Emmy Fashion...The Best, The Worst & WTF!

Here's a look at our best, worst and some WTF's from the red carpet at the 61st Annual Emmy Awards. Click images to enlarge...

At right...WIre Image/Mathew Imaging

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The Best...

Drew Barrymore

Although it was a hard choice, our pick for best dressed of the evening goes to Miss Drew in this gorgeous peach Monique Lhuillier gown. She plays it simply and elegantly with the right makeup, hair and minimal accessories.

WIre Image/Mathew Imaging

Alicia Witt

She almost made it as our best dressed of the evening as we LOVE LOVE LOVE this gown...plus she looks absolutely gorgeous post-'That 70's Show' with her flowing red tresses and minimal makeup. Too bad her accessories are what held her back on the win. They just weren't quite right and appeared a bit cheap and heavy looking.

Getty Images/Jason Merritt

January Jones

This modern and stunning Versace number made the Mad Men actress stand out for sure. We love the forward, cut out bodice paired with the long fish-tail skirt. Bravo!

WIre Image/Mathew Imaging

Rose Byrne

We absolutely adore this vintage Valentino number, but this star of "Damages" could have done something a bit more with her hair. An up-do and a different coloured clutch might have just won you first place.

WIre Image/Mathew Imaging

Olivia Wilde

She looks yummy and divine in this dramatic confection from Marchesa with it's appliqued bodice and asymmetrical style. We don't even mind the sheer panel cut outs. The one thing that we didn't love enough to put it on top and almost pushed it to our "Meh" category was the abundance of ruffles. Otherwise it's a win.

WIre Image/Mathew Imaging


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Meh...

Mila Kunis

She's stunning. ...Love the makeup, hair, shoes, dress and the vampy red mystique of it all...but the abundance of tulle we could do without. This Monique Lhuillier dress only shorter {and with less tulle} would be to die for!

Getty Images/Jason Merritt

Leighton Meester

We love love love that she's fashion forward and give her thumbs up on this avant-garde Bottega Veneta number. We just wish the bottom of the dress didn't make her look so frumpy.

WIre Image/Mathew Imaging

Chloe Sevigny

Quirky, retro and fun is what we love about this Isaac Mizrahi gown...just didn't feel it was necessarily worthy of red carpet status.

WIre Image/Mathew Imaging

Mariska Hartigay

Love the Carolina Herrera gown and the entire look is beautiful. We're just a bit bored with it all...and looking like a Cindy Crawford wanna be is not helping matters. Taking a bit more of a risk is in order for Ms. Hartigay. She has the looks and the body for it.

WIre Image/Mathew Imaging

Hayden Panetierre

Gorgeous J. Mendel gown, but the combination of the hair, make up and accessores age her a good 20 to 30 years. Too bad. Where's a good stylist when you need one?

Getty Images/Jason Merritt

Heidi Klum

We've seen this look before and are a bit zzzz'd by it, even if it is Marchesa. Heidi only made it in to our "Meh" category because she looked absolutely glowingly gorgeous for once with baby on board. Normally, she doesn't dress well enough to judge others and opens her mouth a bit too much for our taste.

WIre Image/Mathew Imaging

Blake Lively

Yawn...Although we love the plunging neckline and killer detail of this Versace dress, J. Lo wears this look best. Blake just look like she's trying too hard.

WIre Image/Mathew Imaging

Elisabeth Moss

We do love the top of this Reem Acra dress, but the colour makes it a fade-into-the-background dud and the skirt is a bit too voluminous and wrinkled.

WIre Image/Mathew Imaging

Holly Hunter

This gorgeous gown we've seen somewhere before, but all that aside, she could have worked it a little harder with a cute up-do and a touch of colour on her lips.

WIre Image/Mathew Imaging

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The Worst...

Padma Lakshmi

She's still doing what she does best...using what she's got to get to the top - and yer all falling for it. This Red Hat Society mess of a Badgley Mischka DIY project is just bad and nearly missed our WTF category. Hey, at least she's not wearing yellow again, which we really hate on her.

WIre Image/Mathew Imaging

Jon Cryer

Dude, you don't have to play the goof alllll the time.

Film Magic /Jeff Kravitz

Joely Fisher

Purple check, Up-do check, makeup check....Just too much accessorising on a frumpy looking gown that makes you look twice your age. Uncheck.

Wire Image / Steve Granitz

Jeanne Tripplehorn

This could have worked if it were shorter and more fitted...and on someone else.

Film Magic /Jeff Kravitz

Elizabeth Perkins

Gorgeous girl in a matronly gown that should be worn only by Liza Minelli, Elizabeth Taylor or the like. Now, put her in the dress that Jeanne Tripplehorn wore and we have a WIN!

WIre Image/Mathew Imaging

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WTF!

Kyra Sedgwick

Yikes! When did wearing your kid's DIY craft project to a red carpet event become OK? This L'Wren Scott number looks cheap and the colour does nothing for Kyra. The addition of the messy up-do makes this a hot mess for sure.

