Herve Leger

      The University of Iowa cross country teams opened their 2010 season Friday evening at the Ashton Cross Country Course in Iowa City. The Hawkeyes battled Illinois State and Missouri-Kansas City, with both the men and women’s squads posting double dual victories. The Iowa women’s team defeated Illinois State (16-47) and Missouri-Kansas City (15-50), while the Hawkeye men posted identical 20-35 wins over the Redbirds and Kangaroos.

　　Iowa’s Lauren Hardesty won the women’s 3K with a collegiate best time of 10:21. The senior tied her twin sister Amanda for the fourth best 3K time in school history. Hawkeye junior Betsy Flood finished second with a time of 10:24. Brooke Eilers recorded a third place finish. The junior ran a time of 10:27. Amanda Hardesty finished fourth with a time of 10:34. Additionally, McKenzie Melander finished sixth in the overall standings, turning in a time of 10:38.

　　”We had a great team effort,” said Head Women’s Coach Layne Anderson. “We worked on running as a pack, and we had five girls together with some support behind them, so I was pleased. I feel like this is a good indicator of our team. We know we need to get better. If we keep racing like this, with this group, I think we will be in great shape down the stretch.”

　　Illinois State’s Matthew Mroczynski won the men’s 6K with a time of 18:47. Sophomore Jeff Thode was Iowa’s top finisher in the event for the second straight year. He recorded a third place finish with a time of 19:04 after winning the event a year ago. Hawkeye team captain Mark Battista finished fourth, turning in a time of 19:07. James Paul finished fifth overall. The junior recorded a time of 19:10. Fellow junior Chase Kadlec finished sixth in the event, clocking a time of 19:31. Freshman Andrew Smith made an impressive debut in his first college competition. Smith finished seventh, running a 19:35.

　　”The fact that we ran well as a team was a big positive,” said Head Men’s Coach Larry Wieczorek. “Our fifth man is a freshman, and I thought he competed very well. We know we have work to do, but I thought this was a good start.”

　　Iowa will return to action Sept. 18 at Ashton Cross Country Course in Iowa City. The Black and Gold will host the 2010 Iowa Invitational, with the men’s 8K beginning at 8 a.m. and the women’s 3K following at approximately 8:45 a.m. Admission is free.

　　The Hollywood socialite has come a long way from The Simple Life!

　　Nicole Richie talks about home life with the kids, her clothing/jewelry line and growing up in the new issue of In Style magazine…

　　”I don’t have a hat and apron, but I entertain at home a lot,” says Nicole, who only cooks “very, very healthy” food for Joel Madden and their kids, Harlow and Sparrow – all “made with love,” of course!

　　And while Nic has her own clothing line (Winter Kate) and jewelry range (House of Harlow), she also has her own budding fashionista daughter! “Harlow picks her own clothes. It’s a 20-minute thing,” Richie reveals.

　　Finally, Nicole proves she isn’t afraid to comment on her troubled past: “One thing about me is that I’ve always taken responsibility for my own actions whether they’re good or bad. Even when I was going through my tough time, that was a situation that I created. People ask me, do I blame Hollywood or my parents? No I don’t blame my parents. It had nothing to do with them. I created it and manifested it and I got myself through it with the help of a lot of great people.”

　　Well said, girl! And sidebar, loves the Lady Gaga-look in these pix!

　　Il rosa è il grande protagonista dell’autunno inverno 2010 2011, lo abbiamo visto declinato da tanti designer come Chloè e Bottega Veneta ed oggi invece lo vediamo nella Giant First bag di Balenciaga, una delle borse cult della griffe spagnola che di stagione in stagione è proposta in tante varianti di colori e pellami. La nuova Giant First bag rosa è stata proposta nella collezione autunno inverno 2010 2011, è realizzata in pelle di vitello vintage che la rende ancora più affascinante dei modelli storici in pelle martellata.

