Here's an unusual project to 'change the face of knitting'. See the video below where women talk about the meditative aspects of knitting and how it helps them feel accomplished. This project also involves a 'Knitting is Sexy' calendar. The objective is to showcase the beauty of an age-old craft.

See the video below where Lesley Scott discusses fashion for Spring 2010, and dubs the new trend as "Futuristic Chic". She says "it's very Blade Runner'y, very tough, and in some cases, quite androgynous."

The image above is from Rodarte's Spring 2010 slideshow at Style.com.

For an interesting discussion of the movie "Good Hair", see Anthea Butler's review. Here is an excerpt;

Apart from being a good film, Good Hair had a religious subtext that is important to look at within the context of the study of religion. You see, most of the “weave hair” ... comes from the practice of tonsure, or ritual haircutting, in Hinduism. The sacrifice of hair to the gods is the source of much of the human hair business in the United States. In fact, Rock’s documentary informs us that the hair cut for temple sacrifices is now the number one export out of India. The fact that tonsure, a religious act, has turned into a profiteering scheme is remarkable. But there also exist unscrupulous people who are stealing women’s hair, either while they sleep or in movie theaters where their braids or hair hang over the seats; while a woman is enjoying the latest from Bollywood, someone is cutting her hair and exporting it to be sold in Los Angeles.

The marriage of Hinduism and black hair care is fascinating—and troubling. The fact that hair willingly sacrificed to the gods is then sold to American women—not only black women now, but anyone who wants a shock of human hair as enhancement—is disconcerting to say the least.

Also see the movie trailer here.

We might want to think twice before applying a lot of face paint on our kids this Halloween.

Some children's face paints contain lead, a neurotoxin that can harm the brain at low doses, according to new product tests documented in a report from the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics, a national coalition of nonprofit health and environmental groups.

"Parents are stunned when they learn that these products made for kids have lead and other toxics in them. We don't understand how our government is so lax, nor why the manufacturers are so negligent," said Joan Blades, co-founder of Moms Rising, a coalition member and national advocacy organization focused on family health and economic security.

See more about this here. Photo above is via weglet.

Here's a good idea for a home-made Halloween costume. See how to create an Egyptian Queen makeup look and headband in the video tutorial below.

Wow, how many units of the Celebrity Styler will have to be sold to pay Paris Hilton for this glowing review of the flat iron/rotating curling iron product? See the video below.

For those who want to show their shapewear underwear off to the world, DNKY is coming out with a new shapewear product called 'Smoothies'. They're available in some psychedelic colors. They come in bike short, high waist bike short and Capri styles. By early next year, you'll see them being sold in the hosiery departments for $15.

Is this the new look for the 21st century? Are more and more women going to go and get their noses shrunk, and their breasts and lips blown up?

Shown here is Shauna Sand, age 38, mother of three, and a Playboy playmate thirteen years ago.

People in the US spent a whopping one billion dollars on virtual goods in 2009. This virtual shopping habit is expected to grow 60% higher in 2010.

A lot of this spending is by teenage girls who want to dress up their avatars on sites like IMVU, Meez, and IAC's Zwinky's.

See a promo example from IMVU in the video clip below;

Here's Sela Ward on a magazine cover at age 53. In the video clip below she discusses her experience starring in the new movie, "The Stepfather".

A few years ago Ward wrote a charming memoir about her rise from small town Southern girl to Hollywood celebrity; Homesick: A MemoirShe wrote this book in her early 40's (her youngest of two children was born when she was 42) and here's what Publishers Weekly had to say about it;

This earnest memoir by Ward, the 46-year-old star of the 1990s sitcom hits Sisters and Once & Again and spokesperson for Sprint long distance, juxtaposes a jet-setting Hollywood image with a smalltown Mississippi past. More sugared up than a glass of Southern iced tea, the book will surely build Ward's reputation with her TV fan base, as it doesn't delve deep into Ward's psyche or tell all about the biz. It's targeted at the women Ward grew up with in Meridian, Miss. the same women she wants to reunite with now that she's returned there to begin settling down, loaded with cash, a Los Angeles venture capitalist husband and their two children.

The fascinating trajectory of Ward's ideal American woman's life she went from cheerleader and homecoming queen at the University of Alabama to fashion model and fixture of New York nightlife should intrigue readers who can relate to culture shock. There's also a smattering of intelligently researched treatises on civil rights and on the contemporary crumbling of social bonds. A portion of the book's proceeds will go to a foundation for abused and neglected children that Ward founded last year in Meridian. Her overly saccharine tendencies notwithstanding, Ward gives readers a cute story of a small town girl's rise to celebrity.

Here's a video clip from the Tyra Banks show last year where she discusses her swimsuit shoot and how a couple of unflattering photos were picked up by the tabloids and they claimed she had gained 40 pounds although she had only gone from 150 to 160 pounds.

Here are some good tips for how to choose a hairstyle based on your face shape. There are four basic face shapes; round, oval, square and heart shaped.

Someone in Hungary has organized the first ever beauty contest where plastic surgery is a requirement for the contestants. It's being billed as Miss Plastic Hungary 2009. And botox, lip enhancements, or collagen injections don't count. It has to be surgery that involves anaesthetic. Breast implants, nose jobs and face lifts were sought. Eighteen contestants were selected and the happy winner (a 22 year old hostess) won a new apartment. The surgeons who operated on the top three winning contestants also won prizes. Some of the contestants were reportedly strippers by profession, but a few other professions were also represented.

See the contestants in the video below. No doubt this marketing concept will be copied elsewhere soon. It's getting a lot of attention in the press today.

Here's a clip from the new film "Good Hair" where Chris Rock asks African-American women "What's in Your Hair Right Now?" It seems weaves are very popular. "The flat hair business is a nine billion dollar annual business."

Mattel has finally created a new line of barbies called the "So In Style" line featuring three black barbies of various skin tones. Each of the barbies has a little sister. See the AP story here.