We open with Betsey having a big meeting with Steve Madden (and all of Fashion Week) on her mind–but she finds time to wander around Central Park. She approaches an artist street vendor and somehow it turns into Betsey drawing the vendor, where we learn that “caricatures are really hard….I never could shade…” The end result is whimsical, bordering on awful.

Betsey noisily arrives at Steve Madden and meets with Zina and Gabriella to go over the plans for Fashion Week. There are three components to the show: a retrospective; the Betsey Johnson branded accessories; and prom dresses. Betsey “needs” rose petals all over the floor, “with strippers and drag queens and trannies…elephants or robots.” Well, at least it’s elephants or robots. Then, Betsey insists upon hiring Poor Brandon, who previously let her know that he was on Hail Hiatus.

LuLu and her assistant, Ashley, meet so that Ashley can show LuLu the designs for LuLu’s line. In other words, LuLu doesn’t design her own clothes, even though “this is the first time I put myself out there as a designer.” You can tell from the dynamic that Ashley is being a teensy bit taken advantage of because of her age (uber young) and LuLu’s industry influence (an uber famous mother who happens to be an investor in LuLu’s company). But good for Ashley, she lets LuLu know that she is about to go over budget with the design revisions. We then learn that none of the twenty-five licensing agents LuLu contacted will work with her, so Ashley’s, er, I mean LuLu’s designs may never see the light of day.

I can only imagine how much money was dangled in front of Poor Brandon, because he decided to end Hail Hiatus and join the Betsey Johnson team. They meet in Betsey’s apartment, where she explains that they have ninety looks and four weeks. This is Brandon’s sixteenth show with Betsey, so he knows the drill. Betsey and Brandon visit their new workspace, which is huge and bright and clean. Betsey shows off her branded products, which are made from Betsey’s doodles. Yup, there’s the five dollar bill scarf, the bunny bag, and the straw hat from last week.

Later that day, Betsey receives her Amex bill, and there’s fifteen grand on there that LuLu needs to explain. Ah, youth. Specifically, youth that can’t seem to support themselves despite being given every advantage an opportunity in the world. And now Betsey’s kicking at LuLu’s door. She used her mother’s card to buy vintage clothing, fabrics, and everything else she needed to get her business together, but forgot to run it past her mother first. If you’re a grown adult with children and your mother is supporting your Upper East Side pilates-toned ass, you need to shut up and take your lumps instead of insisting that your behavior is normal and correct. But instead of, you know, getting a job, LuLu goes out and gets a tattoo. It’s super original—stars.

Betsey is sketching runway looks for a show that’s four weeks away, which is a lesson in how mass-produced clothing happens. Instead of designing clothes and accessorizing the collection, Betsey is designing clothes to go with the already-produced branded products. Hmm. That doesn’t sound right….

At LuLu’s apartment/workspace, Allison and Ashley finalize their collection so that they will be ready to meet with “potential licensees.” I can only imagine the stories Ashley has about these two yahoos. “Unfortunately it’s going to take a lot more money to pay Ashley….” Ashley sits there, awkwardly watching her bosses figure out where they’re going to get the money to pay her for the work they’ve asked her to do (*cough* ask Betsey). Oh, Ashley. I hope you’re journaling.

At therapy, LuLu explains that she doesn’t like the whole money thing being thrown in her face. Oh, ha! Betsey gave LuLu the apartment as a wedding present! So if LuLu had to support herself for realsies, she’d be living in a cardboard box in a transitional Brooklyn neighborhood and sending her kids to *gasp* public school. But, thanks to her mother’s generosity, she has a posh lifestyle and can call herself a fashion designer. So LuLu, really. You have two choices—either suck it up, or support yourself. Instead, LuLu goes for Option Three and walks out of therapy because she thinks Betsey is trying to humiliate her.

After all of that, LuLu goes to dinner with Betsey and hits her up for more money. “All I’m asking is, do you think you could help me with a little more money to pay Ashley just for this project?” Betsey reminds her that she started her business with practically nothing. Betsey wants LuLu to learn the whole business, “the business side, the design side, the song-and-dance side.” But LuLu is not a fan of learning (and why should she be when there’s a human ATM machine sitting next to her) and resorts for cutsey face which is just the most embarrassing display I’ve ever seen. But it works, and Betsey gives her what she asks for because she’s proud of LuLu for asking before taking. Ugh. There isn’t enough therapy in the world to straighten out this pair.

