Wednesday, November 16, 2011

The New Suunto D4 Dive Computer_266

The New Suunto D4 Dive Computer

Suunto D4

Suunto recently introduced an entry level dive computer that they're calling the D4. It's not as complex as either the D9 or the Vyper we covered previously; rather, Suunto describes it as "the introductory model in the Suunto diving line". When you're talking about Suunto, however, even "introductory" means an astounding number of features for both SCUBA divers,watches repplicas, and free divers:

Standard digital watch features like 12/24 hour display, dual time, date, daily alarm, and stopwatch with split time. Four modes: time (for when you're not diving), free dive (for diving without a tank), air (for diving with standard air), and nitrox (for diving with different gas mixtures). Dive planning and analysis functions. The "no-stop-time planner" can help you plan a dive that requires no decompression stops. Sophisticated free dive data measurement including depth sampled at three times per second, maximum depth, surface time, deepest dive of the day, longest dive of the day, and more. Data transfer function which allows you to download data from the watch to the Suunto Dive Manager PC desktop software. Audible and visual alarms for dive time and depth. In dive mode, current depth, maximum depth, current time, dive time,wwatches replica, decompression time,watches replica, and temperature. Suunto's "Deep Stop RGBM" algorithm (Reduced Gradient Bubble Model). Adjustable for altitude and personal settings. Multi-step ascent rate indicator. Battery power monitor and warning function so you don't find yourself diving with a dead battery. Glass face, metal/composite housing. Metric or imperial units for display. Bitmapped display capable of showing graphs as well as numbers and text. Up to 240-hour profile and logbook memory.

Unlike a lot of dive computers, the D4 looks more like a general outdoors/fitness watch, and would even be very reasonable as a daily wearer. I really like Suunto's use of bitmapped displays; as with the X9i and Lumi, they let you convey a lot of information very clearly, as well as graphs, big numbers, and so forth.

Street price for the Suunto D4 is around $500 USD, and should be available any day now ("early 2008"). You won't find the D4 or other Suunto dive computers in mall watch stores, however. Suunto considers these watches sophisticated dive computers, and only sells them through dive shops and related retail outlets.

By Paul Hubbard

Additional Resources:

The Suunto D4 homepage. The Suunto D4 campaign site.

Saturday, November 12, 2011

Louis Vuitton Mahina

Louis Vuitton Mahina
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Louis Vuitton has done it again. They have made a bag that is pricey and highly sought after. Last time I was in Louis Vuitton Bal Harbour I ran into a member of Purse Forum. She was desperately looking for the Mahina,rolex gmt replica, but they were out, as have been many Louis Vuitton boutiques. We reported on the Louis Vuitton Mahina when it was first released (dubbed the Louis Vuitton XL and XXL) and since then there has been Mahina mayhem. But the bags, both in XL and XXL are available in eLuxury right now. The XL costs $3100 while the XXL costs $3900. Told you, expensive,wholesale handbags online, yet understated with the monogram LV and the large slouch. Grab it while you can!

Tuesday, November 8, 2011

Review of the Orbita Tourbillon Watch Winder_265

Review of the Orbita Tourbillon Watch Winder

Orbita Tourbillon

View the Orbita Tourbillon photo gallery.

The Orbita Tourbillon is the Porsche of watch winders. It’s modern, sleek, sexy, and it ain’t cheap. But for the enthusiast who wants the best for his watches, the Orbita will keep them running with both style and precision.

The Orbita Tourbillon looks a little like a bomb from a Die Hard movie with its exposed circuitry and extremely bright LEDs. The chassis is made from four 10mm thick pieces of glass joined together by clear epoxy. Inside, three circuit boards are screwed in place and support two fantastically bright LEDs, and two stainless steel rollers. On top of the rollers rests the barrels inside of which your well wound and precisely rotated automatic watches are tucked, wrapped snuggly around self-conforming foam cushions. Although the barrels are stainless steel, they are lined with soft and gentle plastic which won’t scratch your steel, gold, or platinum bracelets, and the rollers have rubber gaskets for securely and quietly gripping and turning the barrels.

Each circuit board contains two LED readouts. The one on the left tells you how many times the watch has been turned,watches replica, and resets itself automatically at midnight. The LED on the right is actually a highly accurate quartz clock which makes perfect sense as it allows you to calibrate your less accurate automatic watch as you’re putting it on in the morning. Bright blue LEDs are soldered below the circuit boards and flash in configurable patterns to draw even more attention to this modern piece of functional industrial art.

Each winder is individually programmable for 650, 800, 950, or 1300 turns per day (all my watches are happy with the lowest setting), and can be individually configured to turn clockwise or counterclockwise. The circuit boards are daisy-chained so that all three run from a single power source which is an AC adapter with a 6 foot cord.

It’s important to note that the point of the Orbita Tourbillon isn’t just to appear high-tech and fancy. It actually is high-tech and fancy. In addition to keeping your watches wound, the Orbita Tourbillon will also to rotate them in such a way as to offset the negative effects of gravity. Just as the tourbillon complication is designed to rotate a watch’s escapement in order to counteract the forces of gravity and keep the movement functioning more regularly, with every turn, the Orbita Tourbillon positions your watches at a 30簞 offset from the previous turn. In other words, rather than rotating 360簞, the barrel is rotated 390簞 which means that every 12 turns, the watch has had the opportunity to rest at a slightly different angle, averaging out the tiny variations in accuracy caused by gravitational forces over time.

