Karen Elson

Karen Elson and Jack White — what an original yet down-to-earth couple. She's a beautiful, ginger-haired British model and now also a singer. He's an eclectic musician, guitarist for The White Stripes and The Raconteurs, and drummer for The Dead Weather. Together, they're twice as stylish, twice as talented.

It all started when Karen appeared in The White Stripes Blue Orchid music video. They eventually got married in 2005 and are now parents of a girl, Scarlett, and boy, Henry. Though they don't pose for many photographs together, they do show up arm in arm at the Costume Institute's Met Gala. And most recently, they got snapped for their first-ever fashion spread together in Vogue's June issue. Karen and Jack make fair skin and adversely dark clothing look incredibly tempting.

To see more photos of power couple Karen and Jack, read more

Don't really want to put your money toward one of this week's DVD releases? How about some downloadable tunes instead? This week's offerings include not one, but two huge soundtracks, along with a debut album from a somewhat familiar face. Give them a listen!

Model musician: I was equally curious and skeptical about Karen Elson's musical debut, The Ghost Who Walks. I'm happy to report that Elson, a former model (and better known as Jack White's wife), has proven herself with this accomplished, folky album that shows off her gorgeous voice. I love the title song most for its sexy, retro swagger, while the bluegrassy "Cruel Summer" is reminiscent of classic country chanteuses like June Carter Cash. Finally, "The Truth Is in the Dirt" rounds out my top three tracks for its haunting but passionate quality.

Needs more sparkle: The Sex and the City 2 soundtrack is finally here. Initial thoughts: 1) Not as good as the first film's. 2) Give us more party jams! Don't get me wrong, the Middle Eastern musical influences are fun, and a few tunes are high on girl-power like "Can't Touch It"; however, Liza Minelli's version of "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)" and a karoake rendition of "I Am Woman" (yes, it's SJP and the girls singing!) don't work as well outside of the movie. What does: two contributions from Alicia Keys, including a cover of "Rapture" that mixes in the SATC theme song.

I've got another soundtrack if you read more

>> For a recent chat with the Financial Times's Vanessa Friedman, Marc Jacobs wore a white button-down shirt with jeans instead of his usual kilt; is his addiction to the skort waning, perhaps courtesy of his fiance Lorenzo Martone's dislike of the look? “I just didn’t feel like wearing it,” Jacobs explained.

As for his compulsive gym habit, Jacobs says he hasn’t “been able to work out at all,” due to a torn rotator cuff on his shoulder; he's having surgery in a few weeks. His predilection for purchasing art, too, has been curbed: “Actually, I haven’t bought anything for a long time. The other day I bought a little 1962 Ellsworth Kelly at the Christie’s auction, but that’s it. It was a funny thing for me to buy, too. It’s just a white square with a yellow curve. Usually I like more figurative work – this is the sort of thing I’d look at and admire but not want to buy. But I just like it . . . it makes me happy.”

Plus: details on the Louis Vuitton Fall 2010 campaign »

>> More of Balenciaga's 10-Model Fall 2010 Campaign Cast, Revealed —Late last month, word came that Balenciaga cast 10 models for its Fall 2010 campaign, Karen Elson and Stella Tennant among them.  Now, a few more names have been added to the list: Mirte Maas, newcomer Julija Step, Meghan Collison, Eliza Cummings, Iselin Steiro, and in a bit of a surprise, perennial Chanel favorite Freja Beha Erichsen. Steven Meisel photographed the ads and house muse Marie Amelie Sauve did styling honors. [WWD, Vogue.it, TFS]

>> Fall 2010 campaign season is well under way — and although not all casts have been finalized, as is the case over at Miu Miu, many have, causing an influx of rumors and confirmations.  On Wednesday, Karen Elson joined Christy Turlington and Natalia Vodianova on the Fall 2010 Louis Vuitton campaign set in New York, where Steven Meisel photographed and Karl Templer styled. Meisel also shot the Lanvin campaign this week in New York, with Alber Elbaz overseeing another trio: Anja Rubik, Magdelena Frackowiak and Mariacarla Boscono.

Givenchy, too, is rumored to be going with a trio of female models — Ming Xi, Joan Smalls, and Mariacarla Boscono — joined by a few male models in front of Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott's lens. But the trio trend breaks there — word going around is that Meisel captured 12 girls for Balenciaga, including Finnish newcomer Kirsi Pyrhonen, and Roberto Cavalli is going solo with Gisele Bundchen shot by Mert and Marcus.

Karen Elson — the 31-year-old model, wife of Jack White, vintage store owner, mother of two, and Upright Citizens Brigade performer — most recently added solo music artist to her growing resume. Elson has finished her first album (called The Ghost Who Walks and produced by her husband), and tonight she will perform a preview of songs at New York's Le Poisson Rouge.

The Nashville-based Elson says her music is highly influenced by Hank Williams and Patsy Cline. "There are also a lot of murder ballads on there, which is quite morbid," she told WWD. "The last song on my record is called “Mouths to Feed,” which was inspired by the Great Depression and Dust Bowl, about a woman who’s a farmer, who’s been working her hands to the bone and all she has left is dust."

In response to those questioning the model's legitimacy as a singer/songwriter, she says: "I was unbearably concerned and insecure about that, and that’s what has taken me so long to put a record out. Model-slash-anything is just such a [stigma], which is a shame because I know so many ridiculously talented models. It’s just the connotation of the word ‘model.’ If you said waitress-slash-singer or secretary-slash-singer, it’s all fine."

Karen Elson's The Ghost Who Walks will be released in May.

Source: Getty

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Purchase pieces from Burberry's Fall 2010 collection until the end of the week.

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>> Karen Elson Has an Album Coming Out —Karen Elson has dabbled in music a number of times in the past, but it sounds like this time she's making an official foray: she just released the debut video from her upcoming 12-song album — a live, acoustic version of the title track, "The Ghost Who Walks."  The song can be downloaded from Elson's official page, and the album, which she would only describe as "spooky," is produced by her husband, The White Stripes' Jack White, and recorded at his Nashville studios.  Expect a Summer release. [KarenElson.com, Spin, Beauty Counter]

The video! »