Just when you thought you had seen it all, you haven’t.
Posted on August 15, 2015
All Posts By
Jeneba Jalloh Ghatt
This Store is Like an H&M for Curvy Plus Size Fashionistas
Posted on August 15, 2015
Dude!
So I was shopping in my local mall with my mother-in-law this week and we popped into this hip and trendy clothing store that caters to sizes 12 to 26 only. I was blow away at all the vibrant colors, chic and sexy pieces and accessories in there. My mom-in-law felt it was too young for her, of course, but I could barely get away without snapping a pic of this curvaceous mannequin in a really cute club dress.
I had never seen clothes for curvy and buxom women so youthful before.
I went home and did my research and learned the store Fashion to Figure was founded by two New York city brothers, Michael and Nick Kaplan, who had the fortune of having for a grand mom plus size fashion pioneer Lena Bryant. Yes! That Lena who founded Lane Bryant (Fun Fact: the store is called Lane because she mispelled her name on a bank slip and kept it)
Well it all makes sense now! They have fashion (and money) in their gene pool and I’m so happy the brothers saw the wide open market for H&M and Forever 21 type of clothing for larger sized women and capitalized upon it! They opened their first store in 2004, then several others throughout New York city and currently boast 26 stores, per ABC TV’s Nightline recent plus-size fashion segment that included a snippet of the two.
From the colorful and trendy website, here are my fave tops, dresses, accessories and outfits I saw on the store’s website:
I love this Aurora Abstract Peplum Top because of its assymetric front and pattern. It sells for $28.90
I love a Peplum and this Jade Scuba Peplum top in black is versatile and can be dressed up with black pants of a pencil skirt or dressed down over a pair of jeans.
It costs $32.90
Long dusters are in style this fall and you can’t go wrong with one in an animal print which has been trending for several seasons now. This Ayumi Leopard Duster sells for $32.90.
I love a romper and a Jumpsuit because I find them quite sexaaay and great for date night, cocktail hour or an art gallery opening even. Fashion to Figure’s Adelaide Stripe Top Jumpsuit is so cute and goes for just $33.99! Amazing!
Color Block is ideal for playing with lines and the eye and in this eye-catching turquoise, black and white, this Edie Color Block Dress works and at top of the line price of $42.90 is still quite the steal.
Still hawt! The Calie Halter Dress is everything. It sells for $39.90.
I also dig the Alaina Knotted Dress because it can be work at the office or on a first date. love it! And it retails for just $36.50!
This Serpentine Embossed Clutch caught my eye instantly upon walking into the store. Certainly it could also be a conversation piece as it looks like snakeskin but isn’t. What an optical illusion. You can nab it for $36.90.
Get me body with this Iris Beaded Body Chain which is sultry and just $22.90.
And for weekends being out and about, heading to the grocer’s or just chilling with your boo, this Get Up Tank is also refreshing and is just $22.90.
Break The Rules Tee indeed with this funky graphic tee that got its own come-hither action in the back! It will set ya back $26.90.
Finally, this Juliette Asymmetric Wrap Dress is a nice work wrap dress that can go from 9-to-5 to happy hour and runs under $40!
Keeping up with Kim Caldwell’s Pregnancy in PHOTOS
Posted on August 15, 2015
TV Host and Handbag designer Kim Caldwell is only 6 weeks away from being term.
When we last checked in with the American Idol finalist, we learned via PEOPLE magazine that the Vancouver, Canada resident and her husband professional soccer player husband Jordan C. Harvey were expecting a baby girl the couple decided to name Harlow Monroe.
Harvey, who, from the looks of the posts on his IG account, seems to be so adorable and supportive, announced the pregnancy very creatively:
Chilling with friends at the beach.
Working out while on a babymoon
Comparing bumps with one of the clients to her make-over business
Vending at a local artisan market in Vancouver with her “Stage Presents” line.
Cheering on a friend at a Drag Show
Showing off Harlow’s growing baby Air Jordan collection
…and more! Such a fun follow! Follow Kim HERE!
