R.I.P. Alexander McQueen

[dailymail.co.uk]

I am saddened by the suicide of British designer Alexander McQueen. He was a true fashion genius. In a world where many play it safe with fashion, I always appreciated McQueen's edgy, unique designs that to me were works of art.

Pictured above with Sarah Jessica Parker at the Metropolitan Museum of Art Costume Institute Gala in matching tartan plaid. This is by far my favorite look. I remember seeing McQueen's designs at the exhibit, "AngloMania: Tradition and Transgression in British Fashion," and I was just in complete awe.

[fashion-stylist.net]

There aren't many pop singers that compare to Lady Gaga in terms of fashion. Gaga wore a lot of McQueen's designs; some even say she was his muse. She wore his famous/infamous shoes from the Spring 2010 collection in her "Bad Romance" video.

SJP wore McQueen's green strapless dress with a fabulous Phillip Treacy hat to the premiere of Sex and the City. I can't think of a more appropriate place to wear such an incredible outfit.
[nydailynews.com]

Cate Blanchett wore this amazing sculpted, sparkly dress from the designer's Spring 2009 collection to the premiere of The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.[redcarpetfashionawards.com]

More recently, I loved the elegant McQueen gown that SAG Award winner Sandra Bullock wore to the awards show. The cut and splash of color were simply stunning.

[fabsugar.com]

The always fashionable Mary-Kate Olsen wore McQueen's navy double-breasted pea coat (which she belted) on the Today Show recently.

The fashion world will miss McQueen; that's for sure.

Golden Globe fashion, etc.

[yahoo.com]

It was a rainy night in L.A. last night, so everyone was sporting umbrellas on the red carpet at the Golden Globe Awards. They've always been my favorite show of awards season because everyone is less uptight (and a little drunker) and more fun. TV and movie people are all schmoozing together in one room. Ricky Gervais hosted last night and told a few jokes at the actors' expense.
[yahoo.com]

Despite the revelry, almost every celeb was wearing a "Remember Haiti" ribbon. It was announced that George Clooney is holding a telethon to raise money on Friday. That, my friends, is why everyone loves that man!

Now for the fashion. Here are my favorites of the night...

[yahoo.com]

-Asymmetrical necklines
The common theme of the night seemed to be an asymmetrical neckline. Crazy Heart's Maggie Gyllenhaal wore a lovely peach RM Roland Mouret gown. Nine's Marion Cotillard wore a one-shoulder green satin Christian Dior gown. Award winner Drew Barrymore for her role in Grey Gardens wore a nude one-shoulder Atelier Versace gown. Jennifer Garner, Jennifer Aniston, Reese Witherspoon, Kate Winslet, Nicole Kidman and Amy Adams also wore skewed necklines of some sort.
[yahoo.com]

-Sandra Bullock
The Best Actress winner for her role in The Blind Side had the best color choice in a jewel-toned purple chiffon strapless Bottega Veneta gown. 2009 was definitely her year!
[yahoo.com]

-Sparkly awards
House actress Olivia Wilde wore a sparkly silver-black Gucci gown for a sleek look that appeared to be comfortable too (she's also auctioning her dress to help Haiti). Toni Collette wore a glam gold Elie Saab dress. Felicity Huffman's lovely peach gown had some serious sparkle around the neck. True Blood's Anna Paquin wore a daring plunging Stella McCartney gown.

[yahoo.com]

-Ladies in black
A lot of women wore black dresses, which if you ask me, is smart because everyone knows that black is the most flattering color. Award winner Meryl Streep wore a flattering belted black dress. Helen Mirren looked fabulous in a black, sparkly gown. Jennifer Aniston wore a black asymmetrical dress with a thigh-high slit. Up in the Air's Vera Farmiga also wore a strapless black gown. Mad Men's January Jones wore Lanvin with a polished up-do and black headband. Lea Michelle of Glee wore a dramatic, sweeping black Oscar de la Renta gown.

[yahoo.com]

Where there are favorites, there must be least favorites...

