I used to watch The Rachel Zoe Project in its first few seasons. I grew to love to hate-watch it. Rachel Zoe is a piece of work – she’s a bad manager, she’s a bad boss, she’s terrible with money, she’s disorganized and prone to melodramatic “breakdowns” when she’s overbooked. So, what made it all worth it? Rachel actually did know a lot about clothes, she had good relationships with designers and she was half-decent about finding a balance between what a celebrity wanted to wear and what she knew they should wear. But at some point, all of the bad stuff became the focal point of the show and I just stopped watching. Rachel is incredibly annoying and she’s a self-perpetuating drama machine.

It looks more and more like I was not alone in (eventually) hating TRZP. There are widespread rumors and well-placed sources claiming that Bravo has cancelled the show. And now Star Magazine claims Zoe’s A-list clients have been steadily dropping her over the past year as well. At one point, Zoe styles Jennifer Garner, Anne Hathaway, Cameron Diaz, Zoe Saldana, Kate Hudson, Eva Mendes, Demi Moore and Jennifer Lawrence. Demi left a few years ago. Saldana got someone new a few years ago too. Cameron apparently dumped her last year. And now Star says Kate Hudson and Eva Mendes dropped Rachel in February!

Rachel Zoe has become the thing she dreads the most: a fashion faux pas! A Zoe insider says her career is in a downward spiral as her Bravo reality show got canceled and A-list clients are dropping her from their payrolls.

“Rachel’s horrified,” the source confesses. “Last year she was axed by Cameron Diaz after 12 years. Then, days before the Oscars, Kate Hudson and Eva Mendes ditched her.”

The reason for the exodus? Rachel’s sky-high styling fees. “Kate and Eva met up just prior to the Oscars and were comparing notes… they agreed Rachel’s way too expensive and have since hired really edgy ‘underground’ stylists who are much cheaper because they’re unknowns.

“Rachel’s going to have to bite the bullet and adjust her pricing, like everyone else in the country. If she’s not careful, she’ll price herself right out of a career.”

[From Star Magazine, print edition]

Yeah, Rachel is probably the most expensive stylist around because she’s got the most name-recognition and, let’s face it, Zoe is a big reason why people pay attention to who is styling whom these days. I kind of hope Hudson and Mendes did dump her, and I wouldn’t be surprised if Anne Hathaway dumped her too because of the Oscar Nipple-gate Fiasco. Jennifer Lawrence is probably looking to get someone younger and hipper too. Which just leaves… Jennifer Garner?

Photos courtesy of WENN.

These are some new photos of Rachel Zoe during Paris Fashion Week – she was photographed at the Lanvin show yesterday. Can I just say? I love her outfit. I would wear all of it (except for the necklace). I love her bag. I love those pants. I think that blouse is gorgeous, and I would like to try on the jacket. I can’t believe I’m saying this about something Rachel Zoe wore, but why can’t this outfit be mine?!

Anyway, you know how I’m always going on and on about how much I hate bangs and how very few women can actually pull them off, and most of the women who actually attempt bangs should and do regret it? Well, I’m not taking any of that back. But I do think that Rachel Zoe is shockingly one of the few adult women who looks better with bangs. They’re new for her – she usually doesn’t have bangs. Her bangs made their debut at Paris Fashion Week, and they’re a hit! With me, at least. Rachel’s bangs actually make her look younger and sharper. Amazing, I know. But I need to say this too: her eye makeup is tragic. Even Duchess Kate is looking at that eyeliner work and saying, “Wow, too much.”

Meanwhile, did you know that Rachel had a runway show during New York Fashion Week? True story. You might not have heard about it because no one came!

Rachel Zoe was horrified by the lack of A-list attendees at her NYFW show, and now Zoe is the talk of the town – for all the wrong reasons.

“Rachel is frekaing out, her ego is so bruised,” a close friend tells Star. “Her connections helped her become so successful, and now she’s wondering where everyone has gone. She’s worried this will impact business.”

Rachel had even admitted to being concerned about her runway show, saying she was “nervous, excited, petrified, anxious, terrified… and did I mention terrified?”

