MORE THAN JUST A mouthful, phthalates (THAL-ates) are chemicals used in lipsticks, perfumes, nail polishes and a gazillion other products, from toys to vinyl flooring. Whether the small amounts found in makeup are harmful is up for debate (the FDA says there's insufficient evidence to call them a risk), but phthalates have been linked to breast cancer and other ills. And they're not always listed on labels. Yet phthalate-free lipsticks do exist, so you can pucker up without fearing pesky pollutants.

» 1) Ecco Bella's Vitamin E Lip Smoother ($15, Eccobella.com) combines balm and hue for a colorful duo. Kind of like peanut butter and jelly. Or Joanie and Chachi.

» 2) Dr. Hauschka ($21, Whole Foods) prescribes this little number, which goes on smooth and smells of herbal tea. Butter, oils and five different waxes keep thirsty lips moist.

Continue Reading "Lipsticks Without Icky Chemicals: Worn Free" »

SICK OF THE BLASE offerings at oh-so-ordinary national chains like the Gap and Banana Republic? Kiss those khaki classics goodbye and hit up independent stores in your 'hood. But how can you find them?

Enter Locallectual.com. The Web site, recently launched by Charlottesville denizens Karen Beauford and Jessica Meehan, offers shoppers the opportunity to search online via ZIP code, city or state for a variety of consumer items that are just a hop, skip and a jump away. (Yea!) Some great D.C. finds included a vegan bakery and an organic skin care products store.

BARACK OBAMA and Hillary Clinton keep reminding us that the United States is shedding manufacturing jobs faster than a speeding steam engine.

But what factories and farms have left behind — weathered wooden carts, steely drafting lamps, battered sign letters that might've once spelled out "Allentown Smoldering" — isn't going anywhere. Industrial detritus, with its colorful past and patina-ed present, now does time in lofts, interior design magazines and shops.

This might mean an old metal glove-making mold used as sculpture or an iron window grate morphed into a fire screen. At Penn Quarter's Rocket Bar, a wooden factory machine-mold even frames a mirror behind the beer taps. "It weighs 300 pounds. It's not for the faint of heart," says Jeff Dawson, co-owner of Bedrock Management, which runs the bar. Other Machine Age reminders there: rocket ship art made of vintage vacuum cleaners.

"Part of the appeal is that these are things that weren't originally intended to be used in the home," says Anna Kahoe, co-owner of U Street's Goodwood, which traffics in glass jars from long-shuttered apothecaries and wooden cabinets that held crop seeds decades ago. "They're infused with human energy, since someone once touched them on a daily basis."

Continue Reading "Factory Direction: Industrial Homes" »

TUESDAY'S EARTH DAY meets "Project Runway" in the Beauty is as Beauty Does Fashion Show Sunday. Hosted by the Aveda Institute (713 7th St. NW; 703-535-8254) from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m., it highlights eco-chic beauty.

A ticket ($25 advance, $30 door) lets you witness a walk-off among local salons to see who made the most creative look based on a wind and water theme. Other happenings include a cocktail hour with live tunes and an art auction. All proceeds benefit the Potomac Conservancy.

WE PUT Summer Soles Fragrant Footings Scented Insoles ($15 for two pairs, Summersoles.com) to the ultimate test — ballet flats, several seasons old, worn exclusively sans socks.

Luckily for anyone within smelling range, they provided a comfortable lining with a hint of mint (or jasmine or lemon, depending on chosen scent). The smaller Fragrant Foot Pads ($11, right) do the same for sandals.

ARTISTS FROM VERMEER TO PICASSO have been inspired by the female form. Now art itself is fashion's muse, with paint-inspired prints — abstract watercolor swirls, pointillist flowers — spilling onto dresses, skirts and blouses.

Why is Van Gogh suddenly hotter than Valentino? "The art world has a lot of influence on fashion," says designer Shoshanna Lonstein Gruss, whose spring line riffs on Cubism and Impressionism. Some styles even dip into ombre, tie-dye's sophisticated, shaded cousin. Just be careful wearing the colorful pieces to museums or galleries — you might end up blending into the canvas.

