Styles & Scenes

Naked girls and topless boys close Robertson

Double Grammy winner Eve turned up at the MAC Cosmetics Chinese Dress bash that closed down Robertson Boulevard to car traffic for the first (and hopefully the last) time in WeHo's celebrity-strewn shopping street's history.

The singer/actress was the most famous face among the throngs of MAC devotees who came to the boutique to see a live gallery of a dozen naked models air brushed with MAC pigments to look like they had on sequined dresses. During the um, viewing, bare-chested boys -- their pecs stamped with a Chinese design/character-- passed out Asian nibbles and fruity cocktails.

The astonishing exhibit debuted in Shanghai in 2005 and New York this spring. Next stop? San Francisco in 2007. All the airbrushed designs created by Juicy Couture, Sue Wong and Vivian Tam were variations on the Qi Pao, a classic Chinese garment.

The naked models seemed to get David Hasselhoff all hot 'n' bothered. He carefully scrutinized the girls to see if they were really wearing thongs and pasties. Memo to David: Don't wear that long frock coat again. It makes you look even creepier than those accidentally released divorce accusations/documents do.

Oh, baby! Check out Ben's sexy sitter

Why did Ben Affleck announce that he was "going home to make love to the babysitter," after getting a Supporting Actor of the Year honor at the Hollywood Awards?

Duh.

The "babysitter" was none other than his wife Jennifer Garner, who walked the red carpet with him but then left to look after their daughter.

One look at Jen in this sexy bronze Gucci goddess gown explains Ben's mad rush.

Bet she'll be a great accessory during her hubby's Best Supporting Actor Oscar nomination campaign for his portrayal of George Reeves in "Hollywoodland."

Photo Credits: Jennifer Garner is definitely back in secret agent shape at the Hollywood Awards. We don't blame Ben for racing home.
Greg DeGuire/WireImage

Who showed at the LA shows?

Why was Mischa Barton at the the Bebe Spring 2007 runway show at  Smashbox? And why was she smiling?

Because she's currently the face of the U.S. fashion label, that's why. So basically, she's gotta be there, wearing a Bebe B/W silk dress.

In fact, if Keds has a runway show, she'll be there too.  She also appears in their ads.

But other than  Miss Mischa, there were very few (okay, none) of the young  actresses featured in fashion magazines as cutting-edge trend-setters at the Mercedes-Benz Spring '07 Fashion Week at Smashbox Studios. No Nicole Richie. No Mary-Kate and Ashley. No Kate Bosworth. No Scarlett Johansson. No Kirsten Dunst. No Charlize Theron, who attended last year.

And there was certainly no one shopping for an Awards Season '07 wardrobe.

Rock and Republic's show at Area, unlike last year's event which featured Chrissie Hynde and the Pretenders and a real runway show (not just video of their NY event) and stars like Posh Spice and Katie Holmes, didn't even attract the promised guests like Paris and Nicky Hilton.

But it did draw Nick Cannon, Frankie Muniz, Kelly Hu, Jeremy Piven, Eric Benet, Brittany Snow, Dominique Swain, Jonathan Silverman, Elisha Cuthbert, and Paris’s party pal Kim Kardashian.

Paris, Nicky, Justin Timberlake, Cameron Diaz, and Eddie Murphy did turn up at Social Hollywood for the William Rast show and party. Justin, JC Chasez, Lance Bass, Maroon 5’s Adam Levine and will.i.am from the Black-Eyed Peas even performed for the packed house. It was so hot, fire marshalls even closed it down. Woo-hoo! Good times.

The Dressed to Kilt show on Saturday boasted Patricia Arquette, Thomas Jane, Linda Hamilton, Natasha Henstridge, and Kimberley Stewart. Sofia Milos was one of Sue Wong’s front row faces on Sunday night. Louis Verdad's overcrowded show also drew Alexis Bledel, Randy Jackson, and Garcelle Beauvais. Diana Ross turned up at Meghan’s collection and Angela Bassett was watching Dina Bar-El’s show.  And Daniella Clarke’s Frankie B runway show was watched by… Taryn Manning.

