Alexa Chung is scared

Alexa Chung finds red carpets horrifying.

Despite being universally praised for her style, the TV presenter hates being in the spotlight for her fashion choices as she doesn't think she is a glamorous person.

She said: 'Red carpets are always so terrifying and such a weird experience - you have just got to trust you don't pull an ugly face! I don't think glamour is part of my pay and if you can't struggle you may as well just go down a dissimilar path.'

Alexa likes to be character in her fashion choices and exposed she is obsessed.

She explained to more! Magazine: 'I'm obsessed with the 60s. Sometimes I think I was born in the wrong decade. Everything looks huge; the visual of that time makes my eyes so happy.'

While the TV presenter loves bargains, she does enjoy splashing out on luxurious designer goods too, when the temperament takes her.

Alexa said: 'The Chanel 2.55 handbag I bought at Heathrow airport when I was hangover is the most costly item in my wardrobe, I'm obsessed with bags. I just can't stop buying them.'

Ashley Olsen steps out in leather jacket and chunky gold bangles

Ashley Olsen - along with Sister Mary-Kate - just got a top style award this week, so perchance she was experimenting with a new style.

The fashionista was spied walking near her New York City apartment yesterday wearing a mixed bag of regular wear.

The long white cotton skirt and low-heeled black Birkenstock sandals were suitable for an almost summer day, but Ashley Olsen paired it with an odd grouping on to - perhaps an imminent into their fall preview.

She wore a form-fitting leather jacket over a blue hooded shirt, and those were layered over yet a new extended black shirt.

In other twist, the earlier child star-turned-fashion designer decided to wear extra-large round rose-colored glasses, which are considered out of fashion this year.

The 5ft 1in pale paired the outfit with a heavy leather hand bag.

The whole collection was accessorized with three thick gold bangles on her right wrist and a big gold pinky ring.

She awarded the womenswear Designer of the Year award at the Council of Fashion Designers of America Awards last week.

Their high-end fashion tag, The Row, beat out member nominee and previous winner of the award Marc Jacobs.

At the same time as her sister is carrying on a high-profile romance with Olivier Sarkozy, the brother of former French president Nicholas, Ashley is, normally, being mum about who she's dating.

The former actress was seen on a date previous month with actor Jared Leto, a former boyfriend.

Kelly Osbourne, Jeannie Mai gives commentary on Miss USA

Kelly Osbourne and Jeannie Mai might have the easiest job of the Miss USA contest on Sunday night. No distrust the ladies who are contestants are hurrying around for their best look and the hosts of the show Giuliana Rancic and Andy Cohen are pushing the competition beside live to keep the time pace, yet, Kelly and Jeannie only call for to talk about fashion which is exactly what they do for a living.

The two are the commentators of the 2012 Miss USA competition with their jobs to be talking about style of fashion. Kelly Osbourne of E!’s Fashion control, and Jeannie Mai, of Style Network’s How Do I Look? Will be discussing the gowns the ladies are wearing and the taken as a whole look of the women as they hit the stage.

One of the newer segments of the Miss USA show the hope is to fix with the audience by giving fashion approaching and sharing the products used. Of course, there is only so much time a live show can provide to the fashion trends, but within the situation of the Miss USA, it’s nice to hear a little of the tips the ladies are giving out as looking great is significant to everyone. Yet it is safe to say that Kelly and Jeannie have the easiest job of everybody at the Miss USA competition!

KIM SET TO RETURN TO UK FOR OLYMPICS

THE lovable smell of success for me Thursday night at The Fifi Awards at The Brewery in the City of London as I was on the red mat to meet all the stars at The Oscars of the Fashion World.

Organizer Lorraine Wilson-Morris told me that star visitor Kim Kardashian was a joy to work with and had been very low-maintenance.

And certain enough Kim sashayed onto the red mat looking curvy in a beautiful figure-hugging dress.

What a complete sweetheart, she was the first to compliment me on my dress Jokingly, I directed Kim to TopShop on Oxford Street!

I had to ask the most celebrated of the Kardashians all about her perfume start and what she liked about London. The megastar confided that she loved our city and was planning to come back for the Olympics.

Impertinently, I had to ask what she thought to all the attention on her well-known derriere. She giggled, that she found it all pretty uncomfortable! There are worse things that people could be talking about, I guess!
 

Boyband Blue was on hand to talk about their predictions for Engelburt at Eurovision and how they love their new label, Blue World. The boys looked mighty hot. All in all, a fabulous evening!  

