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PHOTOS: CFDA Celebrates 50 Years In Style

2012-02-10T22:51:09Z

NEW YORK — Paris has its scarves and skinny suits, Milan has its luxe leather and London its swinging miniskirts, but ask American designers what they've added to fashion and the collective answer is democracy, from wrap dresses worn by working women in the 1970s to a dress worn by the first lady.

The Council of Fashion Designers of America, in honor of its 50th anniversary this year, asked its membership, which includes president Diane von Furstenberg, Marc Jacobs, Sean Combs and Michael Kors, to craft their own "impact statements" and choose outfits and photos they feel best represent their signature styles for a new exhibit opening Saturday at the Museum at FIT in Manhattan. There are 80 outfits on display in the show, called "Impact: 50 Years of the CFDA," but the works of 450 designers are represented in a multimedia display and a companion book.

"There is something magical about the way this group was founded back in 1962, in a small room off of Seventh Avenue. It was the brain trust of 20 passionate designers who were motivated to create a safe haven for the members of their community. They sought to protect and promote their own," von Furstenberg writes in the book. "Nearly half a century later, through triumphs and failures, with businesses made and broken, that small assemblage has evolved into a modern family of over 400 members."

Von Furstenberg lent to the museum one of her original wrap dresses from the 1970s, a symbol of the working-women's movement, while Oscar de la Renta, a former CFDA president, offered up a gown, accented in neon, from his current spring collection. (De la Renta always says his newest designs are his most important.)

A surprise came from Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen in talking about their contribution, said Patricia Mears, museum deputy director and curator. They didn't note their celebrity or even the accolades earned by their collection The Row, instead saying they were most proud of a commitment to manufacturing in the United States.

"`Impact' in America is interpreted a lot of ways. It has a lot of diversity. It could be making things affordable, it could be quality like haute couture," said Mears.

She added, "Someone like Marc (Jacobs) is such a huge, influential entity but he followed the American path. When he did his groundbreaking grunge collection, it got him fired, but he says that's what set him free and served as a launching pad for something new."

Jacobs is represented in the exhibit by a dress from that 1992 flannel-and-long johns collection. The garment came from Anna Sui's personal collection of Jacobs' clothes. Her explanation: "I guess Marc doesn't keep an extensive archive, and I'm a pack rat!"

But that's typical of the remarkably close relationships formed within the fashion community, said Steven Kolb, chief executive of the CFDA, which identifies advocacy, mentoring and charity as its missions.

While the industry is stereotyped by outsiders as catty and cutthroat, Kolb says he's come to see that designers not only support each other, but they thrive off each other. For example, Kolb said, Halston's craftsmanship, represented in the CFDA exhibit with a bias-cut dress made from a single piece of satin, has inspired the work of Ralph Rucci, who is touted as a master of fabric and pattern-making now. And it's no accident that Michael Kors' gold beaded pants were placed near the gold sequined outfit by Norman Norell.

Sui became an early, regular staple of what's evolved to be known as the contemporary category, along with the likes of Nanette Lepore, Trina Turk and even new powerhouse Tory Burch. "Contemporary" might not exist if there weren't enough people to fill a boutique or section of a department store, Sui explains.

"One of the things that is kind of ironic, and one of my problems was that I had to ask myself, `Where do I fit in?'" says Sui. "The most wonderful designers of the day were Bill Blass, Donna Karan and Anne Klein. I couldn't compete with them, I couldn't hang with them in department stores, but they inspired me to do my own thing."

That brings her around to her impact. "Somewhere my dresses started appealing to a new generation of girls who had worn jeans and T-shirts but were now going to work. She saw she could take a dress and dress it up for evening or tone down for daytime," Sui says. It didn't hurt that the age of the supermodel was dawning, and they were fans of her clothes.

One of the most familiar dresses in the exhibit belongs to Narciso Rodriguez. It's the runway version of the red-and-black sheath that Michelle Obama wore on election night in 2008.

"We are glad to show fashion in a cultural context," said FIT's Mears. "We want someone to look at the Stephen Burrows or Halston and say, `That's from my youth,' or remember Donna's (Karan) woman-as-president ad campaign and remember the effect it had on them. They've all had impact beyond creating a beautiful dress."

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If You Go...

