NEW YORK (AP) ― In the two decades since its launch, Allure magazine has tracked an evolution of the American definition of beauty. Surprisingly ― although it really shouldn’t be considering the changing collective face of the country ― is that the public is more accepting of a variety of ideals.There is not the blond bombshell mold that everyone has to fit in to be considered attractive, either b

Arts & Design March 2, 2011

PARIS (AFP) ― Fashion house Dior has suspended John Galliano after police questioned its flamboyant British star designer for allegedly assaulting a couple and using anti-Semitic insults in a Paris bar.Galliano responded by bringing a suit for “defamation,” his lawyer Stephane Zerbib said late Friday, just days before Paris Fashion Week starts.Police briefly detained Galliano on Thursday evening i

Arts & Design Feb. 28, 2011

MILAN (AP) ― Cavalli strayed from the top drawer coutour on many Milan runways, evoking a high-end hippie rocker.Cavalli evoked a lot of duality in his collection previewed during Milan fashion week on Saturday: light and shadow, gold and silver, iron and copper, reptile skin and feathers.For next fall and winter, Cavalli created by his own words “a perfect synthesis” of the Cavalli style.The desi

Arts & Design Feb. 27, 2011

NEW YORK ― What’s romantic? Taking your sweetheart to New York City.The most exciting metropolis in the world packs a lot of living into every hour.Here, even hicks from the sticks feel like they’re Somebody from Somewhere.It all starts with your hotel.My advice is to cut your stay by a night ― and pay a little more for the room each night. Two of the most romantic hotels in New York are diametric

Travel Feb. 25, 2011

Vegetable soup hits the trifecta for a perfect winter meal: It’s hearty, healthful and hot.And for those without the time or energy for all that chopping and simmering, the canned soup aisle offers an array of effortless options. But are they delicious?We plucked five veggie soup brands from supermarket shelves and put them to a blind test. Nine tasters rated the soups on look, aroma, texture and,

Food Feb. 25, 2011

Read the labels, cook at home to reduce salt intakeHow does this sound for a quick breakfast:A single pancake, topped with 1 tablespoon each of reduced-fat tub margarine and reduced-calorie pancake syrup. Two slices of Canadian bacon. An 8-ounce glass of skim milk. A cup of coffee with 1 tablespoon of half-and-half.Congratulations. You just ate 1,254 milligrams of sodium before you even left the h

Food Feb. 23, 2011

ST. LOUIS (AP) ― Dozens of Thomas Jefferson’s books, some including handwritten notes from America’s third president, have been found in the rare books collection at Washington University in St. Louis.Now, historians are poring through the 69 newly discovered books and five others the school already knew about, and librarians are searching the collection for more volumes that may have belonged to

Books Feb. 23, 2011

BOSTON (AP) ― As a little girl, Caroline Kennedy hung out at her father’s desk while he worked in the country’s most famous office.Now the library she works with to preserve her father’s memory has introduced a way anyone can sit ― virtually ― at John F. Kennedy’s desk and learn more about his life and administration.On Monday, the Museum at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library in Boston unvei

People Feb. 22, 2011

LONDON (AP) ― A little snowfall is no problem ― even inside ― if you have proper raingear to protect you, so the models at the Burberry Prorsum London Fashion Week show Monday had no complaints about the artificial snow cascading down on the catwalk for the finale.Once again, Burberry design czar Christopher Bailey wowed a celebrity-laden crowd with his dresses, coats, flared pantsuits and other e

Arts & Design Feb. 22, 2011

LONDON (AFP) ― You could be forgiven for thinking Vivienne Westwood had the royal wedding in mind when she designed her latest collection, themed on Lewis Carroll’s mad queens, accessorized with crowns as hats.But the grande dame of British fashion said her Red Label’s autumn-winter 2011 designs had nothing to do with the forthcoming nuptials of Prince William and Kate Middleton ― and revealed she

Arts & Design Feb. 21, 2011

PHILADELPHIA (AP) ― “Return of the Mummies” may sound like a horror movie, but in this case there’s a happy ending.The “Secrets of the Silk Road” exhibit reopened Friday at the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology with a pair of show-stopping ancient mummies, now that a mysterious dispute with the Chinese government has been wrapped up.The drama has passed that had mus

Performance Feb. 21, 2011