Fashion News Friday 8/22

NYC Missing Model Found

http://www.vogue.co.uk/news/2014/08/19/ataui-deng-model-missing-found-in-new-york

photo courtesy of vogue.co.uk

Ataui Deng, a model based in New York City, was seen leaving a party by her boyfriend. He claimed she had been acting strangely, and he did not report her missing until eight days after the fact.

Luckily, Deng was found in a New York City hospital; however, her condition has not has not yet been determined. Deng had been missing for twelve days.

I don’t think I am the only one who finds the boyfriend suspicious in this case. And by the short length of and lack of detail in the article, I’m thinking the police might be holding back some information for that reason. If your significant other is acting, as the boyfriend said, “irregularly” and didn’t come home after leaving a party, then one would think you would be concerned. Furthermore, you wouldn’t wait eight days to contact the authorities! There is something not right about this story. I hope Deng is not injured and can return to her normal life soon.

Forbes’s Top 21 Highest-Paid Supermodels

http://www.vogue.co.uk/news/2014/08/19/forbes-highest-paid-supermodels-2014-gisele-bundchen

Forbes has released the list of the highest-paid supermodels of 2014. It seems American models are most represented with seven out of the twenty-one. Britain and Brazil have three representatives each, and the rest are from a myriad of different countries.

All of the models on the list, save four, have worked for Victoria Secret in some capacity.

The list is as follows:

1.  Gisele Bündchen—Brazil; $47 million

2.  Doutzen Kroes—Holland; $8 million

3. Adriana Lima—Brazil; $8 million

4. Kate Moss—Britain; $7 million

5. Kate Upton—America; $7 million

6. Miranda Kerr—Australia; $7 million

7. Liu Wen—China; $7 million

8. Alessandra Ambrosio—Brazil; $5 million

9. Hilary Rhoda—America; $5 million

10. Natalia Vodianova—Russia; $4 million

11. Carolyn Murphy—America; $4 million

12.  Karlie Kloss—America; $4 million

13. Jourdan Dunn—Britain; $4 million

14. Anja Rubik—Poland; $3.5 million

15. Cara Delevingne—Britain; $3.5 million

16. Candice Swanepoel—South Africa; $3 million

17. Joan Smalls—Puerto Rico; $3 million

18. Erin Wasson—America; $3 million

19. Erin Heatherton—America; $3 million

20. Lindsey Wixson—America; $3 million

21. Daria Werbowy—Canada; $3 million

As you can see by the list, while America has the most names, Brazil easily has the highest dollar amount. All of the Americans’ values added together ($26 million) don’t even add up to Gisele Bündchen’s total. In fact, there is a $39 million difference between her and Doutzen Kroes, #2 on the list. Gisele might want to watch out for jealous models. I wouldn’t put murder past any of them, especially when they are in a state of hunger-induced psychosis.

Thanks for reading! I’ll be back next Friday, but you can read my TV blog on Tuesdays and Thursdays on http://spilltelevisiontea.blogspot.com

Big Announcement

I am usurping today’s post with an announcement. As you know, I have focused this blog on fashion and trendy topics thus far. However, I feel like some of you may not find it as interesting as I do. So I have decided to make some changes to my blog.

I will be posting on this fashion blog (A Little Tea with my Fashion) once a week. Every Friday will be Fashion Friday. My Friday posts will mostly be news and interesting topics in the world of fashion, very similar to what I have done in past Friday posts.

For logistical reasons, I am starting a new blog entitled “A Little Tea with my TV”. I recently wrote a blog post about the Real Housewives of New York, and within hours it had more hits than several of my previous posts combined. Plus, I think people enjoyed it more. So I have decided to start blogging about various TV shows, both reality and scripted, on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

This is where you guys come in. I watch a lot of TV shows, too many to include all of them. So let me know what shows you guys want me to cover. Also, to my Twitter friends, if you blog about a certain show, and would rather I not, please let me know. I don’t want to step on anyone’s toes. Leave your ideas in the comments, please.

I’m excited about the change. I hope you guys are too!

Trends-day Wednesday 8/13

The fall season for 2014 is upon us, and designers have already had their fashion shows. So what trends did we see on the runways for Fall 2014? Style.com has complied pictures from various designers’ shows. Their complete list of trends can be found here:

http://www.style.com/trendsshopping/trendreport/041414_Fall_2014_Trend_Report/#!trend-report/feature/curtain/landing

I will pick a few from their list that I found particularly interesting or fun and discuss them on today’s post. Instead of droning on about the broad trend, I will include some pictures of some of the runway looks that fit this trend and discuss those particular looks. Please keep in mind that these are runway looks. They are more editorial and more like works of art than actual everyday wear. So I will not be focusing on the practicality of the piece, but rather the artistic quality and the visual aesthetic of the piece.