THE MUSEUM AT FIT: Seventh Avenue at 27th Street, New York City; or 212-217-4558. Open Tuesday-Friday, noon-8 p.m, Sundays 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Free admission. "Impact: 50 Years of the CFDA" runs Feb. 10-April 17. http://fitnyc.edu/334.asp

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Follow AP coverage of New York Fashion Week at http://twitter.com/ap_fashion

Militant Hair And Makeup At Jason Wu

2012-02-10T22:40:00Z

The Inspiration: The Ming Dynasty meets 1940s Hollywood

Beauty at Jason Wu Fall 2012 show. Photo: Fernanda Calfat/Getty Images

Hair: Kerastase Paris stylist Odile Gilbert created a warrior ponytail that channeled "Tomb Raider's" Lara Croft. She prepped the models' hair with Fibre Architecte to smooth ends and boost shine. She then flat-ironed before gathering into a sleek, high ponytail. Extensions were added and the ends bluntly cut. For a surprising twist, she wrapped electrical tape around the holder. Gilbert finished with a blast of Double Force Controle Ultime Hairspray.

Makeup: "Jason Wu's fall collection is very rich and opulent so he wanted to reflect that in the face," said MAC Cosmetics lead artist Diane Kendal. Inspired by the collection's military touches, Kendal drew on a very defined eye using an emerald shadow that extended out in a shape she described as "Hollywood." Blush shades in Sculpt and Tenderling were applied to give cheeks a warm glow. Kendal slicked on black liner closely to the lids and then applied mascara. Brows were filled in heavily, while the lips were left bare.

Nails: OPI manicurists carried out Wu's vision for an opaque nude effect by painting on Santan-tonio (a creamy mocha), followed by a clear top coat.

Sheryl Crow Loves To Flaunt Toned Physique

2012-02-10T22:23:00Z

Sheryl Crow's style philosophy must be, "if you got it, flaunt it" because the singer-songwriter (who turns 50-years-old this Saturday) is no stranger to baring her toned physique on and off the red carpet.

Remember that shocking, yellow gown with strategic cut-out? And what about all of those midriff-baring crop tops paired with low-rise jeans? One thing's for sure, the mother of two isn't shy when it comes to her rock 'n' roll style. Need proof? Then click through the gallery below to witness how Crow has gone from country-inspired (think cowboy boots and denim vests) to down-right chic in tailored separates and gorgeous gowns.

Meanwhile, the country star has moved to the big city -- check out Crow's beautiful NYC apartment.

And have a look through our many other Style Evolutions here.

Brooklyn Flea: Who's on First? The Flea vs. Fashion Week's Runway

2012-02-10T22:00:49Z

By Marion Hart

The schedule for Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week, which began yesterday and runs through Feb. 16, is jampacked with runway shows, parties, and events. But given Catherine Malandrino's recent Flea visit (not to mention Maggie Gyllenhaal, Padma Lakshmi, Ethan Hawke, and Ezra Koenig from Vampire Weekend making the rounds), don't be surprised if a few fashionistas steal away this weekend to see what's showing at Skylight One Hanson. And those who do will probably like what they see since many of the vintage looks offered at the Flea last weekend looked remarkably similar to those shown on the Spring 2012 Fashion Week runways last fall.

Peplums, which flounced down the catwalks of Jason Wu and Vera Wang among others, are in stock -- both from the '80s, when Thierry Mugler worked them into suits and dresses, and in their 1940s incarnations as the hip-grazing ruffled appendage to many a fitted jacket. And since it's hard to have one without the other, Flea vendors also brought to market the pencil skirts -- done up in leather by Versace and Miuccia Prada for their spring shows -- that usually go underneath.

Mad Men, which returns for its fifth season March 25, put the pencil skirt back on Flea shoppers' radar a few years ago, and vendors always keep a few in stock, mainly around Halloween when the search for Betty Draper costumes heats up. But since then, interest in the hip- and thigh-hugging skirt has grown. And that raises an interesting question: How does a vintage staple cross over from dress-up item onto store racks and onto people's backs?

Pop-culture phenoms help. But thanks also goes to designers who look to the past and markets like the Flea where flourishes like the peplum -- which had an earlier heyday in the 1800s as the topper for the bustle -- live to see another runway. It takes real vision to endow an old standard, like, say, a '50s cashmere sweater with have-to-have relevance for a new season. Valentino's Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pierpaolo Piccioli pulled that off beautifully by reimagining dowry lace as cotton canvas in some of their spring 2012 looks.