The Orbita Tourbillon is a substantial piece of precision technology, and I was curious to see how it would survive the shipping process. I discovered that the packaging of the Tourbillon is almost as complex as the winder itself, allowing it to arrive perfectly sound. After getting it assembled and set up, you may find you have left a few unsightly fingerprints which are easily removed with a small amount of glass cleaner on a lint-free cloth. Over time, the Tourbillon will accumulate a light layer of dust in areas you can’t easily wipe clean. I found that compressed air is the easiest, fastest, and safest way to keep it looking brand new.

Before I got the Orbita Tourbillon, I was using an inexpensive Chinese-made re-branded device which got the job done, but wasn’t much to look at, and was loud enough that I had to keep it tucked away in a remote corner of my office. The Orbita Tourbillon, on the other hand,buy watch online, occupies primary real estate on the dresser in my bedroom. It is quiet enough to sleep next to, and with its almost poetic juxtaposition of ultra modern styling next to its association with traditional mechanical watches,wholesale bags online, it is as much of a display piece as it is a practical tool.

The Orbita Tourbillon is available in single or triple units, retailing for $995 and $2,995, respectively. If you’re going to splurge, I recommend the triple unit so your other watches don’t get jealous.

View the Orbita Tourbillon photo gallery.

By Christian Cantrell

Monday, November 7, 2011

Alexander McQueen Demanta Leather Skull Clutch

You know what? This clutch may work very well for those of you that have a slight affinity for skulls but do not want too much. Alexander McQueen was known for infusing skull accents into his designs. Sometimes in masses, sometimes as a clasp closures,rolex 8570f, and now embossed.

The Alexander McQueen Demanta Leather Skull Clutch features skull-embossed black leather.

The body of the clutch is large,cheap designer handbags wholesale, 15″W X 7?”H X 2″D. The top folds and snaps at the sides to bring the design together a bit more. I can imagine this working for someone looking to add a bit of edge to their ensemble. This clutch may be black, but it certainly does not lack spunk.

As much as I love Alexander McQueen and I want to love this clutch,rolex wrist watch, it isn’t for me. With the size being so large, it seems like it might be hard to carry. Though, because it does not have a structured shape, it would be easier to hand-hold or throw under your arm and keep it snug next to your body. Buy through Saks for $625.

Sunday, November 6, 2011

Review of the Benarus Remora_38

Review of the Benarus Remora

In the ever expanding world of independent watch makers, it can be hard to know if you are buying a fad that will flash in the pan and one day leave you with an unreliable and unserviceable watch. There are so many new companies sprouting up and making sports watches for an eager online market that keeping them all straight can be tough. Recently, we had the opportunity to spend some time with the new Benarus Remora. You might remember Benarus from our review of the Moray and the Worldiver GMT Auto, two excellent dive watches that represent only part of the model line up from Benarus, a company that is always making new limited edition watches (Barracuda, Moray, Moray II, Worldiver GMT, Sea Devil, 1km, Megalodon, Megalodon 2, Bronze Moray).  Due to their popularity all of these models have sold out, except for the new Remora. The Remora takes the vintage style tool-dive archetype and adds some definitive maturity.

44 x 13 mm 42mm Ceramic bezel Miyota 9015 Automatic Movement Stainless Steel Case 22mm lugs Mesh bracelet and rubber strap Sapphire Crystal Limited production of 150 units Variety of dial styles/colors Cost: $610-650



The Remora, like the last two Benarus watches we reviewed, comes with a complete kit. Boxed in a nice leather travel case and complete with both the same type of mesh bracelet that came with the Worldiver GMT and a very nice black rubber dive strap. Both are about as nice an option as you will find to wear the Remora. The bracelet is beautiful with a fold over safety clasp, micro adjustments and solid end links. The rubber strap is soft and pliable and holds the watch comfortably on your wrist.

The shape and profile of the Remora case is really special and rather unique. I have reviewed other watches that have hooded lugs but the Remora is the perfect shape. Please see the photos to see the concave edging on the bottom side of the case,hublot replika, and notice the beautiful curvature on the sides of the case. The crown fits perfectly into its guards and the edge of the crown is very easily gripped and feels sure footed in its connection to the Remora’s movement. The movement in the Remora is a Miyota 9015, a top shelf asian automatic movement from Miyota which is a subsidiary of Citizen watches. Miyota is known for their 8215 movement, a well priced, simple automatic movement that never really wowed collectors or kept up with the reputation of the ETA 2824 it was designed to compete with. The 9015 was introduced in 2009 and features 24 jewels, hacking, handwinding, and a 28,watch replica,800 VPH heartbeat. This movement is meant to be levelled directly at ETA with the 2824-2 and the 2892-A2. Those are high expectations, the 2824 is a basic enough movement but is also the work horse for a great many Swiss automatics. Even more difficult, the 2892 in all its variations is considered to be ETA’s best movement and is the building block of many high end manufactures calibers. So how does the 9015 actually work out? The crown action is easy and sure, simple to set the date and time, winding is smooth and without much noise. Furthermore, the accuacy is excellent in this example. I have been wearing the the Remora on and off for about a month and have found this watch to run reliably between 0 and +4 seconds a day. This is absolutely excellent and makes this one of the most accurate independent divers I have reviewed to date.

