Category: Fashion

I’m obsessed with old movies. Those actresses from the 1930s and ’40s had their men wrapped around their fingers, didn’t they? Look at Lauren Bacall and Katharine Hepburn: They usually played well-mannered, headstrong, fast- talking women who could make a man’s man like Humphrey Bogart stop dead in his tracks. When these dames entered a crowded room, everyone would break off mid-sentence and just stare.

Nowadays, it seems you can rent just about anything: DVDs, couture handbags, houses, furniture, tuxedos, and even jewelry for your wedding. Some might think it’s tacky to walk down the aisle in jewels that you could never afford, but others say it’s just another option available to help you look your best.

We’ve all heard of toilet paper wedding dresses, but what about dresses made of trash?

When a man decides to commit, he drops a healthy portion of his nest egg on a sparkly engagement ring. But what does he get in return, besides that meaningful “yes” from the love of his life? Nada. Call me crazy, but has anyone else noticed that men get the raw end of the deal here? Not to mention the fact that it seems a little hypocritical that a woman gets “marked” as betrothed while the man’s fingers get to stay bare until the wedding day!

What’s a mother to wear to the wedding? Rule #1—ban dowdy, muted tones from her fashion vocabulary. Today’s top Moms are proud, confident and want a little star appeal of their own! Hanna Hartnell of Hartnell boutique in Santa Monica understands. Her custom-made gowns and coordinating wraps are favored by women of all shapes, sizes, and ages for their flattering fit and luxurious fabric…and they’re available in virtually every color of the rainbow. What hues are hot for Mama? “For fall, mothers of the bride are choosing elegant, vibrant colors,” says Hanna. “They love amethyst, mahogany and rose sorbet.” If you’re shopping now for a spring ’09 wedding, then give your mom and mom-to-be this yummy fashion forecast: “Apricot, peach, lemon and golden olive hues will be en vogue,” says Hanna. “These shades are especially light and lovely for garden weddings.

Fuzzy sweaters and giant inflatable snowmen aren’t the only things that go on sale at the end of the year. Bridal salons also put on year-end sample sales, and it’s a great time to pick up a wedding dress bargain.

Ah, your bridesmaids…those girls who have been there for you for years, living through all your boy-drama and, lately, all your wedding-planning drama. They’re shelling out hundreds to be in your wedding and you’re supposed to give them a gift at the event to show your thanks. My problem is that so often those “attendant” gifts are just…lame.

Not everyone has the luxury of shopping for their wedding dress in an upscale boutique, flattered and pampered by friends and admiring salespeople. You think trying to find a parking place within a mile of that chic downtown salon is tough? Read what former bride Lisa Haines (now Mrs. Haines-Betteinger) wrote to me: