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Lady Gaga designed this bracelet as a fundraiser to help Japan. The bracelet itself is $5, but you can choose to donate up to $100 extra. Click here to purchase and help!

Lady Gaga Was Born That Way

Gaga's music video for Born This Way was released earlier today. Directed by Nick Knight, choreographed by Laurie Ann Gibson and written by Gaga herself, the video is a mix of space alien, mildly repulsive special effects and the skeleton tattoo man, Rick! The beginning of the video, focused on the birth of good and evil, used a kaleidoscope effect that reminded me of the prints from Alexander McQueen's Spring 2010 collection, a collection which happened to allude to many images of the afterlife/re-birth.

Gaga giving birth! Wonderful! Party! 

 Yummy fetus.

Similar McQueen print

Gaga and Rick from Montreal AKA The Skeleton Man.

Besides the semi-cheesy script in the beginning, I really enjoyed the video.

On a completely different note:

What can I say

The Inevitable Grammys Post

Right now JBiebs is performing and I am gagging on my barf.

On a happier note, Lady Gaga, being Lady Gaga, made yet another dramatic entrance and this time she was encased in a ventilated egg/pod! I was a little disappointed in her outfit though � no 10-inch platforms or dresses made of food. Instead she was clad in a sheer yellow skirt, skin tight sports bra and a floppy sunhat. Also, who watched her interview on 60 Minutes? Anderson Cooper iz sew trendie.

da Egg

Speaking of eggs, PLEASE CLICK HERE! (Embedding disabled. "smh.")

Photos: Gaga 1, Gaga 2, Gaga 3

Fall 2011: Christian Siriano + Born This Way is Released!

NYC Fashion Week has started and the city is buzzing with an air of excitement. It's palpable! (Actually not really but I'd like to think so. "Palpable" is a good SAT word but that's beside the point.) This morning I took a look at Christian Siriano's collection and basically, I've come to this conclusion: black is the new black. Siriano is the only winner of Project Runway who has made it big and I respect him for that � he markets himself well with the hair, "ferosh," and hot tranny mess all stuffed into a sleek blazer and tight jeans. I truly liked his designs on Project Runway, but I'm not super excited about his latest collection. Almost everything is black. We know that black is a color that flatters everyone, and yes it's great but it weighed down his collection. Though it's a Fall collection, and Fall usually connotes darker colors, I was waiting for a pop of rich color. I want a red worthy of Little Riding Hood herself, or a pumpkin-pie orange! Not a draped, tulle-accented gown in "dusty rose" that screams "suburban high school prom queen." And definitely not a hunter green see-through button down paired with matching silk (?) pants.

Here are the few pieces I found somewhat endearing:

 The texture of this dress reminds me of the butterflies used in Sarah Burton's Alexander McQueen Spring 2011 collection. See below:

Christian, where art thou fierceness?

When I got home from school I rushed to iTunes and purchased Lady Gaga's new single, Born This Way. It's completely Madonna. It's interesting, if you listen to Just Dance off her first album and then listen to Alejandro from her second, the music is completely different. And from the sound of Born This Way, her up and coming album is going to differ even more from both The Fame and The Fame Monster.

Photos: Christian Siriano Fall 2011, Alexander McQueen Spring 2011

Mr. Porter, James Franco is a Wizard, Lady Gaga Wears Real Clothes in Vogue

The founders of Net-A-Porter are launching "The Men's Style Destination." Net-A-Porter is one of the greatest online-based clothing sites and obviously, it only touts high-end women's garments. And I guess that's not fair because plenty of men want to luk gewd two. Because Mr. Porter is not yet open to the public, those interested have the chance to become a "Founding Member." Basically, you get access to Mr. Porter before it is launched as well as free shipping during this time period. You also get "seasonal previews," "Mr. Porter exclusives" and "access to personal shoppers for expert style advice" but we all know that stuff is never as good as it sounds.

Click HERE to become a Founding Member of Mr. Porter

Before I get to Lady Gaga, apparently, James Franco is going to play The Wizard, as in the Wizard of Oz. This is actually amazing. Robert Downey Jr. was down to play the role in "Oz, The Great and Powerful," (a prequel to The Wizard of Oz; it's the story of how The Wizard ended up in Emerald City standing behind a curtain) but he copped out. 

Isn't Franco is already doing tons of stuff like getting degrees at Yale and poop just for funs and giggles?

even gawd needs his beauty rest. 

that wasn't even funny.