So with a beautiful case, strong and accurate movement, and excellent mounting options show the Remora is a very respectable watch from a  good brand, but it has another trick up its sleeve. The Remora features a  ceramic bezel that is made from a much harder material than the normal stainless steel or aluminum. Ceramic bezels are generally seen on models from Rolex, Omega, or Hublot. Its fantastic to see innovation like this trickle down to watches that the average buyer can afford. Just the replacement ceramic bezel on a Rolex would cost more than an entire Remora so this isnt a small feature that was just tacked onto the Remora because everyone is doing it. Benarus has included the ceramic bezel because they predict people will wear these watches and occasionally hit them on door jams, ledges, or worse, the ground. Ceramic should help keep the Remora looking fresher longer, its not indestructible, but its better than aluminum or stainless steel. The dial is a deep black that is medium gloss. This is the numeral style dial with 12, 3,wholesale discount handbags, 6, and 9 painted on while other hours get large dots of luminous paint. The luminosity of the paint is excellent, very bright and long lasting and is matched with a lumed pip on the bezel at 12 o’clock. The dial is sparse and fitting for a diver like the Remora.

The curved shape of the case and the excellent build quality and materials make this a fitting companion for your wrist. It seems as though benarus is striving to make the best watch possible for a reasonable price and while the Remora is not an example of haute-horlogerie, it is a very nice watch with a quality movement, good build quality and a ceramic bezel. Combine the features with a slick vintage diver look and 500m water resistance its definitely hard to find a fault in the new Remora except that Benarus has limited production to only 150 units. Luckily, if you miss this one, you can always wait and see what surprises Benarus has in store with future models.

By James Stacey

An Introduction to the Tag Heuer Aquaracer_27

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Review of the Garmin ForeRunner 405_216

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Saturday, November 5, 2011

Valentino Glam Tote

I am in love. Valentino continues to make me a happy handbag fan. Yes, in the past, I’ve snubbed Valentino and thought that some bags were less than impressive. Today is not that kind of day. I am highly impressed with this Valentino Glam Tote. In fact, if I had some cash saved up,rolex gmt ii replica, I would have bought it on the spot.


Before I get started, I must say, I really wish that Bergdorf Goodman would have larger images of products they carry available. However, luckily, they do have a zoom function. This zoom function has allowed me to fall in love with this bag. If it wasn’t for that function,rolex 8570f, I probably would have passed the bag by. But instead, I was able to look at the bag a bit closer and completely admire the exquisite and intricate bead work.

This tote is comprised of nude napa leather and has double top handles. With the tote being as large as it is, I do wonder if slightly larger handles would do the bag a bit more justice, but it wouldn’t be a deal breaker for me. I wasn’t really interested in the drawstring sides,replica rolex Daytona, but I can let that go too. See, this bag, it is just downright gorgeous. The stripes of mini-studs and crystals intertwine splendidly. And since some of the studs and crystals happen to be on the two-layer ruffles along the front of the bag, there is a bit of movement. I can picture myself carrying this bag as I walk through a restaurant and the the light being reflected off of the studs and crystals – amazing. It typical Valentino fashion, this bag doesn’t come cheap, but like I said earlier, if I had money saved up, this bag would be mine! Buy through Bergdorf Goodman for $2690.

Fashion Week Handbags Hermes

Looking through the pictures of an Hermes runway show can be almost anticlimactic – we know that Jean Paul Gaultier is going to do something brilliant and that Hermes only uses the absolute best in luxury materials and finishes. They’ve set such a high bar for themselves that even though the team behind the brand almost always turns out brilliant work,watch online store, I find that the attitude tends to be,watch buy, “Of course it’s good. It’s Hermes.” Their perfection can feel repetitive at times.

For Fall/Winter 2010, however, Hermes did something that had a few people wrinkling their noses. Instead of the traditionally luxurious inspirations that we’ve seen them use recently, Gauliter went for a collection based on The Avengers and Emma Peel and created a retro superhero fantasy covered in the finest black leather. I’m not one of those people that’s going to question them – I adored it, from beginning to end. It may have used more leather than some people would have preferred, but leather goods are their bread and butter – why not extend that to normal garments, as well?

As for the bags, you really can’t go wrong with an enormous black crocodile Birkin. Or black croc anything – it was abundant in this show. The tiny Kellys attached to umbrella handles were adorable and irreverent, so long as you only intend to use the umbrella as a walking stick. The regular-size studded Kellys felt a little like they were grabbing on to the tail end of a trend,swiss watch, but the studding was fine enough that the bags still looked fairly fresh and desirable.

Thursday, November 3, 2011

Hublot Cathedral Minute Repeater Tourbillon And Column Wheel Chronograph Watch Hands-On

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Hublot Carbon Carbon Fiber Minute Repeater 8797 Hublot Cathedral Minute Repeater Tourbillon And Column Wheel Chronograph Watch Hands On

The horological highlight from Hublot this year was the long-named "Cathedral" Minute Repeater Tourbillon and Column Wheel Chronograph watch. In a King Power style case, this watch boasts a case formed out of carbon fiber and a very complex movement that has (Yup, you guessed it!) the time, a tourbillon,rolex yachtmaster replica, a minute repeater, and a chronograph.

Presenting it was Hublot CEO Jean-Claude Biver on the first day of Baselworld 2011. In front of a group of us he activated the watch, put a microphone to it, and allowed us to hear the loud minute repeater. As I have stated before, when I mentioned this watch in my Baselworld top picks for 2011 article, the interesting side effect of having a carbon fiber case is that the minute repeater function isn't muffled by metal.

Hublot Carbon Carbon Fiber Minute Repeater 8811 Hublot Cathedral Minute Repeater Tourbillon And Column Wheel Chronograph Watch Hands On

Those who tend to play with modern minute repeaters on a regular basis know that, even with the most impressive models, the sound is highly underwhelming. A minute repeater is supposed to tell you the time via a code of chimes and is only useful if you can hear it. Most of the time, if you want to use one you need to be in a really quite room, tell everyone to hush, and place the watch next to your ear in order to hear the little dings.

