Housing Works 6th Annual "Design on a Dime" Opening

Housing Works, the largest grassroots AIDS service organization held their 6th Annual "Design on a Dime" event. Fifty of the best interior designers created, furnished and decorated their own room. All of the furnishings were donated and attendees could buy anything on display. What a neat idea! To make it even better, 100% of the proceeds went to the non-profit Housing Works and this year, the proceeds are going specifically to a housing project called the 874 Jefferson Avenue Residence Project. The Jefferson Avenue Residence is being built as units for single, formerly homeless individuals who are living with HIV/AIDS. Absolutely terrific!

So that's the background! Here's where it gets really fun. What do you get when you combine a great charity, a great cause and great designers? Style baby! Here are just a few of the great images of the night. The entire album can be seen on the Facebook fanpage.

Ty Pennington of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition

Ty is showing it's not a large jump from fashion to interior design. The tie, button-down and vest have the elements of being more formal while the denim, belt and rolled sleeves effortlessly bridge the gap to casual. I've seen Ty's show enough to know this look is his style and he owns it.

Jaclyn Smith designed a room for her Kmart collection. Forget what she's wearing, she's gorgeous! One of Charlie's Angels in the late-70's, her look will never go out of style.  

Derek Warburton (center) with close friends Simon van Kempen and wife, Alex McCord.

Many will recognize Simon and Alex from "Housewives of New York". I don't think I would have the guts to allow TV cameras to follow me around, but I've been fortunate to see Alex and Simon at a number of events and think the world of them both.

Derek. Sweetheart of a guy. He's worked very closely with Housing Works and this year was asked to design a room for the event. A lifestyle guru (DerekLovesShopping.com), he nailed his room design and in my opinion was one of the best of the event. I could be biased, but I don't think so. Derek's a good friend and was one of my hosts for the event. I'll do a full editorial on him soon; there's a lot to tell and he lives style.

Paul Johnson Calderon and the lovely Alexandra Osipow Vissicchio.

Paul Johnson is another one of our stars on the CW's "High Society". Know what's really bad? I've yet to see an episode. I want to, just hasn't happened yet! To further tell on myself, I think I saw reruns of the first two "Housewives" episodes this season but nothing since! Really bad since I've gotten to know half the people on those shows in real life.

Anyhow, Paul Johnson is a really, really good guy. Down to earth, enjoyable to be around and just a pleasure to know.

Joseph Miceli-Magnone and Brian Farrell.

Joe was my other host for the event. On the Board for Housing Works, he radiates great energy with his deeds, words and thoughtfulness. Wearing a customary splash of color, looks great as usual.

Now I'm a straight guy but even I can see Brian is one heck of a good looking guy. A very accomplished artist who's currently preparing for an exhibit in Athens, Greece- he'll do great (as usual)!

Designer Marisol Deluna ("Deluna By Design, Inc- Marisol Deluna New York")

Marisol is simply incredible. Her dress? Her design. The detailing of the pattern is unbelievable. This one is a New York City theme, which can be seen more clearly close-up. She draws her designs. by hand! Nobody does that anymore, they do it on a computer. Once finished, designs are sent off to the factory for hand screening. That's TALENT! If she made handkerchiefs for me, that's all I'd wear... and everyone knows how much I like my handkerchiefs. That there is my personal endorsement!

This is a really fun shot. Love it! Love Marisol.

There's a temptation to keep going with the images and notes but it's already run long. As I mentioned, the Facebook fanpage has the full album here.

Jeisohn Fiala

This guy knows a thing or two about fashion and style. His world revolves around it.

Jeisohn Fiala has a long distinguished career in fashion. Having worked with major fashion designers such as Roberto Cavalli and Christin Lacroix is just a start. His expertise is highlighted by his frequent appearances on Fox and Friends (the Fox News morning show) as the go-to guy on all things fashion as well as hair styling.

