Dayum Girl! Former Cosby Kid Shows She’s All Grown Up

Holy Bill Cosby’s sweater!

To us, Keshia Knight Pulliam remains frozen in that magical place called TV Land as the Cosby Show ’s “Rudy Huxtable,” the adorable and feisty youngest daughter of Cliff and Claire Huxtable and best friend to Peter and Buuuud.

So seeing her all grown and gussied up in a dress with a Lisa Rhinna thigh-bearing slit and slightly slutty silver heels is more jarring than Joan Rivers in Hi-Def.  And to find out that she’s playing a play a hooker in Tyler Perry’s Madea Goes to Jail?

We need some Jello pudding to ease the shock.

By ShoeMinx Couch Potato Paige Muller

Are We the Only One’s Picturing Her in Her Underwear After Those Smokin’ Hot Ads?

Victoria Beckham staged a triumphant return to Bryant Park after a private, appointment-only presentation of her first collection last season amid speculation that her designing career might be finished after her line of dVb jeans got off to a less than rhinestone-studded start.

Despite facing rumors that she may have received a little helping hand from her designer friend Roland Mouret on her new line, Vicky’s getting the ultimate revenge: success.   Her collection of posh and pricey dresses (which range from $1,000 to $3,000) sold out at both Selfridges (think Barneys) locations across the pond and are a hit at Bergdorf Goodman.  So much so that U.K. Vogue editor Alexandra Shulman has ordered one.

And though many probably didn’t notice given the extreme naked splendor of Madonna’s maybe boyfriend Jesus Luz in W magazine, her Madgesty was kitted out in a fierce body-hugging VB number.

Basking in the glow of fashion credibility, and a well-received second collection, the former Spice Girl out-shined everyone at the Armani Fifth Avenue store opening in a deliriously divine blush, crystal embellished mini Armani dress, polished off to perfection in matching satin pumps.  Fash pack approval and hot Armani ads?  Bravo, Miss Thang.  Or “zigaziga” for old times sake.

Make a stunning style statement ‘Basic’ Sergio Rossi pumps.  You’ll be blushing from all the attention you get.

By ShoeMinx Stylista Paige Muller

Wins ShoeMinx’s “Best Cameron Diaz Impersonation” Award

Looking at Jessica Biel’s at the Oscars we are beginning to suspect that BF Justin Timberlake, recently named GQ’s “Most Stylish Man,” has some kind of wicked mojo that saps women of their hotness and ability to dress themselves or properly comb their hair.

Now, we know the “Sexy Back” singer can’t be completely blamed for the rolled-out-of-bed-and-skipped-the-shower appearance of ex girlfriend Britney Spears, but it’s a bit suspicious that the “Womanizer” was quite cute, though a bit tickety-tacky (those matching denim outfits they wore in 2001 were a scream!) when they were dating, but post-break up suddenly it was an endless parade of ratty looking hair, bare feet in gas station bathrooms and clothes covered in Cheeto dust.

There’s Something About Mary star Cameron Diaz, GF number two, went from California cool mixed with wacky flair to “for the love of Vogue, buy an iron and do something with your hair!  That bed-head look doesn’t mean you don’t have to wash it” in record time.

Now Esquire’s “Sexiest Woman Alive” is morphing into a rumpled CamDi clone. Just look at how good she looked at the 2007 Oscars.

The 7^th Heaven star turned up on the red carpet this year with faintly greasy, lackluster locks that look like she finished a round of Tae Bo with Billy Blanks before dashing to get ready.  And look! Her white Prada duchesse satin gown comes with its own detachable bib to catch stray crumbs after eating hors-d’oeuvres  at the Vanity Fair party.  So handy.  Completing the fug sandwich, Jess shoved her feet into a clunky pair of closed-toe black pumps.   We weep for a silver strappy heel, like these by Christin Michaels.  Sigh.  This look just has Blade 4: Straight to DVD written all over it.

