Many teens in Southeast Asia have been shelling out more than $100 for so-called black market braces, mouth gear that doesn't serve any function other than fashion -- and status. While being a brace-face stateside might be a drag, real braces cost close to $1,200 in places like Bangkok, putting dental care far out of reach for the average family. As a result, braces have become a surprising status symbol.

Continue Reading...

Continue Reading...

Paul Archuleta/FilmMagic

Continue Reading...

“Do you mind me asking where you found that skirt?”

“Oh, it’s not a skirt,” she said. “It’s a skort. There are shorts under here. It doesn’t wrinkle, and it doesn’t stain.”

By jove, the woman had full coverage! That explained her smile. And such an intriguing concept, this wicking fabric. I have two children under the age of 5, so for the foreseeable future, my wardrobe needs resemble those of a typical frat boy. As in, we both want clothes that puke won’t stain.

Full coverage could be had, other mother said, with a visit to the Athleta website. Available in khakina, asphalt, dismal, dumpy, cheerless and sexless, the “Whatever” skort is one of 18 styles of skort sold by Athleta, the sporty sister in the Gap family.

Continue Reading...

While one may reasonably question Yolanda Turnstill's (and her daughter's) fashion sense, she may have some reason to be angry. Turnstill maintains that the school kicked Deja, an honors student, out of class for wearing tights. Except, according to Turnstill, it wasn't just for wearing tights. It was because she wore brown tights. Deja's teacher's assistant "allegedly said the tights were too racy because their color made it appear Deja was not wearing pants," Turnstill told KTLA.

Turnstill continued:

Continue Reading...

The celebrity-studded night lured shoppers into stores for celebrity spotting, music, giveaways, food and drinks, and, just maybe, shopping.

By early evening in New York, the basement beauty floor of Bergdorf Goodman was packed. Madeleine Russell of Manhattan, wearing her FNO shirt from last year, got her nails done ahead of a long line. She attends Fashion's Night Out events every year.

"I'm inspired by all the fashion around me and I get my own ideas," she said.

Like the FNO pro she is, Russell planned to head home from Bergdorf to put on makeup and her Manolo Blahniks to see Cyndi Lauper at the Blahnik store promoting her new musical, "Kinky Boots."

Across town, Kim Kardashian signed $123 gift sets of her perfume True Reflection at Lord & Taylor and was ready to hop a plane to Charlotte, N.C., for an after party for the Democratic National Convention.

"Because it is a lot of running around I wanted to be comfortable," she said. "This Tom Ford dress is, like, stretchy. So at least I'm really comfortable."

Continue Reading...

Consider, for example, the case of the sexy onesie. This week, the Mississippi department store Gordman's found itself the center of national attention when a concerned mom notified a local news team about a baby outfit embellished to look like a curvaceous, bikini-clad female trunk. As parent Laura Faulkner disgustedly told WMC-TV, "It puts out a bad meaning about society for them to want to put something like that on an 18-month-old baby." And a local father chimed in that, "I think it gives people the wrong idea."

Continue Reading...

We all have closets overflowing with clothing, drawers spilling over with T-shirts, and underwear in every color of the rainbow. Yet, as Cline tells us, "We spend more money on eating out in restaurants" than we do on attiring ourselves – and only 3 percent of the measly amount we spend on clothing goes to apparel made in the United States.

Continue Reading...

It was always bound to go there, but few likely expected it would be so blatant. I'm talking about the ongoing campaign against organized labor; for decades deeply rooted in American political culture, the crusade has been periodically amplified in popular culture as well, from 1954's "On the Waterfront" all the way to the Sopranos' depiction of mob-controlled unions (and sometimes pop culture and political culture have even fused). So it was only a matter of time before vilifying rank-and-file union members would be commodified into a consumer brand by a company looking for an edge in the high-end retail market.

That's where Kenneth Cole now comes in. The clothing designer has just launched a new crusade to tie his expensive clothing and shoes line to the elite's movement du jour: the fight to demonize public schoolteachers and their unions. In a billboard and Web-based campaign, Cole's foundation portrays the national debate over education as one that supposedly pits "Teachers' Rights vs. Students' Rights."

Continue Reading...

It’s true that Stillman’s characters often wear stereotypically preppy clothing. They can be found in madras plaids, blue blazers, Lacoste shirts and other clothes historically associated with our country’s most selective colleges and the private schools that prepare — hence “prep” — students for them. They mention Brooks Brothers and Sag Harbor in casual conversation. But prepdom, as I understand it, and as I learned it in my own prep school and college, is only partly about clothing. It is more properly understood as an orientation toward power.

Continue Reading...

Why the hoodie and why now? Do some clothes really suggest stronger criminal tendencies than others? The hoodie allows its wearer to hide under a little mobile shadow and enjoy a measure of anonymity. But if Martin had been shot in a pea coat with the collar popped, we wouldn't be debating the sinister implications of wide lapels.

The hoodie is not the most vilified garment in American history -- that can be gauged by the fact that no member of Congress has shown up to work in a burqa, along the lines of U.S. Rep. Bobby Rush's hoodie stunt last Wednesday. In the past century, the lineup of suspicious clothing has included trench coats, jeans and stiletto heels. And they are all presumed innocent until proven guilty.

