beachwear, except totally not

Project Runway brought the drama and the tension last night, and as a result I still kind of feel like I might throw up. Viewers at Hell's Kitchen were on the edge of their seats as the future of local treasure Ra'mon Lawrence Coleman hung in the balance. Although it was a team challenge and he wasn't the captain, designing and construction duties fell on Ra'mon's shoulders, while team captain Mitchell spent his time in the sewing room...well, I'm not sure what he was doing. But he was not sewing. When the challenge twist was to create a second look, Ra'mon took the lead on both, creating a hand-dyed avant garde chartreuse neoprene minidress (pictured above) and gorgeous flowing beach dress in colors evocative of the ocean (pictured below).

Ra'mon took home a well-deserved win, while his partner, for the first time in Project Runway history, was eliminated despite being on the winning team. Hometown boy Christopher Straub didn't get too much screentime this time around, though he created some gorgeous and interesting pieces that guaranteed his safety. Hopefully, both boys will keep up their momentum next week!

Lessons learned so far on this season of Project Runway:
Don't design anything that draws comparison to a bowling
Do choose unexpected colors and edgy fabrics.
Don't team up with Mitchell.

Honorable mentions from last night's episode:

I loved Louise and Althea's avant garde gown. Very Balmain meets Stephanie Seymour in the Guns n Roses "November Rain" video.

The macrame work in Irina and Johnny's design was a fun extra detail, though it did kind of remind me of the potholders you make for your parents in kindergarten.

Louise and Althea's other design was something I'd actually wear to the beach.

Gordana and Nicholas received low scores for their poorly constructed wide leg pants and their off-the-mark avant garde look, but I LOVED the hand-dyed macrame bathing suit that they created together.

Be sure to join Kate and me next week at Hell's Kitchen for Fashion Trivia, Project Runway, and fabulous prizes! Sponsored by l'étole magazine and Metro Magazine.

photos courtesy of mylifetime.com.

takin' it to the streets

l'étoile recently hosted a Sartorialist book release party at legendary Minneapolis bookstore Magers & Quinn. Moto-i provided adorable nibbles. Blacklist Vintage was on site with hats and accessories that kept the patrons busy. And of course Digital Crush had to snap a few street style photographs.

I wore a Thakoon for Target dress with Frye boots and a little bag that I thrifted in Nantucket. (I've become mildly obsessed with it in recent months.) My manfriend always asks me why I don't smile in pictures. First of all, it makes me look like a moron. Second, why smile when I can gently part my lips, stare soulfully into the camera, and command Mother Nature herself to be my own personal wind machine? P.S. I totally cut my own bangs over the sink that day. Can you tell? I can.

My manfriend grew out his mustache again. I am pleased.

Of course mplsart director Emma Berg showed up channeling a mix of Karen O and Edie Sedgwick. Bowl cuts and skin-tight high-waisted pants are not easy to pull off, friends, but Emma does so with panache.

Ellen Dahl's camera is her best accessory, though the savvy street fashion photographer behind The Minneapoline is also wearing a gorgeous buttery leather purse that I'm seriously coveting. (Aw, and big ups to Ellen for shooting me for this week's vita.mn.)

More pictures to come!
Photos by Stephen Stephens for Digital Crush

i'll see you in hell

Hell's Kitchen, that is! For Project Runway and Fashion Trivia!

If you're too cool for school and looking for something else to do with your night, my pal Jahna's styling and hosting Where Fall Meets Fashion at W Hotel. It's a whole lot of fashion for a measly $15.

the witching hour

With True Blood's crazy-high ratings and the second Twilight film being released this fall, vampires won't be going anywhere soon. But believe it or not, many people are not sartorially inspired by Edward Cullen's sparkly skin and Bill Compton's gentlemany threads. For those young women (and men), I'd like to remind you of a little 90s movie called The Craft.

Wow, it does not get more 90s than Neve Campbell. I just watched this the other day and had forgotten how much I loved the black cardigans, thigh-high stockings, velvet chokers and pointy-toed granny boots. And with leather and over-the-knee boots already spotted as major trends for fall, these witchy styles have never looked more current.

Editor's Note: A Tiny Machine's appreciation of The Craft does not mean that she supports Fairuza Balk's cajun accent in The Waterboy. But Fairuza Balk is scary, so if you run into her, please don't mention it.

i've got a reputation to uphold

A reader recently brought to my attention that he was fairly certain that Tae-ju never became a vampire in Thirst, thus her placement on my hot vampire list was mis-guided. Granted, he hasn't seen the movie either. I'm pretty sure he got that information from undependable online spoilers. But he's probably right. I haven't seen the movie and I've only ever watched the trailers in Korean, and my grasp of the language leaves little to be desired. So apologies to anyone whom my error may have offended. I am deeply sorry. Now I must go to lengths to restore my Korean film junkie credibility.

