U-G-L-Y and it ain't got no alibi!

Nuff said!

I'm Beginning to Wonder...

...if Carey Mulligan and Mia Wasikowska are the same person.

OMG, MIA

I don't know a whole lot about the singer MIA. I know that the song she recorded for the movie Slumdog Millionaire was awesome, and that she recently had a baby and named it something weird, as celebrities will do. Can't remember the name off the top of my head, though.

Clearly, MIA is someone not totally on my radar, the way Posh Spice and Lady Gaga and Amy Winehouse are. However, my admiration of her pretty much skyrocketed when I saw her in this amazing dress!! Anyone who wears a shark dress to a fashion event (or really, any event) is okay in my book. I agree with these comments too:

"Anyway, here she is a few days ago at a Jimmy Choo for H&M event, wearing a shark dress. And sure it's not something any other woman on this planet is likely to wear, but that’s old news when it comes to MIA, so whatever. The interesting thing is…she’s a new mommy. And when you were a child, wouldn’t it have been so amazing if your mother ran around looking like this."

Also pictured: shark dress on the runway and SHARK HIGH HEELS!

I Like This Outfit

I have a necklace like that (that I bought in Hawaii).

Now if only I could find a little white shrug like that. Black would be okay too. I'm always looking for something like that, but I never find it.

Glamour Fit

Tiny Miss Fran had a totally ass day at work, but nothing soothes her frayed nerves and frothing resentment like coming home to a new L.L. Bean "Signature" catalog! The new line features some sophisticated colors and cute wrap dresses, and the usual yummy cashmere that always ends up all shrunken and slutty-looking because she's too lazy to dry clean it so she has to take it to Goodwill after trying to wash it at home.

But the best thing is the catalog itself, which smells and feels almost as good as the Sunset did before the subscription ran out. The slightly slick finish! The pointy page corners! The drool-worthy ink scent that makes Tiny Miss Fran feel all peaceful and woozy!

This fancy new L.L. Bean "Signature" catalog is to TMF what The Elf is to her feckless brother Buckaroo... and you can see how much lub that thing has been subjected to:

Telephone Fashion

From Perez Hilton's sister site, Coco Perez, here is a helpful cheat sheet for all the amazing fashions that appear in the Telephone video:

Striped prison dress custom made by Jean-Charles De Castelbajac with sunglasses by Mercura.

Crime scene tape outfit custom made by Brian Lichtenberg.

Chain jumpsuit custom made by Viktor & Rolf with cigarette sunglasses and shoes made by the Haus of GaGa.

Studded jacket made by Search and Destroy with vintage sunglasses by Chanel.

Studded bra and panties worn by GaGa and her dancers by the the Haus of GaGa.

Both Gagita and Honey Bey's vintage hats and outfits created by Thierry Mugler.

Beyonce's body hugging yellow dress and hat ensemble designed by Atsuko Kudo paired with Jeremy Scott's mouse trap sunglasses.

As we mentioned before, Gagaloo's blue telephone headpiece was custom made by Fred Butler.

Chef outfit made by Rachel Barrett with her yellow telephone hair piece by Danilo.

Gaga shows off her patriotism in an outfit once again made by the Haus of GaGa, Beyonce's red white and blue dress designed by Oscar Lima and the back up dancers were outfitted in custom made denim get ups by Franc Fernandez & Oscar Lima and leather costumes by Noki, Bess and the Haus of GaGa.

Jean-Charles De Castelbajac appears again, this time on Beyonce who is wearing both a jacket and shoes made by the designer. The denim booty shorts are also made by Franc Fernandez & Oscar Olima.

GaGa's spotted kitty cat jumpsuit was custom made by the Haus of GaGa.

In the final scene Beyonce and Lady GaGa are wearing cowboy hat and outfits by Emilie Pirlot.

