Glamour is defined as being “fascination, charisma, beauty, or sexual attraction”. All of which sound like a pretty good way to be described, particularly in relation to your physical appearance.

So getting named one of Vogue’s most glamorous women has got to be a feather in your cap (feather’s in caps? This is going to be a great look for fall!). Vogue UK’s December issue has picked fifty stylish women for the Definitive List of Today’s Glamorous Women.

Included is the Queen of England, who I have to admit is definitely always looking fabulous, and it isn’t part of her job description. All she had to do was be born into the appropriate family, no style required. Not bad for someone no less than 81 years of age! Helen Mirren, also included on the list, said of her costumes for her role in The Queen: “Here were tweed skirts and sensible brown shoes, Hermès and Barbour,” she wrote of the creations of designer, Consolata Boyle. “I thought I’d never be able to understand this woman.”. Of course, since the death of Diana (the time period portrayed in the film) Her Majesty has had something of a style makeover.

Looking good is part of the job for another lady on the list, Kate Moss, and I wonder if she deserves to be on the list? Kate’s had a bad style year, mostly because of her favourite accessory Pete Doherty. Still, not many people could look cute covered in glastonbury mud, but Kate did pull that look off.

Here’s the full list of Today’s Glam Women:

Dame Helen Mirren; Claudia Schiffer; Jemima Khan; Sophie Dahl; Natalie Massenet; Isabella Anstruther-Gough-Calthorpe; Sadie Coles; Vanessa Redgrave; Rosamund Pike; Poppy and Chloe Delevingne; Zadie Smith; Zaha Hadid; Lady Isabella Cawdor; Daisy Lowe; Susanna Chancellor; Coco Rocha; Rebekah Wade; Tamara Mellon; Stella Tennant; the Dowager Duchess of Devonshire; Daphne Guinness; Natalia Vodianova; Sam Taylor-Wood; Mary Charteris; Luella Bartley; Charlotte Rampling; Plum Sykes; Lady Antonia Fraser; Naomi Campbell; Stella McCartney; Polly Samson; Ruth Rogers; Princess Rosario Saxe-Coburg; Dame Vivien Duffield; Gael Boglione; Phoebe Philo; Olivia Wilde; Lily Donaldson; Susanne Kapoor; Charlotte Stockdale; Sabrina Guinness; Lady Helen Taylor; Jasmine Guinness; Sheherazade Goldsmith; Honor Fraser; Charlotte Casiraghi; Andrea and Alice Dellal; Marina Palma; Kate Moss; Sally Albemarle; Lady Amanda Harlech; the Queen; Alice Temperley; Caroline Michel; Sophia Hesketh

Times Online

Some of these people I’ve never heard of, but I’m kind of glad. Anyone can shove a picture of Charlize Theron at the Oscars, impeccably groomed for many hours beforehand, and tell us she looks fabulous. It takes a real style queen to recognize that the Queen is not only well presented, but also fascinating and charismatic. Maybe that’s why Anna Wintour, Queen of the dull haircut and sour expression, is allowed to decide what’s stylish.

Picture note by Celebitchy: Helen Mirren is shown at the National Movie Awards on 9/28/07. Claudia Schiffer is shown at the Stardust London premiere on 10/3/07. Vanessa Redgrave is shown at a photocall for White Countess on 2/8/06. Queen Elizabeth is shown at Epsom Downs Racetrack on 6/2/07. Sophie Dahl is shown at the Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix premiere on 7/3/07 and at The Golden Age Of Couture VIP Gala on 9/18/07. Kate Moss is shown with James Brown (not that one) at the James Brown London Haircare Range launch at 10/10/07. She does look rather glamorous there, I love that pantsuit! Thanks to PRPhotos for these pictures.

My favorite Gap sweat-shirt was probably made by a child working endlessly to sew and stitch. It makes me sick to think that child labor still exists, but the truth of the matter is that it does and probably always will. So the question remains as to why Gap appears to still be using children to crank out clothing….again.

“Exposed by an undercover Observer investigation in the back streets of New Delhi, reveal a tragic consequence of the West’s demand for cheap clothing. It exposes how, despite Gap’s rigorous social audit systems launched in 2004 to weed out child labour in its production processes, the system is being abused by unscrupulous subcontractors. The result is that children, in this case working in conditions close to slavery, appear to still be making some of its clothes.”