And now, here are a few photos from Lady Gaga's much-anticipated Vogue cover and editorial. Spoiler alert: she's wearing real clothes and stole Limecat's wig (credit to D-Listed for the reference) except in pink.

Photos: Mr. Porter, James Franco sleeping in class, Lady Gaga

P.S. Gaga's single, "Born This Way" will be available on iTunes at 9:00 am, three hours after it airs on the radio!

Born This Way

Lady Gaga has unveiled the cover art for her upcoming single, "Born This Way!" (Three days until it is released!)

I really wish my hair looked like hers, all day, 'errday. But what's with the horn-like things sticking out of her forehead and shoulders? I'm assuming they're courtesy of Photoshop, but maybe she was just born that way. (omg Hardy har.)

Besides Lady Gaga, Taylor Momsen's band, The Pretty Reckless, released their latest album on iTunes today. It's titled "Light Me Up," and the cover features a 5 year old blonde girl looking up at the camera holding a lighter (little TayTay?). Sooper cool! I actually like The Pretty Reckless' music, but Taylor Momsen reminds me of why

I like how unsubtly they say "TIPS" on the platform. They bring trashy to a whole new level, a level where trashy equals awesome and you can run around in your underwear with a leather whip and no one will say a thing.

Being the drooling maniac I am, I've abandoned my search for a nice floral print Erdem blouse and moved on to a pair of sparrow or daisy or cat print clogs or platforms or Mary Janes from Miu Miu's Spring 2010 collection. It's a bummer that Saks, Barneys, Net-A-Porter, etc. Have stopped selling them. I found two pairs of the clogs on eBay from a legit (!) seller, but I feel sort of cheated because Neiman Marcus sold the Mary Janes for half-off (they're obviously sold out now). The seller is doing that "buy it now" thing ($595) or "best offer" and I doubt she'll be too thrilled if I proffer like, $5, seeing that I just spent all my saved cash on the Opening Ceremony, I'LL SAY IT AGAIN, fur/lambskin/wool boucle jacket. 

Can I frame Lindsey Wixson's jambes?

Photos: Born This Way, Miu Miu Mary Janes, Lindsey Wixson, Delicious Miu Miu Smorgasbord 

Wait This Deserves Its Own Thing

I posted like five minutes ago, but I just found out this scintillating news thanks to Armen Atoyan of Buzznet.

LADY GAGA. AMERICAN VOGUE. COVER. MARCH. THE POWER ISSUE. LEAKED.

So much amazing.

I don't want to steal Armen's thunder so you should click HERE to read more.

It's a Killer Life, Show Me Your Teeth

I guess now I have to apologize for referencing a Lady Gaga song in the 2nd bit of the title. I found this little tooth-shaped box (omg Nirvana reference almost!) containing the teeth I had gotten extracted in 8th grade. They are kind of gross. The blood had dried all brown and I clearly had some cavity action going on. I took some photos because that's what you do when you find your old dead teeth, duh.

So then I remembered this jewelry that is made with real human teeth. Polly van der Glas sterilizes human teeth and sets them in sterling silver, creating unique rings, necklaces and earrings.

I don't know. The pieces are cool in a morbid way, but I would probably be shunned to the inner depths of hell or something if I wore them in public. It's the sad truth.

Now for the 1st bit of the title, I've been really into the band Morningwood. They're kind of mainstream pop, but the singer's voice reminds me of a female Vince Neil at times, so I guess you can't really call it pop. One of their songs, "Killer Life," makes me extremely happy. And "Jetsetter," is unexplainable besides the fact that it's a mash of greatness. (The soundtrack to Picture Me is comprised of Morningwood, just in case you care.) Listen below. If you have better things to do, at least check out "Killer Life." It's only two minutes and forty-eight seconds. 

Also:


My brain just died, and not out of awesomeness.

Photos: Teeth Jewelry

Beyonce Ruins Telephone + Humor Chic

I like to skip the parts where Beyonce sings in Lady Gaga's "Telephone." Though Beyonce came first, Gaga is light-years ahead of her in terms of style, music and overall coolness (at least in my own opinion, since everyone has different musical tastes). The bit in the Telephone video where Beyonce does this dumb dance move where her hands are at her sides and she jumps forward twice while looking up at the camera with a completely serious look on her face makes me cringe inside. I'm sorry if you are a devoted Beyonce fan, but she completely mars Telephone's potential awesomeness with her trying-too-hard "acting," dance moves, rapping, and eating of a honey bun. I am aware that Lady Gaga probably played a part in choreographing Beyonce's parts in Telephone but I don't care, Beyonce still ruins it and Lady Gaga is still better.

