Designer Dresses

The wedding season is fast approaching and brides to-be are on the search for the perfect dress, shoes and accessories. Some brides-to-be spend months searching for the perfect dress. Carrie Bradshaw’s entire wedding plan was thrown into a tailspin because of her over-the-top Vivienne Westwood dress. I was lucky – the second dress I tried on I chose and purchased on the spot. It was a “Saketini” gown made famous by San Francisco couturier, Colleen Quen. Today there are many options whether you are having a grand vineyard estate wedding in Napa Valley or a simple civil ceremony at City Hall. There are styles to suit everyonefrom the classic bride to the bohemian and fashionista alike.

Perfectly suited for a civil ceremony or glamourous penthouse affair, this fitted ivory ribbed-crepe dress is classic with a twist detail at the shoulder. The short sleeve RM by Roland Mouret Aphrodite twist-detail dress (,545 at Net-a-Porter) features a low back, a slim fitting skirt and split at the back. Most women either love or hate veils. If you are the type to wear a veil, Lanvin makes an exquisite glass pearl-embellished tulle veil (,070 at Net-a-Porter). Pricey, yes, but you can save it as a family heirloom for your daughters. The Blanche veil attaches with a silver-tone hair comb and is embellished with 100% Swarovski glass beads. Exquisite! With a the fitted and short skirt on the Mouret dress you’ll want to have a pair of very special shoes on your feet. How about these satin Christian Louboutin Miss ChaCha satin platform sling backs? They are available for 5.00 at Barneys New York. As you glidearound the dance floor or pose for photos, wouldn’t it be lovely to havethis Lanvin Silk-satin Drawstring Pochette (0 at Net-a-Porter) on your arm? Grace your ears with a pair of Ben-Amun Crystal Framed Pearl Drop Earrings (8 at Max and Chloe). These shimmering drop pearl earrings feature two lustrous pearls and are surrounded by Austrian crystals. Before you walk down the aisle spritz on Christian Dior’s Miss Dior Cherie Blooming Bouquet (.00 at YesStyle). Containing the essence of the original Miss Dior fragrance is has notes of mandarin orange, peony and musk, you will start life with your new husband smelling sublime.

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From our friends at TheFind Blog

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Recently there have been rumors that bubbly pop star Jessica Simpson and bald former Smashing Pumpkin Billy Corgan have been, how you say? Together. Here’s what’s known: Corgan helped Simpson write the theme song for her new show “The Price of Beauty.”

He told Rolling Stone magazine, “Sometimes people just like being around each other, and good things come out of that. My goal in life is to love whoever I think is worth loving, and I think if people knew her like I knew her, they would love her like I do. It’s really simple.”

He also said, “The stuff that I’ve seen doesn’t have any bearing to the reality that I’m in. It’s like being in a cartoon. It has nothing to do with what’s really going on or how I feel.”

Alrighty, then. Whatever the type of relationship the two have, whether it’s friendship, romance, or a simple working relationship, it is safe to say that Corgan is being more gentlemanly about the whole thing than John Mayer, who shared (according to Simpson) Too Much Information about their sex life when they were together.

Corgan’s relationship with Simpson may be bewildering on a lot of levels, but one thing fans can be sure of is his continuing hatred for Courtney Love, whom he forbids to release any songs they worked on together. About Love, he said, “I have no interest in supporting her in any way, shape or form. You can’t throw enough things down the abyss with a person like that.

Juara’s Black Tea and Rice green products – A Few Goody Gumdrops

A Few Goody Gumdrops goes Green with Juara’s eco-friendly Black Tea and Rice products.

Being High Maintenance, not Bitchy is mad for vintage! It’s the new way to shop green!

Couture In The City LovethisLife eco-friendly organic t-shirts.

Fashion Cents headed to the jungle for this green find — stylish, reusable grocery bags.

Fashion Fille is having a irresistible giveaway from Orient watch! It’s powered by a mainspring, without using electrical power, making it a “green” watch! Enter to win now.

Fashion Hippo is excited to share The Best Organic Bath and Body Products by Lush

Ladybrillemag.com says shop Chichia London by Christine Mhando.

Princess Dominique says, the oldest form of recycling is patchwork, so, Enter to WIN the Carlos Santana Chula Patchwork Shooties!

Quinta Trends wears green hope. Strength Chile!! (earthquake in Chile)

Shopping and Info loves Julia Robert’s eco friendly shoes from her movie Eat Pray Love.

SomeoneSpoilMe.com found a safe and eco friendly nail polish for Pregnant Women.

Style Eyes shares More of Estethica London Fashion Week’s ethical and eco friendly trade show

StyleMaven gets cozy casual and eco-friendly with a Stella McCartney Organic Cotton Hoodie.

The Well-Heeled Society shows a new vibrancy to old soles.

TheFind is getting bikini ready for Spring Break with a Celebrity Fitness Kit featuring DVDs from Valerie Bertinelli, Trudie Styler and Oprah’s personal trainer, Bob Greene. Enter now for a chance to win this eco-friendly fitness kit!

