Blog - Sharon Haver - FocusOnStyle.com

Fashion Video Competition: TheCrane.tv

Karl Lagerfeld heads jury for fashion, lifestyle, architecture, and arts & design video competition… TheCrane.tv, an online video-magazine focused on contemporary culture, to have it’s full launch in March 09, is hosting a video competition for creative talents from all over the world in the categories: Culture, Art&Design, Lifestyle In concert with Discovery Campus and reelisor.com, TheCrane.tv’s founder, Constantin Bjerke tells us that the jury includes Karl Lagerfeld, Ora-Ito, Flavio Albanese and other high profile creatives. Start the new year by getting your creative on in film. Entry guidelines here. Deadline: February 28, 2009 – January 3, 2009

Dame Edna for MAC Cosmetics: I enjoy being a girl /boy!

Gender bender beauty continues… I saw that Aussie minx Dame Edna on Broadway on one of her hilarious Royal Tours a number of years ago with the grandmas– we all loved her humor, her neon lilac wig, and her fabu spectacles. But is she a tongue-in-chic beauty icon? Well, MAC Cosmetics thinks so. Yes, we told you about the Amanda Lepore fragrance. We love our friend Miss J. Alexander, and with size 10 feet have both loaned out her heels to boys in need through the years and have had them stretched by a few good guy friends. Hey, FOS even has some archival content about men wearing pantyhose. We are also the first to admit that some drag queens

Beauty Tips: Eyelash Tints and Lash Perming, yay or nah

Mr. Beauty Tips, our beauty detective solves the mystery on how to get long eyelashes… Just in time for big nights out, like New Year's Eve, luxurious eyelashes are on everyone's mind. As a beauty pro, I feel that lash tint and eyelash perms are really over-rated– yes, some ladies even opt to perm their eyelashes in the hopes of a sexy and flirty wink. In belt-tightening times such extreme measures are also very temporary for the cost. Since obviously, your eyelashes are near your eyes, the types of products that can be used to dye or perm your lashes are quite mild compared with what you can put on your head, and should only be administered by a professional

After Christmas Sales Online: To gift yourself is very good

Don’t venture out, check out after holiday sales online… No surprise here that holiday sales for U.S. retailers fell as much as 4 percent during the holiday season creating one of the worst holiday shopping seasons in modern times, according to data released by SpendingPulse, from the retail data service of MasterCard Advisors. Make their lose your gain, by cozying up in front of your computer and checking out some of these great post holiday sales online.… let the shopping begin! >> Read some of our Discount Designer Style Tips for Chic on the Cheap and our ongoing list of Online Coupon Codes and Free Shipping. Dec. 26 - Feb. 10 Winter Savings 40%-60%+, online only

Tinko’s Takes: Luxurious Food Presentations

Almost too gorgeous to eat… When it comes to home entertaining, the food presentation should be as beautiful to look at as delicious to savor. On a shoot for Nathalie Findlay Lifestyling, a lifestyle consultant service based in Paris, Tinko shares his photographs of a sumptuous gourmet display that will surely brighten any table and add elegance to every special occasion. Notice Nathalie’s use of simple yet luscious foods such as artichokes, raspberries, open pomegranates, and lemons to add texture and visual elegance to the silver platter. Her placement of the shellfish in combination with a sprinkling of fresh herbs and roses make for a rich and delicious presentation worthy of a Renaissance master. Discover your inner food stylist and

Home Town Style: They do Christmas big in Brooklyn

Dyker Heights takes holiday decoration to new heights… Growing up in Brooklyn, NY, I was always amazed at the extensive holiday house decorations in some areas of the borough– too much was never enough to create a holiday wonderland on the front lawn. Friend and now Brooklyn resident, Mark Moskin of Salient Design photographs some of the most outrageous and brilliant Christmas house decorations around. Mark shares his shot of a “classic” house done up in true Dyker Heights style– a fave to date. True to the ‘Brooklyn does it betta’ motto… enjoy! Photo credit: ©2005 Mark Moskin/SalientDesign.com –December 25, 2008

It or Miss: Denim cut-off shorts worn with tights

Shorts + Tights (as seen on the street) Not So Good… It designer Alexander Wang started the runway to real way trend of designer cut-off shorts worn in a neo- grunge, yet very glam way, and boy those denim shorts flew off the racks at the sample sale. And yes, we both reported and loved the look, as pictured left. The Wang version works because the shorts are really not that short and more roomy, in a boyfriend fit kind of cool. The tights are dark and monochromatic which makes the leg appear longer, more slender, and edgy in a modern way. But then there are the girls on the street, as pictured above… First off, only