The industry insider continued: “Rachel really considered Jennifer Lawrence and Eva Mendes friends, and neither showed, nor did Mischa Barton. Rachel is so humiliated. Before the show, she actually resorted to calling and begging clients to come.”

[From Star Magazine, print edition]

Hahaha, Rachel is such an awful businesswoman and boss. That’s the problem, and it’s been on display on The Rachel Zoe Project for years now. She hemorrhages staff because she has no idea how to be an efficient boss, she gets too wrapped up in minutia, and she spends money like water. Believe it or not, I don’t hate Rachel and I would like her to continue to be a success in some form – but she is the very definition of “over-extended”. She needs to go back to what she does best – styling clients.

Photos courtesy of WENN.

We always have new photos of Rachel Zoe and her son Skylar coming in, but I rarely discuss them these days because… no one else is really discussing them. You know? Like, I would make Rachel Zoe the lead link, but no other site is even talking about her. Zoe was never a huge “celebrity” in the way that people discussed her often on blogs and in magazines, but she was famous enough to have across-the-board name recognition, and she was famous enough to build her own brand. Unfortunately, my own apathy towards Zoe these days belies an across-the-board ambivalence when it comes to Rachel. According to Page Six, Zoe’s empire isn’t doing very well at all. Interest in Zoe seems to have already “peaked” and now she’s on the way down…?

Rachel Zoe’s clothing empire might soon be in shreds — sources say her line isn’t selling well in stores and her Bravo reality show may also be in trouble. The pin-thin stylist-turned-designer has become a household name from styling A-list clients including Jennifer Garner, Anne Hathaway and Demi Moore, and through her Bravo reality show, “The Rachel Zoe Project.” Last summer, she launched a clothing line with Chinese retail giant Li & Fung.

But despite the large promotional platform of her Bravo show, we hear the line isn’t doing well at stores including Neiman Marcus, Bloomingdale’s and Nordstrom, with industry insiders snipping that interest in the line has “peaked.”

We hear Li & Fung “is panicked” about Zoe’s collection, and there are also rumblings that “The Rachel Zoe Project” may not return to Bravo for a fifth season.

To add insult to injury, sources tell us that Zoe’s assistant, interior designer Jeremiah Brent, is getting his own reality show on the network. Brent, who redecorated Zoe’s Hollywood home on the show, appeared on “Zoe Project” in Season 4, having been fired and rehired by Zoe and her husband, Rodger Berman.

Brent appears to have moved on and started his own business, Jeremiah Brent Design, as shown by photos of his office on Twitter. He would be the third Zoe assistant to get a reality show, including Brad Goreski (“It’s a Brad Brad World”) and Taylor Jacobson, who appears in Oxygen Network’s upcoming “Hollywood Unzipped: Stylist Wars.”

A rep for Zoe, who will show at Lincoln Center during New York Fashion Week, didn’t comment. But Alan Chartash, the chief strategy officer for Li & Fung USA, said: “We’re very happy. Apparel launched a year or so, and since that time, we’ve launched footwear, handbags and we’re launching a line of jewelry exclusively with Neiman Marcus and Bergdorf Goodman. We’re supportive of Rachel and the continuation of the brand. Like any clothing line, it ebbs and flows, but we’re very happy with the apparel sales.”

[From Page Six]

I haven’t watched The Rachel Zoe Project in a long time – pretty much since Brad left. Brad definitely grounded the show, which is such a weird thing to say about a dude like Brad. Much like LeAnn Rimes, Rachel Zoe gives Virgos a bad name – I see myself in some of her anal-retentive-ness, and in her tunnel-vision of “I’m the only one who can do this the right way, step aside.” But after the exodus of staff and Zoe’s consistent ability to spread herself too thin and get “overwhelmed” by all she has taken on, she might need to face it: she’s an awful businesswoman, a terrible boss, and she lacks the ability to manage an empire. She’s a micro-manager, a nit-picker, she’s detail-oriented, and she has a horrible time trying to see the “big picture.” Time to pull back from some of her projects and maybe just focus on styling for a while? Because, though I’m loathe to admit it, she is a talented stylist with an encyclopedic and nearly photographic memory, and she does have an “eye” for her clients.

