FabSugar

Fab Read: A Year in High Heels

FabSugar — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 05:00:08 PDT

A Year in High Heels by Camilla Morton ($16), is the ultimate how-to guide on living a magnificently fashionable life.

Broken down month-by-month, Morton gives us advice on things every woman should know, from how to deal with Valentine's Day alone to diets and detoxing. Along with a forward from close friend and shoe extraordinaire Manolo Blahnik, who stated, "She is witty beyond belief, a wonder with words, and knows fashion like a medic would know the human body . . .", Morton also divulges tips from industry professionals such as Gisele Bundchen, Nick Knight, and Antonio Berardi, to name a few.

This how-to is packed with over 500 pages of tips I guarantee you will be using for the rest of your life. My favorite? Since I like to break the rules, I found her advice on decoding dress codes quite interesting.

Bachelorette Breakdown: First Impressions From the Premiere

Maggie Pehanick — Tue, 15 May 2012 10:09:48 PDT

Welcome to a new season of The Bachelorette, everyone! First of all, is anyone else as excited as I am to see Emily Maynard take the reigns, or roses, as it were? She is sweet as apple pie and I don't know anyone that doesn't love a Southern belle, least of all the gentlemen vying for her affections. I use the term "gentlemen" lightly, as several of them displayed relatively ungentlemanly behavior on this week's premiere.

As per Bachelorette tradition, the premiere included a basic primer to who Emily is, the limo intros with the guys, some time for Emily to mingle at her party and eventually give out the coveted First Impression rose, followed by the first rose ceremony. Let's have a quick rundown of the episode's highlights, shall we?

Find out our take when you read more.

American Idol: Who Deserves to Get Cut This Week?

Maggie Pehanick — Thu, 10 May 2012 06:24:30 PDT

We had a dual theme this week on American Idol. "California Dreaming" - which essentially meant songs about California, written by artists from California, or songs that were written in or around the state of California - was the first, followed by a round of songs that the contestants "wished they had written." Phillip Phillips started off the show with CCR's classic "Have You Ever Seen the Rain." Normally, Phillip is totally my bag, but this rendition was a little Los Lonely Boys-y for my taste. Hollie whipped out Journey's "Faithfully," which paired nicely with the Farrah Fawcett 'do the stylists gave her. Joshua Ledet went with "You Raise Me Up," which was right in his wheelhouse, and impressive as usual. It was slightly disconcerting to see 16-year-old Jessica Sanchez wobble around on those sky-high heels during her performance of "Steal Away," but the vocals were ridiculous.

Sitting on large swings and walking on pianos ensued during the duets round before the contestants went on to perform songs they've been most inspired by. Unfortunately, as we were so brutally reminded in the intro this week, every cut gets deeper as the competition goes on. So who deserves to be next on the chopping block?

Should There Be a War on Makeup For Little Girls?

BabyCenter — Wed, 02 May 2012 10:57:47 PDT

Here's a post from our partners at BabyCenter! Every week, we bring you the best parenting and lifestyle stories from the experts at BabyCenter, including this post from Betsy Shaw about kids and makeup.

Hope Perlman survived the moment of mothering girls I dread. In her post for NY Times' Motherlode, she relays the day her 13-year-old daughter begged to be allowed to wear makeup to a party.

After much soul searching – Perlman occasionally wears makeup herself – and lecturing, she said yes. She describes her rationale here:

"I wanted her to fit in, because I know fitting in is what middle school is about. But what, exactly, was she starting to fit into? The role of the teenager tortured by her failure to live up to a magazine picture? I'd been that teenager, with a picture of a model taped to my bedroom mirror. It wasn't what I wanted for my child."

So she acquiesced. But not before letting her know exactly what she thought about the message, so aggressively delivered by a male-dominated advertising industry, that girls and women need to paint themselves, cover their skin with lotions and potions, to be beautiful and feminine.

"So that's how I allowed my daughter to start wearing makeup," Perlman says at the end of her essay, "I gave her permission - along with a large and cumbersome bag of guilt. The personal is political. Better remember that. Here's your mascara, honey. And your burden of awareness. Enjoy!"

I relate to Perlman’s story: When my daughter first sensed I had "issues" with makeup, she was about four years old. She asked me to get her a makeup kit, like the one her little friend Hanna got for being a flower girl, and I refused.

"Why not?" she pouted.

Instead of simply saying "because I said so," I treated her to a verbal tirade of stinging righteousness that came from an apparently conflicted place inside of me.

Keep reading for more of the story.

