I just love her facial expression. So “As IF!” a la Cher from Clueless. Anyway, that coat is FAB.

I was seven years old when Princess Diana passed away. I remember going to the family room that morning and seeing my mother watch the news, which showed people all over the world mourning Diana’s death. “Why are all these people crying?” I asked. I had no idea who this woman was. My mother said, “They’re sad, baby. Their princess has died.” I never who asked who she meant by “they” but in the years since I’ve understood that “they” meant EVERYONE. Literally, the whole world. Not until I witnessed the media frenzy around Kate & William’s wedding did I understand that the world really does kind of look to the British Royal Family as the de facto royal family in the world. And now, 15 years after her death, the world still considers Diana “The People’s Princess.” She was someone many people adored and looked up to–yes for her charitable acts, interactions with the public, and generally kind demeanor, but we, being a fashion blog, are focused primarily on her style. Princess Diana was and is a fashion icon. From her many boldly colored suits with hats to match, to her glamorous evening gowns, to her signature short ‘do, Princess Diana was everyone’s favorite piece of fashion eye-candy–definitely NOT your stereotypical, “stuffy,” “boring” royal. 

Kate doesn’t look bad, but the lack of color makes her look so dull…

I’m tempted to bring in a Kate Middleton comparison, but I just don’t think there is one. Kate seems to still be trying to find her own style-comfort-zone. She’s trying to wear clothes she likes, without going against whatever royal protocols there are about what royals can or can’t wear (e.g., I heard she HAD to wear stockings with all skirts, orders from above. Super bummer.) In the process, I think she can look uncomfortable or like she dresses way older than she is,  only because she is trying to find that fashion sweet spot. I generally like Kate’s style, but it’s like…you can tell she’s TRYING. On the other hand, Diana always seemed to be at ease in whatever she wore; she OWNED it. She didn’t seem to mind having fun or pushing the boundaries and actually wearing something classy AND sexy (take note, Kate). Then again, it was the 90s. Bold & loud was obligatory back then.

Still, her style proves one of either two things: that fashion truly DOES repeat itself every 1-2 decades; or that Diana’s fashion sense was truly before her time and she was the ultimate trendsetter. Or both? Check out the fashion of the today’s Fashion Outlier, aka The People’s Princess, and decide for yourself. 

Polka dots

Cocktail dresses

Evening wear

I decided to do a new weekly feature called… *drum roll*…. Fashion Outlier Fridays! Every Friday we’ll celebrate the unique, one-of-a-kind, groundbreaking, signature style of a celebrity. These style leaders aren’t afraid to go against the grain and be different from the rest, yet true to themselves. 

For the first Fashion Outlier EVER, I decided to pay homage to someone who is still remembered for her distinctive voice as well as her distinctive style. Before Rihanna…before Ciara…before Beyonce…oh yeah and before Ashanti (remember her? It’s alright, don’t strain your brain), there was Aaliyah.

Aaliyah first appeared on the music scene as the tomboy with the sweet voice. Over time, her music matured, and so did her style. From her original go-to look of baggy jeans, over-sized jackets, and bandanas; to her signature fitted crop-top with denim or leather pants; to glamorous, embellished tops and dresses on the red carpet; Aaliyah always owned her style. She managed to be casual but cool; sexy but not slutty. People are STILL trying to imitate her look today, but one thing about Aaliyah is she never seemed to try so hard. Her look was effortless. So in memory of Aaliyah, this first Fashion Outlier Friday is for you, Baby Girl.

Aaliyah circa mid 1990s. Her debut uniform: baggy pants, with an over-sized jacket over a cropped top. Usually with shades and a bandana.

Aaliyah’s tomboy style. What female singer could dress like this today?

Aaliyah as the face of Tommy Hilfiger.

Aaliyah’s signature style as she got older: Crop top with pants.

Leather! This was around the time she was working on her self-titled album “Aaliyah,” where she experimented with different genres and styles. Rock must have been one of them!

Aaliyah’s casual style as she got older. Still simple, casual, but cute with a hip hop edge.

Aaliyah in her prime. Completely GLAM. And a little sassy with her own personal coat-tail holder!

Aaliyah was notorious for never wearing dresses, even in her music videos. It wasn’t until she was working on her self-titled Aaliyah album that she began to really embrace dresses. My favorite thing about her grown-woman swag? LEG all day!

