Elaine Davidson's Blog (70)

New colour and detail trends mean that your topper can be incorporated into your wardrobe — or better yet, its standout item.

Here are five things you should know before coat-shopping this year.

Burgundy is the new black

Looking for an alternative to basic black? Burgundy (or maroon or oxblood or bordeaux) is everywhere in outerwear this season. In wools, in puffers and in parkas — in most brands.

“It’s on-trend for the fall,” says Holt Renfrew (10180 101st St.)…

The leaves have changed, the air is crisp and cool, and pumpkin spice has once again suffocated our nostrils and taste buds. It is finally fashion’s favorite season – fall.

The biggest trends this season are a flash from the past. The 1970s was a decade full of revolution, and style was no exception to experiment and change. Smooth suede, foxy fringe (and lots of it), and flared silhouettes are making a huge comeback from the grooviest decade to date. Creative expression is so in…

Clients I work with are often wondering how to use an iPod to DJ a wedding, and I totally understand why — not only is using an iPod a huge cost saver, it also allows you to have a lot more control over the exact songs that are played on your wedding day. This was exactly our rationale when my now-husband, Rick, and I decided to use an iPod for our own wedding reception.

Being a musician and having particular strong opinions about music, Rick was not keen on handing over all the music…

Janet Betancourt was delighted for her daughter, Nicole, 30, when her boyfriend Michael proposed to her on her birthday last Dec. 4.

Michael, who the family calls “Mickey,” had arranged for his older sister to take a photograph of his proposal, and even made sure to include his dog, Zoe.

Janet said her daughter, Nicole, the elder of two daughters has been beaming ever since.

The Betancourts live in Westchester, having moved from the Bronx to Yonkers and ultimately to…

There’s a list I received in one of my graduate school classes that denotes the most stressful things that can happen in a person’s life. The expected negative stressors are on the list – illness, death of a loved one – and the slightly less expected positive ones – planning a wedding, having a newborn. Squarely in the middle of the list, meaning it could be triggered by a positive or negative event and could potentially happen at any life stage? Moving. I think that’s a pretty fair…

Here’s a tip for prospective couples: don’t mess with tradition.

Unless you want a storm of negative comments on social media, you’d better stick to the usual practice when handing out invitations to your wedding.

Rule No. 1 is that the invite must come with a cake voucher and a red packet.

When a woman sent an invite with discount coupons and cash vouchers and no red packet, she became an internet sensation for the wrong reasons after the recipient posted the offending…

hoebe Philo’s latest Céline collection is the kind that makes fashion editors swoon. Her experiments in proportion are unorthodox, and her show on Sunday included coat and dress styles designed with a knit inset that resulted in an exaggerated hourglass shape, with big muscular shoulders and a cinched waist (pictured, top). And it started with a lace slip dress that was almost startling in how much it revealed, but only almost startling because sheer looks have been such a big trend…

The old jokes, so they say, are the best, and they don't make footballers like they used to. The chart hits of yesteryear mature into golden oldies. Former fashion trends take on a retro chic. Forgotten furniture becomes vintage.

What of old plays? For the first time in living memory, there is more new work on our stages than there are revivals. Earlier this year, a survey by the British Theatre Consortium analysing shows presented across the UK in 2013 found that new work made up…

A large red cloud greets us as we enter the airy atrium of the historic Carriageways building, temporary home to the four-day Sydney Contemporary international art fair. Once used as a maintenance warehouse for rail engines, the large brick structure has been restored to maintain its original character and repurposed as a multi-arts center.

Inside the 87,000 sq ft space more than 90 galleries represent 14 countries. Alongside the gallery booths are 18 large-scale installations curated…

EVEN big Hollywood stars still think Mum knows best.

Newlywed Justin Theroux told news.com.au he took his mother’s advice about the big day last month when he married Jennifer Aniston.

“My mum pointed out to me that there are only two times in life when people say really nice things about you to you. And one of them you’re dead for,” he laughs. “So she said, ‘Enjoy it’. And I did enormously.”

He is also enjoying referring to Aniston as “my wife”.

“It feels very…

Brooke Welch and Michael Hill, both of Choudrant, were joined in holy matrimony September 12, 2015 at Douglas United Methodist Church in Ruston. The double ring ceremony was officiated by Rev. Jeremy Jones.

