In this job as fashion writer, I've met a ton of celebrities.

Most of them, frankly, are not worth remembering, and if they are, it's usually because they're narcissistic and rude. Kanye West, for example -- I remember him WELL. Ahem.

But Tim Gunn, who came to our fair city this weekend to speak to a crowd at the Baltimore Book Festival, is memorable because he is so amazingly wonderful. He's really a lovely man -- kind and gracious, patient and a true gentleman.

I met Tim once before at New York's Fashion Week several seasons ago, while we were both headed out of the tents. I needed an expert's opinion for an article I was working on about aspiring designers and I ventured to ask Tim for his viewpoint. He stood there on Sixth Avenue in between 40th and 42nd and talked with me for at least five minutes (which is like an hour to busy New Yorkers), answering each question thoughtfully and fully, never once appearing impatient.

I left him -- with a few pages of great quotes -- feeling warm and fuzzy.

This weekend, Gunn brought that same gracious and giving manner of his to another set of tents -- this time in Mount Vernon. Standing before a standing-room-only crowd of fans on Sunday, Gunn wrapped up a short talk on his rise to fame, his book and his new show with a question-and-answer period.

Picture Gunn standing on Sixth Avenue talking to a reporter he'd never met, patiently answering questions. Now picture that scene over and over and over again. That is what the Book Festival was like with Tim Gunn as the key speaker. Audience members peppered Gunn with questions about Project Runway alums, fashion dos and don'ts and about breaking into the fashion industry. Each time, he answered as if he had all the time in the world.

Alas, he did not, in fact, have much time. So many people had purchased his new book Tim Gunn: A Guide to Quality, Taste and Style, and wanted autographs, that festival organizers had to cut the Q&A short to accomodate the impressive snaking line of fans.

I couldn't stay for the book-signing part of Gunn's visit, but I know that such a wonderful, humble man stayed as long as he could, signing book after book after book, chatting with folks and listening to their fashion or Project Runway questions.

When it comes to being a celebrity, Tim Gunn definitely makes it work.  

Posted by Tanika White at 7:23 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

When I said in Monday’s paper that Marc Jacobs’ show often is confusing, I hadn’t yet been to the unveiling of his spring collection, which was last night.Let me say it now, just to be clear: Marc Jacobs’ show is confusing. With a capital “C.”

First of all, Jacobs began the show the way other shows end – by coming out onto the runway at The New York Armory and waving gratefully to the crowd. Then all 50-plus models in his show paraded in a line, in the same manner that most other runway shows conclude, giving viewers a chance to see all the designer’s looks at once. After that, each model walked the catwalk individually.

The show, in other words, was intentionally backward.

But the most glaring aspect of the night’s weirdness: the clothes.

Jacobs designed a spring collection that was unfinished – literally. Dresses were absent backs or sides. Shoes were missing chunks of their heels. Bras were showing. Tuxedo pants were shockingly sheer.

I left scratching my head, and frankly a little bit dazed.

What was that I just saw??

Other newspaper editors seated next to me on the bleachers were either befuddled, tickled by the silliness of it all, or – in some cases – angry. After all, the show started two hours late, at 11 p.m., and lasted less than 15 minutes.

“We waited all that time for THIS,” a colleague complained.

“Maybe he’s still on drugs,” someone else surmised.

Another fashion writer said the presentation reminded her of “a trip down the rabbit hole.”
Jacobs is a trip, all right. One I just don’t get.

Even the “run-of-show,” which lists for participants the designer’s descriptions of each look, were curiouser and curioser.

One model was said to be wearing “two thirds of a satin gown.” Another, a “patent too small sandal.” One model was described as wearing only “crepe.”

Interestingly, Jacobs’ descriptions were, for the most part, literal. That partial gown was indeed a fraction of a dress. The “too-small” sandals left models with their heels resting on the backs of shoes – like Cinderella’s stepsisters.

The crepe thing is just inexplicable.

In just about all of Jacobs’ shows, I leave with the distinct feeling that the Emperor has no clothes – and no one wants to tell him. In this case, the Emperor had only baffling parts of clothes. And I wonder if any of the glossy fashion mags and big-time critics will say so.

On the way out of the mob-like scene that is the Marc Jacobs show, I ended up somehow standing next to fashion mogul Russell Simmons, whose forehead was beaded with sweat from standing in the crush of the exiting crowd.

I couldn’t resist asking him, since he was in such close proximity, what he thought of the show.
His answer was telling.

