So… it goes without saying that we weren’t quite looking our best yesterday. And when we’re feeling particularly, um, not-well-presented, we sometimes like to turn our attention to people who are exceedingly put together. It’s our own particular brand of shaming/motivation.

And thus our topic today is the lovely Bobbie Thomas, with whom we chatted last week as she swung through Boston.

You may know Bobbie if you stick around the house long enough to veer into those dangerous third and fourth hours of the Today Show. (You know, the ones that prevent you from running errands or effectively “working from home” by offering a stream of mesmerizing Kathie Lee-and-Hoda montages.)

She’s the show’s beauty and style editor who is a) gorgeous and b) apparently routinely asked by her friend Justin Timberlake, “why does your face look like it’s glowing?” (Answer: Because she dusts a boomerang of Stila #9 All-over Shimmer from the outer edge of her eyebrow to the top of her cheekbone.)

In any case, that’s beauty authority enough for us. Here, Bobbie’s top five* tips: (more…)

Yes, we made it to work today. And, considering last night was the annual Best of Boston party, that’s no small feat.

Creatively held at the Conley Container Terminal in South Boston, the summer’s most talked about bash (and most exclusive guest list) hosted 1,500 partiers and celebrated 350 award winners. For security reasons, guests were shuttled from drop-off points via trolleys (which gave the evening a bit of sorority formal flair) and school buses (which lent a dose of summer camp nostalgia) to the event entrance. As PR riot Chris Haynes spun it, “The school buses are hilarious! What fun!”

With such a vast crowd of winners, socialites, and publicists, it was impossible to get face time with everyone, but Bostonista—and our silk Alexander Wang romper suit, which was not a Fashion Masochist test drive, thank you very much—stole moments with some of our favorites: Mario Russo (whose Louis Boston locale won Best Salon), Ben and Tonya Mezrich (both were fresh of a plane from Paris, the latter wearing a spangled Paillette dress and Louboutins she bought there), an old man who says he does something in politics called Tony Nunziante, Jeffrey Lyle (Best Hair Colorist, Blonde), Bryan Rafanelli (who masterminded the party along with Boston’s crackerjack marketing team), and Debi Greenberg of Louis Boston (winner of multiple awards), among others.

And though we were too busy schmoozing and sipping on Moet , our cube neighbor just told us the Celtics’ NBA trophy also made an appearance. Victory all around! (more…)

Recently returned from Paris, I’m already on the lookout for my next far-flung destination—via non-stop flight, of course (Bostonista has too many hair products to keep checking and re-checking; plus, the $15 bag fees are a drag).

So it was with genuine enthusiasm that we learned Italian-based Air One is starting direct flights from Boston to Milan.

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While we might not always remember this, fashion is about more than just clothing or how things look. A lot of what makes a style interesting comes from the story that inspired it and the process that lead to the final product (Project Runway isn’t just popular because of Heidi Klum, people). Here in Boston, the people at Guerilla Fashion are using that idea as the main concept behind their video projects.

According to its website, GF is going to present “a brave new world of style” that uses video as a way to help fashion entertain and educate. A little vague, we know, but we’re excited to see what their first major project will yield because it just so happens to coincide with Boston Fashion Week 2008 (which this year gets its own week, unlike last year’s unfortunate overlap with the considerably better-attended New York Fashion Week). (more…)

Yesterday was dark, moody, with occasional downpours, a perfect backdrop for a trip to check out one of the strangest buildings I’ve ever stumbled upon in Boston. Squeezed between the Fenway and the turnpike is a creaky, century-old edifice built specifically for artists during the gilded age, called Fenway Studios.

Stepping in from the rain, I was greeted by a terra cotta tile floor, a wrought iron pendant lamp, and deep wood paneling. As my eyes adjusted to the dim light, I could see the elevator ahead—one of those expanding metal grate kinds that you can lose a finger in. All of which felt vaguely foreboding.