Photos courtesy of Fame and WENN.

Mary-Kate Olsen dyed her hair! Right? That’s MK with the dark hair in the black gown, and Ashley is the blonde in the purple dress? Sure. That’s what I’m going with. Anyway, these are new photos of MK and Ashley at last night’s CFDAs, definitely the most low-key event as compared to the Met Gala. Both girls wore their own label, The Row. I hate to admit it, but I kind of like Ashley’s purple gown. It’s nice seeing her in such a beautiful color, and while the gown shows off nothing of her slender figure, I’m imagining this on a pregnant celebrity and I’m liking it. MK’s gown is just meh, though. I do like her as brunette, I have to admit. And the twins still spend too much time on the red carpet posing tit-to-tit. It’s not cute! But MK and Ashley did have a good night – they won the 2012 Womenswear Designers of the Year for The Row. Congrats.

Rachel Zoe, stylist and designer, was also wearing something from her own collection. I hate the dress, but I’m including these photos with the Olsen ladies because I think of Rachel Zoe as an honorary Olsen. All three women are so, so skinny and all of them hide their bodies in these bulky, oversized clothes. I’m not saying that ALL women need to show off their bodies and wear bandage dresses. I’m not saying that at all. But this oversized hobo-chic look has run its course. Buy some clothes that fit, for the love of God. And considering all of these women are “designers” – surely they can “design” something that fits?

Photos courtesy of WENN.

This is a great idea for Kelly Osbourne – just always appear at events with Rachel Zoe, and Kelly will always look better by comparison. These photos are from last night’s benefit for the LA Gay & Lesbian Center – Rachel Zoe was honored, and the proceeds of the evening’s event went to benefit homeless youth services. Kelly was just there because… I don’t even know. I guess she said nice things about Rachel. Anyway, we need to talk about Rachel Zoe’s face, although I feel bad about saying anything, considering she was only out and about for a good cause, and because she was being honored for her support of the gay community. But why can’t someone (anyone!) talk to Rachel about what’s going on with her face? It’s not just her (alleged) coke-and-starvation diet. She’s got other stuff happening to her face.

As for Kelly, doesn’t she looks refreshingly young and adorable by comparison? I’m telling you, this is the secret! Just stand near Rachel Zoe, and you’ll instantly looks so much cuter. I don’t even mind Kelly’s lavender hair here – her styling is so much better in casual/business appearances than on formal red carpets.

Photos courtesy of WENN.

Here’s Nicole Richie last night at Fred Segal promoting her fashion line House of Harlow (above). I didn’t even recognize her from the thumbnails. Her face looks much different to me, like she had fillers or a minor procedure and it hasn’t settled yet. It could be just some overdone makeup and a tired mom, but I’m seeing a big difference in how she looks.

Compare her last night to how she looked on November 12th.

Also this is how she looked on October 17th.

It’s possible she gained a little weight that she really needed, or that she had dental work done. She also now bears a resemblance to her frenemy, Rachel Zoe. Are you seeing it? I am.

I have a question that occurred to me after watching “Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” last week. If all your friends were getting Botox, fillers and minor procedures would you do it too? I probably would, I’ll be honest, especially if a close friend had decent results and could recommend someone. That’s why I’m grateful that I no longer live in a big city. I was getting pretty close to that point.

Nicole wore sequin Halston, and the cut of the dress is pretty unflattering. Maybe she’s pregnant and that’s why she’s looking different, or it could just be some unflattering angles or something. I should speculate on Richie’s womb or she’ll verbally bitch slap us again. I pretty much deserve it.

Oh this reminds me that she got new boobs recently. She probably thought she’d get a little something extra while she was in for a check up.

photo credit: Fame and WENN

If you’ve been watching The Rachel Zoe Project for long enough, you get to know how Rachel works with some of her bigger clients. Most of the big names don’t actually want to appear on the show, but Rachel must have worn some of them down, because many end up doing at least one appearance. You get an idea of these celebrities not only from their brief appearances, but by how Rachel and her staff talk about the clients. Like, Zoe Saldana comes across as a know-it-all pill who thinks she can pull off anything straight from the runway. Kate Hudson seems flaky and self-absorbed, and she and Rachel have a very sycophantic relationship. Johnny Weir is always fabulous, and he can work stilettos better than most women. Demi Moore is a demanding perfectionist about her “look”. Cameron Diaz wants what no one else has, and Rachel will do anything to get it for her.

