The Power of Prayer

“God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.” Psalm 46:1

My best friend Taylor LaBuda's family has been hit with an unexpected and utterly heartbreaking tribulation this holiday, in the form of a serious car accident that occurred late last night new Springfield, MO. Taylor's sister Kaitlin was seriously injured in the accident and was transported to the ICU at St. John's hospital where she is being treated for serious head injuries. Kaitlin's sister Taylor, brother Nathan, parents Joanne and Dean, and many family members and friends have made the trip to Missouri to be with her and support a quick and complete recovery.

(via Taylor's Facebook)

‎"Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid." John 14:27

Now is when I need you!

Nothing is stronger than the power of prayer. I ask you now to please reach out to the Lord in any way that you know how and ask for his healing grace for Kaitlin LaBuda, as well as for support for my best friend Taylor, their brother Nathan, their wonderful parents and family & all of their loved ones who are truly hoping for a miracle of the most gracious kind! This day is in God's hands, but "never let your praying knees get lazy, and love like crazy." We are all pulling for you guys, stay strong, keep fighting, and know that you are SO loved!!

Prayers For Kaitlin

The St. Petersburg community is one of strong faith and strong bond. 500+ friends and family members of the LaBuda family have pulled their prayers together and have asked God for a miracle. Please join us in hoping for the best, leaning on God, and praying for Kaitlin harder than we ever have before! She is so deserving & so full of faith and strength. With help from the Lord, and support from those who love her, Kaitlin has it in her to pull through!

Please keep her and her precious family in your minds and hearts through this rough rough time. They are so loved and cared about by so many.

LHR

Nailed It!

Nail polish is a fun & affordable accessory that flatters every woman, can match every outfit, & keep up with every trend.

One of my favorite and one of the most popular nail lacquer brands world wide, is the California based, O.P.I.

O.P.I. or Odontorium Products Inc., was founded in 1981 by President and CEO, George Schaeffer. Each and every color is created by Art Director, Executive Vice President, and Color Forecaster, Suzi Weiss-Fischmann. None of O.P.I.'s lacquers or beauty products are tested on animals, which is saddeningly not as unusual as you may think! 

According to OPI.com, "From the very beginning, OPI has shown its commitment to quality by putting batch numbers, instructions and ingredients on all of the products it sells. OPI has a dedicated team of scientists who ensure product quality and safety, and bring the latest technology and advances to its product offerings."

Colors & Names

Other than it's gorgeous colors, varying finishes, and exclusive collections, O.P.I. is famous world wide by both professionals and girls of all ages for their creative and catchy nail lacquer names. (My personal favorite name; "My Private Jet", a jet black lacquer with bits of sparkle; I just think it's perfectly fitting!)

Social Networking

O.P.I. is on top of it's game when it comes to the digital revolution. Between their Website, iPhone application, Facebook page, and Twitter account, they keep their fans and customers constantly up to date and on the cutting edge of both new collections and the coming trends.

O.P.I.'s Facebook account priovides followers with recommendations, fresh looks, manicure tutorials, fan photos, and descriptions of new colors on a daily basis.

Perfect grey shades for fall!

Suzi Takes The Wheel & French Quarter For Your Thoughts

Exclusive Collections

Another fun aspect of the O.P.I. company is that they often have celebrity guests help design colors and names for entire collections of lacquers.

Coming this January, rap artist Nicki Minaj's O.P.I. collection will hit stores, and personally, I can not wait!

From O.P.I.'s website:

& From Their Facebook Page:

"Despite what you've seen online, we wanted to make sure you got accurate information from us. The Nicki Minaj collection consists of a deep shimmering purple Shatter called "Super Bass" and these five Nicki-inspired colors: "Metallic 4 Life", "Save Me", "Fly", "Did It On 'Em" and the bubble gum hue "Pink Friday"."

~

O.P.I.'s 2011 Holiday Collection is based on the Thanksgiving

movie release of "The Muppet Movie". 

Introducing, The Muppet Collection:

From O.P.I.'s website:

& From Their Facebook Page:

"This November polish your nails in hues as festive as the holidays with OPI's much-anticipated Muppets collection. Loaded with glitters and shimmers, this collection is packed with punch! (Left to right): Animal-istic, Meep-Meep-Meep, Wocka Wocka, Pepes Purple Passion, Designers De Better, Warm and Fozzie, Rainbow Connection, Excuse Moi, Gone Gonzo, Fresh Frog of Bel Air, Divine Swine and Gettin' Miss Piggy With it."

~

The Holland Collection

Another fun aspect of O.P.I.'s Facebook account is the constant availability for consumers to contact the company and for the company to contact their target market. In a sneak preview before the advertisements have even been released, Facebook fans of O.P.I. have gotten to see the brand new Spring 2012 Holland collection, to be released in February of next year.