“I thought the production was phenomenal, and it was fun,” he said. “And it was well-produced.”

As I suspected, he said nothing about the clothes.

Posted by Tanika White at 6:20 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
                    

Fashion Week is a shuttle through time.

Designers channel styles and scenes from various time periods. Pamella Roland shuttled all the way back to "Old World luxury," she said, to envision her colorful, flowing spring presentation. While designer Rebecca Taylor says her collection is a little "'40s-inspired."

But the best time-traveling that happens during the runway show occurs in the thomping, heart-pounding music played while models walk the catwalk.

The 1980s were popular, it seems, this week: designer Peter Som had the crowd in the audience signing along to  The Police's "Every Breathe You Take," during his show. Michael Kors ended his presentation with a nostagic rendition of Xanadu.

Soem designers went back even further. Diane Von Furstenburg played "I'm Gonna Wash that Man Right Outta My Hair," and Reem Acra's models bounded down the runway to a cover version of "I Will Survive."

I know the point is to watch the shows and look for trends, but I confess that sometimes singing along (quietly) in my seat is way more fun than the clothes themselves.

Today is my last day at Fashion Week. The presentations end Wednesday with big names: Donna Karan Collection, Anne Klein, Tommy Hilfiger and Tadashi.

I wonder what cool songs they'll play. 

Posted by Tanika White at 9:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

One of the pluses of coming to New York's Fashion Week each February and September is getting to see some of television and fashion's most famous people -- there at the runway shows to view the same clothes you are.

At the Rosa Cha show, Ivana Trump gazed at the beautiful bathing suit designs by Brazilian designer Amir Slama. It was hard to imagine the former Mrs. Donald in one of Slama's skimpy, cut-out monokinis, but she was there nonetheless. Maybe she was looking to buy for her daughter.

Actress Mena Suvari sat in the front row at British designer Rebecca Taylor's presentation, her hair shorn in a boyish -- but stylish -- way, apparently for a movie she's filming or has already filmed.

Lisa Edelstein, who plays Dr. Lisa Cuddy on television's hit show House, shared the front row at Reem Acra's colorful spring showing with actresses Carla Gugino and Alicia Witt. Gugino and Witt both wore Acra's designs, but Gugino stole the show, in a black shift dress paired with red heels and lips.

Celebrities love Fashion Week. It's a way to get exposure merely for showing up someplace, and there are beautiful and sometimes free clothes involved. Photogs scream their names and snap picture after picture; adoring fashion assistants and so-called "producers" shower them with compliments.

Sometimes, the rush of it all can be a bit much for a working journalist like me, just trying to see clothes on the runway in between video cameras and throngs of fans.

I found out today that sometimes it can be a lot for the stars, as well.

Former top model Veronica Webb, now one-half of the makeover team on Bravo's Tim Gunn's Guide to Style, told me at the Michael Kors show that she takes breaks throughout the day of visiting shows to call her two daughters, ages 3 and 4.

"I call them periodically and read them a story," Webb says. "It keeps us connected during the day."
 

And Tracy Ellis Ross, famous daughter of Diana Ross and star of Girlfriends, says she resorts to meditation when all the shows are over to calm herself. And during the shows, she says she refuses to be rushed.

"You set your own pace," says Ross, who was impeccably turned out in a Michael Kors shift dress and orange clutch. "No matter what's going on, you can walk as slow as you want to, no matter how panicked everyone else is."

That's good advice. I'll try to remember that tomorrow, when I'm headed to the always-crazy Marc Jacobs show. 

Posted by Tanika White at 4:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

What to wear to Fashion Week?

This is a problem for me just about every season, but this particular visit to the nation's biggest fashionpalooza proved even more troublesome. After all, it's September -- nearly fall already -- and I arrived in New York this afternoon to summer-like temperatures. Not to mention the fact that the clothes on the runways are advertising what will be in for this coming spring.

Confused? You're not alone.

Thousands of would-be, wanna-be and actual fashionistas descend upon the Bryant Park tents over the course of the eight-day event, and they bring with them just about as many styles. Some fashions in the tent are outlandish, others outrageous. There's lots of black, tall heels and bare legs. There's business wear, sexy gear, sporty-casual and fashion-forward.

But some visitors are just as confused as I am about what to wear. Today I saw sweaters, evening gowns, skimpy shorts and tank tops, and even a three-piece suit in plaid.

