Wednesday’s Shoe

“There’s no place like home, there’s no place like home,” Dorothy Gale says to herself, while clicking her heels in The Wizard of Oz.  Her ruby red slippers are probably the most famous pair of shoes to ever appear onscreen, and have remained a cultural icon for over 70 years.  MGM’s chief costumer at the time was Adrian, who designed the magical pumps for the film.  There was no Academy Award for Costume Design in 1939, but we imagine it would have been an interesting competition between Adrian and Walter Plunkett for Gone With the Wind!  (Fun Fact: In L. Frank Baum’s original book, Dorothy’s shoes are actually silver, to symbolize the silver standard of the American monetary system.)  Our editors loved the ruby slippers so much, when one was gifted a plastic pair for Christmas as a child, the other got pretty indignant until she got a matching set… We were extremely excited to see the real pair when we visited the Smithsonian in 1996, but they were visiting a different museum at the time!  We finally got to see the real ruby slippers 15 years later (pictured, below) when one of our editors was living outside Washington, D.C. last year.  Oddly enough, these magical slippers are still making news!  Leonardo DiCaprio is currently looking to purchase one of the four remaining pairs for the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures.  At least one pair will make it back to its home in Hollywood!

Look-of-the-Day

It was hard trying to find an outfit from a romantic comedy that also happens to feature the team colors of the New York Giants, who won the Super Bowl last night, but then we stumbled on this!  Here is Jennifer Garner in Valentine’s Day (I guess it would have made more sense to post this on the actual holiday…) sporting an A-line blue skirt with a red and white polka-dotted cardigan, while Ashton Kutcher delivers her flowers at the school she teaches in.  Garner certainly looks at home holding that textbook with her red nails and ponytail – if she didn’t get into acting, she would have made one adorable schoolteacher!  This 2010 rom-com by Garry Marshall got horrible reviews, but it had some cute parts with these two, Julia Roberts and a bevy of other Hollywood A-listers.  At least the girls got to wear some cute clothes!  (Doesn’t that always make everything better?)  Go Giants!

Look-of-the-Day

The Family Stone is one of this editor’s all-time favorite films, due to the fact it can make you laugh, cry, laugh and cry again within a matter of minutes.  And because the stunning Rachel McAdams plays the feisty baby sister, Amy, who is the silver screen embodiment of my own baby sister.  The movie tells the tale of a very close family whose eldest son, Everett, brings home an uptight city girl named Meredith for the holidays, which sets off a series of uncomfortable situations that make everyone start to doubt if Meredith is actually the girl meant for Everett.  It pushes the Stones apart, and back together, and they learn what really matters – especially when they start to realize one by one that their time as a tight-knit unit is running out.  This poignant scene shows McAdams staring up at the Christmas tree in a very flattering red turtleneck, which has been this editor’s go-to outfit every December 25th since she was about thirteen.  This Christmas, our real-life version of Amy Stone will be celebrating the holidays away from home, but you can bet we’ll be breaking out this film, as we often do when we miss her, to be reminded of her passion, silliness and shining personality.

Ralph Lauren Saves American Flag

“O! say can you see by the dawn’s early light...”  I guess Ralph Lauren wanted his grandchildren’s children to see the flag that inspired our national anthem, because he is one of the major contributors that donated the funds to save it!  The flag in question, is the enormous Star-Spangled Banner that has hung in the Smithsonian over the last century.  It was flown on September 14, 1814 in Fort McHenry, Baltimore, during the War of 1812, and inspired Francis Scott Key to write the haunting lyrics that later became the United States’ national anthem.  Ralph Lauren, whose label epitomizes classic Americana sophistication, is no stranger to the national symbol, as his Polo brand’s icon is also Old Glory!  In 1998, Polo Ralph Lauren pledged $10 million to the cause of saving the nearly 200-year-old piece of history.  Lauren went on to actually give $13 million to the cause (which was nearly half of the money donated!)  Lauren even wrote the forward for the 2008 book, Star-Spangled Banner: The Making of an American Icon, which tells the story of the flag and the measures taken to save it.  Our editors were surprised to see the classy designer’s name printed outside the exhibition when we visited the flag last spring, and ended up investigating.  Museum director Brent Glass said, “Ralph Lauren really reflects the American dream in his personal story,” as a Bronx-native named Ralph Lipchitz, who went on to build his own business that would make him a billionaire, and become synonymous with American style.  Lauren stated, “The flag is an inspiration for all Americans and it captures the dreams and imaginations of men and women all over the world.  I am a product of the American dream and the flag is its symbol.  We at Polo Ralph Lauren are incredibly honored to be able to make this possible.”  It’s nearly inconceivable to separate American sportswear from the Ralph Lauren label, so it makes sense that he will forever be affiliated with another icon that embodies the American experience.  Today, it’s especially important to remember the sacrifices our veterans have made so we could all pursue our own American dreams, and remember how important Old Glory really is.

Look-of-the-Day

Since Veterans Day happened to fall on a “Fancy Friday,” we thought Katy Perry’s red gown from VH1’s Divas Salute the Troops last year was quite appropriate to feature!  The sexy singer wore a whole lot of provocative military-inspired wear that night, but donned this fancy dress, too!  The strapless, red-sequined gown had a slit that redefines the word “thigh-high” and paired it with long red gloves and matching platform stilettos.  Perry has the perfect hourglass figure to rock 1940s outfits, and this Jessica Rabbit-esque costume is no different.  We’re sure the troops certainly appreciated her singing, and her sexiness!  Happy Veterans Day!

