President Obama to get a taste of Coachella on Vermont visit

When President Obama makes his first presidential visit to Burlington, Vt., on Friday he'll likely be treated to many of the things that the Green Mountain State is famous for (think Ben & Jerry's ice cream, Cabot cheddar cheese and anything maple-flavored). But, he'll also get a little musical taste of what's in store for thousands of Coachella-bound festival-goers in mid-April.

That's because the March 30 fundraiser at the University of Vermont includes a musical performance by Vermont's own Grace Potter & The Nocturnals (bandmates Scott Tournet, Matt Burr and Benny Yurco), who will be performing at the two-weekend music festival at the Empire Polo field in Indio starting April 13.

When we caught up with singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Grace Potter on the phone earlier Tuesday to talk fashion for an upcoming pre-Coachella-style story, the Waitsfield native was back in the 802. And while she had already narrowed her Coachella wardrobe choices down to a handful of contenders (her short list includes Stella McCarney, Alexander McQueen and Givenchy), she hadn't yet decided what to wear for her presidential close-up.

"That's actually a good question," Potter said when asked what she was going to don for the high-profile event. "I got home thinking I had a whole wardrobe full of stuff here, but it turns out it's all in our trailer in Nashville so I've got to figure something out."

Potter explained that thanks to the hectic, coast-hopping schedule leading up to the upcoming release of the band's latest studio album release ("The Lion The Beast The Beat," due out June 12), she's essentially left her clothes scattered across the country.

"I have a [wardrobe] trailer in Nashville, I have a closet in L.A., I have three closets here and I've got a storage space," she explained.

But, whether she ultimately wears something like the leather-fringed, thigh-grazing Alexander McQueen dress she wore at a Hollywood Bowl performance last summer, or pays homage to Vermont's unofficial state color combination with blue jeans and a hunter plaid shirt, the only thing Potter's sure of is that she'll be wearing something.

"Yes," Potter said with a chuckle. "I will wear clothes for the president."

And, for those of you who won't be in Burlington, Vt. on Friday, but still want a pre-Coachella sample of the sound (and look) of Grace Potter & The Nocturnals, they're slated to perform on NBC's "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" on April 5.

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-- Adam Tschorn

Photos: At left, Grace Potter & The Nocturnals (from left, Scott Tournet, Benny Yurco, Grace Potter and Matt Burr). Credit: Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times. At right, President Obama delivers a speech in Mt. Holly, N.C., on March 7. Credit: John W. Adkisson / Getty Images

 

Fox News Megyn Kelly talks about her on-air style

Armed with good looks, a law background and killer confidence, Megyn Kelly, news anchor and host of Fox News' "America Live," has notable style when it comes to her on-camera look.

There's plenty of color, tailoring and even the occasional peep-toe stiletto when she's on set. When going on the road to cover the 2012 elections, this Chicago native tones it down a bit, balancing traditional style with modern-day fashion for a look that's polished and appropriate for the campaign trail.

In this Sunday's Image section, Kelly is profiled for her focused approach to fashion for television and for the "New York casual" look she rocks on weekends and off hours spent with her husband and two young children.

 Her life is always hectic, but a well-chosen wardrobe means she never has to look like it is. 

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Megyn Kelly said WHAT about pepper spray? Not what you may think.

--Melissa Magsaysay

Photo: Megyn Kelly, Anchor of Fox News Channel's "America Live" in her New York office. Credit: Carolyn Cole/Los Angeles Times

Orrin Hatch: Obama's traded the hard hat for a 'hipster fedora'

The hat seems to have become a political brickbat of sorts.

At least the "hipster fedora" has, thanks to a Feb. 29 comment made by Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) during an energy policy debate on the floor of the U.S. Senate.

"President Obama has traded in the hard hat and lunch bucket category of the Democratic Party for a hipster fedora and a double-skim latte," he said, giving the distinct impression that the official chapeau of Williamsburg and Los Feliz was tantamount to donning a pickelhaube at a peace rally.

(On a side note to Hatch's speechwriters: It would have been infinitely better to go with "stingy-brim fedora" instead of "hipster fedora." The former sounds in-the-know, the latter makes him seem like an angry old man shaking his fist and yelling at the neighbor kids who won't stop playing ball in his yard.)

Sure, we know it was intended to be good, clean, election-year bloviation (for the record, we don't recall seeing Obama sporting any kind of lid lately), but it got us thinking: In this era of heightened hat sensitivity, what kind of hat could the president wear without alienating some segment of the electorate?

