I grudgingly accept...

...Angelina Jolie...is...attractive. I have been adamant in my stance on the opposing argument for years, but just yesterday, I swung the other way suddenly after flipping through W Magazine's November 2008 issue. Remember this one? Brad Pitt photographed these images himself. Now, don't get too 'I told you so' yet, because as much as I think the photos are stunning, there are issues that I have with how they were captured. But for now, let's just lose ourselves in the dream-like beauty of Brad's intimate photos.

The cover that sparked a million debates around the world.
A woman breastfeeding on the cover of a magazine, right or wrong?

Now. Onto the negatives. The story behind the photos is as follows...

For a hobbyist, Pitt certainly knew what he wanted. He was determined to shoot Jolie with Kodak Tech Pan film, which hasn’t been manufactured for four years. Photo Editor Nadia Vellam located 40 rolls of the stuff on eBay, which a courier then hand-carried to Pitt in Provence, France, where the couple have been hiding out since June. A week later Pitt called; he needed more film. Vellam’s first source was tapped out. She finally tracked down a guy who offered her 30 rolls—in Israel. She then had mere hours to find someone in Tel Aviv who could get on a plane to France with the film that very day. Pitt also wanted to try a specialized film used in World War II–era movies. That was a no-go. One of Vellam’s sources instead recommended Ilford to achieve the same romantic, grainy quality. Assistant Bookings Editor Will Higdon-Sudow hopped a flight with it and made the handoff in a hotel lobby.

...followed by the results speak for themselves. This may be true, but the means by which the photos were achieved (Brad had people fly halfway across the world, fetching film that hadn't been manufactured for years, so he could take these photos) have to be one of the most self-indulgent acts of hypocrisy I've come across in a long time. I believe in people suffering for their own art, but as someone who claims not subscribe to the whole diva lifestyle, as well as being an avid promoter of human rights on a global scale, it just seems a bit...well, wrong. Backwards.
Or is it just me? Let me know what you think.

Saviour this, because you probably won't find another Angelina post on The 16 Diaries for a while. I have nothing against her. She's just not my cup o' tea.

Catch.

Romany

[photos courtesy of thebosh.com]

What's going on in the runway world?

Beware: very image heavy.

New York Fashion Week has been such a blur. I've barely had time to review all of the collections. I barely have time to write this post. So let's play everybody's favourite game and replace collection comments with guesses as to who would look best in them (lazy? Nah. Just quicker. And much more fun, no?).
Note: some names may be repeated -- this will be due to either forgetfulness, or simply because said-repeated-starlet is so fashionable that she genuinely would appear twice on the list.
Note: as there is quite a few looks displayed here, and I am severely short on time, not all outfits will be matched with a name. But feel free to add yours in the comments.
And so we begin...

1. and 2. Diane Kruger.
3. Sarah Jessica Parker.

1. Eva Mendes.
2. Camilla Belle.
3. Clemence Poesy
4. Blake Lively.

1. Renee Zelleweger.
2. Beyonce.
3. Maggie Gyllenhaal.

1. Evan Rachel-Wood.
2. Keira Knightley (minus the jacket)
3. Chanel Iman.

1. Diane Kruger (and so the double-ups start).
2. Taylor Momsen.
3. Chloe Sevigny.
4. Zoe Kravitz

1. Gwyneth Paltrow.
2. Rachel Bilson.
3. Christina Ricci.
4. Naomi Campbell.
5. Cate Blanchett.

1. Lily Donaldson.
2. Reese Witherspoon.
3. Kate Bosworth.

1. Carrie Underwood.
2. Kate Beckinsale.

1. Hilary Duff (I'm not her biggest fan, but I think she could pull this off).
2. Natalie Portman.
3. Kate Hudson.
4. Penelope Cruz.

1. Kirsten Dunst.
2. Marion Cotillard.
3. Michelle Williams.
4. Tilda Swinton.

1. Agyness Deyn.
2. Daisy Lowe.
3. Zoe Kravitz (again).
4. Alexa Chung.
5. Rachel Bilson (again).

Too difficult. Haha.

1. Daria Werbowy.
2. Jennifer Love-Hewitt.
3. Scarlett Johansson.
4. Katharine McPhee.

Too difficult....

...it's much harder to imagine celebrities in casual clothes, than evening gowns.

1. Heidi Klum.
2. Gwen Stefani.
3. Kate Moss.
4. Kim Kardashian.

1. Carine Roitfeld.
2. Claudia Schiffer.
3. Jessica Alba.

1. Helena Christensen.
2. Katie Holmes.
3. Daisy Lowe (again).
4. Lilly Allen.

1. Kate Moss (again).
2. Anne Hathaway.
3. Gwyneth Paltrow (again).
4. Jennifer Garner.

1. Gwyenth Paltrow (again).
2. Jennifer Connelly.
3. Lauren Conrad.

1. Thandie Newton.
2. Katie Holmes (only the ever-chic Mrs. Cruise could pull off something this daring).
3. Sofia Coppola.