Is that how minute repeaters always were? No, not at all. It used to be that pocket watches had little openings for the sound to travel out through and be audible. When minute repeaters found their way into high-end wrist watches those gaps needed to be closed to protect the movements from dust and water. That was simply a demand of the client. Plus, because minute repeater watches are expensive, customers wanted the watches to be in precious metals. Often heavier than steel, materials such as gold and platinum absorb more sound making them even worse for the little gong and hammer complication. I find it interesting that F.P. Journe decided to make his super Sonnerie Souveraine watch out of steel, instead of gold or platinum, and still charge over $600,000 for it.

Hublot Carbon Carbon Fiber Minute Repeater 8805 Hublot Cathedral Minute Repeater Tourbillon And Column Wheel Chronograph Watch Hands On

So when Hublot created a minute repeater watch out of carbon fiber - a light material that allows more air to reverberate inside the case - it ended up with a rather nice sounding minute repeater watch compared to something in gold or platinum. It does make me wonder about a titanium minute repeater, though. Hublot just bought a company that makes carbon fiber and have been on a big carbon fiber kick for a while so I doubt that the strength of the minute repeater was really considered much in advance. So, as previously stated, it is a positive side effect of the case being in carbon fiber. For Hublot, this just another "fusion" piece combining traditional complications with high-tech material.

In the watch, the minute repeater has two cathedral style gongs: Two gongs each with a different sound - one for hours, and one for minutes. The minute repeater is activated by sliding the left flank of the case up. This flank is a typical design element of the King Power and Big Bang watches making it is a sort of "hidden lever." In fact, also released this year by Hublot is an F1 Tourbillon Chronograph which, aside from having a different overall look, has a movement and dial that looks almost exactly the same as this watch. However, that model does not have a minute repeater in it. So, really, you just have to know which Hublot watches have minute repeaters and which do not.

Hublot Carbon Carbon Fiber Minute Repeater 8807 Hublot Cathedral Minute Repeater Tourbillon And Column Wheel Chronograph Watch Hands On

The chronograph is done in two subdials on the face - one for the minutes and one for the seconds. It is a monopusher with the push piece being integrated into the crown. The chronograph is even more unusual for not having a centrally mounted seconds hand. You can see the column wheel for the chronograph in the dial located under 12 o'clock. The skeletonization is impressive as the dial design places most of the mechanical elements on the front of the watch and through the caseback you do see a carbon fiber movement plate.

At 48mm wide, in carbon fiber, this Hublot Minute Repeater Tourbillon Chronograph is indeed a cool timepiece. And, it doesn't wear like something that cost you a ton of money. Hublot was still able to give it a sporty feeling that they are known to imbue in most of their watches. With a watch like this you'd feel comfortable in jeans while running around doing errands. Can you say the same for a Patek Philippe minute repeater? If anything, Hublot has created a mold for more casual luxury watches because they strive so hard to make them modern feeling. No Hublot watch is ever a timepiece you are afraid to wear and in that I think Jean-Claude Biver has really succeed in making high-end timepieces a more regular facet of people's lives.

Hublot Carbon Carbon Fiber Minute Repeater  Hublot Cathedral Minute Repeater Tourbillon And Column Wheel Chronograph Watch Hands On

TECHNICAL DETAILS from Hublot
Reference: 704.QX.1137.GR
Case: “King Power” - Diameter 48 mm in matte carbon fiber
Bezel: 6 H-shaped titanium screws, countersunk, polished & locked
Crystal: Sapphire with interior anti-reflective treatment
Lateral inserts: Black composite resin
Case-back: Matt carbon fiber
Crown: Black PVD titanium
Screws: Titanium
Dial: Matt black with satin-finished black nickel appliques and silvered, White and red powder transfers
Hands: Faceted, satin-finished and micro-blasted, black nickel,cheap designer handbags wholesale, skeleton
Movement: HUB 8100 Flying tourbillon without ball bearing
Dimensions: Diameter: 30 mm Thickness: 9.47 mm (Diameter of chime gongs: 32.60 mm)
Functions: Hour, minute and seconds via the cage, Minute repeater, Cathedral chime gong, Single push-piece chronograph at 3 o'clock (60-sec. and 30-min. counter), Manual winding, 2-position stem Manual winding and time-setting
No. of Components: 404
Jewels: 37
Hairspring: Flat, for extreme position setting
Frequency: 21,600 Vib/hour (3 Hz)
Power Reserve: Approximately 120 hours
Oscillator: Hublot Balance with adjustment inertia-blocks
Shock absorbers: Shock absorption for main plate and balance bridge
Main plate: Brass, beveled with drawn rims,vintage rolex watch, and circular-grained recesses, Black ruthenium coating
Bridges: Carbon fiber, brass, beveled with drawn rims & circular-grained recesses, Black nickel coating
Gear train: Circular-grained & beveled wheels, coating: black ruthenium, rolled pinions
Screws: Polished and beveled heads, rounded and polished ends
Wristlet: Black alligator gummy, stitched onto black rubber inner
Clasp: Ceramic and black PVD deployant buckle



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  • Audemars Piguet Millenary Minute Repeater Watch...

Wednesday, November 2, 2011

Project Runway “We hate it. We hate you. You’re fat.”

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Despite the fact that none of our designers can ever hope to be as spectacularly talented as Christian Siriano was two season ago (or as any of the top four were that season, really), they still continue to plug away at this thing we call Project Runway, even though it’s on a network that no one watches and it directly competes with Real Housewives. Not a good time slot decision, Lifetime execs.