No one likes your stupid dance move. (Sorry for the grainy screen shot.)

Now I will discuss Humor Chic, the brainchild of Alexandro Palombo. Basically, he pokes fun at the fashion world through witty drawings of Anna Wintour, Carine Roitfeld (no longer editor of Vogue Paris; I know, old news, but I figured I should mention or else people would wonder if I hadn't heard*), Karl Lagerfeld and more. 

 Anna Wintour, Karl Lagerfeld and Carine Roitfeld's head.

Terry Richardson and Anna Wintour. If you don't understand this, it refers to Richardson's alleged sexual abuse of young models.

Also, Abbey Lee Kershaw's white ink tattoo is killer.

You can see it if you look closely at her wrist. I don't know what it says! The one on her finger is an owl head.

Photos: Humor Chic, Abbey Lee Kershaw

*Emmanuelle Alt is the new editor in chief of Vogue Paris.

Fashioning February: Pop Idol or Stylista?

2009 was most definately the year of Lady Gaga and it was also a year which Rihanna would never forget for personal and career reasons. Both singers sold bucket loads of albums; Gaga had collaborations with Akon, Beyonce and Rihanna dueted with Jay Z and Kanye West. However as successful as these women are I find it hard to warm to them because I do not think they are great vocalists. You see I am a bit of a purist and I believe that people should hone their craft before they kick start their career and to me neither ladies can sing. I don't get any joy listening to Gaga's voice the way I do when I hear Whitney, Mariah or Lauryn Hill and Rihanna's voice frankly just jars me. As far as I am concerned both ladies are all about the image nothing more and nothing less and Lady Gaga and Rihanna's looks have most certainly been their fortune. Take yourself back to 2005 when Rihanna first came on the scene. With her long brown weave and sexy outfits she was dismissed as a poor man's Beyonce. Fast forward to 2007 with a monster hit, Umbrella and she was on everyone's lips. So what happened between those two years? Simple, a stylist. Out went the long brown weave, jeans and cropped tops and in came an edgy asymetric bob that you would die for as well as a funky designer couture which consisted of man suits, netted skirts and shoulder pads. Not many artists deserve to be compared to Madonna but I would say that Lady Gaga does. Her revolving image is rather akin to the Queen of Pop. The mini blonde manages to combine pop, performance art and fashion in the same way that Madonna has been doing for over 20 years. With her own production team called Haus of Gaga, Ms Gaga takes her fashion very seriously, pity she can't hold a note though. We all know that image is everything in the music industry and your success is all about the way you look and the way you brand yourself but somehow I think we have gone a bit too far with Gaga and Rihanna.  The only people who seem to show any talent from the Rihanna and Lady Gaga camp are Mariel Haenn and Nicola Formichetti who style them respectively. So maybe it should be the stylist going up to pick up all the awards?

I decided to ask two ladies who breathe fashion and music to share their thoughts on Rihanna and Lady Gaga.

Ruki Garuba, stylist and founder of Neon Style by Ruki.

Lysa Cooper is the stylist who introduced Rihanna to the world of European labels and couture. I believe that�s where her true passion for fashion started then Mariel Haenn came on board and helped her grow and develop a look that�s like no one else out there. In addition Mariel is also a designer, so even if what they want isn't in the store, they can have it made. Gone is the tomboy we met in Pon De Replay and the girly girl in SOS. The Rihanna we have now is so hard and so sexy. She is lucky to have been blessed with two amazing stylists, I admire the work both stylists have done with Rihanna as well as their other clients. I think her musical success means that the label give her a bigger buying budget for appearances and promo, therefore it�s slightly easier to get creative. Her musical success and model like proportions also mean that brands will be more open to working with her because they know that their pieces will be look amazing on her and they'll get international exposure. Lady Gaga definitely has people talking again and excited about seeing life shows. She�s a brilliant entertainer and very talented, plus no one else looks like her right now. She�s like a modern Madonna. I know that Gaga is very hands on when it comes to her wardrobe selection and also how she wants to look. In the beginning she was going out and buying pieces herself and customising them herself too. So now it must be easier for her to have a stylist that gets her vision and evolve it for her � which means she can focus on the music and performance side, which is how it should be.

Janice Spence, founder and editor of Mad News. 

