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2009 American Music Awards: Nicole Kidman

FabSugar — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 16:42:48 -0800

Next we have the always elegant Nicole Kidman. She and hubby Keith Urban walked the red carpet together, Nicole wearing a delicate one-shoulder tiered lace gown by Balenciaga. It's a soft look, finished with large hoop earrings. Do you approve?

Vote on all of my American Music Awards polls here!

Friday Fab News Roundup!

FabSugar — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 10:00:22 -0700

Vogue's star-studded cast - PopSugar
Front row at Paris Fashion Week - Red Carpet Fashion Awards
Win a $500 shopping spree to TJ Maxx - The Budget Fashionista
Christian Lacroix's savior - Vogue UK
Dina Lohan defends "genius" Lindsay - Page Six
Airport style - Frugal-Fashionista
Trend report: Spring/Summer 2010 - Vogue UK
Why we love shoes that hurt us - New York Times
Naomi Campbell and Louis Vuitton join forces for charity! - Grazia Daily
Yohji Yamamoto files for bankruptcy - FWD
Irving Penn remembered - Vogue UK
Grey Fall boots - Flypaper
Win this awesome AllSaints leather jacket - Nylon

A Fabby Halloween: A Stepford Wife

FabSugar — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 14:00:22 -0700

I know it's a demeaning classic, but have you ever read The Stepford Wives? The book is pretty good and a very quick read. I read it after I saw the remake movie version with Nicole Kidman, then I rented the '75 original. I don't know why I was so fascinated. Probably the same reason I love femme bots. The only time I would encourage dressing up like a blond robot is Halloween. So don't take it too seriously, it is kind of fun to dress up like Barbie. The nice thing about being a Stepford is that it isn't a slutty costume. Remember, the men of Stepford didn't want their wives flaunting their goods all over town, just in their own sick private worlds.

Get ready for lots more Halloween ideas as my Fabby Halloween series takes off. Join my A Fabby Halloween group where we can share ideas, photos, and revel in Halloween happiness.

Australia: A Romantic Wardrobe, Part II

FabSugar — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 08:00:22 -0800

Did you happen to go see Australia this weekend? If my first words with costume designer Catherine Martin didn't pique your interest maybe these will. Some specific items of clothing stood out to me in the film - notably the colors of Lady Ashley's clothes, her belts, and her red Chinosierie dress. Here's what Martin had to say about those standouts.

I noticed she wears a lot of blues and browns. The film is so visually arresting how did you factor in the color of the clothes with the beauty of the movie?

"I had another collaborator, Mandy Walker, who is the Director or Photography. Baz, Mandy and I looked at a lot of color photography from that period and we started talking about exploring a palette out of the photography. We had a broad palette that encompassed all the colors from the film. What’s interesting about the color photography from the period, it meant a lot of mixed tones that got really close together, you have a monochromatic base. From that we developed our own color theory.

For the arrival suit, it wasn’t the ideal color choice, we made her blue and white because it was the most unlikely, it clashed with the environment. She was a totally different alien person to this place. And as the movie progresses her colors are references to Australia and become much stronger, she becomes part of her environment."

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I noticed throughout her transition in the movie, she has a fondness for belts. Everyone wore belts. Was that more fashion or function?

"It’s a combination. The style was wearing two belts, a belt to hold your pants up, and a hobble belt, which helped you capture horses, tying their legs together so they can’t run away during the night, which some of the stockmen wore. Looking over the beautiful leather accessories and sportswear of the 1930s, there were some beautiful belts, notably made by Hermes and various other designers of the period. I think they’re a fantastic accessory; I love how it defines the waistline, pulls the outfit together. I really was a fan of the belt in this film."

I love how it also defined Nicole’s tiny, perfect waist. Even at the end of the film, she still looked put together.

"Yeah, it’s sort of a no nonsense thing. You feel definite in some way."

Tell me about the red Chinosierie dress. And the pink one. What a unique choice.

"Those two dresses. Basically, Lady Ashley loses all her clothes at one point. Baz said the challenge was: What is she going to wear when she gets to town, all her clothes have been trashed. We were looking in the contemporary newspapers of the day. And in the Northern a lot of Chinese tailors would advertise their manufacturing skills and that fact that they could make clothes in a very short space of time.

