October 2007

October 31st 2007
Florence, Italy

Happy Halloween!  Although most Italians don’t celebrate Halloween, this past weekend my two smartest Italian friends, Ileana Turrini & Emanuele Ottina, both celebrated no only Halloween, but also their joint birthdays with a fabulous costume party in Milan.  The theme of the party was “Movie Star”, which meant that many a girl dusted off her little black dress and showed up as Audrey Hepburn, or her little white dress and showed up as Marilyn Monroe.  More creative outfits were Danny & Sandy from Grease, Maverick & Charlie from Top Gun, and the entire cast of Clockwork Orange.

I headed out on the town with Jasmine & Bruno Sforni, who threw their outfits together with no advance notice but managed to pull of a sultry Kim Basinger from 9.5 Weeks, and a gondolier version of Charlie Chaplin, complete with mustache and hat.  I was much chastised for my costume choice of Britney Spears, as many people claimed she is not truly a “Movie Star”.  Has the entire nation of Italy completely overlooked Britney’s awe-inspiring performance as Lucy Wagner in Crossroads?  If only they knew, Brit is as much a thespian as Jodie Foster.

Big Huge Happy Birthday Ileana & Emanuele, and Happy Halloween to everyone else!

October 24th 2007
Florence, Italy

There’s nothing like a good cat-call to put a girl in the mood, and if you think construction workers are the biggest offenders, you have yet to experience Italians. 

In Italy it’s a rule that if there are three men and one woman on any given street, the men have no choice but to say something.  These cat-calls are not just reserved for the young and attractive, as I have seen grandmothers get cat-called by teenage boys, and even a heavy pony-tailed man get cat-called until his callers realized their mistake.

When I first moved to Italy and did not speak Italian, I assumed that these constant remarks in the street were lewd obscenities.  In America men who cat-call tend to yell things like “Nice cans!”, so when they would say something in passing I would give them a look of repulsion,  imagining that whatever they were saying I did not want to know. 

Now that I speak Italian and understand what is being said, I have come to realize that cat-calls in Italy are actually quite endearing.  Rather than yell things like “Gimme a piece o’ that!” they are yelling things like, “You have eyes like the moon!”, “You’re as beautiful as a summer’s day!”, or my recent favorite, “You look good in purple, the color of the world’s greatest soccer team!”   These cat-calls are so charming, in fact, that cat-calling has lead to meetings, dates, and even marriages.  If only American construction workers knew.

Since we’re on the subject of Italian translations, I hereby admit that I have recently started taking an Italian natural multi-vitamin which I have been told by all of my friends is supposed to “enhance your natural beauty”.  My favorite thing about this vitamin is not the results (so far I have seen none), but the fact that in bold letters printed diagonally across the box is the single word: “Retard!”  While I have a feeling that the vitamin-makers are alluding to the fact that their pills are supposed to slow the effects of aging, I think it’s fitting that those of us who have been suckered into buying them would be labeled as such.  Hopefully the retardation will kick in soon… if it hasn’t already.

October 20th 2007
Florence, Italy

I’ve just arrived in Italy and am finally recovering from the past week’s festivities in NYC, the most amazing of which was the fabulous wedding of Gillian Hearst-Shaw & Christian Simonds held on Saturday night at The Pierre.  Congratulations Mr & Mrs Simonds!

I was fortunate enough to meet Gillian a few years back in NYC when we enlisted her to model for HOLLYWOULD, and instantly knew she wasn’t just another beautiful face about town, but was the fun, adorable, witty type of girl I could be friends with forever.  Then, last year I had the great fortune of sitting next to Gillian with her then-beau Christian at a benefit dinner, and realized that while Gillian alone was already magnificent, the combination of Gillian plus Christian was utterly stellar.

As you can see from the photos, Gillian looked drop-dead gorgeous on her big day, and Christian was as dapper as ever.  Also looking beautiful were Gillian’s bridesmaids Lydia Hearst-Shaw, Amanda Hearst, and Angie Carmignani, and everyone at the wedding had a dance-til-you-drop blast.