The cowboy hat seems too "last president" (and the two presidents before that), the beret too Che, the sombrero sends the wrong signal (two actually: pandering for the Latino vote and appearing pro-illegal immigration), and the top hat, in a nod to Lincoln, certainly seems presidential enough at first, but in reality it's just a monocle and a cartoon bag of money away from the 1%.

The fez? Too Shriner. The scholar's mortarboard? Too Ivy League faculty lounge. The pill-box hat? Too Jackie O. And, while it might be good fun to watch the president solve the mystery of the economy wearing the kind of deerstalker hunting hat popularized by Sherlock Holmes ("Elementary, my dear Biden"), he'd probably want to puff on a pipe like Holmes did, which would run afoul of the anti-smoking crowd.

The only logical option, then, would be the kind of good, old-fashioned, patriotic tricorne our founding fathers wore back in the day -- around the time they were dumping tea into Boston Harbor. There's no way that could send a mixed message, right?

Of course there are plenty of folks in the millinery business who wouldn't mind seeing Obama don a hipster fedora -- or a porkpie, trilby, bowler or tam o'shanter for that matter. In fact, in an interview about his new headgear line last year, Cedric the Entertainer singled out the commander in chief as someone who could single-headedly turn the hat business around.

"When JFK didn’t wear a hat, he kind of killed it from the presidential standpoint, right?" Ced opined at the time. "So all we need is for the president to start wearing a hat again and everyone will be: ‘OK, hats are back!'"

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 -- Adam Tschorn

Photo: Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.), left, and Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) wearing cowboy hats at the inauguration of George W. Bush in 2001. Credit: Ron Edmonds / Associated Press

Has hair care become the third rail of politics?

Has caring about your hair care become the third rail of presidential politics?

It sure seems like it. Leaving the house Wednesday morning, I caught a segment on "Today" about Newt Gingrich's foundering presidential primary bid. According to the report, Gingrich's wife Callista (she of the Tiffany bill) butted heads with Gingrich staffers because she didn't want any campaign flights scheduled for early morning -- because she wanted to have time to get her hair done. (Whether or not this is actually the case, you have to admit, Mrs. Gingrich the Third has a flawless coif so solid it could easily have been cast in solid platinum.)

Add in the mockery -- and "Breck girl" nickname -- Sen. John Edwards earned for the follicularly focused faux pas captured on video (long before there was so much more to mock him for), and the fallout from President Clinton's trim on the tarmac at LAX by Christophe of Beverly Hills to name just two, and it seems that this kind of tonsorial attentiveness is not a trait that plays well with John and Jane Q. Public.

While it's still a long road to the Oval Office -- for any candidate -- it's clear that the presidential primary preening watch is already in full swing.

So here's our advice to current front-runner Mitt Romney, who has been accused in the past of having a too-perfect head of hair: Throw away the comb, ditch the product and jam a knit wool cap on your head. Remove the knit cap only for campaign speeches. Repeat as necessary. This will make you look like you've got more going on in your head than worrying about what's on top of it.

And, for a brief moment, it might make some people think about wool-cap-wearing U2 guitarist The Edge.

Which can't hurt your chances one bit.

-- Adam Tschorn

Photo: Callista Gingrich (credit: Mike Stewart / Associated Press) and Mitt Romney (Charles Krupa / Associatited Press) are among those in the political arena who've caught heat for their hair care.

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The face of power

Wardrobe time warp: Gov. Jerry Brown circa 1980 [updated]

While gathering string for a look at Governor-elect Jerry Brown's style over the years, I stumbled across a report from a nearly 31-year-old* issue of the Los Angeles Times that was worth sharing.

In addition to revealing that 1980 was a leap year -- and that the paper's style coverage at the time appeared in a series of pages dubbed "Fashion80" -- Richard B. Marks' "Wearing the News" column from Feb. 29, 1980, managed not only to provide a snapshot of how the once and future governor dressed at the time, it also provided a forecast of what '80s fashion was going to be.

First, here's Marks' description of the governor:

"... the other night I spotted Jerry Brown at a Los Angeles gallery opening wearing beige flare-leg trousers and a double-breasted blue blazer with lapels so large and pointed he could impale his enemies on them."

But the real gems are the quotes about '80s fashion he uses (and honestly it's hard to tell if he's quoting himself or someone else) to make his argument that the best place to get a bead on economic and political trends is the fashion page -- not the business or opinion pages.

Among them:

"'We will see a resurgence of optimistic primary colors in the 80's.' A sure sign of a depression. Corner the market on Rit dye while you can still afford it."

'Yves Saint Laurent is emphasizing the peasant look again.' Be careful. These might be uniforms for on-the-job training."