But as my grandmother, whose silk dressing gown I still wear, used to say, "Don't gild the lily" -- a caution I recalled upon noting the parallels between spring 2012 runway trends and what's on sale at the Flea now. The good news: vintage lovers wondering what to wear in the upcoming warmer months have a ton of choice: Shop the designer collections that reference the past or go for the real thing that inspired them. May the best dress win!

Best And Worst Dressed Celebrities Of Award Season.. So Far

2012-02-10T21:42:31Z

With many, many awards shows under our belt -- and one-too many red carpet sartorial choices analyzed -- we're prepped and ready for this weekend's Grammy Awards. And for Sunday night's show, we're really hoping celebs step up their fashion game.

This season we've been less than impressed with some of the dresses we've seen on the red carpet. Just check out our recap slideshow of the best and worst fashions we've seen so far.

Some of these starlets clearly didn't learn from their fashion foibles and were repeat sartorial offenders on more than one carpet. While others took a few tumbles only to wow us at a later date. And, be it a small number of celebs, some looked absolutely gorgeous no matter what they wore.

All we can hope is the stars appearing at the Grammy's have learned from their A-list peers about what not -- and to -- wear on the red carpet.

Jennifer Aniston's Effortlessly Sexy Style

2012-02-10T21:32:00Z

With her never too overdone style, Jennifer Aniston possesses one of the most highly-coveted looks in Hollywood.

The "Wanderlust" actress, who admitted InStyle in a recent interview that she needs to "stop playing it safe on the red carpet," has without a doubt perfected a predictable look. From plunging necklines to thigh-skimming mini dresses to reinventing her favorite black pant suit, Aniston may feel as though she's long overdue for a makeover, but at least she knows what works for her amazing figure.

In celebration of the beauty's 43rd birthday this Saturday (February 11), see her style over the years in the slideshow below and keep clicking to find out how to recreate Aniston's sun-kissed glow.

Check out our many other Style Evolutions.

Lourdes Leon Shaves Her Head

2012-02-10T20:49:37Z

This is taking celeb âBUZZâ a little too literally! Teen designer Lourdes Leon stepped out with a new style â a freshly shaved head! Lourdes is on trend with the hipsters with her latest cut, which is buzzed on one side from her ear up to the temple.

Karen Cleveland: Etiquette Tips for Your Hot Valentine's Date

2012-02-10T19:29:16Z

Good manners are sexy! There's nothing like a hot date to motivate us to gussy up our manners, and Valentine's Day is the New Year's Eve of dating occasions. Put aside hokey notions of stuffed animals, heart-shaped boxes of chocolate and menus of aphrodisiacs -- while they are sweet, they feel a bit too contrived. Subtly is sexier, anyways.

Valentine's Day is a packed night to go out to dinner, so reservations might be a very good idea. If you are going somewhere that doesn't take reservations, or you are just meeting up someplace casual or for a drink, get there early. That way, you can beat your date there and nab great seats. Alternatively, you might be stuck wasting a half hour of your time together jammed in a foyer, waiting for seats to free up.

You want your date's full attention (and they want yours) so keep phones away. If it is out of site, you will be less tempted to check it. Bad table manners are a massive turn off, so be mindful of keeping your napkin on your lap, not inhaling your meal or talking with your mouth full. And the kinder you treat the wait staff, the more you'll charm your date.

If you are checking out a new place, you might want to give some thought to how you'll get there and where you'll park, to avoid being late.

Even the best of dates can awkward when the bill hits the table. Avoid a drawn-out exchange of "I'll get it," "No, I insist, I'll get it." If someone really wants to treat you, let them and graciously thank them. If the night is going well and you want to reciprocate, you could offer to carry on someplace else for dessert, coffee or a drink as your treat, or offer to pick up the bill for your next date.

At the risk of sounding bold, your date will likely scope how much gratuity you've left on the bill. We've all done it. Fifteen per cent is standard for good service and more is always appreciated by those serving you.

Beverley Golden: Looking for Love in the Online Dating World

2012-02-10T19:12:14Z

This is an article I honestly never thought that I'd write. Although I sincerely would love to be in a committed, loving relationship, as a person who cherishes personal connection and one-on-one interactions, I admit I'm probably not the most likely person to be reporting on my experiences with online dating sites.