-Mariah Carey. I just have one word for her skin-tight black Hervé Léger dress: yikes!
-Lauren Graham. I think I'm just very picky about satin. It has to be just right to avoid the dreaded bridesmaid look. Graham did not succeed, plus it looks wrinkled.
-Cameron Diaz. Her red satin Alexander McQueen dress was boring and looked too old for her. She unfortunately paired it with a shade of lipstick that didn't match.
-Kristin Bell. Her short white dress seemed out of place. She does get extra credit for not pairing it with white shoes like Kate Hudson did with her Marchesa gown.

-Chloe Sevigny. The winner for role in Big Love wore a bold lilac Valentino dress. I've always admired her risk-taking, but I would have chosen something more flattering.

On another note, Julia Roberts' ego seemed to be in rare form last night. On the red carpet she stood with Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson and didn't let either of them get a word in edgewise. I didn't know if she had one too many glasses of champagne or what. She also wore a black YSL cocktail dress that would've been great for a, uh, cocktail party.

I thought that Jeff Bridges of Crazy Heart and Precious's Mo'Nique had the best acceptance speeches. I really hope that Crazy Heart comes out here soon. It was also great to see James Cameron's Avatar win. I saw the movie yesterday, and it was amazing. The Hangover won for Best Comedy. It's a hilarious movie, but that was a definite upset. That's why these shows are so exciting!

Retailers help Haiti

Everyday I get e-mails from Ruelala about their daily boutiques. They sell designer products at great prices. Today I was very touched by the company's e-mail. CEO Ben Fischman wrote...

Rue La La joins the rest of the world in grieving the tremendous losses to the people of Haiti. Out of respect for those who have lost loved ones, their shelter, and life's basic necessities in this tragedy, we cannot stand by while relief efforts are underway without taking action. We are halting our Boutiques from now until Saturday at 8AM ET. We ask that instead you take this time - as we are - to make a donation to the American Red Cross Haiti Relief and Development Effort.

The company also put a link to donate on their landing page, ruelala.com.

I also received an e-mail from New York City-based Fishs Eddy saying that they are donating 10% of sales to the American Red Cross.

Visit the American Red Cross here to donate to Haiti Relief and Development. Every little bit will help.

R.I.P. Brittany Murphy

Brittany Murphy died in L.A. yesterday apparently from cardiac arrest at 32-years-old. I've been a fan since Clueless where she played the school's newcomer, Tai. I also always enjoyed Just Married with Ashton Kutcher.

According to IMDb, Murphy had three films in post-production, one in pre-production and one in production. What a tragedy - she was so young and talented.

Yet more sequins

[dailymail.com]

In the latest sequin news, Jessica Simpson turned out last night to support her sister Ashlee in Broadway's Chicago. I really do like this minidress, especially the three-quarters sleeves and the larger black sequins.

[frenchconnection.com]

With Christmas and New Year's Eve fast approaching, I find myself loving sequins even more (if that's humanly possible). I've been eyeing the 'Serpant Stripes dress' ($268) by French Connection for a while. The colorful stripes make it different from my other sequined things.
[forever21.com]

This 'Sequin Ruffle Hem Dress' ($24.80) from Forever 21 is an affordable and pretty option. The chiffon hem makes it different from the average sequin tank dress.

Michelle Obama wears Naeem Khan to State Dinner

[AP]

Last night President and Mrs. Obama hosted their much talked about State Dinner honoring the Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his wife Gursharan Kaur. The First Lady's custom-made Naeem Khan (first discussed here) floral gown is gorgeous! Khan used sterling silver sequins to create the flowers, ohmygoodness. She paired the gown with beautiful Bochic chandelier earrings.

It's very fitting that Obama chose an Indian designer for the event.

[style.com]

Khan is an Indian designer who resides in New York. He's best known for his stunning evening wear like the above pieces from his Spring 2010 RTW. Well, one thing is for certain - Mrs. Obama choosing his gown will do nothing but help his career. His beautiful designs are available at 100 stores worldwide including Saks, Bergdorf Goodman and Neiman Marcus.