Anyway, I digress. We have, what, like six or seven designers left? I’ve lost count. There are a bunch of chicks and only two dudes left, and the dudes are kind of fail-tastic. Christopher started strong and faltered, while Logan simply managed to sneak in to the next episode every week by not blowing his entire fail load on any one outfit thus far. That doesn’t mean he’s any good, it just means that he’s been slightly less offensive than someone else, time after time.

So did his card get pulled this week, or did another member of his mediocre brethren face Heidi’s tall, Germanic ax? Make the jump to find out.

This week,buy rolex replica watch, the designers were asked to look to their best outfit from the past to create a new look. Everyone but Logan has won a challenge and those looks were used for them, but he hasn’t even been in the top three, so they just chose a random dress that I don’t even remember for him to use to create his second outfit.

And apparently that random dress had some zipper on it somewhere, I don’t know where, because he bought like a million of them at Mood and made a collar out of them. Too bad Althea had done that a few weeks ago in the Bob Mackie challenge. Understandably, she gets mad and goes to Irina to talk smack about Logan behind his back. And really, I think that may be Irina’s only redeeming quality – she’d be a good person to snark with.

Ultimately, though, Althea decides to take the high road and not say anything on the runway, which is the correct decision. Project Runway history shows us that those who complain about copying or cheating to the judges just look like mealy-mouthed jerks,u.s. handbag factories, and it’s best to not look like that on national television if possible.

Irina, though? Irina wouldn’t know the high road if you pushed her out of a moving vehicle on to it. Because she made a big sweater in the last challenge, she’s decided that no one is ever allowed to make a big sweater again, ever. Althea’s design contains one, although its shape and feel are completely different than Irina’s previous effort (or the one that she makes for her new challenge), and Irina calls her out on the runway for it, in spite of their previous bonding over the Logan issue.

The judges were unimpressed by Irina’s accusations because they’re never particularly impressed with stuff like that, and both looks were in the top three along with Carol Hannah and her cute little frock. I was kind of disappointed that she didn’t do something with a bit of the feathers and sequins that appeared on her Bob Mackie dress (which was my favorite look of the entire season thus far), but what she made was perfectly serviceable.

But it was Althea that took the win this week, much to Meana Irina’s chagrin and my utter delight. Not because Althea’s outfit was that great – her pants would be unflattering on anyone other than a model,buy fake watch here, although I liked her big, ridiculous sweater – but because I just like seeing Irina scowl when someone else wins. Hopefully her face will freeze that way eventually.

It’s also worth noting that the top three this week are the ones most likely to make it to Fashion Week – Althea, Irina, and Carol Hannah are easily the best designers left standing (although Epperson and probably Ra’mon should still be in the mix, ideally), and now we’re just a party to the slow death march that is the elimination of Logan, Christopher and Gordana. Although considering the bad judging so far this season, it wouldn’t surprise me if one of them managed to sneak in to the final three.

Although it won’t be Logan. His zipper extravaganza got him eliminated this week, although I don’t think it was the worst look on the runway. That dubious distinction belongs to Gordana, who made a flaccid grey blazer that appeared to be straight out of a discount store in 1994. I’m comfortable with Logan’s elimination, though – he’s been the most consistently bad of the remaining designers, and at this point, does it really matter in which order the riffraff are removed?

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Exuberant foliage springs naturally from a slender silver circlet. Regina Flores presents a stunning necklace that is light due to its luminous openwork. Crafted by hand,buy watch online, its originality and beauty distinguish today’s fashion.

Tuesday, November 1, 2011

Did you Know Fact on the L.A.M.B. Kingston Handbag

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Did you Know? Fact on the L.A.M.B. Kingston Handbag
Fun designer handbag fact of the day… who is the L.A.M.B. Kingston purse named after?The Kingston is a super fabulous highly favored signature lamb bag by Gwen Stefani,discount watch, one that has been spotted on the arms of many of our favorite starlets. Wondering who this purse is named after? The bag is named after Gwen Stefani and Gavin Rossdale’s little tike… Baby Kingston

Want the bag above? Great news, this cheetah print lamb designer bag can be found sitting in the sale section of elux,quality replica watch, where it’s marked down to only $505.

RHBH “I’m looking forward to going. I want to see Kelsey dress up in women’s underwear.”

At some point before the end of the season, an episode of Real Housewives of Beverly Hills is going to take place entirely in Beverly Hills, right? I mean, I feel like it has to, but then again, I’ve never been to Beverly Hills. Is there not anything to do there except shop? Or are the California ladies just so rich that they might as well fly around and do whatever they please? At this point, we might as well call them the Real Housewives of the United States of America.

Last night, everyone except for Adrienne jetted off to New York City to see the opening of Kelsey’s play, and although the play itself didn’t actually happen last night, some other stuff did that was at least adequately entertaining. And, as always, Bravo made us wait until the last minute to see the promised fight.

We started with Lisa, whose gay houseboy Cedric is still…there. He still lives there, and he shall never leave, no matter what Lisa tells herself. If you lived there, would you ever move out? I wouldn’t. I’d spend my days dressing Giggy up in silly outfits and drinking tea and gossiping with Lisa about the other housewives forever. Who needs a husband when you have a Real Housewife? Cedric’s not just a houseguest, though, he’s also a sort-of employee. He helps Lisa with her duties at the restaurants, including (but not limited to) arranging giant flower arrangements. Lisa’s so proud of his progress at work that she thinks that might be able to live on his own like a normal person one day. Just not if he has any say in the matter.