Ah! That took hours! And I still don't even think I actually agree with the celebrities I picked. Please put me in my place -- let me know if I got it right. Or oh so wrong.
And now we're off to London!

Catch.

Romany

[photos courtesy of style.com]

Great Performers...

Photographer Paolo Pellegrin captures eight of this year’s biggest stars.

Robert Downey Jr. with Jude Law.

Penelope Cruz.

Kate Winslet with Emma Thompson.

Kat Dennings.

Brad Pitt.

Stunning.

Catch.

Romany

[photos courtesy of nytimes.com]

Everything Old Is New Again...

Sometimes, inspiration comes in the form of nostalgia for the old days. Lately, magazine editors have been inspired out-of-sight by decades passed, and the result is a wide variety of retro photo shoots.

1940s

It's A Madcap World
Jourdan Dunn and Karlie Kloss in Vogue US Feb 09

1950s

Lady D

Diane Kruger in Amica Germany Jan 09

1960s

Mommie Dearest
Siri Tollerod in Numero 97

1970s

wild.

Behati Prinsloo and Alyona Osmanova in Russh Aus Jan/Feb 09

Astrology 2009
Alice Rausch in Russh Aus Jan/Feb 09

1980s

Milla Jovovich in Vogue Paris Jan 09

What do you all think? Love it? Or leave it?
Personally, my favourite era of fashion is the 70s. But I love all these shoots, so I can't decide which is my favourite. Which is your favourite?

Catch.

Romany

[photos courtesy of thefashionspot.com, fashionising.com, beautygirlmusings.blogspot.com, fashion-ation.net and fashionchips.com]

Mischa's comeback continues?

Mischa Barton's fashion choices fascinate me more than any others. I think it's simply because of the complete style-turnaround that occurred (and continued to occur) after her stint on one of TV's hottest teen shows ever, The OC (whose format, storyline, influence and success subsequent shows have tried so desperately to emulate), ended. As indicated in this post (Mischa should really have her own category on my blog, I talk about her enough, lol), once upon a time, Mischa Barton was the reigning queen of the fashion world. She had a hit TV show, impeccable style and a very bright future ahead of her, indeed. But then, Marissa Cooper died. Mischa seemed very happy with this turn of events (word has it, she was sick of The OC, believing it to be holding her back), and subsequently fired her stylist in favour of wanting to make her own individual mark in the fashion world. But it all went downhill from there. Mischa's movies went nowhere, and her style reached unbelievable levels of "what was she thinking?"-ness.
But the end of 2008 saw a slight change for the better in Mischa's fashion choices (can't say the same for her movies, though, unfortunately), and all of a sudden things were somewhat looking up for Ms. Barton. So far, she hasn't had any major slips to send her back to "what was she thinking?" status, but then again, it's early days. But I have nothing but hope for Mischa and wish her well on her journey back to the A-List.

Mischa Barton at the Christian Dior Haute Couture show in Paris.

Now what I want to know is your opinion. I don't know what to make of this look. When I first saw it, I absolutely loved it! But the more I look at it, the tackier it seems (the outfit itself is beautiful, but of course, it's Dior). If we look at the main elements of the look separately, it's gorgeous (smokey eyes with wavy hair vs. yellow Dior dress with white shrug), but the way Mischa has paired both elements together, well...to be honest, it's a little too Vegas show-girl for my liking. But I maintain that this a step forward, rather than a step back. She's slowly but surely getting back on track. I think.

EDIT: Mischa continues her stylish transformation with this gorgeous Elie Saab, straight from the runway, at the Fashion Dinner for AIDS in Paris.


What do you all think of Mischa's look? Step forward? Or step back?

Catch.

Romany

[photos courtesy of thesuperficial.com and popsugar.com]

Nastia Liukin for Max Azria Spring 2009

“For the Max Azria campaign, we wanted someone iconic — someone timeless," said a spokesman for the brand.

"The spring collection was inspired by movement and modern dance so she [Nastia] was perfect."

"It was meant to be, and the magic just sort of happened."

"There are no plans to run the campaign in magazines..."

No plans for magazine coverage? Why on earth not? In my honest opinion, a campaign as truly inspired as this would be a refreshing change from all those over-the-top sex-on-legs campaigns for various alcohol brands (I mean, honestly: vodka and Campari in fashion magazines?), and whatever else.
What do you think of Nastia Liukin for Max Azria Spring 2009? Love it, or leave it?

EDIT: Speaking of new ad campaigns...

Scarlett Johansson for Dolce & Gabban

Pamela Anderson for Vivienne Westwood

Thoughts?
Catch.

