I have tried to walk in high heels my whole life.

Even playing dress up with my mom’s clothes, I would put them on and wobble carefully around the living room, fully aware that there was an allure about them, but also fully aware that the sensation of balancing on a thin little piece of wood wasn’t fun in the least.

These days, I have basically the same assumption about stilettos. They look awesome, but they feel like sh*t.

Camilla Morton, author of How to Walk in High Heels: The Girl’s Guide to Everything agrees with me when it comes to the ouch factor of such shoes, but wants us women to deal with the pain and wear them anyway.

“With the heel comes glamour, mystique, height and allure.” Morton writes, “Lofty, impractical shoes put you on your own personal pedestal, ready to meet the world. Heels are a gym workout in themselves. They slim, elongate, put off the need for liposuction, add grace and poise, and quadruple your self-esteem.”

The idea of wearing “lofty, impractical shoes” on a daily basis sounds ridiculous to me. Especially here in New York City, where my motto has always been “if you can’t run in them, don’t buy them.” I wonder if this woman walks at all; does she have to go up and down subway stairs, hike her two-week old laundry onto her shoulder and stumble into a laundry mat, or walk up four flights to get to her apartment?

“Heels are one of the most potent weapons a woman has,” Morton continues, “so why not stand on that portable pedestal and admire the view?”

Your uncomfortable shoes may be your “most potent weapon”, lady, but I’d thank you very much to keep me out of that generalization. I like to rely on more than just my footwear in this life. Read More »

Tom Ford, the wunderkind designer who saved Gucci from going bankrupt way back when, is credited as being one of the most influential fashion gods of the last decade. He’s done a lot of things, including becoming creative director of Yves Saint Laurent a few years ago, and being named best International Designer at the first VH1/Vogue Awards in New York in 2000.

He claims to sleep about 3 hours a night, is quoted as saying things like, “The YSL (Yves Saint Laurent) woman might tie her boyfriend up and drip hot wax on him before they have sex, for instance. The Gucci woman is just going to have sex”, and originally went to school to be an actor.

Oh yeah, he also sells perfume by photographing it in between a naked woman’s thighs. Read More »

Being green ain’t easy. Recycling, environmentally friendly beauty products, eco clothing, you have to think about this shit. And in college when most of your brain cells are still trying to compensate from last nights drinking binge, thinking comes just about as easily as being eco conscience.

Even before the whole green movement, I discovered one of the easiest ways to help out the environment: reusable bags. The good news ladies, is that they are totally in right now! Not only can you help the earth while going on a beer run, you can be considered as chic and as green as they come.

Surely, even in the college towns, you didn’t miss Anya Hindmarch “Not a Plastic Bag” craze/controversy. Fashionistas were lining up for the $7 dollar version of the canvas tote, while they were being sold on EBay for upwards of $600 dollars. Now, international launches of the bags have been canceled in Southeast Asia because of their “concern for their customers safety.” Cuh-razy fashion folk, they’ll do anything to be in!

Despite the fact that Hindmarch’s website denies the accusations, a London paper reported that the bags were made in China using cheap labor laws and were neither fair-trade nor organic. Huh?

Personally, I like this one a lot better. Read More »

Rumor has it that Teen Vogue is the next to get the axe.

I love gossip. And I love rumors. But this is just slightly ludicrous. I know this because I have been in the belly of the Anna Wintour bred beast. And it was scary. But Teen Vogue is not going anywhere.

If I know anything, I know that.

First of all, Teen Vogue isn’t like Jane. Yes, the folding of Jane was a surprise to her beloved readers. But still, TVogue (as the insiders refer to it) doesn’t have the problems that Jane had. You know, little things like EIC’s who get booted from the magazine named after them. Small stuff like that was just the beginning of Jane’s demise. So really, it wasn’t a surprise.

While Teen Vogue targets a niche market (kind of like Jane), it is gearing its content to the upper crust teenie boppers of American society who have much more money than the angry liberal feminist types that scoured the pages of Jane.

And let’s be honest, it’s still Vogue and that means more than anything to the higher ups at Condé. Like the names of the über important teenagers they feature on the pages of the mag, the Vogue name carries a lot of weight…unlike the people who work there. Read More »

I used to think Teen Vogue was the best shit on the stands. All that high-class style and gossip for two bucks a pop? I signed up for a five - year subscription. I found the haughty content amusingly hilarious and would crave my monthly society updates on things like Bunny Von Hartzelcarter - Markstein’s cotillion and the eating habits and bedroom - decorating abilities of obscure young porcelain actresses.

Unlike its mother, the almighty Vogue, Teen Vogue featured fashions that were young, cool and almost affordable. A girl can dream, and I’d rather dream about a $300 Philip Lim denim trapeze dress than a $4000 quilted leather jacket by Alexander McQueen.

But this month’s issue is a little ridiculous. Plaguing the cover are the perpetual interns, LC of the OC and her sidekick, Whitey. I mean Whitney. It’s Whitney! Seriously, though, when are their internships going to end? Read More »

Need a little entertainment while waiting for class to start? Well, Redken has partnered up with Vogue magazine to create weekly podcasts featuring the top Spring 2007 hair trends straight off the runway.

Each week a new podcast will go live on redken.com featuring one new hair style. The podcasts include quotes from the infamous Vogue Beauty Director Sarah Brown, backstage segments with Redken’s creative consultant, Guido Palau, and in-salon segments with steps to create the looks you see with Redken artist and salon owner, Rodney Cutler. Log on now to take a look at the first hair trend – “Bejewled.”

So now I have another reason to put off studying for finals …