Over in Camille’s corner of the world, she was still hanging out and gossiping with that hot Nick dude with whom she, ahem, “plays sports.” Lots and lots of vigorous,rolex explorer replica, physical, sweaty sports. He’s the one who showed up in Vegas and got a little handsy for the cameras. Remember him? Well, apparently he had yet to hear Camille’s sob story about the snarky comment that Kyle may or may not have made like eight episodes ago, which Camille is still upset about, even though Lisa was present for the conversation and said she didn’t think it was a big deal. Camille rejects your version of reality and substitutes her own.

At Taylor’s house, Kyle came to visit and we were formally introduced to Snowball the Unwanted Puppy. Luckily for Taylor, she got to shove the dog at the nanny and run off to shop for dresses with Kyle, which, as best as I can tell, is more or less what she does every day. Clearly the dog is such a burden. They went to Petro Zillia to get dresses for their trip to New York City to see Kelsey open La Cage aux Folles on Broadway, and there’s really not anything else to say about that. Watching people shopping isn’t all that fun, really.

Kim and Adrienne ended up at a different (but similarly decorated) boutique doing the same thing, which just goes to prove that no matter how many dresses you already have, you still need a new dress for an event. Things were going fine with all the shopping, but then Adrienne got a phone call of the seriously sad variety – her uncle had passed away. She went into that sort of wide-eyed shock that hits you when you’ve received news so bad and so sudden that you process it intellectually before your emotions have the opportunity to catch up, and understandably, she ditched her shopping trip and went home right away. Because of the sudden family emergency, Adrienne wouldn’t be able to accompany the group to New York City to see Kelsey’s play.

Before the rest of the group could leave, though, Lisa had to do something about the flying anxieties that Kyle had on previous trips. Instead of just throwing a couple of extra Xanax her way (Oh come on, you know that at least one of these ladies is packing a prescription. I’d check Taylor for extra drugs first.), Lisa hired a hypnotherapist to come to Kyle’s house and hypnotize the fear of flying straight out of her. He stuck some weird thing to Kyle’s forehead and measured her brain waves (I’m pretty sure you can’t do that with an electrode and a laptop), and then the breathing exercises and hand movements started.

I’ve never been hypnotized, although I know people who claim that it works, so I hope you’ll pardon me for not commenting on the veracity of the hypnotherapist’s claims. (Although it kind of looked like BS. Does that count as a comment? It probably does.) He didn’t actually say anything about flying for the entire session, at least not that I heard, and perhaps what we saw was just the placebo effect at work – Kyle’s anxiety was gone because she was told it would be. And if that’s the case, Linda should have just cut out the middle man and tossed Kyle an Aspirin on the plane. Tell her it’ll get rid of her anxiety, et voila, Kyle is completely calm. It’s the same thing that happens with college freshman who think they’re wasted after four sips of a Long Island iced tea, and it works beautifully.

Already in New York, Camille gave us an impromptu tour of her family’s city apartment. And for once, Camille showed an iota of self-awareness: after she said that a 3500 square foot apartment was too confined for her, she admitted that it must sound obnoxious. Not only that, but once Kelsey arrived home, I actually felt a bit bad for her. He looked thrilled to see the kids and completely annoyed that she even bothered to show up for the family reunion. I thought I might enjoy seeing Camille get punched in the face by the end of her marriage, but I’m actually glad that I don’t so far. It means I’m still human. Sort of. Give me another year of Real Housewives, I’m sure Bravo can fix that.

Or, really, just one more scene with Camille might do the trick. You see, her mother lives in New Jersey and they rarely get to see each other because Camille is just so busy ordering around the help back in California, and since she was on the East Coast for once, they got together at…a nail salon. But Camille’s mom didn’t get a manicure, she just sat there and tried to make conversation while Camille got her nails done. Did I mention that her mom was also being treated for cancer? Treated with chemotherapy, which, if you’re not familiar, sucks just about every ounce of humanity out of your bones. And mom sat there, mostly silent, and listened to Camille complain about how exhausted she was, on and on for god knows how long, while getting her nails filled in. And now I have to stop and take a breath, or I’m going to use some truly awful words and lose my job. Feel free to mentally insert the appropriate profanity here.

Meanwhile, the rest of the ladies were hiking through LAX in stilettos, trying to figure out the whole issue of Kyle’s and Camille’s conflict. Kyle insisted that all she did was act surprised that Kelsey wouldn’t be joining Camille in Hawaii, and then Camille took that and assumed it to mean that Kelsey was the only important person in the family. As I mentioned a few weeks ago when this “storm in a bloody teacup” actually happened, that seems as plausible to me as anything. If Lisa, who witnessed the interaction, thinks Camille needs to get over it and stop taking things so personally, I believe her. Lisa wouldn’t lie to us. Giggy doesn’t tolerate that sort of foolishness.

Once in New York, everyone air-kissed and pretended to like Camille and adorably, they were all outfitted in standard-issue New York black. Kyle pulled Camille aside to set things straight and make sure everyone was on the same page about what was or was not said in Vegas, which actually seemed rather mature in the context of Real Housewives. The conversation went fine for a little while, even if it was obvious that neither of the people involved in it were terribly interested in forming a bond with one and other. Sometimes you just have to pretend a little bit so that you’re not the girl who can’t get along with everyone’s mutual friend, right?

Except somehow, the subject turned to shyness (Camille’s shy? Does anyone believe that? I can hardly believe she managed to say it with a straight face) and then insecurity, and we got to see first-hand how Camille spins a relatively harmless, off-the-cuff comment into a total and epic shitstorm. She made the crazy eyes. I felt unsafe.