Quite honestly, Jennifer Garner comes across the best out of all of Zoe’s clients. I may hate Garner’s casual style – which I’m guessing she does herself – but on red carpets, Jennifer pretty much just wears what Rachel tells her to wear, and she can look decent/good to great. Garner even did a sit-down interview once for TRZP, and she admitted that she really doesn’t know much about fashion, but whatever she’s learned, she’s learned at Rachel Zoe’s feet. I get the feeling that Zoe pushes Garner to wear more vintage, to really pour on the glamour for big occasions, and to go with big designers like Oscar de la Renta and Valentino instead of experimenting with lesser-known labels.

Anyway, now I know something else about Rachel Zoe’s relationship with Garner – Jennifer claims that Rachel won’t let her wear maternity clothes. Rough!

Before giving birth in March, stylist Rachel Zoe was one of the most fashionable pregnant women in Hollywood — so it comes as no surprise that her client Jennifer Garner is too.

“Rachel is still determined not to put me in maternity clothes,” Garner, 39, told reporters at a special screening of Butter at Grauman’s Chinese Theatre in Hollywood Sunday.

“I think she was so little when she was pregnant, she didn’t wear them. Sooner or later, she is going to have to put me in them!” Garner laughed. “Eventually that’s going to happen, but so far she’s gotten her way!”

The Lanvin-clad actress — currently expecting her third child with husband of six years Ben Affleck, 39 — added that she has about “four months to go” until her due date.

“Jen has always wanted three kids,” a source recently told Us Weekly. “This was her plan all along.”

[From Us Weekly]

So I’m guessing that the wrinkled Lanvin is not maternity-wear? Ugh. On one side, I understand that Rachel is just trying to ensure that her client have the best styles available to her and maybe Rachel is taking this as a personal challenge to find great clothes that will work as maternity-wear. On the other side, it feels like Rachel expects every girl she works with to starve, even when they’re pregnant. Rough.

Photos courtesy of WENN.

I’m too tired and sick to come up with a clever “explanation” for why all of the super-skinny girls were at the Burberry event last night in LA. It was the launch of Burberry’s body fragrance, and the evening was hosted by Burberry’s current face, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley. But Rosie wasn’t even the skinniest girl there – Kate Bosworth and Rachel Zoe also showed up. Let’s talk about Rosie first – I like her dress, but every photo I see of her, I realize more and more that she’s just about styling. On her own, she’s a moderately pretty, although rather strange-looking girl. The styling makes all of the difference.

Next up: Rachel Zoe. I unabashedly LOVE this Burberry coat. I lurve it. It’s gorgeous. I could never pull it off, though. You have to be skinny and have little to no bust to really make this kind of slim-cut, double-breasted jacket/coat work. Also: Rachel’s FACE. Why isn’t she a Halloween costume?

And finally, Kate Bosworth. Now… I was going back and forth about The Bos. On one side, her arms look slightly fleshy, like she’s actually eaten a solid recently. On the other side, her legs are still “pin thin”. Actually, even pins are like, “Damn, that’s thin.” However, I think The Bos looks pretty good for her. She looks so much better with loose hair, and the Burberry dress is flattering and pretty on her. It’s nice to see her in a bold print with bold colors, too. Usually she sticks to neutrals.

By the way, in a recent interview, The Bos referred to her relatively new boyfriend Michael Polish as her “life partner”. They’ve been dating for what? Like, four months? She told The Sunday Times Style Magazine, “He’s a special one. There’s nobody in the world I admire or respect more. When I look at him, it’s not a crazy infatuation, it’s more like we are each other’s life partners.” Yikes.

Photos courtesy of WENN.

These are some new photos of Rachel Zoe doing a book signing at Macy’s for Fashion’s Night Out. Is it weird that I think her hair looks healthier? Not her face, but her hair actually looks like it’s had some nutrients recently. Usually it looks like a bleached rat’s nest.

