Venus Williams ruffles a few feathers...

Apparently Venus Williams is making the transition from tennis superstar to cancan dancer...

The Moulin Rouge inspired garment looks like something that you might find at a trashy lingerie store in a bad neighborhood.  And black and red together, talk about a cliche.  Add in the can-can flounce on the bottom and she looks more aptly suited for a kick-line than a service line.  But if you think the outerwear is bad, you haven't seen anything yet.

Eat this, Not that...Drinks Edition

Eat this, Not that! artfully illustrates the 20 worst drinks in America.
Some of them are quite surprising...Starbucks Vanilla Frap = 32 Nilla Wafers!

Oh, the Chinese (and their government)!

What's old is new again...the Chinese government is trying to stop the popular practice of wearing pajamas out and about, especially in Shanghai during the World Expo.  Recently, designers have been showcasing pajamas and sweatpants on the runways. Funny how that works. Check out the whole NYT post.

Paying for more than huge portions...

Servers at the Friendship Heights Cheesecake Factory stole $117,000 from diners by skimming their credit card numbers.  The article at The Examiner.

One more reason to not go to Cheesecake Factory.

Losing the freshman baby weight

The Public Humilitation Diet...hilarious and completely practical.  With enough desire, this is doable.

"I could eat 90 pounds of plain white rice in one sitting. Golden House apparently steams it in cocaine vapor. Anyway, I'd still have pasta for dinner every week or so. But one bowl at a meal."

"Having a cup of tea at the end of the meal (usually decaf) was my way of reminding myself MEAL IS OVER, FUCKFACE."

Coach

I will likely never buy a Coach bag again...but I admire the brand's inventiveness to project its luxury status while appealing (and being attainable) to the masses. The clutch was a perfect way to draw in customers (and teenagers) who are unlikely to drop a few hundred on a handbag...they can transition into more expensive Coach goods. The Poppy brand and the other collections that constantly change every few months area great way to continuously draw people into stores and test the market. Once Coach find something that sells, they make more, sell more and repeat!

The service at the Coach factory stores is just as attentive and "luxury" as in any other high-end store...another great way to pull people into the Coach brand. When I bought my Coach boots, they took them in the back to wrap them up. Can't lie, I liked the feeling of service that's all about you.

Coach recently collaborated with 4 fashion bloggers to design limited edition bags...wow, what a great idea. Some of these bags deviate a little from the typical Coach bag, drawing in non-Coach shoppers. Especially, because some of these blogs have a large reader base.

^
the glamourai's drawstring pouch is my fav

Second place goes to
cupcakes and cashmere's
satchel >

The other two bloggers are Karla's Closet and What is Reality Anyway...and are also worth checking out.

The Uniform Project

Could you wear the same dress 7 days a week for a whole year?  The Uniform Project did just that to raise money and awareness for schooling expenses for children living in Indian slums.  This experiment finished just last month and they raised close to $100,000!  Such a creative way to fund raise...but even more creative is the "sustainable fashion" choices that went into diversifying 365 outfits.

Uniform Project Picture Book from The Uniform Project on Vimeo.

BCBG double chain bag

Cross-body shoulder bags have replaced the clutch.  This BCBG bag has double chain detail and cool stitching on the leather.  I love it in red, but the mustard also pops.  At 6pm for only $60!

Keeping it classy on Capitol Hill

From FamousDC's "A Public Service for Press Secretaries:"

While this relationship was inappropriate and has done terrible damage to my family, it was also brief. Don’t get me wrong, though. The relations weren’t brief. I’m a stallion. Like, seriously. I’m the LeBron James of cheating. *This part is optional.
In any case, I take full responsibility, and only hope my wife and family will forgive me.
In the weeks and months ahead, I will consult with my spiritual advisor, [circle one: Rev. Jesse Jackson, Rabbi Schmuley Boteach, Pastor Ted Haggard], and work to the repair the damage I have done to my family.

Once a cheater politician, always a politician.

Welcome to Crazytown!

From Richard Larson's Gawker post about the madness on The Hills:

The Hills used to be kind of a good time — you could make fun of it, dissect the outfits, laugh at the sweeping music and landscape shots. But now... ugh. It's skidded into the realm of grotesque dance macabre. There might not be much to be done about Heidi now. She may be too in the thrall of the terrible fame monster. This might be her life. And that is a genuinely sad thing, for which we may be partly responsible. But we can at least, from here on out, stand on the principle that we won't give them anymore ratings, we won't do them the benefit of making fun of them, we won't keep on with the indulging.

I rarely watch The Hills, but I agree that the show has moved from watchable silliness to plain ridiculousity.  Sure those girls have nice clothes (taste levels are debatable), but I wouldn't trade anything to have their plastic, empty lives.  MTV fed viewers a show that was easy on the eyes (and the brain), but how much are they to blame?  We reciprocated by watching and buying magazines featuring the cast.  And of course, the cast can't simply be victims because they signed themselves up and haven't signed out (and I mean literally, because some of them are mentally signed out!).