It Pays to be Really, Really, Ridiculously Good Looking

 

Study after study breathlessly announces their findings: good-looking people make more money. Well, duh.  Just take one look a what supermodels are paid to give the camera their best Blue Steel, strut the catwalk, and attend after-funeral parties and other high-profile events. Elle recently ran a fun piece on the evolution of supermodels' super salaries from the post-war period to the present:

Red Carpet Worthy Sweet-yet-Edgy Pumps

To promote LIVE! - in which she plays an uber-ambitious TV exective intent on developing the most-watched reality show of all time - unlike the fictitious show contestants who would try their luck at Russian roulette with a loaded gun, Eva Mendes took no similar chances with her footwear, stepping lightly at the movie's Italian photocall in Casadei's fun, skyhigh satin 1616 pumps in shimmery silver. Earlier in the week, Anne Hathaway teetered stylishly into the Oscars in the cream version, however, it's the black ones that have walked the most red carpets: Demi Moore at the Golden Globes, Kate Hudson at the Bride Wars premiere, and again on Eva Mendes at the Warner Cinema Moderno premiere of LIVE! Purchasing info at Casadei.com.

- Lesley Scott

A Few Fabulous Links

 

This week, we check out the top trends from Fall Fashion Week; learn how to get Angelina's Oscar tresses; mold a movie-perfect bod and then shop for bathing suits to show it off:

Stella McCartney's capsule collection for Net-a-Porter - FabSugar
NY Fashion Week Fall 2009 trend roundup - Omiru
meet Carine Roitfeld's latest model obsession - Fashion Indie
how to transition your wardrobe into spring - College Fashion
Jeepers...thick-soled creepers are back - Refinery29 Pipeline
bathing suits that are flirty, fun & cute - College Candy
fabulous feel-good flip flops - The Budget Fashionista
Vogue’s Sally Singer says: buy less, buy better - The Curated Life
get Isla Fisher’s perfect body in “Confessions” - The Fashionable Housewife
Angelina's Oscar tresses step-by-step - Factio Magazine
an amazing photographer with stunning work - Fashion Fille
Academy Awards/Oscars Best Dressed of 2009 list - Fashion Pulse Daily
New York Fall 2009 fashion shows roundup - Fashiontribes
the coolest sales at Urban Outfitters this week - Runway To Retail

Design a Perfume Bottle for Bond No.9 Brooklyn & Fuhgidda-BOUD-it

When Bond No.9 introduced its latest fragrance, a unisex cardamom cedarwood eau de parfum, the bold street-art flacon design garnered such a barrage of responses from the borough's afficionados, the company decided to let the opinionated to put the artwork where their (loud) mouths are. So if you know what's good for ya, dream up your own design inspired by any of Brooklyn's colorful nabes - DUMBO, Park Slope, Flatbush, Canarsie (or even just the idea of Brooklyn) - and enter it in the Bond No.9 Brooklyn Design Competition by March 31, 2009.

Passionately Purple Peep Toe Pumps

 
Author Alice Walker once remarked that "I think it pisses God off if you walk by the color purple in a field somewhere and don't notice it."  Which most definitely won't be your fate in these fantabulous, flirty patent peep toes from oh...DEER! Shoes. Available at OhDeerShoes.com.

- Lesley Scott

Dhoti-Harem Pants 101: How to Rock the Look (#1 of 5 Ways)

Yes, you can rock the dhoti-harem pant - just think of it as a casual skirt in disguise.  Here, some equally exotic tasseled flats and an embroidered tunic create the look and feel of a Fairy Tale princess lounging langorously.

Where to get the look:

Swap Your Way to Fashion Fabulousness for Less

It's all good and well to justify a hefty fashion purchase by telling yourself "I'll wear this forever!!"...but why on earth would you want to? Half the fun of fashion are all the new looks and accessories to covet and acquire each season.  The less fun part: a depleted bank account and/or steep credit card bills, plus a wardrobe crammed full of stuff you no longer want to wear forever (or ever again).  Instead, appease your guilty conscience at Swapstyle.com, where you can clean out your closets while acquiring the new stuff you're craving by swapping it with other clotheshorses.

Michelle Obama Looking Pretty in Pink

As usual, Mrs. O manages to balance ladylike and chic with her latest fashionable endeavor - the cover of People magazine.  The stunning pink guipure lace Tracy Reese dress in Dried Azalea is available at TracyReese.com.

- Lesley Scott

Fashion Blogs: 1; Print-o-Sphere: 0

During the recent New York Fall 2009 shows, The New York Observer described Daniel Saynt of Fashion Indie - a cheeky, fun blog dedicated to the best in indie style - as an uninvited gatecrasher at Fashion Week who fancies himself the fashion blogosphere's Perez Hilton.  "Since IMG hasn't invited him to attend, he's just going to barrel his way in, with a crew of crony bloggers in tow," they write, and then self-importantly wonder if "showing up uninvited really is the best way for bloggers to gain entree to the orderly, hierarchical fashion world?" 

The fact is, entry has been gained...for years.

Keeping it Fashionably Russian for Fall 2009

As part of Chanel's pre-fall "Paris to Moscow" collection, Karl Lagerfeld showed an adorable wristlet modeled after a Russian matryoshka doll, while after the recent Fall 2009 shows, Marie Claire named the Russian look as one of the Top 10 trends to keep an eye on.  So why not get into the spirit with some fun Russian-inspired prints and accessories? Try a knit tunic (such an easy way to incorporate prints into your wardrobe) or even a flowy peasant skirt paired with a flatteringly body-conscious tank or top. Nastrovya!

- TheFind.com editors