By ShoeMinx Red Carpet Watcher Paige Muller

Daring or Design Disaster?

Damn ABC for hood-winking us into watching the entire Oscar telecast.  We are all kinds of tired and hyped up on Red Bull thanks to their couture cover-up.  And what gives with the lukewarm red carpet coverage, E! and company (we’re looking at you Ryan and Guilana)?  Two hours of pre-event filler, James Bond-like tech wizardy and all you can muster up is a few squiggles on the Glamostrator and zilch on the Stiletto Cam?  At least the kids from Slumdog Millionaire were adorable so the night wasn’t a complete loss.

All of which is a long-winded way of saying that lack of sleep has left us undecided about Doubt star Amy Adams’ red strapless Carolina Herrera dress.  Since all the other celebs went shopping at the Barney’s winter white sale for their outfits, it’s a great and unexpected pop of color that plays well with her fiery hair and pale skin.  And the art deco piping detail on the bodice adds a nice flourish without resorting to the ginormous origami folds of fabric that was one of the night’s big trends.  Jay Emanuel snipped that the color made her disappear on the red carpet but we’re hardly going to take fashion advice from a man with a penchant for Vegas lounge singer jackets and a dyed blonde spiky cut, m’k.

But the dress seems a bit too casual for the Oscars, don’t you think?  It’s a touch more Golden Globes than sartorially worthy of a walk down the biggest red carpet event of the season.  And the Enchanted star was a nominee for heavens sake!  If ever there was an occasion for sparkles and sequins, this was the night.  She could totally have Macgyvered something from all the glitter on Miley Cryus’ dress.

We are equally conflicted about Amy’s necklace.  At first blush, we loved the green, blue and cherry red Fred Leighton piece.  That’s some MAJOR hardware.  It’s unusual and bold and the green stones complement the dress without being Christmas-y.  But looking at a close-up of it again, there’s a lot going on that seems to fight the gown and the longer we look at it, the more it resembles one of those faux-marble top mosaic tables you get for the patio at Home Depot.

But there’s no doubt that we’re not digging the clunky black platform shoe peeking out from underneath the hem of the dress.  A strappy heel, like these from Donna Karan, would have been a better option to balance  the bold dress and serious statement jewelry.  Even though we’re still straddling the fence on Amy’s overall look, we can say without equivocation that she gets the “at least it’s not a hot mess like Beyonce’s upholstered sofa dress” nod.

By ShoeMinx Red Carpet Watcher Paige Muller

Where’s Sasha Fierce and Her Leotard and Metal Glove When You Need Her?

We totally had a Joan Crawford “Mommy Dearest” moment when “Crazy in Love” singer Beyonce Knowles walked the red carpet at the Oscars:  ”Noooo mooooore mermaid dresses!”  This style is as old as her last hit with Destiny’s Child.

Every mother-daughter relationship is complicated but evidently the psychological issues between Beyonce and Mama Knowles are deep and complex.  Why else would the senior Knowles send her eldest child down the red carpet in a dress that screams “Bob’s House of Fabric Remnants?”  You’re a grown-ass woman, Bey.  It’s time to cut the umbilical cord and stop letting mommy dress you up in her House of Dereon creations.  Looks like baby sis Solange gets the last laugh this time (can’t you imagine her sitting in a dark room somewhere just brushing her hair over and over again and cackling like a mad hatter?).

At least these ‘Miluna’ sandals from the fashion house’s shoe line are red carpet glamorous!

By ShoeMinx Red Carpet Watcher Paige Muller

Hollywood’s Leading Ladies Give The Red Carpet The One Shoulder Treatment

The parade of beautiful people on this season’s plush scarlet carpets were just a warm up for The Most Important Red Carpet Ever–the Oscars.

But for all of the style anticipation and ABC’s CIA-like ploy to keep the presenters a secret to sucker us into watching the telecast instead of just watching clips on YouTube, the mood and the looks were muted compared to year’s past.

