Crazy Looks Great On Katie Holmes

Regardless of what we think about Tom Cruise, Scientology, jumping on furniture, and the ensuing frenzy surrounding the TomKat phenomena, we have to admit, Katie Holmes has really pulled herself together lately.


Back in the days of Joey Potter, she was a wide eyed chubby cheeked girl from Toledo. Now she's a slimmed-down Posh Spice be-haircuted version of her former self with an enviable handbag collection. Although this all happened under vicious media scrutiny, it seemed to have taken place faster than we can say "Chris Klein who?" All of the sudden she looks grown-up and classy in an old school movie star sort of way.


Barring a few missteps here or there (What did we tell you about making us accuse you of wearing pajama pants during the day?)


Well played Katie Holmes, go ahead and get on with your Thetan-busting ways. Crazy looks great on you.

Animal Instincts

The question of animal prints is a much debated topic. Some swear by them and those people usually live in the south (not that there’s anything wrong with that). Here’s what we think. For women, Animal prints sort of say “plus size lingerie”. Or in the instance below, they just say, “why are you wearing lingerie in public?”

They can be awfully trashy and downright ugly. We admit there is a faction of Grandmas out there that can really rock a good leopard print shoe but since when did you start swapping clothes with Nana? Can it be done appropriately? We like how Sienna Miller has taken an ELEMENT of animal print and applied it to her outfit in an ultimately REMOVABLE way.

For men, animal prints say Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigalo. I think we can just leave it at that.

Get it Together: Neckwear

We’re noticing a trend. People are wearing scarves in the summer. We don’t know why, we just call it like we see it. Sometimes they’re gauzy, sometimes they’re delicately knitted lurex. And sometimes, on really special occasions, they’re what Teen Vogue has deemed the "breezy, global-chic scarf."

Kirsten, we sort of love you. And we say this like we’re the best of friends, which we sort of are:

Must we take our fashion cues from this guy?

I thought not.

Hippy-Chic

So here we are 40 years out from the original 1967 Summer of Love and the retrospectives are a-flying.We can’t help but notice the hippy chic sensibility is translating into some bad fashion. Case in point: Jennifer Lopez:

“Boho” has been around for years thanks to Sienna Miller and Kate Hudson. Boho is sort of timeless, misguided perhaps, but timeless nonetheless. We always enjoy irony in fashion. And by that we mean smart-ironic not the Reverend Tori Spelling ironic. However, this hippy chic thing has really gone too far. It’s affecting all sorts of things we will surely rant about later such as; the Britney Spears headscarf and global chic neckwear. Until then we will leave you on a positive note:

If you must recreate the summer of love and you are not Olivia D’Abo, please follow the example of Jessica Alba and give it a modern, less costume-y twist:

The choice is (over) easy... I like mine fried...

Having the opportunity, as it were, we'd like to say a thing or two about fried eggs.

"Who?" "What?" "Why?" The hub-bub is at a dull roar. "Peas and carrots, peas and carrots... the lips, the teeth, the tip of the tongue... zing-bing-a-ring-aloha-ah-yay-koo-koo-ah-yay..."

Yes, fried eggs.

Our inspiration comes from a single place. No, not the classic english breakfast. Nor knocking a golf ball deeply into a sandtrap (not that we make golf analogies... Neither Bets nor I do that...). We're talking about the Pane Frattau, and everything that it, in its infinite goodness, may remind us of.

On his show, Mario Batali, while reeling us in with the notions of suptuous cuisine and certain al dente pasta, often takes us to an unfriendly place of watery sauces. His restaurants, however, are anything but watery and disappointing. His lesser Manhattan eatery, Otto Enoteca & Pizzeria, is a joy in almost every way. The ridiculously extensive wine lists and the clever cocktails are only the beginning... the antipasti, the insalata, the pizzas and the pastas... even the deserts... everything is fantastic. Of course, this is coming from someone who all too often sticks to a reliable Montepulciano d'Abruzzo or prosecco, and never ever strays from the Pane Frattau.

The Pane Frattau is this amazing pizza, simply topped with tomato, pecorino, and a gloriously fried egg. To kick it up a notch, try adding freshly chopped chili peppers to the pie... and for the carnivores in the house, don't be shy in asking for prosciutto, just for fun. I never thought the word "elegance" would come to mind with respect to pizza and eggs, but there you have it.

If in New York City, go there immediately, if not sooner. You're welcome.

HGTV's David

Bets (hey grrl!) did us all a favor by reminding us of the wonders of HGTV's Design Star. I'd like to briefly expound on the wonders that are David Bromstad.



Other than the endless silly aspects of DB's persona (does anyone else think it's funny that he's always wearing something that either shows a lot of skin, or that can be zipped off quickly enough such that the world can see more of his tattoos?), this guy is talented. He has, quite adeptly I might add, opened our eyes to do-it-yourself home design. He creates an image with very little knowledge of what's possible, and if he doesn't find a color, piece or accessory that fits, he (or his plethora of assistants) just makes it. True, this comes far too often in the form of a chunky picture box, or an original Bromstad piece, or a chunky fireplace facade... but it also comes in the form of backlighting (in the good way), impeccable color choices (no matter how daring or ridiculous) and really doing some fantastic problem solving. He's also one of the only people I know of who can wear thick horizontal stripes and not look huge.

Design Star is Back!

We’re unabashedly on the reality TV bandwagon. We may however skew more towards the talent based contests such as, Pussy Cat Dolls Presents: Search for the Next Doll and America’s Next Top Model AKA Tyra Banks Likes to Make Pretty Girls Cry, rather than those we feel lack a raison d’etre such as the Survivors and Fear Factors of the world. We especially appreciate programs dedicated to the furthering of our three passions: fashion, food, and interior design otherwise known as the 9th 10th and 11th chakras respectively. Imagine our joy upon learning that Design Star is coming back for a second season on HGTV.


This underrated show brought us Color Splash with David Bromstad which we love equally for its cheesiness as its tendency to inspire thought-provoking debate and discussion. What are the implications of the “feature wall”? Is the chunky fireplace overused? Trust us on this one, Design Star blows its Bravo competitor Top Design out of the water. It has a nice low budget feel and the producers don’t get too hands on in promoting contestant histrionics.

We think you should watch it. We also think you should play the Design Star fantasy game online with us.

Auf Weidersehen