　　La Giant First bag di Balenciaga è una borsa versatile e bellissima che non manca mai negli armadi delle celebrities, tra le estimatrici delle bag Balenciaga abbiamo sicuramente Nicole Richie, le sorelle Kardashan, Miley Cyrus, Vanessa Hudgens e tante altre!

　　La nuova Giant First bag in pelle rosa effetto vintage è molto carina e femminile ma è anche grintosa, è una borsa perfetta per le ragazze che amano la moda ma che cercano di seguire anche uno stile personale. La borsa presenta la chiusura con la zip, i doppi manici rigidi e imbottiti ed una taschina sul fronte, è una borsa spaziosa e capiente perfetta da indossare anche tutti i giorni.

　　The biggest question after part one of The Real Housewives of New Jersey reunion: What’s the deal with Teresa’s nephew?

　　Just like the word “foreclosure” before it, “nephew” apparently has the power to set Teresa off. I can’t believe that the other ladies insist they’ve never seen Teresa get upset before; she has had the biggest and best meltdowns of the entire show, and it doesn’t look like it’s the first time she’s cursed someone out. You expect me to believe that she’d remain calm if someone insulted Gia’s natural talent? She is from Paterson, remember?

　　After a montage of baby Audriana and baby Nicholas, the ladies scolded Danielle for not reaching out to Jacqueline after the birth of her son. Rather than fully defend or explain herself (then again, why should she? Why would she reach out to Jacqueline after the way last year’s reunion went?) Danielle turned the question on Teresa: “Did you acknowledge your nephew? Did you?” The woman really knows how to push her buttons and really has her hands on some inside information, which it may take a year for us to find out. Do your research, Andy! “Yeah, of course I did,” Teresa initially replied, before letting the words sink through the pounds of hair spray atop her head and deep into the crevices of her brain, where her cursing and fighting lobes are located. Wait for it…and, go: In two seconds Teresa was hovering over Danielle, screaming, “DO NOT BRING UP MY FAMILY!” before the former stormed off set, and the latter needed to be held back by Andy (needed to, but didn’t want to, hence her tough shoving of the Bravo SVP which knocked him off his feet and back into his chair).

　　The other women tried to calm Teresa down but she was stuck on an expletive rampage of ”motherf—er”/”f—ing bitch,” that was quickly reduced to a frightening stammering of “she is, she is, she is….” Watch the clip below, and tell me, when did the Housewives reunion turn into an exorcism?

　　And that was just within the first 15 minutes alone. During the melee, the ladies retreated to their hair stylists and makeup artists for touch-ups and emotional support (they better be paying them double for therapy costs). Danielle’s entourage encouraged her to think of “amazing things” in order to calm down, which is apparently the new “love and light” philosophy (prescribed by Sarai?). Andy, suit still in perfect condition despite the fall, did his best to encourage the ladies to return to set, but of course Danielle felt physically threatened by Teresa. This is terroristic, Andy Cohen! Don’t you see? Even you aren’t safe! In order to save his reunion show he had to lock Teresa down to that tacky Borgata couch:

　　“Listen to me, listen to me, listen to me, you can’t get off the couch.”

　　“Believe me I won’t hit her, she’s not worth it.”

　　“No I don’t care, I don’t care, but I don’t want you to get off the couch.”

　　“She’s not worth it.”

　　“That’s fine so then if she’s not worth it, don’t get off the couch, I’m really not kidding, you can’t get off the couch, okay? Is that a deal?”

　　Kudos to Andy Cohen, who not only put himself in grave physical danger, but kept the ladies on task and continuously pressed the uncomfortable subjects, from Teresa’s finances to Danielle’s sex tapes. The ladies were packing verbal heat, and Teresa didn’t waste any time before firing the first shot at Danielle. When asked what they thought of the other Jersey reality show (Jersey Shore), Teresa described it as a bit promiscuous and not a great example. She backed away from an easy dig at Danielle, but then decided, I’m on a TV show, bitch! So why not?: “I think Danielle could relate to them, right Danielle? Because after a week you met Steve, you slept with him at my shore house in front of your kids. That was okay, right?”

