2007 OSCARS

The Oscars came and went just as quick as Eddie Murphy after finding out he did not win a coveted golden statue.

Although the show itself was extremely long and somewhat boring, Oscar fashion was anything but.

RED CARPET DRESSES
Changes through out the night allowed Oscar winner, Jennifer Hudson and Beyonce Knowles to serve us different looks through out the night. Both red carpet looks lacked any real excitement. J.Hud's chocolate chiffon Oscar de la Renta gown was cute but most definitely not worthy of the OSCARs. It certainly lacked GLAMOUR. Her python gold bolero jacket should have been saved for lunch at The Ivy. Fashion king Andre Leon Talley dressed her for the night and Style Spotter was so disappointed. Mr. Talley is known for his dramatic style and he should have lent some of his drama to Ms. Hudson.

Beyonce lazily wore her red carpet dress. The mint green crystal-adorned one-strap Armani Privé gown did nothing for the sexy siren.

PERFORMANCE DRESSES
Red has the ability to scream “Here I am look at me!” And the red gowns that both Hudson and Knowles rocked for their Dreamgirl’s performance was like pepper. Knowles wore an empire waist dress with a lace bodice, while Ms. Hudson was securely draoed in her sparkle red gown.

PARTY TIME!
At the Vanity Fair Oscar party both ladies looked simply divine. Both wore a gold/flesh color dress, which should have been worn on the red carpet. Hudson’s Roberto Cavalli dress was however a little too tight fitted. Bey’s dress was much sweeter and sexy. She has the ability at times to mix sweet and sexy together and she does that well.

Okay, okay enough of J.Hud and Bey. There were other superstars at the Oscars you know. Superstar actresses who stood out for the Style-Spotter were:

Oh! What To Wear?

What could one gorgeous Georgia Peach and her fabulous friend wear to an event such as the One Hundred Black Men Gala? Something truly fabulous indeed, after all, there were one hundred men there for goodness sakes!

Bridget and her friend Natalie were invited to the gala, but Bridget had a dilemma. What should she wear? Two choices, one dress!

Choice one: A strapless Luella Bartley cocktail dress with a tight bodice, which flared at waist. The Bartley dress was already in Bridget’s closet, which she could easily throw on for the event.

Choice two: A comfortable and might we add, new dress from Zara’s 2007 spring line. The best part of this pretty black and white dress was the chain link straps, which gave it a Rock n’ Roll edge. Check the photo below to see what dress Ms. Bridget decided on!

You've Been Spotted

Besides reporting fashion news and trends, the Style Spotter's main mission is to... well, spot style of course! In order to be spotted one must have a unique sense of style. One must be daring, chic and fresh. One must also love fashion. Style Spotter spotted Lika and knew she had to be the first fashion profile.

Lika's sense of style is as individual as a snowflake. She mixes a little bit of American Punk with Tokyo Neo style. We stopped Lika in the halls of UNSAID company because she was killing us with her retro hat, blinding us with the jewels around her neck that are so in for spring and spewing confidence from her 3 inch heels.

Below Lika graciously answers a few fashion questions for the Style-Spotter.

Describe your fashion style.
It's a matter of balance for me. I don't like to put myself in a certain category but my style is definitely influenced by punk and of the fashions of Japan. Not to sound all Gwen Stefani, but it's not surprising that she has the Harajuku Girls in the background (although they don't dress nearly as impressive as the real ones on the streets of Takeshitadoori). It's also the way you present yourself too. Whenever I try out something new or something outside of your comfort range, let's say the hat that I'm wearing in the picture for example, I'm extra careful about my posture. With a good posture you'll look confident in it even if you aren’t.

Animals can be as fashionable as humans. Who wouldn't kill for a coat like the tigers' or leopards'! (OK maybe not the PETA folks.) So, what is your fashion animal and why? Mine is a sheep I would want to stay warm, especially in this horrid cold. I like the look of the fur it's nice, soft and cozy. It also comes in different shades of white and brown.
This is a very, very interesting question and a hard one to answer. I'll say hermit crabs. They change their shells every so often if I remember correctly. I like to have options. Are they the only animals that can do that?

Top shops where you like to spend your $
Steve Madden, Search and Destroy (on St. Marks), stores all over soho.