Step One to Korean Film Junkie Credibility: Talk About The Host 2

Did you see The Host? If not, go watch it right now. Seriously, I'll wait................So what did you think? Wasn't that the cutest child-eating monster you've ever seen? Well, even though The Host 2 isn't coming out for another year or so, the production company released this CGI testing image of the new beastie. See kids, this is what happens when you let evil American scientists pollute a major waterway and mutate innocent tadpoles. Carnage.

Step Two to Korean Film Junkie Credibility: Reference The Vengeance Trilogy.

Park Chan-wook is quickly becoming one of my all-time favorite directors. His most recent project, Thirst, provided the inspiration for this entire post. The Vengeance Trilogy is really what put him on the map. The three films deal with the theme of revenge, with plot twists and turns out of a Shakespearean tragedy. My favorite of the three is Oldboy, the film that introduced me to Park, but Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance and Lady Vengeance should not be missed.

Step Three to Korean Film Junkie Credibility: Use "K-Horror" in a sentence.

A Tale of Two Sisters is one of my favorite K-Horror films!

Step Four to Korean Film Junkie Credibility: List the Korean DVDs that you own.

The Quiet Family
A Tale of Two Sisters
The Host
Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance
Old Boy
Lady Vengeance
The Uninvited
The Red Shoes
Into the Mirror

Step Five to Korean Film Junkie Credibility: Casually mention that you know someone in South Korea.

Her name is Elizabeth! Need proof? Check out her blog This Kentucky Girl and her photography at elizadele.com.

top 10 embarrassing celebrity fragrance names

Jessica Simpson Fancy: Although I love the throwback design of the bottle and have heard that the fragrance isn't all that terrible, I find the title to be horrendous. I know I shouldn't be surprised that the woman who played Daisy Duke named her perfume Fancy, but it's just such an embarrassing choice. There are other celebrities who could release a fragrance with this title and I would've taken the choice as ironic, sort of tongue-in-cheek. But coming from Jessica Simpson, who doesn't always seem the most self-aware celeb, it seems a little sad.

Paris Hilton Fairy Dust: As if the name of this fragrance weren't obnoxious enough, the print ad is beyond ridiculous. "Paris, just come to set wearing your American Apparel gold lamé bra. We'll just throw some random fabric over your crotch and wrap some ribbon around your legs. Don't worry about bringing wings and a wand. We can take care of that post-production."

Paris Hilton Just Me: I do not want to smell just like Paris Hilton.

Paris Hilton Can Can: I think the hilarity of the name and ad campaign for this fragrance is rooted in the inspiration. The perfume is marketed as being inspired by the famous dance-hall girls of the Moulin Rouge. But Moulin Rouge came out, what, eight years ago? And Can Can was released in 2007? It doesn't seem a very timely reference. I suppose she just could be referencing the Moulin Rouge historically and not the film specifically, but the ad campaign suggests otherwise.

Jennifer Lopez JLo Love at First Glow: Long AND dumb.

Ashanti Precious Jewel: Oh, Ashanti. It pains me to include you on this list. I find you almost completely inoffensive, I always sing along to that "Always On Time" song you did with Ja Rule, and I loved that you appeared in Resident Evil: Extinction and an episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. But I'm pretty sure that Precious Jewel is what I would have named my fragrance if I came up with a perfume at age five. Base note: glitter.

Avril Lavigne Black Star: I know what you're thinking. Black Star isn't that bad of a name, right? Maybe so. But my dislike of Avril Lavigne borders on vitriol, so I can't approach this fragrance with any sense of objectivity. The only Black Star I'm okay with includes my boys Mos Def and Talib Kweli. (Did you ever notice that Avril Lavigne is "April Rain" in French? I enjoy using that nomenclature to refer to all of her commercial endeavors. Like her clothing line April Rain Abbey Dawn for Kohl's.)

Mariah Carey Luscious Pink: This name just makes me think of business. Lady business.

Derek Jeter Driven: The name and tagline of this fragrance ("Life Without Limits") make me think of creepy motivational speakers and those posters that say things like DEDICATION under a picture of a fighter jet.

Kimora Lee Simmons Fabulosity: It's just not a word. I know, I'm a fabuologist.

i'll sleep with the lights on for weeks this winter

The Descent was one of the best movies of 2005, and ranks among my favorite horror films of all time. Granted, I left the hall light on every night for a month because I was certain that if I had to walk to the bathroom in the dark I would be disembowled by Crawlers. But that doesn't mean I don't love the film. I was a bit concerned when a sequel was announced, mostly because I thought the first movie ended so well, but also because director Neil Marshall wouldn't be returning. I was relieved to learn that although Marshall wouldn't be helming the sequel, he would at least be producing the project. And now that the trailer and a handful of stills from The Descent Part 2 have been released, I'm starting to let myself get excited.

I'm almost as excited as the first movie's survivor Sarah. Look how enthused she is to be around for the sequel! "Tentative release date of December 4th!! Ahhhhhhhhhh!!"

Though I think she was a little more amped in the first film.

