THE DARK LIP IS TRES HIP

As I took a moment to catch up with my magazine reading, flipping through the stack of Vogue and Elle magazines, I discovered a strong trend for Spring and Fall 2008. Ads for Dior, Nars and other big name companies featured the renaissance of the vamp--dark lips, skinny arched brows and serious attitude. Runway shows also featured this striking look, made popular in the 20s by such starlets as Jean Harlow. If you want to get the dark lip right, I suggest looking at Harlow and other stars of the time, who truly pulled off an effortless yet chic and polished look. Always remember to keep the eyes lighter, as you want one feature to stand out while the others are subdued. If your eyes are dark, your lips are not and vice versa. Sometimes you can have a somewhat smoky eye while rocking dark lips, but don't overdo it, unless you want to be mistaken for one of those girls in the Robert Palmer videos.

P.S. If you didn't know, Robert Palmer did kick ass. I may just dress up as a Robert Palmer video girl for Halloween, though I wouldn't rock the look on the regular. I'd be "Simply Irresistable!!!"

JUMP ON THE BANDWAGON

Fashion design is part art, part math and part business. The result has to be beautiful, original in some aspect, and wearable. It's not an easy task, yet season after season, celebrities take it upon themselves to take this daunting task head on, without any previous experience or training. (It's not always difficult, considering the fact that celebs hire an elaborate design team to carry out their "vision" for them, making approvals here and there when they can or if they care to.) The end product is OK for making a quick buck off of an image, but hardly anything worth mentioning from the fashion community. L.A.M.B. and J-Lo are great and have proven both Gwen Stefani and Jennifer Lopez as designers (or at least great entrepreneurs), while most others are a signal that some celebs should stick to their day job. Seriously stop, it's getting old.

DON'T BELIEVE EVERYTHING YOU READ

So, I was Googling myself today to see if I could find anything under Vilma Alexandra de Fatima Szoenyi, which is my extremely long name, which I usually abbreviate. (I like to joke that having an extremely long name is a requirement of being Latina, much like that news reporter on Married With Children.)

I usually have several results with my name in it's abbreviated form, V. Alexandra de F. Szoenyi, under Szoenyi, and under ALEXTHEARTISTE, but did I find one new result that made me laugh.

http://www.classmates.com/directory/public/memberprofile/list.htm?regId=8685637768

Apparently, I'm 37 years old. I graduated from high school in 1998, but Classmates.com has me on their site, which I don't remember ever signing up on, as graduating in 1988. I like to consider myself a very young-looking 27, but it's hard to maintain your flyness when websites go around adding a decade to your age. Talk about haterism- hahaha.

THE LUXURY ARTISTE, COURTESY OF FENDI

I'm having a moment. A box of markers, crayons, or paint make me happy and inspired, and luxury bags make my heart skip a beat. The combination of the two is a moment in time. Talk about a double yeay. Fendi's Paint-Your-Own Baguette is the perfect way to be artistic, and more importantly, have a one-of-a-kind Fendi bag that you created yourself. The bag comes with 10 Pantone Universe markers and a stark-white, coated canvas bag that is just begging to be drawn on. For $1300, and available at eluxury.com, you too can be a luxury artiste.

WHY YOU'VE BEEN DEPRIVED OF THE LATEST ALEXTHEARTISTE TIDBITS...

It's been about a week since my last "ALEXTHEARTISTE SAYS..." post and I am riddled with guilt that I have deprived you all from my golden nuggets of knowledge. The reason for this faux pas??? I've moved into the city (SF) from the Peninsula, which means even better coverage of what's hot in pop culture (yeay!!!) It also means that I've been living out of boxes for the last week or so. You're jealous, I'm sure. As we all know, moving is oh so glamorous!!! Starting tomorrow, the blog posts will be back to normal, so you may now relax.

WHY DJ JAZZY JEFF IS MORE THAN JUST FRESH

It's hard to say DJ Jazzy Jeff without wanting to say "and the Fresh Prince" after it. In the 90s, the duo was unstoppable, both on TV on The Fresh Prince of Bel Air, and on the airwaves, with such hits as "Parents Just Don't Understand" and "Summertime." They were also the first winners of a Grammy in the Rap category (in 1988). Jeff (Jeff Townes) was the jelly to Will Smith's peanut butter. But it's important to note that DJ Jazzy Jeff is a powerhouse on his own as a DJ. Last month, I saw him spin live at Fluid nightclub in San Francisco (an event I photographed for NapkinNights.com). Randomly does a DJ mesmerize the audience, and this crowd was captivated. While most good DJs will get the crowd roaring with a good back-in-the-day jam, DJ Jazzy Jeff had the club-goers screaming "Oh!" all night long. The place was ridiculously cramped, but everyone seemed happy to stand and/or dance. It was musical hypnosis, the perfect blend of old and new jams seamlessly mixed together, and basically one kick-ass night. DJ Jazzy Jeff is an incredible DJ. If you don't know, now you know.

BLACK AND ORANGE = REP YO' CITY!!!

Us San Franciscans are hard-core fans. Both the 49ers and the Giants aren't stellar teams, but we still love the crap out of them. (Double entendre!!! Note: We love the Warriors too, but they have been playing great lately, so there.) Frisco City natives live in hoodies, t-shirts and more emblazoned with odes to their town and teams. Black and orange are the colors of the San Francisco Giants, and in honor of the beginning of the season, and as a treasure trove for those rocking the colors year-round, here are some black and orange goodies.

