Swizz Beats Has Got Some Skillz

Because somehow his hotness is overriding the fact he has preying mantas / lily pads on his crotch

Purrr....

Diane Kruger Hustles Her Ginormous Dior Bustle

Diane Kruger wears Dior Spring 2012 Couture at Cannes Film Festival and somehow makes a bustle look modern and easy 

(She seems very pleased with herself, non?)

Damn those Germans and their ability to streamline!

Here's the same couture gown by intermediary Dior designer, Bill Gaytten, back in January 

Man, Milla Jovovitch Cannes Really Work a Dress

(Milla Jovovich in Atelier Versace Spring 2012 at Cannes)

Milla has special skills in filling out and working the hell out of a dress. She looks shades sexier at the amfAR Cinema Against AIDS Gala at Cannes than the model who closed out the Atelier Versace Spring 2012 show

That's how you bring attention to your cause, honey! 

This Zara Blazer Really Zips Around Town!

At Housing Work's "Design on a Dime" event last Thursday I admired a fashionable lady's yellow bouclé blazer with zip off bottom panel. She delighted in informing me it was Zara

































Well, now my fellow Maryland-er, model Hilary Rhoda popped up at The Shops at Target party last nite sportin' the same aurulent outerwear

Everyone's got yellow fever ! 

 (Zara 100% cotton bouclé zipper detail blazer, $129 at http://www.zara.com)

Prada Spring 2012 is Really Getting Some Mileage

All stylists wanna do is put Prada's vroom vroom vroom in the room room

(Just a taste of the many lady stars and model types that drive the Prada fashion force) 

And here's the 50's hot rod collection parked in the windows of the Madison Avenue flagship

These looks really rev my engine! 

Reed Krakoff's Lemon Safari

Boy, yellow's really having a moment this Spring. Go team Yellow! 

Emily Blunt is one 'Elle' of a Cover Girl

I am so hit or miss with Miss Emily Blunt. 

I like her and root for her. And, yes, I comprehend she's wealthy enough to both employee a team of stylists and not at all need my approval, but I really want to get behind her as a stylish lass. But then she goes and non-delivers. And then follows with the May 2012 UK Elle cover(s)

Wow! Senior fashion editor, Natalie Wansbrough-Jones is credited for this dramatic Fendi cover look and damn if Ms. Blunt don't be killin' it! 

Perhaps, her mother land just gets how to dress her because here she is on the cover of January 2011 UK Bazaar in Tom Ford looking equally stunning 

So either do all photo shoots in England or drag a Brit b***h with you at all times! Either way, I'll be watching you. And judging you. 

Thanks for the Ad: Dolce and Gabbana Makeup Spring 2012

Man Mother Nature really did a 180 here, right? Just last week I packed up my sweaters and woolies as those confident early items to box and tape for the impending move. Now I ravaged the nearest with scissors and tires eyes this morning for something to fight the hard freeze out on the street. 

Meanwhile, British actress Felicity Jones isn't having this problem

She's in a land of pastels and butterflies. B***h. 

Madonna Moves in and I Move Out

This Sunday I move to Park Slope and leave behind the world of NoLita. I will grandly miss the area for its ability to be approximate to every other neighborhood, but also other little things like giant Madonna ads next to beat down Chinatown laundromat fronts.

What the Google?

We haven't checked in with our favorite morphic guess who in awhile. 

And wouldn't you know the logo du jour is from none other than It Can't All Be Dior favorite Marimekko!  

Happy first day of Spring, kids. Bring out them colorful matchstick jeans! 

What to Spend Your Green On

It's St Patrick's Day and before you get bloated on cheep beer and even cheaper street eats to soak it up, you gotta sport some green. Here's some looks that will tickle your Irish even if you are not I-Rich!


1. Zara viscose cutout shift

Although perhaps a short dress with cutouts is not the premier choice for streets filled with drunken straight men. Another day, perhaps, ladies. 

($69.90 at zara.com)

2. Shipley & Halmos men's striped cotton pocket tank 

The priciest thing on my list here, but the value of a cute boy in a tank top is priceless, ammarite?

