Beautiful Bandeaus from Bikini Beach Star for Bodacious Beach Bunnies

The bandeau has a long and glamorous history, dating back most famously to 4th century AD Siciliy with the discovery of a mosaic dubbed the Roman "Bikini Girls" - depicting sporty & svelte beauties of antiquity exercising in their bandeaus. However, it wasn't until the 1940s that the sleek silhouette of the strapless bandeau became part of everyday swimwear, showcasing poolside starlets and their sexy contours to great (& paparazzi-friendly) effect.

For a modern selection of on-trend women's bandeau bikinis in every shape, color, and possible design your inner beach bunny could desire - be it something simple & sleek with only a subtle centre twist or embellished band, or something more slinky & showy - check out Bikini Beach Star.

"Bikini Beach Star was born because I am a true beach lover, I have spent a lot of time enjoying the pleasures of holidaying in the sun," explains Sharon Bentwood, who enjoys a bit of poolside lounging herself when off the clock. "But, as a woman who likes to dress with care, style and confidence, when it came to dressing for the beach, I felt constantly let down by what the High Street has to offer. When you are laying on a beach or lounging by a pool your not wearing very much, I believe what you are wearing needs to stylish and fabulous. As I began to widen my search, and ask friends and family, I found I wasn't the only one who struggled to find something more sophisticated, fashionable, and specia. That's when I decided to look further afield. My search for beautiful bikinis, swimwear and beachwear, has taken me all over the world, from Rio to California."

Cyndi Lauper Proves That Girls Can Have Fun With Fashion At Any Age

The ageless songstress braved NYC's ice & snow to trek to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the same location where she taped the video of her iconic Top 40 hit, "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" - in honor of her induction into the Gray Line New York's Ride of Fame campaign: a series of mobile "monuments" celebrating the endeavors of well-known Gothamites who have represented the city positively. At a special ribbon-cutting ceremony, each honoree is presented with a unique decal applied to one of the iconic red Gray Line New York double-decker buses constantly seen shuttling sightseers around the Big Apple. Instead of a static Walk of Fame (Hollywood), gazillions can then ride the honoree's bus each day; Ride of Fame'rs include Liza Minelli, Richard Dreyfuss, Whoopi Goldberg, Rachael Ray, and "the" Donald (Trump).

Cyndi looked tres edgy, yet absolutely age-appropriate, in fierce leather leggings, a knockout jacket by Sohung Designs, fabulous Givenchy bag, and that style weapon of chic French femme fatales everywhere: intense red lips. To get our interpretation of the Lauper look, think contrasts:

Snag Your Own Jay Gatsby in Romantic Theads by Thierry Colson

"Reminiscent of a stay in Kent, the intense luminosity of the cottony sky blurs the outlines of the wisteria branches, passes through the Indian Chandery skirts, pale and diaphanous like sunrise, slightly blurred by precious porcelain shades of gray and pale yellow...Then Mediterranean memories take possession, creating a more lasvious mood, colors bolder: Tuareg blue, shocking pink and gold-yellow. Sensuality becomes apparent in an Oriental twilight.

TRANSLATION: A gorgeous collection of featherweight frocks, gauzy gowns, and polished poplin dresses by Thierry Colson, a fashion editor turned designer whose gigs have included consulting for Hermes, Chloe, Lacoste, Jil Sander, Martine Sitbon & Anna Molinari, as well as styling for "Vogue Homme International", "Glamour", "Numero Homme" & "Madame Figaro." He now produces his line of cotton loungewear (for everywhere) in Jaipur, India - save the striped pieces made from Italian-shirting which are produced in his native France. "There's some soul in these clothes," Colson recently explained to Elle magazine, about his Spring 2011 collection which is inspired by the ethereal (pigments in makeup) and the lasting (Algerian paintings). "Girls say they feel like they're in a novel when they wear them."

- Lesley Scott

Cinematic Tales of Femme Fatales, a Fancy Powder Room & Miu Miu!

