Chic Electrique

I never got that TMZ show (is it a show?) where they stand around in their “editorial” office space and talk about their latest juicy “finds”, while “editor” Harvey Levin stands there with a Starbucks drink and pretends to find all of that crap amusing. Yes, it is so exciting to watch amateur videos (filmed with a cell phone dating back to 2006) of a celebrity rushing through LAX or on their way to Rite Aid.

It was about time Levin and his team of we-failed-journalism-school reporters got punk’d by Ashton Kutcher. Watch.

Disney has teamed up with Opening Ceremony to launch a line for men and women inspired by Tron Legacy. It’s a sci-fi aesthetic but most of the pieces work in every day life. Check out the line here.

My favorite piece is the black laser-cut gathered skirt. Very 50s chic in the new millenium. Think Mad Men goes to outer space.

1. Flip flops anywhere else besides the beach. Guys, this goes especially for you. Take note: Bermudas + flip flops in the city = me and countless other hot females getting away from you.

2. Fluorescent orange nail polish. Or fluo anything for that matter.

3. Embellishments on nails. Tacky, unless you’re edgy or Rihanna or between the ages of 14 and 20.

4. Piercings in places other than ears.

5. Overalls. Unless you’re working on a farm.

6. Clogs and variations, like clog-inspired ankle boots. Unless you’re dressing up as a Dutch maiden on Halloween, that is.

7. French manicure. It just screams WAG. Speaking of WAGs…

8. Avoid poker-straight burnt-at-the-ends hair, too, that’s a total WAG look. Unless your hair is naturally like that (lucky you).

9. Bermuda shorts. Let’s leave this one for the guys. Amd guys, before putting them on, please scroll up and read item No. 1.

10. Harem pants. Looked good in Ottoman Turkey, not 2010.

11. Crocs. How this ever became a popular choice of footwear is beyond me. Must be great for gardening though.

12. Short hair. Never. I’m Samson.

13. Platinum blonde hair or raven black hair. Extreme hair colors scream bad home bottle dye job.

14. Fringed jackets, skirts (oh, wait, I have a skirt with fringe), pants: I’m not Pocahontas (I wish though).

15. Blue mascara – so 80s. Couple it with pink frosted lipstick and you’re straight out of 1986, ie not the most fashionable year.

16. Slogan tees. “Frankie Says Relax” days are over.

17. Uggs in inappropriate, snow-free weather conditions. If you can go without a jacket, sweater, coat and long johns, then you shouldn’t be wearing them. I do have a pair, but they come in handy when it’s snowing and in wintery Scandinavia.

18. Short shorts, aka hot pants. I admit, I’ve worn them but I believe the last time was in 2001. I can still rock them but I’d rather leave something to the imagination.

19. Jeans miniskirts anywhere else at home, a BBQ or the seaside. I cringe when I see thirtysomethings wearing them with opaque tights in winter. Few carry it off; most end up looking like aging heavy metal groupies.

20. Acid wash jeans. A return was attempted a couple of seasons ago but fortunately it didn’t catch on. Whew.

21. Lace leggings. I like it but it requires Rachel Zoe’s advice or an expert sense of styling. Or pop stardom.

22. Baseball caps anywhere except at a sports event.

23. Pointed shoes. This is a personal choice: I just don’t like the way they look – or feel.

24. Printed pants. I have some – they’re called pajamas.

25. Feather skirts or dresses. Unless you’re Anna della Russo, don’t even think about it.

26. Shoulder pads. They looked OK in the 80s because no one was afraid of fashion ridicule back then. Nevertheless, Grace Jones, the Dynasty clan and more recently Balmain runway models kind of rocked it, but it’s not something that translates very well in the street. Unless you’re Grace.

Cosmetic companies know that consumers are suckers for pretty packaging. And I’m no exception, although I realized it was a savvy parketing tool a few years ago and decided that it wasn’t worth the money unless you actually need the actual product inside.

Dior does some really chic overpriced packaging that’s nice to look at and MAC‘s new Venomous Villains line caught  my eye. Disney’s famous villains may be bad, but they sure love make-up and always looked polished in a very fashion-editor-at-high-profile-glossy-magazine kind of way.

I love Disney’s art, not simply because of the characters but the actual people and artworks who inspired the original artists. It was a side to Disney that I discovered in 2006 at the Walt Disney exhibition at the Grand Palais in Paris, where I interviewed renowned Disney artist Andreas Deja. The vast artwork collection included paintings by Dali and Warhol, antique illustrated fairy tale books as well as the entire history of how each character was born and who inspired them. (Joan Crawford was the unsurprising inspiration behind Cruella de Vil.)

To learn more, you can purchase the gorgeous book Once Upon a Time: Walt Disney: The Sources of Inspiration for the Disney Studios on Amazon.

The villains, of course, are the most interesting lot and MAC Cosmetics has revived them: Cruella de Vil, Evil Queen, Maleficent and Dr. Facilier all grace the packaging and bring to mind strong eyes, expressive brows, high cheekbones and well-defined lips. 

I received the new Barbie Collector catalog the other day – it’s for the adult collector (it says so inside) – and was expecting to see a cool new Barbie Louboutin doll specially designed for the holiday season, not that I was going to buy one. I just love shoes and am curious (my journalistic trait).

Instead, they have Barbie Christmas tree ornaments. Yup, you can hang Barbie, Ken and even a tree decorated with shoes (not Louboutins). The thing is, they don’t look cute but creepy (except the shoe tree). Imagine hanging dolls on your tree – I totally imagine this in a Twilight Zone episode. Visions of Talky Tina come to mind…