March 2010 Archives

Looking for inspiration for unique ways to ask your preferred dancing partner to the prom? Check out this article, in which various creative -- and dare I say bold? -- go-getters try to woo dates by means including: recording them songs, blindfolding them, spelling out PROM in tea lights on cinderblocks, and sending a succession of red roses asking the big Q one word at a time. (The headline says it all: "High school Romeos compete for most creative 'prom proposal.') 

Earlier this month, Madonna signed what seems like a major and sort of complicated fashion deal, which, among other things, has resulted in the launch of a juniors fashion line inspired by her teenage daughter, Lourdes Leon. And now Madge is saying that the designer of line, which makes its debut in Macy's back-to-school fall collection, is actually Lourdes.

In the past couple weeks, the ever-controversial (but mostly just sort of out-of-control?) singer Ke$ha has been digging herself into a nice little publicity hole by means of constantly making fun of her various pop-star peers. First, in an interview with the Scottish Daily Record, she discussed the matter of Britney Spears and her lip syncing problem. "I think if you are going to be a singer, you should sing. No offense to her specifically, but people have asked me before to mime. I have been up at 3 o'clock in the morning for a television show with jet lag, but I refuse to mime." Ha ha. No offense to her specifically! 

Earlier this week, the New York Post -- commonly acknowledged as one of New York's more sensationalist newspapers, to put it generously -- recently published an article claiming (and I quote the headline) "Girls flock to trampy prom dresses." Now, I know that every prom will have its share of ladies who enjoy a low-cut piece or two, but let's be real here. "The days of dressing like a lady" are not actually over. Talk about dramatic! Jeez. We here at Tiza have plenty of examples of beautiful, ladylike, and distinctly age-appropriate frocks. Check them out. 

In this month's Teen Vogue, hairstylist Odile Gilbert dreams up all varieties of ethereal (and super-creative) updos; from flower-infused buns, to multicolored twists, to beribboned braids, the spread features all sorts of potential styles that will surely inspire your look for the night - be it romantic or rock'n'roll. Check it out right here.  

First health care reform, now gay rights! (At least for one 18-year-old.) Yay, social justice. Today, judges ruled that Constance McMillen, the gay high school senior who was barred from taking her girlfriend to the prom at Itawamba Agricultural High, shall be allowed to attend the dance. Additionally, it was ruled that a homophobic rival prom being sponsored by local Itawamba County parents, must be open to all students. There was already the Mississippi Safe Schools Prom, which was organized after the first prom was called off. Happily, McMillen will now be allowed to attend not one but three proms. Here's what McMillen said at the close of the case: 

Last week, we reported on the story of Constance McMillen, the 18-year-old senior at Itawamba Agricultural High School in Fulton, MS, whose school prom was cancelled on account of the fact that she wanted to go to it with her girlfriend. This week, the drama continues. The ACLU has brought a suit against the Itawamba County School District and will lobby on behalf of McMillen's right to go to the prom with whomever she wants, in whatever outfit she wants. But in the meantime, some interesting things have happened. First, McMillen appeared on "The Ellen Degeneres Show" to talk about the incident -- and Degeneres, along with the web site Tonic.com  (which describes its mission as being "dedicated to promoting the good that happens each day around the world"), presented McMillen with $30,000 in college scholarship money. To counter that benevolent act, however, a group of Fulton, MS parents have apparently organized a private prom for kids at McMillen's school -- from which McMillen was explicitly excluded. This is crazy!   Prom should be an all-inclusive event. The adults over in Fulton need to take a few lessons in maturity from the 18-year-old against whom they are waging this needless war. 

You may know and love her for her iconoclastic anti-starlet persona and her sultry, vampiric good looks, but Kristen Stewart is not just some one-dimensional Twilight starlet. And lately, she's been proving it by way of her various multifunctional endeavors. Stewart recently took a turn as a rock critic for MTV news (she's a big fan of Band of Horses and Broken Social Scene, apparently) while promoting her and Dakota Fanning's upcoming rock flick, The Runaways, at SXSW in Austin, TX. And weirdly (if not surprisingly), she is also going to be the subject of...her own comic book. (If I were her, I'd push for the cred of a graphic novel, but whatever.) Anyway, seems like the girl is finally having some much-deserved fun. 

Justin Bieber, teen pop phenomenon and brilliantly banged baseball cap enthusiast, recently let down a bunch of his (completely crazy) fans, when, after alerting them to his whereabouts, he then failed to party with them. Naturally, Bieber then reverted to Twitter to make it up to them.

As you search for ideas to guide your look on prom night, don't forget that art is always a great source of fashion inspiration. And by art what I mean, of course, is teen movies about prom.* But really! Molly Ringwald's notorious pink ragamuffin dress is nothing if not a classic example of personal style at its best. And plus, teen movies are totally fun to watch. So in order to get your creative juices flowing, we've put together a little list of history's finest prom-related films for your viewing pleasure (dating all the way back to the 80s and 90s). Take a look. 

Last Friday, Lady Gaga unveiled her long-awaited (not to mention just... LONG) video for "Telephone," which once again features a star performance from one Lady Beyonce. It is an amazing  video, the best part of which is when (if you ask me) Gaga makes a sandwich. You have to watch to understand -- but to really understand, you should also watch the director's cut, in which director Jonas Akerlund breaks down the full 9 minute vid. 