New Home Pregnancy Test Detects Twins, Miscarriage chances
Posted on August 14, 2015
A British company is claiming to have created a test that can not only detect pregnancy, but also whether a woman is carrying twins, a baby with a genetic defect like Down’s Syndrome or will have a miscarriage.
MAP Diagnostics’ test is based on the science and technology behind in vitro fertilization. During IVF, doctors can screen embryos and identify abnormal chromosome numbers as well as genetic mutations – factors that lead to miscarriages.
But unlike IVF treatment which is very invasive, MAP Diagnostics’ pregnancy test would be a home “pee test” that analyze proteins in the mother’s urine.
MAP Diagnostics states it is still fine-tuning the algorithm using “around 10,000 samples to improve detection of chromosomal abnormalities that cause Down’s syndrome, for example, before developing a home-testing kit,” according to a report in New Scientist.
Some say the test could be good for women or bad.
Indeed, a test that reveals a possible miscarriage could cause stress and lead to a decision to abort, said Zev Williams from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine at New York’s Yeshiva University.
The test could also have ethical implications, especially if it is faulty.
Women could preemptively abort a healthy pregnancy.
It could cause irreparable damage to pregnant women and families.
Celeb Men who Left their Wives & Married the Nanny
Posted on August 14, 2015
There is a lot of buzz these days over actors Jennifer Garner and Ben Affleck‘s break up with reports circulating that the Gone Girl actor cheated on his wife with their nanny, Christine Ouzounian.
We probably heard of Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jude Law‘s infamous trysts with their nanny and it turns out there is a little history in Hollywood of several celebrity men leaving their wives for their nanny.
Comedic actor Joe Piscopo, for example, was married to his first wife Nancy Jones when he met his second wife Kimberly Driscoll. She was his 18 year old nanny at the time. He married Driscoll a year after divorcing Jones. Their marriage lasted 10-years.
Actor Ethan Hawke denied cheating on his then wife Uma Thurman while married but 4 years after Hawke and Thurman divorced, Hawke married their nanny Ryan Shawhughes. He and Shawhughes are atill together and have two children.
Marsha Garces was working as a nanny for the late Robin Williams and his wife Valerie Velardi when he started having an affair with her. A year after Williams and Velardi divorced, he married Garces. They were married for 19 years before divorcing in 2010.
And there is Tiger Woods who married a nanny, but he started his cheating after marrying the nanny. *snark*
Back to School: Get Inspired by This Fly 4-year old (PHOTOS)
Posted on August 14, 2015
It’s still back to school shopping time in many households worldwide. If you haven’t shipped your kid or brood off yet and have a little girl who goes to a school where they don’t wear uniforms, I invite you to check out the stylings of 4-year old Instagram model Nylah K from Oxon Hill, Maryland.
I found this tiny fashionista on Instagram and was immediately smitten by her very cute outfits.
Her mom is a braider who does a fab job outfitting her naturalista daughter in the cutest get-ups for fashion shoots, contests and other gigs. These are my fave style picks I spotted from her and her mom’s IG. I found some similar pieces from our style partner at Shopstyle to match in case you want to get her look!
Just in time for back to school shopping!
Billy Joel welcomes his second child, daughter Della Rose
Posted on August 13, 2015
Congrats to the Piano Man Billy Joel on the birth of his second child, daughter Della Rose Joel with new wife Alexis Roderick.
The 66-year old is “thrilled to become a dad again, ” a source told PEOPLE magazine.
He is father to 29-year old Alexa Ray Joel from his 7 year marriage with model Christie Brinkley.
Congrats!
Guy hilariously trolls opponents to Target’s gender-neutral toy signage policy
Posted on August 13, 2015
Recently, Target buckled under pressure from parents over its gender-based signage for toys and announced it will get rid of them.
The decision irritated many who thought the move was made solely to accommodate the few children who may have gender identity issues or associations. Some said it was evidence of Target “giving in to the LGBT community” or to liberal agendas.