Most of the show attendees and staff, though, make Fashion Week look good. It's definitely the year of the dress, and women in line with me and meandering throughout the crowded facility wore all styles of them well. Of the more popular footwear trends I noticed: Tory by Tory Burch flats. Very cute.

As for me, I chose today's fashion wrong. While other women looked hot, I was just plain overheated, in a pair of black skinny pants and a black and white blouson top.

Tomorrow, I break out my dress! 

Posted by Tanika White at 7:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
                    

Fashion great Valentino bowed out of the design business this week, but fashion just keeps on going.

New York's Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week started yesterday, kicking off the season of runway shows that will continue on in London, Paris and Milan -- until not a pailette or pinstripe is left unobserved by fashionistas anywhere.

The eight-day extravaganza of high-fashion, celebrities, great beauties and big egos always is an exciting time. Shows begin at Bryant Park in Manhattan as early as 9 a.m. and end as late as 10 p.m. Parties go on until the wee hours.

As fashion writer, I'll start my coverage of Fashion Week on Saturday afternoon, with the exciting creations of Brazilian designer Amir Slama, whose line is called Rosa Cha. I'll end my time in New York with the trend-setting designer-to-watch Marc Jacobs. His collection never disappoints.

In between, under the glamorous Bryant Park tents, I'll see shows by such big names as Rebecca Taylor, Michael Kors, Carolina Herrera and Nanette Lepore. I'll skip the parties, by and large (too much work to do), but that doesn't mean I won't see celebrities. At just about every fashion show, the stars come out to see the fabulous clothes and be seen by cameras and fans.

At yesterday's BCBG Max Azria show, for example, some of the celebrities expected to attend included Ashlee Simpson, Brittany Snow, Martina McBride, Natasha Bedingfield (I love her "Unwritten" song), Ciara and one of The Cheetah Girls. I'm not sure I would know the Cheetah Girls if they came up to me with spotted signs around their necks. But apparently, they're a hot group.

To me, the real stars of Fashion Week are the designers, who churn out new creations season after season, in an ever-quickening retail cycle. I see them twice a year -- in February and September, for fall and spring collections, respectively -- but the designers are working all year round to outdo what they did just six months before.

Valentino, the great Italian designer, who founded his company in the early 1960s with his partner, Giancarlo Giammetti, was one of the best at reinventing himself year after year, season after season. Last July, he celebrated 45 years in the business. This week, at 75, he called it quits. He'll be missed by those who love fashion the most.

But in another sign that the cycle of fashion never ends, his successor was named 24 hours later. And her name sounds uncannily like the industry she is keeping alive: Alessandra Facchinetti.

Posted by Tanika White at 7:26 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

Fashion writer Tanika White reports:

Project Runway's style guru Tim Gunn grew up in Washington but gives more props to Baltimore for its fashion sense.

"One of the biggest fashion mavens of the 20th century is a Baltimorean -- the Duchess of Windsor," Gunn says, in a conversation discussing his new series on Bravo Tim Gunn's Guide to Style, which premieres on Thursday. "Boy, did she ever own her wardrobe, and did she ever have style! Baltimore has great roots. I wish I could cite some style people from Washington, and I can't."

Gunn says people in Baltimore "own their look," which is more than he can say for our peers to the south.

"Baltimore is blessed by not being closer to Washington, because Washington is just so trapped," Gunn says.

On a recent trip to Capitol Hill, a number of elected officials repeatedly joked with Gunn that they couldn't stand too near him, because of their bad fashion. The self-effacing made him impatient, he says.

"I finally said to one of them, 'But you're an elected official, and you have a constituency. And don't you feel a responsibility to that constituency to dress appropriately and to care about your clothes and how you look?'" Gunn says.

"Our clothes send a message about how we want the world to perceive us," he adds. "And people in public offices are more subject to that than any of us."

 
Read more about Tim Gunn in Wednesday's Today section.
    
    

Posted by Sarah Kickler Kelber at 9:32 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

From fashion writer Tanika White:

Dear old Granddad, who turned 89 yesterday, used to want me to take up tennis. He had visions of me winning at Wimbledon in a tidy white pleated skirt (that met the dollar bill rule, of course) and a polo-shirt buttoned nearly to the neck.

My lack of any kind of discernible athleticism prevented me from becoming a tennis player then, but oh! how I wish I could be a star on the courts these days.

High-performing female tennis pros have taken the traditional tennis outfit and turned it on its staid head.

