Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Madly Sexy Cover of Rolling Stone!


Available on newsstands tomorrow, Rolling Stone's latest issue is out and the cover is steaming Mad Men HOT!! Featuring the stars of the Emmy Award winning show (from l-r): Elisabeth Moss, January Jones, Jon Hamm, and redhead femme fatale Christina Hendricks...

Project Runway Episode 5: There Is An "I" in Team Gretchen

Better late than never, I am finally caught up with Project Runway's Episode 5, and let me tell you the word to describe it is explosive!! It's taken a team challenge, with the designers working in two teams of 6, to make it fashion official: Gretchen is an elephant-sized pill, and Tim does not have immunity this week. From what you ask? Just keep reading!...

Each team has to design a 6-piece collection that is on trend for Fall 2010, and one winner and loser will be chosen accordingly from each winning and losing team. But I must interrupt my train of thought for a minute to ask GAAAAH WHAT THE HELL IS CASANOVA WEARING??? He looked like a piece of seaweed in a Sarah Brightman video...Moving right along, the two teams in question are:
Team Luxe, with Gretchen in the 'volunteer' leader position (goodness knows why Michael C, who had immunity from last week's challenge, felt compelled to choose Gretchen as his team member when there were 11 other less volatile options), and Team Military and Lace, made up of the Peaches, Mondos, and Casanovas of the world. But I prefer to call them Military Gretchen and In The Bottom 6. Team In The Bottom Six

Right away we can see the easy and ego-free rapport of team In The Bottom 6, as each designer contributes an entire look toward the whole collection. In fact when Tim arrives for critique hour he seems really pleased, except of course with Casanova's garment (it's tradition). Tim thought it looked OLD, and to our dramatical delight Casanova cried diva tears of Theater proportions over having made a "senior citizen garment," at which point I laughed out loud and choked on my lunch.

Meanwhile team Military Gretchen is stomping around the workroom with a million pieces of drab looking silk, the designers zombie-like under Gretchen's controlling 'my minimalism is best and don't you dare bring in any bit of your own aesthetic into it' hold. Each piece so far looks the same, and after 24 hours A.J. is still in the sewing room working on what promises to be an ugly cream silk shirt dress with french seams.

On the Runway we pretty much already know that In The Bottom 6 are going home WINNERS, with a fresh and edgy combination of lace, chains, and military design details. I fully enjoyed looking at all the pieces (except for Peach's dress, sorry!). Go Underdogs! And the surprise of the day was Casanova's win, for his chic black lace top and those amazingly tailored pants with gold buttons climbing up the sides. Wait, did I use the word chic and Casanova in the same sentence??
As team Military Gretchen's collection stomped down the runway the first thing I noticed was the slightly nauseating (greyish-cream and maroon?) and coma-inducing color palette. And don't get me wrong I love camel and it's a pivotal color for Fall, but only when designed right. In fact Christopher's fluid camel pants were the only real point of interest in this 'Luxe' collection. In fact it turns out that Team Luxe was neither Luxe, nor a Team. DISCUSS!
Naturally, team Military Gretchen is reeling from their loss. Some emotions they are feeling: disappointment, anger, discomfort, shock, shock , shock...which are almost the same words the judges use to describe their losing collection: "it's not interesting, it's nothing, proportion problems, colors are ghastly, Golden Girl dress, granny shorts, unfortunate..." And finally we get proof of Gretchen's true military colors: She starts off in tears, defending her team's strong and cohesive collection -'United we stand' against the judges in a beautiful team of collaborators. Nina's eyes meanwhile look like they are about to shoot hot evil rays into Gretchen's face. Guest judge Georgina Chapman wisely notes that even though the collection was aiming for cohesiveness it's lost all designer individuality. Yep we thought that too!
Then under intense scrutiny, Gretchen conveniently flips her alliance and refers to her team's collection as crappy, and outs Michael C as their weakest link (although could you blame her?), even though he has immunity. So who is going home? Well the designer of the ugly cream shirt dress of course, and that would be A.J. The sad part though is that he admittedly leaves on account of a garment devoid of any A.J. in it, something that controlling Gretchen reveled in, and not only am I sick about it, but so is Tim.