To me, it didn’t seem like Kyle meant anything bad by using the word “insecure.” Camille was going on and on about being very shy, and shyness and insecurity can be strongly linked in certain situations. When you’re babbling at someone who you’ve offended and you’re trying to make it better, sometimes the exact right word doesn’t come out, although in the context of the conversation, I’m not sure it was really an inaccurate description. Either way, it certainly didn’t seem like Kyle was actively trying to be passive-aggressive, and even if she was, it was hardly a truly nasty thing to say when you consider all the totally awful, totally accurate things one might say to Camille Grammer.

Oddly, Camille seemed like she agreed with me until the group got downstairs to have dinner, at which point she decided that the use of the word “insecure” was actually meant to insult and demean her. Maybe she found a crazy pill in the elevator on the way down. Whatever happened, she decided that she would not tolerate the use of those kinds of words, even when she prompts them by trying to blame her rude phone skills on her “shyness.” She’s Camille effing Grammer, after all. Does Kyle even know who her husband is?

Luckily, this time, Bravo got the whole situation on tape so that we don’t have to speculate about what was and wasn’t said, and Camille may very well be headed to Kelly Bensimon territory with her satchels of gold and gummy bears on the vine. Kyle told her not to feel insecure after she claimed to be almost painfully shy, and to her, that was some sort of insult and it will not be tolerated. Well,buy hublot watches, it will only be tolerated for a few minutes,swiss watch, after which, Camille shall have a fit. And have a fit she did! Although we’ll have to wait until next week to see most of it, at which point Kim apparently jumps in and makes everyone else look sane. She’ll be playing the Ramona Singer character to Camille’s Kelly this season – someone pour her some pinot grigio.

Sunday, October 30, 2011

Real Housewives of Orange County “When we all get together, we’re all fine because we’re all dri

So, I have some good news and some bad news. The good news is that this episode finally wasn’t full of filler. Some stuff actually hit the fan, which is what we’ve all been waiting for (yes, that was a Royal We right there). We don’t watch The Real Housewives of Orange County for the avant garde fashion choices, after all.

The bad news is that it was all of Lynn’s uncomfortable family issues that hit said fan, which made my skin crawl for approximately 45 minutes of the hour-long episode. I like this whole car-crash of a show a lot better when consenting adults are the only victims, and I also like it a lot better when it doesn’t subject me to a caterwauling drunk woman who is somehow still smiling because of how tight her stupid facelift is. That is a combination of annoying and creepy that I’d rather not have in my Thursday night.

As always, let’s talk about the housewives that weren’t directly involved in the meat of tonight’s show.

Vicki, obviously, was working during the majority of the episode so she wasn’t there during the final fireworks, but we did see a bit of her. First, she was on another of her dates with Don, who surprised her with a big ol’ ring and then wiped some bird poop of their server’s head. Don is easily the least terrible person on this entire show (he may be the least terrible person in the entirety of Bravo’s Housewives universe), and the fact that he seems to genuinely like Vicki makes me wonder if she’s not as bad in real life as she is on the show. I shudder to think what other reason he would have for staying with her.

Before she disappeared back to her office for the rest of the episode, she managed to redeem the botulism-and-orange-chemicals “party” that she had for her employees last week ever so slightly by bringing in a financial planner and providing lunch for her younger employees (and both of her kids). That’s actually a decently nice thing to do. I wish someone would teach me some of that stuff. More specifically, I wish someone would teach me how in the world I’m supposed to do my freelance taxes. If this were to be a Twitter trending topic,replica watch, I would tag it #ThingsTheyShouldaTaughtMeInJournalismSchool. Just sayin’.

Ahem. Anyway.

Although Tamra was present at the night’s trainwreck, she mostly just sat there with a excrement-eating (I’m not allowed to cuss on here – hello, advertisers! – so just fill it in mentally) grin on her face the entire time, happy that she wasn’t involved in the fight. Previous to that, we saw her and Beta Douche Simon cleaning out their garage in anticipation of selling their house before the bank foreclosed on it. Tamra took the opportunity to tell us that things were fine, just FINE, between her and Simon, which is silly, considering that we’ve already read the ending to that book, so to speak.

Gretchen played an integral part in Lynn’s eventual meltdown, but she also rode around on her motorcycle for part of the episode and showed off some makeup that is apparently a part of her new line, Gretchen Christine Beaut��. Yeah, with the pretentious ‘e’ and everything. If there’s one thing I really don’t need in my life, it’s eyeshadow endorsed by a housewife who always looks like she puts her makeup on with a trowel.

And then there was Alexis, who facilitated the whole meltdown by throwing a boozy party in the middle of the day, to which she invited several women that hate each other in various ways. She did it under the guise of peacemaking, which is adorable. Absolutely precious. No one ever resolves anything on Real Housewives – if they did, we wouldn’t have a show. Plus, they all know that they don’t get any camera time if they’re not beefing with someone, and these people need camera time like the rest of us need food, water and shelter.

Before we talk about what went on at the party, however, we have to talk about the spectacular parenting FAIL that Lynn had beforehand. She took her daughter to the mall to talk to her, because apparently no one in Orange County is able to communicate with anyone else if they’re not both engaged in an activity that involves boozing,discount watch, tanning or shopping. They’re almost like the Jersey Shore kids, but not as ironically lovable. While in the car on the way there, her teenager told her that she was hung over, a fact which did not seem to trouble Lynn at all.