These days, I'd tune in to the competitions where Venus and Serena Williams, Maria Sharapova and Bethanie Mattek play any day -- just to see what they're going to wear.

At the U.S. Open this week, Wisconsin-native Mattek wore a metallic gold dress that would have made the prudish Atlanta City Councilman C.T. Martin declare a fashion fault: The top of Mattek's dress exposed her bra - and in some cases, when she bent too low, her breasts, too.

But other tennis fashionistas did a better job showing their personality in their performance gear.

Sharapova's red flared dress, designed with Nike's help apparently to look like the New York City skyline, was simply gorgeous -- the crystal neckline could easily have been worn with sandals or flats to a beach party or picnic.

Venus Williams' drop-pleated green tennis dress, with a feminine bow on the side, was designed in partnership with discount chain Steve & Barry's. In addition to being cute, the affordable outfit shows that you don't have to spend a ton to have high-performance, high-fashion athletic gear.

And her sister Serena's black super-short black Nike outfit with pink bow detail (sweetly matched to a pink headband and a pink armband)went a long way toward feminizing Williams' powerful mannish figure. She should always wear pink, and little heart-shaped jewelry, IMHO.

I can't play a tennis game any better today than I could when I was a small child.

But I can relate a lot more to contemporary female competitors since they've added color, accessories and sex appeal -- and stepped up their fashion game.
    
(Maria Sharapova photo by Associated Press // Venus Williams photo by Getty Images)

Posted by Sarah Kickler Kelber at 1:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

From Sun fashion reporter Tanika White ... 

Two definite fashion motifs emerged from the early hours of Artscape yesterday: "be cool" and "be comfortable."

The first of the weekend’s festival-goers milled about in various summertime outfits: jeans and tees, sundresses and flip-flops, shorts and sneakers.

Comfort was key, as most visitors stayed breezy in clothes made of breathable cotton, and not a high-heel was in sight.

One of the most popular forms of footwear: Crocs, in all colors of the rainbow, and on as many grown-ups as children.

One exception to the comfy foot-coverings rule was Abigail Peterson, a sculpture student at Maryland Institute College of Art, who stopped by the festival wearing a red polka-dot sundress and dusty brown cowboy boots.

(True to its artsy nature, the area closest to MICA tended to attract the more stylish and interestingly-dressed festival-goers, sitting in the shade, strolling about or strumming instruments.)

"I wear cowboy boots every day," says Peterson, who will be a junior at the school this fall. "They’re cool in the summer and warm in the winter."

Keeping cool was another major theme, fashion-wise.

Although humidity wasn’t a factor today, his year, the smartest Artscape-visitors used their heads — and wore hats.

All kinds of headgear abounded: straw hats, ball caps, visors, baby bonnets.

Anita Obinger, of White Marsh, has been to Artscape "a dozen times," usually wearing a slim visor, to shade the sun.

"And I’ve regretted it immensely," she says. "The top of your head gets burned."

This year, Obinger and her husband both wore wide brimmed hats, his a comfy canvas, and hers a more fashionable straw.

"It’s definitely a necessity," Obinger says.

Posted by Tim Swift at 5:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

Hats off to the lovely ladies meandering about Mount Vernon today. Every year, the choice of Flowermart headwear gets bigger and better -- rivaling even the fantastic hats at Preakness.
With a few exceptions, the blooms and buttons, beehives and bows, ribbons, feathers and dangling odds-and-ends at Flowermart are far from fashionable. But they sure are fun.

And this year's Flowermart-goers are right on time with their magnificent crown-toppers. Everywhere you look, it seems, fancilful hats are all the rage.

Queen Elizabeth II started her 6-day tour of the United States yesterday in a jaunty pink number. It was a fresh color for the 81-year-old monarch -- hot pink usually being reserved for the less staid set. But it worked for the Queen, who was in town in honor of the 400th anniversary of Jamestown, the first English colony here. The hat's cheerful hue projected an attitude of "No hard-feelings, guys."

But Her Majesty was outdone yesterday by Chief Ken Adams, of the Upper Mattaponi tribe. His foot-tall, feather-covered cap, adorned with traditional beads and symbols, was grand and magnificent.

Together, the Chief and the Queen looked regal -- and could give this year's Flowermart fans a run for their money.

PHOTOS BY KARL MERTON FERRON // SUN PHOTOGRAPHER (top) and ASSOCIATED PRESS (bottom)

Posted by Sarah Kickler Kelber at 11:56 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)