I am The Waris

Who is Waris Ahluwalia, really? According to Jalouse, the French fashion magazine featuring him on this month’s cover, he’s the coolest guy in the world. From his general run-down we know he’s an actor, a jewelry designer and an international jet-set celebrity shoulder-rubber. But coolest guy in the world? The title may be a bit much.

Waris flew onto my radar last week when I saw his jewelry line, House of Waris, in the uber-cool Miami Beach boutique Alchemist. When I noticed him on the cover of Jalouse a few days later I figured he was someone worth learning a little more about.

I thought this may be difficult. He has an untouchable cool surrounding his persona, so much so that I was convinced he would be untraceable, un-Google-able, in that that ”I’m so under-the-radar but have a very strategic publicist” kind of way. But, not so much.

With a couple strokes of the keyboard I discovered a quite extensive bio. It goes a little something like this…privileged New York upbringing, upstate liberal arts college, did the music thing, got bored, did the magazine upstart, lost interest, got involved in some charities, so that’s good, made a ring, some buyer liked it, we sold a few (to mainly celebs!) and now I am a jewelry designer.

Now, correct me if I’m wrong, but I am pretty sure that sounds like every boring girl in New York who can’t hold a job or figure out what she wants to do with her life so she “starts a jewelry company.” One more exciting than the next, let me tell you…

Now just because he’s a dude and he’s randomly appeared in a few Wes Anderson and Spike Lee films—bold-name buddies never hurt—does that make him anymore interesting? Not in my book. And I’m ok with the fact that Tatler, Vogue, Elle, Vanity Fair, The New York Times, Complex, Paper, Surface, W and every other media outlet/purveyor of cool disagrees with me.

Final Word: The jewelry is actually quite interesting—too bad it gets overshadowed by the obsession. But in the Paris Hilton school of marketing the persona is always bigger than the product. So the world’s coolest person? I think not. But on his way to becoming one of the most successful? That I could possibly believe.

Far Out

When I think of tie-dye several visuals immediately come to mind; Hypercolor, The Grateful Dead, and that bearded hippie guy who recently won Survivor. And while tie-dye is as much an American fashion staple as blue jeans, it has never been—in my mind at least—synonymous with high fashion.

But after last spring’s vibrant monochromatic color blocks of lapis, fuchsia and emerald, designers are now happily marrying a muted palette of beige, navy and black to create a multi-tonal sophistication appropriate for the chicest of designs.
This tie-dye may have nothing to do with rubber bands nor will it stain your hands, but the trend is still accessible to all. Both high fashion and low have attached themselves to look, peep-toe shoe by Prada and scarf by Zara pictured here.

Final Word: Former hippies rejoice! Fashion equality for all.

There are other things to worry about, BUT….

I am pretty sure Herve Leger is stalking me. I don’t want to jump to conclusions or anything, but everywhere I go, he is there.

I open a magazine, he’s in every one. I skim party pictures, he’s at every soiree. And every time I walk into an Intermix—which has been quite frequently lately—he is literally shouting my name.

I finally gave into his flirtation and tried on one of those bandage dresses of his, thinking it would be totally wrong for me. But on the contrary, it was quite fantastic.

If we thought those D&G bustier numbers did wonders for our physiques, these babies are an on-the-spot nip & tuck. Talk about non-invasive! And they literally look awesome on everyone.

The only problem here is the price tag. At just under four figures, this is the last attack I need on my (practically non-existent) checking account. I could make it work, but I shouldn’t. It’s bad for my overall health. Kind of like when you’re dating a guy you know is wrong for you, but you still want to go back for more. Oh wait, I do that too.

So now that Herve has gotten my attention and is totally in my head, my friends are only making it worse. They won’t stop talking about how wonderful he is just as I am trying to forget. Bitches.

Not to mention, we have this event coming up on Wednesday (Art Rocks! hope everyone bought their ticket) and I just got word that the dress I was planning to wear is sold out in my size. And the Herve that I wanted—which is obviously sold out in every other size and color—is just hanging there on the rack. As if it were waiting for me.

Final Word: I told you he was stalking me. Now I just need to decide if it’s worth it to really indulge his advances.

Add This to Your Wrist

We love nothing more right now than stacking bunches of bangles all over our wrists. We’re happy to announce that we can now create our favorite look while supporting a worthy cause with CAROLEE 35th Anniversary "Words to Live By" celebrity bangle collection to benefit the Breast Cancer Research Foundation.

Seven celebrity women including Beyonce Knowles, Julianna Marguiles and Mena Suvari worked with CAROLEE to design a “Words to Live By” bangle that includes an inspirational quote significant to each woman.

Beyonce encourages women to “Be Inspired! Love Can Conquer All,” while Olympian Amanda Beard tells us to “Laugh till you cry, cry till you laugh.”

The sterling silver bangles are $100 each and 100% of the profits go toward the Breast Cancer Research Foundation.

Final Word: Charitable and stackable. We love that. Available at Bloomingdale’s and carolee.com through December.