October 2005

October 28th 2005
Florence, Italy

What a week it’s been!  The latest and greatest news is that everyone’s favorite Desperate Housewife Eva Longoria will be wearing HOLLYWOULD on the show this week!  They’ve just called to let us know that Eva will be looking divine as always in our Teal Ruffle Mini Dress, which we can only imagine she bought at Saks or Saks.com.  If you read any of our favorite intellectual journals, such as UsWeekly, InTouch, Life & Style, or OK, you know Eva has been a big supporter of HOLLYWOULD as she is always spotted wearing our coveted strappy gold sandals to just about every event.  So gorgeous, so talented, so smart… we love you Eva!!!

In other news, lately things haven’t been going as planned.  Instead of spending my entire October cruising up and down the French Riviera, I’ve ended up spending it cruising up and down the Italian Autostrada.  For those of you who don’t know, unfortunately the “Autostrada” isn’t some chic new jet-set vacation spot, but rather the Italian highway system which happens to link Yours Truly to all of HOLLYWOULD’s favorite factories.  If you’ve ever been on an Italian Autostrada, you know that everyone drives about 120 mph, and that tailgating is a polite gesture given to drivers who refuse to hit the 100 mph mark. 

I, for one, love this kind of driving.  Unlike your average New Yorker, I grew up in cars and come from a long line of proudly delinquent speeders.  When they invented photo cameras my own father contemplated driving around town in a mask, as the other alternative (slowing down) seemed an absolutely impossible request.  There is nothing that makes me happier than an entire nation of people who think it should never take more than 30 minutes to travel 60 miles.  This attitude, however, does get me into a bit of trouble with the Italian Polizia.  As a result, I have managed to master the art of getting out of tickets in Italy, and here I will tell you my secrets…

How To Get Out of A Speeding Ticket In Italy

• As the sirens approach, put on lip gloss and tossle your hair
• When the policeman arrives at your window, smile really big, and say (in English), “Hello Mr. Police Man!”
• He will automatically say, “Ah Americana!  Where you from?” to which you relpy (regardless of where you are from), “New York City!” (Italians love New York City)
• He will say, without fail, “Ah New York, New York!  Frank Sinatra!  Bobby DeNiro” to which you can reply, “yes, Frank Sinatra!  Bobby DeNiro!”  (I have no idea why Italians insist on calling Robert DeNiro “Bobby”, but I recommend you go along with it.)
• Next, before he has another chance to speak, you need to ask, “Where are you from, Mr. Police Man?”
• No Italian can resist hometown pride, so when he says, for example, “Roma”, it is then your job to say “I adore Roma!  The best food!  The best city!  The best people!”

At this point you are already out of a ticket, 100% guaranteed.  No matter how fast you were going and what rule you broke, as long as you profusely compliment the policeman’s hometown, you are completely off the hook.  The only problem with this method is that although it does save you a ticket, it may force you to listen to 45 minutes of carrying on about how Roma is the best town in the world, has the best people, the best soccer team, the best food, etc, while you are forced to nod your head and agree profusely.  However, speeding tickets in Italy can cost up to $2000, so showing a little bit of love for the old hometown is well worth the price.

At the end of your 45 minute discussion, the policeman will always want to give you his address to “stay in touch” so he and his family can come visit you in NYC.  Take his address, but only write him if you’ve really got room for 13 Romans for the entire month of August. 

Last but not least… I’m posting photos.  Finally!

October 21st 2005
New York City

As I was leaving my apartment building for yet another cocktail party this week, my doorman said to me, “Miss, are you what they call a socialite?”  Now, normally I would have gasped in horror to be described in such a way, but in this particular instance I have to say I was relieved.  Just a few months ago the only descriptive noun my doormen could find for a girl who leaves her house each night in a cocktail dress and returns past the midnight hour was “hooker” (see Feb 8, 2003 entry), so “socialite” has a pretty nice ring.

My social week began on Monday, with a party at the Soho Grand Penthouse Suite in honor of Patrick McMullan’s new ad campaign for Perrier Jouet.  Needless to say, the champagne was amazing and so was the crowd, which included some of HOLLYWOULD’s all time favorites: Sienna Miller, Eric Villency, Genevieve Jones, Elisabeth Gutowski and Whitney Chasey.  I had never been in the Penthouse Suite of the Soho Grand which has panoramic views and a gorgeous, huge terrace.  Next time you’re in NYC I highly recommend it.