Fashion Icons you admire
Vivienne Westwood Shiina Ringo (Japanese singer)

How did your mom dress you when you were a child?
Er...I'm a twin so there were times when my sister and I were dressed completely the same. I thought that was kind of tacky back then, but I wouldn't mind doing that now. I guess we can give it try one day. :)

STYLE SPOTTER DESPISES WINTER

Winter is not Style Spotter's favorite season. Winter does make Style Spotter grin like spring, when flowers are in bloom, when small birds sing sweet tunes or when big, heavy coats are packed away. And winter is definitely not like summer, when the sun smiles down on us, when blue skies blow soft winds or when flirting is just fine, because everyone shows more skin in the summer heat.

Winter, Style Spotter despises winter! But you still have to be fashion conscious, even today when it is snowing tiny particles of ice and when the weather is too cold for you to think. Your most important fashion item, besides your winter coat it your winter footwear.

The Style-Spotter has spied a few boots for you this winter season that combine both style and function.

Burberry helps us stay dry and cute with their checkered boot. The sole is jaggered to help keep one from sliding on wet, slippery walk-ways. Price $145

Nine West keeps your entire leg, up to your knee, warm and cozy with their over-the-knee zip boot. This boot offers practicality, extremely flat heel and sturdy leather, but it also has a bit of sex appeal. It can be worn with tight jeans tucked in or short dress or skirt with opaque tights. Price $83.99

Unfortunately, four inch heels cannot work on snowy sidewalks, but that does not mean low heels will not be as fashionably effective. Gucci's patent leather boot has a small 2 inch heel that keeps with today's patent leather trend. Price $840

And for the IF I WERE RICH pick of the day Sergio Rossi has made a wonderful crocodile riding boot. Price $14,000

Grammys 2007

When you have the return of the Police, an almost flawless tribute to James Brown and an aspiring, unknown singer who rocks the stage with Mr. Sexy himself Justin Timberlake, you better believe that you are going to have one awesome, amazing, and even heartfelt show. And that's exactly what the 2007 Grammys brought to millions of viewers on Sunday, February 11th.

So we know the show was great, but what about the fashion?

Celebs that walked the red carpet generally played it safe this year. Except for the minor fashion misfit who thought it would be great to be styled by Kermit the Frog, fashion was almost too perfect.

Even rocker Pink, who makes it her mission, no her job to stir things up on the carpet, attended this year’s Grammys dressed as an "Hollywood It" girl, whom she so famously despises. Pink wore a vintage black, sequined Hervé Leger gown. But, it must be stated that she kept the rocker chic alive with her blonde faux-hawk and multiple visible tattoos. Pink is this year's Grammy Fashion Winner. Not because her dress was more magnificent than any other girl, but because she stepped up and stepped out of her usual hard core rocker fashion look. Applause.

Moving along, one of the trends from this year's Grammy red carpet proved that short is so sweet. Short dresses made a huge impact on the carpet as hem lines rose way above the knees, showing off sexy, toned legs. Hot girls, Fergie, Ciara, Vanessa Manillo and Nelly Furtado, demonstrated how legs should look when you want to show them off.

Another trend we saw on the red carpet was metallic, which tends to be very hard to pull off. Jamie Foxx wore a silver metallic jacket and it appeared as if it was made of aluminum foil, but none the less his jacked was well fitted and he was well groomed. Justin Timberlake also wore a metallic, grey suite, but the color was muted and did not have such an intense gloss to it. John Mayer, however, stayed away from any metallic look by wearing a black Armani tuxedo paired with Nikes. Mayer looked refined and cool, with his mix of a proper suite and fresh sneakers.

Sequins, crystals and sparkles oh my, were worn by Carrie Underwood, Mary J. Blige and Corrine Baily Rae. These celebs shined like the stars they are and that, ladies and gentlemen, is the absolute biggest trend of the year. Shine on! Shine on!

Marc, Marc, Marc

Marc Jacobs is the true definitive New York designer. Jacobs is witty and smart and it shows in his designs. With his ability to bring new and fresh to the runway, it was thrilling to see he has not lost his creativity with all that has been going on in his personal life. But this is not a tabloid blog, but a fashion blog. So let's get to the fashion!

If one word can be used to describe Jacobs's show it would be simple-decadence... ok so maybe that's two words. But, perhaps is takes two words to describe Jacobs designs because it almost feels as if you are in two different countries, during two different time periods, 1940s America and 1970s Paris. Jacob's fall 2007 line impeccably fuses American sportswear with European sense of style.

