Table of contents for May 2013 in ELLE

"At 12:01 A.M., the rocket went off and you heard…'Ladies and gentlemen, rock and roll.' People in the room were sobbing. I had been at MTV for only two weeks…There were people in the room who had started the channel in a hotel room and had been fighting for it for years."—Martha Quinn, on the night MTV hit the airwaves Tuesday, May 7 BROADCAST PIONEERS Pop culture junkies, especially Behind the Music fanatics, will devour VJ: The Unplugged Adventures of MTV's First Wave (Atria Books), in which original MTV hosts—Nina Blackwood, Mark Goodman, Alan Hunter, and Martha Quinn—dish about meeting music legends, and their secret workplace romances. Tuesday, May 7 HAPPY TRACK On She & Him's fourth album, Volume 3 , doe-eyed funny girl Zooey Deschanel and…

GUEST BLOGGER: TAYLOR STERLING Bay Area–based style blogger Taylor Sterling could be the poster child for the growing viability of blogging as long-term career path. A former recruiting director for a financial-services firm, the San Francisco native created her personal blog, Sterling Style, as an after-work outlet for her love of fashion back in 2009. But when the economy continued taking a turn for the worse, Sterling decided to try to capitalize on her creativity and devote herself to blogging full-time. In 2011, she founded Glitter Guide, an online lifestyle website, tapping her Washington, DC–based pal and fellow style blogger Caitlin Moran to be her editorial director. And risk soon gave way to reward: As the site's founder and creative director, Sterling, 31, now oversees a team of about 15…

Adele, sitting pretty in vintage Alberta Ferretti Ora, rocking Maison Martin Margiela couture Gold and diamond guitar-pick necklace, ELISA SOLOMON JEWELRY, $2,400, visit elisasolomon.com JEAN PAUL GAULTIER For this year's Women in Music Issue, the ELLE team traveled from L.A. to London to capture three of today's brightest stars—Adele, Alicia Keys, and Rita Ora—for our rotating covers. How did we pull it off? Photographer Thomas Whiteside: "We photographed Adele at L.A.'s iconic EastWest Studios, where Frank Sinatra recorded his greatest hits." ELLE Creative Director Joe Zee: "The set reflected Adele's retro crooner style perfectly." Whiteside: "It was also my birthday, and she sang 'Happy Birthday' to me—best present ever!" Assistant Fashion Editor Sarah Schussheim: "Across the street, we shot Alicia on the rooftop of Siren Studios. She radiated cool New…

You're supposed to be on holiday, Mom!" announces Catherine Martin's seven-year-old son, William. In his Breton-stripe T-shirt, a smear of chocolate on one cheek, the child is an exact, rumple-haired replica of his father, the director Baz Luhrmann. And Mini Baz is taking aim at me with a (thoroughly harmless-looking) toy bow and arrow. "No, no, stop trying to kill her," admonishes Martin, turning back to me with a 360-degree roll of her big blue eyes. "Isn't he funny?" she says drolly. "Now, about the ethereal…." Martin picks up at the exact word at which she'd left off some minutes before—something about the historical accuracy of Carey Mulligan's first dress in this month's long-awaited extravaganza The Great Gatsby. As the film's production and costume designer, Martin speaks with the acumen…

In Los Angeles, a neighborhood doesn't always live up to its lore—just ask any backpacker who's ever checked into a hostel on Hollywood Boulevard. But spend some time with fashion designer and musician Chase Cohl, and it's evident that her home base of Laurel Canyon is in fact the artistic enclave of popular imagination, complete with whiskey-fueled songwriting sessions and prolific friends. "Everything I am is Laurel Canyon," says Cohl, who moved to Southern California in 2009. Much like iconic resident Joni Mitchell, "I am a Canadian folksinger who found my way here." Cohl's rock 'n' roll birthright is well documented (her father is the Rolling Stones' longtime tour manager), but it was a different tribe of musicians who inspired her to pick up her gateway instrument, the banjo. "My…