Alas, in this month of all things love and romance, I was compelled to sit down and share my stories. Experiences that have me wondering how anyone ever possibly meets someone of integrity on these online sites. The claim from Match.com that one out of five new relationships now start online, was eye-opening. Wow, 20 per cent! Got me thinking that something, so far, is definitely not working for me.

The current site I'm on, (which I discovered while doing research on intimacy), intrigued me and I was curious to take their online test and uncover my dominant personality type. The test was created by author and biological anthropologist Helen Fisher PhD, one of the world's leading experts on sex, love, marriage and dating. On this site, it's all about the chemistry between the four personality types. I was surprised to discover that I'm an explorer, with strong negotiator skills coming in a close second. Everyone I shared this with confirmed they saw me perfectly as an explorer. True to my type, I jumped in, ready to explore.

I've currently been on the site several months and frankly I've have had more conversations with their customer service people than with any prospective matches. The male supervisor, my inside connection, and I have had lively, laugh-out-loud conversations as he continues to encourage me to stick with it. In the last conversation, I actually asked if he was available, as he appears the closest thing to a match that I believe this site will offer me. He laughed. Gotta love a guy who gets my sense of humour!

Recent events finally convinced me that I just had to sit down and tell all. A few days ago I got three close together email interactions from what appeared to be a lovely man, who lives a mere four and a half hour drive from Toronto. Remaining open to possibility, I wouldn't let the distance between us stop me. In his photo, he looked impeccably dressed in a dapper smoking jacket with ascot. Personally I have no interest in a partner who smokes (or wears a smoking jacket), but when I checked out his profile, I was relieved to see that I could safely move forward. He claimed that he never smokes.

His email immediately flattered me and he expressed a keen desire to have a voice-to-voice conversation, suggesting we jump to that ASAP. So far, so good. Less than 12 hours later, I got a notice that once again I was being matched with the same gentleman. Same name, but magically he was now a year younger than he had been the day before. A bit confusing. I wondered if that was something he could teach me how to do, considering I just had a birthday and in a 12-hour period, I actually became a year older. His picture was the same, only now it was a close-up, so the smoking jacket and ascot were less visible. I was happy I hadn't answered the last email and given him my personal contact info.

When I called my trusty, laughing, in-house supervisor, he explained that sometimes this happens. Oh, this crazy world of online dating. I asked, "Wouldn't you at least change your name if you were attempting to get a profile backup?" More laughing from my inside man. The bottom line was that this match was flagged and his profile withdrawn and he immediately tried to create a new profile which was also flagged and removed. I asked if this happens often? Unfortunately, it happens.

Because this wasn't the first time this happened to me, I'm not sure why I was surprised. Back in the very beginning, I was actually excited about a man who appeared to live about 15 minutes from me and whose profile sounded great. Although his wide acceptable age range for potential matches was 18-105, somehow I didn't see the warning flag in that. Some might call me naive.

He emailed me after we expressed mutual interest and perhaps again I should have known something was wrong when he signed his email with a different name than his profile name. Hmm. And, he was actually a really lonely guy on contract in Malaysia. So much for the potential short drive to meet up with him. He too was flagged and pulled from this site. Where are all the real, authentic men? Does this happen to men looking for women too?

They've now sent me many possible matches and only a very few even look remotely interesting to me. Having just read Jane Fonda's new book Primetime, I remembered reading that sometimes you have to go through a lot of matches to find one worth exploring. For me, it feels incredibly time-consuming and two-dimensional. One of my main criteria is that men at least put up a photo. I've been told that many men don't because they are either hiding something (like they're married) or don't want to be judged by how they look. So, what would happen in person?

A recent Business Insider article reported that apparently smiles in online photos are out for men. I wondered why. Men who look away from the camera and don't smile have a much higher chance of getting a response than those who look directly into the camera.Â Apparently guys who look at the camera get less messages than those who don't, according to OkCupid CEO, Sam Yagan,Â who guessesÂ the reason is becauseÂ it'sÂ intimidating to women.Â I don't get that at all, as I personally always go for the smiling man looking directly at me.

The statistics relating to online dating sites are quite staggering. According to Dating Site Reviews, the dating service industry in the United States is projected to be worth $2.1 billion, with an estimated 1,500 dating sites in the U. S. alone. Sounds like a small country of hopeful relationship seekers. Seems any criteria can be a launching point for a dating site. Whether that be age, religion, spiritual beliefs, or your intelligence, there is probably a dating site you can sign on with.