A First Look at the Rosie Pope Collection For A Pea in the Pod

Rebecca M Gruber — Tue, 01 May 2012 13:01:07 PDT

It really is looking like this is the Summer of the British Invasion. With British boy bands burning up the charts, the London Olympics just a few months away, and the Queen's jubilee celebration about to begin, we can't turn around without spotting the Union Jack! Now the maternity world is set to be conquered by none other than Pregnant in Heels star and British expat Rosie Pope. As we told you earlier this year, Rosie Pope is creating a capsule collection for A Pea in the Pod filled with designs similar to her own high-end boutique pieces, but at a fraction of the price (pieces from the collection will start at $85).

I caught up with the expectant Rosie (she's less than two weeks away from delivering her third child and the second season of her show) to see the collection firsthand - and it's beautiful. The 15 "desk-to-dinner" pieces - including a shirt dress, shifts, silk tops, blazers, and cardigans - are designed to make moms-to-be feel more glamorous than ever before. And as for the design details, Rosie said she was inspired by what Kate Middleton wears. For all of the bending down the nonpregnant Duchess must do when greeting people, she chooses tops with higher necklines and lower backs, thus avoiding wardrobe malfunctions. Rosie employed the same principle for her new collection, hoping to keep pregnant women's growing assets covered up, but not in a frumpy way. When asked about an overall theme for the collection, she noted that it definitely has sex on its mind - just like many of her clients on the show this season! Check out some pieces from the Rosie Pope For A Pea in the Pod collection.

Who Says a 3-Year-Old Can't Use a Pacifier?

BabyCenter — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 08:03:29 PDT

Here's a post from our partners at BabyCenter! Every week, we bring you the best parenting and lifestyle stories from the experts at BabyCenter, including this post from Andrea Updike about toddlers using pacifiers.

I have a confession to make. My 3-year-old uses a pacifier when he sleeps. Also? I have no intention of taking it away.

We’ve all seen the pictures of Suri Cruise with her pacifier/bottle/high heels and made our judgments. We all think we will do things a certain way before we have kids. And we all find our own system that works that is somewhere between total control and total anarchy. Today? I am standing up for sleep. And for our family, that means the paci stays.

Related: What's Up With Big Babies?

My son sleeps. He sleeps well. He sleeps with a paci. Last year, we decided to drop the paci. We ceremoniously said good-bye, and he even (quite bravely) threw it in the garbage all by himself. That night he went right to sleep without a second thought. I was victorious. I was proud. I even blogged about it.

I was arrogant.

Not two days later, he stopped napping. Like, as in completely. He went from three-hour naps to nonstop chatter. I turned to Google to find out if he was ready to drop the nap. Post after post appeared saying that children dropped naps about the same time they dropped pacifiers. I knew the paci would be back.

Thankfully, I am really good at eating my words.

I marched myself right out to the store and purchased not one, but two new pacifiers. We named them "bedtime pacis" and told Oscar that they had to live in his bed. He gladly accepted those terms and is back to nice, long afternoon naps!

Of course, I worried that I would ruin his teeth forever, but my pediatrician gave me the OK, saying that he isn’t really sucking on it in his sleep, so it doesn’t cause the issues that might take place if he had it during waking hours. And that was all I needed to hear about that.

My name is Andrea Updyke, and I am proud of my pacifier-using 3-year-old.

When did your child drop the paci?

More great reads from BabyCenter:
Eight teacher appreciation gifts you can make
The 10 commandments of dance moms
Celebrate Earth Day with a neighborhood party
Twenty Cinco de Mayo ideas to get your fiesta on
Six warning signs of bogus parenting advice

Source: Flickr User KitchenDesigner

How to Stay Forever Young Like Madonna

Fitness Magazine — Tue, 03 Apr 2012 04:16:27 PDT

We are pumped to share one of our fave stories from Fitness Magazine here on FitSugar!

When you see Madonna on a talk show this week promoting her new album, MDNA (out now!), or during one of the stops on her world tour, which kicks off on May 29, you’ll be checking out moves choreographed by former Broadway dancer Nicole Winhoffer. She appeared in shows like Wicked and 42^nd Street, among others, before joining the Material Girl for her Sticky and Sweet Tour in 2009. Winhoffer, who is also a personal trainer, now works in the gym with Madonna six days a week to ensure that she’s ready for her grueling performances.

We caught up with Winhoffer to take a peek behind the scenes and to learn more about how everyone can train just like the amazing 53-year-old pop star!

If our readers could steal one trick from your work with Madonna, what would that be?