Once on a floor (there are four), the long hallway hosts an endless number of wooden doors, each with a unique knocker, some brass, so wood, which give a glimpse at the artist working within. Every unit has 14-foot high ceilings, a loft for sleeping, and boatloads of windows, all facing north for that perfect indirect light that artists adore. And each artist, some of whom have lived here for more than four decades, presents his or her own interpretation of what it means to be an esthete. (more…)

Last Thursday the fashionably fabulous America’s Next Top Model judge (and stylist to the stars) Jay Manuel revamped the Pru’s Lord & Taylor intimates department into a Calvin Klein underwear runway show brimming with Boston women ready for bra-talk.

Forgiving Bostonians’ four-letter pronunciation (”bra-r”) of the undergarment, Manuel introduced his essential CK picks, modeled by women of all chest sizes. (Manuel’s favorite, the 5-way convertible, an interchangeably strapped bra that he says “can be worn underneath everything in the closet”—will be put to the test by ANTM models on next season’s final episode.) (more…)

The next time Bostonista accepts an invitation from Chowder for an evening on the town, you can bet your bile duct it won’t be a weeknight. Especially if said evening involves the bar at Eastern Standard. More specifically, an evening at Eastern Standard that entails a flight of cocktails numbering in the double digits.

(To review: Chowder, weeknight, Eastern Standard, double-digit cocktail flight, not happening again. Any. Time. Soon. Or at least not until August.)

Here’s how it happened. (more…)

Bonjour, Bostonista readers. I am just back from Paris, where all things cliche about the City of Light seem to be holding steady: flowing champagne, beautifully dressed skinny people, and jars and jars of foie gras. Also, shopping.

July marks the end of Paris’s famous “soldes” (that’s sales to you non Francophiles) at which heavily discounted designer duds fly out the door at up to 80 percent off. Even with the feeble U.S. dollar, it sounds like a Bostonista’s dream, non? There’s only one problem: how to fit it all in a suitcase for the return trip.

This quandary, plus other packing dilemmas, like how to stuff our gallons of hair products into a carry-on, had us puzzled. We could have let someone else handle our suitcase shipping, but we were determined to get it right ourselves.

So we enlisted two world traveling packing gurus for advice. Local chef and lifestyle coach Tony Polito (watch for his cooking show on WCAC) is no stranger to packing light. He’s currently off on a three-week Asian extravaganza—think Japan, Singapore, Vietnam—with just one small carry-on. And Christine Perkins, owner of Cambridge’s Pyara Spa and Salon (set to open a new Burlington location this fall), is just back from a week-long Bulgarian extravaganza. Here, their ideas for packing smart—and, possibly, saving room for those “soldes” items.

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Sophomore year of college, I lived downstairs from a bunch of football players. Every Sunday, the boys would venture off campus to a teammate’s house to play a game they devised called “Can You Fry It?” in which they’d batter various items, most but not all of them edible, toss into a fryer, and see what happened. They’d return in the afternoon to report their findings: Doritos — you can fry it! Cat food — you can fry it! Cupcake frosting — you can’t fry it. And so on. This lasted an entire year. It never got old.

Today, I received as a gift the Breville Juice Fountain Plus, which juices whole fruits and vegetables, no cutting or chopping or peeling required, in five seconds or less. I’ve wanted a juicer since my month-long experiment eating raw (currently on hold during fried clam season), but I also despise any sort of kitchen work, and juicers are notoriously messy. But apparently, I can toss whole cantaloupes into this thing. Or so it seems. (more…)

For our honeymoon, my hubby and I wanted a trip that offered secluded beaches, luxury accommodations, and plenty of excursions off the resort. After watching a special on the Travel channel, we booked a week to Tulum, Mexico. It ended up being the best vacation we had ever taken (as it should be).

Once we landed in Cancun, a shuttle took us to Dreams Tulum, our four-star all-inclusive resort two hours south of Cancun. Upon entering the resort, our bags were whisked away while we sipped champagne at the front desk and checked in. That’s the way to start it off right! (more…)