Kevin Hall's Thursday night show was attended by Joely Fisher, Milos and the Oscar-nominated "Sideways" babe, Virginia Madsen and Sinbad.

Sinbad?

Photo Credit: Mischa models Bebe. Why? Because she has a darn good contract with the company, that's why.
Amy Graves/WireImage

Jessica (not Simpson) gets cracking

Even sleepy Sunday mornings can be star-spotting exercises in West Hollywood.

Hardly anyone recognized Ryan Seacrest, looking all incognito in a baseball cap, camo-shorts and urban Nikes, working out with his trainer at the Fitness Factory.

But the "American Idol" emcee's bright shiny Bentley parked in the lot gave him away. Ego-mobiles outside usually mean overpaid celebs inside.

Another dead Seacrest giveaway: the buxom blonde  beard, er, babe that Seacrest always brings to the gym to make him look oh-so hetero.

Jewel was also pumping iron at the double F, looking way less crunchy granola than she used to, in sleek black leggings and a crop top, with her long blond hair pulled back.

The most disturbing celeb sighting at the trendy WeHo gym?

Top Hollywood personal stylist Jessica Paster, stuffed into a gangreen tank and low-slung crop sweats that kept sliding down to reveal her ass-crack as she worked up a lather on the treadmill.

To make matters worse, she was undie-less so every step gave an El Grande Boo-Tocks show to other gym dandies.

"Dude, that's enough to make me lose my Sunday breakfast," said a horrified onlooker.

Told that the bare-bottomed babe gets major moola for dressing stars like Ellen Pompeo, Jewel, Angie Harmon, Thandie Newton, Diane Lane and Jessica Simpson for Hollywood awards shows and movie premieres, the observer was stunned.

"You've gotta be kidding," he said. "I wouldn't let her dress my dog."

Let this be a lesson: Always wear underwear -- even to the gym. You just never know who's watching your back.

Photo Credits: Top Hollywood stylist Jessica Paster shows an unsuspecting young girl how to wear jeans (tighter!) at a Levi's fall fashion event in Miami.
Rodrigo Varela/WireImage

De Beers vs Bushmen: who will win the bling PR war?

Diamonds - a staple of Hollywood award season attire - are having a rough time lately.

De Beers recently mounted a massive PR campaign to educate consumers about how good diamonds are for Africa and the efforts to control and/or eradicate the sale of "conflict" or "blood" diamonds.

Now the international diamond cartel has hired some hot new corporate communications guns, including one exec head-hunted from a global pharmaceutical company called AstraZeneca.

Judging from that company's recent problems, I'd say De Beers got themselves an expert corporate spinner to help them fight the negative publicity expected from Warner Bros’s “Blood Diamond” (Leonardo DiCaprio, Djimon Hounsou and Jennifer Connelly) that focuses on the link between diamonds and bloody civil wars in Africa.

But someone else has joined the fray.

Last week the Kalahari Bushmen of Botswana took out an unprecedented large ad in Variety, asking for help from DiCaprio. In the ad, Bushman Roy Sesana wrote: "Friends have told us that you are in a film, “Blood Diamond,” which shows how badly diamonds can hurt. We know this. When we were chased off our land, officials told us it was because of the diamond finds. Please help us, Sir. We know you are a famous and respected man, and that if you speak up for us many people will listen. We just want to go home, and hunt and gather and live in peace like we have always done."

And on behalf of the Bushmen, Survival International has asked Linda Evangelista to step down as the new face of De Beers. Don't laugh. SI already has Colin Firth and Julie Christie on the Bushmen's side. Christie has said, 'Diamonds as the cause of misery and suffering are not a thing of the past. The Bushman evictions in Botswana are a clear demonstration that local people are still suffering because of these stones.” And SI already convinced supermodel Iman to step down as the face of De Beers a few years ago.

That said, Iman is married to David Bowie and is very wealthy in her own right. Good luck getting Linda to turn down that big fat spokesmodel contract. The early ‘90s era supermodel, who once bragged that she didn’t “wake up for less than $10 grand a day,” now has a.. how shall I put this, slightly less stellar modeling career. 