Is there anyone you’d like to see featured on Fashion Outlier Fridays? Leave a comment!

All images from Aaliyah’s Facebook Fan Page.

So Louis Vuitton Brown is a color now, because Mother Monster says it’s so. I would actually be really excited if I opened a pack of Crayola crayons and saw Louis Vuitton Brown in there. Or maybe I’m more excited because now when people ask me to describe myself I can say “I’m 5’ 5” with black hair and Louis Vuitton Brown skin, BABY.”

What other designer colors are out there, waiting to be unearthed? Chanel Black? Birkin Red? Tiffany’s Blue?  Oh the possibilities.

Images via okayplayer.com and cnn.com

GAH. This makes me happy. I usually don’t keep up with beauty news, and after 4 years of advertising classes I don’t care much for make up ads that substitute Photoshop for the actual product, but I’ve always had some respect for CoverGirl for choosing pretty dynamic celeb representatives. From Ellen DeGeneres to Queen Latifah to Taylor Swift to Sofia Vergara, they cover all the bases as far as diversity goes—diversity in race, in careers, in style. To me, CoverGirl has always been trendy, but never edgy. UNTIL NOW.

Singers Pink and Janelle Monae are the new faces of CoverGirl! Both are not only naturally cute and gorgeous, but they have that edge and je ne sais quoi that has earned them respect in the music industry for not conforming to what Hollywood thinks a female singer in their respective genres should be. Pink is a mom in her 30s with a rock-edge and Janelle Monae is single in her 20s with a neo-soul-funk edge.

I can just imagine the ads now. Janelle Monae’s ad in black and white with her signature bouffant wearing a pop of red lipstick; and Pink wearing something in black leather with heavy eyeshadow and mascara and her signature pink locks. Now that I think of it, these girls would be great endorsers for a hair product. Here’s to two kick-ass girls with fab hair and style!

Editor’s Note: I found the ads! Turns out my predictions weren’t far from the truth!

Kim Kardashian is New York Magazine’s September cover girl; meaning, she got the cover of the coveted Fashion Issue. But after reading excerpts from the cover story, it almost seems like NYM put Kim on the cover to simply question whether or not she should even be on the cover in the first place, or acknowledged at all the fashion industry. Some excerpts:

“I love designing,” Kim tells me. “All morning I was talking to my sisters about different designs.” (Talks about. Not, sits down and sketches and does research on designs. Just “talking.”)

 

Kimye, as the tabloids call them, could be poised to become a fashion power couple. And yet Kanye, for all the criticism, has still been greeted with considerably more enthusiasm by fashion’s gatekeepers. Marc Jacobs is known to be a Kim fan, but his is a decidedly outlying opinion.

 

With Kim, says a fashion executive, “I think she sees fashion as another means for making money. I don’t think she’s ever going to want to go to a fashion show for her love of clothes. She’s going to want to get paid for going to that show.”

 

The Olsen twins have been supported by the industry, says the fashion executive, because “they are very hardworking and hands-on; they’re there working in their studio; they don’t do anything else.” The industry rewards dedication, in other words, and frowns on dilettantes. The last celebutante who tried unsuccessfully to storm fashion’s gates was Kim’s old friend Paris Hilton, who would show up uninvited in the front row at fashion shows. What would Kim need to do to gain acceptance? “Quit all your other jobs,” the executive says.

Those are some funny/harsh quotes. The rest of the article talks about how Kim basically does everything for fame and money but is now trying out this new “Zen” stage in her life. Anyway, I really have never bought this story of Kim Kardashian being a fashion icon or anything. Just because someone is pretty and looks good in (most) of the clothes she wears, doesn’t mean she knows diddly squat about fashion or even style, which is Kim’s biggest offense in my opinion. She constantly wears dresses that look 2 sizes too small, with hemlines 4 inches too long for her petite frame, and the shoes are never right. She dresses like she’s Kate Moss, and she needs to acknowledge all those big assets that got her famous in the first place. Sadly, delusion seems to be a Kardashian trait, it seems.

I just don’t trust celebs who NEVER wear their own products. I have never seen Kim or any of her sisters wearing their Sears line, Kardashian Kollection; never seen them wear their QVC collection, K-Dash; never seen them wear any of the shoes from ShoeDazzle. All I see them in are Louboutin shoes, Birkin bags, and poorly styled higher-end designer garments. Unlike Victoria Beckham, who actually wears clothes from her collection, and they’re cute, too. Even Beyonce wears those awful Dereon tees and jeans when she’s out and about.

