fashion: 14/03/09

Mar 14, 2009

Oscars 'Slumdog Millionaire

Slumdog Millionaire' sweeps eight Oscars at the 81 st Academy Awards including Best Adapted Screenplay, Cinematography,

THE OSCAR WINNERS...

Best Picture: Producer Christian Colson forSlumdog Millionaire. “It has been collaboration between hundreds of people. All of us are here to share this moment. This was an extraordinary journey,” says the Slumdog...team. Best Direction: Danny Boyle for Slumdog Millionaire Best Original Song: A R Rahman and Gulzar for‘Jai Ho...’ (Slumdog Millionarie) The Indian music maestro, Rahman wooed the audience with ‘O Saya’ and ‘Jai Ho...’ the nominated songs from ‘Slumdog...’, as the nominees for Best Original Song were being announced. Best Original Score: A R Rahman for Slumdog Millionaire . “I have nothing but my mother and she is there with me. I thank her for making me coming all this way with her blessings,” said a proud Rahman. Best Film Editing: Chris Dickens for Slumdog Millionaire Best Sound Mixing: Ian Tapp, Resul Pookutty and Richard Pryke for Slumdog Millionaire. “This is just not a sound award, but a history being handed over,” said Indian receiver Pookutty. Best Cinematography: Anthony Dod Mantle for Slumdog Millionaire Best Adapted Screenplay: Simon Beaufoy for Slumdog Millionaire. “The cast and crew of the film told me so much about India and writing,” said a proud Beaufoy. Best Documentary Short Subject: Megan Mylan for Smile Pinki Best Actor in a Leading Role: Sean Penn for Milk. Best Actressin a Leading Role: Kate Winslet for The Reader. Breathless Kate confessed experiencing the fainting feeling just like Penelope Cruz. She shouted onstage and waved at her father. She said, “I want to thank my family as they love me the way I am and lets me do what I want to.” By the time she finished her speech she was already in tears. Best Foreign Language Film: Departures (Japan) Best Sound Editing: Richard King for The Dark Knight Best Visual Effects: Eric Barba for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button Best Documentary Feature Film: James Marsh for Man on Wire Best Supporting Actor: Heath Ledger for The Dark Knight . It was a special moment for actor’s family - mother Sally, father Kim and sister Kate who came to receive the trophy on Ledger’s behalf. Best Live action short film: Jochen Alexander for Spielzeugland Toyland Best Make-up: Greg Cannom for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button Best Costume Design: Michael O’Connor for The Duchess Best Art Direction: Donald Graham Burt for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button Best Animated Short Film: Kunio Kato for La Maison En Petits Cubes Best Animated Feature: Andrew Stanton for Wall-E Best Original Screenplay: Dustin Lance Black for Milk Best Supporting Actress: Penelope Cruz for Vicky Cristina Barcelona. “Has anyone fainted here, may be I will be the first one,” exclaimed Penelope immediately after receiving the award. THE HOST... Will Smith announced the awards for best visual effects, sound mixing and film editing categories. Natalie Portman and Ben Stiller were the next to grace the stage to announce the award for best cinematography. Sarah Jessica Parker clad in a shining silver off shoulder gown with Daniel Craig played the perfect host to a set of awards including best art direction, costume design and make-up. Tina Fey and Steve Martin opened the awards ceremony announcing the first set of awards including best supporting actress, original screenplay and adapted screenplay. Hilarious host Hugh Jackman opens the ceremony with a grand performance with actress Anne Hathaway. Australian entertainer Hugh Jackman, stands tall as the first-time host to the ultra-glam evening. Though, he had hosted Broadway's Tony Awards three times in the past. Robin Roberts welcomed the guests at the Red Carpet in a sensuous red gown designed by J Creww as she arrives for the 81st Academy Awards in Los Angeles. RED CARPET The much awaited and much anticipated, 81st Academy Awards will begin shortly with the Red Carpet already rolled out at the Kodak Theater. Some of the stunning arrivals at the Red Carpet include teen idol Miley Cyrus, Aliciya Keys, actress Meryl Streep, Kate Winslet, Angelina Jolie, Penelope Cruz, Slumdog...star Freida Pinto, The Wrestler star Marisa Tommei to name a few. British director Danny Boyle shepherded the extended Slumdog Millionaire family down the red carpet. The nine cast members, who played the three main characters in the rags-to-riches fairy tale were all on hand for the Oscars ceremony. The two youngest cast members, who still live in Mumbai's slums, were making their first trip outside India After months of controversy and speculation, the wait will finally be over. With movies like Slumdog Millionaire , The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and The Readerleading the way in major categories, it's tough to predict who will take away the trophy. So do you think 2009 will be the year that ends India's dry run at the Oscars?

