Fashion

'FitFlops' Latest Toning Rage

Seattle Times  |  Jul 16, 08 11:48 AM CDT

(Newser) - FitFlops, the sandals that exercise your leg and derriere muscles as you walk, are this summer’s must-have, Newhouse News Service reports. With celebrity support from Heidi Klum to Jennifer Garner, the fitness flip flop made Oprah’s “summer favorites” list, and has sold a million pairs since launching last year. Chronic back-pain sufferers also noted therapeutic benefits from the $50 shoes. More »

Gossip Girl a Fashion Force

New York Times  |  Jul 8, 08 4:46 PM CDT

(Newser) - CW’s Gossip Girl has enjoyed only so-so ratings in its first year, but it's become a major trend-setter in fashion for young women, the New York Times reports. Retailers say the show, which features rich and preppy teens, has a huge influence on sales, sort of like a Sex and the City for the younger set. In addition, many designers are incorporating the show’s look into their fall lineups. More »

Fashion, Politics Unlikely Mix

W  |  Jul 8, 08 2:57 PM CDT

(Newser) - Move over, Hollywood—these days, fashion designers are dying to get their wares on a new kind of celebrity: politicians. The last time Carla Bruni and Nicolas Sarkozy visited London, Dior issued no fewer than five press releases on their outfits, and Louis Vuitton has even hired Mikhail Gorbachev as a model. But not everyone thinks the trend is chic, reports W in a look at political stars. More »

What's With all the Skulls?

Esquire  |  Jul 5, 08 10:53 AM CDT

(Newser) - Heavy metal and Halloween, make room for haute couture. “What used to be a symbol for borderline-sociopathic tough guys with weird design fetishes—Hells Angels, pirates, Nazis—has become a trope de luxe,” writes Stephen Marche in Esquire . The skull, a symbol of death with deep religious significance, “has suddenly become hypermodern, totally in and of the moment.” More »

Luxe Knockoffs Cost eBay $63M

Wall Street Journal  |  Jun 30, 08 4:48 PM CDT

(Newser) - A French court sided today with couturier Louis Vuitton in a suit against eBay, ruling the auctioneer must pay $63.1 million in damages for fake goods sold on its site—a ruling the Wall Street Journal says will force eBay to step up anti-counterfeiting protections. EBay says it will appeal the judgment, its second recent defeat in French courts. More »

Hairy Fad: Boys Dig Long Locks

Chicago Tribune  |  Jun 30, 08 7:09 AM CDT

(Newser) - In what could be a frightening nod to the '80s, more and more boys are growing their hair out. And while most deny pop culture inspired the barber boycott, long locks can be spotted on everyone from the Jonas Brothers to celebrity tots. Despite sometimes being mistaken for girls, notes the Chicago Tribune in a look at the trend, most wouldn't trade their tresses. More »

Model Dies in 9-Story Fall in NYC; Suicide Suspected

New York Post  |  Jun 29, 08 2:19 PM CDT

(Newser) - A Kazakh model was found dead after falling from her ninth-floor Manhattan apartment in an apparent suicide, the New York Post reports. Twenty-year old Ruslana Korshunova had appeared on the covers of French Elle and Russian Vogue , and starred in ads for Christian Dior and Vera Wang. She had just returned from a modeling stint in Paris and looked to be "on top of the world," said a friend. More »

Deep V-Necks No Longer Welcome at Tee Party

Radar  |  Jun 28, 08 8:06 AM CDT

(Newser) - The deep V-neck T-shirt, that "misguided ode to the male sternum," has taken the classic, plain, white version to a place so fashion forward many are hoping it gets lost there, Kate Radway writes in Radar . "I see them on the street and I am almost sick of it," says a rep for American Apparel, identified as the key trend culprit. More »

Only Black Is Beautiful in Italian Vogue

New York Times  |  Jun 19, 08 9:03 AM CDT

(Newser) - Black women spend $20 billion a year on clothes, but the fashion world still harbors a racial prejudice that keeps women of color out of the big glossies. Now noted photographer Steven Meisel has teamed with Italian Vogue to produce a special issue, in which all the models are black and all the articles address black women in the arts. The New York Times reports on the issue's genesis. More »

10 Summer Intern Success Tips

Vogue  |  Jun 10, 08 12:58 PM CDT

(Newser) - Heads up, summer interns. Vogue passes along advice from fashion publishing, design, and PR insiders for making a shining impression (hint: It's not about you): Think creatively, dress conservatively: Leave the flip-flops at home. Don't play it too safe; a little flair shows the boss you have a sense of style. More »

Michelle Obama: Dressed for Success

New York Times  |  Jun 7, 08 3:17 PM CDT

(Newser) - When Barack Obama declared victory in the Democratic race this week, his wife was also drawing some attention, the New York Times reports. Sporting a $900 sleeveless purple number, Michelle Obama looked primed to be first lady—just not first hostess. “The purple dress, the legs that I have to believe were bare, all say, ‘I’m here to do business,’” one beauty expert said. More »

Even Tie-Makers Have Stopped Wearing Them

Wall Street Journal  |  Jun 4, 08 7:53 AM CDT

(Newser) - American men have been ditching their business-attire neckwear for a decade; now even tie-makers are getting in on the open-collars revolution, reports the Wall Street Journal . The industry association for US tiemakers, hit by the double-whammy of foreign competition and casual Mondays through Fridays, is calling it quits this week. And tie-makers aren't wearing their own wares, even in public. More »

Pharrell Sets Menu for Fashion Plates

Paper  |  Jun 2, 08 8:31 PM CDT

(Newser) - NERD frontman Pharrell Williams has lent his Midas touch to more than just hip-hop, Erica Kennedy writes in a Paper profile. The multi-tasking taste-maker boasts luxe clothing and jewelry lines, and friendships and collaborations with assorted style icons. "Pharrell doesn't buy something because it's fashionable," says one comrade in charms. "Pharrell makes fashion." More »

The Man Who Put Women in Pants

Washington Post  |  Jun 2, 08 11:29 AM CDT

(Newser) - Yves Saint Laurent wasn’t just another designer. The man who died last night at 71 was an icon who forever changed the way women dress, Robin Givhan writes in the Washington Post . Start with this: Saint Laurent put women in pants. His elegant designs let women swagger like men, giving them “the sartorial equivalent of chutzpah.” More »

Yves Saint Laurent Dead at Age 71

AFP  |  Jun 1, 08 6:23 PM CDT

(Newser) - Twentieth-century fashion icon Yves Saint Laurent died today at his home in Paris, AFP reports. The reclusive designer, who was battling illness, said when he retired in 2002 that he had “always given the highest importance of all to respect for this craft, which is not exactly an art, but which needs an artist to exist.” More »

'Project Runway' Winner to Dress Whoopi for Tonys

E! Online  |  May 27, 08 12:00 PM CDT

(Newser) - Flamboyant "Project Runway" winner Christian Siriano—he of the "bi-level fashion hawk" updo—describes himself as a "musical theater kid who loved costumes." For his next challenge he'll be right at home, then, designing Whoopi Goldberg's outfits when she hosts the Tony Awards next month in New York City, reports E! Online. More »

Celebrity-Mad Moms Shell Out for Designer Baby Duds

Wall Street Journal  |  May 10, 08 1:24 PM CDT

(Newser) - Sales of designer baby clothes are booming as parents keep a close eye on what the offspring of the famous are wearing, the Wall Street Journal reports. Stores are getting cleaned out of outfits after pics appear of a celebrity tot like Suri Cruise wearing them. More »

Women Hot on Gwyneth's Heels