While poking around Google Images, I stumbled upon this poster that was released with the first film. I don't know how I managed to miss it the first time around. It's a gorgeous re-imagining of The Dali Skull, a classic Surrealist photograph by Philippe Halsman based on a drawing of Dali's.

rockin' robyne

I read New York Magazine's fashion blog The Cut almost every day. It's one of my favorite resources for fashion news and the writers have a wry sense of humor that I really appreciate. So I was thrilled when I went online today and saw a post featuring Rox, the jewelry line designed by Twin Cities Fox 9 news anchor and one of my favorite ladies, Robyne Robinson. Then I actually read what the post was about. Robyne's line of jewelry was used an example of what The Cut is calling a new trend: journalists designing fashion lines. It wasn't the most positive write-up, quite snarky actually, and I cringed when I saw that Robyne was being used as an example alongside Al Roker and his tentative line of Weatherproof coats. Yes, Robyne may be a news anchor, but she has been making and selling beautifully crafted jewelry for years. They're going to start selling her pieces at MoMA, which I'm fairly certain puts her in a slightly different design category than Mr. Roker. There's a reason that she's showing her collection at New York Fashion Week this year and that Project Runway contestant and fellow Minneapolitan Ra'mon Lawrence Coleman will be styling models with her jewelry for his Fashion Week show. Robyne is a talented and passionate designer, she also just happens to look great delivering the news in a sharp blazer.

photo of Robyne Robinson by l'étoile editrix Kate Iverson

Editor's Note: Sorry for the lame post title, but I've had the song "Rockin' Robin" stuck in my head for the last 24 hours.

only the beautiful need apply for immortality

I haven't watched season two of True Blood. I know, it's shocking. And I'm sure I'll get crap for it from my friends tonight at JagerCon. But just because I'm not caught up on television's hottest vampire series, don't think I haven't seen the stills of Evan Rachel Wood as the Louisiana vampire queen. And in honor of Ms. Wood's gothic good looks, I've assembled my own little list of the hottest vampires of all time. Take that, Entertainment Weekly. I can make lists too!

Evan Rachel Wood as Queen Sophie-Anne in True Blood: She was the inspiration behind this little list after all. It's only fitting that she kick off this post.

Alexander Skarsgard as Eric in True Blood: And you thought his father Stellan was a looker. Skarsgard may be known for playing Meekus in Zoolander and starring in a Lady Gaga video, but he owns True Blood.

Deborah Ann Woll as Jessica on True Blood: That hair. That skin. Those pearly whites.

Milla Jovovich as Violet in UltraViolet: This movie was terrible. Absolutely unforgivable. But the Richard Avedon-discovered model/actress/singer/designer Milla Jovovich makes such a pretty vampire assassin.

David Boreanaz as Angel in Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel: Oh, to have an eternity to spend brooding over your under-age girlfriend. Thus is the tale of Angel, my favorite inappropriate love interest and supernatural private detective.

James Marsters as Spike in Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel: It should be mentioned that I'm specifically referencing Spike before he went all mopey over Buffy (though this still is actually from an episode when he was totally all shmoopy over her). Dirty curly bleached hair? Cheekbones that could cut glass? Skin as pale as a baby penguin belly? Yes, please.

Salma Hayek as Santanico Pandemonium in From Dusk Til Dawn: This list wouldn't be complete without Salma's crazy hotness in this Robert Rodriguez-helmed vampire flick. Really, she just walks around for ten minutes and writhes with a snake. Then she turns into a bald lizard-skinned blood sucker. But those ten minutes are pretty amazing.

Kiefer Sutherland as David in The Lost Boys: Substance abuse issues and headbutting of Proenza Schouler designer Jack McCollough aside, I still have a major crush on Kiefer. His bleached hair is even better than Buffy the Vampire Slayer's Spike, and his mullet signifies that he's not one with whom you should trifle. (Do you see how I took pains to avoid ending that sentence with a prepositional phrase? Awkward and jumbled, perhaps. But I cling to my grammatical correctness.)

Stuart Townsend as Lestat in Queen of the Damned: Another terrible movie. But Stuart Townsend (now mostly known as Mr. Charlize Theron) is a very good-looking chap. And he's certainly more appealing than Tom Cruise's version of the Anne Rice super vamp.

Catherine Deneuve as Miriam in The Hunger: Really, she's Catherine Deneuve. I feel no need to explain her inclusion on this list.

Kim Ok-bin as Tae-ju Thirst: In the interest of full disclosure, I must admit that I haven't seen Thirst yet. But I'm a huge fan of Kim Ok-bin and I've watched the mesmerizing trailer about a dozen times, so I don't feel like I'm going out on a limb here.

And of course, the cutest vampire ever has to be David Boreanaz's Angel puppet in the classic season five episode of Angel "Smile Time."

the umbrella corporation branches into skincare

Amazing catch by Stacie Ponder, the final girl behind Final Girl. Avon's Derma Full X3 Facial Filling Serum is a little bit too similar to the T-Virus from Resident Evil.