Bright Colors

Photo courtesy of Style.com

This look is by Roksanda Ilincic. The combination of royal blue and orange is a strange one. In fact, that awful combination served as the colors of a high school where I taught for a brief time. The football jerseys were bright enough to give you a migraine. However, I seem to have found an example where those colors go well together. Perhaps it’s because the orange is used very conservatively. The use of clean lines and blocks of blue, black, and orange give a nod to Roy Lichtenstein. And finally, the juxtaposition of the fitted and flowing on the two separate sides is artistically interesting. The right side is draped and flows down the model as she walks; however, the left side is more fitted to the body with a gold piece to cinch the waist. I love this look, and I would say this is how to do the bright color trend correctly.

Photo courtesy of Style.com

This Versace look is not one of my favorites. As far as the bright color trend goes, I think it’s fine. I like the color combination, and the colors are definitely bright. However, I can’t focus on the colors due to the other distractions. The asymmetrical bottom of the dress makes it look like the model is hiding a tail underneath the fabric. But the most distracting part of this dress is the ill-placed “medallions” (for lack of a better word). This model is clearly a young woman with a perky bosom. However, the medallions give her the illusion of having breasts you might see in National Geographic. I think they look like a pair of nipples… There I said it. It’s just not aesthetically pleasing to look at.

Rave Prints

Photo courtesy of Style.com

In my opinion, Diane von Furstenberg, or as I like to call her DVF, can do no wrong. She created the concept of the maxi dress! The woman is a genius! She also is a master of prints and mixing and matching them—as seen by exhibit A above. If you showed me these three prints separately and told me you were going to make an outfit combining them, I would tell you that crack kills. Leave it to DVF to prove me wrong. Style.com has chosen to include this look in the rave print trend. These prints are quite busy, but I don’t know if I would label them as “rave prints”. To me the idea of a rave involves vivid color. These prints are very muted in their colors. I love this look, and I could even see someone wearing this right off the runway onto the streets of New York City or Paris.

Photo courtesy of Style.com

Now this is a rave print. Yohji Yamamoto (With a name like that, he must be an Irish Catholic, right?) has combined these two loud and graphic prints to create what looks like street art. It literally looks like the model is wearing scraped off graffiti from the walls of a downtown warehouse. I personally don’t like the prints. It’s not aesthetically pleasing to me, but I appreciate the artistic vision behind them. I’m sure some rich club kid will soon be wearing this exact piece to a rave in the near future.

Sheer Evening

Photo Courtesy of Style.com

There is a fine line between sexy sophisticated socialite and sexy two-dollar streetwalker. This trend of sheer evening gowns seems to straddle that line. This Emilio Pucci look falls on the socialite side. This look takes us back to the speak-easies of the 1920s. I appreciate the intricate detail in this gown. It all works together. You can easily tell that you are seeing bare skin underneath the sheer fabric, but the overlay is so elegant and tastefully placed that nothing inappropriate is showing. This gown whispers class and sophistication into your ear in the most sensual way.

Photo courtesy of Style.com

Donna Karan has brought us to the other side of that fine line I referred to earlier. Now we’re in a dark alleyway looking for a fun, yet cheap, time. The model may as well be walking around in only her underwear. The sheer evening gown is doing nothing. It serves no purpose, in my opinion. I can appreciate the artistic quality of the look, but I tend not to prefer art of a cheap and tawdry nature.

These are just three of the trends listed by Style.com from the Fall 2014 runway collections. Go check out the rest. Which trend is your favorite? Why? Do you agree with my assessment? Let me know. I’m always happy to get feedback. 

RHONY Season 6 Reunion

It’s no secret that I am deeply entrenched in the cult that is Real Housewives. It’s like a secondary religion. Since season 6 of The Real Housewives of New York City is wrapping up, I have decided to dedicate my blog today to the ladies. And since this is a fashion-related blog, I will be discussing their reunion looks and awarding a Best Dressed and Worst Dressed.

To see a slideshow of the reunion looks you can go to Bravo’s website or use this link: http://www.bravotv.com/the-real-housewives-of-new-york-city/season-6/photos/rhonys-season-6-reunion-looks?cid=related_gallery

Heather Thomson

Photo courtesy of Bravo (bravotv.com)

Heather was wearing a medium length Valentina Kova dress. From the lighting and the color of the couch, I couldn’t tell if the dress was off-white or a very light pink, but either way she looked great. Even though she’s seated, you can tell the dress has some great movement to it. I’m not sure if Heather purposefully did this or not, but she’s giving us some June Cleaver, the prototypical housewife, at least in my opinion.