No instantly iconic gowns like Julia Robert’s, Halle Berry’s or Charlize Theron’s.  But no Bjork swan dresses or Lara Flynn Boyle Ballerina Barbie get ups, either. Even Tilda Swinton, who can usually be counted on to bring the WTF, managed to wear something that didn’t resemble a Princess Avant Garde of the Glargflong Galaxy ensemble.  And she wore lipstick!  We were so stunned we missed about five minutes of the celeb arrivals.

The main style note: elegant but not ostentatious.  And lots of safe, one-shoulder gowns in white and pale hues.  And instead of thousands of dollars of borrowed bling, celebs kept it simple with a key piece of statement jewelry.

We literally gasped out loud when cameras first snapped Angelina Jolie’s arrival.  She looked AMAZING.  Yes, Angelina wore yet another black frock, this one by Elie Saab, but the insanely good looking Changeling star went total Hollywood glam with big hair, a tasteful amount of cleavage, and green Lorraine Schwartz earrings with a matching ring for some pizzaz.  Now that is a movie star.  Jennifer Aniston didn’t stand a chance.

Oscar winner Kate Winslet capped off her fabulous red carpet streak in a flawless nod to Old Hollywood in a one-shoulder, gun metal gray Yves Saint Laurent gown with a lace embroidered sleeve and Mad Men-era hairstyle. If you’re going to win, this is the dress to do it in.

Rachel Getting Married star Anne Hathaway looked the part of a Hollywood ingenue in an intricate white Armani Prive beaded dress covered in pailettes that just screams “I’d like to thank the Academy for this award.”

Sex and the City’s Sarah Jessica Parker didn’t need statement jewelry to accessorize her dramatic Christian Dior Haute Couture gown.  Her décolletage was speaking loud and clear. Wow.  Are those new or just a really good Victoria’s Secret push-up bra? God bless her, the dress was the night’s one true moment of fantasy.

Penelope Cruz did not wear black or Oscar de la Renta as was heavily predicted.  What was expected, though, was her win for best supporting actress in Vicky Cristina Barcelona. She claimed Oscar gold in a  vintage Pierre Balmain Haute Couture gown (it’s more than 60 years old!).  Although this strapless dress is a familiar silhouette for her, the print gives it added interest and detail.  The style is a bit reminiscent of Gwyneth Paltrow’s pink Ralph Lauren Oscar dress, no?

One of the few stars to go for a bright color, Slumdog Millionaire star Frieda Pinto stood out like a jewel in a brilliant blue John Galliano one-shoulder gown.  We love that she wears looks inspired by her Indian heritage.

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button best-supporting actress nominee Taraji Henson went from singing “It’s Hard Out Here For a Pimp” at last year’s ceremony to posing on the red carpet in a gorgeous white Roberto Cavalli dress and a STUNNING Fred Leighton statement necklace.  The total look says “I have arrived.”

In keeping with the toned down aesthetic, Stuart Weitzman did not send his signature $1 million dollar shoes down the red carpet.  But you can get that million dollar look in these ‘Warner’ heels by Caparros without spending a fortune.

By ShoeMinx Red Carpet Watcher Paige Muller

This is it.  In just a few hours, fashion and Hollywood fantasy will collide at the Kodak Theatre for the 81st annual Academy Awards (the Oscars to the rest of us).  And somewhere in the celluloid city, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie and Jennifer Aniston and John Mayer are plotting their red carpet navigation with the skill and precision of a military strike team.  Or a team of stylists backstage at Fashion Week.

Between host Hugh Jackman’s tongue-in-cheek, yet mentally tantalizing tease of a “naked Oscars,” a possible Aniston-Brangelina red carpet rendezvous, rumors of Slumdog Millionaire star Freida Pinto’s secret marriage (no way will Ryan Seacrest and Guilana Depandi-Rancic ignore that gossip-y elephant in the room–or red carpet, as it were), the combined hotness of Twilight star Robert Pattison and High School Musical’s flat-ironed hunk Zac Efron, who actually wins what awards is just the icing on a three-tiered cake of glorious-and-ridiculous excess, glamor and gossip goodness.