Once inside, Lynn tried to engage in a Serious Discussion at the mall, but Alexa was not interested in participating in said discussion. She chose to display her distaste in her mother’s timing by doing the most mature thing she could think of, which happened to be calling her mother a witch-with-a-b and throwing Lynn’s cuff down on the table.

Instead of doing what my mother (and presumably, most mothers everywhere) would have done and dragging her little ingrate of a daughter out of the mall by her hair, Lynn sat there with a creepy smile on her face (presumably because her facelift does not allow her to make other facial expressions) and tried to use her words to express to her daughter how sad she was to see that she was disrespecting her cuff. Alexa very plainly tried to tell her that if Lynn forced her to abide by her punishments, then she might act right every now and then, but the sentiment didn’t seem to penetrate Lynn’s leather-like face. She just cradled her poor cuff and mentally frowned. But not physically, because she can’t.

After seeing that interaction, I can no longer bring myself to fault Gretchen for anything she’s said or done toward Lynn and Alexa in the past few episodes. In fact,rolex 8570f price, when they played back some of the clips, it was obvious that Gretchen made it very clear that she was just trying to give Alexa an outlet and make her feel heard, since most teenagers have a hard time talking to their parents. Doubly so for Alexa, since I’m not sure that Lynn has entirely mastered the English language.

Considering all of that, things were definitely not going well when it came time for Lynn to sit down with the other women (minus Vicki) for a drunken lunch at Alexis’s place. As soon as Gretchen asked how Alexa was doing, things careened out of control so quickly that I can’t even entirely remember how Lynn, who appeared to be both drunk and possibly on some pills (she accused Gretchen of slipping something in her drink on Watch What Happens Live, although she pretty much always seems high to me), went from making inappropriate jokes about Kegel exercises and her husband’s manbits to wailing about how hard it is to live in the OC, where sixteen-year-olds get BMWs.

Listen, Lynn. Orange County is not the only place on the face of the planet where parents try to live vicariously through their kids by buying them expensive cars – it happened where I grew up, and I’m fairly sure that it happens in the chichi suburbs of every major city in America. It’s also not any semblance of an excuse for not actually parenting them, or for giving up on them when they get into their teens.

Although she began her little scene by repeating how hard she tries to be a good mother, she eventually started talking about Orange County expectations, and that’s where she lost my support. It seemed entirely as though she was lamenting her own lot in the world – her crappy facelift, her fake tan, the hours she spends at the gym that aren’t making her any younger, the house that she’s about to get kicked out of on next week’s episode because she has no skills and never thought to save a dollar in her life. When she spends so much time thinking about all the things she has to do in order to keep up with her own ego, how can we possibly expect her to take the time to deal with anything else, much less something so exhausting as an unruly teenager that seems to desperately want someone to ground her? And then actually stick around to make sure she stays home? Clearly Lynn doesn’t have the time for that in the middle of busy aesthetics schedule.

It was pathetic and sad and thinking about it still makes my skin crawl. I can’t write funny little jokes about this stuff. This woman needs to get off my television, get out of her plastic surgeon’s office, and do something about her family. You know, besides just getting defensive when an adult that has made some mistakes in her life offers to help her stop her daughter from making the same ones. Anyone care to guess what attention-starved, attractive teenage girls with clueless, absentee parents do in their spare time? I shudder to think, but perhaps Lynn should ponder it for a while.

I don’t want to end my last post of the week on such a sour note, but there was absolutely nothing bright or cheery or not soul-crushingly awful about this episode of Real Housewives. So, instead, here’s a cute puppy video:

Alexander Wang Diego Bucket Bag

We’re all told from a young age that we shouldn’t judge books by their covers, but how many of us manage to make a good-faith effort to follow that advice? I know that I’m guilty of it, even as a writer myself – we all like a pretty picture. The problem with pictures,olex 8570f price, however, is that they don’t give you the whole story. I know for a fact that most of the ones that I’ve seen of the Alexander Wang Diego Bucket bag didn’t paint an accurate picture of how I would feel about the bag in person.

In photos, I hated it. In fact, I kind of hate it in the photo we’ve got here – it looks shapeless and busy,rolexwatch, like you’d have an impossible time trying to figure out how to get in and out of it. I thought it lacked the simple elegance that Wang’s Rocco duffel has, and that it was surely a rare miscue for the young designer. And then I saw it in person.

When I was actually holding this bag in my hand, it was all over – I loved it. Where the leather had once looked dumpy and overly complex, the bag’s shape and function seemed totally clear in person. The flat back,watches store, which puzzled me in photos, made total sense when it was hanging on my shoulder. Unlike many bags in the drawstring trend, the Diego Bucket Bag isn’t the same structure all the way around, and the back panel ensures that the bag sits easily against your hip.

Even the little shorty handle makes sense in person – the bag can be easily carried as a shoulder bag or satchel, and both options are more comfortable than I expected. Sure, the Diego is a bit heavy because of the signature studs on the bottom, but I’ve never been one to be intimidated by an extra pound or two. If you prefer a bit of edge to your accessories but want a piece of the drawstring trend, this is the perfect bag for you. Buy through Net-a-Porter for $825.

Louis Vuitton Fall 2006

Big Louis Vuitton Fall 2006

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While sometimes I can go on talking about a bag forever,watches you, some bags do leave me speechless. Louis Vuitton wanted to welcome Fall 2006 with some big furry bags with the Multicolore Monogram Print supersized. All I can say is I would love to see someone try to make a knock-off of this furry wonder. Ha :-)

Big Louis Vuitton Fall 2006 1