Stefani squeezes in fashion

Gwen Stefani is no guest to multitasking, juggling her music career -- she's wrapping up a new album with No Doubt -- and her fashion projects, which contain the debut of the newest Harajuku Mini collection at Target next week.

But, Stefani says, it's her sons that mostly carry on her toes. Some days, running Kingston, 6, and Zuma, 4, back and forth to school, doing homework and tucking them into bed seems to take up the biggest division of her day.

"I like to be with them whenever I can, of course," the 42-year-old singer-designer says.

Her mother was very hands-on, and Stefani says that's what she's striving to do. Some of her pet memories include wearing Holly Hobbie bonnets and velvet dresses with cord collars that her mother made for her.

"Growing up, I had a really amazing mom who was really imaginative. She made material for every holiday, and I learned how to sew. ... She has really excellent style -- and I feel like my parents let me be creative -- but they'd always check my skirt length," Stefani says. "They were severe."

Stefani has been designing her LAMB line for women for nine years, so, she says, this partnership on a children's line came pretty easily because she knows the plan and manufacturing process, has more ideas than she knows what to do with, and has learned to correct her for a clear, consumer-friendly message.

Plus, how much enjoyable is it to dress up grade-school girls?

"When I first started this line up, I thought it was going to be for fewer than 5, but Target wanted me to do the bigger girls, which is a really strange age," she says. "They're so inspired by things they see, trying to find themselves, expressing themselves, they're influenced by friends, what they see on TV and the Internet. I thought it sounded like a big job but I've gotten into it."

The clothes, vacant in stores Monday, are a mix of the girlie frills and masculine silhouettes that Stefani says are staples of her own clothing.

And she's alert of being age-appropriate.

"That part is challenging," she says, "but I think we've done a excellent job."

Yet, while tween girls are willingly to take style guidance from Stefani, her boys have no problem saying "no," especially Kingston, who likes to pick his own outfits any ability he gets because he wears a uniform during school, she says.

Mommy still wins the wardrobe wars, occasionally, though.

"I do like to do a matching outfit at holiday time," she says.

Camille Grammer looks stylish as she heads out for a cold drink

Camille Grammer seems to be permanently entangled in a drama of some kind or another.

But today the former Real Housewives of Beverly Hills looked cool and collected as she made a stop at her local Starbucks.

 Dressed in a chic black and white weave dress accessorised with a white silk bag and a pair of peek toe Louboutin heels, the mother-of-two had nothing but smiles for the camera today after what can only be illustrated as a very difficult year.

The 43-year-old showed on GMA with Katie Couric earlier this month to confirm that she was quitting The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills after having a 'horrible experience' filming the demonstrate.

Camille said: 'The first season was awful because they were filming during the worst year of my whole life.

'My husband left me, he was having an issue with a woman in New York City while I was filming, and it couldn’t get worse than that.'

Camille also explained that she wanted to carry on her personal life private from now on, which led to her egress from the series after just two seasons.

But Camille had no trouble discussing the new man in her life, insolvency attorney Dimitri Charalambopoulos, with Katie calling him 'a really good guy, a sweet heart.'

The very same day though it was reported that the reality star had threatened Dimiti's ex-girlfriend and mother of his child, Lisa Chynoweth, during a taped telephone conversation in order to stop her from revealing personal facts to the press.

Camille claimed to have no knowledge that she was being recorded.

Dimitri is now embroiled in a malicious custody battle with his ex for care of their five-year-old son while the Grammers only recently settled their child custody case.

The former Frasier actor and The Real Housewives star, who split in 2010 after 13 years of marriage, decided to joint custody of their daughter Mason, 10, and son Jude, seven.

According to court documents obtained by TMZ.com, the children will persist to live in Los Angeles with Camille but Kelsey, who left her for  30-year-old flight attendant Kayte Walsh, will be allowed 'meaningful contact'.

Clothes made for concealed weapons

Fashion conscious gun owners now do not have to fret about their concealed weapon making their clothes appear bulky. Nor do they have to dress in oversized clothes.

Clothing brands, including Woolrich, are designing clothes for stylish gun carriers.

Woolrich, a clothing company that specializes in outdoors wear, introduced "screen carry garments" into its Elite Series Tactical collection in 2010 at the demand of law enforcement officers and military staff who wanted normal-looking clothing for undercover or off-duty work.

The line features a new chino pant that is smooth, but can still hide a handgun. In order to do so, the company added a second pocket after the regular one for weapon. In addition, they also added a stretchable waistband to lodge a gun holster.

Woolrich isn't the only company offering clothes for those packing warmth. Under Armour and some clothing companies are getting in on the growing business.