　　The ladies took any opportunity to cut Danielle down or prove her wrong, which again seems pointless if they claim to be so far above her. Caroline, who was chosen to share a couch with Danielle (although you would never tell, as the space between the two ladies was bigger than Teresa and Joe’s dream house), was on eye-roll duty while Jacqueline inserted digs at Danielle’s ex-husband, her rumored relationship with “bodyguard” Danny, and had her very own “you’re a piece of garbage” moment, even if it didn’t have the same effect coming from Jacqueline’s meek, sweet sounding voice. Andy let her off easy last night compared to the other ladies, which means a discussion of Ashley, her parenting, and the hair pull is coming next week, right?

　　Things we learned, part one:

　  After last year’s reunion left Caroline in tears and Danielle known to us all as garbage, the ladies confirmed that the drama was over reports that Danielle had tried to take Dina’s daughter Lexi away from her. Last night Danielle played dumb, as if she had only recently learned of this claim. “Why would I do such a thing, ever? I don’t have any reason to do something like that, ever. I don’t think she’s an unfit mother!” she insisted. She did admit that her attorneys tried to silence Dina after she “lied in a four-page article” about things that Danielle claimed to be untrue. But we can’t speak about it because Dina’s not here. Why does the juiciest stuff go down off camera?

　　Danielle introduced Jacqueline to the fertility doctor who helped her get pregnant…and now either wants her child, or a replica of her head stuffed and hung on the Laurita’s wall in honor of her selfless gesture.

　　Despite filing for bankruptcy, Teresa’s home is still not in foreclosure. She also denied reports from New York Post that their debt included $100,000 in credit card debt to Neiman Marcus, Nordstrom, and Bloomingdale’s. “Do we believe everything the New York Post writes?” she asked. Oh, and that anniversary ring Joe gave her is a yellow sapphire, not a diamond. A diamond would be like a half a million dollars, and who do you think those Juicy Joe is? There’s a lot of competition in the Jersey pizza market these days.

　　Danny Provenzano was married during the first weeks of filming his stint on the show, but conveniently filed for divorce shortly after. The ladies seemed to think that he and Danielle had an affair, which led to the dissolution of his marriage (not his time in jail?). “That’s disgusting, I never had an affair with him, ever,” Danielle said. “I don’t hang out with him, I taped with him and that was it.” (Taped…what exactly?)

　　Danielle has two sex tapes in existence, one from Sex Tape Steve (who I’ll believe is 26 years old when I believe those long locks were Danielle’s real hair), and another, which she couldn’t afford to prevent being released (which means it’s available for purchase online!). Jacqueline called it a “bad acting porn,” but Danielle insisted it was not made by a third-party, and her clip-in extensions can prove just how long ago it really was (because we all know those things are sewn in these days).

　　Best quotes:

　　“I just don’t appreciate anyone talking about my private life in public.” — Danielle, who is on a reality show where she underwent her breast augmentation, her search for her biological mother, and her daughter’s first trip to the gynecologist on camera.

　　“You are really strong. You don’t work out at all?”– Andy to Teresa, who had no hard feelings after the push.

　　“I’m talking about you right now because we’re on a TV show together, bitch. I never talk about you! Unless it’s on camera, thank you.” — Teresa, who simply could not look at Danielle without ending a sentence in “pig,” “bitch,” or “whore.”

　　“I was asked to come to present a check!”

　　“For what? For being pretty? You didn’t give a dime!” — Danielle and Caroline, on the Emanuela benefit at The Brownstone. Emanuela’s father claims Danielle has yet to donate any money.