Tuesday night we headed out to the Whitney Museum’s annual Art Ball, which everyone remarked was the best party New York has seen in a very long while.  I knew the evening was going to be a hit when I ran into my favorite long lost party pals Zani Gugelmann & Fabiola Beracasa the minute I arrived, and from there the fun continued.  Everyone looked fabulous in their “Art Attire”, including 8 months knocked-up Meredith Melling-Burke and hubby John, Jessica Joffe, Kelly & Calvin Klein, Chloe Sevigny, Moby, Analise Peterson, and many, many more.  If it weren’t for my jet-lag I would have stayed until dawn, which would have been a very bad thing considering my Wednesday agenda.

Wednesday began with an all day event at Saks Fifth Avenue, where we showcased our new Cruise 2006 Collection for some of our favorite VIP girls.   All of our fabulous HOLLYWOULD girls came to show their support, including Alice Sykes, Zani Gugelmann, Melissa Berkelhammer, Gigi Stone, Jessica Joffe, and Ali Nichols, as well as HOLLYWOULD’s favorite dancin’ machine, Jess Bulcom.  Thank you all for your awesome support!  We love you all!

After a long day at Saks, me 'n' my HOLLYWOULD crew were ready for a few stiff drinks, so we headed up to the Akris party hosted by Vogue magazine at their store on Madison Avenue.  HOLLYWOULD Girls in attendance for the evening included Annie Schoknecht, Jill Barcham, Callie Kant, Elisabeth Gutowski, Shannon Eddy, and our magnificent intern Meredith Barnes.  From Akris we headed down to the Meat-Packing District for a party hosted by Scoop & Theory, where The Sugar Hill Gang performed live and, according to Callie, sang every song directly to her.  In attendance at Scoop were all of the usual suspects mentioned above, along with Fabian Basabe, Hanuk, and someone we think may have been Mekhi Phifer, but we’re not really sure.

From Scoop we all headed for a company dinner at our favorite restaurant Pop Burger (see Nov 12, 2004), where the waiters are foxy and the food is good.  After devouring the four food groups - mini burgers, fries, cupcakes, and beer - we headed to a Motorola Party hosted by MTV in what appeared to be someone’s huge Miami Vice style loft.   The soiree was so packed it had to be a fire hazard, and so off the hook it’s been disconnected.  (I learned that from a teenage thug.  When something is really, really “off the hook”, you have to say it’s “so off the hook it’s been disconnected”.  Teenage thugs are geniuses.)

Thursday morning I awoke bright, early, and slightly hung-over in order to attend a taping of none other than… the Live with Regis & Kelly show!  My fabulous cousin Laurie Baur had hooked up the tickets, and being a huge fan I was thrilled to join her.  The guests for the day were “The Rock” and Ricky Martin, but Regis & Kelly were the real stars.  Those two are a modern George Burns & Gracie Allen, and if you don’t know who that is you must buy the DVD on Amazon today.  Of course, I had decided that meeting Kelly Ripa was a top priority, and wisely sent her shoes with a note in advance of my trip.  Sure enough, as the show came to a close one of the producers found us in the audience and escorted us backstage, where we were delighted to get to meet Kelly, who is absolutely hilarious, humble, gorgeous and divine.  We love you Kelly and can’t wait to see you in HOLLYWOULD!

Today is Friday and as you can imagine, I really, really need to get some sleep…

October 17th 2005
New York City

It seems that the 3 weeks I’ve just spent in Italy have been long enough for the entire world to radically change.  No, I’m not talking about sick chickens, but about more important world altering events, such as Paris ‘n’ Paris splitting up, Katie Holmes getting knocked up, and Ashton & Demi getting hitched. 

If you want my personal opinion, I never think it’s a good idea to marry someone with your same name, and Paris/Paris doesn’t really work anywhere but a Las Vegas hotel.  I’m not too worried about those two landing on their feet, as it’s so much more fun to be single when you're young & rich anyway. 

The whole Katie Holmes baby thing is a mystery to me.  Luckily the kid will live to be over 8 billion years old and will help fight the alien warriors in the year 2087, so I’m kind of glad she’s having it, wherever it came from. 

When it comes to Ashton & Demi, I’ve frankly warmed up to them as a couple.  Yes, I think it’s a little weird that Bruce still hangs out with the family as if Ashton is he & Demi’s adopted son, and yes, it’s also weird that Ashton is closer in age to the kids than their mom, but you’ve got to admit they’re a good looking pair.  As long as you’re going to be strange, you should at least be good looking.

