Quantcast
Channel: Style & Beauty
Viewing all 18686 articles
Browse latest View live

The Street Style At Milan Fashion Week Is Bellissima

0
0
New Yorkers know hats, the British know shoes, but the Italians, they know bags.

Over the last couple of days at Milan Fashion Week, we have spotted some pretty amazing purses on the streets. After seeing the photos below, we really want to go shopping -- either for a novelty clutch or a Chanel Boy Bag.

Herewith our favorite shots from Milan:


Best Tweets: What Women Said On Twitter This Week

0
0
The ladies of Twitter talked a lot about orgasms this week. Twitter user Boobston Girl posed an interesting question: "But can I get a Best Actress award for faking orgasms?" (Honestly, we're not sure, but you definitely should be able to.)

Twitter user Slightly Funny Jew added to the conversation, tweeting, "Dear Women, 'If you fake it, you will make it' doesn't apply to orgasms." True, but can we still get an award for it?

For more great tweets from women, scroll through the list below. Then visit our Funniest Tweets From Women page for our past collections.














































































Aaron Schock Repays $40,000 For 'Downton Abbey' Office Decor

0
0
WASHINGTON (AP) — Illinois Rep. Aaron Schock repaid $40,000 from his personal checking account for redecorations to his congressional office in the style of the TV show "Downton Abbey," according to financial records reviewed by The Associated Press.

Schock paid $35,000 earlier this month to the owner of the Illinois decorating firm Euro Trash, and $5,000 more on Thursday, the records showed. His official House expense account had previously paid the group for its services.

Schock, a rising star in the Republican Party, has been under scrutiny for using taxpayer money to pay for the redecorating, as well as using his official and campaign funds for flights on donor-owned planes and concert tickets.

The Washington Post was first to describe the office decorations in early February. A watchdog group has since requested a House ethics review of the congressman's spending.

Schock's office said Friday his payments made good on an earlier promise to personally shoulder the costs of the office renovation. Schock wrote two checks — for $25,000 on Feb. 4 and $10,000 on Feb. 6 — to Tracy "Annie" Brahler, owner of Euro Trash. He wrote a third check for $5,000 on Thursday.

"Congressman Schock has fulfilled his commitment to pay for all the renovation costs," his office said Friday in a prepared statement. It said that while congressional office costs are usually paid from office expense accounts, "the congressman believed it appropriate to pay these costs himself."

Schock, 33, is in his fourth term representing the Peoria and Springfield areas.

This week, Schock brought on board a team of campaign finance lawyers and public relations experts to address the controversy about his expenses. His financial charges — including the use of his donors' private aircraft and concert tickets — were detailed by the AP and other news organizations since news of the decoration work became public.

An AP review this week identified at least a dozen flights worth more than $40,000 on contributors' planes since mid-2011, tracking Schock's reliance on the aircraft partly through the congressman's pictures uploaded to his Instagram account. The AP extracted hidden location data associated with each image; it then correlated it with flight records showing airport stopovers and expenses later billed for air travel against Schock's office and campaign records.

Lawmakers can use office funds for private flights as long as payments cover their share of the costs. But most of the flights Schock covered with office funds occurred before the House changed its rules in January 2013. Those earlier rules prohibited lawmakers from using those accounts to pay for flights on private aircraft, allowing payments only for federally licensed charter and commercial flights.

Schock previously told the AP he travels frequently throughout his Peoria-area district "to stay connected with my constituents," and that he takes compliance with congressional funding rules seriously.

Schock also spent thousands more on tickets for concerts, car mileage reimbursements — among the highest in Congress — and took his interns to a sold-out Katy Perry concert last June.

His office is still reviewing those transportation and entertainment charges.

The Post first reported that Brahler donated her services as she decorated Schock's Washington office with red carpet and red walls accented with antique-looking frames and sconces reminiscent of "Downton Abbey." The popular PBS show depicts the lives of aristocratic families and their servants in 1920s England.

Brahler refunded to the U.S. government $35,000 paid to her from Schock's congressional office expense account, records show, within days of the Post's report.

A liberal-leaning group, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, had requested an investigation by the Office of Congressional Ethics, an outside panel that reviews ethics complaints against House members.

___

Follow Jack Gillum on Twitter: https://twitter.com/jackgillum

Rosie Huntington-Whiteley's Sexy Party Hair & More Celebrity Beauty Looks We Loved This Week

0
0
If we're going to keep it real, let's take it way back to when bedhead hair was simply referred to as "just had sex" hair. You know, that perfectly tousled look where your strands have just the right amount of volume and texture. That's exactly what Rosie Huntington-Whiteley had going on at the 2015 Vanity Fair Oscar Party.

The 27-year-old model/actress sizzled on the red carpet with her slightly disheveled, shoulder-length locks. It perfectly balanced out her glamorous green sequined dress.

Check out Rosie Huntington-Whiteley's messy hair below, and find out which other celebrity beauty looks we loved this week.

Rosie Huntington-Whiteley

rosie huntington whiteley

What else can we say about Huntington-Whiteley's sexy party hair? We will point out that her winged eyeliner, bronzed cheeks and nude lipstick (hello, pillow soft pout!) add the finishing touch.

Solange Knowles

solange knowles

Before hopping on the 1s and 2s as the special guest DJ at the official Governors Ball After Party, Solange posed on the Oscars red carpet with her full-bodied curls, boyish brows, heavily lined eyes and bright red matte lipstick. She's doing Ms. Diana Ross proud, don't you think?

Lily Collins

lily collins

Here's another party-perfect look modeled by Collins. Dressed in a menswear-inspired outfit, her piecey pixie haircut and smokey eye makeup is edgy yet soft.

Jada Pinkett Smith

jada pinkett smith

Go on and stare because we know you really want to. Pinkett Smith looked like a picture of elegance at the Los Angeles premiere of "Focus" wearing a sleek low ponytail and poppy red lipstick.

Nick Jonas

nick jonas

Yes, Nick Jonas made our beauty list this week and for three obvious reasons: his hair is slicked-back to a T, his skin is moisturized like nobody's business and his five o'clock shadow gives us chills.