WIre Image/Jeff Vespa



Victoria Rowell

Sorry...we don't know who you are, but you stood out in this disturbingly ugly number. You don't have tell us that you support Obama at every turn...We could have guessed that. Also, you could have covered up the tan lines, put on a little makeup and changed into something a bit nicer for your night on the RED CARPET. ...Cute shoes though.

Getty Images/Jason Merritt

Life Lessons...Less Is More

We welcome your comments & suggestions. This new feature "Life Lessons" now appears weekly... If you have a Life Lesson topic you'd like to post, please email us at EyeCandy58@yahoo.com.

Less Is More

by Tracy Chevalier

Twelve years ago I left a job in publishing to do an MA in creative writing. My boss, Daniel - a fine editor who taught me everything I know about fixing bad writing - gave me as a farewell present an eraser inscribed with the famous dictum by the architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe: LESS IS MORE. At the time I thought he was simply being witty, but in retrospect he couldn't have been more prescient if he had thrust a Vermeer painting in my arms and said, "Here, write about this - and keep it simple!"

Simplicity is a virtue that comes with experience. When I look back on early writing attempts, I cringe at my wordiness: the unnecessary adverbs, the elaborate synonyms for said (exhorted, anyone?), the tortuous formal sentence structures. As an editor I began to apply the less is more approach to others' writing, muttering to myself, "When in doubt, cut it out," as I wielded my red pen.

But it was really only when I wrote the novel Girl With a Pearl Earring and decided to try to imitate Vermeer's painting technique with words that I incorporated spareness into my own style. A poet friend helped, looking at my sentences and showing me how many words were unnecessary and could be discarded without losing meaning. It's surprising how little you need to tell a story. Vermeer painted many of his works in the same corner of the same room and he managed to reveal a whole world in that corner. I too discovered that simplicity doesn't mean a story is less complex

Ove the years I have applied "Less is More" to other parts of my life too. I wear less jewelry now - earrings or neclace, not both. I use tinted lip balm rather than lipstick and apply mascara only to my upper lashes. I avoid patterns in clothes. I listen to sonatas more often than to symphonies.

Sometimes I'll read a particularly baroque sentence in a novel and say to myself, I wish I could do that - rather the way a woman accustomed to wearing Armani might wonder whether she could pull off a Versace moment. But I know what's best for me - I've applied Daniel's eraser to my writing and to my life and it has made all the difference.

repost from American Elle: "The Most Important Thing I've Learned"
Image: 'Beckoning' by Mike Pedersen

Pretty Things Fashion Inspiration... Creatures of the Wind

Creatures of the Wind

Creatures of the Wind is a Chicago-based collection designed by Chris Peters and Shane Gabier. A small, yet focused line with minimalist discourse and infinite variations on a given theme. Some images from their much-anticipated Spring 2010 collection have been released and are making us crave more, more, more!

"Spring is about the transition between being a young girl and a woman," explains Shane Gabier. " And the awkwardness that ensues in the desire to feel older."

The result of that offbeat premise results in a little bit crazy, a little bit cool...with large floral head wraps adding a bit of idyllic whimsy atop minimalist outfits in super soft and yummy pastel shades. Check out the all-white pant suit with a Mandarin-collared shirt and floral vest or the delicate dress in palest pink. Oh, and the shimmery top with a gigantic bow is absolutely delightful.

But, seriously...Floral headscarves? Definitely a little bit crazy...and we're not sure we'll be buying those just yet, but we do like their quirky charm.
What do you think?

Thursday Snack...Are You Buying It?

Would you buy what they are selling based on these images...and can you even guess what they are selling?

What We're Loving this Week...

Lots of pretty, soft colours with a punch of black...just yummy!

click to enlarge...

from top, left to right...

1 } Alice Ruffle Necklace by Louloudo 2 } Aurora's Kiss Photo by Blissful Colors
3 } Tulip Dress by Sarah Seven 4 }Live Laugh Love Vinyl Wall Art by Household Words
5 } 'No Reason' Print by AL Photography 6 } Diva Earrings by Studio Seventy Five
7 } Leather Faux Mustache Necklace by Louloudo 8 } Tulle Veil by Tied and Feathered
9 } 'Cat Girl' Print by Mikiep 10 } 'Babe' Heat Transfer by Supply Circus 11 } 'Your Place or Mine' Greeting Card by Dirty Pretty Things 12 } Dress Form Original Art by Dirty Pretty Things

* If you'd like to recommend an item for "What We're Loving This Week", please let us know by contacting us HERE.

September Focus...INTENTION

Intention

When we are filled with possibilities, we have an opportunity to filter them through our intention.

The intentions we create for our life determine what we focus on, what we practice and the results we will achieve. Focusing on our intention, gives us integrity.

When we live by integrity, we have a filtering system that increases our self-confidence and self-esteem giving us more personal power.

excerpt by Rhonda Britten, Intention E-Book
image...Hindu Deity, Rama, who is the model of reason, right action & commendable virtues.

