a hard pair we will be

a lesson in contemporary fashion

The Museum of Contemporary Art's 30th Anniversary Gala had some great fashion this weekend. The cocktail dresses and gowns were a visual buffet for anyone who craves a little more risk on their red carpet.

Chloe Sevigny's Miu Miu party dress was my favorite look of the night. She's also rocking a pale milky pink lipstick that reminds me of Proenza Schouler's "Proenza Pink," a limited-edition shade from Lancôme's Pout-à-Porter series.

Eva Mendes strayed from her usual Calvin Klein uniform and delighted in Miu Miu. Even though Eva is gorgeous and has worn some beautiful gowns, I still find her kind of bland on the red carpet. This is the first time that I've found myself truly charmed by one of her looks.

Carey Mulligan continued the "I Heart Miuccia Prada" theme in more Prada. Though this is a fairly conservative dress, it's still a very alluring and slightly edgy look. I've kind of decided that Carey Mulligan is the opposite of Blake Lively on the red carpet.

Carine Roitfeld tends to be a bit of a slave to Balmain (as does her daughter), but in this case I can't fault the Vogue Paris Editor-in-Chief for her brand loyalty.

Zoe Saldana has become one of the most consistently well-dressed stars on the red carpet, and this Marchesa gown scores her another point in the win column. It might be a little over the top for this event, but who wouldn't want an excuse to break out such a striking gown.

Speaking of over the top, I was enamored with this Marchesa gown when I saw the preview photograph, but I was afraid no one would have the guts to wear it for an event. Thank God and the gays for Shirley Manson. I love her.

I certainly can understand why someone would hate this Sonia Rykiel jumpsuit, but I'm thrilled that Liz Goldwyn wore the piece to this event. The color, the cut, the interesting details, I'm infatuated with all of it. It's such a fun choice for a contemporary art event. My favorite looks are usually worn by those that understand that fashion should be fun, and that you're allowed to have a sense of humor. That's definitely the case for the looks worn by both Liz and Chloe.

and a dash of gin!

January Jones on Saturday Night Live

want your bad romance

Found this behind-the-scenes video of Lady Gaga's "Bad Romance" shoot. It's not much more than a tiny highlight reel, but you get a better of understanding of the set design, which is really quite impressive. You also get a closer look at the white bat headpiece that I'm mildly obsessed with, and you see that in the scene with the polar bear peignoir, Lady Gaga actually wears a fake white rat on the side of her head (something you don't really catch in the final cut of the video).



Did you notice that she mentions three Hitchcock films in the second verse of the song? Try and catch all three.

let me show you how it works, clanker.

I was super late to hop on the Star Wars: The Clone Wars wagon, but thank the Baby Jesus I got there eventually. I know that the show still suffers from a lot of anti-Episodes I-III sentiment (and, you know, fair enough), but seriously, if the movies had been as good as the animated series, they would've killed critically and commercially. Yeah, I know they did pretty well commercially, but they would've been less of a pop culture novelty and more of a generational touchstone. Perhaps more so than Episodes IV-VI.

I really cannot say enough about the series and the prequel film. I find myself so inspired by these animated characters, and emotionally invested in everyone from Master Yoda to the clones. The show can be devastatingly brutal, and it's a little strange to watch and find yourself mourning the loss of future Storm Troopers.

It doesn't hurt that the show is visually stunning, with great performances from the vocal cast and a beautiful score. Perhaps best of all, the show has a silly and irreverent sense of humor. The evil battle droids are the goofy comic relief, but not so much in a half-baked and moderately offensive Jar Jar Binks kind of way. Their banter and silly one-liners pepper beautifully violent battle scenes with some necessary levity that reminds you that, hey, two Republic ships full of 20,000 clone soldiers were just destroyed, but this is still a cartoon and it's meant to be fun.



Roger, roger.

what's new pussycat?

I can't help loving all things Hello Kitty, so seeing Lady Gaga star in a shoot to celebrate Hello Kitty's 35th anniversary was music to my eyeballs. The photos will be featured in the singer's upcoming album, The Fame Monster.

Then of course there's the Japanese Vogue shoot of Hello Kitty with John Galliano wearing custom Dior clothing.

And I can't forget the gorgeous MAC Hello Kitty collection.

ga-ga-oh-la-la

Nicola Formichetti (who is totally one of my idols) has posted a breakdown of Lady Gaga's "Bad Romance" looks on his blog. A few of my favorites...

Alexander McQueen dress and shoes, Haus of Gaga razor blade sunglasses

"I wanted to design a pair [of sunglasses] for some of the toughest chicks and some of my girlfriends - don't do this at home! - they used to keep razor blades in the side of their mouths… That tough female spirit is something that I want to project. It's meant to be, 'This is my shield, this is my weapon, this is my inner sense of fame, this is my monster.'" -The Gaga

suit and crown by Haus of Gaga

bat headpiece by Shinji Konishi (Can I wear this in my wedding someday instead of a veil?)

Franc Fernandez headpiece and outfit

Agent Provocateur lingerie, Benjamin Cho crystal rosary, Keko Hainswheeler mask

Nasir Mazhar orb

Alexander McQueen dress, leggings and armadillo heels

Benjamin Cho faux polar bear coat, Alexander McQueen dragon heels

Haus of Gaga brassiere, Alexander Mcqueen dragon heels, RP Encore headpiece

prepare to release your inner goth ballerina

Courtesy of Nitrolicious, we're finally seeing more images of Rodarte's upcoming line with Target. The black lace dress is very holiday Audrey Hepburn (and fits great on the model below), but I'm more excited about the dress on the right (the scan is from Teen Vogue). I love what the Mulleavy sisters do with ballet and fairy-inspired dresses, so I'm pleased to see that they were able to incorporate some of their romance and whimsy into a lower-priced capsule collection. The piece de resistance for me is still the skeleton sequin minidress, but the collection has the potential to have a lot of depth and variety.

Here are some more spoilers from the editor's preview in August. I love the lace tights, the lace-trimmed bralettes, and the leopard print jacket. And the sunglasses are pretty stellar.

an early winter

Spring 2010 lookbook images of Nicole Richie's fashion line Winter Kate (named after her daughter) have just been released on her website. I reserve judgment until I have the opportunity to see the clothing in person, but some of these shots look promising.

I wish I had a better detail of this print, but I'm very pro-kimono dresses in general.

Again, need to check out the detail in person, but very excited for this crocheted(ish?) vest.

Is this a dress or a nightgown? I don't really care. I'm a sucker for tiny floral print, so this already has me intrigued.

I want to crank up the heat in my apartment this winter and adopt this look as my official lounging uniform.

oh my ga-god

Holy heavens, Lady Gaga's video for "Bad Romance" has finally been released. Manfriend has already been forced to sit through it eight times.



Of course, the divine Miss G was the first to rock the Alexander McQueen high heels from hell. Bless her heart.