LoveThisLife Your Rock T-Shirt –

Color: Black with silver metallic print

LoveThisLife Paradise Manifesto Long Sleeve T –

Color: Natural with multi-color graphics

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Grey is making a comeback for the next few seasons, so it may be time to invest in a few pieces that will do a lot to stretch your wardrobe.

First, Desire Clothing makes a One-Side Chiffon Frill Dress that has gathers and frills up and down the left side, with the right side fitted close. It has a loop button back and is approximately 92 cm (36 inches) long from the shoulder.

A pair of rockin’ grey heels like this decadent pair from DV by Dolce Vita have a rounded toe post, leather lining, sole, and construction, and a 5.5 inch heel on a 1.5 inch platform.

For evenings or dressy occasions, TopShop has this Paisley Lace Longline Bralet in silvery grey. It fastens in front and has a mesh back. Perfect worn with the top edges peeking out of a low-cut evening jacket.

Speaking of evening jackets, Marithe Francois Girbaud makes a Grey-Green Open Front Crease Jacket with tonal pinstripes, and single button fastening cuffs. There are two small patch pockets, and a frilled hem. The ruched collar has a drawstring, and the jacket ties shut with adjustable double straps to the back for accenting the waist.

Need a dressy dress that’s both feminine and unexpected? Kirrily Johnston makes a Vagabond Drape Dress in grey with a draped Grecian look and a racer back trimmed in gold leather. Gorgeous and slightly edgy.

A grey jacket is just the thing for topping off numerous work outfits, and this Grey Fluid Chambray Jacket by Vivienne Westwood Red Label is perfect. It is fitted with a low neckline and three buttons to visually elongate your figure.

Oh, sure, they hand out the little statues and all, but everyone knows that the Oscars are about fashion, right? Well, to those of us who appreciate clothes more than movies, they are. Here are some of the hits and misses from the Academy Awards telecast Sunday night.

Hits

Jennifer Lopez would probably look good in a sackcloth dress, but in a gorgeous white stunner by Giorgio Armani, she was positively radiant. It isn’t easy to get away with white on the red carpet, and standing next to tux-clad hubby Marc Anthony the pair slightly resembled the bride and groom atop a very classy wedding cake, but really, that was a fabulous dress.

Director Kathryn Bigelow was the first woman in the 82 year history of the Academy Awards to win the statue for Best Director. What’s that about? There’s no way that in 82 years she’s the only woman who deserved to win for best director, I’m sorry. What about Jane Campion? Well, as wrong as that statistic is, Kathryn was also a winner on the red carpet, wearing a lovely gray sheath dress that complemented her figure beautifully.

Cameron Diaz has made her share of fashion mistakes, but Sunday night she did not. Wearing a jewel-encrusted dress by Oscar de la Renta, Diaz looked marvelous. She has a tendency to look a little too skinny, but this gown was either very flattering or she’s no longer stick-figure thin. Whichever it is, it works.

Misses

Vera Farmingo, the actress who did the voice of Alex Goran in the hit movie Up in the Air, wasn’t wearing a dress so much as she was wearing what looked like a coral reef. While a theoretical mathematician would have a field day working up the equations described by all the rufflage on her dress, to the casual observer, it just looked like too much, particularly in fuchsia.

Diane Kruger is a lovely woman. Didn’t she play Helen of Troy at some point? Anyway, the dress she chose for the Academy Awards was white with black … something … and lots of ruffles. All she needed was one of those big hats that Miss Kitty wore on “Gunsmoke” and she could star in a Wild West show at a theme park.

Zoe Saldano is another lovely lass who chose poorly for the Oscars. Maybe it’s just me, but I’m so sick of ombre. Fine, fine, it was perfect for Gwen Stefani’s wedding dress, but for the most part it just looks like the wearer tromped through pastel mud on the way to the event. Add ombre to excessive ruffles and, well, it’s a train wreck.

So there you have it: some of the good and the bad from the 82nd annual Academy Awards show. It sounds like I have it in for anything ruffled, but that’s just not true. They can be done right, but it’s not easy. And one last thing: if I look like Meryl Streep (whose dress was designed by Chris March) when I’m 60, it will probably be from making a pact with the devil. What a beautiful, non-facelifted woman!

Actress wore royal blue and a gardenia in her hair for the 82nd annual Academy Awards ceremony Sunday for a reason: Hattie McDaniel. McDaniel was the first African American to be nominated for an Academy Award for her role in the epic movie Gone With The Wind. She won, and wore a blue dress and a gardenia in her hair when she accepted her Oscar in 1940. Mo’Nique won the Academy Award for best supporting actress for her work in the movie Precious.

The actress also gave a pre-Oscar interview to Barbara Walters, and there were hints that the two did not get along that well.  When Mo’Nique was on “The View,” Walters referred to Mo’s newborn twins as “creatures.” It wasn’t clear what she meant by that, but she did take it back ultimately.