Which brings us to a shocking, never seen before Tim moment. Shocking not because Tim loses his kettle top and turns a steaming shade of scarlet (which he doesn't by the way), but because he's never reprimanded a team before, with direct aim at one particular super annoying contestant. We thought him immune, but we were wrong. In frustrated earnest our hero Tim implores team Luxe "I don't know why you allowed Gretchen to manipulate, control, and bully you????"

...So it isn't just us viewers, oft manipulated by the producers, who are so irritated by Gretchen's inflatable ego. No, Tim has officially justified our very strong desire to hate Gretchen, and from now on, freely loathe we shall....

Image source: mylifetime.com

Sunday, August 29, 2010

EMMY Awards 2010 Red Carpet Review & Limerick

I can't believe it's already Emmy Awards time. That means summer is over, the school year begins anew, the days are shorter, and I have to generously invest 3 hours of my time to watching dressed up celebrities walk the red carpet spouting their views on everything but the kitchen sink. That's because they rarely see the inside of their kitchens, never mind the sink. Alright who am I kidding? I'm not watching against my will, I'm just as eager as you are to see the annual parade of dresses, both good and ghastly. And for some reason this year I feel like reviewing my favorite and least favorite red carpet looks in limerick, inspired by The Richard Armitage Fan Blog. So here goes:

A whittled waist has Lea Michele from Glee
Perfectly ruffled in Oscar de la Renta is she
Though her hairstyle she did not

and neither did January Jones thanks to that hair flop
But wow did she in big blue asymetrical Versace.

Mad Men's Christina is redhead and buxom
in feathery light Zac Posen Custom

Looking Palm Beach too blonde
is Armani clad Claire Danes all fake bronzed

and Nurse Hathaway's hair mop is irksome.

Auf Wiedersehen to Heidi's too-small Marchesa

Love Suki's McQueen gladiator top but the bottom's a mess-a

Crepe paper curtains hang for Kyra

and a cheap net version for redhead Jayma

but repeat offender in dated mermaid is Eva Longoria.

Not loving Liz Lemon's choice of gown
Though it's better than her other ones hands down

I love watching Modern Family
But Gloria's trout pout and dress is cheesy

And what the hell is Kim Kardashian doing in town??

Image source: people.com

Freckles: A Dotty Blessing

Another day another freckle. Those little golden spots, marks of a true redhead, start off with a light sprinkling on your nose and cheeks. Then you step into the bright sunshine of summer and the next thing you know those little sprinklings explode all over your face, leaving you looking completely dotty. It's precisely how I look during the sunny months, covered in the warm glow of freckles, despite slathering my entire face in a geisha-like coat of SPF 70 sunscreen. In fact, as I lounged one day beside the swimming pool on a hot California afternoon, luxuriously enjoying a friendly water fight with my nephews, I could feel brand new freckles popping up by the second, like a bag of microwave popcorn nearing its final minute of heating. Either you'll love them or you'll hate them. And I say don't waste another minute contemplating the usefulness of a freckle. Instead, consider yourself blessed with a generous helping of beauty marks, and embrace the dottiness. After all, you'll sorely miss them when Fall comes around...
Beautiful Russian newcomer Darya Novitskaya embraces hers in a series of photographs by Dmitry G. Pavlov:









Image source: FGR

Friday, August 27, 2010

RedPoppy Giveaway from Felix Rey!!!

