Archive: December, 2006

We can only hope that getting rid of head scarves and oversize glasses are somewhere on Lindsay Lohan’s list of New Year’s resolutions (ditto to you, Nicole Richie). There are plenty of trends that we are more than happy to leave behind in 2006 — buh-bye, skulls –, and some that have the legs to take us into 2007 and beyond, like our beloved ballet flats. In the New Year, we resolve to keep open minds and try new looks that we aren’t sure about on the hanger. We also vow not to shell out big bucks for things just because they are trendy and, of course, to finally organize our closets! But tell us: What are your style resolutions for the New Year? What resolutions do you wish stars would make?

Check out all the trends worth keeping — and losing — in our special Top 5 Gallery.

Photo: Jonathan Friolo/IHP/Splash News

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File under amazing feats of fashion: First Mariah Carey did it, and now Jennifer Lopez is wearing stilettos while walking on ice in Aspen. The fashionista left her snow boots at home — no fuzzy boots for J.Lo? — and headed out on into the wintry streets in her mega-heel YSL platform boots. Unless the ice in Aspen has a special no-slip quality that we don’t know about or Jennifer’s dance training gives her a super-human balancing ability, we think she should pick up some shoes with better traction! Tell us: Do you dare to wear heels on ice? What’s your winter footwear standby?

Click here to read even more about Jennifer Lopez in Off the Rack.

Photo: Fame

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Paris Hilton has never been one to shy away from a logo — her wardrobe of Chanel purses come to mind — but this week, she has outdone herself. While hanging out on famed Bondi Beach in Australia, Paris not only donned a signature-print Louis Vuitton string bikini but also carrying one of the brand’s logo-laden bags (as did BFF Kim Kardashian). The Monogram Miroir Alma bag is actually the Louis Vuitton “it” bag of the season, selling out everywhere in America in spite of its whopping $2250 price tag. We can’t imagine carrying anything that expensive, much less to the beach! Tell us: Would you carry a $2250 purse to the beach? Would you wear that bag at all?

To get the full scoop on Paris Hilton, click here to read more in Off the Rack.

Photo: Paul McConnell/Getty

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When Angelina Jolie ushers in the New Year (presumably at one of the world’s exotic hot spots), she could well be wearing a Karanina convertible halter dress (on sale now for $173 from $345 on Girlshop.com). We hear that she recently scooped up three of them — including a reversible black and champagne version. This multi-tasking silk jersey dress has a extra-long halter tie that allows you to wear it in at least five ways — ten ways if you buy the reversible one! Fashionista translation: you can don the same dress to a few of your holiday parties and look a little different each time. No wonder celebs such as Scarlett Johannson, Jennifer Aniston and Jessica Simpson also keep this handy little number in their closets. Now the only question is: What are you wearing on New Year’s Eve?

Photo: Dave Allocca/startraks

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Jessica Alba hit the streets of Los Angeles last weekend to do all of her last-minute holiday shopping, but millions of Americans took to their local malls and boutiques yesterday to take advantage of great after-XMAS deals. And of course, let’s not forget about returning all of the ill-fitting but well-intentioned gifts you received this holiday season. While some of us prefer to do our shopping online (which is no less dangerous on our wallets), stars like Paris Hilton and Ashley Olsen were spotted joining the masses in a shopping frenzy yesterday. We want to know: Did you hit the shops yesterday? What was the best deal you scored?

Photo: limelight pictures

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If you’ve seen our exclusive Video Diary of Katharine McPhee getting ready for the Billboard Awards, you know she got some help getting red-carpet ready from her hairstylist Campbell and her makeup artist Jake Bailey. They let us in on a few tricks they used on Katharine that night, like Jake’s no-smudge mascara trick of putting cardboard right under the lashes while applying.

To get Katharine’s hair wild and rock ‘n’ roll, Campbell scrunch-dried her hair and then started curling it on a medium barrel iron from the bottom of her head up. Now, here’s a trick we’ve never heard of (but sounds brilliant!) — he took random sections between the curls, braided them, and ran a flat iron over them to lock in the wave. Shake it out, and you have a fabulous wavy texture to toughen up the curls. To keep it locked in place for the big show, Campbell gave her hair more than one spritz of hairspray (try Spray and Play from BigSexyHair, Katharine’s fave). For tips on Katharine’s smoky, sexy eyes and more, keep reading!

Click here to see all four episodes of Katharine McPhee’s Celebrity Video Diary, only on People.com. And click here for beauty tricks of all your favorite stars.

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I’ve come to believe that the world in divided into two: those who adore Hello Kitty, and those who detest her. I am in the former group. In fact, when jewelry designer Tarina Tarantino made a high fashion Hello Kitty “pearl” necklace in 2003, I was first in line to buy one. . . well, make that second because I think Cameron Diaz got hers first. And the love continues — Jennifer Love Hewitt and Vanessa Minillo recently stocked up on Hello Kitty cashmere sweaters from Kitson. Knitted, this cat’s not cheap — Hello Kitty cashmere starts at $198 for a sweater and goes up, but you can get tons of things for under $10 at shop.sanrio.com or check out faux-vintage tees, from $33, on 80spurple.com. Tell us: Do you adore Hello Kitty? Or detest her? – Alison Singh Gee

Photo: Maury Phillips/WireImage; 80spurple.com

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