Chanel Cruise collection jump-starts Cannes

CAP D’ANTIBES (AP) ― Two days before the Cannes Film Festival opens, the glamour got pumping on the French Riviera at Chanel’s 2011-12 Cruise show ― worthy of a screen siren from Hollywood’s golden age.Would-be Marlene Dietrichts sauntered the catwalk Monday in bias-cut gowns of ivory silk that twinkled at the neckline with oversized pearls, their sultry gaits reflecting the very easygoing getaway

May 10, 2011

Voicemail? That’s so last century

I‘ve long been an admirer of Greg Mortenson, the author of the phenomenal best-seller “Three Cups of Tea.” The book tells how he began building girls’ schools in Afghanistan and Pakistan after making a pledge to the villagers of Korphe, who had rescued him from a failed attempt to summit the world‘s second-highest peak, K-2.To see his work, I traveled with Greg in 2007 to visit schools he’d built

April 27, 2011

Denim gets the hanji treatment

Han Song marries hanji and natural dyeing to create eco-friendly jeansThe following is the second in a series of articles on the contemporizing of Korean culture -- Ed.In the fickle world of fashion, where trends come and go every few months and new items fill the store racks virtually every week, a designer who devotes years to a singular vision is a rarity.Han Song whose eponymous Han Song Jeans

April 26, 2011

Jeans jettison basic blue hues

LOS ANGELES ― Jeans for this spring and summer have gone from basic blues and intense indigo to Technicolor versions of playful Crayola shades. It’s all very 1980s a la Esprit or Benetton, but this time there’s nothing junior about colored denim. It’s coming in sleek skinny shapes and cropped lengths that liven up simple T-shirts or button-downs and work well with neutral sandals or flats rather t

April 25, 2011

Got prom dibs? Girls use Facebook to claim dress

NEW YORK (AP) ― Teenage girls largely live in a lookalike culture, wearing the same styles that they got in the same stores as their friends. On prom night, though, the idea is to stand out, making sure no one arrives to the big dance in the same outfit.To ensure their uniqueness ― after they’ve shopped in faraway malls and tapped into store registries ― girls are using social media to claim dibs

April 20, 2011

The Garbage Maven: A toy story of another sort

Used toys are notoriously difficult to recycle; most end up in trash binsLOS ANGELES ― Americans bought 2.9 billion toys last year. As I stumble through the house after play dates, it sometimes feels as if my 8-year-old son owns all of them.Our living room is exploding with Lego bricks, Nerf weaponry and rubbery bounce balls. My son’s bedroom is, more often than not, carpeted with Pokemon cards an

April 20, 2011

If the shoe fits: Avid sneaker fans prove collecting shoes is not just a woman’s game

BALTIMORE ― At first glance, Whitney Morris’ second-floor walk-up resembles most bachelor pads. An office has been converted into a “man cave” filled with a keyboard, a couple of guitars and a computer. The kitchen looks virtually untouched. It isn’t until you walk into his bedroom that you realize Morris has a serious addiction to shoes ― Nike Dunk SBs to be exact.“One hundred sixty-something (pa

April 18, 2011

Middleton’s gown likely to be an influential one

Brides’ choice of wedding gowns inspired by what others wearNEW YORK (AP) ― When Kate Middleton walks down the aisle this month to marry Prince William, watching would-be brides almost certainly will home in on her dress.Bridal industry insiders expect her gown to be copied many times over as soon as the public gets its first glimpse.Some wedding dresses leave a legacy beyond the next-day knockoff

April 13, 2011

Bethel triplets, tundra botanicals, a skin care start-up

ANCHORAGE, Alaska ― Who knew those blue-black clusters of crowberries mingled into blueberry patches across the Chugach range could be the key ingredient in an expensive, antioxidant-packed, wrinkle-fighting serum?That’s right. Look out, Oil of Olay. Forget Vitamin C and green tea. Make room for beauty products made with the essences of crowberries, fireweed and Arctic sage. Arctic plants are tren

April 11, 2011

Adventure on two wheels

Biker club cares for safety, fellowship while enjoying majestic countrysideDriving a motorcycle in Seoul is an enthralling real-life trip into the depths of one’s resolution, courage, patience, motor skills and coordination. In a country with one of the highest traffic death rates in the world, the challenge becomes a daunting case of one near miss after the other.Putting all that aside, very few

April 8, 2011

Compact, diverse: 2011 F/W Seoul Fashion Week

Shorter, more focused event includes new program that concentrates on inking deals abroadIt is finally spring, but for the fashion-savvy it is already fall. 2011 F/W Seoul Fashion Week kicked off its six-day run Monday at SETEC in Daechi-dong, southern Seoul. Started a decade ago, Seoul Fashion Week is now one of Asia’s biggest fashion fairs, having showcased about 900 designers and promoted over

March 28, 2011

For your home

Time for spring makeoverMaster of organizing’ advises on how to keep your closet organized year roundHeavy boots should be tucked away somehow and sandals should come out front. Winter coats should go in and sun dresses should be out. Even though you might not be a serious hoarder who turns their homes into trash dumps, you could still be at a loss, not knowing where to begin the ambitious spring

March 25, 2011

Flats take a big step forward for spring

NEW YORK, New York (AP) ― Flat-heeled shoes have stepped up their game to emerge as a hot fashion trend for the spring-summer season.The detailed and embellished ballet flats, sandals and peep-toes have been elevated to become a serious alternative to the high heels that some women still feel are needed for dressy or business occasions.In fact, the flat-shoe shape might be a better complement to t

March 23, 2011

Big Bang puts name to clothing line

Super trendy K-pop group Big Bang is showcasing its first-ever fashion line. The boy band designed T-shirts and jackets, as well as smartphone and laptop accessories in collaboration with 10 CORSO COMO SEOUL, a lifestyle concept store which sells fashion items by various, usually foreign, designers. “We hope to become Asia’s fashion mecca and Seoul’s landmark by collaborating with Big Bang, who ar

March 22, 2011

Shades roundup

Spring’s hottest shape in sunglasses is the circle. Reminiscent of John Lennon’s signature specs, round frames have been popping up on more than a few celebrities over the last year, but this season round will be the frame du jour.In February, Ray-Ban launched the exact style Lennon used to wear ($145). These are obviously the most authentic in style and shape and would work for anyone who consist

March 21, 2011

Springtime in Paris, but Chanel feels an autumn chill

PARIS (AFP) ― It’s getting to be springtime in Paris, but for Karl Lagerfeld it was the moment to send a chill of autumn through the Grand Palais on Tuesday as he presented a tomboyish Chanel fall-winter collection.In a deliberate contrast to the Parisian garden theme that framed the spring-summer show, Lagerfeld sent darker, looser looks down a wooden boardwalk the length of a venue carpeted with

March 9, 2011

McCartney leads a very British day at Paris fashion week

PARIS (AFP) ― Stella McCartney led a very British day at Paris fashion week on Monday, sending out a chic and casual fall-winter collection to an energetic hip-hop soundtrack.Her compatriot Giles Deacon at Emmanuel Ungaro veered towards a more severe dominatrix look driven by the late Ungaro’s famous statement that he dressed mistresses, not wives.Later in the day, Hannah MacGibbon at Chloe widene

March 8, 2011