In much more important news... HOLLYWOULD is looking for our Summer 2006 Intern!  A HOLLYWOULD internship is a great way to learn about marketing, sales, P.R., and logistics – all the inner workings of our fabulous fashion company. We are fortunate enough to get hundreds of applicants for our summer intern positions in New York, and while we would love to be able to take each and every one of you, we only have room for one intern in our office, so we’ve established some application guidelines:

HOLLYWOULD SUMMER 2006 INTERNSHIP GUIDELINES

• Resumes will be accepted from October 15, 2005 to January 15, 2006. Interns will be chosen in late January 2006. 
• Interns must be recent college graduates or incoming college Seniors.
• Interns must have a place to live in NYC for the duration of the internship.
• Interns must be able to work 5 days/week for at least 6 weeks.  Work hours are 9am – 5pm, Mon-Friday.
• When you write us, please request the dates which you would like to work.  Summer is our most popular internship time, but we take interns year-round.  We do not take interns for periods longer than 12 weeks.
• Interns must be able to use Office programs (yes, even you designers).  Basic Word & Excel a must.  Photoshop a huge plus. 
• Interns do NOT need to want to be a “designer”.  We would LOVE to have some business majors or other liberal arts majors who want to work on the business side of fashion. 
• Interns must apply by email to jobs@ilovehollywould.com.  Resumes received via mail or in person will not be considered.  You will need to include your resume (one page), a cover letter (one page), and your email address. 
• If your schedule or your school requires an internship to be scheduled before 2006, please advise in your letter & every effort will be made to accommodate your needs.
• Our ideal intern will be a hard working, creative self starter who is interested in learning about the business side of fashion, has a positive attitude, and is polite & pleasant! 
• All interns are unpaid.

Thanks and we'll see you next summer!

October 11th 2005
Saks Fifth Avenue!

Oh Girls… If you haven’t seen it yet, you MUST check out the gorgeous shot of our HOLLYWOULD Limited Edition Gold Shearling Bootie on Saks.com’s shoe section.  We LOVE this photo of our favorite boot, which looks fab with a pair of our skinny jeans or any knee-length skirt.  So, “Go for the glamour of HOLLYWOULD” and visit Saks.com today!

October 8th 2005
Florence, Italy

Although our Customer of the Month page will not be fulling functioning until next week, I wanted to announce our winner anyway...

The HOLLYWOULD Customer of the Month Award goes to London’s chicest fashion finance guru, Sagra Maceira de Rosen.  Sagra did not even know we had a “Customer of the Month” award when she sent me this photo, but we think she looks too gorgeous in her HOLLYWOULD Black Shell Dress not to win the prize! 

Sagra, for looking so heavenly in your HOLLYWOULD you’ve just won a $250 gift certificate to the HOLLYWOULD NYC or Palm Beach store, which can be used in the month of November.  Congratulations!

October 7th 2005
Palm Beach, Florida

This diary entry was written by our fabulous Palm Beach Store Manager Emily Perrotto, who, as you will read, is a tried & true HOLLYWOULD Girl…

What a weekend!  It all started last Thursday at 10am when I unlocked our Cabana-style HOLLYWOULD boutique to a line of Palm Beach’s finest ladies, drooling to enter our super-exclusive, VIP, invite-only “Insane Sale”.  It seems there’s an exception to upholding the look of pure class and elegance that oozes from our little island, and that, my friends, is the HOLLYWOULD Insane Sale. 

The ladies who lunch rolled up their cashmere sleeves, pinned back their perfectly coiffed Frederic Fekkai hairstyles and got down and dirty in HOLLYWOULD Heaven to search for that perfect HOLLYWOULD shoe or bag, or in some cases that perfect 16 pairs of HOLLYWOULD shoes or bags!  For three days we offered top-secret discounts to our best customers, as a way to say “thank you” for keeping those finely pedicured tootsies in gorgeous HOLLYWOULD styles.  Who would have ever thought this fine event would turn out to be THE place to be for all the latest styles and all the juiciest Palm Beach gossip?!

After happily spreading HOLLYWOULD love for 3 days straight, on Saturday we moved the party to our favorite restaurant and hotspot– Cucina Dell’Arte for our first ever HOLLYWOULD Girl’s Night Out, Palm Beach style.  For those of you that haven’t yet had the pleasure to visit this fine establishment I will tell you one thing: Cucina rocks!  The H-Crew (Carolyn, Anna, Rhonda) and I started out the evening with a deliciously refreshing glass of bubbly, and then another, and yet another.  All the while mingling and dancing the night away with every HOLLYWOULD girl within a 100 mile radius. Let me tell you this, if you were a fabulously single male and you weren’t at this party you missed the best night of your life because every gorgeous, intelligent, and very fun HOLLYWOULD gal was there decked out in the latest and greatest Holly Dunlap designs.  Let’s just say that a few of our admirers - Joe, Alex, Brock, Jeffrey, Matt and Matt were in ooggling ecstasy J (see pictures).  