Set in London's chichi Claridges hotel, "The Powder Room" is the first in a series of short films by female filmmakers with different intellectual backgrounds and a distinct love of Miu Miu. Directed by Zoe Cassavetes (Broken English), the premiere piece takes place in an ultra-feminine environment where gestures between women are traded in a ritual of opulent beauty and romantic "codes" - which mirror everything we all already adore about the luxury of the Miu Miu universe. "I love the idea of a powder room, the ritual which takes place within them is very important for women," explains Cassavetes about her somewhat mysterious narrative mosaic. "The story is about women and their private moments, so it’s allowed to be free and dreamy… the dreamy part was the most fun. And the glamour."

Fashion Inspiration from Frida Kahlo

These super-cute "Painter's" python sandals from Stuart Weitzman's Spring 2011 line immediately put us in a festive Frida frame of mind. When she dressed each day, she paid close attention to both her jewelry and her nails - variously painting them purple, green, and even orange, depending on what best matched what she was wearing that day. "She used to say she dressed de chango, like a monkey, for fun, in a silly and playful way," and according to Bertram Wolfe, "would have seemed outlandish were it not for the artistry with which she designed and adorned herself." A pint-sized venus (measuring a little over 5'2"), she made every effort to look taller with long skirts and hair piled high and festooned with blooms.

When finally dressed for the day, she looked "like a princess, like an empress," according to descriptions by her contemporaries; "scrupulously clean and heavily perfumed, 'she was as resplendent as a rainbow.'"

Lauren Hutton: Fabulous Fashion Fairy Godmother

From working with Richard Avedon and Diana Vreeland, to starring in Tom Ford's recent fashion show, longtime uber-model Lauren Hutton has enjoyed one of the fashion industry's most enduring careers. "I became a model to see the world, to make enough money to travel and experience other cultures," she explains in the February issue of Harper's Bazaar. "I knew I had to get to New York to get to Africa." And with a career spanning almost five decades & well into her mid-60s, she posed for Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen's 2008 lookbook. "I think I was 64 at the time and they were 22. I thought that was fantastically hip. I did it, and they paid me in clothes, which is great," she notes, showing off the jeans and workmans shirt she's wearing - both from the Row. Adds Ashley, "She stays true to herself. I think that's what's reflected in her photographs," says Ashley, to which M-K adds: "She took a chance on a brand that no one knew just because she liked it. We think of her as our fairy godmother."

- Lesley Scott

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Fabulous Freja Beha Erichsen Bares (Almost) All for Fellow Danish Brand Georg Jensen

As the face of Georg Jensen's 2011 Global Brand Campaign which was shot by Sebastian Faena & launches in February, the Danish "it" girl (and Kaiser Karl muse) wears jewellery (and not much else) from the Georg Jensen Grape, Fusion and Regitze Gold collections. "The fact that Freja is Danish and at the same time one of the hottest models within the international fashion industry makes her the ideal campaign model for Georg Jensen – in Scandinavia and globally. With Freja we underline both our Scandinavian DNA and our global strategy," notes the luxury brand's CEO, Ulrik Garde Due. "Georg Jensen is a Danish brand, I'm a Danish model and there are not too many of us," adds FBE. "Therefore doing the campaign for Georg Jensen was something really special to me. Georg Jensen is such a unique brand and being part of this iconic design company is an honour – and great fun."

- Lesley Scott

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Finally! Fashionable Buttondowns WITHOUT Annoying (Non-Chic) Gaposis

Whether it's paired with jeans, pencil skirts, skinny jeans, wide-legged trousers, suits, knits, khakis, city shorts...there are few things a crisp buttondown doesn't go with. Except for one small but significant detail: that annoying gape right at bust level that (straight) men may love, but is the bane of many a fashionista. "After years of frustration, struggling with buttondowns and safety pins to ensure I wasn't overexposing myself at my public affairs firm, the idea of the hidden buttons to hold the gape together came to me," says Rochelle Behrens, a Washington lobbyist turned fashion innovator out of the need for chic shirts sans the involuntary peepshow. Her creation, The Shirt™ features a hefty placket for more structure and clever hidden buttons that reinforce the shirt against gapping, which recently landed it on Oprah as one of the "Five Things You Need to Do in 2011," with O Magazine’s Creative Director, Adam Glassman, including calling The Shirt "ingenious" and "the perfect white shirt" for women both busty and not. Even Ms. Oprah dubbed it "fantastic."