What not to wear… Admittedly in the land of the fashion free for the holidays, where 3D crochet ornamentations and stamped-on snowflakes are the poor excuse for something cute. I didn't happen to stumble upon these garish and homely machine made, ugly Christmas sweaters, they were proudly displayed right up front in the big store in town, waiting for some poor sole to gobble them up and gift them to Great Aunt Tilly or have same gift them to her cherished niece. Don’t. Stop. Say NO to fugly fashion. You can't even regift these shapeless atrocities. Even when worn in jest, ugly Christmas sweaters are just not funny or ironic. Demand that clothing should be both flattering to the wearer

Bloomingdale’s, Lord & Taylor, Macy’s, and Sak’s Fifth Avenue holiday windows for the kid in all of us… New York Christmas windows are famous for the animated displays which put put a smile on all our faces, and not just the the young children hoisted up onto their parent’s shoulder. Sak’s Fifth Avenue has whimsical animated windows about a “different” snowflake named Mike for the tots and for the glamazons, there are the opulent “Crystal Lized Made with Swarovski Elements” showstoppers. Lord & Taylor stays with its classic, vintage Christmas window display which evokes childhood memories. Bloomingdale’s Third Avenue side has a fun Juicy group of windows with fab Dangerous Liaisons type wigs. Of course, Macy’s does not disappoint in

Stuart Weitzman '5050' Over the Knee Nappa Leather Boot at Nordstrom's

Timeless style tips on How to wear Over-the-Knee Boots …without looking like you stepped in a hole I have absolutely gone wild with the new over-the-knee boots and bought myself a fabulous pair. But now that I have these amazing boots at home, everything that I try to wear with them doesn't look as good as it does on the models in the magazines or celebrities. I'm 5'5" tall and average size. I don't want to return the boots, I just want to look great wearing them. How can I make the over-the-knee boots trend work for me? (Milwaukee, WI) When worn in the right way, over-the-knee boots are fab! However, something this cool can turn very bad, like the dumpy

Beauty Book Review: Face Value by Kathleen Baird-Murray…

A Novel Beauty Face Value by Kathleen Baird-Murray, a novel beauty book review In a seemingly flawless macrocosm of pretty good reads, Sapien bookcases vertically riddled with cutesy tomes from interns who gab too much or stay-at-homes who discover their latent editrix by a steady diet of watching fashion TV. What's a stylish girl to do when she wants a little chic in her chicklit, some irony, a sporadic giggle, and a really fun romp to read while not-so-patiently waiting for her flight to finally take off? She fills in the blanks... So here we have a novel (Face Value) with a fairy tale premise (how to make a splash in the glamour biz without really having a clue) by

Bergdorf Goodman and Louis Vuitton New York holiday windows… In what are probably one of the most visually stunning New York Christmas windows, Bergdorf Goodman creates artful displays that recreate the feel of the dioramas of the Natural History Museum. The store’s Fifth Avenue windows are an opulent white on white homage to the four seasons, plus holiday all combining the unique mix of natural wonders and Bergdorf Goodman luxury fashion. While the East 58th Street and Bergdorf Goodman Men’s Store windows create a more allegorical display of animals and fashion. East 57th Street windows are a whimsical play on black, white, plus red. All are absolutely amazing and quite a scene to get your turn to photograph. In

Secret Shoppers: Rich Chicks Covering Up Their High End Indulgences

Scrap the luxury orange or turquoise signature shopping bag and make hers a modest plain Jane… We are totally behind carrying your own eco bag to the grocery store, but this shopping bag switch is on a whole other level! The Daily Beast reports, “What Rich People Don’t Want You to Know About Their Spending” is that although the cash cows are more than happy to drop a mother lode to support their luxury indulgences, they simply don’t want to be caught red-handed walking out of tony shops flaunting the armloads of arm candy. Have they not heard of FedEx? It seems, according to the story, that “Kathleen Fuld, wife of Lehman Brothers C.E.O. Dick Fuld, stopped by the Hermes

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The Blog Posts...

Fashion Video Competition: TheCrane.tv

Dame Edna for MAC Cosmetics: I enjoy being a girl /boy!

Beauty Tips: Eyelash Tints and Lash Perming, yay or nah

After Christmas Sales Online: To gift yourself is very good

Tinko’s Takes: Luxurious Food Presentations

Home Town Style: They do Christmas big in Brooklyn

It or Miss: Denim cut-off shorts worn with tights

Retail Remedy, Not: The Ugly Christmas Sweater Calamities

Retail Remedy: NY Christmas Windows Whimsical Take

How to wear Over-the-Knee Boots

Beauty Book Review: Face Value by Kathleen Baird-Murray…

Retail Remedy: NY Christmas Windows, Stylish and Artful Elegance

Secret Shoppers: Rich Chicks Covering Up Their High End Indulgences

Female Entrepreneurs: Helping You & Your Business Get Out There!