We’ve been counting down for months and the day is finally here: Tyra the Great kicked off Cycle 10 of America’s Next Top Model Wednesday at 8 p.m. on the CW. (Note: There’s also a Top Model casting call for Cycle 11 this Saturday at the Park Plaza from 10 a.m.-3 p.m.)
As devoted vans know, predicting the Top Model winner is trickier than guessing which crazy weave Tyra will wear at any given judging panel. It’s not about being the prettiest or the most striking. Instead, winning ANTM is about smiling with your eyes. Or at least that’s what Tyra says. And what she says goes. But since we can’t really figure out how to recognize this eye-smiling business, we’ll be putting our cheering behind the local contestants. (more…)

The new Architectural Digest arrived at the office last week. Always the paragon of design journalism for the rich, famous, and occasionally tasteful, the magazine portends to be the last word on all things indulgent. But while we love its shameless swank, we have to admit we read the cover story with some bemusement.

It seems a well-known D.C. mansion recently got an overhaul, thanks to its female denizen and a few sawbucks from you and me.

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I tend to buy new sneakers once a year, and, to my wife’s eternal amusement, tend to spend several months searching for the right pair. On several occasions I’ve waited so long that by the time I pulled the trigger, the shoe I wanted was out of production.

My most recent purchase, a pair of blue and white Asics fencing shoes, was a bust from the get-go. They’re a little heavy and spacy-looking, and didn’t quite work. And my standby PF Flyers were coming apart after two solid years of service. For replacements, I wanted two things: 1. Light running shoes with thin-soles. 2. Canvas shoes for the spring, but not Chucks because the soles suck, and they’re generally kind of dull. (more…)

As any reader of Vanity Fair’s “My Stuff” column knows, non-regular people use non-regular toothpaste. (The gorgeously packaged Italian brand Marvis is a favorite among supermodels and socialites.) But ever since Bostonista started buying $90 bras, we have to save money somewhere. And we’d rather sacrifice some style for good old American bleaching power, anyway.

So for years, we’ve used Colgate Total toothpaste. Tartar control plus whitening, and a strong minty taste—done. We buy it in bulk and don’t think twice.

However, as a PR pitch helpfully informed us this week, we really do need to be more discerning when selecting oral care brands. True sophisticates obviously buy French toothpaste. And so we wound up with samples of Gallic bestseller Elgydium. (more…)

In winter, dry and frigid temperatures can do a number on your hands, your face, and your hair. For help with the latter, Bostonista recently called on I Soci stylist Timmy Quirk, who offered the following tips on keeping those locks of yours looking happy and healthy (even when it’s 20-degrees outside). (more…)

Recently, I ran into a friend who was carrying one of those fabric grocery bags. This is a guy who regularly sneaks aluminum cans into the garbage, so his eco-shopping sack roused my suspicion. He explained that Whole Foods had decided to stop offering disposable plastic bags, and to herald the event, the store was offering free corporate-logo bags to the first 100 shoppers. Was this a noble Whole Foods effort to modify our environmentally unfriendly habits? Or was it part of a vast Whole Foods plot to shame us into purchasing our redemption?

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Since Bostonista returned to HQ before Marc Jacobs’s highly anticipated show went down on Friday, we sent fromer Boston intern, current CosmoGIRL! intern, and all-around fashionista Megan Reid to cover the festivities in our place. Here’s what she saw:

My induction to Fashion Week began with 20 minutes of standing around on the corner of 26th and Lexington waiting for Marc Jacobs show organizers to let us into in the show’s usual 69th Regiment Armory digs. It wasn’t the glamorous entry I’d planned, but I did catch fashion-y types in four-inch heels eyeing my metallic flats enviously (ha!) as I chatted up other Marc devotees about the bribery allegations MJ and his PR firm KCD are facing, and posed bets about how late the show would start this year after last year’s unbelievably tardy kickoff. (more…)

SPOILER ALERT: If you haven’t seen episode 10 of Project Runway, season 4, you might want to stop reading now.

Project Runway’s week off yielded a meet and greet with Steven Rosengard, as well as a terrific Tim Gunn appearance on The Daily Show (we can tell you’ve got a man-crush, Jon, and we are with you!). All very enlightening, but we were still glad when the show returned this past Wednesday. It was an episode not to be watched lying down.

Bostonista sprung into proper posture when the challenge was revealed—to create a fashion-forward outfit for a WWE diva—and nearly spilled Swiss Miss on our couture when Tim Gunn threaded his lanky frame into the makeshift Project Runway boxing ring. “Grandpa has difficulty with these ropes,” he joked. (more…)

The guys over at Alpha Omega are really considerate. They  go out of business just in time for Valentine’s Day, proving liquidation sales really are the sweetest form of schadenfreude. All that means is we can get some amazing deals on jewelry, watches, and other normally out-of-reach gifts.

The lovely Priscilla at the Prudential store was gracious enough to show us some of the hottest deals. You can finally get that special someone that Chanel watch she’s been coveting without resorting to hunting it down on eBay—the pink J12 automatic with matching pink leather strap is $8,550, originally $9,500. There’s also a ladies Bedat in stainless steel with diamonds for $4,720 after a 20 percent discount.

But wait. There’s more. (more…)

No Fashion Week coverage today, sadly. (Back tomorrow with Marc Jacobs, if he decides to start before midnight.) But since we’re still in judgment mode, we decided to turn a critical eye to one accessory that’s been in heavy rotation this week: the umbrella.

Here are a few stand-outs that will put your corporate logo-ed freebie to shame. (more…)