To whet your appetite until the spectacle begins, we present the ShoeMinx Pre-Oscars Interlude.

One-Million Dollar Shoe Discount. The effects of the plunging economy will rear its ugly head — or maybe we should say sole — on the red carpet along with all those plunging necklines.  Designer Stuart Weitzman has scrapped plans to send a pair of his $1 million dollar shoes down the crimson carpet, saying: “We very seriously took into account the current economic situation and what is considered appropriate in the world of fashion today, and we felt this was not a year to be extravagant.”

Last year, the fancy-footwear designer chose “Juno” screenwriter Diablo Cody to wear his specially designed diamond-encrusted shoes to the ceremony, but Cody served up a plate of STFU, calling the selection “a cheesy publicity stunt.” She opted to wear a pair of simple gold flats under her flowing Dior leopard print dress instead.

Weitzman hopes his “big fan” Angelina Jolie, the best-actress Oscar nominee for The Changeling, who previously donned nude Weitzman heels to the Screen Actors Guild Awards and the Golden Globes, will again wear a pair of his shoes to the ceremony.

Anne Hathaway Says “Yes” to the Dress. E! reveals that best-actress nominee Anne Hathaway is “in love” with her Oscar dress.  According to a partygoer at Perrier-Jouët champagne’s Women in Film cocktail soiree, “She said it’s a little out of her comfort level but hopes people love it as much as she does!”  Our fingers our crossed that the usually “Best Dressed” star avoids dipping her toes in the “WTF are you wearing?” goth pool that sank Gwyneth Paltrow at the 2002 ceremony.

Check the batteries in your remote and get the popcorn ready.  The Oscar fashion bash and awards anxiety is about to kick off.

By ShoeMinx Red Carpet Watcher Paige Muller

Great, Now That Damn Huey Lewis Song “Back in Time” Is Stuck In Our Head

Watching Kim Kardashian’s make-over from Paris Hilton hoochie wannabe to fashionista-in-the-making has been way more entertaining than any of the scripted drama on her reality show, Keeping Up With the Kardashians (they cancel Living Lohan, yet this show is still on the air?  It’s a travesty!)

Kim made a pit stop in her style transformation to park her Delorean at the Y-3 fashion show in a space age jacket with some wickedly aggressive shoulder pads by Maison Martin Margiela that are as sharp as Alexis Morrell Carrington Colby Dexter Rowan’s rapier tongue (a character from 80s show Dynasty, darn all you Gen-Y kids), black leggings and matching heels, like these by Cesare Paciotti.  She further indulges her futuristic fashionista with a pair of C3PO gold press-on nails.

Clearly, the reality star is bucking for one-name status instead of the usual eye roll and smirk that mentioning her name brings.  Hmm, dramatic skank make-under, E! red carpet reporting . . . yep, all the signs are there. A solo project is definitely in the making.  Kourtney and the other sister, what’s her face, will undoubtedly have a staged fit, complete with goppy, runny mascara.  We are trying not to freak out that Kim’s upgrade is coincidentally timed with the announcement that MTV’s House of Style is making a comeback.  They wouldn’t . . . would they?

And who would have thought Kim would ever have something in common with style icon Sarah Jessica Parker, who’s been snapped lately in Margiela’s tabi boots that make her feet look like hooves?  Ugh, just writing that sentence makes us vaguely nauseous.

