LupRocks Gossip

Oscar's 2009--The Good, the Bad and the Attitudinal

Since we know you go to more reliable sources for your official post-Oscar's coverage, I'm just going to put forth some of the observations about the show itself, the dresses, the attitudes, and of course, the jewelry, that were floating around a bleary-eyed Lup H.Q. this afternoon:

Penelope Cruz--my God she looked fabulous!  Hair was classic, face wasn't overly made-up and more radiant and gorgeous than ever, and even though the jewels were boring (Chopard), I was almost glad that there was nothing to distract from her dress, a vintage Balmain over 60 years old.

Sarah Jessica Parker--We're generally big fans of SJP's red carpet looks, and last night was no exception.  While we really wish her breasts hadn't been so prominently on display in her Dior Haute Couture gown (was that really necessary?), the fact that it had a belt almost redemed the bulbous effect of being so wedged in there. 

Kate Winslet--That classic/futuristic hair, the elegance of the two-tone Atelier Yves Saint Laurent gown, the one-shoulder look that is so well-suited to her body, graciousness in every interview....she would have been a winner no matter what the outcome of the awards! 

Anne Hathaway--Another adopter of the light-is-right trend, Ann looked stunning in her Armani Prive gown and vintage Cartier jewelry.  Of everyone on the red carpet however, I was wondering how the h*#! she could walk in that dress, it was like a narrow tube.  Her smile was, as usual, radiant enough to take away my vicarious discomfort. 

Marisa Tomei--I've always had such a soft spot for Ms. Tomei, and the fact that I re-watched "My Cousin Vinny" on Saturday didn't hurt that cooing sensation of love I felt when I saw her in her silvery Atelier Versace gown.  The train looked impossible to manage and the overall effect was perhaps too complicated for my taste, but hey, she's still a knock-out.

Diane Lane--Speaking of knock-outs, Diane Lane is so f'ing hot I can't stand it!  The fact that she was clearly there reveling in her husband, Josh Brolin's nomination made her that much more endearing.  I know it's old fashioned, but I like a gal that'll stand by her man and not make the show entirely about HER. 

Viola Davis--While she might not have made anyone's fashion radar, I couldn't help but notice that her husband needed to GET OFF HER GRILL!  I can't find any videos of her online, but I swear, her husband was the definition of "smothering" in every interview that I saw.  I know he's excited, but give the girl her night!

Beyonce--To some (meaning, anyone of the male persuasion) Beyonce can do no wrong.  And while I will say that she can get away with fashion calls that most people can't, all I can say about that House of Dereon dress she rocked last night was...BOO! 

Jessica Biel--Speaking of BOO....yet another gal who can do no wrong in the eyes of most men (and many famale admirers), Ms. Biel's Prada monstrosity was not at all flattering to her figure and the choice of black shoes caught everyone I know off-guard.  Her face however, was gorgeous as per usual. 

Amy Adams--Since I'm being mean, Amy Adams?  She had what my sister so eloquently called a "back butt."  Her face is so cute and her hair was simple and elegant, but the rest of her?  Well, it just didn't work. 

Angelina Jolie--Speaking of mean....could she maybe, just maybe crack a smile or deign to talk to a reporter??  I know they're "above it all" and everything, but if you really didn't want to be bothered, why not pull a Steve Martin/Nicole Kidman and avoid the red carpet all together??  Why walk the carpet and then just blow past everyone who wants to speak to you?  On the other hand, she's just a knock out and that can't be helped, and while there've been some grumblings about her "day glo" jewelry in the blogosphere today, I just love me some big ole emeralds!  Go Lorraine Schwartz! 

Sophia Loren--An original "dame" Miss Loren was what they call a Hot Mess last night and God, do I love her! 

Hugh Jackman--And he can dance?!  Be still my aching heart!!! 

Slumdog Millionaire--The entire cast and crew rockin' the red carpet were adorable!  I'm in love!  Angie and Brad could take a lesson in gratitude and graciousness from the five year old beaming ear-to-ear during his stint on the red carpet. 

Robert Downy Junior--Could he be any cuter?  You think??  No way! 

Cupid is fired! LupRocks now holds your fate!

No one plays a role in Valentine’s Day quite like a jewelry designer (except maybe those wonderful human beings who make chocolate, and any reader of our Gossip section knows how we feel about chocolate).  Mid-February rolls around, and after killing ourselves to get a reservation we sit through dinner waiting for gift time.  Appetizers, entrees, dessert, champagne toast, blah, blah, blah, …and it’s time! We read the cards, smiles begin to form, we perhaps even let out a sigh.  However, the real excitement we feel is for that tiny velvet, leather, suede, or fill in your packaging material here, that follows the card.  The best things don’t always come in small packages, but a small package on V Day can only mean one very good thing: Jewelry!