Look-of-the-Day

This picture only makes us wonder how Macaulay Culkin ever left this pint-size stunner “home alone.”  Here is Mila Kunis at the New York premiere of her latest film, Friends with Benefits, wearing one sexy Lanvin dress.  Paired with satin black pumps and blown-out brunette locks, Kunis certainly looks like a friend we’d like to have around.  Just because Natalie Portman won the gold for Black Swan doesn’t mean the understudy can’t have just as much fun!  Because if that includes dresses like this, the Marine Corps Ball, yelling in Russian and Justin Timberlake, then we’re so in!

Look-of-the-Day

Rachel McAdams – our editors’ favorite actress, environmentalist, “mean girl,” and Canadian (which says A LOT, considering the amount of fantasies they’ve had about Ryan Reynolds, Michael J. Fox, and Ryan Gosling) – looks stunning as always in this January 2010 photo shoot with Mario Testino for Vogue.  McAdams certainly makes porcelain skin sexy in this red and black silk floral bodysuit and pencil skirt with matching peep-toe, platform Christian Louboutin slingback stilettos.  This true beauty pulls off just about anything, but this has to be one of our all-time favorite photos of our gorgeous green girl!

Wednesday’s Shoe

Considering Wonder Woman has always fought crime in her sexy high-heeled boots, it’s no surprise the shoe we picked for Comic-Con would be inspired by her!  These cream and red crime-fighting stilettos are part of Jerome C. Rousseau’s Spring 2011 Collection.  He has been featured in Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar, and is quite the up and coming designer!  We have no idea if Wonder Woman was the inspiration for these adorable shoes, but they certainly look like a modern version of pump Lynda Carter would be wearing today!

What a Wonderful Woman

Wonder Woman is probably the world’s most popular female superhero, and honestly why wouldn’t she be?  She’s sexy, strong, smart, patriotic, and well-dressed – the epitome of the modern feminist.  Wonder Woman was first featured in All Star Comics #8 in December of 1941 – the same month as the Pearl Harbor attacks!  It’s so surreal Wonder Woman has been around that long.  She is a princess of the Amazons and is known as Diana of Themyscira, aka Diana Prince when she moves to the United States.  Wonder Woman was created by William Moulton Marston, a psychologist famous for inventing the polygraph.  He wanted to create a superhero that fought with love instead of fists.  When he presented the idea to his wife, Elizabeth, she said “Fine.  But make her a woman.”  Marston wrote in 1943: “Not even girls want to be girls so long as our feminine archetype lacks force, strength, and power. Not wanting to be girls, they don’t want to be tender, submissive, peace-loving as good women are. Women’s strong qualities have become despised because of their weakness. The obvious remedy is to create a feminine character with all the strength of Superman plus all the allure of a good and beautiful woman.”  Originally, Diana fought the Nazis and other Axis powers after saving an American intelligence officer that crashed on her Amazonian island.  Wonder Woman has superhuman strength, agility, and speed.  She is quite adept at fighting in hand-to-hand combat and military tactics.  Her most famous onscreen portrayal is the television series starring Lynda Carter that aired from 1975 to 1979.  In the series, Carter looked like the perfect embodiment of a strong and saucy brunette.  Wonder Woman enlists in the United States Navy under the name “Diana Prince,” as a First Class Petty Officer.  While Carter looks strong and powerful as her natural self, her human alter-ego looks much softer – even in her Naval uniform (pictured, above right).  Diana’s round-rimmed glasses give her a much less-threatening appearance (even geeky in some shots), but when she’s in costume, there’s no messing with this woman!  As Diana, she wears many soft-looking fashion items, such as the pink frock featured on today’s “Look-of-the-Day.”  When out of either uniform, Diana wears her go-to spectacles, floral prints, vests and other trendy 70s items, in a conservative sense… Hell!  She’s even wearing stockings and a kimono in her one-piece bathing suit!  But when Diana is in Wonder Woman gear, she’s an entirely different person.  She has an extremely patriotic red, white and blue strapless leotard to show off her beautiful Amazonian physique.  Like any well-equipped soldier (or sailor, in this case), every accessory of Wonder Woman’s outfit can be used for other purposes: her tiara acts as a projectile, her gold cuffs with red stars are indestructible, and her Lasso of Truth forces people to be honest when tangled in it.  And her knee-high red and white boots?  Well those are just for looking good!  (Although, she’s probably be wearing something similar to this “Wednesday’s Shoe” in the age of the stiletto…)  We don’t particularly like the look of the new Wonder Woman pilot that’s yet to be picked up with Adrianne Palicki (her outfit just looks too cheap, and she doesn’t look comfortable in the role), but we certainly loved Lynda Carter in the role!  (Maybe because our editors were raised by another strong, dark brunette named Linda who also juggled everything going on in her world…)  Well, Wonder Woman is everything our editors admire in a person and she manages to do it with great style!

Look-of-the-Day

Jean Grey doesn’t doesn’t have a very varied wardrobe in X-Men 1, 2 and 3, but she does have consistently simple and chic style.  Jean goes from a mild-mannered mutant scientist to a possessed madwoman by the finale and stars as the female lead in all three films.  Here, she’s wearing a deep scarlet long-sleeved crewneck t-shirt and a bright red pencil skirt with swept-up hair in the first movie.  Since she works at a school for gifted children, it’s important she looks professional, so it’s amazing that even though she is completely covered up except for her lean calves that she still looks so sexy.