Dolce & Gabbana's Fall 2015 Show Celebrates 'Mamma' With Baby-Filled Runway

0
0
Mother's Day came early at Milan Fashion Week.

For Dolce & Gabbana's Fall/Winter 2015 show, the designers tapped model mamas like Bianca Balti, beautiful babies and toddlers to showcase their latest collection.

While the Italian fashion house has a long history of celebrating family and honoring elders in its ad campaigns (remember these stylish grandmas?), it was touching to see it all come together on the runway.

In the matching mommy-and-me shift dresses with rose embellishments or a doodle-print gown that channeled Angelina Jolie's unconventional wedding dress, Dolce & Gabbana's "point of reference" was very clear.

See front row photos and a heartwarming finale video from D&G's show below!

@DolceGabbana’s family finale #MFW #FW15 #dgmamma #regram @susiebubble

A photo posted by @netaporter on





Mammas united @dolcegabbana

A photo posted by Susie Lau (@susiebubble) on





@dolcegabbana @stefanogabbana #dgvivalamamma #dgmamma

A video posted by bat_gio (@bat_gio) on





Childsplay @dolcegabbana

A photo posted by Susie Lau (@susiebubble) on









Thank you @dolcegabbana for celebrating #mamas everywhere! #mothersday #Mamamia #family #love #incrediblewomen

A video posted by PORTER magazine (@portermagazine) on




How Zendaya Coleman Un-locked Sterotypes

0
0
2015-03-01-zendaya.jpg


Originally posted for the Philadelphia Inquirer.

When 18-year-old actress Zendaya Coleman graced the Oscars' red carpet last weekend, she glowed. And one of the most regal aspects was her hair -- cascading brown locks that skimmed her lower back and framed her face.

She was stunning, and people gushed. I was hit with the same sense of triumph I felt when actress Viola Davis walked the Oscars' red carpet in 2012 sans wig and with her natural short coils.

Giuliana Rancic of E!'s Fashion Police was an exception. She said of Coleman's locks, "I feel like she smells like patchouli oil ... or weed."

Coleman issued a statement saying Rancic's comments were "not only a large stereotype but outrageously offensive."

Though the show is known for over-the-top commentary, Rancic realized she crossed the line, apologizing to Coleman via tweet. She said her comments were "referring to a bohemian chic look" and had "NOTHING to do with race..."

She's wrong.

Locks are an unapologetically black hairstyle, from their origins to the growing process.

And while natural black hair has been put down for hundreds of years in the United States, Coleman was showcasing pride.

This is no "bohemian chic look." Locks are symbolic of a culture. They are strength. They are power. This is a style that has grown with black people, changing form and meaning depending on which continent the people of the diaspora lands.

My father is well-versed in Rasta culture, and growing up I learned that dreadlocks are rooted in a strong sense of black pride and spirituality. Rastas wear their hair dreaded to make a statement, uproot the status quo, embrace who they are, and not conform to European ideals of beauty and appropriateness.

Considering that Coleman was wearing faux locks, I can't say she's a poster child as a natural-hair advocate, but here's why she's an effective one:

Zendaya Coleman is a Disney Channel star with a predominantly white, preteen fan base. No one expected her to make statements in defense of black culture. But imagine the conversation those young fans are now having.

Of course, Coleman is not the first to wear locks on the red carpet, and Davis wasn't the first to wear a low-cut Afro. But the switch made a powerful statement, and the prejudices surfaced as a result.

Rancic would never have made comments about the hair of director Ava DuVernay or singer Ledisi, because they've worn their hair that way for years. Consider Rancic's comment that she preferred Coleman's previous "little hair" style -- a straight bowl cut. It's as if she said, "If you're going to do extensions, why THAT?!"

It's similar to a question Chris Rock often received in his 2009 documentary, Good Hair. In one segment, Rock tries to sell "black hair," with kinky texture and tight coils, in a beauty supply store. "But this is black hair!" he insists. "For black people!"

The store owners shake their head. Rock asks, "So, my nappy hair isn't worth anything?"

"No," they respond firmly.

The "worth" of black hair is a conversation that has expanded from lecture halls and salons to the runway. Coleman was on the world stage rocking faux locks that weren't small, curled, pinned, or crimped. They were of medium thickness and fairly free. She was fairly free.

Coleman's choice was a reminder that my natural tresses are good enough for the "fancy" events my mom feels compelled to straighten her hair for, and that our hair has always been elegant.

But not everyone sees it that way. In an interview with the Grio, black actor Anthony Mackie told his nephew not to grow locks, asking, "Do you want to be seen as part of the problem or do you want to be an individual?"

He was playing to the same stereotype as Rancic, one the culture buys into as well.

According to a report by the American Civil Liberties Union, African Americans are almost four times as likely to be arrested for marijuana possession as white people are, despite a similar rate of use. Rancic's insulting remarks add to the profiling, aligning a hairstyle with drug use.

After a searing backlash, Rancic submitted another apology on E!: "This incident has taught me to be a lot more aware of clichés and stereotypes, how much damage they can do. And that I am responsible, as we all are, to not perpetuate them further."

Coleman accepted that apology, and urged people to acknowledge that "hidden prejudice is often influential in our actions. It's our job to spot these issues within others and ourselves and destroy them before they become hurtful."

What It's Really Like To Star In A Music Video With Taylor Swift

0
0
Dominic Sherwood has appeared in "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory," "Not Fade Away" and "Vampire Academy," but his big break came when Taylor Swift's "Style" video premiered last month. He plays the guy with the James Dean daydream look in his (dual-colored) eyes. What's it like to shoot a Taylor Swift music video, you ask? HuffPost Entertainment went straight to the source: The 25-year-old English actor, who shot the clip across four days last summer in Los Angeles, took us from first text message (from Swift herself, a friend of Sherwood's) through the explosion that flooded his Twitter feed after the video's launch.