He frequently works as a personal advisor to a number of the New York's elite on wardrobe and style. It's a gift to be able to size someone up, emphasize their strengths and minimize their weaknesses. To be capable of doing so with a velvet touch and sense of humor so as to make people feel better about themselves is an art. He's got it. A very warm, honest and outgoing guy, he's charismatic- which in itself is the embodiment of style.

Today, he's working Hugo Boss head to toe. Things I noticed are those that usually grab my attention. His shoes (Hugo by Hugo Boss of course) were a deep shade of patent leather blue to compliment the hue in his suit. His pattern and color mix with the shirt and handkerchief brought my eyes in. The base color of the hanky brought out the micro polka-dots in the shirt. The flipped collar shows his individual and characteristic flair. The look isn't wearing him, he's wearing the look. This is about style. The entire look is an outward reflection of who Jeisohn Fiala is. What more can we want in style? A perfect style is a perfect congruity between the inner and outer self. Well done.  

Jimmy Choo

This is one of my favorites that I shot yesterday from a Jimmy Choo ad shoot.

I've been hearing a drumbeat from some fashionable woman over the fall and winter about wanting knee-high boots. Here we are. 

The leopard patterned bag seems to be in big demand right now so this is a safe choice for an ad campaign. 

The textured leggings have also been creeping up in popularity. A number of fashion shows in February/March were showing a lot of different takes on the textures and one comes to mind that used the stockings as its focal point for their show. I think we'll continue to see more over the next year as it continues to pick up momentum.

Zhanna Ved

A classic beauty. Stunning, actually. Confidently and casually dressed for a day in New York, Zhanna shows it doesn't need to be complicated or fussy to look good.

A lightweight long gray cardigan over a black top and jeans is simple enough. The detailing on the boots are fantastic and give the look a little extra character.

In all fairness, Zhanna could probably get away with wearing a potato sack and still look good. A model since her mid-teens, she stays (very) busy working with Wilhelmina Model Management. She's smart, funny and warm- an absolute joy to work with.

In what little spare time she has, she helps support the great work of her boyfriend Rogelio Castillo, founder of Secrets of the Modeling World (SOMW.org). SOMW is an organization that fills some large voids and services between models, aspiring models and the industry; all things Zhanna would have first-hand experience with.

The Bow Tie and the Man

It's one of those things. I see a bow tie and it grabs my attention. There's a degree of fussiness involved with a bow tie that tells me someone is serious about their style, or at least the statement they're trying to make. Tying a bow tie is becoming an ancient sartorial art and it's use is not as widespread as it once was.

Personally, I'm not a bow tie guy. I know what looks work for me and which don't. That said, I do have an appreciation for those it does work for, the effort they make and the devil-may-care attitude about wearing one... all qualities I admire.

From what I can tell, the bow tie works well for our friend here. A red and white check silk tie breaks up the potential monotony of the blue pinstripe suit. I like blue pinstripe suits but something needs to be done to give it a little flair and individuality. Personally, I tend to use shirt, tie and pocket square color, fabric and pattern combinations to give an otherwise basic suit a little extra something, but the bow tie does the trick. A little harder to see is another favorite trick of mine, using hosiery color to bridge the eyes from the ankles back towards the face. Playing off the red check, a hint of his red socks can be seen poking through. Red socks are a gutsy call. I don't own a pair of red socks. I have a virtual rainbow of color but red is not one I ever felt would fit my style, but then again I don't wear much red anything.

I could write at great length about the bow tie, its history, meaning and utilitarian uses, but I'm afraid everyone will drift off. Short story is back in the 17th Century, a band of Croatian mercenaries came to visit King Louis of France. There's some historical debate on exactly what the mercenaries were doing that led to meeting with the King, but they met nevertheless. Apparently there was a button shortage back home, so the Croatians tied scarves around their necks to keep their shirts closed. King Louis was so impressed by the style he reportedly insisted what became known as "La Cravat" be worn to all upper-class functions.

Was the bow tie the forerunner to the traditional tie worn today? Can't be sure. What we can be sure of is that the bow tie has maintained some degree of relevance for over 350 years and not just in formal wear.