Next week: Betsey’s workspace turns into a mess worthy of Hoarders.

The post XOX Betsey Johnson, Episode 2: “Rebrand Spankin’ New” appeared first on HauteTalk.com.

First off, has anyone noticed that the ads in the opening credits for Mad Men are now hopelessly outdated? That’s compared to the current setting of the show. Maybe that means something. Anyway, this episode opens with a drunken car crash, and is that Ken Cosgrove at the wheel? Ken hobbles into the office with a cane, and all Ted wants to know is what the client said about their seventh round of creative. The client is Chevy, and they “didn’t like ‘em.”

Don gets a call at the office from a very angry Silvia who tells Don that he needs to stop wandering her hallway, leaving his cigarette butts around. So…Don has turned into a stalker, and Silvia is in control. Silvia explains that their relationship was all about trust, and both sides having equal amounts to lose, but it appears that Don doesn’t care as much about Megan as Silvia does about her husband. After reminding Don that he once loved Megan, Silvia hangs up the phone.

Sally gets Bobby and Gene ready for a weekend with Don and Betty shows up with recently re-blonded hair.

There is yet another death in the office as we learn that Frank has passed away, which leaves half of Sterling Cooper Draper And What Is This Agency’s Name tearful. Coincidentally, the agency has brought in a doctor to administer an “energy serum” to the creative department that gives 24 to 72 hours of uninterrupted energy and focus. It requires Don to drop his pants, and while I’m generally very pro-pantsless Don, there’s a needle involved so I have to look away.

The drug seems to work because the hallways are riddled with creatives running around like mice in a maze. The running then turns into pacing as the creative team desperately tries to revive the Chevy account with a dad buying a son a car, and a son asking his dad for a car. The look on Peggy’s face shows that they’re grasping at some very tired straws.

Over in Don’s office, Don promises Ken Cosgrove that he’ll have fifteen new ideas by Monday, but that Ken needs to get Don in that room so that he can look the client in the eyes, and rambles on about how “the timbre in my voice is as important as the content, I don’t know whether I’ll be forceful or submissive, but I must be there in the flesh.” Then, Ken starts tap dancing on his injured foot, and is this what the late 60s looked like? Man, I missed all the good drugs. Don then visits the creatives to give them a totally creepy pep talk about how it only takes one good idea. Peggy wearily asks Don what that one good idea is, and Don’s got nothing. She’s the only one who has figured out that Don is useless. He then gets a stroke of drug-induced genius and instructs Peggy to go into the archives and look for a soup account from the mid-1950s because it has the solution.

While Don is flying on amphetamines, Megan is taking care of the kids. But Megan has to leave in even higher hair and a very short mini dress, so she bribes Sally to watch her brothers by promising a pair of boots to go with a skirt she bought her the week before. Sally agrees and spends the evening reading Rosemary’s Baby when an intruder wanders into the apartment and claims to be Sally’s Grandma Ida. But…she’s black. She says that she raised Don, and Sally isn’t buying it at first, but then Grandma Ida knows Don’s name and she knows that he’s handsome, and for a fourteen-year-old girl, that’s enough. When Grandma Ida starts going through too many drawers and cabinets, Sally calls the police. Unfortunately, Grandma Ida catches her and hangs up the phone.

The Sterling Cooper Something Or Other Drug Den has turned their attention to chucking X-Acto knives at Stan. One lands in his arm, but thanks to drugs, he doesn’t feel a thing.  Peggy takes him away to clean him up and receives a few semi-unwanted kisses from Stan. She eventually asks him to stop because she has a boyfriend and doesn’t like beards.

Don visits Silvia’s hallway on his way home and lightly knocks on the back door. No one answers, but he doesn’t go home. Instead, he returns to the office to look for that old soup campaign. He finds it, and it’s nothing more than a kid looking up at his mother with a spoonful of soup and the headline, “Because you know what he needs.” It reminds him of a hooker from his youth who healed him back to health and then took his virginity, so naturally it’s perfect for Chevy.