With the use of rich satins and multi-colored brimmed hats, Jacobs, it seems, was inspired by the style of Katherine Hepburn. His designs were strong and sharp, simple but luscious. He could make any partying "It Girl" into a proper lady.

NEW YORK FASHION WEEK DAY TWO

Style-Spotter is a day late for the New York Fashion Week shows, which began yesterday, Monday, February 5th. Fashion waits for no one! So let's get to today's fashion news.

Fashion Week is always a big event here in New York City. Fabulousness just oozes out of botox shots, five inch Manolos can be heard pounding the New York City pavement and coffee breath masks the usual air pollution. Fashion and the City are once again the best of friends as stylists, fashion editors, heiresses, actresses and fashionistas make there way to Manhattan for a whirlwind of shows and parties.

Wrapped up in a full length baby brown sherling, Style-Spotter braves the artic New York winter weather and heads over to Bryant Park, hoping to check out some favorite designers.

First on the list: Isaac Mizrahi. Oh, we so do love Mr. Mizrahi! He always manages to bring his upbeat, charismatic personality to everything he does. Whether he is host of a show or designing clothes, Mizrahi is always fun!

For his fall 2007 ready-to-wear line Mizrahi wanted to bring spring into fall. He declared in an interview that spring is the new fall, hence his show title Frozen Spring. "I want something that feels like spring, something light and seasonless. It makes me sad to look at the same old tweeds." And believe me, there is nothing tweed like about his fall line. His tongue and cheek replacements for tweed... flowers and feathers! No seriously. Mizrahi showed that fall can be taken in a completely different direction.

Now while Style Spotter did not love everything about the line, we can surely appreciate his idea of giving us a little bit of spring during fall's cool days and nights. Using winter white as a backdrop, Mizrahi creates a dress that almost gives the appearance of roses floating on a cloud. Big and small roses cover the bottom of the dress, while a neat bow is wrapped in the front of the dress. Fur trim on the hem makes the dress very sweet and charming. But if you are looking for a dress that is a little less charming and more dramatic then you will love Mizrahi's white gown than is tastefully sprinkled with white feathers on the bottom half of the dress. Some dresses are just show stoppers and this one is!

The Posers

Hollywood is now in full swing of the 2007 award season, so please take a moment to acknowledge “The Posers.” No, not those group of people who masquerade on the red carpet pretending to be A-list when they are actually a few letters further down the alphabet. The Posers in reference are the ones who teach celebrities how to pose on the red carpet.

“There are simple things that can be done to make you look that much better or that much taller,” says Mac Folkes, runway coach and movement teacher at Ford Model Agency.

The whole idea of The Poser is to help celebs accentuate their look while taking photos on the carpet. The Posers instructs in how to capture the light so that your skin looks flawless or how to position your face a certain way so that a bumpy nose looks like a button or by slightly turning to the left or right one can minimize that pouch belly.

In order to master the carpet, Folkes suggest, “Practice, practice, practice. Look in the mirror. See what works best for you. Have a friend come over and critique you. Or better yet, hire a professional.”

Folkes also believes that celebrities should look natural on the red carpet. “Some of the red carpet shots look so contrived,” says Folkes. “Celebrities should look as if they are not caught posing, but as if a photographer has caught them looking beautiful.”

And Beyonce Knowles is one of the celebs who Folkes believes was caught posing.

Knowles has been given much flank for her hand-on-back-of-head stance, exposing her underarms as she sashays down the red carpet. Gossip blogs and weekly tabloid magazines had a field day publishing pictures of Beyonce and her pits.

“You have to be a pretty brave mama to be putting your hand on your head,” says body-language expert, Patti Wood who analyzed this pose for the February 9th issue of Entertainment weekly. “It’s typically a male posture. It’s called the ‘cape and the crown’ [meaning] I’m in charge. I’m royalty.”

Well then perhaps, Knowles would like this to be her signature pose. Many celebrities in Hollywood have a pose that they do for each red carpet event. Jennifer Hudson has her hand-on-hip, back arched pose that slenderizes her full figure frame. Vivica A. Fox masters the one-foot-in-front-of-the-other pose. And Renée Zellweger is known for the over-the-shoulder pose, which Folkes says is now “so played out.”

“Cate Blanchett is the queen of the carpet. Why? Because she always looks amazing and regal,” says Folkes. And that is exactly how you want to look on the red carpet.