Archive for the FR Media Category

It’s a big deal to make the cover of Vogue – it’s that “you know you’ve made it, even in the fashion world” moment. EVEN for TIna Fey, whose done the cover of Vanity Fair and other mags. But Vogue is the big mama of female prowess and achievement in America – and March Vogue makes it a bigger deal. September and March are the two biggest selling issues of the year, with the most amount of clothes and ads and readers. March is literally “the power issue.” In a candid conversation with journalist Jonathan Van Meter, Fey describes herself as a celebrity flying the flag for “normal.” However, as Anna Wintour notes in her editor’s letter, “there is nothing ordinary about her brilliance, her perceptiveness, or her beauty. Mario Testino and Tonne Goodman’s portfolio of the star captures a woman who fully understands the power of style to elevate the everyday.”

Highlights from the Article

Going Rogue: Ever since her devastatingly funny Sarah Palin impressions, she has for the first time in her life attracted unwanted attention—and hate mail. “People started projecting politics onto me,” she says. “There are people who hate me now because of that.”

Normal Girls: “I feel like I represent normalcy in some way. What are your choices today in entertainment? People either represent youth, power, or sexuality. And then there’s me, carrying normalcy.” Pause. “Me and Rachel Ray.”

The Skinny: “People will say, ‘Oh, fashion magazines are so bad, they’re giving girls a negative message’—but we’re also the fattest country in the world, so it’s not like we’re all looking at fashion magazines and not eating. Maybe it just starts a shame cycle: I’m never going to look like that model, so… Chicken McNuggets it is! And conversely, I don’t look at models who are crazy skinny and think I want to look like that, because a lot of them are gigantic, with giant hands and giant feet.”

The Power of Clothes: “I think women dress for other women to let them know what their deal is. Because if women were only dressing for men, there would be nothing but Victoria’s Secret. There would be no Dior.”

Hand-Me-Downs: When she was in grade school, a cousin gave her some hand-me-downs that included a “colonial-lady” Halloween costume. “It consisted of a bonnet,” says Fey, “and a burlap apron and a long skirt. And I would just wear it sometimes after school. As an outfit… It was the Bicentennial! People were excited!”

The VOGUE Cover: “I was posing for [Mario Testino] and he was talking from behind the camera and he was like, ‘You have to fliiiirt, darleeeng. You have to bee-leeve you are wuuuurthy to on the cover’ And then at one point he said very quietly, ‘Lift your chin, darling. You are not eighteen.’ And I was like, ‘You probably say that to all the 23-year olds.’”

Kim Kardashian had more reason than most to be excited about the Superbowl – her man Reggie Bush plays for The Saints. She even had her nails done to cheer on the New Orleans team – and it seems to have worked! She may single-handedly bring back nail art. Meanwhile, Katie Holmes – with husband Tom Cruise and his new co-star Cameron Diaz from “Knight and Day” – is always uncannily fashion forward. At a CAA pre-Superbowl party, she wore a flight style leather jacket and army green, the hot new – well, that really THAT new – for spring. Get ready for army jackets and khaki to make a giant comeback.

A few years ago – maybe even a year ago – this could NEVER happen! Vogue’s editor at large, and wildly dressed paragon of avant garde fashion and outspokenness, Andre Leon Talley, will take over Miss J Alexander’s role as judge on the CW’s “America’s Next Top Model” on season 14. This could be a ratings move – we’re not sure. It could be credibility move. There’s nothing like having Vogue magazine involved with your tv show. Miss J says he wants to be a mentor for the models and teach them, instead of judge them. Hmmmm . . . we wonder. In the meantime, Andre Leon Talley a few years ago would have sniffed and turned up his nose at a mainstream cable tv gig like this – and we’re shocked Anna Wintour is letting him do it! However, it will only help Vogue’s circulation now, and every magazine is desperate these days for bigger numbers, as they erode to the internet. America’s Next Top Model’s fourteenth season will premiere on Wednesday, March 10 at 8PM ET/PT after the network originally announced it would debut on March 3.
Guest judges will include famed hairdresser Sally Hershberger, fashion designer Rachel Roy, Wilhelmina Models president Sean Patterson, CoverGirl representative Dania Ramirez, historic supermodel Patricia Cleveland, Seventeen editor-in-chief Ann Shoket, The City star Whitney Port, 62 Models owner Sara Tetro, actress Sara McLeod and Top Model photo shoot director Jay Manuel.

We already posted here on Fashionrules.com that tomorrow, Friday Feb 5 is the American Heart Association’s National Go Red for women day. And guys, you’re welcome to join us! Wear red and show the world that you know about the threat of heart disease and want to bring attention to it. It’s as easy as throwing on a red sweater tomorrow – or a red dress. But there’s another option: red lipstick or nailpolish. We got a press release from Tractenberg in NY, the biggest beauty pr company, recommending the bright red lip of Rimmel London’s new Moisture Renew Lip Colour in Red Alert, Rose Passion, or Rosette. They have also have a great red nail with the new Lasting Finish Pro Nail Enamel in Stiletto. These are in the drugstore and cost very little, and if you’ve been thinking about a red lip for spring or red nails or toes, tomorrow is the day to do it. It will be fun just to see how many ladies will be sporting red tomorrow. In LA, we’ll be peeping into car windows to see!