How did you first get linked up with the "Style" video?
I’ve known Taylor for a little over a year now. We met through mutual friends. About a month before the video was supposed to start filming, she texted me and asked me if I would ever consider being in a music video. I literally had just finished a movie at the time and I said, “Well, it depends who it was for and what sort of stuff I would be doing.” And she said, “Well, it would be for me.” And I said, “Oh, wow.” I was really, really flattered that she would even think of me and consider me for it. I’d met the director once or twice before, Kyle Newman. It was all very exciting, even before I knew what I was doing exactly.

Was making out with Taylor part of the initial pitch?
You know, what’s interesting is that we didn’t. If you watch the video again, we don’t make out. Trust me, I would know if we’d made out, absolutely. It was something that we spoke about, me and Taylor and Kyle. She wanted to have it more insinuated. Everything is more smoke and mirror-y than directly there on the screen. We actually never make out at any point.



The song is about a James Dean lookalike. Is that how Taylor would describe you?
Taylor said I kind of fit the person they’d like in the video. I think I had a lot of the attributes that she wanted and that she described in her lyrics. And when we met and when we’ve hung out, a lot of the stuff I was wearing, that’s how I dress.

Was "Style" playing on loop as you filmed?
It’s always playing in the background, but it’s interesting because a lot of times it’s played in double speed. Still to this day, I’m not really sure why that happens. I think it might be something to do with slowing it down for the frame rate -- something like that. When I heard it for the first time on the radio, I was like, “It’s a bit slow, isn’t it? A bit different?” And then I realized they play it twice as fast whilst we’re filming.

You're a fit guy anyway, but did you do any prep to get in shape for the shirtless scenes?
I’d just come off the back of a movie called “Take Down” where I had to be quite physically fit. I trained quite hard for that. It was a few months after I’d wrapped “Take Down” that Taylor spoke to me about this. I was kind of out of condition. I hadn’t been working out and she sent me the storyboard and I was like, “Oh God, I’m shirtless in a lot of it. Okay, cool, back to the gym, I guess.” We actually didn’t have all that much time. I think I had about two or three weeks of really working out properly to get back into shape. I worked quite hard. I was in the gym maybe four times a week, five times a week.



Your face is often superimposed on Taylor's clothes or hands or on a mirror. Did you have to film anything special for that?
No, so this was what was so interesting about it: Day 1, we filmed in almost, like, a tent. They filmed my face and my eyes and all of the things you see on Taylor and on her dress and all the mirror stuff. Then for the rest of the shoot, we did it with projections live on set. The mirror stuff is all done in postproduction, but the projections where I’m on her dress or she’s projected onto me, that was all done live on set with a projector. It was great. It was actually nice to see it happening firsthand because a lot of the movies I’ve been on, it’s all done in post. You never actually get to see the product until you go and see the film at the premiere or until you get a screener of it, so it was actually really cool to see it happening live in front of you.

dominic sherwood

When did you first see the video?
Everyone wanted to keep it quiet. I’d seen little snippets, but I hadn’t seen the entire video until it got released.

What's the response been like? Do you feel like a changed man?
No, no, not at all. My Twitter had a bit of an explosion, which was cool. That’s kind of all it was. It absolutely hasn’t changed me at all. When it came out, I was in the middle of filming a movie anyway, so I was focused on that. I went back to my trailer and my phone had exploded and I was like, “Wow, I guess the video’s been released and that’s why my phone is behaving the way it’s behaving.” We’ve had such a positive response to the video, especially because it is so different from anything Taylor has done before. Taylor and Kyle and her team did an amazing job at kind of reinventing the wheel where she’s really reimagined and elaborated on what she can do as an artist.

Music-video stars are notoriously sex symbol-ish. Your Twitter feed must have been filled with comments about that.
Yeah, there’s a lot of articulation of that, especially my eyes. It’s pretty obvious in the video that my eyes are different colors, and they actually are. That’s how my eyes are. There was a lot of response about my eyes and people questioning whether it was real or whether it was done for the video. They are real. I can tell everyone right now.

It’s like #TheDress.
That’s so interesting -- that’s what me and Taylor were speaking about yesterday. People feel they’re being ocularly tricked by my eyes. But no, they’re actually blue and brown. I’m not trying to trick anyone.

How much have you seen Taylor since shooting?
I actually haven’t seen her since wrapping the video. She’s so busy slowly but surely taking over the world. But we do speak every now and then.

Do you have a favorite Taylor Swift song?
If I said anything other than “Style,” I’d look like a royal idiot, wouldn’t I? I actually like “Blank Space.” We had a bit of a running joke after I did the video because of Sean O'Pry, who is the guy in “Black Space." Every time the video or the song would come on, my friends would turn to me and go, “I’d hate to be the guy in the next video because he’s very good-looking, that Sean guy.” I was like, “Yeah, thanks, you’re great. Thanks for having my back.”

EX

Mara Hoffman Discusses Her Fall/Winter 2015 Collection

0
0
2015-02-26-Mara_Hoffman.jpg

Mara Hoffman's fall 2015 collection was inspired by the motto of embracing the spirit that never breaks and fighting the good fight. The collection included jumpsuits, sweaters, wraps, coats, maxi shirtdresses, and long, fluid dresses that were accented with metallic geometric embellishments, black crepe fabrics and chiffon tufting appliqués.

2015-03-01-Look1.jpg

What was the theme for your fall/winter 2015 collection?

The collection was inspired by Luke Skywalker and the wild men, a group of eastern Europeans who have the ceremonial tradition of dressing like animals.

What were the materials and hues used in your fall/winter 2015 collection?

I wanted to stick to a neutral palette as a base and then build off of that, so you will see a lot of camels and neutral colors, as well as black and white hues mixed with colors.

Do you have any day-to-night looks in your fall 2015 collection?

I think that some of the embroidered striped dresses would be great day-to-night looks.

What are your essential pieces for this current spring season?


I am wearing a lot of layers worn with tights, and I also like transitional pieces for this spring season.

What's next for your brand?

For me, it is focusing on the categories that we already have and focusing on mastering the work that I am doing.

