While watching Project Runway last night, I realized a few things. For one, I realized that Daniel (dude with black hair who is really not so memorable as he keeps sneakin’ by at the runway) totally wanted to do Wesley (boring dude who got sent home last week). I also came to the conclusion that Blayne’s lack of tanning is actually having an effect on him and his sanity…and he is really started to freak me out.

Oh, and I realized that this season of Project Runway is really sort of sucky.

The designers all suck. Most of them are horribly boring (hem hem, Jennifer) and the rest just annoy me. It is sad that the only ones that stand out to me are Suede (who talks in the third person), Blayne (who is neon orange) and Stella (who kills cows and uses their flesh for pants and vests). I used to LOVE the designers on the show and had a clear favorite every season.

This season? Well, I guess I sorta still love Tim Gunn.

Last night’s challenge was to get inspiration from NYC at night, which was just another creative way to incorporate product placement (cool cameras!) into the show. And how perfect was it that Blayne – lover of all things neon (including his skintone) – got dropped off in Times Square? Or that Stella managed to find the one piece of leather in the entire city, so she could take her inspiration from it? Read More »

I love fashion. I even love everything that is just soo ridiculous about fashion. Like how sweaters are in store windows in July and bathing suits in January. Or how friends will tease you for buying into a trend that “is so ugly it makes me want to vomit all over you” only to be wearing it three months later (while you have already moved on to something else -that they want to “vomit all over” -all over again).

Or how magazines will spend an entire season convincing you to get rid of your wide-legs because “Skinny is here to stay!” and then four months later, all you see in the same magazine are super-duper-I could fit 5 kegs in here-wide legs that are a “Must Have” for the upcoming season… “Wide legs are here to stay!” Riiiight.

And I even love what is perhaps, the most ridiculous concept about fashion: nothing is really ever all that original. Sure Marc Jacobs (whom I adore and would date if he wasn’t on another team) makes Flannel look effortlessly chic- but at the same time, my brothers wore plaid flannels in high school along with Doc Martens and their Walkman clipped inside their Z. Cavaricci’s (ah the 90’s….).

I’m usually all for fashion comebacks. Since I’m a vintage junkie, I will jump at the chance to wear something that was once the IT style. Partly because I’m a sappy nostalgic- I love the idea of wearing bell bottoms and imagining what my life would have been like had I grown up in the 70’s. I like to give fashion the benefit of the doubt. I enjoy playing dressup. I do believe that a flannel top could be cute. And aside from the recent seasons of awful Maternity wear, I usually look forward to the “New” (recycled) trends coming out each season- wondering what era will be in this year. Read More »

I read an article in The New York Times the other day about New York shoppers spending three or four hundred bucks on a pair of sunglasses at stores like Ilori in SoHo. According to the article, market research firm The NPD Group has tracked purchases of luxury goods and, even in this constantly drooping economy, the amount spent on designer sunglasses has gone up while the amount spent on designer purses has gone down.

I’m not at all surprised.

Even more so than a purse or shoes, sunglasses are the first thing people notice about your outfit. You wear them all day and some people, like myself, wear them everyday. So why not drop as much on a pair of Gucci shades as you do on a pair of Manolo’s if you’ve got the spare change?

In recent years sunglasses have become the new It accessory. Pictures of Nicole Richie in oversize glasses that engulfed her tiny head became as ubiquitous in tabloids as pictures of Britney Spear’s cellulite, and the Olsen twins are now more famous for their Ray-Ban Wayfarers than their Balenciaga Motorcycle bags. Even wearing sunglasses at night has become popular with hundreds of pictures of drunk hipsters wearing the Kanye West designed shutter shades in dark clubs on websites like lastnightsparty.com. Read More »

As the 5th season of Project Runway draws nearer (next week! Yessss!), I can’t contain my excitement. I have spent the past week watching all the season marathons (one of the perks of workin’ at home!) and I have even been doin’ a little runway walking everywhere I go. Yes, that is a true story.

In honor of the big event (it will be the last good season of the show before it moves to Lifetime…ew), I decided to take a trip down PR Memory Lane. Where are the big winners now and, more importantly, where can I buy their sh*t?

Jay McCarroll:
We haven’t seen much of Jay since his big win on the first season of Project Runway. Well, I saw him once doing some weird thing where he sat in a window front in some store in NY and talked about all the people walking by. But in terms of designing – the reason he won the freaking show – there has been, well, nothing. It has been years since Jay walked that delicious line down the runway and…nothing. Not a peep. Not a single stitch.

Well, he is finally in business. Online business, to be exact. But is he selling gorgeous knits? Is he making people “see fashion in a new and different way”? No. He’s making f-ing t-shirts…and ugly bags.
Ugh. Bring us the knits, man. The knits! Read More »

I never thought I would be an ‘80s kind of girl. In fact, in my youth, I went so far as to declare the ‘80s to be a horrible decade and said I hoped that sh*t NEVER came back in to style.

What an idiot I was.

However, now that I’ve embraced legwarmers and neon Flashdance shirts, I’ve transferred my old animosity for the 1980s to the 1990s. I look back at Lisa Turtle’s gear in old episodes of Saved By The Bell and think, thank god I’m not eleven anymore.