New and improved: Twilight Saga's "New Moon"

I saw the midnight showing of New Moon last night. They added shows every 15 minutes up until 12:45, and they still sold out. I've you ever heard of such - what a phenomenon!

The film was fairly true to the book. Melissa Rosenberg wrote the screenplay again. Director Chris Weitz (The Golden Compass) did an excellent job. It had a completely different look from the Catherine Hardwicke-directed Twilight. Don't get me wrong, I really did like Twilight, but any fool can see that this film had a bigger bankroll.

New Moon is probably my least favorite book in the saga because it's so sad. However, I really enjoyed this film. Robert Pattinson as Edward Cullen and Kristen Stewart as Bella Swan really are perfectly cast. I also think that Charlie (Billy Burke), Alice Cullen (Ashley Greene) and Emmett Cullen (Kellan Lutz) are also exactly as I imagined them in the novels.

Here are a few of my favorite things about the film...

-Edward Cullen. No one does tortured yet heartbreakingly gorgeous like Pattinson.

-Bella's birthday scene. I thought this infamous scene (where Edward decides to leave Bella) was very well done. When Jasper tries to kill Bella at her birthday party in the stunning, candlelit Cullen home after she gets a papercut, the drama ensues as Edward defends her.

-Jacob. Hello abs. It was evident that Team Jacob was in the house last night. Every time a shirtless Taylor Lautner graced the big screen there were collective screams. No, he's not quite a pro actor yet, but we sure do appreciate his strenuous workouts.

-Soundtrack and score. I was very in tune to the songs in the film, since the soundtrack has yet to leave my CD player since I bought it. The score by Alexandre Desplat was also beautifully done.

-Volturi scenes. The scenes in Italy with the Volturi are very cool. Michael Sheen was great as Aro - just as I imagined him. Dakota Fanning was good as the pain-inducing Jane too.

-Bella saving Edward in Italy. Having Bella run through a sea of red festival-goers in slow-mo to save Edward from showing his true self in the sun was a great touch.

-Werewolves. I was worried how this whole werewolf thing would pan out. The special effects were incredible - when Jacob changes into a werewolf mid-air to protect Bella from Paul, you just about get chill bumps. There's also a great scene where the wolves fight off the vampire Laurent.

-Time passing. One of the interesting things that Stephenie Meyer did with New Moon, was leaving pages blank with only months after Edward leaves Bella. I wondered how they would do it in the film. Weitz had the camera pan around a heartbroken Bella as the seasons changed outside - very clever, indeed.

Spoiler alert:
-The ending. As you know, Bella wants to become a vampire, and at the very end, Edward gives her an ultimatum. He'll do it if she marries him. Swoon.

Since Eclipse has already wrapped, we don't have long to wait until the next installment - June 30 to be precise.

Regis & Kelly go BA-nanas

It's always a riot to see what Regis and Kelly dress up as for Halloween. This year I think they took the cake with their hilarious spoof of The Rachel Zoe Project. They also did one of Beyonce's "Single Ladies" and The Bachelor, but they weren't as good.

Is it just me, or does Kelly look eerily similar to Rachel with those oversized shades? Of course she was rocking Rachel's signature fur too. Regis was her assistant Brad in a bowtie and glasses. Kelly also played Taylor in signature plaid and dark nails. Gelman was Rachel's husband Rodger. Lit-rally dying!

[Today Show]

It's also always fun to see what the Today Show crew will transform to. This year they went with a Star Wars theme. Hoda gets the award though for her Yoda get-up. It's pretty cool that they were able to use authentic stuff straight from George Lucas.

Here's who was who: Natalie Morales (Queen Amidala), Kathie Lee Gifford (C-3PO), Chewbacca (mystery person?), Meredith Vieira (Princes Leia), Matt Lauer (Luke Skywalker), Al Roker (Han Solo), Ann Curry (Darth Vader) and Hoda Kotb (Yoda).

