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Drumsticks, Flicks, and other Picks

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Better than Blockbuster
Perhaps the best reason to live on popcorn alone: the Chicago International Film Festival opened last night and runs through Wednesday the 17th with hundreds of documentaries, features, and shorts from 44 countries. High-profile attendees include Tony-winner Jeffrey Wright, star of the fest entry Blackout and recipient of this year’s Black Perspectives career achievement award (Black Perspectives Tribute and Party, Saturday the 13th), but we recommend balancing your out-of-town intake with a shot or two of local talent. In America the Beautiful, Chicagoan Darryl Roberts interviews advertising and fashion pros about…

What’s Cooking, Karl?

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After my final show this evening, I walked to the Printemps department store to buy a new pair of black tights. My only clean pair is now snagged, thanks to a run-in with a Chrome Hearts bracelet. Fashion foul! Since I was coming from the Tuileries gardens, I decided to take the rue Cambon, home of Chanel headquarters. Knowing that Karl Lagerfeld’s show for Chanel happens to be tomorrow, the air felt heavy with anticipation. Well, to me at least. To the normal people walking down the street I imagine it felt muggy and a bit cool…

Givenchy Gets Dotty

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Last season, Givenchy’s chic, dark, romantic look seemed to be a harbinger for Mary Kate and Ashley—they went chic, dark, and romantic with their own look at around the same time.

So what could the show be telling us this time? When I saw the first model, I thought I had wandered into a Kate Spade show. Polka dots? Isn’t that a bit preppy for Givenchy?

Stung!

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A lot of Fashion Week-ers complain about the hot venues. You think, “Could it really be so bad?”—until you find yourself sitting inside a clear plastic tent in the middle of the day. Remember holding a piece of glass over ants to fry them with the sunlight? It’s the same concept.

Which is why I wasn’t surprised when I got a text from Stacey yesterday: “I’m at Dior, and it’s sooo hot here!”

But she at least had something to distract her. Five minutes later she texts this: “Sting and Trudie are 4 rows in front of me! Trudie has on a very French beret!”…

Colette Party—How Do You Say ‘Celeb’ in French?

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It turns out I had two misses last night: I did not get to meet The Sartorialist and give him my pitch on Chicago style,* and I did not get to see the Yohji show (no cabs, merci rainy Paris weather!).

It worked out okay, though. I still got to attend the coolest party of the week, at the coolest store in the world, Colette. The soirée was to fête street photographers and bloggers…

Alessi Opens Shop

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Cult of Personality
The iconic housewares design company Alessi has opened a new Chicago flagship store at 611 North State Street (312-274-6500, alessi.com), one of six nationwide. The Italian-based company made its name by asking architects to design housewares and kitchen items. Many became cult objects, such as the Anna G bottle opener ($49) designed by Alessandro Mendini and the Michael Graves tea kettle ($149) equipped with a bird whistle. At the store, you’ll find the line’s trademark whimsical items such as the parrot corkscrew ($49) and the brightly colored Kaj watch ($85) from artist Karim Rashid, as well as…

Grease is the Word: On Motorcycle Jackets and Hedi Slimane

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If you want to talk trends, here’s the real scoop on what Parisians are wearing: the motorcycle jacket, or as the French say, “Le Perfecto.” Biking around the Bastille area on Saturday (in Paris it’s already cool, with highs around 60), I saw about two dozen women in cropped leather jackets. Where did this come from? I’ve got two guesses…

Seasonal Revolution

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I just got off the phone with fashion director Stacey Jones, who arrived in Paris today via Milan. I asked her how she thought the season was looking so far.

“Before, I wanted to live in a Michael Kors world, but now, I want to live in a Versace world,” she said…