According to the New York Times, the number of people with permits to bring concealed weapons has risen from five million in 2008 to seven million last year, mostly due to changes in state laws.

Before "covert fashion" existed, carriers of concealed weapons were limited to a more "tactical" or military appear. Though, some still do favor it that way.

"They should dress for the gun. Not for the fashion," Howard Walter, a 61-year-old gun salesmen told the Times.

But, 35-year-old Shawn Thompson, a handgun carrier from Kentucky, wrote on his blog, "Most of the clothes I used in the past to conceal my sidearm looked pretty sloppy and had my girlfriend complain about my looks. I'm not James Bond or nothing, but these look pretty nice."

Fly aboard this spring’s nautical fashion trend

Recently, for some reason, I’ve been obsessed with everything naval. I don’t recognize what caused it, but I realized, as I flipped through my different fashion magazines, that my fixation isn’t without demand.

 Obviously, when I say naval, I’m not talking Popeye or sailor uniforms. There are many difficult ways to pull off a simple, light summer look with this timeless drift. First is my personal desired: Stripes?

Generally, when going for a nautical look, stripes are inclined to be thin and have a loyal color palette. Navy and White is the most common, but versions of red and white or navy and red also work really fit. Like I said before, though, keep the stripes thin to shun looking like a candy cane or our nation’s flag. Your peak can be long-sleeved, a thin cotton tee, a tank top, basically whatever you — or the weather, in some cases — say aloud. Tops can additionally be made of any fabric: Cotton, silk, man-made — stripes can normally work with any material.

When it comes to bottoms, less is more in terms of colors. Neutrals are always the best choices for nautical outfits. Think khakis, white or practically any gloom of denim you could imagine. Focus more on the fit of your pants or shorts than what color or cloth they are.

Nautical-inspired looks can, of course, carry over to the beach. This year, aim came out with an excess of striped bikinis with tiny gold accents great for your seaside look, all at a reasonable price. Plain navy, white and red also work glowing paired together or mixed and matched.

If you’re looking for a small quantity of nautical flair but don’t want to go all out, accessories are a great selection. Try a chunky cord bracelet or anything with a little anchor pendant. Now, before some of you go tying rope about your wrists, that’s not what I indicate. Many companies make bracelets out of a range of materials — like rope — and if done correctly, they can be a quirky way to make a statement. Proenza Schouler did it last period when they made adorable, multi-colored bracelets out of wicker climbing rope and carabineer clasps.

Anything gold can stress a nautical look. Tiny gold buttons on striped shirts can offer you a subtle effect without blinging yourself out too much. A fragile gold anchor, sailboat necklace or small ball earrings are immense choices. If you’re not really a jewelry person, a vivacious stripe of red lipstick looks magnificent with any skin tone.

Above all, keep your seafaring look easy. If you go overboard — no joke intended — with accessories or stripes, it won’t be pretty.

Fashion Statement of a Grandmother: 1957 Vs. 2012

In 1957 real men didn't wear earrings or beaded necklaces or jeans that showed off the bottom of their butt crack while they were standing up. Dear God! Grandmothers didn't wear funky T-shirts and tight blue jeans, and they wouldn't be caught dead without white gloves at church on Sunday. Their fashion statement had to do with plain-weave cotton fabric dresses. (Despite June Cleaver and Harriet Nelson wearing pearls as fashion accessories, most housewives and grandmothers did not wear pearl necklaces Monday through Saturday while vacuuming and washing dishes by hand.)

Today, in 2012, modern grandmothers make their own fashion statements. We don't care if we dress half our age because it makes us feel younger and gives us a license to sass our grown children who raise their eyebrows when they see us dress like teenage warlocks.

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Fashion show tickets, Warnerettes opportunities

 The Governor Warner Mansion will present its 4th Annual Fashion Show at noon on Wednesday, May 2, at the Huron River Hunting Fishing Club, 22575 Farmington Road in Farmington.

The doors will open at 11 a.m. with seating at 11:45 a.m.

This year's show will characteristic the latest fashions from Dressbarn of Farmington, Derby Hats by Rachelle and original designs by Inga. Models will include local officials and mansion volunteers. Hair and make-up for the models will be provided by Salon Legato of Farmington.

In addition to the fashion show, local businesses and vendors will offer a shopping opportunity throughout the event.

The $30 tickets are available at Farmington City Hall, 23600 Liberty Street, downtown Farmington. Call (248) 474-5500, ext. 2225 for further information. Tickets are limited.

Funds raised will go toward the very important repairs at the Warner Mansion and carriage house.