Darwin is closer to Indonesia than any other city. You had a very big Asian influence at the time, and a very important Chinatown. We made a back-story in our minds that Sing Song, who was the Chinese cook, would have had a coven who comes from Shanghai to Darwin and he would have a tailoring business. And Sarah would go to that business and get her clothes made. There was a big fashion amongst Asian people, which was a problem with the Nationalists of the time. In reality, she would have gone to a Chinese tailor."

The red dress was the standout dress of the movie, of the party. I love how it gets rained on, but she doesn’t care.

"Yes. The one good thing about silk organza is it responds to the wet."

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Which Nicole Kidman Australia Look Is Most Fab?

FabSugar — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 01:12:22 -0800

First of all, I highly recommend you watch Australia this weekend. And read all about what costume designer Catherine Martin had to say about the film's Fab wardrobe. Now that I got that off my chest, back to fashion. Nicole Kidman was all about sophisticated glamour during her Australia movie promotions. From delicate feathers to sequins, the seasoned actress reigned in her exquisite choices. My pick is Nicole in Dries Van Noten's shimmery frock - but that's just me. Which look do you prefer?

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Australia: A Romantic Wardrobe, Part I

FabSugar — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 16:00:22 -0800

Today, the highly anticipated romantic adventure Australia, directed by Baz Luhrmann, releases. I had the opportunity to preview the film, in all its romantic glory, as well as to speak with the costume designer, Catherine Martin. We also had a fun fete at the San Francisco Ferragamo store, in honor of Lady Ashley's shoes in the movie - all designed by the Italian fashion house. Two styles of limited-edition shoes were reproduced from the movie and are being sold at Ferragamo stores; 950 were made, and the San Francisco store is selling 120 of them.

There's so much to share, but I was really excited to see this film and speak with Martin. I am a huge Baz fan - I own both Moulin Rouge! and Romeo + Juliet - and as you may or may not know, Martin and Baz are married. Call it a cinematic match made in fashion heaven. No wonder the stories Luhrmann tells resonate so well: They are visually and emotionally epic. To hear what Martin had to say about Lady Ashley's wardrobe transformation, her kooky spyglasses (loved these), and the Ferragamo shoes, and to see lots of Australia eye candy, read more.

Can you talk about the transition of Lady Ashley’s wardrobe throughout the movie?

"Baz really focused on Lady Sarah Ashley’s wardrobe and the revealing to the audience of her change. Eighteen months before we starting rolling film we went to Nashville and met with Nicole. Under Baz’s instructions, I had designed and brought a whole bunch of costumes that polarized her before and after. We could explore what worked and what didn’t work. I brought a version of the riding suit, and the arrival costume, to try and find the dynamic of before and after."

So you had to really plan ahead?

"Yes, Baz is very detailed and demands a lot of research and back stories you need to discover and work on. And it takes months; we had a preproduction of about eight months and we were working with 2,000 costumes. That’s how long it takes."

Those kooky glasses Lady Ashley wore cracked me up. Where did you find those? And the mosquito net?

"In the script it said she wears spyglasses. And I said, “What are spy glasses?” There were travel logs written in the period about a woman wearing spyglasses. They were these glasses people wore to protect themselves from flies, which is also why she’s wearing the net. This is a classic design from the period. We made one slight alteration. Originally we thought they would be dark glasses but it was such a shame to not be able to see Nicole’s eyes. We swapped the glass for clear so you could see her reactions, which are so colorful and charming. The first pair were original period glasses we bought off the Internet, they were actually vintage and we had thickened them in our model workshop."

We had an event at the San Francisco Ferragamo store and I know Ferragamo designed the shoes for Nicole's character. How did all that come about?

"Footwear is always very difficult. To me a shoe really makes an outfit. But you have to think about practicality, too. They need to be comfortable. It’s preferable for them to be made to measure. Ferragamo seemed like an obvious partner; they have made shoes for aristocracy, royalty, and movie stars. And they had an enormous archive of shoes. They were groundbreakers and I thought what a great collaboration. It was fantastic - I was able to work with the designers, look back at the archives. And we could make changes and were eventually able to come up with a fantastic wardrobe of shoes for Lady Sarah Ashley."