Oscar's best-dressed friends

Oscar's best-dressed friends

Fashion & Beauty Home

All eyes will be on Hollywood on Sunday night as the 81st Academy Awards take place. Will Kate finally receive the nod for Best Actress? And does Slumdog Millionaire really deserve all those nominations?
But we're just as interested in what Ms Winslet and her pals wear on the red carpet so here's our guide to the best and worst Oscar outfits.
Barbra Streisand 1969
Not only did Barbra Streisand buck the trend for big-entrance dressing by wearing trousers to the Oscars, but also those trousers appeared to be entirely see-through, giving grand guests at the ceremony a none-too-modest glimpse of her derrière as she stepped up to the podium.
According to the Los Angeles Times, Arnold Scaasi, designer of the black chiffon two-piece in question, told Streisand: "Let's show people how young and cute you are. Let's forget about that elegant bit."
Three years later, Fonda also picked up her award for Klute in trousers -- this time a black trouser suit from Rive Gauche, the prêt-à-porter arm of Yves Saint Laurent that had opened four years previously and was taking the world by storm.
Sharon Stone 1996
Rumours raged for weeks over who would dress Sharon Stone for the Oscars in 1996, but here too an unruly streak came to the fore when she appeared in a combination of Valentino and Giorgio Armani (mixing designers is just not done at this particular occasion), and proudly announced that her T-shirt had been plucked from her own wardrobe and was from Gap. High Street Fashion on Red Carpet Shock!
Unorthodox though this look might be, it was not only elegant but also refreshing and an unusually modern first.
Cher 1988
In the mid-Eighties, the Academy employed Nolan Miller (designer of many a virulently coloured, shoulder-padded jacket for Dynasty) to ensure that actresses toed the line and, instead of wearing anything as radical as, say, a pair of trousers, went back to "looking like stars". In response to this stuffy rule-making, Cher presented the award for best supporting actor at the 58th ceremony in a black sheath by Bob Mackie, topped by a Mohican hairstyle, and quipped: "As you can see, I did receive my Academy booklet on how to dress like a serious actress."
Nicole Kidman 1997
Given her physique, it's not surprising that the world's top designers have long wooed Ms Kidman over her choice of dress on the red carpet.
In 1997 the actress opted for an absinthe-green gown from Galliano's debut couture collection for the house of Christian Dior, which cost mere clients in the region of $30,000 to buy, and that is thought to have marked the return of couture rather than humble ready-to-wear (such things are relative, you see) to the red carpet.
Gwyneth Paltrow 1999
Ah, those were the days. This pretty, pink -- if admittedly somewhat roomy -- gown by Ralph Lauren suited Gwyneth Paltrow to the ground.
Her squeaky-clean, all-American credentials were only underlined by the fact that she blubbed uncontrollably when awarded the Best Actress Oscar for Shakespeare in Love, and then collapsed into Steven Spielberg's arms.
Julia Roberts 2001
By this point, the relationship that had built up between the world's superstar designers and Hollywood's finest had become rather too obvious for the more forward-thinking celebrity stylist: enter the Pleasingly Obscure Fashion Statement, in the form of Julia Roberts, who was awarded best actress for Erin Brockovich wearing vintage Valentino.
And now it is almost commonplace for the more discerning stars to appear in what the rest of us might describe simply as very old second-hand clothes.
Angelina Jolie 2004
La Jolie is surprising for the fact that she rarely flaunts her undeniably spectacular credentials when appearing on the red carpet, or indeed anywhere else. She recently appeared at the SAG Awards in a back-to-front Max Azria design that was more of blue cassock than scene-stealing gown.
This Marc Bouwer white satin gown, worn by the actress to the Oscars in 2004, was the exception that proves the rule. "Who are you with tonight?" asked one red-carpet hack. "I'm alone," she replied. A better dress for a woman on the razzle has yet to be seen.
Björk 2001
'Björk lays egg at Oscars!" screamed the National Enquirer on the morning after the Icelandic star appeared on the red carpet in this dress, which bore more than a passing resemblance to Rod Hull's Emu.
Designed by a then almost unknown London Fashion Week fledgling, Marjan Pejoski, its ornithological credentials were only enhanced by the fact that the aforementioned egg, which, it transpired, was designed by her artist boyfriend Matthew Barney, was stuck to her shoe (Balenciaga, for fashion trainspotters out there).
Kate Winslet 2008
Until her recent makeover, Kate Winslet seemed uninterested in the love affair between fashion's big names and Oscar hopefuls.
In days gone by, she appeared in low-profile gowns designed by the likes of Ben de Lisi -- all very nice but hardly constitute power dressing. But no longer, she has recently been the poster-girl for everyone from Yves Saint Laurent to Narciso Rodriguez.
This pale pistachio goddess-gown marked the start of any new-found fashion credibility. It was designed by Valentino and was a potent symbol of the girl from Reading's rise to Hollywood superstardom.
Cate Blanchett 2007
Question: Is it seemly for an actress to dress for the Oscars like a doppelgänger for the trophy itself? Answer: Who cares about minor rules of etiquette when they're this impressively thin!
And, of course, there's the fact that Blanchett was up for not one but two awards: best actress in Elizabeth: The Golden Age, and best supporting actress for her portrayal of Bob Dylan in I'm Not There. Sadly, she won neither.
The dress in question was designed by Giorgio Armani for his exclusive Armani Privé collection. Since this designer dressed Richard Gere in American Gigolo in 1979, he has long demonstrated an understanding of the power of the relationship between fashion and film.