Continue Reading "Styles: Brush Stoked" »

HIGHLY SECRETIVE and surprisingly scientific, the perfume industry remained behind locked doors until Chandler Burr, perfume critic for T: The New York Times Style Magazine, stuck his extremely sensitive nose into it. In "The Perfect Scent" ($25, Henry Holt), he chronicled the creation of two fragrances, Hermes' Un Jardin sur le Nil and Sarah Jessica Parker's Lovely for Coty — the latter notable for the star's intense involvement with her creation. We spoke with Burr about why perfume matters and what to expect for spring and summer.

» EXPRESS: Why do celebs want fragrances?
» BURR: The commercial appeal is that perfume is probably the most effective way to monetize celebrity ever invented. The more high-minded reason is that some celebrities actually are deeply, personally interested in scent. I never would have been invited into the creation of a Paris Hilton perfume. She has nothing to do with her perfumes other than cashing the check.

Continue Reading "To Smell and Back: Perfume Critic Chandler Burr" »

ANY GIRL WITH A JONES for flirty, femme dresses and sexy swimsuits probably knows of designer Shoshanna Lonstein Gruss. The New Yorker is famed for clothes that flatter killer curves — as well as for once dating Jerry Seinfeld. On April 24, from 3 to 8 p.m., she'll be at a trunk show for her spring line at Georgetown's Urban Chic (1626 Wisconsin Ave. NW).

» EXPRESS: You lived in D.C. and briefly went to George Washington University. What do you think of fashion here?
» GRUSS: It has definitely changed since I was there. There weren't as many great boutiques, and now there are so many. It's definitely giving New York a run for its money.

» EXPRESS: Why did you become a designer?
» GRUSS: New York is the center of fashion, so growing up there I was exposed to everything. What I was looking for wasn't out there, so I started my own line to be inclusive of more body types.

» EXPRESS: Are the clothes you design like the ones you wear yourself?
» GRUSS: I love clean lines, color and natural fabrics. My style is all over the place; the line is more focused.

Continue Reading "Q&A: Shoshanna Lonstein Talks Clothes and Swimsuits" »

NATALIE PORTMAN's been getting loads of attention lately for her line of vegan shoes for Tecascan, and Stella McCartney's sleek synthetic handbags drive fashionistas crazy. But Inder Bedi, founder of the Matt & Nat line of handbags, has been creating edgy, leather-free clutches, hoboes, satchels and totes in soft-as-butter plastic and canvas since 1997.

The urban, often-futuristic pieces of arm candy are so fashionable that even steak-loving, suede platform-wearing style mavens sling them on their bangled arms. His bright canvas Re-Run line is made of recycled water bottles, and other bags are produced using less energy and resources than their hide counterparts. The Montreal-based Bedi recently dropped by Cusp at Tysons Corner Center, where his bags are sold, to tout his spring designs and chat with us.

» EXPRESS: When and why did you give up meat and leather?
» BEDI: My family is actually Eastern Indian in origin. I was born in the U.K., but my parents came to Canada when I was young. I grew up knowing everything about my Indian background, but not being religious. My parents were very liberal-minded and had all these friends who'd come over to the house. One of them was a Hare Krishna, and he asked me, when I was 18, to go vegetarian for 30 days. And it changed my life. After not eating meat for 30 days, I didn't have the desire anymore. I started looking more into vegetarianism and animal rights.

Continue Reading "Handling Everything: Hipster Bags from Matt & Nat" »

THEY HAD US AT HELLO.

Guests of the Washington Humane Society's Fashion for Paws fashion show at the Italian Embassy on Saturday were greeted by the friendliest hosts imaginable along the red carpet: puppies.

And for the record, the carpet was actually green AstroTurf dotted with plastic fire hydrants.

The benefit, hosted by Italian Ambassador Giovanni Castellaneta and Lila Castellaneta, raised more than $250,000 for the Humane Society. Event chairman Michael Saylor matched all donations raised by the participating models, totaling $85,000.

The honorary models included oceanographer Philippe Cousteau, ABC7 anchorwoman Pamela Brown and Arash Shirazi, agent for D.C. house-music duo Deep Dish, among other familiar Washington faces. The fundraising models participated in a friendly competition to seek backers for the cause, earning more than $150,000 over the course of a six-week period.

"I wanted a way to involve the incredibly caring and philanthropic [people] in Washington, D.C., in an organization I am most passionate about and does extraordinary cutting edge work in the community," said Tara de Nicolas, the Humane Society's director of marketing and communications and the event's organizer.

Continue Reading "Puppy Love: WHS's Fashion for Paws" »