　　Was that all you hoped it would be, PopWatchers? Did you expect the push to come so soon? Anyone want to defend Danielle? What’s literally in the bag next week? Are you excited to see Kim G.?

　　While Kate Moss is relinquishing some of her design duties at Topshop, H&M is upping their designer ante yet again with all new partnerships with Tomas Maier and Carolina Herrera. Probably. Maier, who’s Head of Creative Design at Bottega Veneta and who helms his own namesake luxury clothing label, seems to be the more likely candidate, though he’s playing coy about the subject of an upcoming collaboration. Having “posted a video titled ‘Designer Collaboration 2010′ of a male designer, his face obscured and speaking in accented English [or German, if it is in fact Maier], on their official Facebook page,” H&M has spawned a feverish guessing game. But it seems the cat is out of the bag now that a Fashionologie commenter posted, “‘It’s Tomas Maier I did a close up on his hands at a bottega veneta show and they are exactly the same…plus the shoes he is wearing in the commercial have the signature bottega veneta woven leather’.” H&M responded to the post with a simple “Good eye!”

　　0diggsdigg That’s not all. There’s “another video, this time an obscured female designer. Some have pinpointed her as Carolina Herrera. The retailer expects to announce the designers’ names Sept. 9,” adds Fashionologie. Signing both designers would be a coup, given how high-end they are, but also noteworthy is the ad campaign itself, one of the most interesting from a fast fashion retailer in some time.

　　Not sure about the jingle jangle chain action holding up “Access Hollywood” co-anchor Shaun Robinson’s red dress. Add to that a bejeweled handbag, bracelet and dangly earrings, and that’s a lot of hardware. Wouldn’t want to be behind her in line for the metal detector.

　　And what’s with Kelly Osbourne? Or is that Drew Barrymore? She looks fab–cleaned-up and grown-up in a black Tony Ward gown with a plunging front and back that reads very Old Hollywood, especially with her blond finger wave hairstyle. Osbourne’s fashion star is definitely rising; she’s now co-hosting E!’s “Fashion Police” with Joan Rivers.

　　This week, Oki-Ni inaugurates a new and awesome series for their website. The online store is asking emerging stylists to play dress-up with the merchandise, mixing and matching all sorts of Oki-Ni pieces and then allowing you to buy the shirt right off the model’s back. First up is John McCarty, a London-based stylist who put together nine wildly different outfits from Oki-Ni stock, but erred on the side of Margiela—which, if you ask us, is never a bad idea. Our favorite of his looks is up top, a pumpkin-orange Margiela sweater thrown together with Rick Owens, Marc Jacobs, and menswear darling Lou Dalton. All of it makes us wish we had McCarty around to help us make sense of our own wardrobes. More outfits after the jump.

　　Trend 1, Touch of Glamour:

　　Goed gekamd haar dat netjes op zijn plek blijft. De lokken zijn vol glans en worden goed in model gehouden door stylingproducten als spray en mousse. Gezien bij Lanvin, Armani en Givenchy.

　　Trend 2, Boho Babe:

　　Extreem vrouwelijke look à la Brigitte Bardot. Natuurlijk haar dat gezien mag worden. Het haar is van boven opgestoken en mag losjes om het hoofd vallen. De zachte krullen worden met de handen, niet te perfect, uitgekamd.

　　Trend 3, Natural Beauty:

　　Hier gaat het helemaal om de natuurlijke schoonheid. De lokken worden ook hier niet te perfect getoond. Een losse natuurlijke krul is veel gezien op de catwalk bij Emilio Pucci, Diane von Furstenberg, Versace, Roberto Cavalli.

　　Trend 4, Glunge:

　　Deze glam en grunge look is een nieuwe manier van opsteken. Een glamourlook met een ruige finish. Het kapsel past op de catwalk bij de vele avondjurken, maar ook bij de stoerdere materialen zoals leer. Gezien bij Prada, Mulberry en Chanel.