Mo’Nique apparently made Walters jump through some hoops to get the pre-Oscar sit-down, with “very specific hair and makeup demands.” She also granted the interview at someplace other than her house. Walters’ often interviews stars at their home. But according to Walters, the interview went swimmingly, saying, “There was nothing about her that was rude. It’s a wonderful, funny interview. She couldn’t have been more open. If you’re not happy, you don’t answer those questions. I can’t remember when we did an interview in someone’s house.”

Living out your dream – how Tarina became an entrepreneurial powerhouse, going from model to makeup artist to celebrity jewelry designer and now cosmetics Queen!

Tarina Tarantino  known as the accessory designer who makes everything she touches sparkle, Tarina has paved the way for others to view makeup in a dazzling new light – as an accessory!  This fuchsia-tressed former makeup artist now shares her passion for self-expression with a complete cosmetics collection, presented exclusively at Sephora.  Encouraging others to escape from the stresses of everyday life, Tarina invites you on a fantastical journey through her whimsical world of
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See her complete line at sephora.com

One of the hottest trends on runways has been the influence of the type of 1960s fashion showcased in hit television series Mad Men, and Miuccia Prada’s recent collection, which just hit the runway in Milan, is no exception. These are womanly, classic styles that include sheath dresses, frilly and feminine cocktail dresses, and the type of classic cropped pants Mary Tyler Moore wore on The Dick Van Dyke Show.

Another change from recent years with Ms. Prada was the use of slightly curvier models, who often look best in these tailored-yet-simple 60s styles. It all distills down to femininity, and that is also reflected in this year’s trends in women’s designer sunglasses: womanly, generous, curved, and classic. The oversized styles of the past few years are as evident as ever, though they, too have taken a more classic turn. Only this time the classic turn is in terms of color. Palettes in oversized sunglasses are trending more neutral: dark brown or black frames with lenses in grays and browns.   
 
Two perfect examples of the oversized shades that should be considered pending classics are the Prada SPR 09L 7ZK-4V1 and the SPR 18I 1AB-3M1. Both of these fall into this oversized, feminine, classic colored sunglasses that perfectly complement the clothing shapes that have been taking the runways by storm the past couple of seasons.

The first style (SPR 09L 7ZK-4V1) comes in Bilberry plastic frames with violet gradient lenses. Note that in this case “violet” doesn’t refer to pop-art light purple, but rather to a gray that is just kissed with a bit of violet, and which is very flattering to a wide range of skin tones. These top quality sunglasses are made in Italy and have 100% UV protection. The frames are a little heftier than some of the oversized styles have been, so they look fresh and new. They’ve been spotted on singer Christian Aguilera who in recent years has adopted a more grown-up look.

The second style (SPR 18I 1AB-3M1) has frames that are both square and curvy in glossy black. Gray gradient lenses provide great viewing comfort as well as 100% UV protection. These beauties are made in Italy as well and have been seen on Jessica Alba and Nicole Richie, two very feminine, fashion-forward women.

The oversized, womanly sunglasses trend isn’t going anywhere soon. They’re just too perfect for accenting work clothes during commuting time, yummy jeans and cashmere on the weekends, and any swimsuit during the summer. Colors for these styles are trending more classic and neutral, which makes it easy to find styles that go with a variety of wardrobe colors.

And speaking of colors, the world of sunglasses hasn’t forgot about them. Colors in frames and lenses are showing up in some of the old-school classics like the Ray Ban Wayfarer. The Wayfarer is making somewhat of a comeback – “somewhat” because the style never goes away completely. There are always going to be people who go for the reliable style and function of these awesome shades. But now you can get them in candy-pop colors like bright turquoise, pink, and blue. The Ray Ban Aviator is showing some more color these days too, including a yummy bubblegum pink that is sure to be coveted by stylish women everywhere who want a bit of fun in their sunglasses wardrobe.

Bottom line? Sunglasses are more beautiful than ever, so there’s no better time to protect your beautiful peepers from glare and UV damage while looking fabulous.

Shop shadesdaddy.com

Photo from fOTOGLIF

Neither British songstress Lily Allen nor American rocker Courtney Love are strangers to conflict, so when the two finally met, there were bound to be sparks of tension. Last week at the NME Shockwaves Awards, Love confronted Allen backstage over some of Allen’s recent Twitter postings about Frances Bean Cobain, the daughter that Love had with late husband Kurt Cobain.

The conversation reportedly became “really nasty, really aggressive and bitchy” according to backstage crew members, before the two were physically separated by their handlers. Allen reportedly left the scene with boyfriend Sam Cooper, to the shouts of Love calling her “little girl” and shouting “Welcome to the music industry.”

There was also a dispute over some Chanel dresses at the Brit Awards in London, prompting Allen to Tweet that “as a rule I don’t pick on crazy old ladies.” She did admit to telling Love to “shut up and stop spreading stupid rumors about me.”

A follower asked Allen if she really put her foot down over the Chanel dresses, a fashion label Allen endorses. Allen answered that she did no such thing and referred to Love as a “paranoid drug-addled lunatic” for thinking so.