STAR STYLE STATEMENT: Jordin Sparks sings like a star - and dresses like one, too. She was wearing a Badgley Mischka dress - tweaked specifically for her by designers Mark Badgley and James Mischka - when she won the "American Idol" title Wednesday night. It was a floor-length, copper-colored strapless gown made of satin-face chiffon with a bit of beading on the bodice.
Badgley, straight off the redeye flight back to New York from Los Angeles, said the collaboration took place within the last week - something that doesn't happen with other celebrities. The design duo has dressed Kate Winslet and Jennifer Garner, and Sharon Stone starred in a recent ad campaign. They were on a business trip on the West Coast, Badgley said, and his office happened to be discussing other business with News Corp.
's Fox network when it was mentioned in passing that Sparks needed a dress for the finale. "James and I had been watching `Idol', and we started noticing Jordin a little earlier in the season," Badgley said. "We had 100 dresses sent out from New York.
We changed a couple, made one dress. We made jewelry, evening bags and shoes to match. She even wore our perfume.
" Badgley said that as they went through the fitting process, they tried to keep in mind that Sparks is 17. They didn't want to load her up with too much embellishment or make the dress too structured and serious. "Personally, she responds to femininity.
She liked dresses that were soft and flowing," he said. "We wanted her to be comfortable and be able to move, but she wanted to be glamorous. We had to strike that chord.
" KISSABLE SHINE: Benefit, the quirky San Francisco-based cosmetics company believes in multitasking. Its new lip gloss, called California Kissin' ($16), not only makes your lips shine but also pledges to freshen your breath and make your teeth appear whiter. There's a blue sheen to the gloss that supposedly plays a whitening optical illusion thanks to its pearlescent light-reflecting shimmer.
It is subtle, though, so won't look like you just ate a blueberry ice pop. The kissable breath part comes from the gloss' minty flavor. JACK SPARROW - FASHION ICON?
You might think that Johnny Depp's pirate character in the "Pirates of the Caribbean" movies would have had other things to worry about, but, apparently, a lot of thought went into his wardrobe. Disney is releasing the first two "Pirates" films, "The Curse of the Black Pearl" and "Dead Man's Chest" on Blu-ray discs this week. Among the extra features are fashion commentary.
Some tidbits from costume designer Penny Rose and props master Kris Peck: The lace tied around Sparrow's wrist was a suggestion from Depp, who wanted a few points of interest. "This is an old piece of lace and in a conversation with Johnny, we decided that it was a trophy piece from a young lady," said Rose. The bone in his hair is a shinbone from a reindeer.
The green ring - one of four Sparrow wears in the movies - is one that Depp bought for himself in 1989. "He was doing a photo cover shoot for Rolling Stone magazine and saw this ring, bought it at a thrift store and years later, this is the ring he wanted to use," said Peck. Peck added: "Johnny really has strong ideas.
He has a lot of eclectic friends that he comes across." The material for Sparrow's sash comes from a village in Turkey, where it was woven by peasants. Filmmakers bought 50 yards for the first film and then had to go back to the village to get 100 yards for the next.
They decided to get more of the original instead of simply silk-screening the print because it sheds and ages so beautifully, Rose explained. "Plus, to keep the spirit of Jack Sparrow going, we'd better get the exact same thing!" GROCERY BAGS: A trip to the grocery store is becoming a lot more fashionable as consumers look to designer totes to bag their greens and express their style.
Hermes, Stella McCartney and Consuelo Castiglioni of Marni are among the top designers now offering reusable shopping bags that are chic and pricey. The bags give shoppers an alternative to paper or plastic without sacrificing style. The Silky Pop Hermes bag, which will go on sale in the U.
S. this summer, has a price tag of $960. Made of hand-wrought silk, it collapses into a wallet-size pouch of calfskin.
Castiglioni's foldable nylon bag retails for $843. The Stella McCartney organic canvas shopper sells for $495. Reusable shopping bags, which have mostly been confined to farmers' markets and health food co-ops, have increased in popularity as cities consider banning the use of certain plastic bags and encourage shoppers to do more for the environment.
While the designer bags are eye-catching, cheaper totes are also grabbing attention. Trader Joe's sells a $1.99 bright blue-and-green print polypropylene sack.
And the "I'm Not a Plastic Bag" by British handbag designer Anya Hindmarch goes for $15.
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