile than ever.
In the past several months, she’s teamed up with HSN (on a jewelry line), YOOX (another jewelry collection) and eyebobs (reading glasses). The University of Texas at Austin even made her a visiting professor in its School of Human Ecology.
"I think it’s hysterical," says Apfel, who lives part-time in Palm Beach. "My husband and I sit and laugh all day long. It’s a riot. I have so many careers at 90. I should be out in the pasture mowing, but I have to say it’s lots of fun."
Earlier this month marked the debut of the Iris Apfel for MAC makeup collection – a riot of bright orange lipsticks, teal eye shadows and fuchsia nail polishes.
"How appropriate is that?" said Apfel’s friend, designer Naeem Khan, who recently visited Palm Beach’s Neiman Marcus. "She’s lived her life in such an artistic, flamboyant style.
"She’s a legend."
Elizabeth Taylor popularized the caftan in the 1960s in the same way Jackie Kennedy popularized the pillbox hat.
The French invented the negligee, but it took Americans to create loungewear for the torpid and tacky.
We’ve got the Slanket, the Snuggie, Pajama Jeans and now the ForeverLazy, a fleece onesie that makes you look like a Teletubby.
The TV commercial touts ForeverLazy as "the one-piece lie-around, lounge-around lazy wear." It was invented by two guys from Wisconsin, the cheese and lazy-wear capital of the U.S.
If Americans can’t stomach the thought of buttoning a waistband, as the boom in sloth togs implies, I suggest a stylish solution: Lounge like Liz.
Elizabeth Taylor lounged like a star. She spent much of the 1960s wearing white, flowing nighties and robes and chilling – both herself and her champagne – in hotel rooms while her husband, Richard Burton, made movies.
One of Elizabeth’s gal pals, Vicky Tiel – a fashion designer who’s stopping in Palm Beach next week for a private book signing – told me so in a phone call from New York, where Tiel was signing copies of her book It’s All About the Dress: What I Learned in Forty Years about Men, Women, Sex and Fashion.
Tiel also confided that since Elizabeth’s hotel frocks were a tad flimsy – see-through, if you must know – she offered to make Elizabeth something comfy that would be sexy but not cause heart arrhythmia in the room-service waiters.
Her solution: A caftan.
I’ve always been one of those I-love-Twilight-and-I’m-not-afraid-to-admit-it kind of gals, so it’s not really a surprise that 11/18/11 (the release date of Breaking Dawn) has been on my calendar for the past few months.
And I was even more excited to score an invite to an early screening Wednesday night, where I brought along my friend Chrissy to root for Team Edward. In a nutshell, we both really enjoyed Breaking Dawn and agreed it was by far the best of the Twilight franchise. (And a bonus: R-Patz has never looked so good!)
The entire Twilight gang is looking so grown up these days, especially on the red carpet at the Los Angeles premiere earlier this week.
The best beauty look of the night definitely goes to Ashley Greene, who stunned in a gorgeous red Donna Karan frock and a perfect bold, red lip to match.
Makeup artist Vanessa Scali shared her makeup tricks for creating the look. “The statement was the fun, bold lip so I kept the rest simple. Not too much on the eye, a softy flushed cheek and a bright, bold slash of color on the lip.”
To get the same fresh and vibrant look, try mark Lipclick Full Color Lipstick in Cha Cha mixed with mark Lipclick SPF 15 Color Shine Lipstick in Hot Stuff.
