Digging through our closets: Michelle Obama's fashions

Before heading to the holiday sales, get some fashion inspiration from some of our readers’ favorite features from 2009.

Google won't need to worry about removing these images of the first lady -- a gallery of her signature styles from the past year or so. It includes the now-famous Jason Wu inaugural gown that Times fashion critic Booth Moore described thus: "The one-shouldered style is sexy, and the powdery hue reflects the trends we saw on the Golden Globes red carpet" as well as the impressive metallic strapless number from Indian designer Naeem Khan, pictured above, that she wore to the Obamas' first state dinner. 

What do you think of how Mrs. O's fashion wardrobe is shaping up? Have you tried, or are you going to try, to incorporate any of her looks into your closet staples? Or are you so over it?

-- Whitney Friedlander

Photo credit: Susan Walsh / Associated Press

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Photos: Michelle Obama's fashions

Digging through our closets: Classic fashions

Before heading out to the holiday sales, get some fashion inspiration from some of our readers’ favorite features from 2009.

Some looks never go out of style. For proof, there's our gallery of classic fashion photos from yesteryear-- which features Elizabeth Taylor enjoying lunch at the Brentwood Country Market in 1952.

Would you wear Liz's look today? Which old-school trends do you incorporate into your wardrobe? And how refreshing is it to see a starlet (supposedly) eating a cheeseburger? Now go have another slice of pie.

-- Whitney Friedlander

Photo credit: J.S. Rosenfield

Lookback: A trip through fashions of yesteryear

Tolkowsky, king of the diamond cut

Ask a diamond connoisseur about cut, and they’ll probably mention “Gabi,” otherwise known as Sir Gabriel Tolkowsky, master diamond cutter.  So, it was no surprise that the glitterati showed up earlier this week to meet the man himself and to get a peek at his namesake, the Gabrielle diamond jewelry collection, at posh jewelry purveyors Black, Starr & Frost at South Coast Plaza.

'This Is It' movie showcases Michael Jackson's fashion comeback [Updated]

At "Michael Jackson This Is It," moviegoers will not see the elaborate costumes created for the tour that never was, bedazzled with 4 million Swarovski crystals and lighted up using LED technology. Those are on display at the O2 Arena in London, where the tour had been scheduled to begin in July, and will go on to New York and Tokyo.

But what they will see, in addition to tough and tender moments that humanize the pop singer and one hell of a music and dance show, is an amazing array of designer outfits Jackson wore to rehearsals.

A black leather pagoda-sleeve jacket and a crystal-trimmed tuxedo designed by the likes of Christophe Decarnin for Balmain, Kris Van Assche for Dior Homme and Tom Ford speak to Jackson's renewed relevance in fashion circles, and the changing relationship between music and fashion.

Jackson became a style icon in the 1980s because of his individual, often theatrical styling choices for the stage -- the single sequined glove, the white socks, the fedora. But his recent comeback was engineered with the help of fashion designers, with Balmain's Decarnin recognizing the retro appeal of tennis-ball-shaped shoulders and over-the-top embroidery, and Jackson appearing in his designs.

'The Sartorialist' rolls into L.A. for book signings at Barneys New York and the Beverly Center

Scott "The Sartorialist" Schuman, the New York photographer/blogger famous for elevating street-style photography to fine art, flew in to L.A. for dual book signings Thursday -- one at Barneys New York in Beverly Hills and one at the Beverly Center.

The dashing lensman, clad in his trademark impeccable dark suit, lured a constantly renewing line of around 60 autograph-seekers to Barneys' men's department in the early evening (from 5 to 7 p.m) on the national tour for his new book, "The Sartorialist."

The vibe was orderly and even sedate -- with Schuman quietly manning a desk up front -- but the store's staff was in hyper-vigilant mode, desperately trying to instate a "one personal photo per person" rule, with only book purchasers allowed to take a photo -- which all seemed rather ineffective in this cellphone-camera age (they were not amused by my impromptu snapping).

"I start and end my day with 'The Sartorialist,' " said Jessica Amento, an employee of Rachel Zoe Digital Media who was standing in line to meet the photographer. "I've been reading it forever. I'm really excited to meet one of the most influential voices in fashion."

The book is based on his blog, which Schuman started so he could shine the spotlight on the photo-worthy fashions of real people he saw on the streets of New York -- not just those in the fashion industry.

The Beverly Center book signing was considerably more harried, reported L.A. writer Tasha Nita Adams on her site, Blackburnandsweetzer.com.

"Unlike at Barneys, he didn’t have time to chat with every person, so it was a bit like getting your passport stamped...I arrived at around 7:45 p.m. and the line was about 20 [people] deep before you got outside to the terrace; once outside, the line snaked around the perimeter to Schuman at the other end."

-- Emili Vesilind

Photo: Scott Schuman, a.k.a. "The Sartorialist," signs autographs at Barneys New York in Beverly Hills. Credit: Emili Vesilind / For The Times

'Project Runway' to become a Wii video game

"Project Runway" fans will soon be able to "make it work" themselves -- in the virtual realm. TV's top-rated fashion competition will be fodder for a new Nintendo Wii game, developed by Atari Inc. and slated for release next year, the Associated Press reports.

The game will be modeled after the reality show, with players competing as aspiring fashion designers charged with various sartorial tasks (making gowns out of mangled motherboards?). But wait -- there's more. Gamers will then be able to show off their fashion on a model sashaying down a catwalk, using the ever-unwieldy Wii Balance Board.