Farmington's first, and only, parasol drill team is ready to recruit new members and begin practicing their struts for this year's Downtown Farmington Founders Festival Parade, scheduled for Saturday, July 21.

This will be the fourth year the group participates in the procession and represents Governor Warner's commitment to helping women gain the right to vote in the early 1900s.

The set dresses in Gibson Girl outfits consisting of black skirt, white blouse and straw hat and practices simple parasol routines on the beautiful grounds of the Governor Warner Mansion.

No individual skills are required, and all women, from teens to more mature ladies, are welcome to be in the group.

Those interested are invited to join the assembly at the Governor Warner Mansion, 33805 Grand River, west of Farmington Road, in Farmington, for its first meeting, from 7-8 p.m. Monday, April 30. Bring a full-size, black umbrella with a U-shaped handle, if possible.

Further Details, look for the display at the “Festival of the Arts,” held at the Costick Center on April 21, or call Sharon at (248) 474-3262.

fashion meet at Coachella

Fashion has grown to be a big part of the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, which starts Friday.

So big, in fact, those brands from around the globe will move down on California for both weekends of the celebration and the week in between -- to court performers and their fans.

The connection between fashion and music is a symbiotic one, L.A. Times Fashion Critic Booth Moore explains in a tale in Sunday's Image section. For the fashion labels, a star's support draws other customers. For a band, playing at fashion events can get enough money to pay for a tour.

And for fans, copying the clothes their idols wear has been part of the entertaining since music festivals began. Reporter Adam Tschorn singled out five fashion-conscious acts that are scheduled to make at Coachella and describes their signature styles in Sunday's Image too. Grace Potter revealed here, of Grace Potter and the Nocturnals is one of them. She told Tschorn that she has loved fashion since she was a child and that as a performer it's significant to be ready for " our 'big moments in the sun' -- our TV moments, our big, onstage Coachella moments." We can't stay to see what she'll be wearing.

Tickets sold out in January, but if you're planning to be present at this or any other music celebration this spring or summer, check out our photo gallery for inspiration on what to pack to look just right.

The Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival are scheduled April 13-15 and April 20-22.

Selena Gomez & Carlos Knight at the Kid's Choice Awards

The Nickelodeon Kid's Choice Awards brought out the channel's hottest youthful stars to the bright orange carpet at the USC Galen Center last weekend. The show was notably more casual than, say, the Oscars or Golden Globes -- knowing there is a different possibility you may get "slimed" may be a contributing factor -- but the attendees managed to look proper and stylish without the floor-length gowns or tuxedos.

Actress-singer Selena Gomez and actor Carlos Knight stood out in the crowd of mini-dresses and slacks in looks that were bright and playful. Gomez, who took home the award that night for preferred television actress, stars on the Nickelodeon channel's "The Wizards of Waverly Place," while Knight plays Owen Reynolds in the Nickelodeon show "Supah Ninjas."

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Football Fashion: Nike's new NFL uniforms

Nike's new NFL uniforms don't get too many chances, but there are slight design changes here and there. And the Seattle Seahawks got a total conversion. But designers can still trust. On Tuesday in New York City, Nike unveiled its new line of NFL uniforms, rolling out revamped outfits and accessories for all 32 teams to wear during the 2012 time of year. Most of the changes are related to presentation—new fabric for increased mobility, a “Flywire” neck designed to offer a shrink-wrap fit and lighter padding round out the Elite 51 unis. With the exception of a flashy facelift for the Seattle Seahawks, few teams got more than the addition of some delicate trim and the trademark swooshes in the design department. But this being the NFL, hype abounds. TIME’s Feifei Sun and Adam Sorensen walk you through the spring fashions.

High fashion: stewardess uniforms

Airline uniforms may not be the fashionista's meaning of sartorial style but the flight attendant's garb represents the essence of jet-set style and glamour for one aviation enthusiast.

Cliff Muskiet has been collecting female flight employee ensembles since the early 1980s and has accumulated over 1,000 outfits and trimmings, which he proudly displays on his website.

"I love airplanes and everything that comes with it," says Muskiet, who also works as a flight assistant for KLM Royal Dutch Airways.

"When I think of an airplane, I automatically think of a stewardess. When I think of a stewardess, I automatically think of a uniform. When I feel of a uniform, I want to have it," he adds.

Muskiet frequently receives requests to display his collection at industry shows and exhibitions. He says the uniforms offer a window into dissimilar eras of style and commercial aviation history.

I love the 1970s psychedelic patterns and color combinations.

"You can see the fashion modify through the years when you look at the stewardess uniforms," explains Muskiet.