R.I.P. Patrick Swayze

Is there a girl in America who hasn't dreamt of being Jennifer Grey in Dirty Dancing? In 1987 when Patrick Swayze uttered those lines "Nobody puts Baby in the corner" as the gorgeous baddie Johnny Castle, even at the age of five, I melted.

I'm so sad to hear of Swayze's death after a battle with pancreatic cancer. His roles in Dirty Dancing and Ghost have immortalized him. Let's not forget his role in one of my favorite films Point Break. He was a talented actor and dancer. His 30+ year marriage to his wife, Lisa Niemi, was certainly something to be envied in Hollywood. My prayers are with her and the rest of his family.

The Jay Leno Show

After a somewhat disappointing Gossip Girl season opener, I was excited to catch Jay Leno's prime time debut. It started out similarly to The Tonight Show with the stand-up comedy routine and Kevin Eubanks and the band. Jerry Seinfeld and Oprah (via telecast) were his first guests. Seinfeld joked about Leno not being able to secure a more famous guest than he.

Little did we viewers know that Kanye West would soon be pouring his heart out during an apology for interrupting Taylor Swift's acceptance speech during the MTV VMAs. When Leno asked how Kanye thought his mother would feel about what he did, the whole audience fell silent. He never made eye contact, but he looked like he was going to cry. His apology definitely seemed sincere; I hope that it was.

Kanye went on to perform "Run This Town" with Jay-Z and Rihanna. I must admit that I'm kind of obsessed with that song off Jay-Z's The Blueprint 3 album.

I'll be interested to see how Leno's show does in the coming months. I think that everyone is rooting for him.

Jason Mraz tune "I'm Yours" makes history

Richmond, VA cutie Jason Mraz has broken records with the longest running song on the Billboard 100. The catchy tune "I'm Yours" has been on the charts for 71 weeks since May 2008.

Mraz's song beat out LeAnn Rimes "How Do I Live," which was on the charts for 69 weeks. Yahoo Music reported that he'd actually been singing the tune at shows for five years, and the fans prompted him to release the single.

When I was in Milan last October, I was pleasantly surprised to hear that they were playing this song on Italian radio. I'm glad his song has been so successful. I've seen Mraz perform twice, and it's always a great time.

Michelle Obama's shorts drama

[AFP Getty Images]

First Lady Michelle Obama is an American fashion icon. However, she caused quite the stir when she deviated from her usual dress/cardi standard and wore chino shorts on a family vacation to the Grand Canyon. She was photographed wearing sneakers, a plaid shirt over a white tank, a fun purple watch and a baseball hat with her blue shorts.

People have been asking if it was appropriate for her to wear these shorts. Give me a break! It was 100+ degrees outside. I was wondering how President Obama could stand to wear pants in that heat!

When in Rome

[Socialite Life]

The Obamas arrived in Rome, Italy yesterday for the 35th annual G8 Summit. The First Lady was looking chic, as always. Her fresh, yellow sheath dress and green flower accent are fun and summery. She has a great sense of style and knows what works well on her figure.

The G8 (short for Group of 8) is attended by the world's eight most powerful leaders including: United States, France, United Kingdom, Russia, Italy, Canada, Germany and Japan. Controversial Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi is hosting this year's summit in L'Aquila - where the devastating earthquake hit in April.

Beyonce rocks Balmain at BET Awards

[Jason LaVeris/FilmMagic]

I'm digging Beyonce's colorful Balmain cocktail minidress and purple heels. The dress is fashion-forward and fun. She maybe should have gone a size up in the dress, but we won't hold that against her.

Michael Jackson was a big fan of Balmain. The French fashion house created a collection inspired by the King of Pop consisting of military jackets and lots of crystals and sequins. Jackson, a true fashion icon, was recently seen wearing numerous designs from the women's collection.

Last night's BET Awards paid tribute to Jackson. His sister, Janet, gave a touching speech. Jackson's father, Joe, also made an appearance.

King of Pop

I, of course, love Michael Jackson's Thriller album (who on Earth doesn't?), but growing up in the 1990s, I was also a big fan of Dangerous. One of my favorite Michael Jackson songs is Black or White - which is considered to be the best selling rock single of the nineties.