This is where the Giants color hunt started for me--these bad-ass Halloween Adidas Superstars from 2006. These are great as basic black and orange tennie shoes (that's what I call 'em--tres preppy or perhaps Latino, I know, but I'm talking about sneakers). However, I'm a sucker for an added touch, like the Scream mask on the sole of the shoe, so these shoes are IT.

Not only is this great hoodie by locals FIFTY24SF ,with artwork by Grotesk, black and orange, but it represents every neighborhood in San Francisco in its intricate cartoon mash-up. If you click on the pic, you can truly admire the detail. Available at http://www.digitalgravel.com/.

What's better than rocking one SF institution on a T-shirt??? Rocking TWO. The Giants colors AND the Grateful Dead are represented on this shirt which also includes a skyline of the city. Available at http://www.allposters.com/. Rock on.

Unfortunately, like most of the tennie shoes I mention here, these beauties are limited edition and therefore probably out of your reach (sniff sniff), but they are definitely worth mentioning. The grey shoes are the Nike Air Max 90s, created for the 10th anniversary of Niketown, and the white ones are the Air Max 1 iDs, made in commemoration of the MLB All Star Game in San Francisco. Released in 2007 and limited to 120 and 150 pairs, respectively (actually it's probably less than that, since the Air Max 1 iDs where made for the Niketown SF corporate party and the leftovers were then released), consider it a major score if you can get these.

*Note: During my search for the black and orange, I found that a lot of tennie shoe companies, like Vans, Nike, and Adidas, come out with Halloween shoes, which would be perfect for any Giants fans to sport all year. Act fast, as these are usually limited edition. Sometimes you can get your hands on the rare sneaker find through Ebay or on some sneaker aficionado websites.*

Seriously, digitalgravel.com is a kick-ass website. This is the second time I've mentioned an item from the online store, where you can find the best urban clothing and you always feel that you've crept up on something you won't find everywhere else. They tout themselves as "the first site dedicated exclusively to selling gear from underground and independently owned brands." This includes Upper Playground, another SF company, which makes this cool "Paint Drip" hoodie. The thermal lining in the hood makes it perfect for braving the cold night games at AT&T Park.

And for those Diddy types that have to do it WAY BIG, the ultimate SF Giants fan collector's item...

The LE MANSORY Bentley Continental GT

*As a designer, I make custom clothing and accessories, including black and orange scarves, available at RAG CO-Op in San Francisco, or by emailing me at alex@alextheartiste.com.*

As you can see, the possibilities are endless when it comes to finding great gear to wear for Giants games or when you are just in a Giants-loving mood (God knows our team needs the love!!!) I didn't include actual Giants-licensed clothing because I wanted to think outside the box, but there are endless choices available everywhere. Touch by Alyssa Milano is a cute and very un-mannish choice for the ladies. So go out and REP YO' CITY, SAN FRANCISCANS!!! GO GIANTS!!!

WHY I LOVE WALGREENS...

I heart Walgreens. In high school, it was the pitstop for makeup and magazines (and still is) and is a place to get all those random infomercial products you secretly wanted to order on TV at 3 am. You can buy yarn, dye, snacks, movies, candles, and other goodies there and some are open 24 hours (yeay!!!). But probably the best thing you can get here (and as always, I chose to share the knowledge instead of being greedy and keeping the gold to myself) are sunglasses. I am a proponent of cheap sunglasses; they are sturdy and you won't cry if they get scratched. I've had a pair of $200 sunglasses (not naming names because I still love the brand) literally fall apart while on my face as a tiny pin decided to jump ship, while $12 sunglasses I've had for years have stood the test of time. These particular sunglasses are a hipster's dream, as they look vintage and take up half your face. Best part is...they're only $5.99. No, really. The ones I saw in person were a dark grey, but they also have them in brown and a similar style in black. They're sold out online, so run to your nearest Walgreen's and stock up on some saucy summer shades!!! By the way, you're welcome.

THE BUMBLEBEE BUZZ

As a journalist, you are taught that you need to check with at least two sources to verify if something is correct or not. Fashion is no different--the bigger the buzz (no pun intended), the stronger a trend becomes. I had first heard about the black and yellow, bumblebee-like trend on E!'s The Daily 10, but it was solidified in my mind as I scanned through runway pictures from the Fall 2008 shows on Style.com. Black and white has been done several times over (as I'm sure black and yellow has), but there is something fun and fresh about the primary color and the fashion staple buzzing around together (pun intended). It is also a runway look that anyone can pull off inexpensively and without much risk. Jazz up your basic black shift with yellow accessories or bring on more color and let the sunshine in!!!

RAINBOW BRIGHT

As a child of the 80s, you couldn't avoid color. From pastel-y Miami Vice to the hot pinks and blues of the valley girls, it was there in full force. The 90s were just as bright, with Cross COLOURS jeans and neon biker shorts. Add in the fact that I am Latina and you can imagine how much I appreciate color. (Now don't get it twisted, I don't run around looking like Carmen Miranda, thank you very much...although she was awesome) Thankfully, bright and rich colors have been a staple of the runway collections for a few seasons now, and Fall 2008 promises not to disappoint. Don't be drab--embrace a color you might find in a box of crayons, and join in on the fun!!!