The new season of The Rachel Zoe Project has started – this is the season where we get to see Rachel pregnant, and starting her ready-to-wear line and all of that good stuff. I watched about ten minutes of the new season while I was working out yesterday – which, by the way, working out while watching Rachel Zoe is an interesting, although not aspirational, experience. I’m so thankful that I eat, I’ll just say that. Anyway, Rachel opened up about her pregnancy in a recent episode, and I thought it was interesting:

Celebrity fashion stylist Rachel Zoe has revealed she ‘cried for a week’ after discovering she was having a boy. The 40-year-old made the confession during the premiere episode of her hit Bravo reality show last night.

In the episode, which was filmed several several months ago, Rachel was still pregnant with her son Skyler at the time. And she admitted that she was desperately hoping to have a girl.

‘I always had this plan in my mind that I was gonna have this little baby girl,’ Rachel said during an interview on the show. ‘I found out I was having a boy, and I did cry for a week. Or two. Maybe even three.’

However she appeared to have a change of heart after exploring all of the outfit possibilities for a baby boy – even suggesting that she could dress her son, just like her husband, Rodger.

‘He’s not a doll,’ Rodger told her, attempting to protect their son.

‘He’s totally a doll,’ Rachel retorted.

Rodger then got his own opinion about the situation across saying: ‘The only living thing we’ve ever had was a dog, and Rachel’s parents had to take the dog away because we were unfit parents.’

Rachel gave birth to the couple’s first child in March, and he already has a designer wardrobe.

Earlier this week, Rachel proudly showed off her husband and six month old son, Skylar Morrison Berman, during an appearance on Live With Regis And Kelly.

‘There’s my big guy and my little guy,’ she said on the programme, before revealing how she felt was not ready to have a baby until the very last moment.

Her husband held the couple’s son while the slim blonde – who lost her baby weight just weeks after the birth – opened up about her new role as a working mother.

‘I think as a lot of working mums say it’s very hard to wake up one morning and say “Ok I’m ready.” But all of a sudden you wake up and say “I need to be ready” and I wasn’t even ready until he was born and then the second he was born I was so blind, I was like how did I survive, what is life without this child?’

[From The Mail]

The only reason I don’t worry about little Skylar’s health and well-being is because of Rodger. Rodger is the mother and the father, I’m sure. Which is just as well – I think Rodge was the one who really wanted a baby, and Rachel just thought “pregnancy” would be a good storyline for the show. Maybe Rachel would be more involved as a mom if she did have a daughter? It would have been interesting to see.

Photos courtesy of WENN.

We’ve talked about “push presents” before – those are the “gifts” (usually jewelry) that men give their wives or significant others right after the lady gave birth. I heard of this tradition years before it became de rigueur amongst the Hollywood set, and I always thought it was a nice thing to do, especially if the piece of jewelry is something sentimental or meaningful that goes along with the birth. Like, a platinum locket with photos, or a charm bracelet that will be passed down to your daughter, something like that.

So… what would you get Rachel Zoe, the woman who has everything, in vintage? Well, Rachel’s husband Rodge got her this ring:

When Rachel Zoe welcomed son Skyler Morrison seven weeks ago, her husband Rodger Berman wanted to get her a little something special to celebrate. Well, make that a whole lot of something. Zoe’s “push present” was a nearly 10 carat cushion-cut diamond ring designed by jeweler Neil Lane.

“Rodger wanted to surprise Rachel with something romantic — and huge,” says Lane of the sparkler, adorned with smaller diamonds in a platinum setting. “I knew she’s wanted a cushion cut forever. It was their first baby and she’s been working so hard that Rodger wanted to do something very special. Rachel was thrilled and hasn’t taken it off since!”

[From People]

A giant diamond ring? I hope little Skylar Morrison gets that in his mommy’s will! Of course he will. He’ll also get her furs and all of her vintage Halston. As for Mommy’s push present… who believes that Rachel actually “pushed”? Now I’m just being negative. I would wear the hell out of this ring, and I don’t even like cushion-cut diamonds that much.

Photos courtesy of WENN, Rachel’s Twitter and People.