9.28.2010
9.06.2010
Styling Steps: 5 Steps To Instant Chic
Over the past few years, I have learned that there are certain items a woman simply must have in her arsenal/closet. They aren't necessarily the coolest or flashiest clothes you could find, but then, flashy doesn't always equal chic; which I think we all know by now just from various celebrities' style choices.
1. Know the power of a big bag.
I think it's much chicer to carry one large bag than owning a bunch of smaller ones. That just looks messy and ends up costing more in the long run. An expensive larger bag, if chosen in a classic color like black or brown, will last for several decades and is definitely worth its cost, but make sure to find one that fits your lifestyle!
2. Collect "you" accessories.
I gravitate toward huge & glamorous sunglasses straight from the 70's, pretty agendas, and cheap jewelry. I can't even count how many are hanging around in my room anymore!
3. Stick with classic cuts.
Choose pieces that are structured and body-conscious, and you'll never look like one of those silly starlets trying to be all trendy when really, they look like teenagers. I personally love the picture above from the show "Lipstick Jungle". It personifies the perfect wardrobe of a working woman. I always loved being able to wear shift dresses and pencil skirts.
4. Splurge on your coat.
The really expensive but great-looking ones do not go out of style!
5. Own lots of neutrals and a few great-color pieces.
You'll get more mileage out of your grays, blacks, navies, camels, and whites, and but you can make an impact with a fabulous bright-colored dress if you're going out.
DIY: Jeans
Destroyed jeans have been in style for quite some time now, and they are still on trend for this summer. I don't know about you, but I always found it a challenge trying to make my own! I found some tips yesterday that I tried out today, and they are wonderful!
Step 1:
Start by placing a block of wood inside one of the pant legs, under the area that you want to distress.
Step 2:
Slice jeans horizontally with a utility knife at several spots on each leg.
Step 3:
Rough up the fabric by rubbing the sliced spots with a pumice stone.
Step 4:
For extra shredding, pick the threads apart with a needle. Washing and drying the jeans before wearing them will also distress the rips more.
Cut-off shorts have been around for awhile now, and I really don't see them going away anytime soon! Here are some very easy tips to make your own!!
Step 1:
Put the jeans on and mark the length on the inseam. Add an extra 1/2 inch for the frayed edges.
Step 2:
Take the jeans off. Lay flat on the ground and cut the jeans straight across with very sharp scissors. It's easier to cut through both layers all at once!
Step 3:
Machine-wash and dry to get the frayed edges. Important reminder: the more you wash the jeans, the more they will fray!
Schedule: Brunch At Jar
Let's face it, almost every single one of us would give our prized Chanel bag if we had a chance to become a celebrity. The free clothes and swag, the chance to do something creative while being paid insane money, the unbelievably hot guys you finally get to meet instead of drooling over their pictures in the magazines.. *big smiley face*
Sundays are usually very laid-back. You get up later than usual because you were out at the clubs or award shows the past couple of nights. You haven't been able to see your friends since you've been so busy lately so you call up your girlfriends and see if they want to go to brunch, someplace out of the way. Definitely not on Robertson where the paparazzi are! You don't feel like being stalked today!
The perfect look? Feminine touches like ruffles, bows, and soft makeup are ideal for dining alfresco on a lazy afternoon.
Schedule: Shopping On Robertson
To the rest of us in the real world, Monday is usually looked at with dread since we have to go back to work. Blah! To a celebrity, it's just another day when the stores are open. Living in Los Angeles, you can head on downtown to get your fashion fix with your fashion stylist and entourage in tow.
Show the fawning salespeople that you are worth the hassle and demands in vintage leather, laid-back plaid, casual (and comfortable) leggings, and heavy metal details. Skip the fancy hairdo and rock that bedhead look! Of course, every celebrity needs a pair of rockin' oversized black sunglasses!
Fashion Forecast: 9/7/10
Tuesday
Some clouds in the morning will give way to mainly sunny skies for the afternoon. High 72F. Winds SW at 5 to 10 mph.