　　Trend 5, Soft Rock:

　　De look is stoer maar vrouwelijk. Bij dit kapsel is het belangrijk om het volume op de kruin te houden en de zijkanten platter te maken. Je kunt de bovenste lokken door middel van een ronde borstel liften. De bovenkant kneed je met een mousse voor een nonchalante slag.

　　Trend 6, Perfect Pixie:

　　De vrouwelijk businesslooks die Emporio Armani toonde in Milaan gaan gepaard met deze korte kapsels. De kortgeknipte looks doen niets af aan vrouwelijkheid. Het haar glanst en past perfect bij de glanzende materialen die Armani gebruikte in zijn collectie. De Perfect Pixie is met de vingers en wat kneedbare gel of mousse gemakkelijk om te toveren naar de korte Soft Rock look.

　　Trend 7, Sexy Innocent:

　　Een lange pony tot op de wimpers met vooral veel laagjes en verschillende haartinten. Een frisse look die een sexy uitstraling geeft. Deze extra lange pony en veel diepte in het haar was te zien op de catwalk bij onder andere Lanvin.

　　Trend 8, Modern Missy:

　　Ook hier, een niet te perfect kapsel. Een rommelige look is helemaal van nu. De essentie is om het simpel te houden. Mousse zorgt voor een grip op het haar zodat je het gemakkelijk vast kunt zetten.

　　În mallurile din Capitală, în care acţionarii români sau străini au investit peste 1,1 mld. euro se întâmplă în fiecare săptămână câte ceva: se mai deschide un magazin, se mută un altul, se mai închide ceva, dar de cele mai multe ori activitatea merge înainte.

　　Pentru a observa câtă viaţă este în aceste proiecte, cum se adaptează chiriaşii pentru a traversa mai uşor această perioadă şi care este tendinţa în consum, revista Business Construct va analiza periodic situaţia spaţiilor disponibile din malluri.

　　Primul demers în această direcţie a fost făcut în luna aprilie a acestui an, când în cele opt malluri din Bucureşti erau disponibile aproximativ 171 de spaţii. La distanţă de patru luni, la mijlocul lunii august, numărul acestora a crescut cu 18%, la 202, în şase din cele 8 pro­iecte analizate numărul spaţiilor disponibile fiind în creştere.

　　Per total, în cele opt malluri sunt aproxi­mativ 1.000 de spaţii pentru magazine, potrivit cifrelor anunţate de către administra­torii mallu­rilor, ceea ce înseamnă că unu din cinci ar fi disponibil. În condiţiile în care, în general, marile spaţii ale mallurilor sunt ocupate, gra­dul de disponibilitate, calculat în metri pătraţi, este mult mai mic, undeva până în 10%.

　　Care sunt cele mai ocupate

　　Doar două malluri din Capitală stau mai bine decât în aprilie: Bucureşti Mall din Vitan, primul mall din România, mai are doar şase spaţii disponibile, faţă de şapte în luna aprilie, în timp ce în Sun Plaza numărul spaţiilor disponibile a scăzut de la 24 la 17, ca urmare a mai multor deschideri operate de retaileri care aveau semnate contracte mai vechi.

　　”Pe parcursul ultimelor luni s-au deschis noi magazine în centrul comercial Sun Plaza. În grupul retailerilor de fashion s-au adăugat brand-urile premium Karen Millen şi Desigual, în vreme ce Aldo a deschis un magazin de încălţăminte şi accesorii, iar Parfois o unitate de accesorii. Luna iunie a marcat şi deschiderea zonei de divertisment şi relaxare din Sun Plaza, operatorul Cinema City inau­gurând un cinematograf cu 15 săli şi o capa­citate de 2.800 de locuri”, au declarat repre­zentanţii Sun Plaza.

　　În plus, a fost deschis clubul de biliard şi bowling Oxygen, pe un spaţiu de 2.000 de metri pătraţi, iar “cel mai nou magazin în Sun Plaza este brandul spaniol de fashion Mango, deschis luni, 16 august”.