Continue Reading...

A push-up bra that gives you 2 cup sizes extra. Modeled by Andrej Pejic. A man. So imagine what it can do for a woman.

Andrej Pejic, a male model from Bosnia, is from my neck of the woods and is also known as "the prettiest boy in the world." In the fashion industry, where a small percentage of female models succeed, Andrej is widely accepted as one of the top supermodels by fashion and mainstream media (See covers below).

When you find out he is a man, does he become less beautiful? If so, does that challenge your thinking about beauty?

Continue Reading...

Jason Wu is the young, impeccably elegant designer whose career went into the stratosphere when high-profile Michelle Obama chose his dreamy, one-shouldered creation for her husband's inaugural ball in 2009. His preppy-with-an-edge ready-to-wear designs retail at high-end stores like Neiman Marcus and Nordstrom for upward of a thousand bucks a pop. So from the moment Target – which has in the past done wildly successful collaborations with the likes of Alexander McQueen, Jean Paul Gaultier and Rodarte -- announced that it was teaming up with Wu for a February launch, the slavering began. And when Target released a preview teaser of zippy little navy and cream ensembles, we all pretty much knew: There would be blood.

Continue Reading...

Hey, guys — what’s going on? I am Ambercrombie & Fitch. I model for them at their store in the financial district in New York City, but I also do way, way more. I can find different sizes for you if you need it, but if not — hey, that’s cool. No pressure. I can also muss with clothing. Oh, and did I mention that I can shimmy? I can shimmy and gyrate and smell good doing it. I am Ambercrombie & Fitch.

You’re probably curious about a few things right now. One, is this idiot serious? I am. Two, what do I look like shirtless? Very cold. And, perhaps, three: How did this happen? How did a regular guy stumble into a job of emaciated youths and anonymous six-packs? How does one become a “model” for Ambercrombie & Fitch? One recent Tuesday afternoon, I was walking down upper Broadway trying to ignore the rain and avoid eye contact with every other street-bound soul when it happened. I was discovered. Yes, discovered.

“Hey! Hey!” a curly-haired 20-something I soon learned was named Vanessa shouted after me. “Hey. We just love your look.”

Continue Reading...

When slicked-back hair is associated with the likes of a corporate raider like Gekko -- Maureen Dowd wrote just last week that Republicans in New Hampshire were "painting Romney as a ruthless Gekko, complete with a 1980s-era slicked-back mane" -- it's safe to say the signals that it sends are negative. That's particularly the case in the current, Wall Street-wary climate. But where did the slicked-back style originate? What other cultural connotations does it command?

Continue Reading...

Indeed, in a world in which little girls are peddled crotchless thongs, push-up bras and Playboy bunny-themed accessories, Gymboree's controversial onesies declaring that baby boys are "Smart Like Dad" while girls are "Pretty Like Mommy" seem like pretty small potatoes. Yet when images of the outfits hit the Web, the outraged Moms Rising advocacy group created a petition noting "there's no option to purchase a Smart Like Mommy onesie for boys or girls." They urged Gymboree to "stop selling children’s clothing that promotes harmful gender stereotypes immediately."

Continue Reading...

The evening was a benefit for 826NYC and featured a collection of original and one-of-a-kind crime-fighting attire for superheroes created by various designers -- Opening Ceremony, Christian Joy, Renata Morales, Chromat Garments, Matt Singer, Complex Geometries, United Bamboo and others.

All proceeds from the evening went to benefit 826NYC, allowing them to continue to help students complete their homework, get into college, improve their writing skills, rediscover themselves as artists/authors/filmmakers/musicians, and collaborate with a community of volunteers who care about their success.

Continue Reading...

Click through the following slide show for a short preview of the hundreds of fashion-related items from Taylor's personal collection that are set to be auctioned by Christie's this winter (and take note: before they go on sale, standout pieces from the collection will tour the world; an exhibition will hit Los Angeles in October, and New York at the beginning of December). Among other things, you'll see a surprisingly simple yellow chiffon wedding dress; an embroidered robe that Taylor wore to Grace Kelly's 1969 "Scorpio Ball;" and an eye-catching Versace jacket -- worn by Taylor to two AIDS benefits -- that features the face of its photogenic owner herself.

For full details of the Christie's collection (which also includes Taylor's jewelry and other personal items), including tour and sale dates, click here.

Continue Reading...

Besides the fact that the slogan doesn't really make much sense -- not that we want girls to use their looks instead of their heads, but shouldn't they woo peers and not siblings? -- the predictable flap illustrates a larger truth. If you're trying to make money by getting people to plaster ridiculous sayings across their chests, it's better to go surreal or silly than stereotypical.

Continue Reading...

2. Cancellation of the day: Sorry, Kate Gosselin, your money train is at an end, as TLC has just canceled " Kate Plus 8."  Don't worry, I'm sure you will find other ways to exploit your children for cash ... maybe have the younger ones try out for "Toddlers & Tiaras"?

Continue Reading...