Call the Glambulance: Gabourey Sidibe's Hair on the Cover of ELLE Magazine

I am speechless as to why someone would throw a horrid wig on this poor talented girl. So unknowing, so innocent, Gabourey Sidibe was made to look a boiling mess on the cover of Elle Magazine's 25th Anniversary issue.

This wig looks like a brillo pad, like they literally mopped the floor and makeup counter with it then plopped it on our head.

Eek. As dry and rigid as the desert. Try running your fingers through it and I guarantee you'd come out with cuts on your hand.

She is a beautiful, young lady. This is offensive.

Somehow, they got it together for the other covers, featuring Amanda Seyfried, Meghan Fox and Lauren Conrad.  An apology is in order.

Don't you agree? (P.S. I've been on a million sets and at any given time, there are 15 people offering their opinion without being asked. There wasn't one person on set who spoke up about that billowing disaster on "Gabby's" head? Even when retouching, which they have an affinity for at Elle, they didn't notice how bad her hair looked? Confusing...)

Kisses,

Coutura

Today in Photoshop: Rihanna's Curves Go Missing on Cover of ELLE Magazine

In case you weren't aware, Rihanna loves her curves. The envelope-pushing fashionista was thrilled to see models flaunt their voluptuous figures on Paris runways (namely, Jean Paul Gaultier) according to her interview for the cover of Elle Magazine. 

“I went to a Jean Paul Gaultier show, and I saw girls who are thicker than me, beautiful and voluptuous and different ethnicities. That made me so excited. I thought, Okay, I can work that, for sure,” Rihanna said.

Ironically, Rih's own curves seem to be missing from her Elle Magazine cover (waist? hips? boobs?). Critics are accusing Elle of being heavy-handed with airbrushing. Do you agree?

I love Rih's shape, in all it's curvy glory, and prefer to see it genuinely represented in editorial...especially, since Rihanna is vocal within the article about diversity in Fashion.

But...I'm still going crazy over that gorgeous purple and gold Balmain dress from the Fall 2010 runway in addition to the other glamazing Elle Magazine-worthy get-ups she rocks in the cover story. Check the shots, photographed by Tom Munro, below:

Love that leopard Lanvin trench! It seems the shoot is all leopard print (my favorite pattern, LOL). Hotness! Also, here's the runway shot and cover...I NEED that dress.

Whether she's draped in Balmain, Lanvin or one of her favorite designers, Alexandre Vauthier, Rihanna's curves bring all the boys to the yard. And one boy, in particular, Matt Kemp gets a sweet shoutout in the Elle Magazine article. 

As for ex Chris Brown, Rih tells Elle that she either wanted to "be with him again or get over it." Uh...there were options? I'll leave that for you guys to discuss...

What do you think of the cover? Does it look airbrushed? How much do you love Rih's fashion? And umm...someone explain that Chris Brown comment.

Kisses,

Coutura

Would You Pay $1,000 To See A Fashion Show?

Apparently there are 600 other people that would..and we would too, if we had the money! (Hey, it's for charity.)

We're talking about the FFAWN fashion show happening June 15 at the Museum of Modern Art here in New York. It's the first ever clothing collection from the organization and is designed by Mary J. Blige and Catherine Malandrino. The money raised from ticket sales will be used to cover college tuition for 30 graduates from the Women's Academy of Excellence in the Bronx.

As you know from previous posts, Coutura and I are huge fans of FFAWN and I was more than happy to shell out $39 to purchase Blige and Malandrino's last fashion collabo: this super cute (and comfy!) t-shirt dress they launched in February at Bloomingdale's. (That's me rocking it below after a fun brunch date with Coutura and friends.)

Items in the FFAWN r-t-w collection will include items such as t-shirts ($200) and a studded leather jacket ($3,000). It seems that Malandrino has been doing the design work while Blige has been feeding her friend with inspirational thoughts. (Which we're sure that she has tons of!) No clue as to where items from the clothing line will be sold just yet.

ELLE is the official media sponsor for the event, so be sure to check out highlights from the show in the July 2010 music issue.

xo

Ferocia

Same Celebrity, Different Month: The Problem with Celeb Magazine Covers

Raise your hand if you're tired of seeing the same celebrity on the cover of the same magazine month after month. The newsstand displays the same faces over and over again and it's frustrating and boring.


I mean, how many times can you see Sarah Jessica Parker on the cover of Elle, Nicole Kidman on the cover of Vogue, Mary J. Blige on the cover of ESSENCE, Lauren Conrad on the cover of Seventeen and Angelina Jolie/Brad Pitt/Jennifer Aniston on the cover of [Enter Gossip Magazine here] before it just gets stale?

And once you open the issue and arrive at the Cover story, you learn the magazine cover is just as dull as the accompanying article. Beyonce has nothing new to reveal about her relationship with Jay-Z and Angelina Jolie is still volunteering in foreign countries, having babies and getting tattoos. Yawn.