And my personal favorite:

"'Once again fashion is coming from the streets, not from the decisions of Paris designers.' Sunset [Boulevard] people are doing it right, night after night, and waiting in line at the Hollywood unemployment office is a fashion world away from the city on the Seine."

Even though the swing of the great fashion pendulum makes some of those same observations fit as squarely with today's prevailing trends as they did three decades ago, it's safe to assume the once and future governor won't be bringing the beige bell-bottoms and double-breasted blazers back to Sacramento.

-- Adam Tschorn

Photo: Governor-elect Jerry Brown, on  Nov. 1, will be returning to the governorship in January, but his '80s-era wardrobe will not. Credit: Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times

*[UPDATED 11/8/10 8:35 PM: An earlier version of this post incorrectly described a Los Angeles Times article about Jerry Brown. It was written nearly 31 years ago -- not 21.]

 

Where to buy a pair of Stephen Colbert's star-spangled trousers

If this weekend's Halloween revelry didn't satisfy your desire for wearing eye-catching clothes, and the star-spangled trousers Stephen Colbert wore at Saturday's "Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear" looked like something you might want to add to your own wardrobe, you're in luck.

The shamelessly self-promoting folks at Betabrand made sure to let us know over the weekend that the comedian was clad in a pair of their USA pants (online only, $90). 

The patriotic pants are made in San Francisco, and details include a star-motif waist button and red-and-white striped pocket bags and waistband liner.

And, as usual, the pants are worth checking out at the Betabrand site for entertainment value alone. The descriptions include: "Lovingly hand-stitched by the spectral fingers of Betsy Ross’ ghost," and "These colors don't run (unless washed in hot water with white clothing.)"

To complete the outfit, I'd recommend the Florsheim for Duckie Brown Patriot Boot ($495) -- if you can find a pair (an update of a Florsheim style first made in 1945 to celebrate the end of World War II, the boots were made in a limited run of 1,945 pairs).

-- Adam Tschorn

Upper photo: Stephen Colbert, left, sporting a pair of Betabrand's star-spangled USA pants during the "Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear" with Jon Stewart, right, in Washington. Credit: Kris Connor / Getty Images

Lower photo: A limited-edition Florsheim by Duckie Brown Patriot Boot. Credit: Florsheim by Duckie Brown

Lady Gaga and NBC's Brian Williams among the style icons named to Vanity Fair's 2010 Best-Dressed List

Frankly, we're kind of over Vanity Fair playing global fashion police, but when the magazine's 2010 International Best-Dressed List was announced Tuesday, where did we find ourselves? You guessed it -- checking the list to see who made the cut. 

We try hard to keep up with the planet's most fashionable -- and fashion-forward -- folks. We really do. It's in our job description. But this year's crop has us a bit baffled. Among the names one might reasonably expect -- David Beckham, Charlotte Gainsbourg -- were a  lot of European royalty we'd never heard of (including the Duchess of Alba, who is credited as having "more than 44 noble and 150 hereditary titles" -- though we're guessing "Jessica Alba's grandmum" isn't one of them).

Here's a link to a printable view of the whole list (the format's not especially pretty, but it'll save you if you don't want to click through all 45 slides).

Among the ladies on this year's list are First Lady Michelle Obama (whose husband failed to make the cut this year);  fashion designer Tory Burch; actress Carey Mulligan; France's first lady, Carla Bruni-Sarkozy (again); and Samantha Cameron, wife of British Prime Minister David Cameron (she also happens to be a creative consultant for Smythson). Of course, Lady Gaga's "just-gotta-be-me" attitude -- and wardrobe -- earned her a spot as well (her look is described as "Dada Catholic girl").

Notable new names on the men's side include polo player and model Nacho Figueras (included as a twofer with his photographer-model wife, Delfina Blaquier), Lanvin designer and creative director Alber Elbaz, "NBC Nightly News" anchorman Brian Williams, Alec Baldwin, jeweler-actor Waris Ahluwalia and Pharrell Williams.

-- Adam Tschorn

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Photos: Among the newly minted style icons on the 2010 Vanity Fair International Best-Dressed List is "NBC Nightly News" anchor Brian Williams, left. Credit: Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times. Entertainer Lady Gaga also made the cut. Credit Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times

Your morning fashion and beauty report: PETA proposes a replacement for the fur hats worn by Britain's royal guards. Katy Perry signs a fragrance deal. And happy birthday, Oscar!

It seems like every day another celeb launches a fragrance. Now it's Katy Perry. [WWD] (Subscription required.)