Don calls Peggy and Ginsberg into his office to announce his big idea. They’re desperate for him to be right, but he’s just a sweaty old man rambling a lot of words that don’t add up to a Chevrolet car. Peggy asks, “What have you been doing the past three days? Have you been working on Chevy at all?” Having solved all of Sterling Cooper Draper Please Shorten This Name’s problems, Don finally goes home to find the police, Megan, Betty, Henry, and the kids sitting in what’s left of the living room. Grandma Ida held the kids hostage and robbed Don blind. She got in through the back door, which had been left open. With nothing left to do, Don collapses. The next morning, Don runs into Silvia in the elevator. She’s in a gorgeous canary yellow suit with a perfect wave of black hair, and they say nothing to each other. It is the longest elevator ride in the world. When Don gets to the office, he calls Sally to tell her that he’s okay, and that he left the door open so it’s his own fault. She’s in a canary yellow nightgown and I get the impression that he’s trying to apologize for more than just the robbery.

Ted returns from mourning the loss of Frank and wants to know what went on over the weekend. He has looked at the new Chevy campaigns and half of them are jibberish, and Chevy is spelled wrong (Shevy? Chevvy? Chevie? Cheavy?). Don cleverly sets himself up as Ted’s boss by announcing that from now on, Don’s role is Creative Director, which means that he will be evaluating work, not creating it, and “I’m sorry, Ted, but every time we get a car, this place turns into a whorehouse.” Ted has no idea what he’s talking about, which perfectly sums up the last few days at the office.

Next week: Peggy, Megan in a v-neck, Joan in a fuscia dress, Pete, Don, and drinks.

The post Mad Men Recap, Season 6, Episode 8: “The Crash” appeared first on HauteTalk.com.

I’m fairly excited about this show because I have coveted many Betsey Johnson pieces over the years–plus she seems like just a great lady who could can toss a cartwheel like the best of them. Betsey’s also a local gal who stumbled upon the thick of the fashion industry in the most awesome of decades (the 1970s) and guided my most misguided wardrobe choices throughout the 1980s. Her daughter, LuLu, has been working for her mother’s fashion empire for years. By the 1990s, Betsey Johnson had sixty-five stores worldwide, and business was booming. Until the economy bottomed out in the 2000s, ending in bankruptcy in April, 2012.

Betsey and LuLu live in the same apartment building, on the same floor. It’s a little too close for LuLu’s comfort as she tries to start her new fashion line out of her living room. Meanwhile, Steve Madden bought out the Betsey Johnson brand, with Betsey acting as the creative director to relaunch and expand the brand.

It’s the first kickoff meeting at Madden, so Betsey arrives in head-to-toe sparkles, right down to the gold shoes. Betsey starts the meeting by giving Steve Madden a neck massage, as all meetings should begin. Then, she meets the rest of the team, including Zina who seems to have her act together, and everyone else’s act as well. I get the impression that under Zina’s leadership, we’re about to witness a brand rise from the dead. Zina starts the relaunch with a series of appearances to show the world that the brand is still here, and sets the tone for the entire brand. And, there’s a launch party at the end of the week. But Betsey still hasn’t figured out if she is able to work for anyone else, after a lifetime of working for herself.

After the meeting, Betsey meets her former design assistant, Brandon, for drinks. She explains that Madden wants her to have a big presence, but she’s concerned about not being the person who calls all the shots. But Brandon explains that having a billion-dollar company bankroll your creative vision kind of sounds like a good thing. She then tries to recruit Brandon for another round of crazy, and he explains that he’s on hiatus at the moment, which is a polite way to say, “Thanks, but no thanks.” We then hear my new catchphrase, “Hail hiatus.”

LuLu’s line is in early stages, so Betsey takes that as an invitation to pop in and comment. All the time. They fight over needlepoint, but it’s more about Betsey’s needling. Somehow, Betsey ends up underneath an Eero Saarinen table and it’s covered in LuLu’s kids’ crayon drawings, which is sort of a great parenting tip: if you can’t stop your kids from coloring on top of the vintage furniture, let them color underneath it, where nobody will ever see it.