Photo Credit: Benjamin Lozovsky/BFAnyc.com

Lady Gaga Takes Polar Plunge Into Chicago's Lake Michigan For Charity

0
0
Lady Gaga has pulled some pretty crazy stunts over the years, but jumping into Chicago's Lake Michigan in sub-freezing temperatures might be her craziest one yet. Still, it was all for a good cause and she wasn't alone.

On Sunday, the 28-year-old pop star and her fiance Taylor Kinney took the Chicago Polar Plunge and braved Lake Michigan's icy waters to raise money for a local chapter of the the Special Olympics, reports People magazine.

According to the Associated Press, 4,500 people took part in the freezing-cold fundraiser, including actor Vince Vaughn, who jumped in wearing a Chicago Blackhawks jersey and jeans.

lady gaga

lady gaga

lady gaga

vince vaughn

Fur Is Simply Bad Design

0
0
NOTE: the content of this post may be sensitive to readers.

2015-02-28-10986153_933346110023661_67887056_n.jpg

Le Sourire Magazine (detail), 1924 by Leo Fontan


It always troubles me to see fellow New Yorkers walking through the cold with their sweater-wrapped canine companions while they, themselves, adorn that ubiquitous coyote fur-trimmed, Canada Goose uniform. The disconnect between the earnest care provided to their dogs, and the callousness imposed upon the closely-related coyotes is especially fascinating and disturbing. Human beings are imperfect and contradictory, but while we stand at the cusp of an age of visionary, high-performance synthetics, why are throngs of wealthy and aspiring urbanites so willing to fatally betray a cousin of the pooches, whom they adore, for a status symbol that has been referred to by the APFBA as the Hummer of outerwear: "Excessive, irresponsible, unnecessary and sooner than many will expect, embarrassing" ?

Jasmine Garnsworthy attempts to answer that very question with a recent article on StyleCaster.com, "I Wear Real Fur -- and I'm Not Ashamed," and that pseudo-rebellious sentiment seems to be shared by a rising number of people. Aside from her mercurial subscription to all things trendy ("fur coats come in all sorts of crazy colors... Fur-based fashion is just so much more fun than it used to be") her article reads like industry talking points, cut and pasted from the marketing website TruthAboutFur.com. And it wouldn't be farfetched if it were.

Back in 2010, the New York Times exposed how the profit-seeking fur biz operates like a lobbyist group representing fur auction houses, farmers and breeders. They solicit students, influencers and young designers by offering incentives like free product or trips to Europe in exchange for doing exactly what Ms. Garnsworthy has done: facilitate the appearance that fur is relevant, a cold-weather necessity, well-regulated and a naughty indulgence. If she hasn't been involved directly with a group like North American Fur Industry Communications (NAFIC), she's clearly missing out on some perks that Instagram sensations like Bryanboy, bloggers like Rumi Neely, and designers like Philip Lim have cashed in on. Garnsworthy is also a bit late to the party, with similar articles on the websites of Elle, The Guardian, The Telegraph and Thought Catalog, which have proven to yield high traffic and intense reader commenting.

Aggressive marketing like the Fur Now campaign, where the International Fur Federation paid the über-cool Surface To Air Studio to make them appear more "Real Hipster than Real Housewife, is not surprising. If the young don't feel the warm embrace of fur, the industry's days are certainly numbered, especially when we consider the next wave of textiles that make things like animal fur obsolete from a design and performance standpoint. We can now grow hair and leather in a lab, or make leather from kombucha or pineapple waste. We can make felt from recycled soda bottles. We can coax bacteria to produce vibrant dyes. We can make polyester and lycra from waste molasses, and bioplastics from methane -- which also means we can make biodegradable, hi-tech, low-impact future-fur and future-leather that is far more customizable and safe than animal skin and hair. Technology is always evolving and becoming more efficient, more refined, more green and more visionary.


Sea Shepherd operates in conditions far worse than New York City. In the wet, frigid, Arctic Ocean, if sustainable hi-tech synthetics and plant-based organics (no feather down or animal fur) are good enough for this crew, it's certainly good enough for winter in your city.


When scientists conceptualize and design clothing for those working in the most fatally cold and wet conditions on planet Earth (think arctic oil rig workers, explorers and ice researchers), one thing they don't include is fur. Instead, firms like Sintec in Norway and their Cold Wear project explore how coats that incorporate electronic systems, nanotechnology and stimuli-responsive polymers will outperform animal skins and hairs by a long-shot. The inefficient task of confining or trapping animals, killing them and chemically preserving their pelts is an affront to good design standards in the 21st century. Advancements in synthetic biology and innovations in bioplastics require that we unlearn our fickle prejudices against the synthetic textiles. Already, the US Army, Marines and Special Forces use Primaloft, a synthetic insulation that, unlike feather down, does not lose its insulating properties when wet. And Primaloft offers its Insulation Gold Eco range, which is made with 90 percent recycled poly.

In this sense, fur is simply bad design. It's stuck in the past, it needs to be slowly grown from the body of an animal, preserved in toxic chemicals and kept cool in the heat so it doesn't decompose or get devoured by insects, as nature intended it to. It requires the inherently cruel, confining or painful trapping of animals and the messiness of actually killing them without damaging the pelts (think about electrified prods inserted into orifices or crushing rib cages and throats). It will never evolve or change. Grace Coddington, Vogue's legendary Creative Director is quietly opposed to the fluff, but Vogue Hommes International editor-in-chief Olivier Lalanne did not mince words about the tactile (and olfactory) lack of luxury associated with fur when he published:
"Fur is as much a no-no as ever. It's sexually dodgy, feels funny and reeks when it's rained on."