In the United States, there are 54 million singles with 5.5 million of those using dating services. Twenty-five per cent of Canadians have tried online dating with 69 per cent saying they probably wouldn't try them. Sixty-four per cent of online daters say common interests are the most important factor in finding a potential partner online, with 49 per cent reporting it's more about the physical characteristics seen in photos and videos. Online dating sites in the U.S collectively had an amazing 593 million visits in October, 2011.

Not too long ago, a male friend actually suggested I write an article on online dating, after hearing a radio report that women are hiring private detectives to screen and check out perspective matches found on the Internet, as dating sites typically don't engage in any background checks. Hiring a private detective. "Count me out of that," I thought. It seemed absolutely outside my realm of understanding. One thing I do continually hear is that it is imperative to be cautious. Generally trusting by nature, I was curious and wanted to understand where people most often choose to misrepresent themselves.

Catalina L. Toma, an assistant professor in the communication arts department, University of Wisconsin-Madison, investigated how people present themselves and how they judge misrepresentation. For me, the findings were shocking, indicating that about 81 per cent of people misrepresent their height, weight or age in their profiles. The "bright side" conclusion was that people tend to only tell small lies because they may eventually meet in person. My question: In these areas, are any lies actually acceptable?

So, although I'm staying open to being found by an ideal match, I do take a deep breath every time I open another email introducing me to a potential match. I know this way of meeting works for many people. I've heard numerous success stories. At the very least, I see it as a great way for me to do research on human behaviour. As an explorer and curious investigator, it offers a wealth of new personal experiences and potential stories. Maybe even some great new cyber friends in really far away places, too.

What stories do you have of your online dating experiences...whether good, or not so good?

Visit me at: www.beverleygolden.com

WATCH: Our Favorite Model Spills

2012-02-10T19:02:07Z

When Christie Brinkley, Minka Kelly and Rose McGowan stumbled at Wednesday's Heart Truth Red Dress Show, then two other models nearly went down at Richard Chai the next day, we were reminded that model topples have become a Fashion Week tradition, a rite of passage, and judging by the caliber of women who have famously gone down (see: Naomi Campbell), a good omen of sorts. To celebrate the official start of the Fall 2012 collections, let's take a look back at some of the most classic runway tumbles of all time.

Howard Barbanel: Be My Valentine

2012-02-10T18:57:02Z

Sixth grade Valentine's Day in Mrs. Raffel's class at Long Beach's Lindell School back in the Paleolithic ages of 1969 was quite a big deal. Valentine's Day cards flew from desk to desk with a light speed that wasn't to materialize until decades later with the advent of email. There was a card hierarchy with the mushiest of cards reserved for those girls you "really liked" and might have considered "going steady" with. If you didn't receive at least five or six cards, then you were not considered a social success. You could call it "low-tech 'friending.'" Early childhood brushes with Valentine's are the kind of things that travel with you through life, even into adulthood -- as the implications of the day are fraught with all kinds of ramifications many years on.

Teenagers, especially those who were in those awkward years or who were late bloomers, harbored no end of angst and anxiety as February 14th rolled around (I imagine that adolescence is still pretty similar even with today's enhanced hand-held technology) because teenage Valentine's was a Darwinian affair, clearly separating the popular from the not. As one progressed to college and one's 20s, whether or not you got cards wasn't nearly as significant as whether or not you had a date. Moving into relationships and marriage, Valentine's started to mean less and less to men and more and more to women. Woe be unto the myopic dolt who forgot the occasion or, who, even worse, didn't do the right thing or enough for their wife or girlfriend or in a moment of temporary insanity, ordered the wrong kind of roses from the wrong florist!

Valentine's Day, coming as it does towards the back end of winter, serves as a literal bright spot in the otherwise blah gray monotony of the season. The holiday arrives when more daylight is making itself felt each day and with that, more Vitamin D, so folks start to come alive a bit more and it signals that spring will soon make an appearance. After Christmas, Chanukah and New Year's, winter takes on a grim patina in most of the Northern Hemisphere and an injection of love, romance and joie de vivre is good for the soul (and the jewelry, greeting card, candy, flower and restaurant industries in what otherwise might be a very slow month). Valentine's Day prompts many a married couple make an effort to break the routine, which is a good thing in and of itself. While the holiday got started as a Christian saints' day, it was removed from the Roman Catholic calendar in 1969 and in America has essentially become a secular celebration of love and romance.