Gosh, this Hollywood diamond war is getting so exciting. Will the Bushmen of Kalahari make a trip to Hollywood? Can the displaced tribe and their celebrity supporters  persuade A-list actresses to boycott the bling and not wear dazzling diamonds to awards shows?

Hey, these dudes have already taken out an ad in Variety. I’d say anything is possible.

Photo Credit: Leo and Djimon star in "Blood Diamond," the movie about conflict diamonds financing bloody civil wars that has De Beers execs shaking in their designer boots.
Jaap Buitendijk/Warner Bros. Pictures.

Forget the cake. Let them wear pink sneakers!

Everyone’s been buzzing about the jaw-droppingly gorgeous  gowns in "Marie Antoinette" designed by Oscar-winning costume designer Milena Canonero (“Chariots of Fire, “Barry Lyndon”). And with good reason.

But for weeks, I’ve been trying to find out more about the pink Converse tennis shoes seen for a split second in a shot of a batch of French period shoes lined up in Marie A’s closet.

I kept my eyes peeled at an early screening and sure enough, there was a pair of pink Converse sneakers hiding among Manolo Blahnick’s  stylized reproductions of 18th century French footwear. Then I saw a photo in W magzine of Kirsten Dunst wearing pink Converse sneaks under her "Marie" costume on the set.

But repeated calls (I was officially pestering) to a publicist kept drawing a big fat blank.  “I've asked but the studio keeps saying the shoes aren’t in there,” my source kept insisting.

But they are there. Or they were there. At a Q&A earlier this week, someone asked director Sofia Coppola about the pink tennis shoes and she explained that it was her brother Roman, her second AD on the film, who put them in the shot.

So why won’t anyone at the studio talk about it? Will the tennis shoes be cut out? No! Say it isn't so!

My theory is that if the studio IDs the shoes as Converse it may cause a product placement issue. Maybe it would ruffle Blahnick Co's fur, who may been told they would receive sole shoe credits for their work with Canonero to create what looks like period 18th century footwear.

Whatever. I love the pink Converse tennis shoes hiding in Marie's closet. And I couldn't have been happier to hear just now that the shoes are still in the film, which premieres next Tuesday in LA.

The modern pink footwear creates a funny, girly, rebellious moment in a frothy film about a young girl who just wants to flirt, shop and party in 18th century France. And the sneaks also work with the film’s punky pink ads and the pink-themed court parties, pink champagne, pink wigs, and pink pastries.

More importantly, the shoes are also an bright pink emblem of Sofia's creative and independent spirit. You go, girl.

Long live the pink Converse tennis shoes!

Photo Credits: Kirsten Dunst stayed comfortable wearing pink Converse tennis shoes under her royal gowns. You never see them on but there is a funny shot of the tennis shoes that remains in the film.
Leigh Johnson/courtesy of Sony

Gwyneth's in love, Sheryl's still fighting and Nicole gets sacked

Greystone Mansion was the site of a grisly murder/suicide back in 1929.

But yesterday the historic house was haunted only by the frightening new fashion trend - A-line, bubble and sack dresses - at a chic gathering of Hollywood ladies including Oscar-winner Gwyneth Paltrow, Estee Lauder model/actress Carolyn Murphy, Sheryl Crow, Nicole Richie, Monet Mazur, Gabrielle Reese, Bridget Wilson-Sampras (Pete’s wife), Laura Dern and Garcelle Beauvais-Nilon.

“There’s a ghost here,” whispered Murphy, who had once done a fashion shoot in the enormous mansion, as she posed for photos in a black bell-shaped Bottega Veneta dress. Why ring the bell? “I like this dress because it has huge pockets.”

Pockets and breathing room must be why so many of the gals at Aerin Lauder's private luncheon for Paltrow. turned up in tent and bubble dresses. Even Richie, who certainly doesn’t have to worry about looking fat in anything, wore a baggy turquoise sack dress. Talk about gilding the skinny lily.

Paltrow bucked the For Whom the Bell Tolls trend with a silver satin Prada dress. She was last to arrive after a personal app at Saks Fifth Avenue (where she’d worn beige Alexander McQueen) to meet fans buying her limited edition Pleasures fragrance collection. Proceeds went to Lauder’s Breast Cancer Research Foundation, which has raised $140 million since ’93.