Mad Men + Barbie = Pure Genius

Wow! Mad Men dolls! Of course. It's so obvious once you think of it. It's genius. And, hey! They were designed by Robert Best! Project Runway fans will remember that he was a competitor one memorable season, causing many viewers (like myself) to wonder, "Why is he even bothering with this reality show? He already has the best job ever--designing for Barbie!"

From the NYT (these are just excerpts, see this link for the full article):

The Barbie and Ken versions of the “Mad Men” characters are, from left, Joan Holloway, Roger Sterling, Don Draper and Betty Draper. Soon, the show will enter a realm of the pop-culture pantheon that its creator, Matthew Weiner, says has surprised even him: Mattel plans to bring out versions of Barbie and Ken styled after four “Mad Men” characters.

The dolls are part of a premium-price collectors’ series for adults that Mattel calls the Barbie Fashion Model Collection. Although there have been Barbies and Kens based on other TV series, among them “I Love Lucy” and “The X-Files,” the dolls will be the first licensed line for that collection, Mattel says, with a suggested retail price of $74.95 each.

The characters to become dolls are Don Draper, the show’s leading man; his wife, Betty; his colleague at the Sterling Cooper agency, Roger Sterling; and Joan Holloway, the agency’s office manager who was Roger’s mistress.

That two dolls represent a relationship outside wedlock, and Don Draper’s propensity for adultery, may be firsts for the Barbie world since the brand’s introduction five decades ago. But for the sake of the Barbie image, her immersion in the “Mad Men” era will go only so far: The dolls come with period accessories like hats, overcoats, pearls and padded undergarments, but no cigarettes, ashtrays, martini glasses or cocktail shakers.

“The dolls, we feel, do a great job of embodying the series,” said Stephanie Cota, senior vice president for Barbie marketing at Mattel in El Segundo, Calif. “Certain things are appropriate, and certain things aren’t.”

The pairing of Barbie and “Mad Men” is more interesting than the typical licensing agreement because of their shared history. Barbie was introduced in March 1959, and the first episode of “Mad Men” is set in March 1960.

“ ‘Mad Men’ represents so beautifully the universe that created Barbie,” said Robert Thompson, professor of television and popular culture at Syracuse University, because the series is about the selling of the American consumer society.

The personification of Betty Draper as Barbie is particularly resonant, Mr. Thompson said, because she represents “the wife who lives in her dream house whose soul is eaten away.”
“I have this fantasy of an 8-year-old getting a set” of the dolls, he added, “and saying: ‘Mom, can Chelsea come over? We want to play “The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit.” I’m going to be the organization man, and she’s going to be the soulless drone.’ ”

Such considerations were, of course, not driving the executives of Mattel and Lionsgate to make the deal. Rather, the arrival of the dolls, scheduled for July, will help promote the fourth season of “Mad Men,” which is to begin that month on AMC.

And postcards bearing sketches of the dolls by the Barbie designer Robert Best, which were used to produce the final versions, will be included in the DVD and Blu-ray boxed sets of the third season, scheduled for release on March 23.

As for fears that “Mad Men” could be devalued by too much kitschy merchandise, Lionsgate “is fairly restrained,” Mr. Beggs said, promising that “no sharks will be jumped” — the TV term for a series that self-destructs through overreaching...

The dolls are “a realization of a fantasy, in a weird way,” Mr. Weiner said, because “on some level it’s such a measure of success to see your characters embodied by Barbie.”

“Anybody who likes the show for its attention to detail will get that from the dolls,” he added, which earned approval from him; Janie Bryant, the costume designer for “Mad Men”; and Scott Hornbacher, an executive producer.

As an example of their scrutiny, Mr. Weiner said he told Mattel that the sideburns on the Don Draper doll needed “to be higher” and the haircut needed “to be tighter.”

The deal also provided Mr. Weiner with a moment evocative of the Rosebud revelation in “Citizen Kane.”