Some clouds in the morning will give way to mainly sunny skies for the afternoon. High 72F. Winds SW at 5 to 10 mph.
Stylist's Shopping Secrets
Costume designer on the Sex and the City show/movie, Patricia Field, was featured in Cosmo magazine giving away some of her secrets from styling the movie, "Confessions of a Shopaholic". She tells us how to get big screen style on a budget in the real world.
1. Browse for bargains. Thrift stores are full of inexpensive surprises. Zara and Noir Jewelry have great line of high-quality, low-priced stylish things.
2. Try bold colors. Don't be afraid to experiment with different hues, especially really bright shades. Color is an excellent chance to express your personality and show that you're different from other people. It's one of the better ways to cultivate a signature look of your own.
3. Slim down for spring. Body-skimming (think bandage dress but slightly more floaty) styles are in this year. If you buy it now, you will wear it for YEARS!
4. Go shiny. It's really easy to find cheap gorgeous shoes in synthetic fabric like metallic or patent instead of leather.
5. Mix high and low-priced items. You do not.. repeat.. do not have to wear labels to look great! Rebecca in this movie has many great outfits that include cheaper items like the colorful coats she wears.
6. Be your own stylist. When Patricia creates a wardrobe for a character, she's given a script as a starting point. Find something that inspires you- like a favorite movie.
7. Splurge now and then. If an item catches your eye (like a great bag), and you know you'll wear or use it a lot, then go for it!
Schedule: Meeting With Agents
Life as a celebrity means always looking for the next job, whether you're an actress or a musician. With your resume or portfolio in hand, you're off to land the next hottest movie or endorsement.
Look professional and pretty in tailored pieces that appear sleek and polished. Although neutral, muted colors are more sleek, be sure to add in some lighter accessories to look more age-appropriate.
9.03.2010
8.31.2010
Schedule: Dinner && Drinks Date
Dinner/ drinks dates call for the ultimate sexy dress. Try something like a bandage or leather dress. Preferably a strapless corset to hold that chest in and thrust them out! Keep accessories simple with metallic heels that will highlight your glowing tan. Make sure your makeup is smokin'!
Retouching Photos: good or bad??
Everybody knows that every magazine cover photo is retouched - right? It's a never-ending quest to make the model perfectly pleasing to the eye - at least according to the editor or art director.We may be aware of retouching, but that doesn't mean we are immune to the subtle feeling of self-loathing that may result from seeing these images every day of our lives.
Here is an eclectic and bemusing collection of links that demonstrate the phony art of retouch.
Email your friends, call your Mom, and tell your husband or wife. It's time to stop thinking "I wish I looked like that". It's time to start saying "Gee that retouch job is a bit overdone" - and then getting on with a life that runs deeper than a piece of celebrity skin.
Retouch-o-rama
You'll see stomachs flattened, skin blemishes removed, breasts made fuller, navels made 'perfect', limbs made skinny, and waistlines lose inches. Even a 12 year old boy can download a copy of Photoshop, grab a retouching tutorial, and create whatever they want.
You'll see stomachs flattened, skin blemishes removed, breasts made fuller, navels made 'perfect', limbs made skinny, and waistlines lose inches. Even a 12 year old boy can download a copy of Photoshop, grab a retouching tutorial, and create whatever they want.
- Portfolio site
Retouchers portfolio site showing the epitome of the retouch. Watch those hips shrink before your eyes - or see this woman say goodbye to those wrinkles and pores. - Digital Pablo (removed)
A selection of digital divas. - Digital Retouch (site now seems down)
A huge client list, and enough images to put me off magazines for a long time. - NY Photographics
Shock! You mean a model had stretch marks? - Touch of Glamour
Digital liposuction? Retouch Me
(Removed by request).- Portfolio site
These cheesy retouches get passed around the internet like a self-perpetuating urban myth. The only thing is - there's nothing mythical about it. Warning: Lots of skin here. Can anyone say sleaze? - Nasonart Portfolio
Instant makeup. - Worth1000 Photoshop Contests
The opposite effect - this is de-touching gone crazy. Even celebrities made fat. There's some amazing work on this site. - G!rlpower Sweden
And (finally) a body-positive demonstration site showing the ease of retouch.