I teach fashion at Parsons the New School. I'm also a designer. In one of my classes, Fashion and the Narrative, we talk about the ways in which fashion is used to create characters, identities and stories, but also about the hidden narratives we'd rather not have to consider, like Cambodian sweatshops, child slavery in Uzbekistani cotton fields, genocide in the Brazilian rainforest for cattle grazing, racism on the runway, child labor and toxic waste in Bangladeshi leather tanneries, massive Australian wool shearing operations and even so-called "ethical" North American and European fur farms. The fashion industry overall manages to be globally impactful, yet maintain the perception of being a carefree frivolity -- and that is a dangerous, if not sinister combination. Consider the recent reality show that sent fashion bloggers to work in a sweatshop, about which one cried, "What sort of life is this?"

Perhaps when Tolstoy said, "What a strange illusion it is to suppose that beauty is goodness," he knew it could be applied to fur. That's why we live in a culture where the beauty of fashion objects often stand in harsh contrast to the ugliness of how they're made. And that ugliness is avidly avoided, intentionally hidden beneath layers of expensive marketing, or -- in the case of something like fur, transformed into a transgressive indulgence. The marketed fantasies of fur are never, in reality, what they seem, and those making billions from the body parts of animals, must combat any and every attempt to validate the animal's experience.

2015-02-28-GostaLarssonEksjo_July3_6908.jpg

Photo: Jo-Anne McArthur, weanimals.org Close confinement leads to stress and cannibalism. Fighting leads to extreme injury, usually around the mink's faces.


That's why Ms. Garnsworthy uses the term "euthanize" to describe how animals killed for fur have their lives ended. Only in her fantasy, the animals killed for the "kitschy-cute fluffy tufts" she refers to, are gently put-down like we would our beloved, but suffering and terminally ill, cats and dogs. She is fickle with her affections, admitting to be anti-fur when it was on trend, and now pro-fur when there are so many bright colors to choose from and when a fur lobbyist tells her that animals aren't treated so badly. She claims, matter-of-factly that, "[I]f you know the slightest bit about cattle or poultry farming, you'll know [fur] industries are actually governed by similar legislation that protects animal welfare." Yet what she clearly doesn't know is that, according to the Animal Legal Defense Fund, there are no federal laws at all governing the conditions in which farmed animals are raised in the United States -- that includes fur farms. Farmed animals are excluded from most animal welfare regulations. In places like Canada, home of Canada Goose, it is still legal to sell cat and dog fur. You can see a jaw-dropping, point-by-point takedown of Canada Goose's whitewashed and greenwashed fur "policy" at the Association for the Protection of Fur-Bearing Animals' website, one of Canada's most established animal protection groups. In Europe, where many countries have or will soon phase out fur farming, welfare guidelines are vague and often left open to interpretation. They suggest taking "reasonable steps" to prevent "unnecessary pain, suffering or injury", but who determines what steps are reasonable and what injuries or sufferings are necessary? So maybe it's Garnsworthy who doesn't know the slightest bit about animal farming.

She poses the question: "Why would a meat-eating gal who already wears leather need to feel especially guilty about wearing fur as long as it's ethically sourced?" There's a myth that "humane" fur farms exist, that it's possible to get "ethically sourced", "responsible" fur, and that regulations protect animals on fur farms. These are terms designed to quell guilt and maintain appearances. The truth is that there is no kind way to trap, confine, gas, anally electrocute, bludgeon, poison, suffocate, slit throats or snap necks. Cruelty, neglect and suffering are unavoidable aspects of large-scale animal industries, and innumerable leading experts have long since established this. Eating a steak and wearing leather are not justifications for wearing fur. Two wrongs don't make a right.

2015-02-28-15122466865_6cbb312b09_b.jpg
Photo: Jo-Anne McArthur, WeAnimals.org A sick and injured rabbit on a Spanish farm.

Late in 2014 a groundbreaking expose had the fashion industry reeling, with major brands under fire. Over 70 rabbit farms investigated in Spain revealed abhorrent conditions considered business-as-usual: farm workers bashing sick rabbits to death, crippled, diseased and severely wounded rabbits left to suffer in small, crowded cages with metal bars for floors with no medical treatment, and rabbits being bludgeoned to death or slammed to the floor before being skinned. Similar exposés shed light on angora and wool. Two investigations released in February 2015 exposed the horrifying dog leather industry in China, the global leader in leather production, and typical practices on mink farms. The laws and regulations established by the European Union are merely guidelines that are not enforceable. Even the industry's most stringent and much-touted Origin Assured certification has fallen short of even the most basic ethical standards when investigations surfaced in recent years of farms in Sweden, Finland, Norway, Denmark, as well as trapping the USA. In November 2014, a fur farmer in Canada was charged with six counts of animal cruelty - the same farmer convicted on 32 counts of neglect in 1996. The award winning documentary "The Ghosts in Our Machine" takes us behind the scenes at fur farms in Europe and revealed similar conditions in a series of haunting images. And as Forbes reported on in 2012, China is the largest fur-producing and animal farming nation in the world and has virtually no animal welfare regulations at all. The evidence is overwhelming.

Investigators have little to gain financially from sharing these exposés. On the other hand, fur, a $40 Billion-and-growing industry, has a lot of money to lose, which is why they must cast doubt on the legitimacy of all investigation materials and pretend their only opposition is PETA. They also love to play victim. Garnsworthy says " [I]find myself looking over my shoulder for flying buckets of red paint regularly". This is a favorite trope used in the self-victimization of fur-wearers, yet red paint hasn't really been flung since the 90s. On the other hand, fur retailers in New York City were arrested for allegedly flinging a far more dangerous liquid. A toxic mixture of bleach and ammonia was dropped onto a group of picketing citizens and pedestrians in New York City just weeks ago. On top of that, the industry is notorious for poor regulations, leading stores like Barney's, Century 21 and Neiman Marcus to sell cat and dog fur labeled as faux. The proble is so pervasive that on Dec. 18, 2010 President Obama signed H.R. 2480, the Truth in Fur Labeling Act.