Romany

[photos courtesy of stylenews.peoplestylewatch.com 1 and 2, fashionising.com
and nitrolicious.com]

Quote of the Week

"We loved your US election spoofs. Ever thought of running for office?
One day I think that would be a great idea. Maybe in 20 years.
What would you do?
I'd stop the war and bring world peace by making all the world leaders best friends! Oh, and I'd paint the White House pink and build a cute doghouse for the First Dogs."
Paris Hilton, and her thoughts on American politics.

You know, sometimes I feel a little bit sorry for Paris Hilton. Wait, now give me a chance to explain myself. Haha. The thing is, Paris Hilton has this incredibly specific public image which she will never live down. She may appear air-headed almost all of the time, but deep down it seems as if the girl has a good heart. It may look like a stupid act, but I do genuinely believe that she wants the world to be a good place, and believes in the goodness of others. She may be "dumb" and "famous for nothing" (labels that the public seem determined to have her stuck with forever), but the simple fact is not everybody can be intelligent. In fact, I think people place far too much emphasis on intelligence -- once one is deemed "uninteliigent" they are simply and, in most cases permanently, written off.
But what about the other facets of human nature? Why is the emphasis only on the size of one's brain, when the size of one's heart is just as big a show of character?
At the risk of sounding totally self-righteous (I assure you, I'm not), I just have to say this:
I don't know Paris Hilton, so I'm not in any position to judge whether she truly is a good person or not, but the simple fact is nobody else is in the position to make the opposite judgement either.

I guess the point I'm trying to make is that this doesn't just apply to Paris Hilton; we're living in a cynical and judgemental world, and it's a tragedy. I would love it if the focus shifted from negative to positive sometime soon...

Best Dressed: 2009 Golden Globes

Ah, awards season. It only gets better from here. I was genuinely surprised to see this amount of colour and volume on the red carpet of the 2009 Golden Globes. I was expecting the usual sexy variations of slim silhouettes and shades of black and gray, but then out comes the Rainbow Parade that was the Hollywood A-List.

Top of the list.
Drew is pure, dream-like heaven in this beautiful blue Dior. And the high hair and subtle makeup is a romantic homage to old Hollywood.
Elizabeth Banks may be new to the A-List scene but if this gorgeous look is any indication of things to come, I'm definitely looking forward to her star rising even higher.

Second place.

Amy Adams always gets it right, keeping it simply and sexy in this black De La Renta. I would have accessorized with a subtle necklace, though.
The surprise hit of Golden Globes, Slumdog Millionaire's Freida Pinto made a brave and effective choice of gown. The colour compliments her skin-tone prefectly.

Third Place.
Evan Rachel-Wood is well on her way to establishing herself as a fashion-force to be reckoned with. As far as I'm concerned, she looks fabulous 24/7.
I. Love. This. Dress. I never really thought of Rumer Willis as particularly fashion-forward, but hey, maybe I just wasn't paying enough attention?

Fourth Place.
America looks cute and pretty as usual in this De La Renta.
Wow, how popular was J. Mendel for dress choice at the Golden Globes? Taraji has been doing the award show circuit dressed to the nines, so far.

What do you all think? Love 'em or leave 'em?

Catch.

Romany

[photos courtesy of style.com]

Best Dresses of 2008

And so another year comes to a close, bringing with it a legacy of gorgeous gowns that simply cannot go unacknowledged for one final time. I found myself, once again, disagreeing with the big lists of Best Dresses of 2008, and decided to, once again, create my own (note: one will never find a Worst Dressed list on The 16 Diaries -- fashion is about expression, and while we may not all always agree on what's good and what's bad, it's fair enough that others don't get berated for their choices in how to express themselves).

Perfect. Just perfect.

The 2008 Costume Institute Gala had a really strong showing as far as fashion is concerned. These gorgeous gowns were among my favourites...

...as were these.

I couldn't explain it at the time, and I can do no better now, but there is just something about January Jones' Emmy look that I just love. The makeup could have been a little less gothic which such a soft, romantic dress, but the dress itself...And Olivia Wilde really pulled out all the stops, and came out on top with this gorgeous number.

Now, I'm not usually one to put Nicole Kidman on my Best Dressed lists (her style is usually too harsh for my personal liking), but this dazzling white L'Wren Scott just couldn't go unmentioned. Kristen Stewart outdid herself at the Twilight Premiere in LA. This dress is great because it's just a little bit different...

A last minute addition. I realised I didn't have any looks from the 2008 Oscars so I quickly scanned for my favourite. Luckily Heidi, being the fashion queen that she is, stood out from all the rest in this totally fierce, shocking red Dior gown (which was to be auctioned off for charity after the show).

And so the moment of truth. What did you all think? Love 'em? Or leave 'em?

Catch.

Romany

[photos courtesy of style.com 1, 2 and 3, justjared.buzznet.com , people.com and style.popcrunch.com]