Are you in…or out?
The gang’s all here for the tenth season of Project Runway: Heidi, Nina Garcia, Michael Kors (whom we have a super secret crush on) and the uber-diplomatic Tim Gunn (yay!), and sixteen designers are set to cut, stitch, hem and claw their way to the top. We CAN. NOT. WAIT.
Click HERE to view this season’s teaser video.
Watching tonight on Lifetime at 8:00 CST? We’ll be live tweeting the fabness from @SameChicSouth; join us!
Image via Lifetime
As hot and dry as this weather has been, our skin needs all the TLC it can get. Of course, you should be drinking plenty of water and using sunscreen as part of your skincare routine, but as I swiped the last of my moisturizer this morning I wanted to share just how awesome it is. I’ve been using Clinique’s Moisture Surge Intense Skin Fortifying Hydrator ($37 plus tax at Belk) for about six months.
Quite simply, this stuff is heaven in a jar. The oil free cream-gel makes my dry skin feel velvety-soft all day long. If you’re balking at the price, just know that a little dab goes a long way, and consider it an investment in your complexion. It wears well under sunscreen and makeup and does not irritate sensitive skin.
Image via Clinique.com
‘Parade’ pump by BCBGeneration, $89.99
Ladies, there’s nothing like a buff or beige pump to lengthen the leg. What I also love about a nude pump is that as a neutral accessory, it’s very versatile. So whether you’re wearing neon, pastel, a primary color or basic black, this shoe will complement your ensemble. My best practice is to keep a couple of pairs: a strappy sandal to wear with sundresses, jumpsuits and shorts and my current love: a closed-toe platform in a cashew-colored snakeskin. The animal print gives it visual interest, and the covered platform and stiletto heel will give your legs a wow factor!
Of course, skintones vary and thankfully so do the options. It’s very easy nowadays to find a shoe that will flatter your complexion in a toasted almond, beige, tan and so forth. Make it a must-have for your collection.
P.S. if you find your pair is a little too tight, be sure to stretch it so that you don’t injure your feet. Your local shoe repair can do this, or you can try what I did: a shoe stretcher! It’s a wooden insert with a screw you turn to widen it. Mine (okay, the one I borrowed from my mother) is cedar and can be slipped into either the right or the left shoe. The stretcher is strategically perforated; it has a plastic nodule (or “ortho plug”) you can remove and place in key spots where your tootsies need the most relief. It works like a charm!
Image via Nordstrom
From Ferragamo’s humble beginnings to Dorothy’s ruby slippers, from Wonder Woman’s boots to the shoe envy created by the latest Louboutin creation (with a good measure of Carrie Bradshaw’s Manolo habit mixed in), Rachelle Bergstein illuminates the social history of shoes in Women from the Ankle Down: the Story of Shoes and How They Define Us. Witty and captivating, she shares how design innovations and trends have coincided with social change. More than a mere fashion choice, shoes have come to signify personal empowerment and economic freedom. Jane Fonda helped lead a fitness craze with a pair of Reebok Freestyles (which, by the way, are back in style); Gwen Stefani and Courtney Love helped change the perception of women in music in wearing pairs of Mary Janes. Men aren’t left out; Bergstein also looks at how Vans, Chuck Taylors Doc Martens transformed the scene, and she even devotes a chapter to Tony Manero’s towering platforms in Saturday Night Fever.
My “shoe confession”? As I sit writing this in my red Italian suede flats from J.Crew, I still believe one shoe can change your life. Hey, it worked for Cinderella!
Image via RachelleBergstein.com
Break out your freshest Aviators and Wayfarers: Ray-Ban is turning 75 this year! To celebrate, they’ve launched the Ambermatic capsule collection, featuring their classic Aviators (the Shooter and the Outdoorsman) with photochromatic yellow lenses which darken as the temperature increases and light brightens. Produced under the slogan “Legends Never Hide,” these limited-edition sunnies (only 18,000 pairs were made) can be yours for $210, and can be purchased at select Ray-Ban stores and Sunglass Huts, as well as on the website.
Image via Ray-Ban
True story: when I was about seven, I wanted to be Tootie on the Facts of Life. Remember when she was President of Jermaine Jackson’s fan club?!
Okay, so I’m not seven anymore (and there are so many things going on in that first video, starting with what Jermaine Jackson actually used to look like and his bedazzled outfit! And Tootie’s Members Only jacket! And that road manager’s tight jeans and hairline!). But wouldn’t it be amazing to go through life on roller skates the way she used to? Okay, for the two of you who haven’t now decided I’m a raving lunatic, I saw these old school skates with fun multi-colored wheels at C. Wonder. At $75, all they need is a pair of pompoms and bells laced through them! If I could get away with it, I’d roller skate around downtown in them. It’d make the workday a little more interesting, no?
Or maybe I’d just save them for a roller disco night out.
In any case, everyone’s closet needs that one whimsical item that makes you smile on the worst days. These skates remind me to keep it moving, no matter what.
XOXO, Alexis
Image via cwonder.com
Ultrasuede: In Search of Halston is Whitney Smith’s 2010 ode to Roy Halston Frowick, better known simply as “Halston.” Known for his modern, pared-down yet uber glam take on womenswear, Halston owned the seventies and proved that American design was as relevant as those from Europe. Smith – in a Smokey and The Bandit-type Trans Am and various hairstyles – sets out to uncover more about the designer’s life and legacy.
Along the way, he meets up with the imperious and formidable André Leon Talley, a chatty Liza Minelli (who was close friends with the designer), former model Anjelica Huston and legendary model Pat Cleveland, a favorite of Halston’s (she was known as The Moth, because she strutted toward the light. She also modeled in his triumphant “Battle of Versailles” show.) We also get a peek at the Halston archives, located at Lipscomb University in Nashville (who knew!) and a crash course in 70s era decadent music and nighlife.
The documentary, which is as light and airy as a swath of chiffon, provides something akin to a Cliff Notes version of Halston’s life and legacy. Although we get a glimpse into his posh home, posh friends (including Andy Warhol and Bianca Jagger), his archives (located at Nashville’s Lipscomb University) and his decadent and ultimately tragic life, we don’t get much else. Smith touches on Halston’s significant influence – the Iowa boy became a milliner who put new First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy in a pillbox and simple cloth coat and influenced the likes of Calvin Klein – but Smith fails to go deeper into the material. He also hits the highlights of Halston’s business ventures: the licensing of his name and his partnership with JC Penney (which led to his line being dropped by Bergdorf Goodman) and sort of tainted his brand, but yet which set the stage for the current democratization of fashion (e.g. Isaac Mizrahi at Target and Versace at H&M). Halston was ahead of his time in realizing that women wanted high fashion even if they didn’t have deep pockets, and he attempted to cash in on that idea before it was popular.
If Smith hadn’t been so concerned with asking shallow questions or in reliving the 70s – if he had looked deeper into Halston’s motivations and his genius – this would have been a much better documentary.
View some of Halston’s designs HERE, and Smith’s interview with Liza HERE.
Same Chic Different Day 