By ShoeMinx Fashionista Paige Muller

Makes It Work For BOGO Barganista Boutique

Project Runway alum Christian Siriano (and Amy Poehler muse!) debuted his second collection at New York’s Fashion Week.  But this time he didn’t need to shop the Bluefly wall for shoes and accessories.  The over-the-top designer premiered his collection of Egyptian-inspired footwear (and bags) for Payless on the catwalk (on the catwalk, yeah I do my little turn on the catwalk . . . )

The look: spikes, chains and cone heels (oh my!) in shades of deep chocolate, gold heels and aqua, including a truly gorgeous pair embossed with hieroglyphics-like print.  But we totally call Rodarte on the spiky heels.

And the inward curved heel is a suspiciously familiar silhouette, like the Dior platform bootie and Prada exaggerated curved-heel pump from several seasons ago. Loud-mouthed villainess Kenley Collins (she of the feather headbands) from PR season five would of course throw a fat sack of ‘tude and declare “There’s no silhouette like that,” despite all evidence to the contrary.  Sorry, we know we need to let go of the hate, but man, that girl bugged.

But since Siriano’s line will be priced at only $25 to $45 when they hit stores this fall, we won’t have to go on the Ramen diet to afford a pair.  Or two.  Those spikes are going to be a bitch on the subway commute though.

Throw your look a curve ball with these curved heel sandals from DSquared2.

Or these ‘Josefine’ t-straps with a modern twist by Report Signature.

By ShoeMinx Prada Girl with a Payless Salary Paige Muller

The Name Of The Game Is Seeing And Being Seen

New York Fashion Week is about the celebs who attend to grab free swag as much as the clothes that walk down the catwalk.  Who sits where, who wears what and who was blocked at the gate, the drama in Bryant Park is like the Devil Wears Prada crossed with Project Runway, with ten times the egos, bitchy attitudes and hair spray.

Case in point:

Oh, to be a frazzled, unpaid intern hanging out on this tension-filled tableau!  Check out the stink eye and “your catchphrase is stupid” vibes Keeping Up With the Kardashians star Kim Kardashian is giving Paris (doing her best Anna Wintour impression) and Nicky Hilton.  It’s like the Hatfields vs the McCoys.  Or the Real Housewives of Orange County vs High-Definition TV.

One Tree Hill star Sophia Bush has become so ubiquitous at FW that we are starting to suspect that she gets paid to show up like it’s her second job.  As much as we admire her plucky courage and restraint in not switching her ex Chad Michael Murray’s hair gel with hair remover after their split, we can’t fathom how she keeps scoring invites since you see her more on the CW than on the red carpet.  At the Reem Acra show, the small-screen actress kept it classic and chic in a rich two-toned dress by the designer, worn with the de rigueur YSL Tribute Two pump.

Style star Sarah Jessica Parker of Sex and the City fame was sitting pretty at Alexander Wang in an edgy head-to-toe black ensemble which she paired with black Maison Martin Margiela split-toe boots.  ShoeMinxers will recall that the dress-for-less Bitten designer had the fashion world buzzing when she sported a pair of ballet flats last year with the avant-garde designer’s signature silhouette.  Could SJP have been scouting looks for the SATC sequel?

These black criss-cross heels are oh so very Carrie.

Taking a break between fights with GF Sam Ronson, Lindsay Lohan’s skinner-than-usual frame caused a flashbulb frenzy at Charlotte Ronson’s show.  That, plus her see-through top with stirrup sleeves and built-in bra-strap ventilation system from the designer’s collection which she wore with a pair of Loubs.  Seriously, doesn’t that top look like one of those Ice Capades meets early 90s music video bodysuits that have snaps at the crotch?

We’ll pass on the top but say “charge it!” to these cut-out shoes from the collection.

Since we’re still slogging through sleet and slush and counting down the days until the first spring pedicure-ready pair of sandals, footwear for fall 2009 is so not our radar.

But the trend in cut-out booties, like these ‘Tammy’ boots by L.A.M.B., means they can be worn year-round.  One style for all four seasons?  It’s investment dressing and an economic stimulus purchase all in one.

By ShoeMinx Fashionista Paige Muller