My main partner in crime for the evening was Sparrow, who can be found in many past diary escapades on this very website (see Feb 13, 2004).  I also had a fabulous time reconnecting with old childhood friends from Arizona (shout-out to Heidi Sherman & Audrey Robertson), and dancing the night away with the whole NYC crew including everyone pictured to the right.

Big CONGRATULATIONS to Gillian & Christian on getting hitched!  XOXO!

I was only in NYC for four days but was somehow able to squeeze in a great night on the town at Mr. Chow’s and Kiosk with Laji Lalli (leaving minutes before the famous P. Diddy fight!), a fun dinner at Hecho in Dumbo with Leslie Smith & Isa Moneypenny, a fabulous time seeing a drag performance by Kiki & Herb (Happy Bday Sparrow!), and another yummy dinner at Extra Virgin with Kate Schelter & Ashley Wick.  New York is too much.

Am now finally back in rehab (aka: Florence, Italy) and have received numerous emails regarding my photo which is now in Target stores across America, and has me looking a bit like a runner-up for a Daytime Emmy or Country Music Award.  I’m not sure how it happened that the day of the shoot I accidentally channeled my inner Morgan Fairchild & Trisha Yearwood instead of channeling my inner Kate Moss & Heidi Klum, but I’ve clearly got to practice my channeling.

Tonight is a Bollywood themed party at Villa Mangiacane, so stay tuned…

October 13th 2007

We love fashion bloggers, especially those who write hilariously funny and fantastic things about us!  Our store manager Rachel found this fabulous tid-bit on my favorite new blog, http://cheapbutnoteasy.blogspot.com/, and it is definitely worth sharing…

Oh. My. God.

The greatest thing in the WHOLE WORLD has happened. Hollywould, the most fabulous shoe designer in the entire history of mankind, has designed (and, God willing, will continue to design) shoes and purses for Target. That's right, Hollywould at Target. I got so excited when I saw them, I squealed like a tweener spotting the cast of High School Musical. I haven't made that much of a ruckus in a store since Larue told me Duran Duran was coming to the Xcel Center.

It's been proven once again, HOLLYWOULD Girls rule.

October 11th 2007
New York City

And now, the moment you’ve all been waiting for…

HOLLYWOULD for TARGET has launched! 

That’s right girls, for a limited time only you can buy special HOLLYWOULD for TARGET shoes & bags at every Targèt store across the nation.  The goods will hit the stores on Sunday, but if you want to beat the crowds you can buy them online today:

http://www.target.com/Red-Hot-Shop-Collection/b/601-3619802-7829702?ie=UTF8&node=379088011

I’ve already placed my order and am sure my entire family and friends will by the end of the day, so don’t miss your chance to get the cutest styles first for FABU-LESS prices!  Scroll down on photos (right) to see some of my personal favorites!

Big shout out to our favorite writers at The NY Post for making our new Targèt shoes & bags the Obession of the Week!  We love The NY Post!

In other news, I have just returned from Paris Fashion Week, which was très, très fun.  I have to admit my nights out have all blurred into one, but highlights were seeing fave Paris pal Polina Aranova at fave spot La Poule au Pot, seeing fave NYC pals Kate Schelter & David Grunning at other fave spots, Le Martel & Hotel Costes, seeing fave starlet Chloe Sevigny at Hotel Ritz, hitting party thrown by new fave handbag designer Corto Moltedo with fave Florence pal Vivia Ferragamo, and dancing the night away at fave nightclub Le Baron with fave NYC designer Elise Overland until way too early in the morning.  Quelle folie!

I’ve returned to life in NYC in the most civilized manner, starting with a lovely four o’clock tea at the The Pierre yesterday with New York’s most beautiful chicettes, Olivia Chantecaille, Alexandra Lind-Rose, and Adelina Wong Ettelson.  If you’ve never had the luxury of tea at The Pierre, please put it on your list of “Things to Do before I Die” as there really isn’t anything else like it.  Tonight am heading out for more civilized (or maybe not so civilized) fun, so stay tuned…