“I grew up with two older sisters and lots of Barbies in the house,” he recalled, including “a doll named Midge,” a pal of Barbie’s. In retrospect, he said, she may have been the inspiration for Midge Daniels, a mistress of Don Draper’s in Season One.

Lobster Hat and Chicken Claw

Oh Gaga, I love you. Don't ever change.

Gaga's Deconstructed Pearls

When Gaga wears pearls, she isn't kidding around!

From the Daily Mail: Forget the necklace: Lady Gaga wears hundreds of pearls glued to her face at amfAR charity gala

It's certainly a change from the traditional pearl necklace.

Dispensing with a string, Lady Gaga wore hundreds of white pearls glued to her face, legs and body as she arrived for a charity gala in New York last night.

With her skin painted white she wore just a pearl encrusted bikini, cropped jacket, hat and super high platform boots.

The only dash of colour was Gaga's bright pink lipstick - a special edition Mac creation named after the singer to raise funds for Aids research.

The 23-year-old later gave a typically high-octane performance of her new song Future Love on top of a white piano.

Lady Gaga arrived for the The Foundation for AIDS Research, amFAR, benefits gala in New York on the arm of Cyndi Lauper, who also modelled a special edition lippy.

Lady Gaga as Hello Kitty

Gaga Monday

Here she is at the Grammys. Love the yellow hair!

Meglio Stasera

"Meglio Stasera - Fran Jeffries, born Frances Makris on 18 May 1937 in San Jose California, was a singer/actress/model in the 1960s and early-1970s. She had a cameo role in the 1963 movie "The Pink Panther," in which she sang this song "Meglio Stasera" (It Had Better Be Tonight)."

We watched the movie The Pink Panther last night, and this song and dance number was arguably the best scene in the movie. It's a visually lush film--Yves Saint Laurent did the costumes, including a hot pink ski sweater, bright yellow turtleneck, deep orange glittery gown, and those amazing haute couture giant fur hats of the sixties. If you enjoy sixties fashion, this movie will not disappoint.

It's kind of a weird movie in some ways because the pacing is very slow. Modern audiences aren't used to this style of film. You have to have the patience to sit back and let it slowly unfold, because the plot works itself out in a meandering, leisurely way. It was filmed in the Italian Alps and the streets of Rome, so the scenery is dazzling. The movie also stars one of the prettiest actresses I have ever laid eyes on; her name is Claudia Cardinale. She looked to me a little like Natalie Portman and a little more like Catherine Zeta Jones, but more beautiful than either one. Because it's so visual and slow-paced, this is really a movie to see in the theater if you can, or at least on a large, high-definition TV.

As the very first Pink Panther movie, it hasn't yet turned into what the Pink Panther franchise later becomes--a star vehicle for Peter Sellers. So it's surprising to watch this one and realize that that Peter Sellers isn't even the main character yet. The Clouseau character isn't as exaggerated as he later becomes and he actually speaks with a fairly normal mild French accent, although he still lovably stumbles and trips his way through all of his scenes. (And he's cute in the scene above, where he gamely allows Fran Jeffries to pull him onto the dance floor.)

Oh, also there is a scene with a big costume ball, which I loved because I love Halloween. It's fun to look at the different costumes. I spotted Lady Godiva, the Mad Hatter, a mermaid, a zebra, a knight...and two gorillas!

Note: If you watch the clip above closely, you can spot a young skinny Robert Wagner. He's wearing a yellow V-neck sweater.

Short Hair

For some reason, the stylists at Gene Juarez often seem to me to be cold, bitter, and depressed. But you can usually get a pretty good haircut there.

My previous long-time hairdresser, Secondary Jennifer, had a baby. After the arrival of Baby Julian, she cut her hours waaaay back, making it much more difficult to see her. For the past year or so, I've been cutting my own hair, using some professional tools I bought online. It's been working out pretty well but it got to the point where I just really wanted to get a professional haircut again.