Celebrities continue to pay tribute to the legend. R&B singer Ne-Yo said it well, "Michael Jackson will live forever through the thing that he put all of his life energy into: his music. ...Long live Michael Jackson."

The death of two American icons

June 25, 2009 is a sad, sad day as we have lost two American icons. Farrah Fawcett, star of Charlie's Angels, lost her lengthy battle with anal cancer at age 62. The King of Pop Michael Jackson died suddenly this evening of cardiac arrest at the age of 50. Fawcett's and Jackson's deaths are untimely and tragic.

Another beloved American legend, Ed McMahon, died earlier this week. My prayers go out to their families in their time of grief and suffering. Their extraordinary lives will not be forgotten.

Fatal D.C. Metro accident

[AP]

I am shocked by last night's fatal accident involving two Washington, D.C. Metro trains. The trains collided during rush hour just before 5 p.m. There are now nine people confirmed dead, and 76 injured commuters were taken to area hospitals. It's also possible that there could still be bodies in the wreckage.

The crash occurred on the Red Line above ground near Takoma Park, Maryland. This is such a tragedy. As someone who used to live in D.C. and rode the Metro to work everyday, the thought never crossed my mind that there could be an accident of this magnitude.

Why did the driver of the moving train not see that a train was stopped? It wasn't like they were underground - it was light outside. I hope that some answers come soon. My thoughts and prayers are with the families who lost loved ones.

Freeganism on the rise

[freegan.info]

I just read an intriguing article in the April issue of Marie Claire about freeganism. Never heard of it? Neither had I, but the lifestyle of living off of what others throw away is on the rise in this tough economy.

The word freegan is a compound of "free" and "vegan." According to freegan.info, "freegans are people who employ alternative strategies for living based on limited participation in the conventional economy and minimal consumption of resources." Freegans are against a society based on materialism and greed.

The freegan concept of being able to live off of what others throw away is very interesting but it probably sounds gross to many. I definitely don't think that this lifestyle is for everyone, but if you are willing to retrieve perfectly edible food from the dumpster, why not? The negative connotation of "dumpster diving" probably turns some people off, but as long as the food is safe to eat (i.e. no spoiled meat or milk) then it seems like it would be fine.

Freegans also advocate minimizing waste, rent-free housing, going green and working less.

Read the MC article by Jan Goodwin here...
http://www.marieclaire.com/world-reports/news/latest/freegan-lifestyle-trash

Crazy, extreme fishing

Matt Watson jumps out of planes onto fish and calls it fishing. The Extreme Fisherman has a show called The Ultimate Fishing Show in New Zealand. This guy is crazy. Can't he land on the bill of the marlin, and it would spear him? It's dangerous catching these enormous fish with a rod and reel in a boat, let alone jumping on them.

Foolish Phelps

Oh Michael Phelps. The marijuana inhalation incident allegedly took place in November when Phelps was visiting the University of South Carolina. C'mon, surely he had to know that one of his "friends" would leak a picture.

Phelps apologized for his behavior. "I will say that with the mistakes that I've made in my life, I've learned from them...It's definitely not what I wanted, and it's clearly not what my mom wanted," he told The Sun.

Kellogg's has dropped him from their endorsement deal. He still has Visa, Speedo, Omega and PureSports sponsoring him.

I'm a firm believer in Luke 12:48, "From everyone who has been given much, much will be required; and to whom they entrusted much, of him they will ask all the more." Yes, he's young, but he has so many people who look up to him. People make mistakes, but doing something as simple as abstaining from illegal drugs shouldn't be too much for him to handle. Also, smoking the gonga can't be great for his swimming.

Ashton Kutcher spoke out to defend Phelps via Twitter, "Go ask your 20-year-old kid what they did last weekend." Umm, no. Every 20-year-old kid does NOT smoke marijuana. Grow up.

I have a feeling that this will be like Kate Moss's cocaine scandal. Hopefully Phelps will learn from his mistakes, and he'll end up back on top.