Yes, that's Iron Man. Yes, that's Tim Gunn. We can explain. (Marvel Entertainment)

By Glen Weldon

Oh, sure: On the surface, the comic book conflation of high adventure and high fashion doesn't make a lot of sense, especially if you judge strictly by audience demographics. The readership of superhero comics, far and away the medium's dominant genre, consists largely of straight men.

Close followers of fashion, on the other hand, tend to possess ovaries and/or a killer Heidi Klum (er, Heidi Samuel) impression.

If we're Venn diagramming, any objective assessment of the intersection of those two sets would deem it both teeny and weeny.

Why, then, does fashion figure so largely in many of today's comics, both within and without the superhero genre? Books like Models, Inc., Amazing Spider-Man and Dave Sim's Glamourpuss are lousy with leggy models, imperious fashionistas and quippy sartorial critiques that might as well have been birthed in the Ugly Betty writers' room.

Cheesecake is one obvious answer, even though the kind of women who populate the superhero comic resemble real-world fashion models in much the same way that an overstuffed couch resembles a picnic bench. But it's not the only reason.

The superhero and the supermodel have much in common, after all. Both are cultural icons. Both look good in tights. Both face down tough challenges every day (the hero: natural disasters, fiendish deathtraps; the model: flyaway hair, combination skin). Both can abruptly lose their powers when exposed to certain agents (the hero: kryptonite; the model: Janice Dickinson).

Whatever the reason, the decidedly weird mashup of comics and fashion bears a long and literally colorful history.

After the jump: A brief chronology of superheroes who've proved too sexy for their capes over the years, and done their little turns on the catwalk.

Continue reading "Superhero Meets Supermodel: A Short History of Comics' Weirdest Crossover" >

Fashion!: Luis Lopez-Smith designed this for the Royal College Of Art Summer Fashion Show in London. Claire R. Greenway/Getty Images

 

It's been a while since we did a round of Entirely Real Photos, but how could we resist? Luis Lopez-Smith, we salute you. Caterpillars? Video game monsters? Is this the return of Mr. Yuck?

But that's nothing. You haven't seen the back.

The back, after the jump...

Continue reading "Entirely Real Photos: Fashion Show! Fashion Show!" >

The All-Time Classic: Bjork swans her way into the 2001 Oscars. Lucy Nicholson, AFP/Getty Images

 

by Linda Holmes

The fashion blog Go Fug Yourself is one of the sharpest and funniest destinations on the Internet, and your hands-down best bet for red-carpet fashion critiques.

It's won a boatload of awards, and it's been written up in Time and Newsweek and The Wall Street Journal and Entertainment Weekly, and there's just not time to list the accolades — but they are all deserved. There's even a book, The Fug Awards, perfect for the analog fashion critic in you.

So we're glad to report that The Fug Girls, Heather and Jessica, were kind enough to take time out of one of their busiest weeks — they're covering New York's Fashion Week for NYMag.com — to answer some Oscars 101 questions, and to warmly (?) recall the terrifying ghosts of red carpets past.

Be sure to explore the photo gallery above to see most of the outfits Jessica and Heather mention here — you may have blocked out the memory of the Demi Moore bike shorts, and it's just not the same if you can't see them for yourself.

What's your favorite Oscars outfit of all time? What made it successful?

JESSICA: I think mine would be Bjork's swan dress. I would not say it was successful, but that dress has given people comedic fodder — not to mention Halloween costumes — for literally years, and there's something to be said for that. On the other side of the coin, it's very hard to say what I think is the all-time most beautiful gown, as there have been so many, but I loved Marion Cotillard's white Gaultier from last year. I am looking forward to seeing what she wears this year.

HEATHER: I'm lousy at remembering this stuff year-to-year. Half the time I can't even remember stuff I fugged a week ago. My mind is a lousy archive. I do remember thinking Penelope Cruz's pink strapless dress with that feathered train — she wore it the year she was nominated for Volver, and I think it was Versace — was stunning. It was exactly the kind of dress I feel like a girl ought to wear to the Oscars, because when else can you go that big, that dreamy? The gown wouldn't really be possible at any old movie premiere, so I admired her for living the kind of red-carpet princess fantasy I feel like all little girls have when they dream of being actresses. You know, before they learn the business is all about rejection and sadness and pills.

Disasters, up-and-comers, and why Freida Pinto may be luckier than Jennifer Hudson, after the jump...

Continue reading "The Fug Girls: The Ghosts Of Oscar Fashion Past (And Future)" >

The red-carpet dress: Beauty is one thing; tripping is another. Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images

 

by Linda Holmes

I like to look at pretty dresses. How luscious is the color of that dress on Kate Winslet? But the older and grumpier I become, the more difficult it gets for me to just look at a dress without thinking about logistics. What about walking? What about breathing? What about sitting in an auditorium seat for a couple of hours?

Not all these things are concerns for the people in attendance at the major festive celebrations of Hollywood, but they are concerns to me.

This is the lens through which I see beautiful dresses on celebrities now; I analyze what you can't do in that dress.

Can't Go To Best Buy Without Being Stopped By Security And Accused Of Smuggling Out A Nintendo Wii: Angelina Jolie

Angelina Jolie Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images

 

Can't Get Anyone To Pay Attention To Your Very Pretty Face: Emily Blunt

Emily Blunt Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images

 

Can't Find A Competent Train-Wrangler: Claire Danes

Claire Danes Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images

 

The rest of the list, after the jump...

Continue reading "Ten Can't-Do Dresses From The SAG Awards Red Carpet" >

Pimpin' it Godfather style: Rudy Ray Moore rocks the snakeskin-and-glitter-frames look. Getty Images

 

by John Ridley

Most of the obits for comedian Rudy Ray Moore, who passed away last Sunday at the age of 81, tended to note his extensive list of party albums, his penchant for working bluer than blue. They pointed out that Dolemite, his stage and film character, was an influence on any number of pimp- lovin' playas from Big Daddy Kane to Snoop Dogg.

But for those of you who've never heard of Rudy Ray Moore — and I'm guessing that's a lot of you — I'd like to recall none of that today.

Rather, in eulogizing the man, I'd like to remember his unforgettable 1979 film Disco Godfather.

Disco Godfather is one of the worst movies ever made. It also has a permanent home in my DVD collection. If you appreciate what Rudy was all about, you can't help but appreciate the film.

The allure of Disco Godfather explained, after the jump ...

Continue reading "'Disco Godfather': Remembering the Remarkable Rudy Ray Moore" >

The worst of the worst? You be the judge. George Birch/AP

 

by Bridget Bentz

Mr. Blackwell — the no-first-name-needed celebrity-fashion critic whose annual worst-dressed list opened the door for the likes of Joan and Melissa, Steven Cojocaru, and the editors of US Weekly Magazine — died Oct. 19 at the age of 86.

In his memory — and, let's face it, because most of 'em deserve another beat-down — we've pulled together a slideshow of some of his most flagrant fashion offenders.

And we've drawn up a list of Things We Didn't Know About Mr. Blackwell, starting with:

1. His first name: It was Richard.

After the jump: four more dubiously interesting tidbits ...

Continue reading "Mr. Blackwell, 1922-2008: 'From Rags to Bitches' to the Hereafter" >