Body awareness. They must engage their mind while performing their exercises. Time and time again, I see people reading papers or watching TV while they work out. This might bring about injury, and if the mind is not connected to the body, you can't exert the proper amounts of energy needed to gain the desired results.

You were in Indianapolis to help Madonna prepare for the Super Bowl and are now gearing up to go on tour with her. How do you prepare for each performance?

Right before the show, we warm up in her dressing room. We complete active hamstring stretch sequences as well as other stretches, ensure joint mobility by performing jumps on the ground and on trampolines, and do ab work. As a result, her body is connected, warm, and ready for the performance.

People are still buzzing about her amazing halftime show performance. How do you get your body ready for something like that?

We increased our cardio for stamina - her show was the most physical 12 minutes I have ever experienced! Due to her high heels, we made sure her core was strong to support the stress placed on her lower back. We practiced several movements and routines from her performance within the workout so once she was on stage, her muscle memory kicked in.

Read on to get more tips on how Madonna stays in shape.

More from Fitness Magazine:

The Love-Your-Legs Workout

Your Guide to Spring Clean Your Life

Run a Half Marathon in 10 Weeks: Beginner Training Plan

Ashley Greene Talks Favorite Jeans, Her Foolproof Outfit, and Most Memorable Fashion Purchase

Hannah Weil — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 08:41:28 PDT

You may know her best as a member of the Cullen clan, but even if you're not a Twilight buff, chances are you've spotted Ashley Greene making the transition from actress to model as the face of DKNY Jeans. We caught up with the gorgeous campaign star at Macy's in NYC last night to chat all things fashion. Read on to find out Ashley's reaction to the DKNY campaign, her favorite denim, and her top fashion purchase of all time.

FabSugar: You look gorgeous in the campaign, but we've heard that you have trouble watching yourself on screen. How is seeing yourself in a fashion campaign different?
Ashley Greene: That was really fun for me. The thing about film is that you see all of your nuances. Nobody sits in front of the mirror and watches themselves talk. It's crazy, you get in your head. [For the DKNY campaign] I feel like I'm more excited to see what image they're going to choose and the team that we were working with was really incredible, and when I saw this billboard, it was just incredible. It was humongous. I was expecting something great but it just exceeded my expectations. So, no, that kind of stuff is exciting and I think it's kind of cool to have that snapshot in time, to be able to go back to that and say, "Look what I did!"

FS: You look fantastic in the campaign and the jeans are such a perfect fit on you. Do you have any rules when it comes to dressing your body?
AG: "I think in general with my body type, skinny jeans are pretty good on me. Jeans are really hard, though; you usually have to try them on because it just depends where they sit on you, and how much they flare, and how tall you are. It's really specific and it depends. I think low-rise skinnies are kind of a uniform with me. I actually think the high-rise flares are really fun, too. That's something I started embracing a lot more last year and stepping out of my box. I think they can be extremely flattering on people as well."

Ashley on her foolproof outfit and most memorable fashion purchase

Wild Thing: Fergie's 15 Most Showstopping Red-Carpet Looks

Brittney Stephens — Tue, 27 Mar 2012 03:30:55 PDT

Today is Fergie's 37th birthday! The talented and dynamic performer has been in the business for over 20 years (if you're especially cool, you'll remember her from her stint on the Disney Channel's Kids Incorporated, as well as in the '90s girl group Wild Orchid - those were the days!). These days, Fergie has exploded to fame as a member of the Black Eyed Peas as well as a successful solo artist, and never hesitates to take fashion risks on stage as well as the red carpet. She has mastered the art of hanging with the boys while looking ever the sexpot in body-conscious dresses, rocker-chic gowns, and sky-high heels. In honor of Fergie's big day, we're celebrating her true Fergalicious-ness by taking a look at 15 of her most jaw-dropping, fashion-forward looks - click through to see them all now.

Britney Spears Goes Short in LA For a Day Out With Fiancé Jason Trawick

Allie Merriam — Mon, 12 Mar 2012 09:07:00 PDT

Britney Spears spent a sunny afternoon out in LA yesterday with her fiancé Jason Trawick and her younger son Jayden James Federline. For the p.m. outing, Brit rocked a pair of cutoffs and high heels. Britney spent time with her loved ones while pondering a big change in her professional life. There are rumors Britney Spears will join The X Factor, a possibility she's said would be "fun." Britney hasn't come to an agreement about pay with the program's producers, including series creator Simon Cowell, and reportedly rejected their offer of $10 million for the first season. Whatever comes next for Britney will have to be planned around her wedding to Jason. The couple became engaged over the holidays after dating for over two years.