The bride is the daughter of Rusty and Stephanie Welch of Choudrant. Grandparents of the bride are Roger and Judy Harris, Choudrant and Pearl Harris, Farmerville.

The groom is the son of Virginia Otwell Skipper of Gibsland and Mike Hill of West Monroe. He is the grandson of…

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) -Celebrity stylists Meg Chapman and Jordan Lane, formerly from Lanvin, will be giving fashion tips on Saturday, September 19 from 1pm - 4pm at Neiman Marcus. It's a free event where they can help you with challenging trends, but give you tips on what to wear from head to toe. It's a jewelry trunk show featuring Me&Ro. Here are details from Neiman Marcus' press release:

HONOLULU—Neiman Marcus will host a jewelry trunk show with Me&Ro and a fashion…

Being asked to be the DJ and emcee for a friend's wedding when you're not a professional wedding DJ is a huge honor — and a huge task, especially if you don't actually know how to DJ a wedding. The couple obviously thinks highly enough of you that they trust you to keep an awesome vibe flowing throughout their wedding, and think you are responsible enough to put such an important aspect of the event in your trusting hands. Although this may sound a bit intimidating, my intention isn't to…

t’s be real — few industries are filled with as many, uh, big personalities as the fashion biz. And that’s rarely more apparent than during New York Fashion Week, when an entire city somehow manages to feel like a middle school playground with the same cliquey nonsense and “you can’t sit with us” mentality typically reserved for very insecure sixth grade girls.

Which is why we always jump for joy whenever we get to see Nicky Zimmermann, the cool as hell designer behind the Australian…

REDINGTON SHORES – Grants have become a lifeblood for many communities, making projects possible that would otherwise have been unaffordable. Grants are an attractive source of financing because the money is essentially “free.”

The funds come from outside sources, mainly the county or state, not local budgets, though most grants do require some sort of matching commitment.

The Pinellas Planning Council’s Linda Fisher’s reputation as a successful grant writer has made her a…

The trailer for the Korean movie The Beauty Inside was released, and it definitely has an intriguing plot.

The story told by the movie is of a man named Woo-jin, who wakes up in a different body everyday. Every morning he is surprised by his age, gender, race…basically his entire external identity. Although his appearance is constantly changing, Woo-jin is internally the same person. Unfortunately being different on the outside every single day presents its challenges.

The only…

MIAMI, FL, Sep 04, 2015 (Marketwired via COMTEX) -- Barbara Palacios, former Miss Universe, entrepreneur, inspirational speaker and one of the most powerful women of 2014 according to PEOPLE magazine has launched INSPIRA NOVAXANTHIN, an exclusive line of age-defying products that will now be sold in the U.S.

INSPIRA NOVAXANTHIN is a breakthrough line of all natural skincare products developed to fight against the visible signs of aging and improve skin condition over time, featuring…

One of Singapore's most beloved musicals will cha-cha-cha its way back onto the stage in November, and, this time, it will be baring a darker underbelly.

While there are no changes to the plot and the screwball comedy will be kept intact, this revival of Beauty World will not be the "Disneyland" version it might have felt like in the past, says its playwright Michael Chiang, 59, who also wrote the 1987 hit Army Daze.

Beauty World, which premiered in 1988, is set in a seedy…

A German dancer with an unconventional physique, Raimund Hoghe explores the notions of beauty in his latest duet as part of the Diver Festival in Tel Aviv.

In the dance community.Raimund Hoghe is an outlier for many reasons. For one, his introduction to and experience with dance has granted him a unique vantage point. For another, his physical form does not fit the classic standards of a dancer.

A petite man with a hunched back, Hoghe cannot execute the leaps and turns one…

The number of vegans in the United States is growing. Slowly, but surely, Americans are leaving animal products behind in favor of a sustainable and cruelty-free lifestyle.

Vegans now make up 2.5% of the U.S. population -- more than double the percentage in 2009. Interestingly, of the approximately one million vegans in the United States,79 percent of them are women. Animal byproducts appear in a lot of cosmetics -- some of the common offenders include fish scales (known as "guanine"…