Celebrities are even starting to shed their clothes in magazines (hello Kim Kardashian and Christina Aguilera!) to show us something we haven't seen already. Snore.


The good news is that the magazine industry may have finally woken up. Here's what editors are saying about the same old celeb covers via The Daily Beast:


Glamour editor Cindi Leive explains:

"I think what you’re seeing in the magazine world is a certain amount of fatigue with the same old, same old faces. One reason we had a nice sale with Taylor Swift was that you hadn’t seen her on a million magazine covers before and there was actually the hope that ‘Oh my God! I might actually learn something new.’ I think taking risks is serving people well right now."

But magazine guru Samir Husni says with some celebs, there's nothing new to learn. He argues:

"What else do you really want to know about Angelina Jolie? With a lot of these celebrities, there’s nothing left to show unless they actually take their clothes off. We’ve covered them from every shape, every corner. We’ve shown them with their kids, and with their boyfriends and with their girlfriends, so that’s why you’re starting to see semi-naked soccer players and a semi-naked Tiger Woods. That’s what it takes to survive in a digital age."

Elle's creative director Joe Zee suggests: 

"It’s about commerce. At some point, you have to go and find something new."

Yeah, duh. 


No one pins down the source of the celebrity cover backlash in the article; suggestions run the gamut from reality TV stars (everyone is a celeb these days, the reasoning goes) to the digital media shift (no one reads mags anymore to begin with). But the upshot is the same: it's time for a new cover subject.

Many are arguing that the answer is to go back to the original subject of magazine covers: models. Having worked at a magazine, there are so many upsides to featuring a model over a celebrity. They are trained to give a great photo (they're masters of the smize). Conversely, you can go hoarse trying to coax a camera-shy celeb to come out of her shell. And rather than arrive with their boyfriend, publicist, manager, mom, best friends, doctor and personal paparazzi in tow, (most) models come, do a job and then leave. They have a more business-like approach to photo shoots as modeling is their main profession. 


The problem is the magazine-buying public is so accustomed to buying an issue because of their favorite celeb that some wonder: will they be inclined to pick up a book with a relatively unknown, yet beautiful, model's face on the cover? What do you think?


Are you tired of seeing the same celeb faces? What's the solution? Are models on magazine covers a good alternative? Do you even buy magazines at all? Discuss.


Kisses,


Coutura

Whitney Port, Olivia Palermo and Why Friendship and Business Might Not Mix

Whitney and Olivia in happier times.

If you're one of those intellectuals that only read books and never watch reality television, let me fill you in. On MTV's The City last week, emerging designer Whitney Port called on her "friend" Olivia Palermo at Elle Magazine in hopes of getting press for her new clothing line.

Since Whitney and Olivia worked together in the past, Whitney assumed that Olivia would be willing to support her latest endeavor. Wrong.

It's important to note that Whitney didn't expect Olivia to automatically love her work. However, if Olivia didn't like Whitney's clothes, she could've still helped Whit by...I don't know...giving her advice. Isn't that what friends do? Of course, the opposite happened.

Olivia begrudgingly attended Whitney's press appointment and then, talked smack about Whit's designs back at the Elle office. She even denied Whitney the perfect press opportunity: a Rue La La "New Designer" video interview on Elle.com. Tsk tsk tsk.

They were BFFs until business got involved.

But, as always, the plot thickened. Olivia's work nemesis, Erin, loved Whitney's clothes and pushed for Whitney to be interviewed against Olivia's wishes.

Not pleased, Olivia retaliates by not showing up on the day she's supposed to interview Whitney...on purpose. (And our favorite boss, Joe Zee, told Olivia off for ditching Whitney.)

That doesn't sound awful friendly to me.

This dramatic, catty reality TV scenario is sadly all too familiar. When it comes to business, friends can become overly competitive, jealous, negative and most of all, counterproductive.

On one hand, people feel that friendship and business should stay entirely separate. Friends, like Olivia, feel they don't owe their girlfriends any favors in the professional realm. I've seen friends withhold contacts from their girlfriends seeking jobs, decline writing recommendation letters, badmouth their friends to potential employers, the works.

Conversely, I feel that friendship and business can coexist under specific terms. I'm open to pulling friends up in any way possible. But there has to be a line so opportunists and users don't take advantage of my kindness. (Because as Kelly Cutrone says, "nice people end up on welfare.") I make a point to only help people that help themselves. 

I do this without looking for something in return, but I do appreciate when a business favor is reciprocated. I am a firm believer in the saying "You scratch my back, I scratch yours."

To be sure, there are downsides to my way of thinking. I find you run into a lot of phony people who forge a connection in order to get "the hookup" by way of friendship. Also, there's the notion that everyone should work hard and pay their dues to get ahead instead of relying solely on favors.