The Mississippi's Itawamba County School District made national headlines last week, when it canceled a local prom rather than allow its student, Constance McMillen, an 18-year-old high school senior, to go to prom with her girlfriend. (Apparently, court documents show that the superintendent responsible also explicitly barred all females from wearing tuxes to prom, which, seriously?) The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has since taken up McMillen's cause, and will challenge the issue in court. If they win, McMillen will (eventually) be allowed to not only go to prom with her girlfriend, but to wear whatever pants she pleases there. In the meantime, support for the young student -- not to mention the general cause of gay rights for high school students -- has been growing throughout the country; Empowering Spirits Foundation (a national LGBT civil rights organization) is planning throw a non-exclusive prom in Fulton, MS, with the help of the Safe Schools Coalition of Mississippi. Here's to hoping Constance gets to go to TWO proms this year. 

As we have already mentioned, prom season is now in full swing. And while we emphasize the importance of a quality prom dress (check out some amazing ones right here!), we also know that it is very important to garnish any look with just the right accessories. Teen Vogue has put together a helpful guide to finding just the right accessory for the big night. Check it out! 

Justin Bieber and Tina Fey are funny in different ways. Though not entirely unlike -- for instance, they both write their own material! -- okay, that is actually the only thing other than their hair color that they have in common. Anyway, the duo will be sharing a stage on SNL when Fey hosts on April 10, and I suspect that perhaps this will be the best show of the year. Although I admit I'm still mystified by the whole Betty White thing -- and ps, she's making an appearance on this episode too, I think -- but whatever.) Fey has already promised to do something about Bieber's bangs, which seems like a good sign. 

The Twilight: Eclipse trailer has hit the internet.

If that doesn't work, go here.

Last weekend, Sandra Bullock brought home an Oscar for her work in the film The Blind Side, in which she plays the adopted mother of an underprivileged black teenager. This movie is based on a true story! Which is nice, because it has a happy ending. The happy ending includes the family on which the story was based going to the Academy Awards. And guess what! The real-life daughter in this story, Collins Tuohy (played in the film by Lily Collins), wore Sherri Hill! Unfortunately we can't find any pictures of Collins in the dress (otherwise she surely would have made our best dressed list) but please send them along if you have one.

Uh oh. Hilary Duff, formerly just teen pop star and sometime-television-and-movie star too is now also to be ea NOVELIST. The 22-year-old starlet, who is also now engaged to some hockey player named Mike Comrie, will pen a young adult novel about a photojournalist named Clea Raymond, whose photography also allows her to sort of be psychic. She will also, apparently, write a non-fiction book for kids about coping with divorce. Unfortunately, we will have to wait until 2012 for more info, because that's when the books will hit shelves.

Miley Cyrus is the cover girl for Teen Vogue's April prom issue, and the country starlet opened up on all sorts of things -- including her relationship with fellow Last Song actor, the Australian Liam Hemsworth, and the boundlessness of their joint emotional depth.

 

Says Cyrus: "I think we're both deeper than normal people--what they think and how they feel. He's very grateful for what he has, but he doesn't let it go to his head. I'm like that too."

 

I suspect that poor Miley might look back on this and do that thing that most stars eventually learn to do - which is, stop talking about her boyfriends because she may eventually regret it. But maybe not!

Check out the behind-the-scenes story here. (Teen Vogue also has an accompanying info sheet on his fair Hemsworth right here.)

Last night, America tuned in to enjoy and/or gawk at the annual fanfare that is the Academy Awards ceremony. The major upset of the night was that Avatar basically didn't win anything. Kathryn Bigelow, on the other hand, became the first EVER female to win the Oscar for best director, which is both shocking (in that there had only ever even been 4 nominees) and great (in that she won). But most people were expecting that to happen, so it wasn't much of an upset. Fashion-wise, most of the stars played it pretty safe on the red carpet. But: In a good way! Here are some of our favorite looks of the night. 

Robert Pattinson appeared on The View this week, and obviously was asked all the hard questions. Like, for instance, apparently he was nervous to film a love scene? Why? RPatz grew flustered and stuttered in a charming fashion. Also, he revealed that he had a panic attack while seeing Twilight for the first time. Aw! Sensitive Rob! Check out more here. 

This Sunday, the movie-going world will tune in to the 89th annual Academy Awards ceremony. Sort of exciting! The Oscars are always really fun to watch because there is so much fanfare involved. This means that the stars always get gussied up in their most impressive finery -- and so the dress-watching at this particular awards ceremony is obviously always the best part. In anticipation of this grand event, we have rounded up a few of our favorite Oscar Dresses of the past. 

Though they didn't pose together, Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart both showed up at Pattinson's Remember Me premiere last night -- perhaps adding fuel to the fire of the maybe no-longer rumors that the two are dating?

Either way, they both look nice!

Twilight star Ashley Greene has been making the rounds at this year's ready-to-wear shows at fashion week in Milan. So far, the 23-year-old starlet has been spotted in everything from Gucci to Dolce & Gabbana -- but so far, I haven't seen her in anything that topped the lovely Sherri Hill gown she sported a little while back. (Not that I'm unbiased, but still.) What do you guys think?

In anticipation of prom season 2010, we at Tiza have scoured the latest collections from  Fall 2010 R-T-W fashion week, and provided looks that can serve as inspiration for your own dress search. From long and princess-invoking to short and sassy, we've got all the looks covered. Check them out below.

Runway: Christian Siriano

Our way:  The Mori Lee 7058

Runway: Alice + Olivia