Some didn’t seem to realize that the policy only applied to signs in the toy section, and they felt it extended to all departments and to the clothing department as well.
Rather, the decision seemed to have more to do with responding to many parents who don’t want their girls to be told by a corporate entity that trucks or building blocks (which simulate logic and analytical skills which are crucial for math and science reasoning in school) are just for boys. And they aren’t keen on a toy store stifling a boy’s interest in cooking and playing with a toy oven.
It isn’t about transsexual kids, per se, (though some of them may benefit from the move) yet the company’s social media accounts were flooded with comments from those who are confused about the impetus of the change and/or simply oppose Target’s move for various reasons, some political and some religious-based.
Dad and Facebook user Mike Melgaard used the opportunity to to create a fake Target customer service profile and troll Target’s social media accounts leaving hilarious replies and retorts to complainers of the new policy.
He managed to get in about 50 posts in for 16 hours of trolling before Facebook shut down the satirical account!
I don’t want to offend anyone who dislike the gender-neutral signage but these are my fave:
STUDY: First pregnancy weight gain impacts second baby
Posted on August 13, 2015
A woman’s weight during her first pregnancy may affect the health of a second baby, even if everything went well the first time around, a new study has found.
It is already well established that a mother’s weight can increase the risk of complications during pregnancy. For example, if a woman is overweight or obese, this increases her risk of developing gestational diabetes.
According to US researchers, many women are not a healthy weight when they first become pregnant. They may be overweight or underweight, although more often, they are overweight.
The study found that complications may occur during a second pregnancy even if none occurred during the first pregnancy, and even if the mother is a normal weight the second time around.
Continue reading
Uma Thurman, Kelly Rutherford have explosive custody disputes this week
Posted on August 12, 2015
This week, New York City’s Supreme Court saw two celebrity custody battles come to head featuring two of the celebrity moms we’ve featured in the past.
Monday, before going into a custody hearing, Kill Bill actress Uma Thurman reportedly lashed out at reporters that showed up at the NY Supreme Court building in Manhattan to cover the case between Thurman and her ex fiancé businessman boyfriend Arpa Busson.
“The press doesn’t belong in Family Court,” she snapped at the cameras. “You should respect people’s privacy…thank you, goodbye!’’.
Thurman’s rep apparently apologized to reporters explaining that Thurman is “very sensitive” about “personal matters” involving her children.
The court certified a temporary custody agreement that would award Bussman more time with his 3-year old daughter Luna.
Thurman also has two kids with ex-husband Ethan Hawke.
Also, in that same building on Tuesday, a judge ordered Gossip Girl actress Kelly Rutherford to return her two children, visiting her for the summer back, to their dad who lives in Monaco.
“What the judge did yesterday was shocking, illegal and abusive to my children,” the actress told PEOPLE in a statement on Wednesday. “Without any legal authority, a judge from the lowest ranking court in the state court system violated the highest ranking deferral constitutional rights of my American citizen children.”
Her ex husband husband Daniel Giersch, a German citizen, has been previously awarded temporary custody of their now 8-year old son Hermes and their 6-year old daughter Helena. Because he was not granted a visa to come to the US, he was permitted to keep the children in his care abroad.
In keeping with that arrangement, New York Supreme Court Judge Ellen Frances Gesmer ordered the children back to Monaco after Rutherford refused to return them to Europe.
“Knowing she had no authority, Judge Gesmer seized my children and their U.S. passports, and forced them to leave the United States and reside in Monaco, a country where neither they nor I, nor even their father, has citizenship,” Rutherford told news outlets. “The children’s father didn’t care enough about the children to be here himself. Contrary to his many false claims, he, like all German citizens, can come to this country anytime on his German passport. But he didn’t bother.”
Giersch’s mother went to court Tuesday to collect the children after the judge’s orders and take them to the airport to be with their dad.
photo: starcast, MetaGallery