Most of the luncheon chit-chat on the patio overlooking Beverly Hills was – duh - about babies. Bridget's got two boys, Gaby's got a daughter, 2, and an 11-year-old. Laura's got a boy, 5, and a girl, almost 2. And it was a veritable coo-fest when Gwyneth brought out her adorable (just over five months) bundle of boy, Moses, to squeals from the lunch bunch, including Crow’s mom, aunt and cousin.

“He looks like a Raphael painting,” said Crow’s mom. And she was right. At a glance, Paltrow, gazing lovingly at the wavy-haired cherub in her arms, looked a modern day "Madonna of the Chair." Crow, Dern and Reese took turns cuddling little Moses but he gave the most smiles to a familiar face, Paltrow’s power-publicist, Steven Huvane. Smart kid.

Sorry, i can't show you pixs of Paltrow's latest pride and joy.  Although she smiled for photos with all the luncheon guests, she was very strict about her no-baby-photos rule.

Hopefully not as strict as Tom Cruise, thank God, who held little Suri hostage for that Vanity Fair cover.

When not oogling Moses, Crow talked about the ongoing fight for a cure.

“Every day women walk up to me and introduce themselves to me. They’re usually young women, two and three-time survivors of breast cancer."

These women have a harder time because their kind of cancer grows faster and is more difficult to treat. "What we used to advise about mammograms and family history doesn’t apply to these young women,” says Crow.

Although she’d done fund-raising for cancer for three years, Crow says it wasn’t until her diagnosis that she felt the real impact of the disease.

But the diagnosis is something she's now grateful for.

“It was a bit of a show-stopper,” she admitted. “But it’s those catastrophic moments in life, whether you’ve lost your house to Katrina or a loved one to throat cancer (Paltrow’s dad Bruce died of the disease in 2002), these are epiphanic moments that really transform you, where you meet and re-define yourself. Those moments decide the rest of your life.”

But if Paltrow, Reese and Durn have anything to do with it, Sheryl won’t be living the rest of her life single.

“We’ve all got lists of guys but we’re only letting the best ones meet her,” said Reese. The stunning Amazon babe – wearing a hot pink top and white slacks – mock-groused about no one else wearing the nauseating hue.

“Everyone’s in black! I thought everyone would be wearing pink for breast cancer. But no, the butchest girl here and I’m the only one in pink.”

Hey, coulda been worse. Could have been a pink bubble dress.

Photo Credits: Carolyn's a real tent-pole event, Nicole wins the sack race, Gwyneth bucks the bell-shaped trend and  Sheryl rings everyone's chimes.
All photos by  Greg DeGuire/WireImage

Blurrr! It's awards season leather weather

The 2007 Awards Campaign Season has officially begun.

And just in time for all those Guild, BAFTA and HFPA Q&As, comes  a leather line - Blur- so soft and light that A-list actresses are already tossing the sweater-soft jackets over trendy tent dresses and  trapeze tops.

Blur leather is the latest LOC (leather of choice) for award winning actresses Nicole Kidman, Scarlett Johansson, Cate Blanchett and Sandra Oh. But it’s not all young fashionistas. Even Jane Fonda has a Blur jacket. Go to the Blur website to see photos of these actresses and more.

Bologna-born designer Claudio Cristofori designs and creates these edgy leather jackets by dying them in wooden barrels, natural drying and hand polishing. Each intricately detailed piece – shirts, cropped motorcycle jackets, long trenches and blazers -- has wrinkles, colors and imperfections that are totally unique, something all stars appreciate.

And turns out that Blur owner Farshid Javaheri is married to Hollywood’s hottest hair colorist, Negin Zand, who works at Sally Hershberger’s celebrity-strewn salon on Melrose Place, where you’re likely to stumble over Kim Basinger, Meg Ryan,  Britney Murphy, Rene Zellweger, and Ashley Scott getting colors, cuts and extensions. Not coincidentally, many of Negin’s regulars include some of those same sun-kissed babes who are also into Blur leather.