Garnsworthy feigns concern for the ecological impacts of synthetic fur saying, "fur advocates claim faux varieties are terrible for the environment". She ignores the intensive, chemical processing that furs must go through to prevent them from decomposing. An investigation in Italy in December, 2014 found carcinogenic toxins like hexavalent chrome and formaldehyde present in clothing intended for babies and toddlers. England, Denmark, Holland, Finland and Italy have ruled that any advertising claiming fur as environmentally friendly is false and misleading. The Suzuki Foundation, The Humane Society of the United States, CE Delft, and Acadia University have all documented the environmental impacts fur farming from energy use to waste runoff and toxic algae blooms. If Garnsworthy never wore synthetics, I might understand why she'd attempt to make this argument, but she's not concerned with a polyester shirt, the chemicals used in processing and dyeing fur, or even the fact that many fur garments, like Canada Goose, are in fact lined with poly, nylon and treated with synthetic water repellant. It's only synthetic fur she takes issue with, a subversion of that which is supposedly "real" and "authentic."

There's a scene in Ghostbuster's II I like to show in class that's a good laugh, and good ice-breaker. In the scene a fur-clad woman unknowingly steps into some supernatural pink ooze and her fur coat leaps back to life to seek vengeance. We laugh because this is a ridiculous scenario, but beneath the comedy is a haunting truth: animals do desperately, loudly and futilely fight for their lives. Like us, animals have a will to live, a consciousness and a perspective. The 2012 Cambridge Declaration on Consciousness was publicly proclaimed by a prestigious group of neuroscientists, yet fur, a powerful status symbol stemming from King Edward III's sumptuary laws of the middle ages, is marketed by an industry that operates on ideas about Animals that may as well be from the Middle Ages.

In most fashion discussions about fur, the argument is reduced to a personal-choice issue that sounds something like this: "I respect that you don't wear fur, and you should respect that I do". What's missing -- what's always missing -- is the most crucial perspectives of all: the animals' whose very lives and bodies are stake. They are continually ignored and invalidated. When the animal perspectives are considered, as science has proven they should be, the "choice" whether or not to wear fur becomes startlingly clear. And choosing to avoid animal fur does not mean choosing ugliness.

2015-02-28-VAUTEWW2014.jpg

Vaute Couture.
2015-02-28-Hoodlamb.jpg

Hoodlamb Parka.


Ethics and aesthetics are not mutually exclusive, but it suits the fur industry to perpetuate the idea that ethical fashion is inherently uglier than "unethical" fashion. In this sense, fur is framed as a naughty treat -- heightening it's desirability. It is instead, economics that stands at odds with ethics, because it is the desire for wealth and the ingrained and potent fur-symbol of wealth, sex and power that drives the fur industry -- not design or even function. We already have impressive, hi-tech, ethically-made, winter weather brands like VAUTE and Hoodlamb. If young designers and students were presented with comparable incentives to use visionary materials, we would see far more of it on the runways in the same way we see fur. Currently both Stella McCartney and Bruno Pieters offer scholarships with this in mind, and both Nike and NASA sponsor green chemistry challenges to bring low-cost, low-impact and biodegradable synthetics to market, but so much more opportunity for innovation is needed. Earlier this year, researchers at Duke University grew contracting muscle in the laboratory. This June, Pembient will release lab-grown rhino horn and later, lab grown ivory. It is only a matter of time before we are growing fur, wool and feathers without the animals attached, and design students are a worthy investment in this exciting future. That is truly good design.

Khloe Kardashian Is Loving Her New, Blonder Look

0
0
Khloe Kardashian just went from blonde to blonder.

The "Keeping Up With the Kardashians" star was spotted walking through Los Angeles International Airport after hitting up Ryan Seacrest's birthday party in Napa this weekend with noticeably lighter hair. While she has been rocking ombre locks for years now, Kardashian is officially a bona fide blonde.

She posted a photo of her new hair to Instagram Sunday, giving a shout-out to celebrity colorist Tracey Cunningham: "I'm in love with my blonde hair!!! @traceycunningham1 you killed it with this color!!!"

A photo posted by Khloé (@khloekardashian) on


Kendall Jenner's Throwback Bikini Photo Reminds Us The Winter Struggle Is Real

0
0
With 20.4 million Instagram followers, a modeling contract with Estee Lauder and a reality show about her own family, 19-year-old Kendall Jenner isn't the most relatable human being on earth. But there's one thing we can all agree on (including teenage millionaires): winter needs to end, like, yesterday. Celebrities, they're just like us -- at least when they're just as over the cold weather as we are.

Jenner expressed her yearning for the natural phenomenon known as heat with an Instagram photo of herself in a floral bikini, appropriately captioned "TAKE ME BACK:"

TAKE ME BACK

A photo posted by Kendall Jenner (@kendalljenner) on





We feel you, girl.
Find us on Pinterest!

Follow Huffington Post's board Hollywood on Pinterest.

This Is How Long You Actually Have To Send Those Wedding Thank-You Notes

0
0
The rules of wedding etiquette are constantly changing, making it difficult for modern brides, grooms and guests to find up-to-date and correct information. That's why we launched #MannersMondays, a series in which we ask our followers on Twitter and Facebook to submit their most burning etiquette-related questions. Then, with the help of our team of etiquette experts, we get you the right answers to your biggest Big Day dilemmas. Check out this week's question below!

“Is it true that one has at least a year to send thank-you notes?" - Tamika C. via Facebook


Anna Post -- great-great-granddaughter of etiquette guru Emily Post and author of Emily Post's Wedding Etiquette -- is here to help us answer this week's question. Find out what she had to say below:

No, it’s myth that you have a year to send thank-you notes for wedding presents. A year is just too far away from the glow of receiving the gift. There is a deadline, though: Plan to have all of your notes sent within three months of returning from your honeymoon (and I’m talking about a honeymoon right after the wedding, not a belated one months later). With a little help from my husband, I just squeaked mine in by that date.

But then, my husband and I received a group gift a few months after our wedding, so I reset the three-month clock to write those thank-you notes from that date. And I will be completely honest with you: I am behind on finishing them. Bad etiquette expert! Trust me, I debated sharing that, but the point is, I am human, too. Since I missed the mark it doesn’t mean I’m now off the hook—it means I better get back on track quickly and finish them up. The sooner the better.