The gaming industry has targeted fashion followers for years -- creating all manner of fashion competitions and dress-up-doll games (females are the industry's final frontier, after all). But the "Project Runway" collaboration will by far be the splashiest fashion-themed diversion to hit the racks yet. Though I'm wondering how scintillating virtual sewing can be.
-- Emili Vesilind

Photo: "Project Runway's" Tim Gunn walks with Heidi Klum on the runway during New York Fashion Week in September 2008. Credit: Richard Drew / Associated Press

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Photo: Project Runway's Tim Gunn walks with Heidi Klum on the runway during New York Fashion Week in September 2008. Credit: Richard Drew / Associated Press

See late fashion photographer Irving Penn's work at the Getty Center [Updated]

Make a date to catch the late fashion photographer Irving Penn’s work at the Getty Center.

Penn, whose portraits of fashion, celebrity and food graced the covers and pages of Vogue since 1943, died Wednesday at age 92.

An exhibition "Irving Penn: Small Trades," which opened at the Getty Center one month ago and runs through Jan. 10 [Updated: 4:40 p.m. Oct. 8: An earlier version of this article said the exhibit ran until July 10], documents workers in New York, Paris and London circa 1950 and 1951.

The Getty Museum acquired the photos last year, which Penn personally selected, including the Vogue editions that published the portraits. 

In the era before casual Fridays, workers, including street sweepers, busboys and milkmen, dressed much more formally, often with suit and tie, for daily chores.

My two favorite Penn photographs from the exhibition are the impeccably turned out New York ballroom dancers in a clench, the man be-suited and bow-tied and the woman in a stern pageboy and spectator pumps, both giving the camera a stiff upper lip. The other photograph depicts two authentic London charwomen (note to Central Casting) eking out slight smiles while toting scrub brushes and pails.

1200 Getty Center Drive, Los Angeles. (310) 440-7300. 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Tuesday through Friday. 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday. 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Sunday. www.getty.edu

-- Max Padilla

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Photo: Charwomen, London, 1951

Photo credit: Irving Penn

Fashion Diary: The simple style changes in 'Coco Before Chanel'

Gossip, first impressions, trends in the making, celebrities and style setters. A regular feature by fashion critic Booth Moore.

The march of fashion films continues with "Coco Before Chanel," opening Sept. 25. The biopic, directed by Anne Fontaine, stars Audrey Tautou as the legendary designer who was born poor, orphaned at a young age, grew up in a convent and slept with a slew of important men throughout her life -- a roster that included the aristocratic horseman Étienne Balsan, the Grand Duke Dmitri of Russia and composer Igor Stravinsky. With each one, she advanced her station in life and her style, taking their pajamas, hats and tweed riding jackets and making them a uniform for the newly liberated woman.

Ring tones! Get your 'September Issue' ring tones!

 

We've all had superiors who've taken pride in putting us in our place with menial tasks: Bosses. Teachers. Mom. But, if legends hold true, no one does it better than Vogue editrix Anna Wintour. Want to relive those moments of spine-tingling horror? Gawker points out that the marketing geniuses behind R.J. Cutler's "The September Issue" -- the documentary that goes beyond the garment bags of Vogue magazine -- are offering downloadable ring tones.

Yes, that's right. Now everyone at Starbucks can watch your PTSD in action when your cellphone chirps the sound of an assistant's crushed dreams with "Anna Wintour's office." Or, better yet, dash thoughts of eating that bagel away with Vogue editor-at-large André Leon Talley: "It's a famine of beauty, honey -- my eyes are starving for beauty."

-- Whitney Friedlander

Fashion Diary: 'The September Issue'

Fashion Diary: Magazines' September issues

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Photo: Anna and André plot ways to torture you during Oscar de la Renta's fall 2007 runway show. Or they're just hungry. Your call. Credit: Diane Bondareff / Associated Press

Fashion diary: September issues

Gossip, first impressions, trends in the making, celebrities and style setters. A regular feature by fashion critic Booth Moore.

You can say a lot of things about Anna Wintour, but you can't say she isn't a good sport.

New York Magazine's blog the Cut reports that on Aug. 19 the Vogue editor-in-chief will host a screening and opening fete for R.J. Cutler's "The September Issue." The film is a not-altogether flattering portrait of fashion's high priestess as she puts together the September '08 issue of the magazine at the height of the luxury boom. (Though it certainly could have been worse; for one thing, Cutler relied mostly on people inside Wintour's inner circle to tell the story.)

Could we be seeing yet another crack in Wintour's icy shell? I hope so. When I blogged about the film several weeks ago, I suggested -- now that the luxury bubble has burst -- it might be a good time to start  showing some humility. She teared up in the film, so who knows what might happen at the screening? Maybe she'll even laugh at herself.

In other glossy mag news, Women's Wear Daily has a sneak peek at the page counts of several September issues, which are expected to decline as much as 30% from last year because of slow ad sales. Elle will carry 21% fewer pages this year, or an average of 327 pages in 2009 compared with 414 in 2008, WWD reports. Harper’s Bazaar is estimated to carry between 275 and 285 pages, representing about 25% fewer ad pages than last year. Conde Nast releases its page counts later this week.

People StyleWatch is one of the few bright spots, slated to be up 10% over last year, which suggests that women are getting a lot of their fashion and style cues from weekly tabloids rather than monthly glossies, and that the celeb feeding frenzy isn't about to end any time soon. 

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Photo: Vogue's Anna Wintour Credit: Diane Bondareff / Associated Press