1. Glossed lambskin skirt, BOTTEGA VENETA, $3,750, visit bottegaveneta.com | 2. Black-rhodium-covered silver and gray-diamond cuff, LYNN BAN, price on request, collection at Maxfield, L.A. | 3. Patent leather pump, MANOLO BLAHNIK, $695, visit neimanmarcus.com | 4. Patent leather Maryjane, GUCCI, $695, visit gucci.com | 5. Patent leather bag, PROENZA SCHOULER, $1,695, visit proenzaschouler.com | Model at right wears: Lacquered dress with white collar and sheer long sleeves, VALENTINO, $4,200, at Valentino boutiques nationwide…

1. Peplum hem dress, VALENTINO, price on request, at Valentino boutiques nationwide | 2. Tweed, resin, and metal necklace, CHANEL, $1,990, call 800-550-0005 | 3. Leather-trim wool tweed bag, NEWBARK, $990, to order at justoneeye.com | 4. Tweed bangle, CHANEL, $775, at select Chanel boutiques nationwide | 5. Leather pump, DRIES VAN NOTEN, $790, collection at select Barneys New York | Model at right wears: Flannel dress, $2,150, metal and glass necklace, $1,350, suede gloves, $695, wool pumps, $665, all, GUCCI, at select Gucci stores nationwide…

Talk about love at first sight: Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel fell head over heels for the camellia after one was given to her by her polo-playing lover, Boy Capel. In fact, the designer liked its shape so much that she started pinning silk versions to her lapels and in her hair, and the blossoms even found a home on the black-and-gold-lacquered Coromandel screens in her apartment at 31, rue Cambon. In Southeast Asia, where it originated, the camellia represents longevity. So it's unsurprising that more than a century later—along with interlocking C's, tweed jackets, and quilted purses dangling from chunky chains—Coco's beloved fleur remains a Chanel signature. Jardin de Camélias, Chanel's new high jewelry collection, reinterprets and pays tribute to the time-honored house motif with a garden of options, from necklaces…

Anyone searching for a clue as to what inspires Caroline Ventura of Brvtvs need only look at the tattoo on her ring finger. Inked a year after she launched her coolly minimal jewelry line, it reads ET TV BRVTE, referring to Julius Caesar's famous last words as he was assassinated by a group that included his best friend, Marcus Brutus, in 44 B.C. "I wanted to play with that, turn it around," says the designer, with an impish grin. "I like it when things are not what they seem." (Thus, her first piece was a delicate chain that she describes as a "fancy friendship bracelet," inspired by history's most notorious frenemy.) The New York–based designer credits her obsession with all things Roman to the time her family spent living in…

A BALANCHINE BALLET, THE IRREPRESSIBLE LIONEL SHRIVER, AND MORE… "It's bedroom music," George Reid says of the sound he and bandmate Aluna Francis (together, AlunaGeorge) conceived for their debut album, Body Music—but not necessarily because it's meant to be played in one. "You do a lot of different things in there," adds Francis. "You might be chilling out or getting revved up; you might be sad or happy; or maybe you're with someone. So you press Play, and it takes you on a deep journey through all of those activities." Before crafting that journey for others, Aluna George had one of its own that began in 2009, when Reid kept stumbling upon the MySpace page of Francis' former band. "Her voice—I'd never heard anything like it," he says. Unable to…

Country Girl (Little, Brown) is the memoir that miraculously gifted Irish writer Edna O'Brien, now in her eighties, swore she would never write. The best-selling author of such boundary-pushing books as The Country Girls, A Fanatic Heart, Wild Decembers, and Saints and Sinners—some 30-odd works of fiction, nonfiction, and drama in all—has fashioned a real corker from a life lived boldly and bountifully. Skilled at snatching triumph from melancholy, O'Brien is positive about having "known the extrem ities of joy and sorrow, love, crossed love and unrequited love, success and failure, fame and slaughter, to have read in the newspapers that as a writer I was past my sell-by date, and moreover a 'bargain-basement Molly Bloom,' yet, regardless, to go on writing and reading, to be lucky enough to be…

