The Met Costume Institute Gala Fashion Thoughts

Recently The Met Costume Institute held it's annual gala and despite it's foundation in the fashion world, the clothes were kind of blah.

Safe.

I liked the dark blue of Oprah Winfrey's Oscar de la Renta and Sienna Miller's Emilio Pucci gowns and found the idea of Halston Heritage interesting, always liked him, although was surprised Sarah Jessica Parker wore it - a little tame for her, wasn't it? but then again, she is on the design team.  Beige, nude, tan, whatever you want to call it, the color has been all over the place lately and I think Kate Hudson wore it best in a Stella McCartney gown.  Simple, yes, but it was an elegant simple.  She also didn't overdo on the accessories and shoes were great, although I thought leaned a bit on the clunky side for that dress.

Which was my favorite?

There was no instant adoration gown, but loved the plum color and overtime, I guess Thandie Newton in Vivienne Westwood was my favorite.  Again, she kept the accessories and makeup low key, and this helped the dress itself stand out.  The top is like folded paper, origami, and is truly wonderful.  Yes, this dress is my favorite of the night.

Robin Hood looks good, but what about the scenery?

If you are thinking of visiting England, after seeing some of the sites in London, I suggest you escape the chaos of city life, which can be found everywhere, and head north!

Robin Hood, to be released in May 2010, was partly filmed in the North in such places as Alnwick Castle [Hogwarts from Harry Potter books] and Bamburgh Castle and are definitely must see sites, but not too far from these places is even more that should be visited.

Lindisfarne, or Holy Island, is across the bay from Bamburgh and can only be reached when the tide is out .  It is a small island and is a nature reserve and rich in history with a castle, ruined monastary/museum, and the island is known for their mead.  So, if you're a fan of the Celts and celtic books, this is a must visit place.

Now, head south, and you'll land in the place lovers of Vampires books and movies should visit, Whitby.

Why?  Because this is the place Irish author, Bram Stoker, holidayed during summer breaks and also has brought loads of interesting local tidbits into Dracula. 

Everytime but one [the rain won out on that visit] we've climbed the stairs from town up to the abbey and afterwards, never remember if it was 199 or 198.  I think the first step is a dubious one at a couple inches.

Now, Fish & Chips can be found all across England, but smoked kippers from Fortunes are a must do and they are limited in their opening times so head there immediately.  I happen to eat nothing that exists in the water [and yet I love visiting England's coastal gems], but my cutie does and grew up not too far from here.  He makes a point to stop for a couple kippers from this place for breakfast.

St Mary's Church is another gem to visit in Whitby and make sure to walk through the graveyard - it's sad when you realize how many are for very young and a few empty ones give you a spooky feeling.

Have a seafaring fan in the house?  Then a little further south from Whitby is Staithes, hometown of Captain James Cook, and it is definitely worth checking out as well.

A village that is the ultimate definition of small village life [parking up on the hill and walk down to the homes].  This is where it is said the man who would go on to chart Hawaii amongst other places became enamored with exploring the seas.

From there, you can head inland, and within minutes you're on the North Yorkshire Moors where such books as Wuthering Heights and All Creatures Great and Small are set and museums for the Brontës and Herriot are located.  To the east is the Lake District and Beatrix Potter and further south is York with it's incredible Minster, Jorvik Viking Centre, The Shambles and on the outskirts is Castle Howard, where Evelyn Waugh's Brideshead Revisited was filmed.

That is just a tiny portion of what can be seen and experienced in the North of England.  The history is deep [don't forget about the War of the Roses] at every turn and plenty of literary / artistic [Henry Moore has a fabulous museum in Leeds and the Yorkshire Sculpture Park, 500 acres of parkland is near Wakefield] influences to keep everyone eager for what's next.

So, yes, the new Robin Hood film looks good, but every promo I see makes me think about all the other fabulousness that can be found around northern England.

One last thing, because I love this part of England and there is that bit about writing what you know, I've also used it in my own books.  You can find the North of England in The Gilded Cage / Hot Couture [Leeds] and the newly released My Angel [Leeds and Knaresborough].

It's my favorite time of year!

Award Season!

No, not because I care who won what, but more along the lines of who wore what!  That's right, it's time to focus on fashion.  Here's a few things I came away with from watching last night's Red Carpet coverage and the Golden Globes broadcast.

First off, for me, there was no wow or wonderful dresses.  Yes, I thought some actresses had chosen well [as in they wore the dress, not the other way around]. 

Glenn Close, Carey Mulligan, Tea Leoni [liked the casual dress shirt and formal skirt thing, I would wear that], and Marion Cotillard with the saucy lace peeking out from the slit, also looked great.  Now, while I liked the gown Colin Farrell's girlfriend (?) Alicja Bachleda wore, it looked like it was going to slip down with her next breath.  Ooops. 

In the end, the best all around for for me was Courtney Cox.  Simply elegant, not over accessorized, and suited her very well.  The belt and slight train were yummy.  By the way, the dress is from Victoria Beckham's Spring/Summer 2010 line.

Something else that drew my attention was color.  Often safe color choices are made and I totally get that, my safe color is black.  However, last night there was everything from soft pastels to rich jewel tones.  The more unique standouts were Sandra Bullock and Diane Kruger, ooo, also Diana Agron and Sofia Vergara with that grey dress and single burgandy twist - nice], but the one I thought was spectacular was the one Zoe Saldana chose.  While the dress was a bit too much, the color looked divine on her.

And finally, there was another thing I found interesting today while I looked at all the pics.  There's one of Kate Hudson [by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images] that reminds me of a book, Soulless by Gail Carriger.  I keep seeing and totally love that cover, to such an extent, I know nothing about [only because of lack of time] and still might buy it based on the cover alone. 