　　Cu alte cuvinte, datorită faptului că aceşti chiriaşi au “ratat startul” deschiderii spaţiilor în luna februarie, la inaugurarea mallului, Sun Plaza iese pe plus în ceea ce priveşte numărul magazinelor operaţionale, deşi după doar şase luni de operare restaurantul Deutscher Grill a fost închis în zona de food-court.

　　Operatorii reţelei de restaurante cu mân­care specific germană au închis, de altfel, şi unitatea din mallul Cotroceni Park, unde a funcţionat, de ase­menea, mai puţin de un an. Aici însă mai sunt încă disponibile şi alte spaţii în zona de food-court, con­­si­derată de către consultanţii imobiliari drept unul dintre punc­tele slabe ale celui mai scump mall din România.

　　Per total, în Cotroceni Park mai sunt disponi­bile 37 de spaţii, faţă de 34 în luna aprilie, după ce re­prezentanţii mallului au admis faptul că de la momentul inaugu­rării

　　13-14 magazine au fost închise. În plus, venirea suede­zilor de la H&M, care ar trebui să-şi preia spaţiul din Cotroceni Park până în luna noiembrie, a început să provoace mutări în rândul chiriaşilor. Nissa şi Reserved şi-au plasat deja banne­rele pe spaţiile unde îşi vor muta maga­zinele aflate acum lângă C&A, în timp ce Rafar Brands a închis magazinul si­tuat într-un spaţiu în care H&M îşi va vinde produsele.

　　Pe de altă parte, deasupra hipermar­ke­tului Real sunt nume­roase spaţii goale, unde este anunţată deschiderea ma­ga­zinelor pentru copii Kids Fun Expo şi Zorky Planet, pre­cum şi a centrului de fitness Pure Health & Fitness.

　　Plaza aşteaptă un mare retailer

　　Principalul com­petitor al Co­troceni Park din zona de vest a Ca­pitalei, Plaza Ro­mânia, mi­zează însă, de ase­menea, pe transfor­marea unui spaţiu de mari dimensiuni în zonă de joacă pentru copii, dar şi pentru întreaga fa­milie, astfel că în extensia finalizată la în­ce­putul anului trecut au fost eliberate numeroase spaţii pen­tru a face loc unui operator care a în­chiriat un spaţiu de 7.000 mp pe două niveluri.

　　Per total în mall sunt 35 de spaţii în care nu este activitate, 21 dintre acestea aflându-se tocmai în zona vizată pentru locul de joacă, în timp ce alte spaţii vor fi ocupate ca urmare a mutării unor chiriaşi din spaţiile de la parterul mallului destinate retailerului H&M.

　　O serie de malluri din sudul oraşului au însă alte probleme. În Grand Arena, Liberty Cen­ter şi City Mall nu se aud “trâmbiţele” venirii H&M, iar numărul spaţiilor disponibile este în creştere. Faţă de luna aprilie, numărul spaţiilor goale în cele trei proiecte a crescut de la 61 la 75.

　　Kimora Lee Simmons is leaving the brand that made her a household name!

　　Kimora Lee Simmons has announced that as of September 1, she’s parting ways with Baby Phat after 14 years of cultivating the brand. The model-turned-fashion-mogul broke the news very politely to E! News and there didn’t seem to be any hard feelings over the split.

　　“It’s time for me to move on and further expand my other businesses and create a new phenomenon,” she said. “I adore all those who have faithfully been with me since the beginning.”

　　Kimora’s Twitter, however, tweets a different story. She claims that Baby Phat’s parent company Kellwood forced her out. In retaliation she called for her followers and other supporters to boycott Baby Phat once she leaves, stating, “As Ludacris would say: When I move, you move.”

　　And the fashion designer may have more to say when she broadcasts live on UStream.tv on September 1.