LuLu and Betsey go to couples therapy (Betsey in a shimmery fuchsia poufy skirt and a lifetime of bangle bracelets) to talk about individuation–which sounds like a made up word but is not. LuLu needs some separation, and Betsey likes the togetherness. What Betsey does not like, however, is therapy. Later, Betsey is off to dinner. “I’m a car service girl. You can get so much done in a car! You can sketch, you can call, you can drink champagne.” She’s drawing bunnies for her animal bags, and a multicolored straw pom-pom hat for girls to wear in Saint Tropez. She then decides that a five dollar bill would make a great scarf. And it would. I would wear the heck out of that scarf. The car drops her off at an Italian restaurant where she eats dinner by herself and flirts with the waiters.

LuLu and her partner, Allison, go shopping for her new line in one of those entirely overpriced vintage shops where everything is clean and organized. The salesgirl tells LuLu that, “We’re a big fan of your mother….” which must get annoying real fast. (Also, we’re reminded that XOX, Betsey Johnson was originally announced as Betsey + LuLu.) Back at her apartment, LuLu explains that a licensing agent will set up designers with manufacturers. In preparation for finding one, LuLu, Allison, and their assistant, Ashley, go over all of their design ideas to organize it into a presentation. They’re going for a high-end 1970s theme, and the three girls are pretty much pulling vintage clothes off of a rack and…I guess they’re having the assistant, Ashley, sketch knock-offs of them? I can’t quite figure out how this is fashion design, but maybe they will put some new spin on old looks.

Betsey tries to find her way to Penn Station so that she can take a train to New Jersey to find a trainer she met on the beach ages ago. Everybody knows Betsey, which makes her trip to Penn Station a very long affair. People chant, “Bet-sey! Bet-sey! Bet-sey!” and she responds with, “You GUYS! You GUYS! You GUYS!” She finally makes it to Nowheresville, New Jersey, but not much exercise happens because she has her water bottle with a mimosa.

While getting ready for her launch party in a gold lame vintage Betsey Johnson ruffled dress, Betsey wobbles around with what seems to be her umpteenth glass of champagne. Her new crew from Madden, and her old crew from the Betsey Johnson stores are at the party, and reporters jot down very important notes. The new crew buys her a whip, which makes Betsey happy because it means that they get her concept. There’s a lot of drinking, and spinning, and posing, and I kind of want to work for Betsey Johnson.

Next week, Betsey gets a retrospective fashion show together–including a trip to Japan–and Betsey questions Allison’s value to LuLu’s company.

Linda Sue Strong is the founder of entertainment blog TerribleTelevision.com and an occasional attorney. Her life has not yet been turned into a reality television show. Follow her at @themisslinda. 

The post XOX, BETSEY JOHNSON Recap: Season 1, Episode 1! appeared first on HauteTalk.com.

Linda Sue Strong is the founder of entertainment blog TerribleTelevision.com and an occasional attorney. Her life has not yet been turned into a reality television show. Follow her at @themisslinda. 

Don overhears his mistress, Silvia, fighting with her husband. It’s messy, and it makes him uncomfortable, because he would rather his affair stay neat and clean and tidy.

It’s the first day of the merged agencies, and Joan shows Peggy to Harry’s old office. (You remember, the one with the laughably large structural beam in the way.)  At the board meeting for the new merged agency, Roger announces an introduction with Fleischmann’s Margarine, and Pete Campell explains that the New York State Thruway account is a conflict with Mohawk Airlines because they are both transportation. Ted volunteers to fly Don and Pete up to meet with the client and smooth things over because he’s a pilot.

Peggy and Bert Peterson (Not Cooper), who had been previously fired from Sterling Cooper, meet with Don, but he gets a call from his mistress and cuts the meeting short. She’s in an orange terrycloth bathrobe and her hair is a mess, tied up in a red scarf. She tells him to come over immediately, with an ill-advised, “I need you, and nothing else will do.” He declines, but arranges a rendezvous at a hotel. After what Don heard that morning, he needs something a little less personal. Following an afternoon in bed, Silvia starts rambling on about her problems. Don tells her, “You can talk about your kid, but I don’t want to hear about your husband.” He orders her to look for his shoes, and she should “crawl on your hands and knees until you find them.” Then, he tells her to get undressed and get back into bed. She complies, because all women do whatever Don tells them to do. He takes the hotel’s key and tells her not to go anywhere. He could be back in a minute, an hour, a day…he’s Don Draper.