Since we are on the producing side of this gift ritual (and hopefully the receiving as well), we dedicate this Valentines Day to those LupRocks members whose V-Day gift came in the form of great exposure through product placement.  Congrats everyone!!!

Alex Woo – Actress Samantha Harris was seen wearing white gold and diamond Lucia earrings on the red carpet of  The Air I Breath movie premiere hosted by H Magazine and Think Film, and at the after party at the hip and trendy Crimson night club in Hollywood.   Also, Leighton Mester, who plays Blair on one of our favorite brain candy shows Gossip Girl, was seen wearing an Alex Woo letter L necklace in white gold and diamonds at the Verizon / People Magazine party on February 8th.

Wendy Culpepper - The wonderful costume designer of the upcoming film Cold Souls recently reported to LupRocks what great success she had pulling product for her leading cast. We weren’t sure who the lucky designer was until we received a heartfelt email from Wendy Culpepper Jewelry, who had three placements in the film.  Actress Emily Watson wore the Zahra Cuff, actress Lauren Ambrose wore the Genevieve Earrings, and actress Dina Korzun wore the 5 Stacking Band Rings.  Big congrats to Wendy Culpepper Jewelry’s first placement in a feature film!!

Judith Bright – The Wall Street Journal recently quoted an editor of a Nashville, Tenn., lifestyle magazine, saying LupRocks member Judith Bright is one of his wife’s favorite designers and his go-to source for the perfect Valentine’s gifts (his wife, apparently, has been eying several pieces).  Judith Bright’s jewelry will also be seen in the upcoming season of America’s Next top Model.

Read the article!

Amali - The stylist for Tori Spelling chose an Amali pendant for the actress to wear on the cover an upcoming edition of People magazine.  We can’t wait to see it!

Monica Rich Kosann – Halley Berry was seen wearing a Monica Rich Kosann locket in this week’s Us Magazine.   We wonder whose pic was inside Halley’s locket?!

Had a placement that we didn’t mention here?  Email me!

No Sags at the SAG Awards!

Any real fashion addict knows that the best thing about any award show are the gorgeous vintage, couture, and custom made gowns that grace the red carpet.  We wait with baited breath for that one look that will leave us speechless, and the many looks that will bring the nasty bloggers out of hiding long enough to dish out a hard dose of fashion bashing. 

However at this year’s 75th annual Screen Actors Guild Awards the stream of hippy chic, bejeweled beauties, or flowing goddess gowns, left us jaw dropped.  No one that we saw deserved the “oh my god” or “what was she thinking?” that are synonyms with post show gossip. Furthermore, the rocks and jewels that accompanied the parade of good fashion were in shining taste.  So in true award show spirit here is the break down:

 

The nominees for best jeweled gowns on a female actor are:

Ashley Tisdale (High School Musical) in a crystal couture Badgley Mischka

Christina Applegate (Samantha Who) in a white and silver Elie Saab

Debra Messing in a gold beaded Oscar de la Renta sheath

Jenna Fisher (The Office) in a navy Colette Dinnigan gown

Becky Newton (Ugly Betty) in a tiered white sequined Elsie Katz gown

     

 

And the winner is… Jenna Fisher.  Her gorgeous navy beaded gown was a refreshing break from the gold, silver, and white gowns that are an easier look.  Fisher’s look from head to toe was absolutely breathtaking, and a shocking contrast from her more conservative and plain look as Pam.

The nominees for best Boho hippy chic dress are:

Kate Hudson in a flowy Balmain gown

Amanda Bines (Hairspray) in a blue Marchesa gown

Angelina Jolie in a flowing patterned vintage Hermes gown

 

And the winner is…Kate Hudson.  This nature child looked like herself in the perfectly busy patterned dress.  While others make the bo-ho look because of trends, Hudson portrayed herself in a more true spirit, and looked truly radiant. 

The nominees for best use of borrowed jewels are:

Kate Blanchet in stunning Fred Leighton jewels

Marion Cotillard (La Vie en Rose) in Chopard diamonds

Eva Longoria in Verdura jewels

Kate Beckinsale in Van Cleef & Arpels vintage jewels

 

And the winner is… Kate Beckinsale.  This natural born beautie was further illuminated by the heaps of vintage rocks she adorned.  Only someone with her natural radiance could outshine the diamonds she wore.

