The Annual TV Prom

So...did everyone watch the Emmy's last night? I was returning from a Juicehead-heavy weekend at the Shore (next blog post - I promise), so I missed the show AND the red carpet arrivals. Opening my laptop this morning was something very similar to Christmas morning-levels of excitement and, ooh LAWD, I was not disappointed. There were some killer dresses....and some that needed to be taken out back and shot.

THE BEST

Betty White

She is the belle of every ball and even though her frock looked like two scoops of rainbow sherbet - I loved it.

Elisabeth Moss in Donna Karan

All it took was a D-I-V-O-R-C-E to look stunning on the red carpet. Bye Fred.

Claire Danes in Armani Prive

She ALWAYS knows what to wear. Always. I wish Claire was my personal stylist.

Kim Kardashian in Marchesa

Aside from Kim's homecoming hair - she looks amazing. This dress proves that she is pretty enough to cover it all up every once in a while. I wish she did it more often...

Lea Michele in Oscar de la Renta

Great dress - I LOVE navy in dress-up occasions. She is definitely pretty, but also very skinny, no? Maybe it's just the angle, but is her head wider than her waist? I've also heard that Miss Lea is a massive diva. Massive. Maybe it's time that somebody put baby in the corner.

THE WORST

Heidi Klum in Marchesa

Heidi? You are stunning, your body defies gravity, and you are the oldest and hottest Victoria's Secret Angel. But you are NOT Serena van der Woodsen. Take off the minidress and step away.

January Jones in Versace

The FUG Girls said it looked like "her Versace had a mullet" and that really sums it up. What I don't understand is, did she not have time to do her hair? Did she just fling on some lip gloss, this $10,000 gown and run out the door?

Anna Paquin in Alexander McQueen

I would never say anything negative about McQueen. But WHAT is Sookeh wearing? It looks like the hem of her dress is tucked into her Spanx. And why is she always snarling? This girl NEVER smiles. She's like Kristen Stewart.

Rita Wilson in Prada

The very best of the worst. This wind chime of a dress is just too tacky for life. It does nothing for her waistline and looks even more uncomfortable. How does she sit? Do the little crystal break when she sits on them? And those shoes....those matching shoes!! It's no secret why Tom Hanks steered clear of this photo

THE BEYOND

Alexander Skarsgard in Tom Ford

I...I just....It's so delicious. It's...he's too hot for life. He's a Swedish Ken Doll.

Good Gracious

To be totally honest here, Grace Coddington stole the show in The September Issue. Stole. The. Show. She was such a humble Bert to Anna Wintour's Ernie. The Laverne to her Shirley. The Lucy to her Ethel. So I am jumping up and down as I just heard she is working on her memoir with the help of ex-Men's Vogue editor James Fielden.

Grace - shot by Bourdin

Apparently the book will cover her life starting from her convent-educated beginnings, to her teens as a model (she fell victim to a nasty car accident which ended it all), and then with her climb to the top of both British and American Vogue.

I so totally adore Grace. I met her at the National Magazine Awards at Lincoln Center a few months ago and I was literally nervous to talk to her. And I loved that in all of the Manolos, Loubs, and Brian Atwood's, she was wearing a simple pair of flats. I tried to walk her down the step and repeat and she ran for the hills saying that she "wasn't famous enough for all of that." Oh really, Gracie? You are plenty famous and I am going to read the hell out of your book.

Frock & Roll

Not many 26 year old designers in their second year of business can say that they are sold on Net-A-Porter AND in some of top boutiques in the country. Kimberly Ovitz is not normal. Actually, she is so fiercely abnormal that I can't stand it. Her 2011 Holiday/Resort line looks like it's intended for a vacay to the coolest resort of all time. A resort in the Singapore where Mary Ellen Mark shoots all of the brochures, dirty Ketel martinis are served with breakfast, and Chryssie Hynde acts as a tour guide while occasionally bursting into song. THAT is the level of cool I'm talking about right now.

Her resume gives me serious job envy (J. Crew, Chanel, Imitation of Christ, Twelfth Street by Cynthia Vincent, Ya Ya Clothing) but that coupled with an Art History degree from Brown explains the clean lines and minimalist design that has become her trademark.

This white viscose gown is shredded in the front and has a real Bride-of-Jack-White thing going on. Dress perfection.

I would wear this everyday. I'd be like the girl in that Seinfeld episode who never changed her outfit.

DYING over the sheer back of this dress.

The collection has a spareness that is not often seen in collections intended for luxurious locales. It's edgy but comfy at the same time - I literally want every piece. The dresses are a little pricey but I would just toss some leggings on, add cool slouchy boots, and transform it winter wear. Done and done.

Re-Boot Your Computer

I love when things are a different shape than they're supposed to be. The dog shaped salt and pepper shakers at The Standard? Love 'em. The red lips phone that DJ Tanner had on Full House? I wanted it for years. My new obsession is the combat boot shaped USB drive from Dr. Martens.