Today I took the day off work and went to see someone called "Riley" at Gene Juarez. I'd never met her before so I didn't know what to expect. I tried to find some photos of the cut I wanted (short but soft in the back and sides, full in front) but I didn't manage to find any.

When Riley walked up, I was pleased to see that she herself sported exactly the hairstyle I wanted! So I just told her, "I want your hair!" and she did an amazing job of replicating it on my head. She did seem kind of withdrawn and unhappy, like all the Gene Juarez stylists do, but she was perfectly pleasant to me and did beautiful work.

In my book, a good hair day = a good day!

Wedding Cake Dress

"Here's a way to have your wedding cake and wear it, too: a one-of-a-kind bridal gown with a full skirt made of - you guessed it - flour, sugar and loads of frosting.

"The wedding cake dress was created by Lukka Sigurdardottir and documented on the blog Gather and Nest in photos that show a woman wearing the whimsical creation as another person cuts out a delicate slice to reveal a rainbow-colored filling."

Pants On the Ground

I don't watch American Idol, but 62-year-old "General" Larry Platt's audition has been making the Internet rounds, and I have a weakness for truly bad performers. Anyone who auditions for that show with an original song entitled Pants On the Ground is okay in my book.

Dannii's Hair

Dannii Minogue--sister of Kylie--has the best hair ever. Why don't more celebrities get this haircut? It's so cute!

Sockee

Before Snuggie, before Slittie, there was...Sockee.

Available nowhere.

Concept and graphic by Guy.

Heather's Cute Hair

All the world hates Heather Mills. There is really precious little to like about this wackadoodle, and the sad part is, the one thing I suspect Heather craves more than anything is to be popular and adored. Well, she's going to have to settle for tons of cold hard cash instead, because Heather, your public does not love you, and we never will. Oh, I suppose there are some hard-core animal-loving fanatics over at PETA that like her okay, but personally, even as a huge animal lover myself, it's hard to believe that Heather really cares about anything but her own self-promotion.

Remember when she tried to make Paul McCartney out to be the bad guy, and nobody bought it? Like, at all? We all just felt sorry for him for getting mixed up with her in the first place, while Stella just sat back and laughed and laughed. And then she appeared on Dancing With the Stars, hoping against hope that this would be the thing that would finally make America love her. And as she hopped bravely around on that dance floor with her one leg, lumbering her way courageously through each number with a big smile on her face, our hearts failed to stir, and America said, collectively, "...Meh."

But today, I actually have a kind word to say about Heather Mills: I like her new haircut and lighter color. There, I said it. Don't hold it against me, Paul. I'm still on Team Macca.

Slittie

I'm really mad, because whoever invented the Snuggie ("The Blanket That Has Sleeves!") stole my idea. Yes, I had been struggling to get my own concept off the ground, but once I'd ironed out a few gitches, it would have been totally awesome. America was going to love it.

My concept was Slittie ("The Unfashionable Badly-Fitting Sweater That Has a Big Slit Up the Back!").

Unfortunately, while I was in talks with this guy (photo at right) to have him pitch it, he got arrested for cocaine possession or something, and "Snuggie" beat me to the punch.

Sad, because I think my concept was more dynamic and ultimately, more honest.

The Excellence of Tim Gunn

Re-reading Tim Gunn's acceptance speech from my previous post (in which he casually uses the word "myriad") reminded me of something I love about him (in addition to his support of animal rights): his excellent vocabulary. And then I recalled this hilarious clip from Project Runway which compiles the many, many instances of Tim using big words on the show...and mystifying the less-verbal designers.

What I love about this is that Tim is absolutely unpretentious in his speech; he just happens to know a lot of words and he enjoys using them. He's not trying to impress anyone (or confuse anyone for that matter). This is how he really talks!

Oh, and another thing I admire about him? His perfect posture. Once you notice it, you will realize that Tim Gunn exhibits almost inhumanly perfect posture at all times.

It's all just part of the magic that is Tim Gunn.