Jimmy Choo more than just

Jimmy Choo, you know the high end shoes and accessories, signed a ten year deal with Paris based Selective Beauty SAS. Choo will debut a new woman’s fragrance in Spring 2009 (not so far away) expanding their already worldwide success. There are also talks of clothing, swimwear, and even eyewear down the line. Head to toe Choo sounds a bit pricey to me. Wonder if you’ll have to go up a size in the jeans as well?

Jaslene’s (Back) Cover Story

The July issue of Seventeen is officially on the shelves, but the cover is hardly what the newest ANTM winner, Jaslene, must have been expecting. I’ll admit, now that Tyra’s finished Cycle 8, I’m not nearly as attentive as I was in the beginning, but I watched enough of the last season to form a gossip-worthy opinion of the final contestants. Jaslene’s nothing special in the big scheme of things, but you’ve got to feel bad for this girl.

The cover story and editorial spread prize leaves much to be desired.. out of the few photos actually printed, only about half are even flattering (small as they are), and as if that were bad enough, this month’s magazine shares a double cover between Jaslene and.. Jessica Alba! Who could possibly compete with that? I don’t have a vested interest in seeing Jaslene’s modeling dreams realized, but even the most cynical fashionista would hope she’d at least grace the FRONT of newsstands for a few weeks.

What am I wearing this summer?

Global warming is in full effect yo. I say that because May in New York was really hot. Normally May is that transition month between cool spring and warm spring. We skipped the spring altogether and jumped into the hot. So now that I’ve dutifully played the meteorological role, let me answer the all important question that has kept everyone up at night, waiting with baited breath for this post.

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Still waiting? The suspense is dreadful, no?

Ok enough games, here’s my checklist for the summer:

Stepping away from the sundress. It’s just way too fabulous and way too “look at me, look at me… don’t I look so cute in my sundress..” ugh

Probably going to be doing the simple little black dress with heels type of thing this summer for days where I want to look professional, intimidating or just not to be jostled with on a crowded Manhattan street. Also, if I do move to colors or summer-like dresses, i’m staying away from anything poufy or brightly colored. I’m not pregnant and don’t want to look as if I am, so the big roundish dresses I am seeing being worn in the village by those rich socialites and elitist, will not be seen on me. I’m also not interested in being some sort of colorful flag walking down the street.

Samantha Cabrera, Papierdoll’s shopping editor extraordinaire put me on to Matt Bernson in her interview with the shoe designer and damn it I love him and the shoes he’s bringing to the discussion. Mr. Louboutin eat your heart out. Bless you Samantha, I read essentials every month.

I’m also wearing a lot of Tracy Reese for the summer. I’m not certain why, but ever since last fashion week I’ve been thoroughly impressed by her pieces. Not convinced? See here.

And while I would advise anyone to stay away from any ONE designer for too long (Marc Jacobs doing his best Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen impression from a couple of seasons back is exactly what I am referencing right now), I do believe that Reese’s pieces (no pun intended) have been consistent season after season. I am a believer.

I am also keeping the accessories and makeup to a minimum. Maybe a simple watch, very light makeup at all times-heavy is for the clowns at Ringling Bros. Though I find heels gorgeous, I’m going for comfort this summer, maybe they make a return in the fall. I’ll be flat footed most of the season.

Ok, so now that I’ve done a fluff, quasi-pedestrian blog post on my trends for the summer (and alienated 99% of you who don’t really care), I’m dying to know yours, maybe I can be completely unimaginitive and pluck from your ideas. Leave a comment and share your ideas, so I can -copy-, ahem, borrow.

5 things Project Runway should do differently this year

With news that Project Runway is currently taping for their new season, I couldn’t pass up this opportunity to create a list of things I want to see on the show this year. I love top 10 lists, but I am strapped for time, so I have put together a top 5 list of things the show should do differently this year. Mind you, I am not a television producer, but some things irked me last season and I really figure Bravo can get super-fantastic (sorry Manolo) ratings if they do a couple of things:

5. An appearance by Tommy Hilfiger. Although his line has seen a resurgence of late, his show, The Cut, failed miserably, and he needs to appear on Project Runway and beg the great Heidi Klum for forgiveness when he attempted to challenge her fashion reality show dominance with another show on network TV. Bravo’s Project Runway ratings trumped CBS’ The Cut ratings hands down. That’s right cable tv beat out network TV. Take that Les Moonves!

4. An early elimination for the black or blond designer. They stretch it out way too long. They normally perform very well on the show and there is no reason that they shouldn’t win. It’s almost a tease. Whenever they end up in the the last three, they lose on some sort of technicality. Honestly, Kara Saun should have won in the 1st season (sorry Jay). So I propose, instead of dragging out the tease, they should eliminate the black designer and/or the blond designer immediately. If you’re blond, you also have a bad deal because will usually get eliminated within the first 3 shows. Or I could be making this whole thing up.

3. The judges need to be slapped. Somewhere in the middle of a critique of one of the aspiring designer’s pieces, the designer should simply step down from the stage and slap any judge that says something woefully wrong about their work. They should then proceed to say, “I’m Rick James, bitch!”

2. More gay romances. They should up the gay romance quotient from 0 to at least 1 this year. Wouldn’t it be something to watch if someone had a crush on Tim Gunn and it was reciprocated? Or maybe inter-aspiring-designer romances. While they are definitely competitors, someone should complicate the situation and fall in love. Then quickly out of love when one of the lovebirds finds out the other has been stealing their interest’s designs.

1. There should be more “motherfucking walk-offs”. These models are getting a free ride simply sauntering down the runway. There should be some sort of fight to walk down the runway in a designer’s piece. No rock paper scissors here. I’m talking Zoolander, underwear pulling, position turning, posturing walk-off.

What’s your list look like? Leave a comment.

Ghetto Fabulous

Sometimes there are fashion photos from our spreads that are never seen. It could be lighting, it could be hair/makeup, it could be the fact that we simply forgot to include the photo. Sometimes we wonder what we were going for with a particular look. Michelle will call the stylist up and ask her “hey what was this about?” I’m sure it happens at the larger print magazines. For example, last month’s Bridal Bliss featured a bride with no one to marry. Turns out the photographer forgot to send us this last photo (maybe she was holding it for herself) who knows? Long story short, she finally sent it, but it’s sorta late to include it in the gallery because Bridal Bliss was last month ago and Hats Off is this month. So I decided to break ranks and publish one of the photos that was never seen. First thing to note is that if you want to wear this wedding dress and accessorize it properly you have to be a Yankees fan. See below:

photography Reka Nyari
styling Johanna Laracuente
hair Dennis Bailey
makeup Yisell Santos