This is true for any late thank-you note, though especially for wedding thank-you notes: Better late than never. So if you’re behind, like me, be it by weeks or years, join me (and, though he doesn’t know it yet, my husband) in getting pen and paper out this week and start crossing them off your list!


You can submit your wedding etiquette questions via Facebook or tweet them to us @HuffPostWedding with the hashtag #MannersMondays.

Osbourne's Departure Is a Chance for Fashion Police to Update Its Look

0
0
Keeping the original lineup of a hit TV show together? That's so last season.

Or at least it is for E!'s Fashion Police, whose stock has collapsed faster than a model on a slick catwalk. Nearly six months to the day of host Joan Rivers' untimely passing, the show is mourning another loss: Kelly Osbourne quit the show on Friday. With the departure of George Kotsiopoulos in the wake of Rivers' death, only Giuliana Rancic - who, from a fashion-savvy perspective, was the show's weak link to begin with - now remains as an original panelist for the network's iconic program, one that should now be carefully considering a future without her.

News of Osbourne's departure came just days after she threatened to walk following a widely criticized joke that Rancic made about 18-year-old actress Zendaya following the 2015 Oscars broadcast. But really, it was probably a matter of time before she left anyway. At the Fashion Police taping I attended in 2013, Osbourne walked onto the set mere moments before the show began, spoke to no one, and was disengaged throughout. In addition to ignoring the live audience, Osbourne also had nothing to say to any of her co-hosts when the cameras were not rolling; in between takes, she barely looked up from her phone. Despite the familial banter that made the show so charming for years, then, there appeared to be tension for some time, and so this latest shakeup should come as no surprise.

Since its reboot in January with new host Kathy Griffin, Fashion Police has become a sinking ship, with panelists donning couture life preservers and jumping off. Now, relying on a combination of new faces and one remaining co-host whose omnipresence on the network has made her the 2015 version of Ryan Seacrest, Fashion Police is at a crossroads. Already on a loose, as-needed airing schedule, the show will likely need to carve out an entirely new identity - which, quite frankly, it should have done when Rivers died - if it is to remain relevant.

In its four-year run with Rivers at the helm, the show outgrew both its 30-minute time slot and exclusive focus on Hollywood celebrities, routinely airing special episodes from major industry events and expanding to include elements of sports and popular culture. Today, though, while there is still a demand for fashion news, there may not be a demand for any remnants of the old Fashion Police, thanks in large part to what has happened to each of its original panelists in just six short months.

Joan Rivers. Though she was in her 80's, Rivers was hardly showing signs of slowing down when she passed last summer. In addition to flying across the country every single week to tape Fashion Police, Rivers also routinely performed stand-up comedy, hosted the popular In Bed with Joan web chat series, and for years did everything from hawk her wares on QVC to embark on exhausting book tours. A true showbiz professional, Rivers was not just a performer; she was a fearless leader, firmly taking control of, and responsibility for, everything she said and was involved in. Would she have made a crack about Zendaya? Yep. Would she have offered a lame, heavily scripted apology, then a few days later blamed the whole thing on a writer? Nope. If no one appreciated the presence and foundation that Rivers brought to the show when she was still alive, they do now.

Kelly Osbourne. Prior to her sudden departure, the 30-year-old Osbourne brought an invaluable millennial perspective (despite Rancic's often-desperate attempts to sound hip). Smart, camera-friendly and well versed on fashion, the often-boisterous and purple-coiffed Osbourne was still probably the least outrageous on the panel, so much so that one of her main faults was the extent to which she often seemingly bit her tongue for fear of hurting someone's feelings. Her habit of playing nice will likely pay off as she starts a new chapter, as she has burned few (if any) bridges in Hollywood and should have no problem finding the "other opportunities" that an E! statement claimed she was leaving to pursue.

Giuliana Rancic. When not trying to steal the spotlight, Rancic did an excellent job introducing segments and lobbing the ball to Rivers for comedic alley-oops. Oftentimes, however, she tried to out-joke Rivers and out-fashion Kotsiopoulos, and her reluctance to play a supporting role only grew after the show's return earlier this year. A graduate-school-trained journalist, Rancic worked for years to establish herself as the network's go-to celebrity interviewer and host, but an apparently unquenchable thirst to be the star - kept mostly in check for years in the presence of as strong a personality as Rivers - has made her a liability to the show in its current incarnation. E! could just hand her the show's reins, but would actually probably be better off replacing her altogether.

George Kotsiopoulos. Unlike Rancic, the acclaimed celebrity stylist understood that less can be more. Plenty charismatic, Kotsiopoulos was Ed McMahon to Rivers' Johnny Carson, laughing enthusiastically at her one-liners but not trying to out-do anyone, in spite of his impressive industry credentials. His comments during the show were highly informed and genuine, and while he was capable of being a TV personality, he never lost his credibility in an effort to be more entertaining. Though Brad Goreski has done a fine job of filling his shoes, Kotsiopoulos brought an understated presence to Fashion Police that nicely complemented the larger-than-life Rivers, and is now sorely missing.

Fashion Police is in the midst of a planned hiatus, and won't be back on the air until the end of March. It will need this time to find a replacement for Osbourne (Jaime Pressly proved repeatedly to be an excellent guest on the show, and would be a great candidate), but should also take advantage of the opportunity to hit the reset button altogether. When she was named the show's new host, Griffin vowed to keep the show's spirit intact while not simply trying to impersonate Rivers, but replacing Rancic would give her an all-new supporting cast, and more importantly breathe new life into a show stuck between the past and the future.

Because if there's anything that deserves a fresh spring look, it's the show that has made its name on fresh spring looks.

Jared Leto Got A Haircut & Shaved His Beard For Joker Role In 'Suicide Squad'

0
0
Jared Leto looked like this at the Oscars on Feb. 22:

jared leto

Now he looks like this:




Leto shaved his beard and cut his signature man bun to prepare for his role as The Joker in director David Ayer's "Suicide Squad." Ayer had teased the Leto transformation earlier on Monday:




As did Leto, who seemed bummed to lose his facial hair. "I miss my beard already," he wrote.