Overall, it was a good season for Mrs. Bossy-Pants. We saw many sides to her. We saw a sporty side at the mud run. We saw a soft and vulnerable side as she dealt with her son’s hearing issues. (I hope and pray for the best for him. He’s such a good and adorable kid. He deserves the best out of life.) And we saw a feisty side as she verbally sparred with Aviva and her friend Kristen. I think we have all learned that we should heed Heather’s warning when she said, “Don’t tell me anything, mother f**ker”. And if we decide not to take her warning, she may just “find it laughable”…

Kristen Taekman

Photo courtesy of Bravo (bravotv.com)

Kristen was wearing a top by Christiaan Choy and a skirt by Lanvin. I guess I’ll give her a pass, begrudgingly, since she’s a rookie, but I don’t see this as a reunion look. The outfit looks cheap. Where’s the prom date and corsage?

If you follow me on Twitter, you probably know that I have found Kristen to be insufferable. I’m sure she’s a lovely person, but I just feel she was trying to hard. She was over dramatic, and she whined about everything. Again, maybe a rookie mistake, but I wanted to slip her a few Xanax from time to time. A huge storyline for her was her marriage. I hope Josh and Kristen can work it out, but I’ve seen and read Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf, and I think they should take that as a tale of warning. They don’t seem to be too far behind George and Martha… Yikes…

LuAnn de Lesseps

Photo courtesy of Bravo (bravotv.com)

LuAnn is technically not a Housewife this season, but she was at the reunion and frankly had more camera time than Aviva, so I’ll include her. (By the way, I think it’s pretty appalling that Bravo used so much of her and is treating her like a Housewife, but she doesn’t have the title or paycheck to go with it. Not cool.) LuAnn was shamelessly self-promoting by wearing a dress from her own Countess LuAnn Collection. But I guess since her pay was cut, she has to make money somehow. This is a pretty standard LuAnn reunion dress, but she’s proving Ramona wrong! This dress has two shoulders on it…well sort of…

This season we learned that LuAnn has an affinity for small French men. However, I feel this is not a revelation. I mean seriously… Have you guys been watching the same show I have for the past six seasons? If LuAnn had stuck to this story, she could have used it against Sonja when Sonja accused her of sleeping with Harry. Harry may be small, but he is certainly not French. He’s a good-ole American sleaze-ball.

Carole Radzwill

Photo courtesy of Bravo (bravotv.com)

In order to show off her “great ass”, Writer Girl Carole was wearing a short gold and black dress. The word on the street is that Carole forgot who designed her dress, but it doesn’t much matter since I’m pretty sure the designer used a ghost-designer. I love her dress and her matching ombre hair. And it’s a good thing she’s crossing her legs in that picture… That’s all I’ll say about that…

Both this season and last season I found Carole to be genuine. She is my favorite of the NYC ladies. This season we saw her get single-white-femaled… That reminds me; I need to find out what brand of glasses Carole wears… We saw Aviva drag Carole’s profession through the mud and then put it on the leg-chopping conveyor belt. And we saw Carole redecorate her apartment complete with silver-leafed ceiling. And really, who needs a kitchen to eat take-out anyway?

Sonja Morgan

Photo courtesy of Bravo (bravotv.com)

Sonja was wearing a hot pink gown with black lace appliqué on the sides designed by Lorena Sarbu. I love this dress. I can’t exactly put my finger on why I love it so much, but I think it’s beautiful. It’s a bright pop of color that pairs well with Sonja’s skin tone. The black lace on the sides frames her figure well and may even make her look slimmer than she is. Great design trick.

Crazy, sexy Sonja never disappoints. She is highly entertaining, and this season was no exception. We saw a plethora of young male suitors, a house full of interns waiting on the queen of the castle, and a city full of members of Team Sonja. We saw Sonja do a walk of shame “victory lap” looking a little worse for wear, but she was still able to spill the tea with Kristen and the infamous facialist. And we saw her softer side as she sprinkled her beloved dog’s ashes and as she got her heart stepped on by Harry. We may not know exactly what Pickles does for Sonja, but I think we can safely say that her job description does not include washing Sonja’s underwear since commando-Sonja is a happy Sonja.

Aviva Drescher

Photo courtesy of Bravo (bravotv.com)

Aviva “No-Soul” Drescher was wearing a gold gown designed by Cynthia Rose. Why is Aviva wearing steel wool? Does she plan on doing a lot of dishes later? I can safely say that I would never hug Aviva for fear of collapsing her delicate asthma-laden lungs, but who would hug her while she was wearing this? You’d come away with some serious lacerations.