[Observer]

While a Gap policy forbids children to work - if a child is found working they are to be removed, put in school, paid and guaranteed a job at reaching the legal working age. However, The Observer has found that kids are still being sold into bonded labor by their families. The kids reportedly work at least 16 hours a day. The sweatshop was discovered and Gap immediately promised to remove all clothing that may have been made by children in sweat shops and an investigation is being done. Gap’s ties to the Indian industry are cited as a possible source of the labor violation. India is estimated to be responsible for cranking out 20% off their gross national product at the hand of children aged 5 to 14.

Many celebs have lent their good name to the brand. Madonna, Sarah Jessica Parker and Claire Danes have all been a part of the Gap ads. Last year Gap teamed up with U2 singer Bono to create “Product Red.” Fellow star powered celebs like Don Cheadle, Lenny Kravitz and Mary J Blige, Steven Spielberg and Penelope Cruz all lent their name to fight AIDS and poverty in third world areas. It is a possibility that the line was made by children being hidden in “sacks and in carefully concealed mezzanine floors designed to dodge raids.”

Picture note by Jaybird: Here’s Claire Danes and Patrick Wilson for Gap’s “Boyfriend Trouser” ad. Header image of Sarah Jessica Parker in the Gap “How Do You Wear It?” ad campaign.

Uma Thurman’s breast were on full display last night in a gauzy draped black Valentino dress that did little more than shield her from the wind. She chose the daring outfit for the Swarovski Fashion Rocks event, which she co-hosted. When you’re 37 and the roles aren’t coming in you’ve got to kick it up a notch and I think she pulled it off.

Also on the red carpet were Kate Moss in a a Swarovski studded flapper dress she designed herself for Top Shop. It is estimated to be worth $80k and will be auctioned off on eBay for The Princes Trust if Courtney Love didn’t manage to ruin it.

Lily Allen wore a questionable navy blue Chanel gown with an empire waist that didn’t flatter her newly slender figure, but she looked presentable.

Donatella Versace and Iggy Pop personified rock and rock meets fashion with their weathered faces and kick ass style.

Claudia Schiffer was matronly in a gold pencil skirt and poofy black top accented by a big gold belt.

Naomi Watts showed off her amazing post-baby physique in a gorgeous baby blue strapless gown.

Joss Stone shows the self-determination that has ruined her music career by pairing a plain bright pink Calvin Klein dress with white ankle heels.

Heather Graham was lovely but looked like she was trying too hard in a white sleeveless dress that was just a little too low cut. She should have used Uma’s strategy and picked something see through instead.

Thanks to WENN for these photos and The Daily Mail for some help figuring out the dress designers. I included a blow up of Kate Moss’ face because she just looks so trashy to me. Uma may be showing nip but she does it with grace.

Kirsten Dunst not only suffers from babycorn teeth that she refuses to fix, saying they’re an essential part of her, she also has wicked body odor. Maybe she thinks that personal stink is part of her unique essense and shouldn’t be washed away with soap or warded off with antiperspirant.

[Kirsten Dunst] smells! “Kirsten’s friends have nicknamed her ‘Stinky,’” says an insider. “She always has the worst body odor!” But [stylist] Weiss says that’s an easy one to fix. “She should make sure to always wear tank tops so she can wash her underarms often when she’s out.”

[From Star Magazine, print edition, October 22, 2007]

Why does this not surprise me? She probably smells like stale pot smoke and patchouli too.

There’s an hilarious critique of Dunst’s style by a columnist for the Tufts University student paper. He says he used to see her appeal but that she annoys him now, and represents all the lame hipsters who dress scruffy and refuse to bathe despite having enough resources to clean up and look decent. Contrary to being lazy and unwilling to clean up, the author bets that she plans her outfits and doesn’t shower to achieve that perfect state of grungy hipster chic, and that’s stupid. He also hates Ray Bans, and I have to say I find them pretty hideous myself.

All right, so I hate them. Why? For the same reason everyone else besides hipsters hates hipsters: the condescending sense of posed entitlement and nonchalance.

First off, isn’t it a little ironic to be well off while simultaneously dressing like you’re some underground scenester from Allston? How can you wear $200 Sevens and have it represent anything remotely punk?

The calculation is what really offends me. Kirsten Dunst, along with - I’m just guessing - most of the hipster population at Tufts and in Boston, can afford to bathe at least once a week. Is there some appeal in looking dirty? Is that some unsanitary form of rebellion? It takes calculation for Ms. Dunst to leave her mansion in Hollywood looking like a hobo, albeit with a real Chanel bag instead of some (played) faux Balenciaga motorcycle bag.

Thank God hipster style is nothing but the most transient of trends. How long can obnoxiously uncomfortable skinny jeans last? Fashion pundits are already calling for the death of the Wayfarer (me too!). I’ll take anything that doesn’t force me to look at the campily ubiquitous shades. I swear they flatter no one.

