2009 April | Lisa Shops

Monthly Archives: April 2009

Previewing the Met’s Model As Muse Exhibition

April 30, 2009 – 12:25 pm

Models define eras in fashion and pop culture as much as clothing and designers do. Each decade has its icons, and the Models As Muse: Embodying Fashion exhibit, which opens at the Costume Institute at the Metropolitan Museum of Art next week, features photographs of models from 1947 to 1997. The fifties are the age of haute couture; the sixties display the “Youthquake,” with photographs of Peggy Moffitt and Twiggy; and the rise of all-American models like Jerry Hall dominates the seventies portion. The late eighties and nineties chronicle the rise of the supermodel — Linda, Naomi, and Christy — while the mid-nineties see the shift to grunge heroin chic, as epitomized by Kate Moss. Can’t wait to see that much beauty in one place? Click ahead to preview the exhibition. And tune back in Monday night for a red-carpet gallery of the Met gala, plus video and more on the exhibit.

The Model as Muse: Embodying Fashion, May 6, 2009 – August 9, 2009. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1000 Fifth Avenue, at 82nd St. (212-535-7710); T–Th (9:30–5:30), F, S (9:30–9), Su (9:30– 5:30), M (closed).

It’s Getting Ugly in the Beauty Industry

April 30, 2009 – 11:50 am

Drew Barrymore for CoverGirl.

People in the beauty biz tend to believe in the magical Lipstick Index, or the idea that they’re safe from financial downfall because, despite how broke people get, buying makeup will lift their spirits and keep beauty bigwigs in business. Well, that’s wrong, apparently, and there are numbers to prove it, as firms took a big hit for the quarter that ended on March 31. Procter & Gamble (which makes Cover Girl, Fekkai, Max Factor, Olay, and SK-II) lost 14 percent of its earnings, while IFF (makers of fragrance flavors and scents) lost $37 million in sales. Nu Skin also took a hit, losing 12.2 percent of its income. This recession is doing ugly things. What better time to go buy a $3.99 lipstick at Duane Reade and pretend you’re saving the world?

Beauty Firms Hit by Economy [WWD]

Michael Kors Wants Spanx for Men

April 30, 2009 – 11:15 am

Last night at the Hot Pink Party for breast-cancer research we overheard Michael Kors talking about Spanx. Underthings being a favorite topic of ours, we tottered over to join the conversation. “I was talking about how they should make Spanx for men and call it Manx. Manx for men. But I’m not wearing Manx. But I might,” Kors said. As a designer, surely he could make that happen. “We don’t do men’s underwear, but that could be our entrée into men’s underwear,” Kors added, smiling proudly. In the meantime, he’s working on last-minute preparations for the Met ball. His dates include Lauren Hutton, Carmen Kass (his label’s spring face), and January Jones. Though he’s been in the business for ages, going to high-profile affairs overseen by Anna Wintour never gets easier. “I always get nervous,” he said.

Women In Film’s Screen Sirens

April 30, 2009 – 10:49 am

“It’s the only job I know how to do, so I’m not going anywhere anytime soon,” said guest of honor Elizabeth Banks.

By WWD Fashion Headlines | Posted in Fashion News |

Pageant Organization Paid for Miss California’s Breast Implants

April 30, 2009 – 10:40 am

Getty Images

The Miss California Organization revealed that it paid for Miss California Carrie Prejean’s breast implants weeks before the Miss USA pageant. She wanted them, you see, and pageant officials “supported that decision,” says Shanna Moakler, co-executive-director of the organization. “Breast implants in pageants is not a rarity. It’s definitely not taboo. It’s very common. Breast implants today among young women today is very common. I don’t personally have them, but you know — they are.” They’re also clearly thought necessary to get ahead in Pageant Land — one of the many positive messages these things send to young women everywhere. Boobs before brains, ladies. [Access Hollywood]

Read more posts by Amy Odell

Filed Under: Boobs or Lose, carrie prejean, miss usa, pageants, plastic surgery

By Amy Odell | Posted in Fashion News |

Radio Station Claims Responsibility for Beyoncé Double in Vienna

April 30, 2009 – 10:05 am

The Albertina museum in Vienna called Beyoncé a “cheek” this week after they learned that a Beyoncé look-alike showed up for an exclusive tour of the museum. Turns out the look-alike was hired not by Beyoncé, but by a local radio station as a prank. Media speculated that Beyoncé had hired the look-alike so she could go shopping and avoid the tour. But alas, the real Beyoncé was taking a walk to the historic city center. She may or may not have gone shopping, but remains no less of a role model. [Earth Times]