Do you think Olivia is wrong for refusing to help, and even plotting to hinder, her friend's professional success? Do you help your friends professionally or do you keep business and friendship separate and why?

Kisses,

Coutura

Bombshell Blonde: Ferocia Gets (Another) Makeover

It's true when they say that blondes have more fun. I dyed my hair blonde a couple of years ago after moving here to the concrete jungle and (despite a few lapses of the dark haired look) have pretty much stuck with it. The love of my life Adrian Wallace (senior hair colorist at the Rita Hazan Salon) is responsible for coloring my blonde tresses. (He also does my good friend Maura Lynch's from ELLE magazine; that's us pictured below juggling beers during her recent birthday activities haha)

With that said, I woke up one day and decided that I wanted to add more hair to my cropped 'do and called up my good friend David Lopez. He's an amazing hairstylist that I was lucky to meet while working in retail hell after first moving to NY and is THE next big thing. So, we bought some hair and then he went to work sewing it in.

David's tool box.

Almost done! (That's David pictured here.)

Just done!

The result? Beautiful, bouncy, blonde locks. I mean, I could EASILY fill in for a Victoria's Secret model, wouldn't you say? Ugh. L-O-V-E.

Wouldn't you agree that blondes have more fun? If not, why? What's your favorite haircolor?

AND (most importantly) what do you think of my fun, new look?!

xo

Ferocia

A Day in the Life: Elle Magazine and MTV's The City, Sonia Rykiel pour H&M with Chanel Iman

Hey Glamazons!

What a night. Ferocia and I are already tired and New York Fashion Week hasn't even started yet. The reason behind our sleep deprivation? A string of fabulous launches and parties that took place in the city yesterday evening, from the Guess by Marciano and Elle Magazine event to the Sonia Rykiel pour H&M knitwear launch.

Dressed in my Topshop military jacket, leggings and studded boots, I met up with Ferocia (in a cute ruffle top) at Sephora on Fifth Avenue to check out the limited edition Stella McCartney Stella perfume necklace (the perfect VDay gift! Ferocia will give you more on that later). After chatting with the fab PR rep and spraying on Stella (which smells amazing), we prepared to traipse through the NYC cold downtown for the Elle Magazine event.

Held at the Guess by Marciano store in Soho, the party drew out the glitteratti of the New York social scene. A handsome crowd of editors, bloggers, socialites and tastemakers mingled and sipped delicious cocktails (served by equally delicious and handsome waiters).

After breezing past the line, Ferocia and I walked inside and right into a taping of MTV's "The City." The MTV filming crew surrounded a gorgeous, fresh-faced Whitney Port (is she really that tall or am I really short?), her friend Roxy and...the sole reason I watch the show--Elle Magazine Creative Director, Joe Zee. I've followed Joe Zee's career for ages and think he's as talented as he is adorable. We took a picture together above. Don't you just want to squeeze his cheeks?

While MTV filmed, Ferocia and I made the rounds, running into some of our friends from POSHGLAM, MTV and Elle Magazine---and fans of the blog who we were so excited to meet! (P.S. if you ever see us out and about, please don't be scared to say Hi! We love to see the faces behind the comments).

Check out our pic with one of our fave publicists, Laura Hinds and Shaun Harrison of MTV. Yes, if you work in entertainment, wearing black is a requirement, lol. Fun times!

Next, we hopped into a cab and ventured to the Sonia Rykiel pour H&M knitwear launch. Held at Bobo, a swanky venue downtown, the party had a posh, Parisian vibe with dark, moody lighting and an intimate, well-dressed crowd. The party was hosted by Rykiel's daughter, Nathalie and celeb guests like Michelle Williams, Amanda Hearst and Leighton Meister and Kelly Rutherford of CW's Gossip Girl came out to show support.

Though I gave the knitwear a glowing Glamazon review last month, I found it to be even more chic, vibrant and wearable in person. I've got my eye on that pale pink sweater dress - very sexy sophisticate.

After seeing the clothes, we headed downstairs to check out a casually-dressed Chanel Iman spinning the tunes from Al Green's "Let's Stay Together" to Cheryl Lynn's "To Be Real." With her boyfriend by her side, she kept people moving nonstop on the dance floor (maybe a new Solange-esque side hustle is in her future?).

Though we could have danced all night long, Ferocia had a editor event for Salvatore Ferragamo's new Women's fragrance this morning, and I had an interview scheduled with Marc Bouwer (the talent behind the dress Beyonce wore to the Heat launch party) this afternoon. Not to mention, that we're storing up all the sleep we can before the runway shows start.

Still, it was a fabulous night totally worth the cold...and the perfect way to start what promises to be a fun-filled Fashion Week!

Kisses,

Coutura