A-LIST: Say My Name

Shakespeare may be the first to question, “What’s in a name?,” but in the fashion world of celebrity supermodels, design houses, and haute-couture clothing labels, last names reign supreme. Tracking the star players requires skills, and as the fashion scene becomes increasingly international even the most up-to-date fashionista can get tongue tied. Thanks to a helpful audio guide on about.com, you can listen to the proper pronunciation of more than 40 designer names such as Hervé Léger, Trussardi, and Loewe. Start with these five designer names avoid butchering the best of the world’s designers:

1. Givenchy (zhee-von-shee)

(Hubert James Taffin de Givenchy, Designer)

2. Bulgari (Ball-gah-ree)

(Sotirio Bulgari, Founder)

3. Jean Paul Gaultier (Go-tee-ay)

(Jean Paul Gaultier, Designer)

4. Christian Louboutin (Loo-boo-tin)

(Christian Louboutin, Designer)

5. Hermés (Heir-mez)

(Thierry Hermés, Founder)

A-LIST: Scented Secrets for the Season

Finding the right fragrance for the holidays requires a strong constitution. One foot in a department store, and a salesperson hovers over your shoulder trying to sell you the most expensive item on the counter. Or, worse yet, spritzing you in an nasal ambush. If you attempt to test a few on your search, you create a concoction that obliterates your ability to sniff a clear winner. You leave smelling like you took a bath in perfume and with a headache to boot. Let these picks make your search for the perfect holiday scent short and sweet.


1. Miss Dior Cherie ($68 for 1.7 oz lordandtaylor.com): This scent reminds me of being wrapped up in a cashmere sweater by the fire or laughing at a holiday party. The floral and musky scent, which makes it flirty sexy. Though it runs the risk of being overpowering, one spray is enough to last the evening.


2. DKNY Delicious Night ($58 for 1.7 oz macys.com): Less sweet and more spice, this scent is an ideal garnish for your New Years Eve. It includes blackberry and ginger, which create a tangy scent. Perfect for a woman in platforms or pumps, a slinky dress with an attitude to match.


3. Maybe Baby ($48 3.4 oz benefitcosmetics.com): This floral scent is subtle, as if you just put on lotion or clean laundry. It smells light like rose water, with hints of water blossoms and apricot. Perfect for a date or a just an evening with drinks, this scent does the flirting for you.


4. Pure Vanilla from Lavanila Laboratories ($56 for 1.7 oz lavanila.com): Remember as a kid making cookies when it came to measure the vanilla, and it smelled so delicious that you took a taste (only to find it bitter). This perfume delivers the same experience, capturing the scent of gingerbread houses and holiday baking (minus the bitter finish).


5. Thierry Mugler Angel ($72 0.8 oz nordstrom.com): This perfume offers a woodsy scent with a hint of honey and chocolate, which gives it a feminine profile. This playful perfume makes a great everyday scent. One user from Sephora.com commented, “It gives you confidence when you enter a room and people want to know what you are wearing.”

A-LIST: Move Over McCarthy and McQueen

If you want to know the heir apparent of fashion’s design dynasty, consider these five wunderkinds who are destined to make the world a much more beautiful place.

Danielle Scutt

Preferring gladiators to glamazons, Scutt’s spring 2008 collection combines masculine and feminine overtones to produce light chiffon dresses, trench coats and organza suits. The collage of Popism, exotic head wraps, denim jump suits, and some Andy Warhol hints comprise her spring 2009 ready-to-wear collection. While still very new, Scutt is poised as Britain’s next big designer. Move over McQueen and McCarthy.

Thakoon

Thakoon Panichgul started out as a fashion writer but learned early on that his eye for fashion extended beyond the page. Panichgul studied at Parsons School of Design and produced his first day-wear collection in 2004. He soon received a Hollywood cult following by celebrities such as Rachel Bilson and Sarah Jessica Parker. He also received some political attention when he dressed Michelle Obama in a whimsically printed sheath dress. Oh snaps!

Doo.ri

While designer Doo-Ri Chung has been in the fashion game for a while, working for six years under Geoffrey Beene, she started her own design label in 2001. From her parent’s dry-cleaning store basement Chung, sculpted the luscious drape dresses and silk tops that represent the Doo.ri brand. In 2006 Chung received the Swarovski's Perry Ellis Award for emerging talent in womenswear from the CFDA. Doo.ri’s Spring 2009 collection infuses bright magenta in the light and airy slate gray charmeuse blouses.

Vena Cava

Lisa Mayock and Sophie Buhai started their collection in the spring of 2003, three weeks after they graduated from Parsons School of Design. These two Brooklynites found inspiration in everything from the rich colors of Mumbai to the playfulness of the swinging sixties. Vena Cava offers a fun approach to day wear with art deco inspired shift dresses and structured twill bottoms. The dynamic duo captures the street style of Brooklyn and infuse it with some old Hollywood class.