The power of a retoucher
with too much time on their hands.
Liz Hurley's worst nightmare?
Industry leaders say they cannot stop re-touching photographs, because if they do, people will stop buying their magazines. They say consumers simply are not interested in seeing every flaw that a person being photographed has. (source: VoA - Real Girls Are Beautiful)And what do the photographers say?
"People would be shocked to know what some of the models really look like. Sometimes a model walks in and I don't even realise it is the model..." (source)
Celebrity Beauty: Megan Fox
Make-up artist Gerald Quist gives all the details on the exact products he used on Megan Fox in the western Jonah Hex!
SHOP THE LOOK:
1. Chanel Waterlights Sheer Make-up Stick in Sand & Wheat $36
2. Amazing Cosmetics Amazing Concealer in Medium Beige $42
3. Dr. Hauschka Translucent Face Powder $32
4. Lorac Blush in Rose $19
5. Max Factor 2000 Calorie Straight Brush Mascara in Rich Black $12
6. Dr. Hauschka Lip Care Stick $12
7. Chanel Precision Lip Definer in Natural $19
2. Amazing Cosmetics Amazing Concealer in Medium Beige $42
3. Dr. Hauschka Translucent Face Powder $32
4. Lorac Blush in Rose $19
5. Max Factor 2000 Calorie Straight Brush Mascara in Rich Black $12
6. Dr. Hauschka Lip Care Stick $12
7. Chanel Precision Lip Definer in Natural $19
Sienna Miller's Skin Secrets
Sienna’s style has always been a little bohemian and undone. Whether she’s working the red carpet or hanging out backstage at a festival, she has an eclectic, unconventional and upbeat style that girls the world over try to emulate. Sienna is known for her perfectly polished, radiant skin that looks sun-kissed even without make-up.
Sienna’s beauty rules are simple, she favours nourishing, natural products. With her dappling of freckles and milky complexion, Sienna Miller is the quintessential pale-skinned beauty. Her N.Y.C. dermatologist, David Colbert, tells all the tricks he uses to keep her looking fair.
Here are Sienna’s favorite beauty buys:
Colbert instructs Miller to wash with a non-irritating cleanser like Cetaphil Gentle Skin Cleanser “Even minor upsets show up on fair complexions,” he explains. Miller loves Colbert’s Intensify Facial Discs sudsy pads with lactic acid that target fine lines and skin-dulling debris. Miller’s favorite moisturizer? Colbert’s potent anti-inflammatory Heal & Soothe Night Cream which leaves skin soft—not slick. CREME DE LA MER ia a celebrity favorite and Ms Miller is no exception. She says: “This is amazing if you’re dehydrated and spend a lot of time on planes.” Finally Brett Freedman (Sienna’s make-up Artisit) said Sienna “Smooths Out Her Skin Tone with Boots No7 Protect & Perfect Intense Serum”
8.30.2010
7.28.2010
Movie: The Runaways
I have had quite the love and admiration for female rockers for some time now. I joke that it was my dad's fault as he and mum listened to all that old stuff before I was born. Of those musicians, Joan Jett and Pat Benatar are most definitely my faves. Imagine my friggin' shock when I heard they were making a movie about her first band, The Runaways. I'm a bit embarassed to say that I didn't know about The Runaways, but I had heard of "Cherry Bomb" so I figured that's got some redeeming quality to it.
Much to my dismay, the producers or the studio (whoever it was!) didn't release the movie to alot of theaters so I had to be content with youtube footage and facebook pictures while I was stuck waiting on the dvd release. Lo and behold girlies! I got the movie finally, and it did not disappoint! Really, I shouldn't have been worried as it does feature my most fave actress, Kristen Stewart (can the girl do no wrong.. seriously?).