THE SECRET TO PRETTY HAIR, ROCKER EYES, AND MORE… Not long ago, crystals hit rock bottom, so to speak, with the advent of the vajazzle, a rhinestone-encrusted appliqué designed to accent a smooth bikini wax. Nonetheless, from Christian Dior to Jean Paul Gaultier, the message from Paris this past January was clear: The sparkly stuff is back. "About seven or eight years ago, crystals were big, and then everything went back to basics," says international makeup artist Pat McGrath, global creative design director of P&G Beauty. "Now crystals have really taken off. It may seem extreme, but it will have a trickle-down effect." While makeup on the ready-to-wear backstage circuit often incites the same chorus of adjectives—tough! Boyish! Cool!—makeup at the couture shows inspires an altogether different class of descriptors:…

In a 24-hour span, my facial skin-care routine averages nine to 12 products. The morning breakdown is cleanser, toner, serum, sunscreen, eye cream with SPF, and BB cream; the evening: cleanser, toner, mask, eye cream, night cream, lash serum. My hair? It gets hasty sudsings, perfunctory conditionings, and slapdash applications of dry shampoo. Then there's the matter of my beloved hair tools, which reach scorchingly high settings of 450 degrees before I clamp, blow, or twirl them—tufts of scented steam swirling in the air—through my hair. Given this abuse, it's no wonder that my hair is lackluster—and it doesn't help that it's fine to the point of feathery and an ambiguous brown that my stylist calls "ashy mouse." "No product can change your hair's biology," says Eric Bône, senior vice…

Addiction to sleeping pills. As I type this, that phrase sounds so scary and cliché, the stuff of a Lifetime movie starring Meredith Baxter, crying alone in a dark apartment amid empty bottles of Southern Comfort. What I have, or at least the way I prefer to think of it, sounds a lot less harmful: just one little pill to help me go to sleep at night…every night. I, like tens of millions of other Americans, take Ambien or its generic equivalents (zolpidem is the active ingredient), which makes the drug by far the country's most popular sleep aid. When I first got a prescription, I was suffering from what doctors call "acute insomnia," i.e., a string of nights in which I stared at the ceiling for hours before finally…

FAIR ISLE KNITS, COZY CHAIRS, BACKYARD BLOOMS, AND MORE… There's a scene in Along Came Polly in which Ben Stiller's character launches an especially impassioned tirade against throw pillows. "That's nearly two days of my life a year I spent putting pillows on and off a stupid bed!" he shouts, stabbing his sheets with a pair of scissors. It's a sentiment Lily Ashwell finds herself sympathizing with during a visit from mom Rachel to her new L.A. home on a recent Sunday afternoon. "It's okay if you don't want to use all of the pillows I gave you," says Rachel, before jokingly adding, "I guess this is kind of like that scene in Along Came Polly." Gentle push and pull on matters of taste is something one expects from just…

Zac Efron's most noticeable on-screen feature is his gaze—or, more precisely, his eyes, which are so pale and blue that he can appear from certain angles to be afflicted with cataracts. I'd known this before flying to meet the actor in Austin, where he's shooting the JFK assassination drama Parkland, and I had played a game on the plane of trying to come up with suitable descriptions of the famous Efron peepers: Were they polished aquamarine marbles? Glacial orbs? Blue M&M's? We meet at Austin's oldest hotel, the Driskill, where the bar is dimly lit and richly appointed in what might be called cattle-baron chic: leather club chairs, cowhide throws, mounted old-timey revolvers. There's Skynyrd on the stereo; beer and bourbon and fried appetizers on the menu; and enough ambient…

Without music, life would be a mistake," wrote Friedrich Nietzsche. While that may be a sentiment worthy of a nineteenth-century nihilist, life—and fashion—would be hard to imagine without a soundtrack. Musicians have always been visual innovators, whether it be Billie Holiday with her signature white gardenia or Lady Gaga with her meat dress. For our annual Women in Music Issue, we delved into rock-inspired fashion, from true-blue denim à la Springsteen to classic tailored white separates reminiscent of the Thin White Duke, with a heap of studded white-and-gold accessories fit for Debbie Harry. We also performed one bona fide fashion metamorphosis: British pop star and budding style icon Rita Ora is transformed in our pages, trading her London-kid streetwear for Paris couture (complete with fanciful headpieces). While she enjoyed the…