Joeri Van Yper

While the names Dries Van Noten and Ann Demeuleme may sound familiar, the latest prodigy of Antwerp’s Royal Academy of Fine Arts, remains under the radar. For now at least. The New Yorker called Joeri Van Yper, who graduated in 2008, ‘the next generation of fashion.’ His winter collection features cerulean blue thick tweeds and bulk cable knit pants. Van Yper’s shoe designs feature gravity-defying heels that rival Dame Vivian Westwood. While Van Yper has yet to create a line, expect him to join the ranks of the Antwerp Six, soon to be seven.

A-LIST: Tropical Treats

Whether venturing to sunny Florida, Puerto Rico, Cabo San Lucas, or staying home for this year’s holiday break, book a trip to the mall to get dibs on this season’s resort must-haves. New silhouettes, new colors, and new prints make you dream about a vacation even if you’re not going on one (plus it’s never to early to plan for spring break). Consider these pieces for your next tropical escape.


Dare to be different: A one-piece suit is sure to make a splash. Dive into this Anna & Boy deep V halter suit. The bow detail on the front adds to the suits sophisticated allure. Throw on a pair of heels, kick your feet back, and brace yourself to be the center of attention. Available at Shopbop.com, $220.


Dress to Impress: Escape in style with this colorful, bold print, Trina Turk cover-up. This eclectic piece can be transformed - from beachwear to street chic in seconds. Perfect for a boardwalk stroll or with a cosmopolitan at a café at sunset. Available at Victoriassecret.com, $159.


Sole Support: Just as you need a mental break from the 9-5 grind, your feet need stiletto time off too. Step into a pair of Havianas (“the best rubber sandal in the world”). Havianas come in a wide range of styles and colors making them an easy complement to any outfit. Nordstrom.com, $18.


On the Fly: Sun and sightseeing await so don’t waste time fussing with your hair. For a quick fix, adorn yourself in style with this bright colored turban headband. Also sold in purple and yellow. Forever21.com, $3.80.


Preserve the Glow: Even after your fun in the sun ends, shine bright with GlowFusion Micro-Nutrient Face & Body Natural Protein Tan Enhancing Emulsion. The lotion contains DHA, a chemical that interacts with your skin cells to enhance and extend your skin's sun-kissed color. Sephora.com, $40.

A-LIST: The Best in Fashion Blogs

Salty provides you with the scoop on all things fashion, but sometimes you need more than one outlet to satisfy your fashion fix. We know the feeling. That’s why we compiled our own list of the best blog sites for industry news, resources, trend spotting, and designer insights. Consider this the Oscars for blogs. The Bloscars perhaps?

And the award goes to…

Best for insider scoop and fashion news: Fashionista

Aside from the site’s obviously fabulous name, Fashionista keeps us updated on all the latest gossip and news in the industry without making us feel like we’re doing work! The blog posts read like a fashionable best friend and the site’s glossary keeps us talking the talk about everything and everyone from Carine Roitfeld to Coco Rocha.


Best for trend spotting and celebrity style: WhoWhatWear
Shopping addicts beware—visiting this site will multiple your Christmas list in minutes. With all the cute eye candy, we can’t help our obsession with WWW. The blog site is run by two former editors of Elle magazine and is updated daily with recurring fashion feature stories like “Under $100,” “What Was She Wearing,” “MySpace Muses,” and “Girl of the Month.” Chock full of trend reports and celebrity style inspiration, WWW is a must for keeping current with the latest in chic.

Best for inspiration: This Is Glamorous
Never before have we seen so many beautiful things in one place! But okay, we cheated. The blog isn’t completely fashion—it’s part fashion photography, part interior design—but we promise the wrought-iron bedposts and antique oversized mirrors will inspire you just as much as Gemma Ward in a feathered headpiece. With breathtaking photography, This is Glamorous is like a slice of heaven, but the best part is, with beautiful style and design only a click away, there’s no reason to spend the cash and muscle power on those hefty European fashion mag editions! Your wallet and arms with thank you.


Best for global street style: The Sartorialist
You don’t have to book a ticket to Europe to find out what the most fashionable people around the world are wearing every day. The Sartorialist gives you the best in street style from the world’s fashion capitals: Paris, Milan, and New York. An instant hit, the blog spawned a monthly column for GQ and is frequently featured on Vogue’s website, Style.com.