Aviva has solidified her reputation as the crazy hypochondriac. She was barely present this season since she missed both big trips. As a result she was so desperate for camera time and storyline that she tried to discredit Carole’s name and career, and when that didn’t work, she turned into a petulant four year old and threw a tantrum and a body part in a world-famous NYC restaurant. Yes, it happened. Yes, she planned it. I only wish we could have seen Ramona drinking some Pinot Grigio from the leg. My life would have then been complete… We also learned that Aviva has one nanny to take care of all of her kids AND do the housework as well. What she failed to mention was that her nanny is her cousin, Fran Drescher, and we saw how good of a nanny she was… Yes, I went there, and it was a bad joke… #sorrynotsorry.

Ramona Singer

Photo courtesy of Bravo (bravotv.com)

Last, but not least, is the last original Real Housewife of New York City left standing, Ramona Singer. Ramona was wearing a sparkly blue gown by her signature designer Badgley Mischka. From what I recall, this is the first reunion Ramona has worn a gown. Typically her reunion dresses are shorter. I say this was a great choice. She looks chic and sophisticated.

Unfortunately, just a few hours before I started writing this blog post, Ramona announced on Twitter that she is definitely leaving her husband Mario. This is very sad news, and out of respect for Ramona, whom I adore, I will only say that I send my love, prayers, and support to her and Avery. She will emerge from this stronger than ever. This season we also saw Ramona say goodbye to Avery as she left the nest for college. I must say I feel old considering we all watched as Avery matured into the beautiful and smart young woman she is today. Good luck to Avery in her studies. On a lighter note, we learned that Ramona likes to throw things when she’s upset. Or maybe it’s a reflex to getting her hair wet… Regardless, Kristen should be happy that Ramona doesn’t have a fake leg; she could have ended up in the hospital or, worse, at the bottom of that lake. I am left with Ramona’s memorable line playing over and over again in my head… “Who are you to get me wet?” I wonder how many women have said that to Aviva’s father George…

Now who do I think were the best dressed and the worst dressed at the reunion? Drumroll…

Best Dressed goes to: Sonja Morgan; Honorable Mention: Heather Thomson

Worst Dressed goes to: Kristen Taekman

Thanks for a great season Bravo and Housewives. I look forward to what comes next. My challenge to the ladies: Let’s see how many things we can throw at each other next season.

Leave your thoughts and opinions in the comments. Do you agree with my best and worst dressed? What did you think of this season of RHONY?

Fashion Reads 8/5

So I’m not dead… Thank you all for your concern… Of course that’s sarcasm since no one even feigned concern for my well-being. Thanks guys. Love you too…

But all joking aside, I was working on an important project, and then I had company for a week. So I took some time off from blogging. But I have missed you all so much, all five of you, that is.

Who brought their library card and is ready for some fashion reading? The library is open…

Dorothy Wang and Morgan Stewart

http://www.eonline.com/shows/fashion_police/news/565066/richkids-fashion-face-off-dorothy-wang-vs-morgan-stewart-in-little-black-dresses

In honor of one of my favorite shows starting its second season, I had to include these two in my blog. These fabulous women are two of the stars of Rich Kids of Beverly Hills. If you didn’t know that already, shame on you. Your punishment is you must eat sushi every Sunday for a month. (If you watched the show, you would know why that is a punishment.) Anyway, I digress… Morgan Stewart, creator of “Boobs and Loubs”, looks amazing in this LBD. It’s sexy; it shows off her body; yet it’s still sophisticated. I’m typically not one to like the transparent lacey fabric, but in this case I like it. The appliqué is simple and there’s not too much of it. On the other hand, I love her so much, but I’m going to have to read Dorothy Wang on her choice of LBD. I feel this dress is too junior. Dorothy is sexy with a great body, but this dress doesn’t do anything for her but make her look like she’s 14 years old. Sorry, Dorothy, I love you, but I’m going to have to declare Morgan the winner of this LBD battle. What do you guys think? Am I wrong? Whose LBD do you prefer?

Megan Fox

http://www.eonline.com/shows/fashion_police/news/564670/megan-fox-makes-an-incredibly-sexy-insect-see-the-gorgeous-pic

It all makes sense now! Megan Fox is finally molting. She’s shedding her human shell and emerging as her true form, a disgusting insect. I’m sure all of those guys who were lusting after her feel pretty weird now… If you can’t tell, I don’t much care for her, and I don’t think I will waste anymore time talking about her.

Elizabeth Olsen

http://www.eonline.com/shows/fashion_police/news/563781/elizabeth-olsen-s-super-tight-comic-con-look-gotta-have-it-or-make-it-stop

I’m sure many of you have figured out by now, that I like the form-fitting dress. I think pencil skirts are sexy. However, I think Elizabeth Olsen may have gone a bit far with that concept. I don’t think your dress needs to be so tight that I can see what you ate for lunch. Furthermore, charcoal gray patent leather is reserved for Lady Gaga or perhaps the actors in a bad porn movie. As far as I know, Elizabeth Olsen is neither, but she’s still young, so there’s hope…