Javaheri notes: “In the same way that Negin does hair color - high and low lights - but doesn’t damage the hair, Blur’s distressing techniques also don’t destroy the leather, just makes it smooth and comfortable, kind of like a cashmere sweater.”

Blur's been featured in  O, Lucky, WWD, Angeleno and Instyle. And the lux leather line is sold at chic boutiques like Max Field, Fred Segal, Tracey Ross, Madison, Traffic and Curve. It’s available online too. And Blur just started making bags and newly single Jessica Simpson was one of the first stars to snatch one.  And here’s the real scandal: she bought it at an actual store. Go figure.

When stars are willing to actually pay for something, you know it's good. "Sex and the City" style-setter Sarah Jessica Parker loved her Blur Panama crop jacket so much that she called to order five more in different colors. And she declined the offered freebies and paid for her leather jacket collection.

We salute you, SJP!

Photo Credits: Here's the Blur jacket that Emmy and Golden Globe-winner Sarah Jessica Parker literally can't get enough of. AND she paid!
Courtesy of Blur Leather.
Photo Credits: Sarah Jessica Parker took off her Blur jacket for the launch of her new Lovely fragrance in New York. Love the return of that wild sexy hair, SJ.
WireImage/Dimitrios Kambouri

Lindsay rushed (yawn) to emergency AGAIN

Living in Lindsay Lohan's fast lane must be exhausting.

Car wrecks, late night clubbing', perpetually late for work, getting publically chastised for tardiness by fellow actors and a studio head. Plus she's been rushed to the hospital this year more times than I can count.

Now comes word that Lohan was rushed to the emergency room AGAIN after falling and fracturing her wrist in two places in New York Friday night. 

According to Access Hollywood, she fell at that darn slippery Milk Studios  while wearing flat Channel (Um, I think they mean Chanel) boots. Darn. There goes her Jimmy Choo defense.

Apparently, Thursday night wasn't much better for the actress, who stars in Harvey Weinstein's buzzed-about Oscar contender film, "Bobby," and who reportedly isn't half bad in it.

Page Six sez Lindsay got into a nasty, profanity-heavy public fight with her mother Dina at an Upper East side restaurant. At her mom's birthday party.

After the very public Mom meltdown, the Post reports that Lindsay was - at one point - in tears during the Calvin Klein party as she mixed with the party's hostesses Drew Barrymore and Maggie Gyllenhaal.

Does anyone else think that if Lindsay Lohan were a regular girl, folks might use words like "intervention," not "exhaustion?"

Good, I thought it was just me.

Photo Credits: Lindsay hotfoots it to a fashion bash at 7 World Trade Center after a screaming fight with Mommy Dearest... at her mom's B-day party. The next night she took a tumble at a party in Milk Studios. Blame it on these shoes, Lindsay. Seriously. Everyone will buy it.
WireImage/James Devaney

Milan sez Feed Starving Models

Madrid government officials, in an effort to put more meat on starving models, has banned skeletal string beans from the Madrid Spring '07 runway shows, which begin on Monday.

They're actually forcing fashion designers to calculate the BMI (body mass index) of their catwalk crawlers to make sure the models meet healthy standards in an effort to stop the emaciated images that help promote anorexia in young women.

According to the World Health Organization's standards, "healthy" means that a woman - 18-22 -  who is 5' 8 1/2" tall, cannot weigh less than 121 pounds.

Omigawd, are they kidding? That's like a size 6!

Apparently, their scheme is working so well that Italy may follow suit.

Milan Mayor Letizia Moratti has announced plans to meet with designers to talk about beefing up the babes modeling in the Milan Fashion Week runway shows from Sept 23-Oct 1.

Perhaps Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger can enforce this BMI rule in Hollywood?

C'mon, Ahnuld. If anyone can "pump up" Keira Knightley, Kate Bosworth and Nicole Richie, it's you.

It's time we all worked together to help feed starving models and actresses everywhere.

Photo Credits: If Governor Schwarzenegger calls for a BMI test in Hollywood, Keira's gonna have to do more a lot more lunches.
WireImage/Ferdaus Shamim