FabSugar

Before They Were Stars

FabSugar — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 08:00:22 -0700

My parents moved in college. Painfully, one Summer I had to go through all my adolescent memorabilia and clean house. I had years and years of fashion magazines and my mom was serious about downsizing seeing as how I didn't even have a bedroom to put my stuff in (boo).

My ADD went into full effect when I was cleaning out and I spent hours flipping through past issues of Vogue, W, Bazaar, The Face, ELLE and whatever else I consumed during my years of angst. Alas, fashion was/is my salvation so I could not part with these images. I decided to put my favorite ads and editorials in binders to preserve them.

Once in a while I flip through the binders to admire the pages of fashion circa 1990-2000. When supermodels reigned, Liz Tilberis was the Editor of Bazaar and grunge gave way to minimalism. Oh look, there's Diane Kruger modeling for Emanuel Ungaro before she was an actress, looking sultry as always. And Chloe Sevigny, right around her Kids debut, modeling for Miu Miu. The ever-evolving Drew also looking wonderfully alternative in a Miu Miu ad. Interesting how all three budding stars are Fab favorites.

Celebrity models are nothing new, but this is when it was.

To see Chloe Sevigny and Drew Barrymore modeling for Miu Miu, read more

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Play Our 2009 Teen Choice Awards Faceoff!

FabSugar — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 11:30:00 -0700

The Teen Choice Awards are over, but we were on the case before it even aired. Now that we've seen all the stars walk the grass carpet, it's time to decide who's more Fab with our 2009 Teen Choice Awards Faceoff. What are you waiting for? Oh, and remember, those who play get a chance to win $1,000.

Play Our 2009 Teen Choice Awards Faceoff!

FabSugar — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 04:30:22 -0700

2009 Fall New York Fashion Week: A Few Fab Words With . . . Privileged Star Joanna Garcia at BCBG

FabSugar — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 17:00:22 -0800

I know you all love some BCBG, and guess who does too? Privileged star Joanna Garcia. I chatted with her front row at the show, and a new girl crush started to develop. Before I take you into the mind of Joanna - the clothes. They were architectural and fluid, hard and soft. Colors ranged from ivory to dusty wineberry to teal to steel gray. BCBG focused on the future and constructivism. I'll pass on the cocoon-like coats, but the fluid dresses always make me melt. Fabrics were diverse: wool jacquard, silk, micro jersey, and velvet. The shibori-dyed items piqued my interest, delivering an exotic side of BCBG. What really made the clothes shine, though, were the hypnotizing gold and pewter legging tights; now those were future chic.

Here's what Joanna and I chatted about:

We have a website called CelebStyle.com where we cover your Privileged wardrobe.

"Yeah, I know! It's so great. The girls have much more fun stuff on there, but I definitely love looking at all that stuff; I think it's such a great website."

Can you talk about your wardrobe on the show?

"My wardrobe is pretty basic. Cute tops, and sweaters, and jeans, stuff like that. Very much my everyday style. The other girls have a lot more fun. I actually helped design an original dress for our season finale. It took three fittings, and I was like 'This is for the birds! This is a lot of work,' so I leave the high fashion to the other girls. It was absolutely beautiful though. It was made for me, and I’ve never had that before, except my prom dress when I was 17 and it didn't turn out as nice."

To read the rest and to see more from the BCBG runway, read more.

Is this your first Fashion Week?

"This is my first New York Fashion Week. I've been to LA Fashion Week. This is very exciting. This is my first show – I'm only going to two – I'm flying back to LA tomorrow. It's very dramatic. I'm going to Rag & Bone, I'm a big fan. But I wear BCBG more than anything."

Who are some of your other favorite designers right now?

"I've always been a Marc Jacobs fan. And I love Stella McCartney, her stuff is off the charts. Some of the dresses from Blumarine - I got to wear one for the Golden Globes - they were amazing. I just pick and choose; anything that's beautiful and comfortable and vibrant colors I am so in love with."

And you're a redhead so you look great in bold colors.

"It's kind of amazing. I was a blonde my whole life until Privileged, and once I became a redhead I had no idea what I was getting into; I don’t think I'll ever go back."

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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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The Project Runway Season Five Finale Runway Show!

FabSugar — Sat, 13 Sep 2008 17:10:36 -0700

The grand finale of my Fashion Week was the Project Runway finale show. And what a show it was. Before the season five contestants showed their collections, it was a reunion among familiar faces. It's always a joy seeing Runway alumni gather and mingle. The recently booted Blayne and Terri were there - all smiles - and favorites like Jay, Rami, Jillian (wearing a familiar knit sweater from her collection), Chris March, and Jack Mackenroth (who I chatted with at the Jill Stuart show, he is so sweet) all made cameos. Enter Christian Siriano, who had his own Spring show the night before. Then, Michelle Tractenberg, Rachel Zoe, and Harvey Weinstein were chatting about. Quite the spectacle!Anticipation grew once Heidi, Nina, and Michael Kors all came out to welcoming applause. Side note: Are Heidi and Nina both wearing Roland Mouret dresses? They looked great, but I wonder if that was planned. At 9:30 a.m. the lights dimmed and Heidi appeared, microphone in hand. She said some heartfelt words to the people of Bravo and the Magic Elves (the show's producers) - saying goodbye and thanking them for five great seasons. To bring you up to speed, Runway is moving to Lifetime for their sixth season (and that will be interesting in itself).

The guest judge seat remained empty. All week long there had been rumblings about Jennifer Lopez being the guest judge, but it was anticlimactic when Heidi announced that Lopez was unable to due to "a foot injury." Boo. And so, Tim Gunn stepped in at the last minute to serve as guest judge. Don't get me wrong - I adore Gunn - but it was very exciting when Victoria Beckham graced us with her presence last time. Once all was said and done, the first collection, by Jerell, was unveiled . . .