Pretty Things...Rule Breaker

10 little amazing WHITE finds you hafta wear AFTER Labour Day, you little Rule Breaker you!

Where to buy these 10 must haves...
1 }Ripped Tee by Forever 21 2 } Fashion by Phillip Lim 3 }Bow Handbag by Alexis Mabille 4 } Bra & Tangas by Victoria's Secret 5 }Cropped Jacket by Alice + Olivia
6 } Fashion by Bottega Veneta 7 } Doc Martens 8 }Snake-print Tank Dress by Phamous 9 }Fresh Water Pearl Necklace by Jenny Hoople 10 }Sheer Jersey Top by Eryn Brinie

Take our Poll...Ideal Body Size

Which body type in the photo below do you find most appealing?
As a basis of comparison, the photo shows 3 women. The woman on the left is a US size 10, the woman in the middle is a US size 6, and the woman on the right is a US size 14.



The average size of an American woman is a size 14. What size are you?

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In a recent poll, it was found that men prefer the image of a woman who is a size 10, which one might find hard to believe based on the pix of girls constantly "photo-shopped to perfection" that can be found in mens magazines such as FHM, Maxim, Playboy, etc... So, for you women who starve yourselves in order to be skinnier, know that most men don’t really care if you have a muffin top or a little extra junk in the trunk.

But, let's face it... Most women not only dress to compete with other women, they also diet in order to be skinnier than other women. Women themselves are said to prefer a size 6, which is much different in appearance than the size 10 preferred by men.

So, what about you?
Which body do YOU find most appealing?

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And, are you female or male?

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And, tell us...what influences your vision of the ideal body type?

xxx
Raven

REMEMBER: All polls are anonymous and you can comment anonymously as well.

Life Lessons...The Past Can Set You Free

We welcome your comments & suggestions. This new feature "Life Lessons" now appears every Saturday... If you have a Life Lesson Topic you'd like to read about or have a life lesson that you've written about and would like us to post, please email us at EyeCandy58@yahoo.com.

The Past Can Set You Free

by Amy Tan

For the first 30 years or so of my life, I tried to distance myself from my mother and her dark waters. She flailed as she called out senseless tragedies: the suicide of her mother, her first marriage to an evil man, her second marriage cursed by the deaths of her husband and son just six months apart.
I, her ungrateful and secretive child, was often on the list of laments. She would pound her chest and wail, "Why?"

I tuned out her complaints. I vowed never to be like my mother, who tormented herself with what could not be changed. Nonetheless, I still feared being pulled down by her undertow.

Twenty-one years ago, when I felt that my work had become meaningless, I began to write fiction - just for pleasure, I told myself. Yet no matter how different I made the characters from the people in my life, my family crept in and made all the stories seem bleak and senseless.

About a year later, after believing my mother had died of a heart attack, I was jolted into realizing how little I knew of her. So for the first time, when my mother recounted those same sad stories, I listened. I wanted to know what had happened and why. As I imagined the past - the grand house, the hollow room, the still woman on the bed - suddenly I was there, experiencing it as it unfolded. I was the little girl with the breaking heart. I was alone with my dead mother lying on the bed. And I was crying as she did: "Why can't you take me with you?"

Dwelling in the past wasn't useless, I discovered, for I could change it. I could witness my mother's hopelessness as she endured the unbearable. I could be her voice, her mother's voice, the voice of the voiceless. And I could finally give meaning to all she had gone through. That was what she had wanted all her life. That was what I wanted as well: to give meaning to my life.

In freeing her, I freed myself. The legacy of my family is no longer dead weight. It buoys me with strength and curiosity. It is a reminder to look at all thing - the ordinary, the wondrous, and especially the difficult - and to ask why. In so doing, I see the many answers as they continue to unfold in the past and in the new day.

repost from American Elle: "The Most Important Thing I've Learned"
Image: 1912 - Lucile with a client and mannequin at a fitting

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REMEMBER: We love to hear what you have to say. Your comments can be posted anonymously.

Video Eyecandy...FOUNDATIONS

Foundations by Kate Nash

Thursday Snack...Hot or Not?

In 'New Moon', Taylor Lautner steals the show as the next hero of The 'Twilight' Saga as Jacob Black.

While not my personal cup of tea, I know many of you are creaming your jeans over this hot, young stud muffin, so he's today's 'snack'.

Anyway, according to Taylor, there is a very specific sort of girl who's going to sign up for what's become known to Twilight fans as 'Team Jacob'.

"If she likes having a really close friendship with a guy," he begins, "being able to tell him anything, and then having that friendship slowly transform into something more...." The seventeen-year-old stops himself and laughs. "I find myself using the word transform a lot lately," he explains, "because that's what Jacob does."

Here, this month's Teen Vogue cover boy...Are you swooning yet?

...eyecandy courtesy of photographer Bruce Weber and Teen Vogue

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