Read more posts by Amy Odell

Filed Under: beyoncé, divas, Foreigners Are Fun

By Amy Odell | Posted in Fashion News |

Skin Deep: Tricks and Transplants for Women’s Hair Loss

April 30, 2009 – 9:41 am

Jo Blackwell-Preston of the Dop Dop salon in Manhattan uses coloring, highlighting and delicate trimming to make fine hair appear fuller.Options for women who suffer from hair loss have increased over the years, expanding past wigs or just accepting it.

By By CATHERINE SAINT LOUIS | Posted in Fashion News |

Wife/Mother/Worker/Spy: An Unsquinting View of Aging

April 30, 2009 – 9:34 am

A mother desperately tries to ignore all the indignities associated with midlife.

By By MICHELLE SLATALLA | Posted in Fashion News |

Fight to Save the Garment District Continues; Paula Abdul Duped by Brüno

April 30, 2009 – 9:30 am

And Elle’s still gorgeous.

• New York designers are hoping to designate a 300,000-square-foot building in the garment district to apparel businesses. Clothing-makers are increasingly being pushed out of the area by skyrocketing rent prices. [WWD]

• Paula Abdul was reportedly completely fooled by Brüno, Sacha Baron Cohen’s gay fashion-TV-host alter ego, when he interviewed her for the movie coming out July 10. To this day she still doesn’t get it, bless her heart. [NYP]

• Here’s quite the comprehensive rundown of who’s bringing whom to the Met gala on Monday, with tidbits about what people are wearing. Lauren Santo Domingo Twittered that she’s deciding between green and blue sequins. [Fashionologie]

• Here’s an eleven-minute video of Elle Macpherson showing off her lingerie line. [Grazia]

• Did we mention it’s unofficially Elle Macpherson day? The model also designed a limited-edition Frangipani jumper for her sister-in-law’s label Banjo & Matilda. It includes embroidered frangipani flowers on the wrist and the phrase “Love & Light” on the opposite shoulder. [British Vogue]

Read more posts by Amy Odell

Filed Under: bruno, elle macpherson, lauren santo domingo, loose threads, met gala, models, paula abdul, sacha baron cohen

By Amy Odell | Posted in Fashion News |

Tyra Banks Bravely Faces Alleged Stalker in Court

April 30, 2009 – 8:45 am

How her hair has grown.

Tyra Banks’s good deeds and work as a spokeswoman for womankind and insecure and suffering people everywhere may have gotten the best of her. She faces her alleged stalker, Brady Green, in court this week. Green was arrested at a McDonald’s near Banks’s studio in Chelsea last month, and testified that her shows on racism and homelessness had moved him so much he wanted to get in touch with her. He admitted on the stand that he rode a bus for four days from L.A. to New York. He has no friends, relatives, or work here, and the first thing he did when he arrived was go to Banks’s studio. Banks said her staff warned her to watch out for him that day, after he threatened one of her employees. Green told police he and Banks “had a thing together.”

“I didn’t know what to do. How do I live my life when I leave this building? I had never experienced anything like this before,” Banks said on the stand. Green’s actions creeped her out so much she doesn’t go anywhere out of doors without security guards now. Not even for a jog. “I don’t live that kind of sheltered, protected life. I like to walk around,” said Banks, who, ever the gracious public speaker, smiled frequently during her testimony. When asked if Green’s actions made her fearful, Banks replied, “I don’t fear for my life. I fear for my safety. I fear for the safety of my staff and for my family. And I fear for the safety of people in my vicinity, who I’m with.” Banks added that guests to her talk show are now more thoroughly vetted before attending a taping.

The stalker may have shattered Banks’s nerves but not her spirit, that indestructible thing that has inspired so many around the world to idolize themselves and Banks. And when this case blows over, her “when I was stalked” anecdotes will only bolster, in the most relatable of ways, her undying message of girl power.

Closing arguments in Tyra Banks’ NYC stalker trial [AP]

Read more posts by Amy Odell

Filed Under: legal issues, models, tyra banks, Tyra Mail