The Beach

The Beach
March 2nd, 2009 Posted by Janelle comments (15)
Never mind the massive snow storm that is keeping the east coast under the weather. The latest Vogue Italia transports us to a world of beachside escapism courtesy of Greg Kadeland Ali Stephens. The winning pair teams up for a colorful, windswept series of shots that call to mind the lazy, hazy days of summer.

Natasha Poly

Biography
Birth Date: July 12, 1985
Country of origin: Russian Federation
Model, Natasha Poly hails from Perm, Russia and is currently one of the go-to models for both editorial and advertising campaigns. Her given name is Natasha Polevshchikova and she is currently the face of numerous S/S 09 campaigns including Gucci, Missoni and Blumarine. Poly has the chameleon-like ability to transform her facial expressions and is also well known for her recognizable runway walk and signature pose. She currently resides in New York, NY and has her own fan-site at www.NatashaPoly.com where all can experience the true goddess that is Ms.Poly. At this point, Natasha can only rise higher on the stairway to supermodel enlightenment, and MDC will be there to experience every bit of it.
HairEyesBustHeightWaistHipsShoe

Looking for Mr Right . . . rather than Mr Right Now

It's the eternal dilemma: when is the right time to sleep with a new man, asks Siobhan Cronin

Articles
· Topics
· Answering the question: 'How soon is now?'
· Alternative view: Dr Nafsika on sex on the first date
· Vote for me and the books that I'm reading
· At inter-county level, football is more than just a hobby
· Big boost for Irish Open as US champ Campbell agrees to take part at Carton · 50 great things to do in America
· Friends indeed

Also in Love & Sex

· What happened the day I gave flowers to a stranger
· Racegoers take a punt on finding love at the track
· So what made a woman risk it all for HIM?
· Love dilemmas: Fifty-something country fellow seeks city slicker for
· Cutie Kenny was king of the fling