Back at the office, Bert Peterson (Not Cooper) meets with Roger Sterling, and Roger immediately fires Bert. Again. And he lets Bert know that nobody fought for him. Bert threatens that his clients will leave with him, but Roger laughs it off. Something tells me that this is going to come back to bite them all in the ass.

Ted does some free-association about margarine with the creatives. “Greasy, it’s not butter, it’s cheap, it has no smell, people hate it.” On a positive note, “it spreads easy because it’s soft,” and in walks Don. From the hotel. He just…left Silvia, alone in a hotel room, for an indeterminate amount of time. After the meeting, Ted chastises Don for being forty minutes late to the meeting. Don shuts his office door in Ted’s face and calls Silvia. “Are you still in bed?” he asks. He tells her that she’s going to wait there and not know when he’s coming back, and she is not to answer the phone again.

Okay, I need to have some real talk with Silvia: Lady, he’s a control freak. It’s all fun and games right now, but he’s going to keep pushing and pushing to see how far you’ll go, and eventually, he’ll tell you to take a long walk off of a short pier and you’ll find yourself clinging to a buoy in the Hudson River, wondering how you ever got there. Put your clothes on and go home while you still have one and consider this a bullet dodged.

Don brings Ted a bottle of something as a peace offering and they drink and talk margarine. Ted explains the margarine business in terms of Gilligan’s Island. Blue Bonnet is the Maryanne, and Don wonders which one is the Ginger.  Then, Don does his storytelling thing. “It’s morning. We know because we see the rooster crow. A farmer’s wife sets pancakes on the kitchen table, she puts a pat of margarine on the top…syrup…a smile….” Done. Except Ted is now drunk and wobbling all over the creative department. Not everyone can hold their liquor like Don Draper, and Peggy knows that getting Ted sloshed is all part of Don’s plan.

Silvia eventually emerges from the hotel room to find a Saks Fifth Avenue box waiting for her on the doorstep. It’s a red dress, and though it’s skimpy, it’s actually a tad on the fuddy-duddy side. She puts it on and continues the long wait. Don eventually arrives and she asks where they are going. Oh, silly woman. “Why would you think you’re going anywhere? You are for me. You exist in this room for my pleasure. Don’t ask me any more questions. Take off your dress. Take off everything for me.” Silvia, honey. No. Sigh.

Joan is vomiting in her office and she’s having pains in her non-appendix side. The account guy, Bob, walks her out so that nobody sees because Joan is all about never showing weakness. He takes her to a hospital and coordinates a babysitter for Joan’s son. She tries to get Bob to leave, but he explains that he has no place to go.

Don returns from his umpteenth roll in the hay to find Peggy in his office. She closes the door and tells him that she had hoped Ted would rub off on Don, and not the other way around. She then suggests that the merger was all about getting her back, and Don appropriately laughs it off because really, it’s not about you, Peggy. And that has always been Peggy’s problem—it’s never about her. She then tells Don to “move forward”, which is like asking a giraffe to shorten its neck. But she does it all in the most professional outfit we’ve ever seen on Peggy, which is a navy blue jacket with white piping on the lapels, white buckles for closures, and a matching (but not too matchy) pencil skirt with a navy and white geometric pattern. It’s a little stuffy looking, but it definitely puts Peggy in charge.

Don returns to the hotel, and Silvia asks what she is supposed to do next. He says that he has to go upstate and expects her to be there when he gets back, and he takes her book with him so that she can’t think about anything other than him while he’s gone.  When he returns to the office, he learns that Pete Campbell wants to move the meeting that’s supposed to show the client how important they are to another day because his mother has gone a little batty and may have burned down his apartment. He and Ted decide to go without Pete, in a rainstorm. With Ted flying the tiny plane. Like, really tiny. Shoulder-to-shoulder, with a backseat no bigger than the backseat of a Mini Cooper. The meeting goes well, which irritates Pete to no end.

Bob visit Joan at home to see if she is feeling any better and brings a gift for her son. Joan’s mother is, of course, thrilled to see a handsome gentleman caller. Joan does seem fairly charmed. When the partners meet to sort out who stays and who goes, Bob is on the kill list, and Joan saves him by offering up another head for the chopping block. I guess we’ll see whether Bob’s affection for Joan was genuine, or merely job-savingly convenient.