Docs have made a limited-edition USB drive in honor of the brand's 50th anniversary. Even though $25 is steep for only 2GB - it's a lot more interesting than the boring drive you have rolling around in your desk drawer...

You're Welcome

The Devil didn't always wear Prada.

Oh my, my, my, my. This is genius. I've had a shit day and this made me giggle like a little girl. Magic Molly ran this photo a few days ago and it has gotten picked up by EVERYONE. Okay, when I say everyone I mean Refinery29, Guest of a Guest, Gawker, and Racked, but whatever. That IS everyone.

It looks as though our girl Anna made it into the party pics of some publication circa 1992. And the "always-warm-and-jolly editor" (BAAAH! I hope that caption was 100% tongue in cheek) wore some kind of metallic gold mock turtleneck, turquoise culottes, a lot of costume jewelry, and NO bra. Was it winter, Anna? Because it looks like you're freezing.

If you don't think that this is exactly what I am wearing to Fashion's Night Out, you are sadly mistaken. If someone has any idea where I can source turquoise culottes - shoot me an email.

Oil is NOT the New Black

There is no denying that the images from the oil-spill editorial in Vogue Italia are provocative. But...yikes. Stephen Meisel shot 24 pages of Kristen McMenamy doing her best "dead-bird" as she interpreted the oiled-up animals that have been seen all over the news since April's Deepwater Horizon explosion.

The images are beautiful but creating glamour out of out-and-out tragedy seems pretty f**ked if you ask me. AND how frigging wasteful was this shoot? Thousands and thousands of dollars of luxury clothes were flown in only to have some intern coat them all in oil. Just so Meisel could make a statement.

If Vogue Italia REALLY wanted to make a statement, they could have donated all the money spent in efforts to help fix the situation. I appreciate fashion being used as a vehicle to comment on social issues, but the oil spill should not be reduced to glossy images in a magazine. See the images below.

NY Mag's blog, The Cut, had a perfect take on this: "If showcasing the clothing is still the overarching objective in any fashion editorial, shouldn't we be able to, you know, see them? They probably looked pretty cool before they were soaked in gasoline." I couldn't have said it better myself. Anything done to draw attention (and influence) to what happened in the Gulf is important - this was just a really tasteless way to go about it.

Acid Tripping at The Standard Hotel

On August 18th, Target is taking over The Standard Hotel in NYC with a trippy, out of this world fashion show dubbed the Target Kaleidoscopic Fashion Spectacular. This technicolor dreamcoat is highlighting all of their Fall '10 collections. I didn't think I couldn't love Target any more, but this? This sealed the deal. Marry me, Target. I have loved you for years and I know a great place where we can register...

In 155 rooms of the hotel, 66 dancers dressed in Target's best will be choreographed in sync with lighting patterns that rock the building's southern facade. On the street level, 25 more performers will appear in a nine-room replica that will mirror the windows of the hotel.

Even if you aren't standing next to me at one of the viewing parties on Washington Street, you can still get in on the action via Facebook as Target is going to live-stream the whole experience.

I feel trippy just thinking about it. Tune in August 18th at 9pm EST.

Taking It To the Streets

Today I FINALLY saw the Sidewalk Catwalk, the designer-centric public-art installation put together by the Fashion Center Business Improvement District (holy mouthful) in midtown. Thirty-two designers were each given a fiberglass mannequin and instructed to design it as they saw fit. Although the result is pretty cool, I think a lot of the designers missed a chance to really do something exciting. Um, Michael Kors? Rebecca Taylor? This wasn't a bad Project Runway challenge - Heidi wasn't going to auf you for not playing it safe.

The designers who kicked it out and flexed a little creative muscle made this really kickass and added some flair to the otherwise awful blocks surrounding Herald Square. The whole idea of the installation is to allow people (those who aren't intrinsically tied to the fashion world) to have a non-commercial fashion experience AND to showcase the design work still going on in the garment district.

Betsey Johnson covered hers in doodles and personal photographs. The wig is identical to Betsey's hair and the flowers are going to be maintained throughout the installation.

DvF ditched the clothes and opted for purple leopard spots.

Prabal Gurung's butterfly laden design is his homage to Alexander McQueen.

Maria Cornejo's sack dress glows in the dark. And seriously, I'd wear the HELL out of this.

The design for this Jill Stuart mannequin was taken directly from a design in her fall collection.

Only Jason Wu can drape and pleat tarp-ish material.

Yeohlee Teng symbolically used materials found in old factories from the area. Reminds me a bit too much of the girl stuck in the hole in Silence of the Lambs, but tres, tres clever.

Sigh. Thom Browne. Always knocks my socks off. Literally.

Tommy Hilfiger was my absolute favorite. He is seriously the only person who loves the American Flag more than Betsy Ross...

The mannequins will be auctioned off at the end of the summer and all proceeds go to Materials for the Arts. This is so much cooler than those ugly cows...