Fight Weather-Related Schizophrenia: Wear More Jewelry

Well, it looks like our past post about warm hats may have been a tad preemptive.  With the weather in New York being more schizophrenic than the shopping behavior at a Barneys warehouse sale, we're finding that the necessity for cold weather accessories varies from day to day.  While we are hesitant to sport a scarf or hat or pair of gloves only to sweat our pretty little buns off outside, in our pursuit to remain perfectly accessorized, we realize that there are certain accoutrements that one can always rely upon. And what accessories are we speaking of, pray tell?  Why jewelry of course!  While jewelry tends to be timeless and classic, allowing for wear all year round, here are some of our picks of our favorite pieces of jewelry by LupRocks designers that hint to the season without weighing you down,overheating, or otherwise strangulating you like other cold weather accessories might.

This icy blue ring by Amgad features a blue colored diamond so massive, it will cause all who gaze into it to freeze with envy.

This necklace by Amali ensures coverage even when your scarf is causing you to feel faint.

Evoking imagery of a barren tree, this piece by Shaun Leane keeps the wintry spirit alive.

Engagement Rings for Everyone

Though I'm sure you've heard plenty of news about infamous celebrity couples and their pregnancies, this LupRocks post comes to you forecasting a different trend.  Instead of popping out kids, it looks like this season more and more couples, both famous and not-so-famous, will be popping the question.   According to a survey by Modern Bride, November and December months account for 26% of all marriage proposals! Celebs included in the trend are Nicky Hilton, who we hear will be getting engaged to her boyfriend of a year, David Katzenberg over Christmas. 

If you want to seize this holiday season to propose to your honey, LupRocks is here to take a little bit of the burden off of your proposal by helping you pick the perfect engagement ring.  In this article from TheKnot.com, which also appears on MSN Lifestyle they note a few major engagement ring trends to help guide your decision.  At the top of the list is one of our favorites: natural color diamonds!  Included in their post is a breathtaking olive natural color diamond ring by LupRocks designer AMGAD. 

Also, to ease you in your hunt for the perfect engagement ring, LupRocks offers a complete virtual showroom of designers who specialize in Bridal Jewelry.  We have something for every taste, and every budget, so if you're still stumped, check us out.

Holiday Gift Guide Part II: Bling it Back

No matter how much time you spend sourcing out that perfect special something for everyone on your list, sometimes when it comes to receiving gifts, your cheery "Ho Ho Ho's" turn into woeful "Oh No No No's!"  This installation of our holiday gift guide reveals those ill-chosen gifts that absolutely without-a-doubt must go back to where they came from.  We hope we can relieve you of some guilt involved in returning these gifts, because when you bling them back, you'll find a much better use for the cold hard cash than letting those less-than-savvy styles slowly decompose in your closet.

1) "UGG"ly boots:  Though whoever bought this gift probably imagined you wearing these boots in all sorts of unfriendly weather, for all practical intentions, Ugg-boots and their offshoots (that means you too, Mucklucks and Emus!) have long since been ruled out as acceptable footwear.  They might keep your tootsies toasty, but unless you're living in an area that gets three feet of snow on a regular basis and you can spy elk passing by your window, we would advise returning these fuzzy monsters and using the cash to buy a much more practical pair of booties.
 

2) Flashy and Trashy:  We know you love your friends, but sometime their fashion sense may be a bit ambitious for your taste.  This winter, make your closet happy by blinging back anything that is a little too over the top.  No one wants to pull a Posh Spice, or even worse--a Britney, by revealing too much skin.  Also to be avoided is anything that takes the trends too much to heart.  This includes anything from jackets and dresses with too much metallic, to shoes and handbags with too much patent leather, to anything with a too high waist.  Taking "mom pants" to a whole new level are these jeans by Cheap Monday's, and more reflective than a solar panel is this trench coat by Gwen Stefani's line L.A.M.B., both of which you should bling back without a second thought.

3) Knock-Off No No's:  More than anything else, anything that smacks of a knock off has got to go.  Though a fake Louis Vuitton handbag is easy to spot, some other knock offs are a bit more subtle.  House of Holland is a sassy label that has made its mark by creating bright t-shirts with equally colorful quotations on them in bright bold lettering.  The clever catchphrases have inspired other companies like Urban Outfitters, Top Shop and Forever 21 to follow suit with somewhat less witty sayings.  Try to avoid these soon-to-be forgotten fakies.

Also, as any good accessories guru knows, a piece of jewelry with cubic zirconia is one of the biggest fashion crimes one could ever commit.  If you find yourself being gifted a piece with CZ as a present, you can politely (or sneakily) return it for a more tasteful option, such as a piece with rock crystal, Swarovski crystals, or other semiprecious stones such as freshwater pearls.  In the event of this fashion tragedy LupRocks already does most of the searching for you, providing for you a selection of Fashion Jewelry designers with much nicer options in our crystal and semiprecious stones categories.