Don returns to the hotel room again to find Silvia dressed in her regular clothes, with the red dress he sent her strewn on the bed. “I think it’s time to go home, I think this is over.” She’s going back to her husband, to focus on her marriage, and wants Don to do the same. He begs, which is not a good look on Don. “Let’s go.” Now it’s Silvia calling the shots, as it should be. They return to the apartment building, each to their respective spouses. Megan chatters on and on about her day, but Don tunes her out because to him, she’s just a pretty face. Megan flips the television on and there’s footage of Senator Kennedy’s assassination. Megan is in tears, and Don looks annoyed that he now has to deal with this new development.

Next week, Don, Peggy, Roger, Don sleeping on his office couch, Pete, Ted, Roger, Ginsberg, and Megan in a very hot mini dress.

The post Mad Men Recap, Season 6, Episode 7: “Man With A Plan” appeared first on HauteTalk.com.

Make Up Forever #53 Aqua Cream Review via Temptalia – We’re in love with this shimmery seafoam cream shadow for summer.

I Tried Gwyneth Paltrow’s Diet via The Cut – It actually sounds pretty good. Now if only we could afford to try it ourselves.

Vanity Fair Lands John Galliano Interview via WWD – The designer’s first major interview since his anti-Semitic rant in 2011 will appear in VF‘s July issue. We’re  sure this issue will sell well.

Maybelline Polka Dot Nail Varnishes via The London Lipgloss

The post Cocktail Hour Link Love 05.10: Seafoam Eyeshadow + Gwyneth’s Diet appeared first on HauteTalk.com.

If you already feel outdone simply by Suri Cruise’s existence, then we’ve got good news. Contrary to rumors, the seven year-old Hollywood spawn is not launching her own clothing line. Per a spokesperson for Katie Holmes, the gossip was “100 percent” false. Oh darn. We were particularly fond of this unattributed quote the Post ran: “A source said: ‘Suri is only seven but she is incredibly interested in clothes.’”

Allegedly Suri had signed a contract worth more than $2 million for a line of young girls clothing, which was supposedly going to launch in a New York department store in the fall. There was also rumored involvement of her mother’s brand, Holmes & Yang,

Excuse us. We’re off to drown our woes in a couple of rounds of vodka tonics.

The post Suri Cruise is Not Launching Her Own Clothing Line appeared first on HauteTalk.com.

Makeup bags are a dangerous territory. The few that aren’t gifts with purchase (here’s looking at you, Clinique of our adolescence!) are mostly inexplicably pricey, get grungy with incredible speed, and make it impossible to find/see anything. Upscale brushed end up battered and bent, and blushes and eyeshadows often get shattered.

But, there’s hope. We’ve discovered the makeup bag you product junkie jet setters unequivocally need: the Hold Me bag. Per the folks at Hold Me, here’s the impetus for creating this ingenious product:

After a lot of personal searching for that perfect fit, it took some time to develop the Hold Me Bag. The initial spark came from everyday lifestyle issues: many years living in a small beach cottage with one little bathroom; constantly packing for last-minute business travel; a promotion then a move, gaining a larger bathroom, but requiring more time at work so even less time in the morning to get out the door. So the quest for “that one bag” which would hold and organize cosmetics, brushes, and tools, keep everything at a glance, all the while saving time by streamlining the daily make-up routine, was on!

The Hold Me bag comes in two sizes, the original version (a full-service bag for errythang, with 15 brush sleeves, 10” by 7” closed, an impressive 22” when open) and the ‘Baby’ (a compact version for makeup minimalists, 7” by 5” closed, 16.5” fully opened).

Since most of our traveling is only a couple of days at a time and luggage space is at a premium, we opted to test drive the Hold Me Baby in the beautiful Melody print. The exterior is, like all the Hold Me bags, vegan black suede that’s a breeze to clean. The interior is lined with laminated cotton print fabric (you can choose from a harem of designs).

The zippered body of the bag features a pocket (perfect for sample packets), and a spacious zippered compartment with a removable designer that’s brilliant for separating palettes, foundation and blushes into two ‘levels.’

The brush section extends off the main body of the bag and boasts six brush slots (the classic version has 15), all of which are capable of holding one large brush, or a couple of smaller brushes or pencils. A flap that folds down over the brushes ensures that they’re protected.