True, the movie is WAY too mature for some people (and by that, I mean teenagers!), but helloo?? I'm 24 so I think we're good. I loved being able to get an inside look at the making of the band, and it didn't hurt that the movie sparked an interest in 70's style for me. As such, being the fashion whore that I am, I made some outfits on polyvore:
Cheri Currie
Currie's parents were Don Currie and actress Marie Harmon. She was raised in the Encino district of Los Angeles in the San Fernando Valley. Her sisters are actress Sondra Currie and her twin, Marie Currie.
Currie was the teenage lead vocalist for the all-female rock band The Runaways with bandmates Joan Jett, Lita Ford, Sandy West and Jackie Fox. Bomp! magazine described her as "the lost daughter of Iggy Pop and Brigitte Bardot."
Currie, not yet 16, joined The Runaways in 1975. The teen rock anthem "Cherry Bomb" was written for her at the audition. Attitudes to her impact at that time differ; one reviewer has written that "the received wisdom that [the Runaways] carved out new territory for female musicians is hard to justify - it's doubtful that the predominantly male audience who flocked to see the 16 year old [Currie] in her undies picked up any feminist subtext".
After three albums with The Runaways, (The Runaways, Queens of Noise, and Live in Japan ), Currie went on to record two independent albums (Beauty's Only Skin Deep for Polygram Records, and Messin' With The Boys with twin sister Marie Currie for Capitol Records). She then worked as an actress, starring in movies such as Foxes, Parasite, Wavelength, Twilight Zone: The Movie, The Rosebud Beach Hotel, Rich Girl, and others, as well as numerous guest spots on TV series (Matlock and Murder She Wrote, among others).
Currie developed a serious drug addiction. She later wrote a memoir of her teen years called Neon Angel: A Memoir of a Runaway. The book revolves around her struggles with drugs and alcohol, her dysfunctional family, and her days with The Runaways. The Runaways movie, a 2010 musical biographical drama film (which was executive-produced by Joan Jett), focuses on the group's early beginnings and explores the relationship between Currie and Jett. In the film Currie is portrayed by Dakota Fanning.
Joan Jett
Joan Jett was born at Lankenau Hospital in Wynnewood, a suburb of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She moved to Rockville, Maryland, in 1967 where she attended Randolph Junior High and Wheaton High School. In her teens, Jett would sneak out at night to go to concerts with friends. She got her first guitar for Christmas from her parents at the age of 13, and she mostly spent time after that writing songs. She also became involved with a bartender at a club from the town, at which point her family then re-located to West Covina, a suburb of Los Angeles, providing Jett the opportunity to pursue her musical endeavors. In Los Angeles, Joan interacted with some of her idols, including Suzi Quatro, one of the first female rock musicians who played an instrument. As reflected in the film The Runaways about Jett's beginnings, Quatro was vital to Joan's career, and Joan adopted many of Suzi's qualities including her shag haircut and style. Jett would quietly wait in the lobby of various hotels that Suzi was staying in during her US tours, just to catch a glimpse of her. She wore wooden platform shoes with "Suzi Quatro" carved into the side. Her favorite night spot was Rodney Bingenheimer's English Disco. Joan was further introduced to the glam-rock style she so adored as this genre was explosive in the UK and Europe, but never quite took off in the US. Rodney's was the only place Jett could hear this style of music, and it certainly helped develop her image.
Jett is a founding member of The Runaways along with drummer Sandy West. Micki Steele (who was later replaced), Jackie Fox, Lita Ford, and Cherie Currie completed the line-up. While Currie initially fronted the band, Jett shared some lead vocals, played rhythm guitar and wrote or co-wrote a lot of the band's material along with Ford, West and Currie. The band recorded five LPs, with Live In Japan becoming one of the biggest-selling imports in U.S. and U.K. history. The band toured around the world and some of their opening acts included Cheap Trick, Van Halen and Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. They found success abroad, especially in Japan.
