It's all about the hair

The big buzz over the red carpet this year is not about the dress. It's about the hair.

For Best Supporting Actress nominee Virginia Madsen, preparations began weeks ago, in closeted "creative meetings" with stylists to discuss her look for the 77th Academy Awards tomorrow night.

"We booked a whole day and tried style after style," says L.A. hairdresser Guy Romeo, whose clients also include Christina Ricci, Marisa Tomei and the members of Blink 182. "We brought a digital camera and video camera and tested how each hairstyle would photograph. It's such an important night, you want it to be perfect."

We've all heard about the pressure to pick the perfect dress, to borrow a Harry Winston diamond to adorn your decolleté. But unlike recent years, where stylists were falling over each other to scour vintage shops for the most original gowns for their clients, this time, it's all about the hair.

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Hemlines On The Stand: A Design-Off For Fashion Glory

Beauty is undefinable, but fashion is not. It's the dress that makes every other outfit in the room look fussy or staid.

And aptly enough, Bravo's "Project Runway" is the Prada of reality shows - the fashion contest is yet another "Apprentice"-like competition, except that this one makes even Donald Trump's New York seem frumpy.

The couture smackdown pits 12 aspiring designers against one another in an atelier at the Parsons School of Design in Manhattan, and has collected a loyal, intense following among the hip, young and gay - viewers who do not necessarily identify with the suburban pastry chefs and wreath makers on "Wickedly Perfect," CBS' quest for the next Martha Stewart. But "Project Runway" is not as narrow as its niche: all reality-show competitions are the same, but they are not all alike. Amazingly enough, "Project Runway," has a decent heart beating under its frisky silk chiffons, frivolous chatter and pesky product placement. (Unlike Waldo, it doesn't take long to discover where L'Oreal products are hidden.) It has suspense and unexpected turns, but only the good kind.

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Milan: time for fashion to get serious, says Prada

Hilary Alexander, Fashion Director, on the reasons to get serious as Prada backs black.

If there is one woman in the world who can state with conviction that "black IS the new black" it is Miuccia Prada.

She made that pronouncement after her stark and simple autumn/winter 2005/2006 collection at Milan Fashion week last night. No matter that she was wearing a white cotton shirt-dress with red high-heeled shoes at the time; perversity is part of Prada's charm.

"Black is a very important colour and it is coming back. After a while you get fed up with colour and print," she said. "Now it is time to be serious. Less fun, no frills. Last year we used fashion to escape from our problems. Now, we need to be more realistic and show ourselves to be more substantial."

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Dry skin advice: Moisturize, moisturize, moisturize

Few things are more beautiful than healthy human skin. And few things are more burdened by symbolism or more wrapped up with people's identities. Qualities people attribute to skin — sensuality, youthfulness, vitality, beauty, even goodness — are also qualities they see in themselves. That skin often seems the outer reflection of the inner being may explain, at least in part, why problem skin is so distressing and why Americans spend billions of dollars a year on moisturizers and other cosmetics.

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Mini Skirt Voted Top Fashion Item

The mini skirt has been voted the top fashion item in a poll of shoppers.

The poll by top London store Harvey Nichols asked 3,500 shoppers for their top ten best and worst fashion items.

The skirt was first invented by designer Andre Coureges and was put on the catwalk by Mary Quant and became a symbol of the swinging sixties.
The mini has withstood the test of time with a new generation inspired by Kate Moss adopting it as a key wardrobe staple.

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