So, my conclusion of the Golden Globe attire: It was a safe night [maybe because it was hard to focus on anything other than how to help Haiti] where everyone looked fairly good, and came across only one I saw that caused me to shout, "NO!".  I won't share a picture because I'm not in to the trashing aspect of fashion, although this one was trully horrible.

Oh, and here's a little Gerard Butler eyecandy to end on a good note!

By the way, while I had an idea of who I liked from watching last night, I perused the galleries on both Skinny vs Curvy, Just Jared, and E! Online - thank you for posting them.

Fabulous Fashion News and More!

© Getty Images

Carmen Dell'Orefice, fabulous supermodel at 77, is back working because of Bernie Madoff's dirty dealings, actually non-existent trading. I've always thought Carmen to be a beautiful woman who carried herself with a great deal of grace, now I know it!

Check out this candid interview with her on WOWOWOW: The Women on the Web. It's interesting and keeps the positivity going.

Book Talk!

It's a sad time in the usually fabulous world of books. This Saturday, Judith Krug, Founder of Banned Books Week, passed away.

As if this wasn't bad enough, the industry suffered another serious setback. It doesn't sound like much when someone says Amazon deranked a bunch of books, except it is, to everyone who loves to read. This particular deranking means authors and their books [for me it's Zandia and Hot Couture] in the erotic and GLBT categories are now difficult, if not impossible for a reader to find on the online bookstores cyber shelves and purchase.

Descrimination? Censorship?

For some people it is.

However, I'm someone who prefers to look at the positive side of things and have a great solution if Amazon's actions bother you and you don't want to support them, then don't worry, there are plenty of choices out there to ensure you have your books!

You can go directly to the publisher and their bookstores [Samhain has My Bookstore and More and Ellora's Cave has Jasmine Jade]. Then there are the shops like Borders, B&N, BAM or Powell's online bookstores...or you can go to IndieBound, type in your zip code and find independent shops near you to shop at. If they don't supply the books you're looking for, ask them to order them.

And, the best part of shopping locally? It boosts the economy on your doorstep!

Edited to Add: Amazon has re-ranked both Zandia and Hot Couture

What is a great way to kick off a month?

Good news and mine is that The Gilded Cage, Hot Couture and Tilly Greene have all been nominated in REC's annual contest!

Head over and vote in all the categories or just your favorites, it's
good fun.

Tilly

Don't you just love visuals!

Hot Couture has three stories in it about women who have a passion for fashion and the men who love them. I'm a rather visual person and like mini book trailers. So, I put the two together and came up with three, that's right, in this case one plus one equals three. Here are the mini book trailers that celebrate:

The Leather Bride


Taming Marie Antoinette


The Gilded Cage


The Leather Bride, Taming Marie Antoinette and The Gilded Cage are available separately or together as Hot Couture from Phaze, Amazon, Barnes & Noble or your local bookstore.

Enjoy!

You know what passion means, right?

Well, if you head over to the Wild on Books Blog you'll see one of my takes on the sultry word. Comment and you're in the drawing for a special contest :-)

Thursday 13 #34!

On Monday of this week I had two books released: The Gilded Cage and Hot Couture. In celebration and because it's on my mind, I'm going to tell you some things you may or may not know about these books using my TT.

The Gilded Cage
1. The Gilded Cage is the third book in the "A Passion for Fashion' series.

2. The heroine is a jeweler about to be offered the show of a lifetime.

3. The hero has an interesting set of piercings.

4. The heroine lives and works in London.

5. The hero lives and works in York, but is opening a satellite office in London.

6. The Gilded Cage in the story has a special water bottle as an attachment.


Hot Couture
7. Hot Couture is a collection of my 'A Passion for Fashion' series.

8. The Leather Bride, Taming Marie Antoinette and The Gilded Cage are the three stories in Hot Couture.

9. New York City, Paris and London are the fashion capitals these three stories take place in.

10. The Leather Bride was extended for Hot Couture.

11. The heroes in these stories all have a career somewhere in an environmentally friendly arena.

12. I traveled to all of these locations and brought something I did into each of the stories.


The Series
13. The fourth story will be His High Stepper and takes place in Milan.

The Gilded Cage and Hot Couture are OUT!

Phrew, what a day - let me tell you about my two new releases :-)

My 'A Passion for Fashion' series is all about women with some place in the fashion world who experience a once in a lifetime opportunity in the field they love. The first three tales have been brought together to form "Hot Couture" [available in both paperback and ebook].

Who are these women? Well, there's a muse who makes an unusual walk down the runway in "The Leather Bride" [New York], a graduate student hosts her dissertation project...a Haute Couture exhibition...in "Taming Marie Antoinette" [Paris] and a jeweler is offered a place in an world-renowned museum in "The Gilded Cage" [London].

Did I mention they're each located in a different fashion capital? They are and this takes the reader on a trip.

Now, the one thing I have mentioned as yet is the men in these women's lives. They are gorgeous, successful, and have a passion for their lovers that is unmatched. Oh, I almost forgot [not likely :-)]. These couples have a varied taste when it comes to sex...they play!

Buon Giorno!

I'm HOME! Basically we've been gone since before Christmas and I fell in love with my bed all over again last night.

While I was away there was some great news on the publishing front...The Leather Bride, Taming Marie Antoinette and The Gilded Cage are going to be put together and published as Hot Couture, with a simultaneous ebook/print release! How fabulous is that! And, dare I say, what interesting timing because while in Milan I did plenty of research for the fourth book in the series.

That's right, I was in Milan and tomorrow will take the opportunity of TT to share the incredible place we stayed...let's just say Villa, frescoes and plenty of cioccolata calda! So hope to see you all tomorrow!