But if I have learned anything in my old age, it’s that fashion is 100% cyclical, and, inevitably, magazines and fashion designers will declare ‘90s style hot again and Forever 21 and Urban Outfitters will follow suit. Below is a list of items from Clinton Era Pt. 1 that I think are most likely to make a comeback in Clinton (and of course, Obama) Era Pt. 2…whether we’re ready for it or not.

The sweater vest – Dudes wore ‘em, chicks wore ‘em, and they were perfect for school pictures. If 90210 is coming back, these can’t be far behind.
Bib overalls – I have actually seen these in stores already, but I have yet to see someone actually wear them. I did, however, overhear a girl in Starbucks the other day say she wanted a pair for summer. Of course. Read More »

There’s no question about it: finding somebody to pay you is hard. In some cases, it’s even hard to find somebody to not pay you but instead give you something that’s supposed to be equivalent: college credit, for instance, or a big-ticket line on your resume.

Yeah, I’m talking about the Real World.

I’m far from a career counselor, but I have picked up a lot of helpful tips along the way. Since it’s sometimes hard to know where to start when looking for a job or internship, let me offer a few things that I know to be helpful:

• Work those connections. Connections, connections, connections. Have I made my point clear yet? CONNECTIONS! If you know somebody whose friend knows somebody whose brother knows somebody… well, what are you waiting for?! There’s only two degrees of separation between you and that person, and nobody else is going to do the legwork for you. It’s an unfortunate fact of life that a ton of industries are based on connections, and at some places it can be impossible to get your foot in the door unless you physically plant it there. Talk to people, ask questions, and be proactive. Networking is far more important than you think. Read More »

I love fashion. I really do. But no matter what kind of bullsh*t magazine editors tell you about styles this season being “new” and “fresh,” trends are more often than not just ideas that have been recycled 12,000 times since the early 1900s, which is pretty g*ddamn lame.

However, just when I was beginning to think that nothing innovative happens in fashion anymore, along comes the Art Heel.

I first became aware of the Art Heel this fall when reading about Marc Jacobs’ winter collection. The much-revered designer sent models down the runway wearing patent leather shoes with the heel attached to the ball of the foot – a move that, for practical purposes, makes no sense, but is aesthetically striking and different, for once. Since then, it seems that everyone from Jil Sander to D&G is looking to remake the high heel, and while I can’t afford a single pair, I’m endlessly excited that designers are finally thinking outside of the box. Here are a few of my top faves: Read More »

Oops! Heidi Montag can’t vote after all–sorry McCain (but thank you, God!)

Behold: the bacon bra

The Do’s and Don’t of crashing Beyonce and Jay-Z’s wedding

Seven jokes that actually came true

More reasons why sex is awesome

“I was raped” t-shirt

Posh Spice’s new adss for Marc Jacobs–WTF?

Astronomers discover solar system that is the Mary-Kate to our Ashley

Why wouldn’t you buy Armani roller skates?

RIP Charleton Heston.

Do you like brushing your teeth with toilet bowl water?

Because if like most people, you keep your tooth brush on the bathroom sink — that’s essentially what you’re doing.

Yummy.

After coming across the article “The 16 worse places to stash your stuff” in Prevention magazine, I felt enlightened and educated. But mostly I felt nauseas . Apparently, when you flush, the 3.2 million microbes per square inch of germy-gunk in your toilet bowl is propelled as far as 6 feet, settling on the floor, the sink… and your toothbrush.

Fix it: Keep your toothbrush in a cabinet

Some other tidbits to keep you healthier, slimmer and not so icky. Read More »

I hit the mall the other day and witnessed a wonderfully beautiful sight: Spring clothing. The racks of shorts, tanks and skirts were like the (bright, patent leather) light at the end of a cold and dreary tunnel. I felt euphoric, giddy and a need to spend. I grabbed my friend’s hand and together we skipped from store to store taking it all in.

The colorful shoes.
The exotic prints.
The dresses.
The bags. Oh boy, those bags.

I would have loved to give my credit card a workout and my wardrobe a much needed pick-me-up – as I have found myself wearing only grays and blacks these past few weeks – but the price tags at Nordstrom, etc. were just way bigger than anything I could afford. I pitied myself and my dwindling bank account for a moment, but instead of throwing in the proverbial towel and heading home to sulk in a pile of black sweats, I went in search of equally fabulous, yet far more affordable, Spring pieces.

It was a cinch. Spring trends are all about bright colors, patent leather, and new shapes. Luckily for me and any other lady on a budget, these elements are all very easy to find at any price point. I scoped out my I Have to Have Them But In No Way Can I Afford Them pieces, admired and drooled over them, and then snapped back into reality and went in search of their less expensive brothers.

What I Lusted: Marc by Marc Jacobs “Posh Turnlock” Convertible Clutch

Price: $298 (Ouch.)

This bag adds much needed drama and excitement to the bar-standard black dress or shirt.

The leather is soft, the colors (I prefer yellow) are bright without being too much and the bag is perfect for going out – both in the fact that it will hold everything and can be worn as either a clutch or on your shoulder.

What I Got: Xhilaration (For Target) Envelope Clutch

Price: $17.99

This bag has so much in common with the one by Marc - the perfect size for going out, the perfect color to pop a typical ensemble, the ability to be worn both as a clutch or shoulder bag – for a fraction of the price. Just think about how much better you will feel about spilling beer on an $18 bag versus one for $300. Read More »