Shia Labeouf Has A Rattail, Everybody

Anna Wintour Is Just Like Us, Unplugs With Family In The Country

0
0
When you think of Anna Wintour, many words come to mind, but gardener and animal-lover are not among the top few. Until now.

In British journalist Alastair Campbell's new book, “Winners and How They Succeed”, Wintour offers some insight into how she has achieved mass success in the fashion industry, as well as some details on her very private life, as excerpted by the UK’s Sunday Times. Her best professional advice is somewhat shocking -- she recommends that "everyone should get sacked at least once" -- but what really took us by surprise is how she unplugs. The editor-in-chief of Vogue explained:

"I don’t have a high-powered life out of work. I like to go to the country for the weekend with the kids and the dog and play tennis. I am very good at turning off. I don’t like the city at weekends, I have a garden I adore, a life that is very private — and the polar opposite of all of this.”


It may be hard to picture Wintour outside the tents at fashion week, but we've found some pics you've probably never seen, which show the editrix in a new light. Special thanks to Bee Shaffer's Instagram account for these gems.

Happy Mother's Day!!!

A photo posted by beeshaffer (@beeshaffer) on




Me and the birthday girl.

A photo posted by beeshaffer (@beeshaffer) on




Happy Mother's Day!

A photo posted by beeshaffer (@beeshaffer) on





Isaac Mizrahi Only Loves Handsome Rescue Dogs and Mrs. Sizzle Went to Have a Playdate

0
0


I have known this man for decades -- not close like "besties" but rather kindred spirits of sorts. I always knew Isaac was a dog person, but when I learned that the two dogs he owns and loves were rescues, I was relentless. I mean RELENTLESS. So here we go, nothing more to say. Watch the brilliant video directed by William Abranowicz and be delighted by the man who so often delights with humor and his wit. Ladies and gents, Isaac Mizrahi.

Isaac Mizrahi has been a leader in the fashion industry for almost 30 years. Since his first collection in 1987, Mr. Mizrahi's designs have come to stand for timeless, cosmopolitan style. He has been awarded four CFDA awards, including a special award in 1996 for the groundbreaking documentary "Unzipped."

In 2012, Mr. Mizrahi launched the Isaac Mizrahi New York collection, available at better retailers nationwide. Mr. Mizrahi serves as Creative Director for the brand and is responsible for design and design direction. Previously, in 2009, Mr. Mizrahi launched his exclusive lifestyle collection, ISAACMIZRAHILIVE! on QVC. In addition, television audiences have come to value Isaac's media presence through his roles on Project Runway All Stars for Lifetime, "The Fashion Show" for Bravo and his own series for both Oxygen and the Style Network.

'Empire' Star Jussie Smollett's Sister Played Denise On 'Full House'

0
0
Were you one of the 13.8 million viewers who tuned in to "Empire" last week?

Have you ever felt like you know actor Jussie Smollett, who plays Jamal, from somewhere? Well, he's a former child actor and so is his sister, whose work you probably remember a little better. Acting runs in the Smollett family, as Jussie's younger sister is none other than Jurnee Smollett-Bell, who played Michelle's friend Denise on "Full House."

jurnee1992

Or maybe you know her as Jess Merriweather on "Friday Night Lights."

fnljess1901

Or perhaps you know her as Nicole Wright on "True Blood."

jurneetrueblood

Anyway, talent runs in the family.

jurnee smollett jussie smollett

The Dress that is (Still) Freaking Out the Internet

0
0
Never have I been driven to the brink over something so ridiculous. And yet ...

When the image started going around from Caitlin McNeill's Tumblr site on Facebook on Thursday night, I was baffled that people were seeing a blue and black dress. What the hell? I was seeing a white and gold dress that was very poorly lit. Really, just terribly lit. But in reading the comments, over and over I saw people disagreeing, people who were sitting in the same room, looking at the same image on the same devices and seeing completely different things. Not just little differences, like the white looked gray-ish, but that it was unmistakably, vibrantly blue.

I'm a trained painter and professional graphic/web designer and illustrator. When you study color theory, you learn how colors can affect one another based on proximity to one another and how our eyes can play tricks on us. No matter how much I tried to get my brain to see that dress as blue and black, it was NOT happening. I looked at the image on my phone, my laptop and an iPad, they all looked the same to me.

The Dress

Original image via Swiked, color manipulated image via Wired.com


I was convinced that I was right. Of course I was! As a professional, I also know that my monitor is well calibrated and dammit, I know colors when I see them. At that point, even Buzzfeed's poll was supporting Team White & Gold by 75%.

I showed the image to my husband, also a designer and photographer. Surely, he would see a heavily shadowed white and gold dress... Nope. Looking at the original image, the one in the middle above, he saw periwinkle and charcoal gray; fancy words for blue and freakin' black.

Like everywhere else in the world, apparently, we argued and tried to convince each other to see what we were seeing, eventually shaking our heads that the other could be so clearly wrong.

The next day, Wired.com dropped some science on the Internet. Citing "primal biology and the way human eyes and brains have evolved to see color in a sunlit world," the article outlines precisely how I could be so wrong. My husband was overjoyed.

After thoroughly wallowing in his victory, my husband turned to me and said, "I always wondered why you used such odd color combinations in your paintings, I figured it was an artistic choice."

WHAT???

He had to be kidding... right? I mean, he WAS kidding, wasn't he? This damn dress had thrown my confidence about the colors I was seeing (and using) into question.

What we really needed was a decent picture of the dress ...

The dress in stores

Image via NYtimes.com Rui Vieira/Associated Press


Crazy as it may seem, I'm still not sold. I am convinced that any minute now, we are going to see that the dress also comes in white and gold... somebody PLEASE tag me when it does. I am going to gloat so hard.

Jessica Ziegler is the co-creator of ScienceofParenthood.com where she uses color correctly all the time. Follow her on Facebook.
Viewing all 18686 articles
Browse latest View live




Latest Images