"Muppets, Nicki Minaj, and OPIs Spring 2012 collection, OH MY! This coming February your nails will get a taste of elegance with our feminine & floral collection, Holland! L to R: Gouda Gouda Two Shoes, Wooden Shoes Like to Know It, I Don't Give a Rotterdam, A Roll In The Hague, Petal Faster Suzi, Dutch Ya Just Love OPI, Thanks a WindMillion, Red Lights Ahead...Where?, Kiss Me On My Tulips, Vampsterdam, I Have a Herring Problem, & Did You Hear About Van Gogh?"

The Nail Studio

My Private Jet

My favorite aspect of O.P.I.'s social networking web is the OPI Nail Studio feature on both the iPhone app and the OPI website. The Nail Studio allows users to choose the skin color closest to their own on a digital hand. They can then pick any available OPI color and see a digital image of what it looks like when it's on!

Here is an example of one of my favorite colors, You Don't Know Jacques

in three different finishes:

From last summer's Pirates of the Caribbean Collection:

Mermaid's Tears

From the Burlesque Collection:

Simmer & Shimmer

& From the brand new 2011 Holiday "Muppets Collection"

Gettin' Miss Piggy With It

Sister Brands

Nicole by O.P.I.

Sephora By O.P.I.

(Sephora by O.P.I. is amazing quality & carries gorgeous colors; some of my faves!)

O.P.I. is a trusted and wildly popular brand of nail lacquers and beauty products, and for a good reason. Between their company integrity, philanthropic endeavors, assortment of colors and products, and extremely high quality and affordable price point, honestly, what's not to love?!

LHR

Living In Reality

Reality television shows work to find a balance between the monotony of every day life, and the drama of entertainment. Television stations live Bravo and Lifetime successfully incorporate reality and competition television into the fashion business.

Bravo's hit TV show, The Rachel Zoe Project documents the hectic, stressful, exciting and glamorous life of celebrity stylist Rachel Zoe, her husband Rodger Berman, and her constantly changing "Team Zoe." For the just concluded, Season Four, Rachel's best friend, hair and make-up artist  Joey Maalouf has joined the team permanently, to help Rachel deal with the chaos of loosing stylist Brad Goreski to his own endeavors, running the ever expanding business, and most importantly, raising and caring for her brand new baby boy, Skyler Morrison.

The Rachel Zoe Project films the cast as they style photo shoots, deal with clients, attend industry events and parties, balance their family lives and relationships, style A-list names for the Oscars, and sit at some of the most exclusive and fabulous fashion shows New York Fashion Week has to offer. The cast deals with conflict amongst themselves, demanding models and movie stars, and the fast pace of the fashion business all while being filmed for a 30 minute spot once a week. 

Despite it's popularity and loyal fan base, the show has brought about some controversy for Rachel and her team throughout the last four seasons. Resulting first from the split between the stylist and her original right hand, Taylor Jacobson. Fashion and entertainment bloggers alike went wild with the rumors of thievery and bad blood between the two former friends and Employer/Employee. For some fans of the show, Taylor's departure was welcomed gladly, while others wish she would have stuck around much longer to help calm Rachel down on a daily basis, entertainingly bicker with Brad, and show off her impeccable taste in clothes and styling.

The Rumor Mill:

E! Online

Entertainment Weekly

The New York Post

Hollywood Life

A similar situation popped up more recently, with rumors flying around that another one of Rachel's former employees, Brad Goreski, has not only been dishonest with Team Zoe, but has also been "stealing clients" behind Rachel's back since he's left Rachel Zoe Inc. Although both sides have different stories, and none of us know what really happened, this time, Brad has come out on the other side with quite a different result: A show of his very own!

It's A Brad Brad World

Straight from the man himself:

(well, his twitter feed at least)

Brad & Bravo didn't ONLY use Twitter as their press release, however that is the format where I personally found this amazing news, and of course, immediately retweeted.

Here's the more lengthy version:

The Press Release

Shows like The Rachel Zoe Project & the soon to premiere, It's A Brad Brad World, provide the watching public with an inside look at the high intensity and chaotic pace of the fashion industry. Other docu-series, like the 2010 one season run of Bravo's Kell On Earth, which followed People's Revolution Founder and bestselling author, Kelly Cutrone, as she hastily and professionally ran her New York business; can open the eyes of the viewers to aspects of the fashion world that they may have overlooked, like Public Relations. 

+Kelly's assistant Andrew (tall, man, long black hair, gothic style, second from the right) was literally my favorite reality television star of 2010... so rad.

Andrew's Video Blog

A second form of fashion reality show is the weekly fashion design competition.