After a few hours of dancing the night away, “The Matts”, as we like to call them, made our evening even more memorable.  Our very favorite and very handsome Cucina Manager Matt Barger and Matt-the-waiter brought us tray after tray of none other than the newly popular shot of all shots…The HOLLYWOULD!  To me it tasted like the perfect tropical fruit juice - however, my hangover would beg to differ come Sunday morning.  Nevertheless, the memories of a rockin’ good time quickly diminished any of my hangover pain.

I’m sure every fashionable woman in the fine state of Florida is just itching to know how they can get invited to this now annual event.  Well girls, it’s quite simple: just shop chez HOLLYWOULD next time you’re in Palm Beach and if we can tell that you really love, love, love the stuff… the shoe fairy might just send you an invite for next year!

October 4th 2005
Milan, Italy

It’s fashion week here in Milan, which means that every night of the week is packed with fashion parties for fashion people.  This, of course, always puts me in a dilemma of what parties to choose and where on earth to begin.  Last night was no different, with a roster of parties a kilometer long, all going up against one singular event that I knew would take all night and ruin my hopes of attending any other fashion soirees: The 50 Cent Concert.  Now girls, you know I love fashion, but when forced to make a decision, 50 Cent wins every time.  Go shawty.

I’m staying with my divinely chic friend Jasmine Sforni (see diary entry March 14, 2003), and she and I headed to the coliseum on the outskirts of Milan with every Italian rap fan from Sicily to Lake Como.  What a sight.  Italian rap fans are the best because they get the look half way, but then fall short by absolutely refusing to wear baggy jeans.  As I looked around me I realized that the hip-hop/tight-jeans combo is so wrong it’s right, and I’m ready for the comeback.

Needless-to-say, the show rocked and 50 (I like to call him “Fitty” - we’re cool like that) brought out his entire G-Unit crew including Mob Deep, Olivia, Lloyd Banks, Young Buck, and rapper-turned-preacher-turned-rapper, MA$E.  The concert was AMAZING and my personal very favorite look, which I will be rocking next time I find myself in a gang war, was 50 Cent’s blinged-out bullet-proof vest.  You never know when you’ll need one.  The other genius thing, that as an entrepreneur I have to mention, was that the entire concert was a huge advert for all 50 Cent products, featuring large screens all over the auditorium playing ads for 50 Cent Vitamin Water, the new 50 Cent movie (a must-see), G-unit sneakers, and all of 50 Cent’s other investments.  Fitty is the new Donald Trump.

Oh yes, and I must mention my love for the plethora of thugged-out 12 year olds in attendance, as you can see from the photo (right).  They were there by the fiat loads; all chaperoned by their suit-wearing Italian fathers who stood to the side shaking their heads while their thugged-out children threw gang signs and sang every single word perfectly in a foreign language.  I’m sure their parents think it’s good for their kids to learn English this way, and that it will be valuable for them to know how to say phrases like, “You said you a gansta, but you neva pop nuttin'”.  And, well, maybe it will. 

Anywho, as soon as the show ended Jasmine and I headed to meet some friends who had missed the rap show in lieu of fashion shows, and we all headed to the G-unit after-party where we spent the rest of the evening.  Fabulous friends in attendance (some of whom are pictured right) included Jimmy Choo’s Tara ffrench-Mullen, Berengere Lux, and Jane Hanrahan, along with Surface Magazine’s Carolina Neri and our fabulous male chaperone, Adriano di Petrillo.

I’m off to bedazzle my bullet-proof vest…

October 2nd 2005
Milan, Italy

During Milan fashion week the streets team with fashionistas decked out in their usual head-to-toe black uniforms looking, in my opinion, rather unfashionable.  I’m of the fashion school that believes that people with a true sense of style should know how to incorporate color into their daily ensembles, and that head-to-toe black is just plain lazy.  If you don’t believe me just ask some of my favorite fashion heroes:  Emilio Pucci, Hamish Bowels, Emmanuel Ungaro, Missoni, Roberto Cavalli, Valentino, and my former boss Christian Lacroix, who I happened to see on Tuesday wearing a hot pink blazer in the epicenter of Milanese fashion, 10 Corso Como.  Now that’s chic.  So, next time you’re leaving the house and you glance in the mirror and find yourself looking like Morticia Addams, for God’s sake, be creative and throw on some red shoes, an orange scarf, lime green gloves, a purple hat, or a magenta belt, but do not leave the house without a bit of color!