Romance is a big business because it addresses one of humanity's highest aspirations -- finding true love as a salve for its polar opposite -- loneliness. Regardless of Valentine's Day, assuaging and vanquishing loneliness is something people spend big on. In the 20th and 21st Centuries whole industries took off because of the mitigating effects they had on being alone in the isolating modern urban industrial era. To wit: movies, radio, recorded music, television, the internet (including the huge industry of dating websites), email, cell phones (well, that's also for business...), text-messaging, Facebook and Twitter. The need for connectedness is innate and pervasive. Before industrialization and urbanization, folks had their towns, villages, families and communities. Today, sadly, many mainly have their hand-held multi-media devices where you can be "plugged in" and never be alone for as long as the batteries last.

You can have upwards of 800 Facebook "friends," but have very few real ones on a corporeal level. You can work in a huge office building but spend your day mostly alone. You can live in a giant apartment building but not know your neighbors. You can go to big parties but only know a handful of people there and not meet more than another one or two. You can be in a marriage or a relationship yet feel lonely due to a lack of communication or affection.

Man's yearning for love may even exceed his desire and passions for money, success and fame. Babies die without love. Adults turn into Ebenezer Scrooge or Mr. Potter (from It's a Wonderful Life) or "go postal" without it. Speaking of It's a Wonderful Life, one reason this is one of America's most popular and enduring films is because it is in essence a love story and the idealized wife of Jimmy Stewart (played sublimely by Donna Reed) is what every man wants when they don't want the blonde floozy Violet Bick.

In 1966 the late, great Percy Sledge hit number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart with his When a Man Loves a Woman. It's number 54 in Rolling Stone's "500 Greatest Songs of All Time." Michael Bolton also hit number one with it in 1991. The song's lyrics are completely appropriate for Valentine's Day and it sums up the value men place on love:

"When a man loves a woman
Can't keep his mind on nothing else
He'll trade the world
For the good thing he's found
If she's bad he can't see it
She can do no wrong
Turn his back on his best friend
If he put her down

When a man loves a woman
Spend his very last dime
Tryin' to hold on to what he needs
He'd give up all his comfort
Sleep out in the rain
If she said that's the way it ought to be..."

PHOTOS: J.Lo Strips Down

2012-02-10T18:53:01Z

Jennifer Lopez has certainly turned herself into quite the perfumer over the last ten years, and she has no apparent plans of stopping either making perfume or churning out sexy ads to go with it.

J.Lo is launching her 18th fragrance, Glowing, a scent that she describes as an "evolution" of her first fragrance, Glow, which debuted in 2002:

"This is a very woodsy scent. So it's not exactly what I created 10 years ago, it's the evolution of that. At the essence, it's still natural, earthy, clean and real, but a little different side of that. It's the woodsy side of it, which I think is kind of New York-y, darker and sexier."

According to Women's Wear Daily, Glowing is a floral woody amber that has notes of bergamot, mandarin and cypress along with sandalwood, vanilla and cashmere musk, amongst other tantalizing oils.

And natch, Jen's released a sexy ad to promote the scent, in which she strips naked and poses with a... glowing orb thing?

The perfume, which comes in a bottle that literally glows (cool!), will launch in the United States this May and will be sold exclusively in Kohl's Department Stores.

Lopez isn't the only starlet to have her nose in the perfume business. Her peers Beyonce, Jessica Simpson and Britney Spears have all created multiple perfumes and colognes.

Check out the perfume bottle and of course, the sexy ad below, and click through our slideshow to see a list of celebrities who dabble in the fragrance business.

Gwyneth's Valentine's Day Tip: '101 Nights Of Grrreat Sex'

2012-02-10T18:40:30Z

Valentine's Day is all about pounded chicken breasts and "secret sealed envelopes" containing sex instructions, according to Gwyneth Paltrow's latest GOOP newsletter, in which the actress professes that "this week's newsletter is not for you. It's for your other half."

So what can Gwynnie's husband, Coldplay crooner Chris Martin, expect this upcoming rose-tinged Tuesday? Among other things, a sampling of romantic music -- Bruce Springsteen and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs (huh?) -- blasted on at 7am, a blueberry breakfast parfait, pink love notes tucked into women's jeans, and "101 Nights of Grrreat Sex."