Project Runway

The series which follows  between a dozen and seventeen fashion designers for a span of  for months or so, challenges the designers with the anticipation of eliminating one or more contestants per episode. Each week the designers are given a challenge, a time span, and a budget for materials, and set loose with nothing more than their sewing machines, mannequins, and creativity. Each episode features a new and unique challenge, from finding inspiration at the Met, to adding garments to already beautiful collections from other designers, to designing for host and fashion model Heidi Klum, herself. The contestants are generally given two days for each challenge, including the time it takes to design their garments, purchase their fabrics, sew their clothing, fit their models, and edit their looks. Once the time has run up, the models walk the runway wearing each garment which are then judged by Heidi, American fashion designer Michael Kors, former Fashion Director for Elle and Marie Claire Magazines, Nina Garcia, and a different guest judge each week. Once the judges have scored the designs, the top and bottom contestants are called back to the runway for a discussion amongst the judges and designers. The designers and models then retreat backstage while the judges decide who wins the challenge and who will go home that week as the cameras roll and the views watch. Once the decision is made, one designer is eliminated, and the rest move on to the next challenge.

The Cast of Season Four

(My Favorite!)

Once the challenges have narrowed down the competition to only three contestants, they are given a 12 week span and $8,000 to complete a twelve look collection that will walk at Mercedes-Benz New York Fashion Week. While they design and construct these collections in each of their hometowns, or wherever they may choose, the designers then return to New York for final fittings, last minute touches, and sometimes even a surprise challenge!

After the designers show at Fashion Week, the judges then decide on a grand prize winner!

Past winners include

Season 1's Jay McCarroll, Season 2's Chloe Dao, Season 3's Jeffrey Sebelia

Season 4's (& by far the most fierce) Christian Siriano

As Well As

Season 5's Leanne Marshall, Season 6's Irina Shabayeva,

Season 7's Seth Aaron Henderson, & Season 8's Gretchen Jones

The show, which aired on Bravo for the first five seasons, has just concluded it's 9th season last week on Lifetime, awarding designer Anya Ayoung-Chee, a novice sewer with an amazing eye, the grand prize of $100,000 to start her own line, an editorial spread in Marie Claire, the opportunity to sell her line on fashion retailer Piperlime's website, and a $50,000 technology suite from HP!

The cast is constantly mentored throughout the show by fashion consultant, author, and  former stylist of his very own Bravo original, Tim Gunn's Guide To Style, one of my very favorite fashion guru's Tim Gunn!!

Always giving the contestants sage advice to keep them off the chopping blocks and in the realm of taste and beauty, Tim delivers the contestant's challenges, takes them shopping, and helps them edit and refine their work.

Lifetime is quick to add another fashion design competition show to their lineup.

24 Hour Catwalk

Hosted by British fashion designer and TV personality, Alexa Chung, the new reality competition show will have a somewhat different set up than Project Runway. Challenging four new designers each week, to create mini collections over the course of 24 short hours, in order to win a grand prize of $10,000. The new take seems fresh and exciting, and promised to welcome the fashion elite to the judging seat!

Shows like Project Runway, and the soon to premiere 24 Hour Catwalk, provide viewers with a glimpse into the world of stress, challenges, beauty and grace that is fashion design. Showcasing creativity, determination, and skill, Project Runway and the like are a brilliant way to recruit fashion hopefulls for a chance to make it in one of the most difficult business, as well as inform and entertain the fashionistas of the country!

Auf Wiedersehen

LHR

Take A Front Row Seat

Video technology can not only provide viewers an inside look at designer's processes, inspirations & reflections on their works of art, but they can also allow viewers to feel the flow, fit, and all around presence of the clothing itself, in a way that nothing other than reality can provide.

YouTube, a video sharing site available in 32 countries as well as the United States, gives the world the opportunity to watch three year old British boys say adorable things over three hundred million times. The website, which has become a cultural phenomena, allows anyone, registered or not to view endless amounts of video, (music, movie clips, video blogs, & even short films) an endless amount of times. Registered users have the opportunity to upload all sorts of videos, from home movies to pop song covers and free style raps.

YouTube and other websites like it have drastically influenced the fashion world by allowing journalists and bloggers to interview designers, preview collections, catch jaw-dropping street style, and my personal favorite; allow me and anyone else who would DIE for a ticket, to sit front row at

Mercedes Benz New York Fashion Week.

With their very own exclusive YouTube Channel, as well as Maybelline New York's Live From The Runway, MBFWNY was streaming live, directly onto my personal computer. nbd...

There are YouTube videos as current as the latest season:

Michael Kors

Spring 2012

Highlights from

Diane Von Furstenberg

Spring 2012

Highlights From

L.A.M.B.

Spring 2012

Or you can visit the archives to relive some of your favorites:

Rock & Republic

Spring 2009

& last but not least,
the Fiercest Betch:
Christian Siriano

Here are some highlights from four of Christian's presentations at MBFashion Week New York

Christian Siriano

Spring 2010

Christian Siriano

Fall 2010

Christian Siriano

Spring 2011

Christian Siriano

Fall 2011

Interview with Christian & Heidi Klum

Backstage at Spring/Summer 2012

I never cease to be amazed at the ease and control that the average user can have over technology these days. Not only can we view fashion shows live as they're happening, but we can go back and view them years later, and then post them to our blogs and share them with our friends. Video's may not be considered cutting edge any longer, but it's gonna take me a long time to get used to the incredible way they allow us to share life, movement and memories, instantaneously.

LHR