($85 at shipley-halmos.com)







3. Old Navy stretch denim skinny jeans

The stranglehold of the skinny jean does not relent and Spring 2012 is gonna be all about a colorful pant. Combine the two and you got a season long must for the price of a cheap dinner. 

($34.94 at  http://oldnavy.gap.com/ ) 

4. Olsenboye metal wayfarers 

The Row makes basics we all long for and Elizabeth and James gives instant downtown cred, but both brands are outside of the everyday budget. Luckily JC Penney got a hold of those Olsen gals and wrestled a lower priced line out of them. Use the muscle of this mall mainstay to your advantage and nab these oh so Mod glasses before they're gone! 

($15! at jcpenney.com) 

5. ALDO leather 'Hains' convertible clutch

I learned very quickly in my career in fashion, that women crave shoulder straps. It allows for easier errand running, subway catching and creep combating. However switch into a clutch and you've got quite the guy swatter.

($42 at aldoshoes.com)








6. Express men's cotton blend argyle socks

This is one way to honor your Irish(?) roots without being that guy in the light up shamrock glasses. 

($9.90 at express.com) 

7. ASOS mermaid chain

Never did time in the navy and have the tats to prove it? Fake it with this seatime siren on a string. Ahoy laddie!

($7.16 at us.asos.com)

If Peter Som Made Menswear

I'd imagine some pretty amazing pieces based on his current Spring collection.

Picture it: New York City, 2012


This whimsical zebra print would be mine all mine, but in jaunty shorts with cuffs and a grosgrain belt

Since it's so chilly in my office, perhaps a lightweight sweater is more in line

Although I don't think I'm at the still sick + chilly office point where I need a full on coat, but if I did and if he made menswear, how sleek would a man's version of this structured stud be?

Is It Wind Swept Hair Season Yet?

Or do I need to hire someone to follow me around me with a wind machine? 

Either way, ads like this one from Reed Krakoff remind me of my favorite thing about Spring: windy, unpredictable days scampering about the city. 

Groundhog, you better get on page! 

Let's Put Alexis Mabille's Couture Quote to the Test

"This is couture you can really wear"   - Alexis Mabille, Style.com

Hmm... let's see

Okay let's just get right out of the way that large floral hats and painted faces are old stage tricks and never implied reality.  That swing coat, however, is quite elegant with a maxi (although I'd steer clear of the dreaded matchy matchy) but also the perfect topper for a casual look in need of a punch of refinement. Totally wearable! 

Stretch jersey dresses have been many a designers bread and butter and that rich colorblocking is right on trend. The asymmetrical shoulder bow is too long and that fringe feels too heavy, but a good whack of the scissors makes this a pretty summer evening dress with a high up wood bangle on the clean arm. Cute. 

People, I'm letting you know Easter egg colored pants are on their way. GAP, Joe's Jeans, J Crew ... so many already have this trend stocked ten to the rafters and every girl worth her 3-pack of Hanes little boy wife beaters will be sporting this look when the temps rise. The brocade here is the key twist and could transition to fall with dark suiting or angora short sleeve sweaters. 

Surprisingly youthful for a couture show, this laser cut dress is both bohemian and light and sweet. Many women turn to that flirty combination for a more polished summer look. Absolutely wearable and will be knocked off a bunch! 

Wow, did a fashion designer use real talk just now? Must be a full moon. 

Dior Does Dovima

What does a house with a revered fashion reputation do after its new head designer's debut "Melancholy Mimes from Mars" couture collection was ripped to shreds? 

Revert to what you know works, and for Dior and Bill Gaytten, that fool proof course is "The New Look"

The nipped waist and dramatic skirt flourish shocked Carmel Snow (who famously coined the style's fashion forward moniker) post World War II and this level of sophistication is even more startling now when juxtaposed against so much bunk!

Personally each of these black and white wonders gives me visions of the one and only supermodel den mother and Avedon muse, Dovima

This retro refinement speaks to the well heeled and celebutante alike (that first dress should be top pick for Rooney Mara's Oscar look. You heard it hear first!) and the critics are already applauding. Go ahead Gaytten! Just furthering the mumblings that there's no need to rush replacing Galliano.