Armani Exchange takes you to a surfside utopia filled with effortless style and relaxed sophistication this spring. Their “Utopia” campaign is an intoxicating fantasy with images that capture escapism and indulgence. Amazing the amount of creativity that can go into promoting such low-priced clothes! Armani’s “Utopia” will launch in February 2010 with a series of color images that break in major national media—print, outdoor ads, direct mail, and online. The in-book media program will consist of spreads and single page magazine ads that will be featured in magazines including GQ, ELLE, Details, Teen Vogue, Out, In-Style, Men’s Health, Lucky, Glamour, and Nylon. Significant spending will be allo-cated to impact outdoor units in New York, Los Angeles, Miami, and Chicago and online in video banners on fashion and lifestyle websites. And it was shot on location in Myrtle Beach – not Italy!

Writing about the fashions at the SAG Awards this past Saturday night and Sunday night, we decided to read other blogs, to see which critics favored which dress. We found an L.A. blog titled “Ministry of Gossip,” by one Christie D’Zurilla, posted Sunday night 1/24 at 7:29 pm. In this blog, the writer cooed about the outfits of Diane Kruger, Drew Barrymore, Michelle Monaghan, and asked this brilliant question: “And hey, who was Penelope Cruz really wearing?” She did not give us ANY designer credits – even though the red carpet had already happened and the credits had already been on television – therefore, internet clicking-close by.

We hate to bust this writer – and the L.A. Times – but by that hour on Sunday, Fashionrules had posted most of those answers, knew Penelope Cruz was wearing a L’Wren Scott cocktail dress, and not the Gucci couture gown she was meant to wear. REPORTERS ARE SUPPOSED TO GIVE YOU INFORMATION, NOT ASK THE AUDIENCE WHO IS WEARING WHAT! Particularly in Hollywood, where what celeb is wearing what designer is a big business. This is shoddy reporting and non-information at its best! Doesn’t this blogger know how to google anything – or watch tv during an awards show? No wonder newspapers are dying! – Merle Ginsberg

It’s pouring down rain in Los Angeles, and it’s freezing in almost everywhere else in the world. But if you’re female, you’re probably fantasizing about your spring handbag already – it’s what we
commonly refer to as “girl porn.” Here are some handbags that we’re noticing are both looking looking – and turning up on the right arms. Both Victoria Beckham and Madonna have been spotted carrying the Dolce & Gabbana crochet version of the Miss Sicily bag, in black. It’s quite, and emulates the Hermes Birkin and the new Fendi bags as well, but the crochet adds the polish. For spring, they show it in white, which is just breathtaking. It may not be practical – but it’s breathtaking. And Satine boutique on Third St. and Crescent Heights is just getting in their spring order for new Alexander Wang bags – which are modern, hip, practical, and younger in feeling – the Eniko Gunny Sak and the Diego Bucket Bag are the hot styles, and they are only about $600 apiece! It’s a good idea to pre-order, because they don’t sit around for long.

This has GOT to be the most amount of money a cosmetics campaign has ever paid a celebrity! And how could Julia Roberts, who signed her deal with Lancome in December 2009, say not to this kind of money? She left immediately after the Golden Globes to fly to France with her husband and children to shoot her very first Lancome ads for their new campaign. “It’s kind of like every girl’s dream, really,” Roberts told WWD this week. “To be 42 and have three kids and be a working mom, it’s a great moment to be asked to do this and to be able to do it. I think it says a lot about Lancôme and what they stand for.” As for how she’s approaching her new role, the actress jokes, “I think I have to stand up straighter and wash my face more.” But Yousef Nabi, Lancôme International’s president, tells WWD that the actress took the assignment very seriously, explaining, “Julia really wants to be involved in the development of the products.” For her part, Roberts said, “I get all these things to play with and test and give my opinion about. And it’s quite exciting without having to invest all of myself in how I look because they did come to me as me, which is a pretty casual mom. But you know, it’s nice to up your game a little bit.” While Roberts is taking a lowkey attitude toward being the beauty industry’s newest celeb/model, she’s already starring in her first campaign, for Définicils Precious Cells Mascara. Shot by photographer Mario Testino, the ads will break in Europe this March before rolling out to the U.S. during the summer. Which is exactly when her next blockbuster, “Eat, Pray, Love” – based on Elizabeth Gilbert’s novel – will come out, with James Franco, Billy Crudup and Jarvier Bardem. It was directed by “Glee’s” Ryan Murphy – busy guy. Interesting that Lancome is hiring Roberts in early forties. They fired Isabella Rosselini from the brand when she was 48, and hired Uma Thurman instead. Perhaps the hugeness of “Eat, Pray, Love” has something to do with this.

There are men we might expect to wear dresses – Eric Idle, for instance. Robin Williams, maybe, for a laugh. But Kiefer Sutherland isn’t one of them. Yet that’s what he did on David Letterman Wednesday night, and it was hard to figure out why at first. The hard-core action star of Fox’s “24″ sat with Letterman on the “Late Show” Wednesday night dressed in a hideous peacock-inspired dress after losing a bet to a buddy, he told Davie. “I lost a bet over the weekend,” he told Letterman, embarrassment displayed on his face. “I was so sure New England was going to win, that I told a guy who used to be my friend that if New England lost, I would wear a dress on ‘Letterman’.” The Patriots lost to the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday, 33-14. “And so, here I am,” he noted, sheepishly. Sutherland, who gets credit for going through with the bet, accessorized the dress with combat boots and a long-sleeved white t-shirt. Then Letterman offered the 43-year-old actor $1,000 to wear the outfit on the subway. “Riding the subway would be easier than what I’m going through right now.” Well, we can’t ever say Kiefer Sutherland squelched on a bet. Will this start a trend for tough guys to wear dresses with motorcycle boots? We don’t think so – that trend is almost over for women, as well. The tough look of all is about to give way to the florals and flats of spring 2010. Somebody tell Kiefer