That, for me, is the deal breaker. I cannot stand ubiquity. I realize it’s almost hipsterish to be the asshole constantly talking about how much hipsters suck but, really, I would hate any kind of uniform dress code that only leaves room for prescribed idiosyncrasy.

With the glut of hipster culture we are currently in, what with movies like “Marie Antoinette” and “The Darjeeling Limited” (2007), it looks like we’ll have to deal with a period of mass marketing before its inevitable death.

[From Tuftsdaily.com]

There’s nothing wrong with having your own style, but when it’s everyone else’s style of the moment and involves smelling bad too, there’s no excuse.

Here’s Kirsten Dunst in a grungy t-shirt, cut offs and Ray Bans out on 10/8/07 after lunch in West Hollywood. Thanks to Splash News.

I’m pretty sure the Hiltons have the combined IQ of a ferret. They seem to think there’s something really admirable if they ever do anything bigger than sitting on their collective asses and being paid for going to parties. One could certainly argue that Nicky Hilton is the lesser of two evils: she seems to have a bit of a brain in her head, but again it’s hard to know if she’s actually semi-smart or if an avocado would seem smart when standing next to Paris Hilton. If nothing else, Nicky seems to say that she’ll do things and then actually follow through, unlike Paris – who we’re still waiting to see if she’ll go to Rwanda (please God!). Nicky has styled herself as a fashion designer, and seems to have actually worked pretty hard at it – I don’t get the impression that she’s one of the hundreds of stars just slapping her name on someone else’s work. And apparently she’s making her boyfriend David Katzenberg, pretty proud. You’d think she were launching a space shuttle or something. Though for a Hilton, this is pretty close.

“Talk about fantasy fashion: ‘It’s Disney, princess-inspired and very fun,’ Nicky Hilton said of her spring Chick by Nicky Hilton collection that helped kick off Los Angeles fashion week. In attendance for Hilton’s first runway show was the 24-year-old designer’s personal Prince Charming (of nearly a year), David Katzenberg, also 24. After arriving an hour early for the event, he told PEOPLE, ‘I am very proud of her. She worked hard on it.’

“When it came time for the designer to take her walk down the runway for the event’s finale, Katzenberg gave her a kiss on the cheek and white roses, then said, ‘I was extremely impressed.’ Nicky’s parents, Rick and Kathy Hilton, also sat ringside to show their support. ‘Nicky is so passionate about her fashion. It’s exciting to see her show,’ they said before the show began. Others who were there included actress Jaime Pressly. But noticeably missing: Nicky’s older sister, Paris.”

[From People]

Ohhh, let’s hope there’s a feud going on between Nicky and Paris. I remember Nicky making some sarcastic comment a while ago regarding Paris getting out of jail, and the two haven’t been spotted together lately. I think Nicky at least gets that Paris is bad for her image. No one ever says that name and then a hush of respect falls over the room. Normally you say “Paris Hilton” and a rush of herpes falls over the room.

Picture note by Jaybird: Here’s Nicky at her fashion show on Sunday. Images thanks to PR Photos.

Update by Celebitchy: Here are some pictures of the fashion show. Her designs are surprisingly elegant, with simple lines and a 40s flair.

Ever since I saw Bridget Jones’ Diary I’ve wanted to be friends with Renee Zellweger/Bridget Jones. She is just so very cute, and she has great clothes that I know she would lend me, even if I would only fit into her Bridget size wardrobe.

Now, I have yet another reason to be friends with Miss Jones.

Renee Zellweger has a big heart. Wendy Faracino, a Bobbi Brown makeup artist at Saks Fifth Avenue in Southampton, was on her break and looking at a pair of Manolo Blahniks when Zellweger strolled up and the two began talking about shoes. Barely 15 minutes after she went back to work, Faracino was approached by the shoe department’s manager with a gift-wrapped box. “These are compliments of Renée Zellweger. She wanted you to have them,” he said. Inside were the Manolos she’d been admiring.

New York Post

Now, I know this is hardly the biggest act of philanthropy a celebrity could perform. Colin Farrell recently set up a homeless man with a new wardrobe, house and cash. Brad and Angelina have been known to throw a dollar or two at worthy causes. But somehow this seems like the ultimate in PR. Not that I’m suggesting that PR is why Renee bought the gift, but because it is almost within reach of us non-celebs. Like giving money to someone short of change in front of you in line, or helping someone carry their bags to their door, or just something anyone could do. Sure, most of us wouldn’t be able to gift a pair of Manolos, but it’s a small gesture.