What about Hugh's rugged shoes?

"Hugh’s were made by R.M. Williams, a traditional Australian bush outfitter. They made all the footwear for the stockmen and Hugh."

We couldn’t actually see the shoes she was wearing with the Chinoiserie red dress. I must know: What shoes was she wearing underneath there?

"Panne velvet sandals, they were a beautiful green gray. We used chagrine, which is stingray leather, which was very fashionable in the 1930s. Ferragamo has done a version of the shoe, in both black and red, as a limited edition. They are absolutely beautiful. From their inception, Ferragamo has always used exotic and textured shoes. There’s also a beautiful pair of Mary Jane’s, we used a wonderful raffia macramé, which was another one of Ferragamo’s signature looks.

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Trend Alert: Feathery Friends

FabSugar — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 08:00:22 -0800

It's all about texture, and more texture. Meet my new feathery friends. The hybrid of feather and fluff makes for a fun vintage look. Check out how Kate rocked an extra voluminous bronze Burberry frock, while Nicole Kidman radiated in a white shaggy mini by L'Wren Scott at the Australia premiere. If you're not keen on wearing this look head-to-toe, try separates like Tomei in her Alberta Ferretti skirt. Take the plumage and shake a tail feather.

Check out our new site CelebStyle for lots more celebrity street style!

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2008 Country Music Association Awards: Nicole Kidman

FabSugar — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 10:29:31 -0800

Nicole Kidman came out to support her country man Keith Urban last night. She showed off her slim post-baby bod in a fringed black Jil Sander frock. She kept her shoes and clutch simple but dazzled her earlobes with large round diamond earrings. Yet another LBD, does it work for her?

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Which Lady in White Is Most Fab?

FabSugar — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 15:00:22 -0800

Lady in red, begone - ladies in white are in full force. Sarah Michelle Gellar, Nicole Kidman, and Fergie all stepped onto Glamour's 2008 Women of the Year carpet in varying white gowns. Fergie (in Michael Kors) and Nicole (in L'Wren Scott) opted for floor-length while Sarah Michelle kept hers short. Gossip Girl Jessica Szohr also wore a long white J Mendel but to a different event - the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation's annual A Magical Evening Gala. Finally, Molly Sims attended a benefit for the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund in a goddess-like white gown. It's clear these ladies shine in white, but which lady in white is most Fab?

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On Our Radar: Ferragamo to Create Footwear For Upcoming Nicole Kidman Flick

FabSugar — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 16:00:22 -0700

Imagine having the task of creating footwear for a high-profile flick starring Nicole Kidman? That's precisely the boat Salvatore Ferragamo is in. The footwear designer, along with Oscar-winning costume designer Catherine Martin, is set to create a collection of shoes for Baz Luhrmann's Australia.

"My grandfather, Salvatore Ferragamo, began his career working in costume design for the American Film Company, a precursor to Twentieth Century Fox, so it is only fitting that we carry on his name and our company's heritage by collaborating once again on a film from Fox," said James Ferragamo.

When watching the movie, which comes out in November, look for evening sandals, riding boots, and classic wedge styles. Some shoes will later be sold at Ferragamo stores worldwide. But first, they will be displayed in Milan at the Evolving Legend Exhibition starting Sept. 24.

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Black Feather Cocktail Dresses by Sue Wong - $518.00	Rozae Nichols Feather Top - Black - $251.00
Feather Tube Dress - $248.00	Elizabeth and James Plume Skirt - $765.00
Ruched Feather Dress - $28.99	Walter Feathered Organza Bead Trimmed Top - $270.00
Pencey Feather Dress - $356.00	Fendi Feather Skirt - $925.00
Haute Hippie Feather Dress - $625.00	Milana Feather Fringe Dress - $368.00
Twelfth St. by Cynthia Vincent Feather Sleeve Blouse - $290.00	BCBGMAXAZRIA black silk chiffon ostrich feather trim dress - $382.00