Become a RedPoppy Follower and enter to win a gorgeous Felix Rey mesh bow clutch that you will LOVE to wear with pretty much any outfit. Felix Rey is an ultra sophisticated luxury brand of handbags and accessories which are coveted all over the globe. Last year Felix Rey paired up with Target for a chic and delicious line of summer handbags (of course I had to have one), so you can imagine how excited I am that Felix Rey has very generously sponsored RedPoppy's amazing Giveaway! The gorgeous prize is the perfectly sized glam and sparkly Greta Clutch With Mesh Bow which retails for $240. Bag Details:
• Delicate Mesh body with mesh bow
• Inside zipper pocket
• Zipper closure
• Leopard print grosgrain lining
• 8½”W x 6¼”H
In order to win this clutch RedPoppy is trying to reach for the stars: 400 Followers, of which I will be choosing a winner at random. Thanks to all of you who've responded with amazing comments as to where you'd love to carry this clutch to, and for all your support...So please refer your friends, family, acquaintances, lovers, co-workers, and anyone else who enjoys a good dose of fashion, culture, and redheads, and join RedPoppy through Google Friend Connect on the sidebar. We've also added our giveaway to a great search engine called Giveaway Scout, where you can search for the latest giveaways on the web. So start following today!!!

Rebecca Minkoff Launches Shoes!!

It's official, Rebecca Minkoff is launching a 25-piece shoe collection as part of her Spring 2011 line. Known for casual luxury via beautiful leather handbags and accessories at moderate prices ((in this designer obsessed age), Minkoff's footwear will be priced from around $160 to $395. Look at that, I'm already ogling the Vixen platform pump and Spring 2011 is aaaaages away!!!!
Check out some of the images:

The Vixen platform pump in Nude and Black triangle perforated leather
The Vamp platform pump in both Nude and Navy leather with color-blocked Pebble leather

Thursday, August 26, 2010

Cleobella Nevaeh Drawstring Bag from Shopbop

There's just something about this Cleobella leather studded bucket bag that's pulling me in with its tasseled drawstring!
It's probably a touch of 1980's nostalgia when I used to tote around my quilted bucket shoulder bag all over the place, but then again the dark brown distressed leather and metallic studs combination appeals in a very a glam-casual way.
Available through our shopbop.com link

...and check out Shopbop's big mention today in the New York Times Fashion & Style section!

Blonde Model Marloes Horst goes Red For a Day

It's always good for business when a blonde Dutch model like Marloes Horst embraces her outer redhead as she's photographed by Marc de Groot for Jackie Magazine. It's a fierce look, and her red locks almost completely distract from the gorgeous Fall styling!









Image source: FGR

Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Shopping & Goodies Weekly


As always, bringing you some of fashion's latest and greatest from around the web...

A Few Goody Gumdrops is giving away a gorgeous must-have Stella & Dot Natasha Bib Necklace!
Being High Maintenance, not Bitchy is encouraging Vancouver hotties to show their kitty with The Kitty Card!
Couture In The City shares with us how to keep our denim jeggings on the dark side
Fashion Hippo finds stylish tweed jackets to wear this fall from CHANEL inspired to military to cropped.
RedPoppy Fashion is gearing up for Fall and wants to introduce you to the just launched line of gorgeous silk scarves from VITTORIUM...
Shopping and Info loves Julia Roberts' bracelets she wore to Regis and Kelly to promote Eat Pray Love.
Style Eyes has been looking for sustainable options to keep extra cosy and warm this winter in her post Friday Finds - Classic Coats
The Bare Skinny is seeing red, TRUE BLOOD style.
TheFind says don't forget to beautify your bottom fringe with these Lower Lash Mascaras!
Violet Revolution is giving away this adorable dress from Greenheart!
Image source: fashionhippo.com

Tuesday, August 24, 2010

VITTORIUM Switzerland


As Summer fashions come and go, it's time to start thinking about what our wardrobes have lined up for Fall. I'm thinking chic chunky knits and delicious layers of clothing, all paired nicely with a few fabulous fashion accessories. One of my favorite Fall/Winter accessories? a scarf. I love the look of beautiful silk in dazzling prints of color, effortlessly (ok so I work at it for a while to get it just right!) knotted around my neck. Lucky for me I've recently discovered a just launched brand new line of limited edition printed silk twill scarves by European watchmaking brand VITTORIUM. Each scarf is hand-made in 100% natural silk and measures a very generous 36"x 36" so you can wear it a dozen different ways. But mostly what dazzles me are the electric color combinations such as deep brown and fuschia, orange, turquoise, red...Whichever shall I wear first??
Available through VITTORIUM.com