Rihanna doesn't have a very good voice. I have heard her sing live and her backing band were playing their instruments extra loud, which kept on drowning out her vocals. I'm guessing that this was done deliberately. Lady GaGa on the other hand can sing. I am not a big fan of her music but the woman always delivers with her live vocals. I think that Lady GaGa has made a huge impact on the industry because to many she's original and brings the fun and wierdness back in to pop music. She creates a buzz. As for Rihanna, I don't think she's made much of an impact musically. I think the situation with former boyfriend Chris Brown has made more of an impact. In today's music industry I would say that it is more about image than singing talent. All you need is a pretty face, a nice figure and a top class stylist, make-up artist and hairdresser. When Island Def Jam signed Rihanna they were only interested in her looks and figure. They knew she couldn't sing a lick but that didn't matter. They used "studio magic" to make her vocals sound half way decent and brought in the best production teams and song writers to create the illusion of talent. The same can also be said for Ciara, Ashanti, Christina Milian and even Keri Hilson.

What do you think? Are Rihanna and Lady Gaga great music artists or just brilliant clothes horses?

Lady Gaga's Situation

 

Name: Lady Gaga

Where: 52nd Annual Grammy Awards 2010

Situation: Serious Camel Toe

Question: Does it hurt? :O

Wanderland Boutique

Pop up stores are all the rage these days and have been a firm favourite with fashion brands since 2004. The concept is just like a moving exhibition; find a venue, set up shop, display items artfully and then set off to the next venue. Smaller niche companies have all been there and done that with pop ups placed in cosmopolitan cities in Europe. So it was no surprise when large lifestyle brands such as Comme des Gar�ons, MTV, Nike, Sony Ericsson, Adidas and Levis decided to give the idea a try. However, beating them to the punch was Wanderland Boutique, a wandering pop up boutique that has been created out of a love for fashion and all things that a little bit different. The brand has been trading since 2003 but have now launched a shop in Manchester at the ultra trendy Afflecks Palace and are set to tour other cities such as Leeds, Birmingham, Sheffield, Derby, Doncaster, Birmingham and Dublin. I met up with founder, Barbara Ojeogwu to find out the ins and outs of brand new, vintage and handmade clothing.

What is the concept of Wanderland Boutique?
The concept of Wanderland Boutique is to provide fashionable & one off items at great prices. We're able to do this by handpicking all of the products that go into the boutiques. We're also able to do this by reducing our overheads. The pop up boutiques are a unique and inexpensive way for us to attract new customers and provide them with clothes that would otherwise cost that bit more. The fact that we are a pop up means that we are able to set up in unlikely places such as bars, park greens and even possibly even double Decker buses.


How did you come up with the title of the shop?
The title is based on two factors. The first being that we pop up all over the UK with the boutique. The second is that we also travel far and wide to find stock for the boutique. We wander the land.

Where do you source your clothes from?
The clothes are sourced from all over the world. An example would be handbags from wholesalers in Japan and New York. Dresses from Dublin and Morocco. Shoes are made up in Manchester. We also mix this up with hot vintage finds or great pieces that friends or family have found on their wanders.

Describe to me a typical Wanderland customer?
Our typical customer wouldn't be described as the most affluent of people yet when it comes to style and creativity they're rich. These girls and ladies don't buy their style, they put it together. They're not the clones that you often see as a result of high street marketing campaigns.

What is your work background?
I actually come from an IT Background, I worked as an IT trainer for a sofware company up until December 2008.


Who are your fashion influences?
My main fashion influences are mainly my mum and sisters; between them those ladies have style. I also take a lot from what I see on the streets, whether it's fabrics, items or just how certain items are worn. It's good to try out new things and and maybe mix them up a little. Today I went to work in one of my own tops that was missing a belt so I used the velvet lace from my ballet shoes. A belt would have been too bulky and the result was good.

Are there any celebs out there who you would like to dress in Wanderland style?
Kate Nash came into my shop in the first week of opening and loved it so much that she made a second trip up the three flights of stairs to make another purchase in the same day. So I suppose you could say I already have dressed a celeb. I'd happily do the same again for Kate or Lady Gaga.

You can find Wanderland Boutique at the following venues:

Afflecks Palace
Wanderland Boutique
Afflecks
3rd Floor
Short Street
Manchester

Mon-Friday 10.30am-6pm
Saturdays 10am-6pm

Dry Bar
28-30 Oldham Street
Manchester
M1 1JN

Saturdays 12pm-6pm

More dates will be added soon!