The bottom line? This patented design is makeup perfection. The bag is of a gorgeous quality (handmade in the U.S.!) and makes accessing and perusing your products easier than ever. Still skeptical? Take a look at this review from Laura over at the Glossarie for another look at how much you can stash. For a review of the full-size version, head over to Gave That. In the meantime, we’re going on record with it: this one’s our new essential.

Hold Me Baby Bag, $55. Hold Me Classic Bag, $95. Available at Hold Me and these retailers.

The post We Review: The Hold Me Bag appeared first on HauteTalk.com.

Betsey Johnson Tells Us About Her Reality Show Fears via Fashionista - Betsy’s upcoming Style network reality show (featuring her daughter, Lulu) is going to be a trip.

First Look: 3.1 Phillip Lim for Target via Broadway World - It launches in September, and to say we’re excited is an understatement.

Vogue Crops Kim Kardashian Out of Its Met Ball Slideshow via Jezebel - Oof. Poor Kouch.

Oscar de la Renta Will Now Sell You Fashionable Invitations via The Daily Beast - Pretty damn snazzy invites inspired by de la Renta’s

The post Cocktail Hour Link Love 05.09: 3.1 Phillip Lim x Target + de la Renta Stationary appeared first on HauteTalk.com.

In the aftermath of the Met gala, we’ve wondered the fate of Kim Kardashian’s latest stylist, who made the ill-fated decision to give Kim’s formerly short-sleeved Givenchy gown attached gloves. The result has been one of the more widely-trashed red carpet looks in recent history, earning Kim comparisons to 1) Mrs. Doubtfire 2) a floral couch 3) Homer Simpson. Now the dress’ designer, Givenchy creative director Riccardo Tisci, has come out in defense of the much-maligned look.

“I love Kim. Doing maternity was fantastic. I wanted to have a Kim Kardashian moment, because Kim always supports me,” Tisci told WWD, calling her “the future wife” of his friend Kanye West.

Per the Telegraph: “Kardashian reportedly trusted Tisci so much that she let him do whatever he felt right, which turned out to be a floral high-necked, be-gloved, slashed-to-the-thigh number that didn’t exactly stick to the event’s punk theme.”

“I said, we should give her our punk moment with a romantic beautiful flower-printed dress. I have dressed many pregnant women in the past. People can say what they want. To me, pregnancy is the most beautiful thing in the world, and when you celebrate something, you give people flowers,” continued Tisci. “I think she looked amazing. She was the most beautiful pregnant woman I dressed in my career.”

We’re stifling our laughter to the best of our abilities.

The post Riccardo Tisci Defends Kim Kardashian’s Met Dress appeared first on HauteTalk.com.

This post was originally published on BiteSizeWellness.com and is reprinted here with permission.

Dreary weather and dull complexion be gone! We are ready to shed our drab winter garb for a fresh spring look—in our closets and our beauty routines. Out with the dark colors, heavy winter skin protectants and chapped lips.

Try these seasonal swaps for your spring-focused beauty routine:

1. Spring Clean Your Face Routine

Your mind is chirping with praises for spring, but your dry skin is likely aching from winter blues. Give yourself a magical facelift by using a cleaner or moisturizer containing alpha-hydroxy or beta-hydroxy acid to rid your pretty face of those dead skin cells that are giving you a dull look.

2. Moisturize hose Neglected Areas

You have hid in winter boots and sweaters for several months which likely means you have neglected to moisturize those out-of-site places. Give your knees, elbows, heels and toes some much-deserved attention by upping your use of petroleum jelly. It can work wonders on the roughest and toughest areas and bring your dry skin patches back to life.

3. Indulge in a Full-Body Scrub

Loosen and remove all the dead skin cells that have been clinging on for life during the cold weather. You can run to your kitchen cabinet for your exfoliation routine. Gently rub your body down with brown sugar and rinse off in the shower. In a few days you will be as good as new!

4. Bring Color Back

Just like the grocery store produce aisle, colors are in. Don’t be scared to match your eye shadow to your floral dress or give your nails a pop with corals, aquas and blues. Add bright hues back into your makeup routine and your mood will quickly follow.

How do you give your spring beauty routine an overhaul? Share your tips below!

The post 4 Tips to Spring-ify Your Beauty Routine appeared first on HauteTalk.com.