There are trends we just hold off on writing about, but this one seems to be gaining some momentum: padded panties to round out your booty. Full-figured celebrities (like Kim Kardashian) are inspiring fans to give up the Spanx and plump up the backside. [Wall Street Journal]

Lulu Kennedy, whose Fashion East has promoted young London designers, plans to launch a new line, Lulu & Co., made up of key pieces from Fashion East's talent stable. [WWD]

Online fashion shopping sites have been a hit with women. Now cyberspace is trying to woo male shoppers too. [Wall Street Journal]

It's hard to measure how green a piece of clothing is, despite some brands' claims. But there could be some clarity on the horizon: A group of 100 apparel and shoe manufacturers are experimenting with a software tool to help them measure the environmental impact of their wares. [Wall Street Journal]

Michelle Obama hosted the Smithsonian's Cooper-Hewitt National Design Awards luncheon on Wednesday and seemed thrilled to sit next to "Project Runway's" Tim Gunn. [Huffington Post] The awards recognize outstanding designs in a number of fields. But Rodarte's Kate and Laura Mulleavy, winners of the fashion design category, had to cancel at the last minute -- by e-mail -- due to a "family obligation." [WWD] 

Oscar de la Renta turns 78 on Thursday. Many happy returns! [FabSugar]

The Brazilian Blowout, which All the Rage previewed at the International Salon and Spa Expo in February, is one of the hottest hair treatments around right now for frizzy-haired gals who want to de-frizz for awhile. [StyleList]

PETA proposal: Replace the bearskin hats worn by Britain's Army Guards for two centuries with synthetic headgear designed by Stella McCartney. [Telegraph]

-- Susan Denley

Photo: Katy Perry. Credit: Bob Chamberlin / Los Angeles Times

Carly Fiorina's Futura's so light, she's gotta wear shades

Now that Carly Fiorina has won the GOP primary race for the U.S. Senate seat occupied by Barbara Boxer, it's time to take a good, hard look at the candidate's fashion sense -- fontwise, anyway.

In TV ads -- and on  Fiorina's campaign website -- her first name, rendered in a thin, sans-serif font, serves as the logo, and it was noticeable and just familiar enough that after only a few airings, I began to wonder aloud what the typeface was, and where I might have seen it before.

Tuesday,  I finally got around to uploading a jpeg of the logo to WhatTheFont!'s automatic analyzer, which offered me 38 possible matches, many with only slight variations. My best guess from the options was a font called Futura TS XLight from the TypeShop Collection. But, to be sure, I posted it to a forum where all kinds of font folk freely offered their expert opinions, and within just a few hours, I had an answer.

"It is a Futura, but it looks like Adobe’s Futura Light," was the response I received. (And, really, who am I to argue with someone who posts to the forum using the name Eyehawk?)

Wikipedia describes the Futura typeface as having "an appearance of efficiency and forwardness" -- surely the kind of image the former chairman and chief executive officer of Hewlett-Packard wants to project in her senatorial bid. 

Then again, maybe it's simply force of habit from her old job. A file uploaded to the website Scribd.com in 2008 appears to be an HP branding standards document, and if it's legitimate, it offers an excruciating level of detail on the appearance of photos, page layouts and, yes, typefaces used by the company.

"Our one and only typeface is HP Futura," begins the typography section. "No other font is as simple or as versatile." Later, the document stipulates that "HP Futura Light is preferred for large font sizes and positioning statements."

And if  the logo for your U.S. Senate campaign doesn't qualify as a "position statement," what does?

-- Adam Tschorn

The Character Issue

Photo: At top, former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina, at the Anaheim Hilton on June 8, 2010. The typeface used for the name "Carly" on the signs behind her is Futura Light, supposedly the preferred font of Hewlett Packard's branding statements. Credit: Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times. At bottom, the typeface as it appears on the GOP Senate candidate's campaign website. Credit: Carly Fiorina for California

Fantasy: Bristol Palin in gowns by Lanvin, Carolina Herrera. Reality: working as a medical assistant, changing Tripp's diapers

Sarah Palin has rarely been out of the headlines since she burst on the national scene as John McCain’s much more interesting and exceptionally well-dressed running mate in 2008.

Now daughter Bristol Palin seems to be following in Mommy’s footsteps, at least in the dressing department. The 19-year-old, most notable til now for her excruciatingly public unwed teen pregnancy, was photographed with son Tripp in a tea-party-themed (get it?)  fashion spread featuring gowns by Lanvin, Carolina Herrera, Isaac Mizrahi and Michael Kors in the June Harper’s Bazaar, hitting newsstands June 1.