Unlike typical buttondowns which are adapted from men's tailoring - meaning if they fit your torso, they gap at the bust and if they fit the "girls", then they're basically shapeless - The Shirt is made from comfy, wearable fabric and fits both your bod & your boobs.  "It is such a simple solution that promotes confidence in the most uncomplicated of ways.  The Shirt is about looking good and feeling good whether it is paired with jeans, tucked into pencil skirts, under sweaters and blazers, on the weekends, out at night and at work."

Available in four different styles - Classic, Super-Skinny, with a Bow & Tuxedo-ruffled - and in either white or black at The-Shirt.com.

- Lesley Scott

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Eco-Chic Mango Tree Bangles Solve the Baggy Bracelet Bugaboo

"It all started when we met each other in India in the summer of 2004 while I was studying gemology; we fell in love almost instantly and started our life's journey together," reminisces David Aviv about meeting his soulmate and future fashion-partner in crime, Helen Dukat, with whom he co-founded Mango Tree Fitted Bangles: hand-carved & -painted bangles crafted from organic Grade A mango trees that are timbered only when no longer able to yield fruit. "Ever since I was a child I was fascinated by the beauty of nature's treasures; Helen, with her skillful hands and passion for creations was the Ying that completed my Yang. Designing jewelry together is what we love to do most. And our vision is to design and manufacture beautiful high quality products using natural materials from around the world, and to sell them at great prices so that everyone can enjoy them."

Available in 3 styles, 4 different sizes, and in 50 colors (although, because they're made from natural materials, colors and patterns tend to vary slightly from bangle to bangle), there's a Mango Tree bangle - or, even better, a stack of them - that fit whatever you're wearing & whatever your wrist size.

Ole! The New Balenciaga Exhibit Brings the Pulse of Spain to the de Young Museum

From the recent ruffle trend to voluminous trapeze silhouettes to intricate embroideries & detailing (during the daytime!), the influence of the mega-talented 20th century Spanish couturier Cristóbal Balenciaga (1895–1972) still resonates decades after his death, continuing to add zest en Espanol to modern fashion. "Balenciaga was the true son of a strong country filled with style, vibrant color, and a fine history," legendary fashion editor Diana Vreeland once said of him. "He remained forever a Spaniard...His inspiration came from the bullrings, the flamenco dancers, the fishermen in their boots and loose blouses, the glories of the church, and the cool of the cloisters and monasteries. He took their colors, their cuts, then festooned them to his own taste."

Designer Oscar de la Renta actually began his career in Balenciaga's Madrid couture casa in the 1950s, and in 2010, created a presentation at the Queen Sofia Spanish Institute in NYC entitled "Balenciaga: Spanish Master." On March, 26 through July 4, 2011 it will be expanded dramatically by the de Young Museum in San Francisco as "BALENCIAGA AND SPAIN"  and guest-curated by Vogue's European editor at large, Hamish Bowles. The exhibition will include nearly 120 of the designers haute couture couture garments, hats, and headdresses, including an unprecedented loan of 30 pieces from the House of Balenciaga in Paris, which opened its archives of historically significant Cristóbal Balenciaga garments, iconography, and related materials; a trove of sartorial treasures and never-before-exhibited goodies from private collections (such as that of Sandy Schreier) and museums around the world will also be on display, including items from the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, the Musée de la Mode et du Textile and the Musée Galliera in Paris, the Museum of the Fashion Institute of Technology, the Hispanic Society of America, LACMA, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Museum of the City of New York, the Phoenix Art Museum, the Texas Fashion Collection, five garments from the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco's own significant collection of Balenciaga, and 17 pieces from the collection of Hamish Bowles, who notes: "Balenciaga's ceaseless explorations and innovations ensured that his work was as intriguing and influential in his final collection as it had been in his first."