Lita Ford
Lita Ford was born to a British father and an Italian mother in London, England. She moved with her family to the United States at the age of 4 and began playing the guitar at the age of 11. Her vocal range is mezzo-soprano.
In 1975 at the age of 16 she joined the all-female rock band The Runaways, for whom she played lead guitar. They would score a record deal and have their first album released in 1976.
[edit]The Runaways
It was not long before the all-girl formation caught the eye of the media. Lita Ford's guitar skills made her a driving force in the band and a permanent member from her arrival to the band's eventual break-up.
In 1979, disagreements were erupting within the band, who had since parted ways with both producer Kim Fowley and lead singer Cherie Currie. Rhythm guitarist Joan Jett and bassist Vicki Blue wanted the band to shift more towards Ramones-influenced punk music while Ford and drummer Sandy West wanted to continue playing hard rock-oriented songs. With neither side being able to compromise, the band finally broke up that year.
Robyn Robbins (based on Micki Steele and Jackie Fox)
Fox joined The Runaways shortly before her sixteenth birthday in 1976, making the switch from guitar to bass. A merit scholar, Fox was set for an early entry to UCLA to study mathematics when the opportunity to join the fledgling rock band arose. Fox was "discovered" dancing at the Starwood nightclub by Rodney Bingenheimer, the self-proclaimed 'mayor of the Sunset Strip,' who introduced her to Kim Fowley as the band was on a search for a singer and bass player to replace Peggy Foster.
Fox played with the band on the second studio album Queens of Noise but not on the band's debut album. According to multiple sources including Cherie Currie (in her memoir Neon Angel), the liner notes of the Raven Records release of The Runaways, and Fox herself, Blondie bassist Nigel Harrison played bass on the first album due to manager Kim Fowley refusing to let Fox play on the record.
She also appears on the Live in Japan album, and on Flaming Schoolgirls, which contains outtakes from the Queens of Noise recording sessions, and appears on the compilation albums, Neon Angels and Best of the Runaways. She played with the band on two tours of the U.S., one UK tour during which three band members were arrested, and the Japanese tour during which the band's live album was recorded. She left the band near the end of that tour.
Fox refused to give the rights for her to be portrayed in the 2010 film The Runaways. Instead, the bass player for the band is a fictional character named Robin portrayed by Alia Shawkat.
Sandy West
Sandy (born Sandy Pesavento) was born in Long Beach, California. When she was 9 years old, her grandfather bought her a drum kit, and being an avid fan of rock and roll acts of the 1960s and 1970s, she began practicing rock music immediately and regularly. She proved to have a natural talent and quickly became a proficient drummer.
[edit]The Runaways
Driven by her ambition to play professionally, she sought out fellow musicians and other industry contacts in southern California with the idea of forming an all girl rock band. In 1975, she met producer Kim Fowley, who gave her the phone number of another young musician in the area, guitarist Joan Jett. When Joan and Sandy met shortly thereafter (Joan took a bus to Sandy's home to play through some songs), there was a palpable synergy between them, and the inception of the eventual Runaways arguably took place that day. The girls subsequently played for Fowley, who agreed to help them find other female musicians to round out the band, most notably Lita Ford and Cherie Currie.
Interested in the entire collection??
The Runaways Soundtrack
(They left out some really great songs that were in the film!)
Dead End Justice
Queens of Noise
Cherry Bomb
California Paradise
I Love Playing With Fire
The Wild One (Suzie Quatro)
Do You Wanna Touch (Joan Jett)
Rebel Rebel (David Bowie)
Wild Thing (Troggs)
Gimme Danger (Iggy Pop & the Stooges)
Hollywood
You Drive Me Wild
I Wanna Be Your Dog (Iggy Pop & the Stooges)
Pretty Vacant (Sex Pistols)
Bad Reputation (Joan Jett)
Crimson and Clover (Joan Jett)
Enjoy some more great photos
from the film!
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