Best for laughs: Go Fug Yourself
What started as an inside joke between friends is now a fashion blog phenomenon and one of our guiltiest pleasures. “The Fug Girls” as they have become known, revel in the “fugliest” (origin: f*** + ugly) of celebrity style with photos of Bai Ling’s latest fashion misshap (usually occurring daily), and the worst of the worst in red-carpet moments. But the site’s real humor is not in the outfits themselves—it is in the commentary posted alongside the photos. You will laugh out loud. We promise.

Check out more of our Salty obsessions: FabSugar, Refinery29-The Pipeline, The Budget Fashionista, The Cut, and A Glamorous Little Side Project

A-LIST: Carmex Electra

Come on, don’t act like you never heard it. Carmex, that Cadillac of lips balms, has a frenzy of rumor and support sites swirling on the web. Personally, we love the stuff, but like spider eggs in Bubble Yum, we think someone has been telling your children very bad things about a very good lip balm.

You know you’ve heard it. “Carmex contains ground fiberglass that necessitates repeated applications” or “Carmex is made with salicylic acid, which chafes the lips, making you crave more.” Comedian Paula Poundstone even jokes about a secret wing at Betty Ford for users with a Carmex addiction “begging for just one little dip of their finger into the pot.”

So let’s take a look at what’s out there in terms of support or myth-busting around this venerable, 58-year-old product:

Dictator Princess: Prinny hysterically describes Carmex as “Vaseline with a tingle” and details her Carmex addiction low: combing Paris for “the little yellow pot.”

Lip Balm Anonymous: This is the Nancy Reagan of Carmex addiction sites describes the amber goo as packing “a rush that rivals crack cocaine when you first apply it.”

Salon Selectives: A well-researched piece by Mary Roach that details addicts who go by first name, last initial only. Lisa M. applies an average of 108 times a day, poor thing.

mycarmex.com: This is the mothership: the official Carmex website. In addition to addiction issues, it addresses how to remove Carmex stains from your clothing. Messy!

Winehouse Is Da Balm: links Amy Winehouse to Carmex. This How-To wiki suggests slathering balm all over your face. “Carmex is the best.” Mmm-hum, we knew it.

A-LIST: Phaidon for Fashionistas

Nothing says holiday more than a big-assed, doorstop of a coffeetable book and we think Phaidon -- which specializes in gorgie architectural tomes -- does some of the best. We’ve rounded-up our five favs for holiday gifting:


Gothic & Lolita, $29.95
You don’t have to be Gwen Stefani to know that Harajuku Girls are out of their minds, but Tokyo’s hippest school girls have moved on from the early-Bri knee socks and are working a new look that’s part Morticia Adams and part pre-teen temptress. The pics are by cult photog Masayuki Yoshingaga.


The Fashion Book, $9.95
Vogue calls it this “the ultimate fashion reference book.” And if Anna likes it, you know the type is big enough to be read with sunglasses on. This A to Zed guide to fashion belongs on the desk or, frankly, in the purse of any fashionista worth her salty. It’s a steal for under 10 dollars and really is small enough to fit in your handbag.


Andy Warhol “Giant” Size, $125.00
Okay, this is our splurge, but it’s just the thing for the size queen on your list. The Sunday Herald compared it to the Bible, only with Polaroids of drag queens and male nudes. And the giant size means your little hipster can take that portrait of Nico and make his very own bangs stencil. You get everything from party invites to personal notes from Halston.


A Dedicated Follower of Fashion, $29.95
Full disclosure, this is one of the textbooks for the class that brings you Salty, but it’s also been one of the finds of my semester. Even fuller disclosure, I bought a used copy from Amazon for a lot less clam, but I don’t know where it’s been. This brand-new, insidery look at the fashion biz would look so smart tucked under your arm when you’re waiting on line for that Marc Jacobs show.


Wallpaper* City Guides, $49.75
For less than 50 magilla, you get London, Milan, New York, Paris, Tokyo. Just think of how handy these babies will be when you start the semi-annual fashion week schlep. This box set comes bound in a pretty ribbon that will probably let you get away with not gift wrapping. You can pick up individual guides like Kyoto or Delhi for less than ten bucks, but then, who cares about Kyoto or Delhi?

A-LIST: Amazing Masters and Muses

As a designer, I know how the power of a person that inspires you to create. Friend, fellow creator, beauty, and brain, junior advertising design major Anya Dabroski filled that role for me and made me curious about the world's more famous inspiration-creation connections. Consider my list of the Top Seven Masters and Muses of all time:

7. Karl Lagerfeld and Claudia Schiffer

6. Jean Paul Gaultier and Madonna

5. Gianni Versace and sister Donatella

4. Paul Poiret and wife Denise

3. Ann Demeulemeester and Patti Smith

2. Coco Chanel and Coco Chanel

1. Christian Dior and Mitzah Bricard