rosemount autralia fashion week highlights

Australia's fashion week is on til May 1 and here, courtesy of the Sydney Morning Herald, are a few of the highlights (so far).

Nicola Finetti

Ginger & Smart

Wayne Cooper

Camilla and Marc

And goodnight!

happy birthday (yesterday) jessica stam

rachel bilson: fashion hero, now fashion writer

It was widely reported today that Rachel Bilson, owner of one of the most coveted wardrobes on the planet, will be joining InStyle magazine to write her own column. Clearly this is one of the smartest moves a U.S. fashion magazine has made in a while. Bilson often makes the list of most fashionable celebs because not only does she always look chic at red carpet events, but photographs of her out and about show her looking effortlessly stylish and put together. Plus the girl is gorgeous, but looks as down-to-earth and approachable as your best girlfriend. In honor of Bilson's new gig, here are just a few of her shining style moments.

Just going out for some coffee:

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Yikes, Rachel, don't look behind you, it's a major fashion faux pas!

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The tights, the dress, the boots, the scarf--it all works:

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Aww, remember when she dated Seth Cohen?

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Zac Posen can certainly design a dress, but our girl Rachel brings this dress to another level by pairing it with a hat and red lips and nails:

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I always have to hand it to ladies who can manage to look glamorous when the temperatures drop, and we know this former O.C.-er is used to the California sun:

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I love that she never over-accessorizes. The earrings and bracelets keep this look from being too blah, but don't take any attention from the dress:

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It doesn't hurt that Bilson has a pretty much perfect body though. Sigh.

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Knee-length boots, scarf and Ray-Bans. The Bilson signature look:

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the fab ladies of coachella

M.I.A.

Lykke Li

Alice Glass of Crystal Castles

Karen O of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs

and, of course, Jenny Lewis



Not so stylish ...

Paris Hilton and BF Doug Reinhardt

images from the LA Times.

on vogue

Yesterday I picked up Vogue's May 2009 issue, the one with the pull-out cover featuring fashion's current top models (no, neither Saliesha nor McKey graces the cover). I've only been reading Vogue sporadically lately because it just isn't doing anything for me.

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How many times are they going to put Gwyneth on the cover? Snore.

I remember I used to pore over each issue, cover to cover, every month as recently as a few years ago. The fashion layouts were creative and interesting and the articles contained substance and at least attempted to tackle real issues.

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Remember how awesome this Sept. 06 cover was?

Now especially, Vogue is showing just how out of touch they are with the American middle class. This month, there's a downright insulting essay by former Village Voice editor Lynn Yaeger that details the poor New Yorker's struggle in realizing that she could no longer afford $900 sweaters after being laid off. Boo-hoo! The story wraps up with the author getting a nice paycheck from Vogue to write this very sob story. Turns out freelancing in NYC pays handsomely, because she could then re-purchase a vintage ring she had to return after losing her full-time job. Hooray! Vogue, please. Most likely, the wealthy readers you had before the economic downturn are still able to spend extravagantly and the not-so-wealthy readers who lost their jobs and faced real troubles like losing their house and car instead of vintage jewelry still aren't putting Vogue's recommendations on their shopping list. Just stay true to who you are and when the economy turns back around, you can go back to not feeling so guilty about it.

ready to ruffle

Ruffled skirts have been making tons of appearances in Spring '09 collections. I was first inspired to find one after spotting this gorgeous black ruffled number from Dolce and Gabbana:

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Since I obviously can't afford anything that extravagant, I took to the web to find some cheaper alternatives, and was pleasantly surprised.


First, and probably cheapest, we have the Mossimo black tiered ruffle skirt, which also comes in grey.

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Second, I came across Etsy shop LoveToLoveYou's adorable ruffled creations. Here's my personal fave:

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And, finally, for you business ladies out there who need to make an impression at the office, here's a fun-yet-professional pencil ruffle skirt:

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And those are just a few options, so keep your eyes peeled for fun, girly ruffles on spring skirts. They definitely make getting dressed up more whimsical.

i wish i had hbo

By now, we've all heard the buzz on HBO's remake of the documentary Grey Gardens. This begs the questions: Can you remake a documentary? And why would you bother? Here's why: the costumes are FAB. Here are just a few of the Drew-as-Little-Edie getups:

Of course, the story doesn't end happily:


For those of you lucky ones with HBO, Grey Gardens premieres this Saturday, April 18 at 8 p.m.

romp and circumstance

What is it about rompers that intrigues the stylish? I've been seeing them all over the place and in many different styles. They're relatively comfortable to wear--and pairing them with a belt or a sweater makes them look less juvenile. They can work for day or nighttime as well, which makes them quite versatile. My faves so far have been the vintage-looking ones from Marc Jacobs and Urban Outfitters. They're a throwback, they're innocent and actually pretty flattering if you can get one that fits your body. It seems like this trend is going to be as controversial as Uggs and Kanye West shades. But, if worn properly, I think rompers are pretty cute.

For those of you who are a little hesitant to attempt this spring trend, here's an example of a romper worn correctly:

And incorrectly:

It's not hard to figure out why the latter is a romper faux pas.

a few words on mascara

Lately I've really been obsessing over mascara and my quest for the perfect tube of black goo to apply to my lashes. Since I can't validate spending $20+ on a beauty product, I've mostly stuck to your basic drug store brands. About a month ago, those slick-looking commercials for Maybelline's Lash Stiletto mascara piqued my interest so I purchased a tube for about $8 at Walgreen's.

Expecting long, glossy lashes reminiscent of a classy black stiletto, I was disappointed in the end result. My lashes did not take on a 'provacative' length, as the Web site promises. This mascara is no better or worse than your average brand, there's no clumping and it doesn't rub off easily. But it's nothing special, either. I even tried curling my lashes before application to see if it made any difference and, sadly, it didn't. But, hey--the tube is nice to look at! It's designed to look just like the heel of your favorite pair of pumps. After that let down, I thought I might be sticking with my current favorite: Maybelline's 'The Colossal' Volume Express (which has collagen in it and promises 9 times the volume). But curiosity got the best of me again when I spotted CoverGirl's Exact Eyelights Eye-Brightening mascara at a CVS buy one get one half off sale.































My eyes are (arguably) blue so I picked up the proper shade and gave it a try. I have to say, I wasn't expecting this mascara to do much in the way of brightening my eye color, especially since my eyes are this in-between blue and green color that doesn't have a corresponding mascara in this particular line. My prediction was mostly correct. I didn't notice too much brightening going on, but the mascara is solid. I think its strength lies in its ability to separate each lash. Some of the lengthening mascaras I've used tend to get extremely clumpy, but I didn't have that problem with this product. So, basically, if you're looking for a mascara to make your eye color pop, I wouldn't go for this product. But if you're sick of pulling mascara clumps out of your eyelashes, this is definitely the way to go.