Linen denim jacket, $570, skirt, $400, cotton denim hat, $120, all, Acne Studios, visit acnestudios.com. Cotton denim shirt, AG Adriano Goldschmied, $128. Diamond-band ring, De Beers, $800. Patent leather pumps, Manolo Blahnik, $645. Cropped denim bolero, Chanel, $1,935, at select Chanel boutiques nationwide. Cotton denim shirt, $70, patchwork denim jeans, $90, both, Calvin Klein Jeans. Gold triangle hoop earrings, Dean Harris, $800. White gold and diamond ring, Dana Rebecca Designs, $2,640. For details, see Shopping Guide. Denim jacket, $90, linen bodysuit, $168, skirt with wrap waist, $168, all, DKNY Jeans, at select DKNY stores nationwide. Gold earrings, Dean Harris, $850. Gold layered necklace, Elsa Peretti for Tiffany & Co., $4,400. Beauty Secret: High-impact curls call for extra hold. Try Garnier Fructis Style Ultra Strong Full Control Hairspray. Denim coat, Miu…

COVERS On Adele: Vintage lace dress by Alberta Ferretti. Diamond and hematite earrings by Stephen Webster, collection at Neiman Marcus stores nationwide. Her own ring. On Alicia Keys: Dress by Jean Paul Gaultier, $1,850, at Jean Paul Gaultier (Paris). On Rita Ora: Dress, gloves by Chanel Haute Couture, call 800-550-0005. Hair and head creations, Ken O'Rourke at Streeters, using Oribe products and accessories from M&J Trimming (NYC). Hat by Philip Treacy, price on request, to order, visit philiptreacy.co.uk. Bra by Calvin Klein Underwear, $42, collection at Bloomingdale's stores nationwide. Watch by Cartier, $340,000, at select Cartier boutiques nationwide, call 800-CARTIER or visit cartier.com. Ring by Bulgari, price on request, at Bulgari stores nationwide, call 800-BULGARI or visit bulgari.com. HOT CONTENTS Page 52: Earrings by Gucci, at Gucci boutiques nationwide. Pump…

Wednesday, May 1 ACQUA FOR LIFE Giorgio Armani and Sean Penn have joined forces with Green Cross International to improve the availability of potable water in underserved countries such as Haiti. Above, photographer Jim Goldberg captures a man fishing in a polluted river. Monday, May 6 THE GIFT OF TIME Michael Kors wants to watch hunger stop. As part of the designer's new partnership with the United Nations World Food Programme, the sale of each of his gold- or silver-tone 100 Series chronographs ($295) will provide a nutritious meal to 100 children. Friday, May 3 FREE FOR ALL Like abstract expressionism? Uniqlo has teamed with New York City's MoMA in a multiyear initiative to offer free admission to the museum every Friday evening from 4 to 8 P.M. Saturday, May…

My very first job out of college was at Rolling Stone, and as much as I loved every minute of it, I felt I had to take a sartorial side: Was I allied with the stoners in the art department, who wore Grateful Dead T-shirts without nostalgia or irony? Copy and photo, who were heavily into punk? Or the pretty, preppy boys and girls who were running the place? I typically wore an artfully roughed-up gray T-shirt and black miniskirt or black jeans, a combination of the antiestablishment/establishment looks, though it didn't really reflect what I was doing at the magazine, or where I wanted to go. It was interesting to me that the uniform of "success" at every conservative institution on the East Coast—button-downs, khakis, power suits, even stockings,…