"I love the 1970s psychedelic patterns and color combinations: yellow, red, orange, purple, and green, white, blue. Every color was used and everything was possible," he adds.

Over the years, some of the world's most well-known fashion designers have created outfits for airline companies, including Giorgio Armani (Al Italia), Nina Ricci (Cathay Pacific) and Christian Lacroix (Air France), says Muskiet.

But just since big-name designers put their names to exacting items it doesn't mean that the uniforms they make are always a work of beauty, he explains.

"Yves Saint Laurent, for example, has made beautiful clothes for women, but the uniform he designed for Qantas in the 1980s was so terrible," says Muskiet.

Muskiet highlights 1970s uniforms from Japan Airlines, El Al and Iberia as some his all-time desired items.

He says the combination of visual style and neat trimmings, as well as the personification of the carrier's national identity -- although this is not absolutely necessary -- can all be significant factors in creating a uniform that will vibrate.

"Look at Emirates, they wear a Western uniform and the color is terrible," says Muskiet.

"But the red hat with veil is eye catching. The covering is that national identity as well as the color of the uniform: fawn is the color of sand."

Muskiet says his collection will continue to produce for as long as airlines are willing to let him get his hands on their dress. In doing so, he hopes to protect and further chronicle the historic link between airlines and the styles they continue to seed.

"There has always been something exciting about aviation and airline fashion," he enthuses. "These two go well together."

Flower fashion show money raises at Garfield Park Conservatory

Previous summer, hailstorms scratched more than 60 percent of the Garfield Park Conservatory’s greenhouse glass, setting the folks at the West Side institution immediately into motion to raise the money they would need to restore the landmark building to its former wonder. On Friday, more than 300 partygoers gathered at Venue One, 1044 W. Randolph, to sip cocktails and enjoy a flower-themed fashion show at the annual fund-raiser Fleurotica. The benefit helped the greenhouse get $80,000 closer to its goal.

Many guests took the theme to heart, putting on flowery frocks and pinning buds into their updos, and began the evening with acai libations and snacks. Notable names spotted amongst the crowd included Margo Morris, board chairwoman of the Garfield Park Conservatory association; fashion designer Borris Powell and NBC5’s LeeAnn Trotter, who emceed the evening’s program. Also worthy of note were the cast of an upcoming Chicago-based, salon-focused reality show, who could be seen — followed by their camera gang, of course — mingling with guests and chatting with each other over drinks.

Afterward, the crowd was guided upstairs and seated for the runway show. All designs donned by models were formed by Chicago florists and completed entirely out of natural materials. Stunning gowns and flirty miniskirt ensembles were created especially for the occasion and made their way down the catwalk, many eliciting oohs and aahs from onlookers. The “Best in Show” award, chosen by a board of in-the-know judges, went to Lance Larson from Blumgarten and Co. for his one-of-a-kind creation.

Tickets began at $150, but VIP packages went for $225 and included premier show seating and a filled-to-the-brim swag bag.

Program would aid emerging NYC

NEW YORK — New York City is planning a program that would supply financial help to emerging fashion designers.

According to the Wall Street Journal, the city Economic Development Corp. plans to broadcast the program on Monday.

It would make available loans for manufacture of goods by smaller; independent designers who need to fulfill a purchase order from a retailer but can't get conventional financing.

The program will only cover New York City designers and need that they use only city factories to make their products.

The EDC will be seeking requests for proposals from a financial institution to work the fund, expected to total $5 million. The money would include $1 million worth of seed money from the corporation.

Jessica Simpson with her fiancé

Pregnant Jessica Simpson was spotted out with her fiancé, former NFL star Eric Johnson, in Los Angeles on Sunday, where the couple braved the rain after enjoying lunch. Simpson donned a stylish bright maxi-dress in the face of the less-than-desirable weather. 

The eight-month pregnant Fashion Star tutor recently appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live and talked about her beautiful sizable baby bump...

"I sense like I have a bowling ball sitting on my hoo-ha!" Simpson joked of her baby bump to host Jimmy Kimmel.

And before you ask, Simpson is not having twins. Of her large baby bump, Simpson explained, "Apparently I have a lot of amniotic liquid, so whenever my water breaks it'll be a like a fire hydrant."

Last weekend, Simpson celebrated her baby shower with over 50 friends, including Sister Ashlee Simpson and pal Jessica Alba.

Simpson and Johnson are expecting a baby girl and have reportedly already decided on a name: Maxwell! The significance behind it? Maxwell is Eric's middle name and also his grandmother's maiden name.