Another one rides the bus (courtesty of Payless):
Fashion’s Night Out kicked off to great fan fare in NYC, London, and knock off parties around the globe. A much needed reglam of the industry!
Looks like my original FNO post never materialized, but I hope you caught up on the great parties and fashions and makeup parties.
Hope sales were stellar!
Kim stunned the world when she changed her lush locks over to blond just as summer was wrapping up. Yesterday she went back to her dark roots! What does she have to say about the whole experience?
“Loved the blonde but that is my alter ego, I am back! Feels good to be me again! I swear I was a different person with blonde hair”
Celebrity makeup artist billy b worked with the one and only Lady GaGa a few days ago! What did he think of her? “2 words……..ICONIC+LEGENDARY” A sample shot from that day.
From Fashion Editor to Fashion Police, stylist Clinton Kelly has seen it all – and his eyes are burning! He sits down to discuss the current state of fashion, his Make Over America tour and the search for Worst Dressed American. Is it you?
Where does fashion currently rule & why: New York or LA?
Having just returned from a week in LA, I can tell you with absolute certainty that NY rules, fashionwise. The vast majority of American designers use NYC as their home base, and fashionable New Yorkers tend to take more chances than their LA counterparts. That’s not to say that there’s a style deficiency in LA; it’s just that I found most people in the Hollywood scene to be lacking a little in creativity. Still a lot of bleached blondes with fake boobs and hair extensions. And if I saw another guy in an Ed Hardy T-shirt, I thought I would puke. Downtown LA seems to be where it’s at as far as fashion goes.
You are about 1/2 way through to your Make Over America tour with Macys. How are things going?
You have no idea how much I’m loving this tour across America, which resumes shortly. In each city I make over 15 women — all different 
ages and shapes and sizes — and use them as models in a fashion show. There is nothing quite like watching a woman who came to me looking like a frump-a-dump on Friday strut her gorgeous stuff in front of a thousand cheering people on Saturday. And it looks like we’ll be extending the tour through 2010. We’re working on a list of cities for that now. In the meantime, you can go to macys.com/makeoveramerica to stay informed.
You’ve been a very positive spokesperson for Macys. How did that relationship come about?
Back when I was a magazine editor, I had made many contacts in the PR world. One day about four years ago, one of those contacts called me about hosting some style seminars for Macy’s in what are called “special sizes” in the industry, meaning pluses and petites. I jumped at the chance because I believe very strongly that every woman can look and feel beautiful with the right amount of information and a little inspiration. The Macy’s customer has obviously responded to this because I’m going on my fifth year of working with the company. I love it so much, I hope it never ends.
How did you get into this field, and on television? Was it an end goal?
Six years ago (or so) TLC was re-casting the male lead of WNTW and a casting agent named Barbara Barna contacted me. I think she had contacted every man working in the fashion industry. I was working as the executive editor of a very highly regarded men’s fashion trade magazine called DNR at the time. It has since been folded into 
Women’s Wear Daily. I decided to go on the audition because I figured I had nothing to lose by doing so. When it was over I thought, “Wow, I just bombed that.” But I really didn’t care because I already had a good job. The next day, they called me back for a second audition, where I met Stacy and we had chemistry from the first instant. A week later, I had quit my job and was signed on to do 45 episodes. Crazy! Was doing TV an end goal? Good question. Not really. I’m all about the experience. I wanted to try something new, so I did. Every job I ever accepted, I did so because I thought it would either be fun or I would learn a new skill. With WNTW, both have been true.
The wildly popular What Not to Wear is coming up on 250th episode. Let’s talk about the “Worst Dressed American” you are hunting down.
Well, it’s not so much that I’m hunting her down. It’s the producers really. I can’t even imagine someone who dresses worse than the people we’ve already had on the show. I feel like I’ve re-styled the worst dressed American about a hundred times already. But if you know someone, you can go to TLC.com and nominate them or yourself. It’s such an honor that the American public — and people from other countries for that matter — have embraced WNTW so wholeheartedly. It’s fun to be me! When I walk down the street, people tell me they love me or love my work. It’s hilarious. Sure, they also ask me what I think of their outfits, and believe me, if you ask, you’re gonna get the truth!
Do you ever get tired of the hot mess, or does it only motivate your mission?
I do get a little tired of the frumpy mom look, only because there are polished alternatives that are just as easy. Instead of sweatshirts and hoodies, wear a cotton jacket. Instead of faded, tapered jeans, get a dark wash trouser jean. Instead of T-shirts, wear a blouse. And instead of sneakers, wear a sandal, ballet flat or boot. This is not rocket science. I feel sometimes like I’ll be giving this advice until I’m 103.
~ Hillary Fry / solessence
This is the second release of self named scent by famed lingerie designer Josie Natori, and is found at Saks Fifth Avenue and at the Natori website. Interestingly, the first version seemed a bit of a departure from the line, and was sold through Avon. If you previously purchased Avon Natori, it is the same designer, but not the same fragrance.
“A floral oriental chypre, this fragrance opens with an effervescent bouquet of fresh rose petals enriched by deep, dark plum notes. The heart is an exotic and alluring hybrid of Ylang Ylang, Purple Peony and Night Blooming Jasmine. Slipping languidly over pulse points, Black Patchouli, Amber and a hint of Satin Musk complete this mysterious and tantalizing fragrance.”
In layman’s terms I’ll say this: This is definitely a 90’s type of perfume lite. For me, at first it is a bit powdery, then as it warms, begins to develop a bit of a candy sweetness. If you liked Dior’s original Poison, this is in the same camp, only lighter. Poison is one of the biggest selling perfumes of all time (myself as a customer included), so that’s big fan base potential.
In addition, the kicker to making it a “must have” is the packaging. Face it beauty lovers, half of the joy is the product, and the rest is what encases it. Natori knocks it out of the park with a super stunning, deep purple bottle said to resemble the opening petals of the lotus flower. It fans out at the top, yet is narrow and smooth and comforting. It is pleasing to hold, like a worry stone. Toward the bottom, the bottle indents with little glass windows. I don’t know what other purpose it provides, but it adds an interesting visual touch, and insight into how soon you will need to replace your bottle. Work. Of. Art.
The silk body creme jar also comes in very pleasing packaging, and I find perfumes often translate very well into cremes. This is worth picking up for the collector.