Love & Sex Home

The king of self-help dating books, The Rules, advised women not to sleep with men on the first date. Far from being mere idealistic claptrap, it seems the authors' advice has been vindicated by science.
New research has shown that better relationships grow out of situations which don't involve first-night sex.
So when your Mum's advice to 'remember who you are' rings in your ears after your sixth vodka on your first date, remember she may have had a very valid point.
The research, conducted in the UK, revealed that men who were willing to delay the start of a physical relationship were generally better long-term bets. Men who had sex within hours of meeting the girl were less likely to be around years later.
Now an academic at the LSE Centre for Philosophy has said that the best way for a woman to 'screen' potential life mates is to prolong the dating process.
"A male is assumed to always want to mate with a female, but a good male is more willing to pay the cost of a long courtship to claim the prize of mating," Dr Peter Sozou is reported as saying.
It sounds like good advice, and has been backed up by research published in the current Journal of Theoretical Biology. But Dr Sozou puts a bit of a dampener on things, by adding that the only way a woman can truly screen out all the 'bad' males is by simply not dating at all.
Not exactly a useful nugget for those of us on the lookout for Mr Right, as opposed to Mr Right Now.
And so, if we ignore the fail-safe method of a celibate life, but still want to find our true soulmate, how soon is it safe to do the 'beast with two backs', as Shakespeare so gracefully put it?
"There is no hard and fast rule," says relationship counsellor and lecturer Beth Fitzpatrick of Dublin's Access Counselling, who admits that she is "not one bit surprised" that research has proven the old adage to be true: a man won't respect a woman who yields too easily to his advances.
"Psychologically, it can have an effect on both of you if you have sex on the first night," she says. "How much will he appreciate you, but even more importantly, how much will you appreciate yourself afterwards?"
The 'how soon?' question is one that has been concerning the human race for centuries, and the arrival of the internet has provided the perfect outlet for the debate.
Meg, who started a heated debate on the wonderfully named plentyoffish.com dating site, begs for guidance from male readers:
"I have mostly male friends, and some of them have told me I can't have sex with a guy right away because then I'm not girlfriend material . . . what the hell does that mean? I am not 19 any more, and I know what I want.
"If I sleep with someone, even if it is right away, it's because I have felt some kind of connection, whether it be just intensely physical or just that kind of feeling like you've known them forever (and, no it doesn't happen all the time and I know the real thing when it does) and I'm not ashamed to go with it.
"So what gives with you men? Do you really go along with the cliché that there are women that you marry and women you just f---? I have more integrity than that. I have always believed that if I was myself -- honest and caring -- that the man would see who I really was, see my heart, and that would be all that mattered (plus the really great sex . . . lol)."
So, what does 'give' with men? Well, Meg got answers from both sides of the divide. "How the hell can I look down on someone and dismiss them when I'm doing the same thing?" replies one seemingly level-headed male.
The response from 'Restless One', also supporting Meg, is even more honest: "Having sex on the first date only proves three things: 1. That she is usually pretty horny so sex would happen often; 2. That you have the ability to turn her on fast because she is attracted to you and 3. That there will be few if any sexual "hang up" issues to deal with."
Restless One sounds like my kind of guy.
Or is he? I couldn't remember whether I was a 'first night' kinda girl or not, so I rang two of my exes. "Oh yes you did," said my handsome Galway man, and I blushed, even years later.
The second call was a bit more disconcerting. "Eh, I am not sure," said my lovely Leinster lad, even though it wasn't that long ago. "Was it the second, third or fourth night?"
I obviously made an impression there. I think I might be the girl who put the 'ex' into 'sex'.
But of course, there are also lots of guys out there who are still determined to marry a virgin, never mind date one, but the majority of Meg's respondents were, thankfully, a bit more realistic. Most were genuinely sympathetic to Meg's point of view, saying that any man who drops you because you slept with him immediately is shallow, and exercising double standards to boot.
But Beth Fitzpatrick says the first night rule is not a bad one at all, apart from the obvious health and pregnancy risks. "If you both connect, then why not let it go further before you sleep together? I don't mean you have to wait a year, but you should wait until you feel you know someone. How can you really know someone after just a few hours?"
It's not about being a 'prude', says Beth, it's more about accepting that sex is special, and very intimate, and therefore worth the wait.
"I don't believe it's right for a woman or a man to rush into it. But there are consequences to everything we do, so you need to know what feels right for you and what you are comfortable with -- if you are going to be ok with it afterwards, and if you can live with whatever the consequences are."
Co-author of The Rules Sherrie Schneider is adamant that allowing the men to chase is the only way to a successful relationship.
Men love a girl they can't get, Schneider said, writing about Jessica Simpson's on-off relationship with NFL player Tony Romo.
Schneider claimed Jessica is "too available" and men don't like that.
"When guys get instant gratification, the intrigue is over. If there's no chase, there's no challenge. It's too easy," says the best-selling author.
So, when it comes to issues around sex, maybe it really is a case of 'timing is everything'.
- Siobhan Cronin

Dresses & Skirts :: XT5200 Vintage Flirt CLASSIC SLIP GOWN

Wine and women
Of late, certain wines that were earlier available in the market with approximately 12 percent alcohol are now being sold with 14-16.5 percent alcohol. This increase has been credited to the use of very ripe fruit. This helps produce wine, which is richer in flavor. Consequently, the use of ripe fruit ensures that increased alcohol is produced when the grapes are fermented.
You should know that most red wines have a higher alcohol content as compared to white wines. However, this is not an absolute parameter and there are variances. Alcoholic content in wine is dependent upon the ripeness of the fruit. The ripest grapes have the highest sugar content. During fermentation, the sugar content gets converted to alcohol.
Usually, grapes that are used to make red wines are picked when they are riper than those used to make white wine. The sugar content, wine making technique and character of the fruit determine alcoholic percentage. You can check all wine bottle labels to know it’s a wine’s alcohol content. Wine enthusiasts should be aware that all labels are not alcohol and the printed content may either be 1.5% below or above the actual level. This is not an offense as laws permit such flexibility.

Brazilian waxing truths
So, you want a full body wax and you think going to the parlour is an expensive idea, well you’re right. However, imagine if you had a step by step guide that tells you how to carry out your own Brazilian waxing. This is really easy if you invest in a videoshelf DVD because they tell you the facts just as they are which makes things easy for you.
Here’s a step by step guidance for hair removal. Every step is explained in detail and in order so you can be fully prepared for your customized waxing session.
The Brazilian wax video is detailed and easy to follow. As such, all you need to do is get the right products to easy and follow their step by step advice and before you know it, you’ll have skin that’s as smooth as silk and you’ll have avoided the hefty parlour charges.