That’s made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. I think I’m going to find an old lady to help her across the street.

Picture note by Celebitchy: Renee Zellweger is shown looking much cuter and friendlier at the Miss Potter premiere on 12/10/06. She looks a lot better with a little more essential weight.

I don’t usually write about fashion – mostly because I consider Old Navy to be the height of couture. But once in a while a story will pop up that has implications far beyond the fashion world. Italy’s Fashion Week is going on right now, and Italian fashion line Nolita has used a picture of an anorexic woman on leaflets they’ve been handing out that say “No Anorexia.” An interesting message, but at first glance it’s confusing and seems like they’re promoting the disease, even though they’re trying to do the opposite.

“A photograph of a naked anorexic woman appeared on Monday in Italian newspapers and on billboards to highlight the effects of the illness during Milan fashion week while promoting a fashion brand. Written above the photo of the woman, used to advertise fashion group Flash&Partners’s clothing brand Nolita, are the words: “No Anorexia”.

“The picture was shot by the controversial Italian photographer Oliviero Toscani, who in 1992 photographed a man dying of AIDS for a campaign for clothing group Benetton. Toscani’s aim was ‘to use that naked body to show everyone the reality of this illness, caused in most cases by the stereotypes imposed by the world of fashion’, Flash&Partners said in a statement.

“‘Everyone says it’s ugly but I don’t think it is, it really brings the message home,’ said passer-by Giuseppina Ravelli after seeing the billboard in Milan. ‘The people who reach these kind of levels have such great problems it is good that they use their illness to teach others about it.’

“But the president of Italy’s Association for the Study of Anorexia, Fabiola De Clercq, said the woman used for the photo should be in hospital and the image was ‘too crude’. Far from helping women suffering from anorexia, the photo may make many of them feel envious of the model and determined to become even thinner than her, she said.”

[From Reuters]

It’s an interesting idea, but I’m not sure it’s good to put that picture out there when it’s directed at women with a distorted body image. Associating it with a fashion brand might add flames to the fire. It seems (and I may be naïve here) that Nolita is trying to do something good, but perhaps a better way to go about that would be to have a picture of a healthy, real woman on there. The idea is probably to shock people with what anorexia really looks like, but the people it’s aimed at probably won’t be shocked, they may be impressed, and strive for that extreme. Points for the idea, but not the execution.

There were some doozies last night at the Emmys, with Ellen Pompeo taking the crown for worst hair and makeup in a poofy updo with 60s eye makeup and pale lips. Her dress wasn’t that bad, but the gold braided accessories just added to her dated, goofy look. Hayden Panetteire of Heroes wore a peach Marc Bouwer dress made of yards of fabric. She could have smuggled a sibling into the event under that dress. The top featured a brassiere with swirled design accented by a giant broach. An apt commentor on Just Jared said it was “a bad pregnant prom dress.”

Jennifer Morrison of House tried too hard in a silver one-shoulder flapper dress slit to the upper thigh that had too many pieces accented by thick lines and somehow managed to make the slender actress look like she had a tummy. It was pretty from the waist up, but it was too complicated overall. She almost didn’t make this list, as it’s not a terrible dress. Update: After seeing more pictures of Morrison’s dress, she definitely wasn’t one of the worst dressed and doesn’t deserve to be on this list. It only looked poorly cut from certain angles.

America Fererra, Eva Longoria, and Mary Louise-Parker all made Yahoos! best dressed top ten, but I thought their dresses were unflattering. Ferrerra usually looks gorgeous, but her Monique Lhuillier dress wasn’t cut well for her figure and I don’t like the weird spangly belt. Eva Longoria looked arrogant without reason as usual in a beaded Kaufman Franco that made her boobs look like tennis balls. She paired the silver dress with weird plain tan flats heels that look suited to a day at a country club, not an awards show. Mary Louise-Parker wore a red strapless gown that was decent, but the piece at the bottom flared out oddly and it was too tight all over.

Poor newly single Jenna Fischer of The Office looked ridiculous in a gray dress with gold leaves all over it and a big ‘ol bow underneath a strange gold braided belt. Just Jared quotes her as saying “I had to wear something that wouldn’t hurt my back,” as if trying to excuse her awful choice.

Mark Wahlberg’s wife, Rhea Durham, wore a peach cap-sleeve dress with a beaded top in a nipple-look starburst pattern and long skirt. I’ve seen it before, I’m trying to remember on whom, in another color. (On Mischa Barton at the Dead Man’s Chest Pirate’s premiere, thanks Katie for the tip.) It wasn’t as unattractive in the other color from what I remember.