We hope you liked our Bling it Back edition of our holiday gift guide! Check back for our third and final installment, with just the tips to help you go green, and save plenty of green by finding a brand new home for your less than perfect gifts.
    

Seal's Suit or The Diamond Bra: Which Was Brighter?

I hope ya’ll had a chance to catch the always fun, always sexy, Victoria Secret Fashion Show, that aired on CBS this past Tuesday. While these lovely ladies mean no harm, and the producer of the show did a wonderful job, we were left jaw-dropped at Seal’s silver sequined cover suit. Like any good fashionista would, we know that sequins are all the rage this season, but we recommend leaving the sparkly adornment to fun girls in holiday dresses, because - Seal – while your voice was o’ so pretty on the runway, your outfit was not.

Of course, as a jewelry and accessories fanatic, I waited with bated breath for the diamond bra set, worn this year by Victoria Secret Angel, Selita Ebanks. Made by Mouawad, the bra traded in satin for 584.76 cts of diamonds, 797.4 cts of emeralds, 276.93 cts of rubies, and 3.42 cts of yellow sapphires, making this dazzling underwear worth a whopping $4.5 million. Between this bra and Seals suit, I think I went temporarily blind!

Performances included an entertaining set by JT wanna-be will.i.am, and a pre-recorded disappointment by the newly reunited Spice Gilrs, who performed their fan fave “Stop,” lip-synching to their CD the way I could have done. (Truth be told – I have many times in my room during my teen years.)

Razzle-Dazzle Gone Luxe

                                

            
                                           Chanel's cruise 2008 $261,000 Diamond Forever Handbag  (image via Forbes)

While every fashionista's wardrobe this winter has at least one sequin dress, or pair of shimmery tights, or shiny shoes to bring a bit of sparkle to the season, couture designers have gone above and beyond your every-day bedazzling with their new collections of opulent accessories for this holiday season.  Just this month, Chanel debuted the world's most expensive handbag lined with 334 diamonds and totaling in at a hefty price of $261,000!  In today's issue of WWD, Katya Foreman surveys a few stand out designers.  According to WWD, Kara Ross and Monica Rich Kosann, both LupRocks designers, are hot on the heels of this trend with their eye catching accessories. Speaking of heels, WWD also cites another LupRocks designer, Lazare Kaplan, and their collaboration with shoe and handbag designer Taryn Rose to produce a one-of-a-kind pair of shoes featuring a rose lined with ideal-cut Lazare Kaplan diamonds.   We knew that 'tis the season for tinsel and blinking lights, but we never thought that designers would take the trend of flashy eye catching add-ons so much to heart!

I see London, I see France

Every month, I anticipate the arrival of my W, which I read straight through snuggled in my bed with a cup of tea in hand, staring googly eyed at the pages of gorgeous threads and accessories that I hope to later find affordably reinvented. (That is my PC way of avoiding the nasty K word – knock-offs!) Then there is the excitement upon watching the always shocking, always enthralling, Karl Lagerfeld and Marc Jacobs run way shows which stream through my pod cast during various fashion weeks. So, with my December issue of W already read, and no shows till Feb, only one thing can fill this void – The Victoria Secret Fashion Show!

Call me a dork; call me fanatic, I don’t care. This show, airing Dec 4th on CBS 10/9c, is just one more thing to love about the magic time between Thanksgiving and New Years. The annual V.S. show taps into the inner promiscuity in all of us, showcasing the million dollar bra and offering other bright-colored ensembles that are perfectly dramatized. (Let’s face it, Jacobs and Lagerfeld have been known to go overboard.) Furthermore, while sexy JT graced the runway last year, reunited pop sensation Spice Girls, will join beautiful supermodels Heidi and Adriana this year.

This early combustion of excitement was brought on upon by the news of the delivered goods to their runway destination. I’ll check back in next month with the post-show gossip.

Sparkling Jewels - Hidden Gems

Of all the fashion books that pile up in our mailboxes, we have a special affinity for the ones that dedicate a large chunk of page space to jewelry and accessories. Especially, when we get expert insider tips, which we did when reading “Hidden Gems” in the December issue of W. Ok, so millions of people read W, but we still feel like we have a leg up on the competition after checking out W’s suggested collections by Arman, Nicole Landaw (yea LupRocks.com member!), Margaret, LFrank by Liseanne Franfurt, Michelle Fantaci, M.C.L Design, Sanalito, and Kazanjian by Patrick M. Of course with my wish list taste I couldn’t help but focus on the sparkling 18k white gold, citrine, and diamond cuff retailing for a whopping $68,000 (Kazanjianbros.com), but all the featured pieces and collections proved worthy of the W stamp of approval!