Either way, I now hate NYM for giving a Kardashian more attention by questioning whether or not she deserves any attention. And yes, I hate myself for writing about it.

Kim in Prada, wearing the outfit as it was on the runway….

Kim in a Kanye creation, man oh man.

Image via Ralph Lauren/Celebitchy

My first thought when I saw this: LOL, WTF, they’ll burn you alive Ralph Lauren. And they already have, for many (good and dumb) reasons–the uniforms being “too French,” being made in China, and being plain FUGLY. I don’t even know where to begin. It’s like a fashion conundrum. What was Ralph Lauren trying to achieve here? And how is he standing behind these designs so confidently?

Berets?? Not saying someone who isn’t French can’t wear them (that would just be perpetuating the stereotype), but when designing uniforms for athletes competing in the Competition of All Competitions against other nations in front of the ENTIRE world, do you really want to adorn these people with an accessory so closely tied to another country? Do you see any Russians in kimonos? Kenyans in sombreros?  Canadians in cowboy boots? So then why, Mr. Lauren, does our Olympic team look like the French Naval Mafia? Really, if it wasn’t for them holding the flag, I would have thought this was the French team. Do they really need hats at all??

I was going to comment on the white bottoms (way to make already bulky, muscular athletes look even more stout and stumpy), but I’m a little more offended that the females are in skirts. Considering the controversy from the last Olympic games over gender identification, I would think that the uniform was actually UNIFORM. As in, the same for everyone. Serena Williams has some thick, beautiful, but muscular legs. What justice will that skirt do for her, falling right at her calves and paired with these above-the-ankle socks? Not to mention the majority of the other female athletes. Sighhhhh.

I almost wish every athlete would just roll up in their performance uniforms wearing “Team USA” capes  or something ridiculous like that. In fact, they should’ve been dressed as super heroes, given all the super-hero movie releases in Hollywood. And isn’t Hollywood what America is really all about anyway?

The original sketches. All they were missing were the 6-foot 125 pound models with 10% body fat and muscle mass. And heels.
Image via myfdb.com

I adore Emma Stone. She’s a great actress, her interviews are usually entertaining and down-to-earth, she carries herself well, and gah she’s a red head! No not naturally, I know, but on this UK Vogue cover she is and I love it. She reminds me of what Lindsay Lohan could’ve been if she didn’t get caught up in all the drugs. Hopefully Emma won’t ever have to go that route. Love this look much more than her platinum blonde look on Vogue USA’s July cover. Go Emma!!

Must. Stop. Watching.

….So I can attempt to imitate these dances!

I took a class with Tony Czar and fell in love. He gave my dance brain a new wrinkle. Now I’m obsessed with this piece he choreographed. I hope you have a few weeks to spare–that’s how long you’ll be watching this over and over before you realize what you’ve done.

First of all, WHY must everyone aspire to be blonde? Red heads are fierce and unique! That’s where it’s at!

Now, this outfit. Why why why with the thigh high leather boots? I know there’s a puddle of sweat at her ankles from how hot it must be in there. The shorts–I’ve never been a fan of the destroyed denim look. Or the shorts-so-short-you-can-count-all-the-change-in-the-pockets look. But there it is. Then the sweatshirt tied around the waist? Why? To add some modesty to the shorts? The only thing I really like is that shirt–that’s a hot shirt.

Apart, these all look a mess. But somehow, all together, with the red lips and unfortunate blonde weave, it kind of…makes sense. Right? In a purposefully busted, I-care-about-how-I-look-but-not-too-much kind of way. I get it, Ciara. I mean, not really, but I’m trying. I really am.

Photo via gofugyourself.com

The dress on the left is a McQueen creation that served as inspiration to the dress on the right,  which is made of ~50,000 Gummy Bears and weighs ~220 pounds. That’s about twice as heavy as 90% of the model/celebrity population that could afford to wear it. On another note, haven’t I seen something like this before? Oh yeah, Project Runway!

Twizzler dress by Jillian Lewis, Project Runway season 4

So really, this McQueen dress is just a glorified Project Runway challenge. That, and snack for about 500 kids, glue and all.