To see the collections of Jerell, Suede, Joe, Korto, Kenley, and Leanne, and to read my reviews, read more.

Jerell
Jerell has one of the most lovable personalities, but his collection wasn't so. He came out and thanked his parents, boyfriend, and bestie, and I was really looking forward to his final collection. Bustiers, ruffles, dramatic bodices, and black and gold comprised his aesthetic. There was a regal undertone, as well as a pirate feel, but the taste level just wasn't that high. His two gowns didn't fit so well, and there wasn't a strong point of view. My favorite look was the embellished cardigan over a striped dress with sheer overlay.

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Suede
Oh gosh. I really didn't like this collection. It was immature and incohesive, and the Barbie girl color palette was ridiculous. Suede claimed "Suede's going to rock it" but he didn't. He mixed plaid with pastels, ruffles with one shoulder, and shredded and draped pieces; cotton candy fabrics were utterly unsophisticated. I didn't mind the wedding dress, but that was subpar.

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Joe
Joe is vanilla. His heart is in the right place, but his talent is hit or miss. Throughout the season, he's had some winners and losers, but his final works, which he claimed were Americana-inspired, were disappointing. He should have taken a more Ralph Lauren elegance take on the theme, and less Harley Davidson rough and tough. Brown leather corsets, patterned jeans, leather pants, and a navy dress with white stars were misses; a super cute paisley print dress, turquoise ornamentation, and a textured red ball gown skirt were hits. But this collection was not consistent enough to win.

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Kenley
Fun, quirky and feminine - just like the girl who made it. I like Kenley, although her distinct laugh annoys some, and her Alice in Wonderland take on "her dream wardrobe" was surprisingly versatile. Each piece was unique, and yet the collection melded together wonderfully. There were a few ooh ahh pieces: the black dress with fuchsia print overskirt (pictured above), the dramatic ruffle teal print blouse and black flounce skirt, and the pink and black colorblock bodice with dramatic tulle skirt dress. Her little feathered hats, which she has a penchant for, were a nice touch. This was possibly my personal favorite - full of eclecticism - but things heated up after she showed . . .

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Korto
I think Korto has the most interesting point of view, and her collection was beautifully exotic and elegant. However, there were one too many emerald green dresses, I'm just sayin.' Her collection was "inspired by nature and the landscape and clothes of her native country, Africa." She also designed the beaded and colorful jewelry (which I loved). Her color story was rich: emerald green, turquoise, mustard yellow, white, and ecru. Her silhouettes ranged from a slim halter gown and pouf sleeves to flirty cocktail dresses and asymmetrical cuts. The jungle printed banded belt frock was covetable, but a white frilly long dress was confusing. I loved the sometime Oscar de la Renta exoticism, though.

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Leanne
Funny how the six collections gradually got better. I think Leanne is going to win. Her collection was as stellar as any of the professional collections from the week. It was conceptual, beautiful, and theatrical. Leanne claimed she "lost a million hours of sleep" over it, and it showed. Sculptural skirts, dresses, and gowns floated down the runway to the beat of a neutral, cool palette. The craftsmanship was expert and you could just feel the adoration in the air. I would wear the ivory off-shoulder top and turquoise petal skirt and the ivory and beige corset mini dress (pictured above) in a heartbeat. And her modern wedding dress blew Suede's off the (project) runway.

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Absolutely Fabulous

FabSugar — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 15:22:22 -0700

Here's a fun one: Which Estée Lauder Beauty Is Most Fab?
See who's wearing what with our fabulous Celebrity Styles.
Dream of jet-setting while perusing the 2009 Cruise collections.
So tell me . . . who wore it better?
Get privy to the new trends with my Fall glimpses.
Gear up for Summer with our Life's a Beach series.
Learn all about Fabcon Daphne Guinness.
Read my Trend Alerts to find out what's haute right now.
Gotta appreciate fashion's freaky and fabulous fanfare!
Play our Who's More Fab game this month and win up to $5,000 dollars!
Having a hard time finding the perfect swimsuit? Read our swimsuit body guide.
Check out Diane Kruger, Chloe Sevigny and Drew Barrymore before they were stars.

Fab Finding Follow-Up: Cold-Weather Clubbing

FabSugar — Tue, 14 Nov 2006 10:48:20 -0800

It's easy to dress for a night of dancing when the weather is warm, but when it gets chilly, I'm not as keen to throw on my favorite skimpy party top. So before my night out with the girls on Friday, I asked you guys to come Fab Finding with me to put together a cold-weather clubbing outfit around this Bebe Crochet Cowl Neck Sweaters, available for $98 here. (In fact, one of my friends on Friday showed up wearing an almost identical look.)

I asked you all to find shoes, a bag, bottoms, and a coat. The results were by far some of my favorite Fab Finds in a long time. (To learn what a Fab Find is and how to make one, click here.) Here are some of the best cold-weather clubbing looks.

Look #1, found by Atoxicsparkle, who built a killer outfit around a pair of gray Chloe boots and a Bebe pea coat to wear to the club then leave in the car "while freezing in line."

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To see three more great looks, read more

Look #2, found by Swwonder, who, like Atoxicsparkle, chose a dressy shorts ensemble, topped off by a TopShop motorcycle jacket and a cute pink clutch.

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Look #3, found by PinkSparkleGrl, who went for a more rock-inspired look with a red-plaid coat and tall red boots and even threw in a fragrance.

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Look #4, found by AudreyStar, who went for a more sophisticated look with Diane Von Furstenberg cropped pants, elegant jewelry, sparkly slingbacks, and a coat I featured earlier today!

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