That's right: Paltrow suggests spicing things up in the bedroom with a little Kama Sutra kit -- containing things like "Love Liquid" and "Sweet Almond Massage Oil" -- and tips gleaned from the aforementioned sex book. "Sounds simple but the anticipation and mystery makes even the smallest gestures pretty thrilling," she assures us.

For more, click through to GOOP.

Check out photos of Gwyneth at Germany's 2011 Bambi Awards:

Blue Carreon: A Conversation With Fashion Designer and Style Icon Rachel Roy

2012-02-10T17:51:14Z

Before her fall 2012 presentation on Monday, Feb. 13, fashion designer -- and muse and style icon to many -- Rachel Roy talks about Deepak Chopra and spirituality, taking charge of her future, and sleeping naked:

When I wake up... I read Deepak Chopra's tweets.

Before I go to bed... I kiss my kids.

A well-dressed man/woman... illuminates.

Women should always... sleep naked.

The best thing that's been said about me... she is loyal, funny, fun, and honest.

If I weren't doing what I'm doing today... I would find a new way to create the best quality of life for myself and others.

My legacy... is to empower women through employment.

A great idea... pen, paper, books.

Botox is... foreign.

My mother... is honorable, patient and kind.

The soundtrack of my life... plays passionate, provocative, soulful, joyous music.

The future... is up to me.

Happiness... is within us all the time.

There's a time and place for... work.

There is too much... hurt.

In the end... the people I love and who love me will travel to the next realm with me.

Photo of Rachel Roy and the sketch from her fall 2012 collection courtesy of Rachel Roy.

Read more from me at Style Intel.

Barbara Sibbald: Adultery: Someone Always Loses

2012-02-10T17:34:06Z

Of the 1,154 past or present human societies, nearly 1,000 have permitted a man to have more than one wife.

Life-long fidelity is a Judeo-Christian invention, which likely came about for economic reasons: a way to guarantee paternity of offspring for men with property to bequeath and ensure financial stability for women embarking on the long child-rearing years. Eventually, marriage became the precursor to sex (at least in theory).

Nowadays, with modern contraception and larger, more anonymous communities, infidelity is easy. Among !Kung San village, two per cent of kids result from cuckoldry; in some contemporary urban neighbourhoods the figure is five per cent to 20 per cent.

Why is adultery so common? There's the sexual rush fuelled by the secrecy imperative. And the excitement of a new partner brings us back in a temporal slight of hand to previous emotional times, and so the tryst makes us feel young.

The contemporary pathos is also fed by the pervasive importance of sex -- from cooking shows to comic books -- and the belief that good, regular sex is our right. Added to this is the emotional comfort of sex: it is the one time when we are most assuredly living in the now, the most present.

This is the backdrop. There are a million personal variations on the reasons for having affairs, but usually it boils down to two things. First, we think something is genuinely amiss with the home relationship and justify the clandestine relationship as a way to fulfill needs that aren't met in the marriage; second, and more common (although few have the self-knowledge to see it), something is missing in ourselves, be it self-esteem, security, or the capacity for contentment, and we look for it in someone else. Remember: One must be well to love well.

Regardless of the impetus, adultery is fraught with peril.

Clandestine betrayal -- and that's what it is, make no mistake about it -- is nasty. Once you have broken that promise, that vow of faithfulness, there is a terrible sense of loss, no matter how you dress it up. In addition to the betrayal of your shared intimacy, the lying takes a toll. Lying about the where and with whom. Taking furtive showers in the secret lover's bathroom, trying not to get your hair wet. And each lie adds a layer of deceit until you hardly know what to say to your partner anymore.

Then something happens. You may get caught and have to contend with the fallout from a battered ego and lost trust. You may face a gradual, painful and long breakup. Or your partner may kick you out, physically and/or psychologically. Affairs are poignant tragedies if they lead to the dissolution of an arrangement that's good for raising children. If it's between adults, well, it's your call.

But before you start, appreciate that there is a real risk that it will destroy your primary relationship. Decide whether it's worth it. Consider what you have to lose -- socially, financially, and emotionally -- because someone always loses in an extramarital affair.

Barbara Sibbald is a two-time novelist, editor at a leading health journal, and an award-winning freelance journalist. The above is an excerpt from The Book of Love: Guidance in Affairs of the Heart, a novel (General Store Publishing House).