Edie Falco’s dress was too tight but would have been passable if it wasn’t for all the black and white beaded flowers scattered on it. The random pattern of the beading makes them look like mistakes that you want to pick off, as if she was hit by a wind filled with sticky little daisies.

Apparently “People” thinks flashing your armpits every chance you get is an indicator of high fashion, because they’ve named Beyonce as their best dressed celebrity of 2007. Britney Spears was also mentioned, though not for classy style (‘cuz glitter bikinis are always classy y’all!) – she was awarded the most shocking style moment award for shaving her head in an attempt to avoid a drug test.

“Beyonce, 26, was dubbed “The Showstopper,” while actress Cameron Diaz walked into the top 10 as “The Legs,” and actress Katie Holmes, who is married to Tom Cruise, graced the list as “The Classic.”

“‘Beyonce just looks amazing every time she goes out,’ assistant managing editor Cynthia Sanz told Reuters. ‘She likes to show off her curves and she is very glamorous.’ Beyonce has her own fashion line, ‘House of Dereon,’ that mixes hip hop influences with feminine touches like lace and ruffles that she launched with her mother, stylist Tina Knowles, in 2004.”

[From Reuters]

I’m not a fan of Beyonce’s clothing line since they use fur. Her mom has the kind of crazed, Cruella de Vil look that says, “I eat kittens when I’m bored” and that freaks me out. In other Beyonce news, she and Jay-Z are reportedly about to tie the knot… not be confused wit the other 374,472,094 times they were reportedly about to tie the knot.

“At a Las Vegas press conference to announce plans to open his third 40/40 Club at the Palazzo hotel, the 37-year-old rapper - who has been dating the 26-year-old singer for over four years - confirmed they will tie the knot in the very near future.

“Asked if they had set a date for the wedding, Jay-Z said: ‘One day soon - let’s leave it at that.’

“The hip-hop mogul went on to hint he may even choose the Palazzo as the wedding venue, if the hotel’s President Rob Goldstein buys Beyonce an expensive ring.

“He joked: ‘I don’t know if the wedding will be here… It’s kind of comfortable. If Rob throws in the ring, who knows?’”

[From Stuff]

I’m sure Beyonce’s mom could come up with a lovely ring made from a defenseless animal’s paw. Instead of the traditional bridal veil, Beyonce could wear a net made from the webs of innocent spiders. Wait, that one doesn’t work. But you get my point. Tina Knowles is evil. Beyonce seems to have a pretty good fashion sense, but only when her mother doesn’t dress her. Whenever reporters yell out that whole, “Who are you wearing?” line, when she says it’s something her mother designed, it’s always shiteous and bizarre looking. But Beyonce seems to have enough sense to know that, because she’s been dressing a lot better the last few years… and wearing clothes from real designers. Designers that don’t sprinkle puppy tears on their cereal in the morning like Tina Knowles probably does. And aren’t her real fur coats just to die for? Literally?

Picture note by Celebitchy Beyonce is shown at the VMAs, at the opening of Jay-Z’s 40-40 club in Vegas on 9/6/07, at the launch of Emporio Armani Diamonds Fragrance on 8/16/07, on The Early Show on 4/2/07, at Dreamgirls premieres on 12/4/06, 12/11/06, and 1/21/07, on 01/31/2007 at am AMFAR event, where she is actually wearing a gorgeous gown, and on 11/21/06 at the American Music Awards. Thanks to PRPhotos.

It’s almost a year since the Crocodile Hunter Steve Irwin died, and his little girl is wasting no time growing up without him. Now she’s a model for her own range of clothing, Bindi International.

The nine-year-old wildlife warrior was joined on the runway by other young models.

The fashion line is dubbed clothing with a conscience and is designed for newborns to 10-year-olds.

Bindi, whose TV show Bindi the Jungle Girl has been a success in the US, is hoping to help spread her environmental message with the clothes.

The spring/summer 2008 line promotes koala conservation and also features crocodile camouflage prints.

news.com.au

Bindi isn’t the one designing the clothes, and it is nice to see the kid in something that isn’t khaki!

Meanwhile, Bindi is also presenting a documentary on Steve Irwin a year after the death, which is described as an uncomfortable trip through home videos and highlights of the croc-hunter’s life.

Terri Irwin is also rumoured to have found new love in the US tabloids, but this is being denied in Australian tabloids by close family friends.

Here’s what might be the scariest premonition of the future –
Bindi turning into Britney.