• NAME: Lizzy Goodman PROVENANCE: Corrales, NM NOW: New York City PROFESSION: Writer THIS MONTH: "I'll Be Your Mirror" (page 110) and "Youth in Revolt" (page 274). "It was surprising how vulnerable [Kim Gordon] was. That was pretty mind-blowing, and honestly very inspiring—realizing this person who is kind of a blueprint of how to live and make art is also someone who experiences self-doubt." BONA FIDES: BA, English and classics, University of Pennsylvania; work has appeared in Rolling Stone, New York, The New York Times Magazine, Fast Company, Spin, and GQ READING: Blood, Bones & Butter, by Gabrielle Hamilton FEEDING RITUAL: "As a kid, I used to go to a farm after school with a pack of other kids where we would run wild for hours. Snack was…

When I think back to the fall of 2007, I hear the sound of Pop Rocks. A gentle chorus of snaps, crackles, and pops—like the noise the candy makes when it hits your tongue—emerging from beneath a plastic dome that covers my head. The sound comes with a bracing, unrelenting sting all over my scalp. I am at a salon on the Upper East Side having my hair bleached by a man in lace-up leather pants. As I sit immobile under this hood, cooking, he glides around the airy tiled space in Italian driving loafers, periodically calling to his two shaggy dogs, each dyed a different pastel shade: "Dolce! Gabbana!" It's the first week of my dream job. It feels more like a nightmare. My obsession with music probably began…

Carl Barât is giving me a quizzical stare. The former Libertines guitarist, now a solo artist, is about to perform at the Burberry store's grand reopening in Chicago, and while interviewing him I've already made one giant faux pas: After I ask the Brit rocker if he has French heritage, he answers with requisite cool-person vagueness: "I've got some kind of mixed-up mystery ancestry." "Well, have you tried researching your genealogy online?" I offer. "There are a lot of terrific resources out there." His bandmates—guitarist Anthony Rossomando, bassist Callum Ryan, and drummer Gary Powell—assume an embarrassed silence. A sitcom producer would, at this juncture, have added the "crickets" sound effect. When the conversation turns to fashion, though, there's a shift in the mood. Among sullen-faced rockers, I had prepared for…

1 . Sunglasses, QUAYEYEWARE AUSTRALIA, $40, visit shopnastygal.com | 2 . Blanket coat, MULBERRY, $2,100, call 646-669-8380 | 3 . Tweed minaudière, DIOR, $2,900, call 800-929-DIOR | 4 . Limited-edition silk and patent leather pump, ROGER VIVIER, $1,275, call 212-861-5371 | Model at left wears : Silk jacquard bustier, $2,800, pants, $2,100, silk pumps, $830, all, DIOR, at Dior boutiques nationwide…

1 . White gold earrings with diamonds and carved mammoth tusk, BOCHIC, price on request, visit bochic.com | 2 . Print dress, CARVEN, $650, collection at neimanmarcus.com | 3 . Scroll fan clutch, RALPH LAUREN COLLECTION, $1,750, visit ralphlaurencollection.com | 4 . Carved wedge sandal, EMILIO PUCCI, $4,695, at Emilio Pucci Boutique, NYC | Model at left wears : Printed dress, $4,300, drop earrings, price on request, suede boots, $2,370, all, BALMAIN, collection at Maxfield, L.A.…

DESIGNERS, SHOPS, HOT SPOTS, AND MORE… ROME Valentino's Rockstud accessories have caught on like wildfire over the past three years. The house's latest capsule collection juxtaposes the boffo pyramid-stud motif with camouflage prints on totes and clutches that ensure you won't blend into the background. valentino.com MIAMI Jewelry label Miansai—responsible for the unisex fishhook and anchor wrap bracelets that have become a hipster staple from coast to coast—is rolling out a new line of utilitarian-chic accessories just for the girls. miansai.com PORTLAND, OR Fetch Eyewear, Ann Sacks' stylish line of affordable sunnies and eyeglasses, helps protect much more than your eyesight, with profits benefiting the Pixie Project, which improves animal welfare through rescue and veterinary efforts. fetcheyewear.com NEW YORK As its name suggests, the new boutique Free & the…

Lace-trimmed chiffon top, $1,980, stretch pants, $880, cap-toe pumps, $795, all, Jason Wu, visit jasonwustudio.com. Yellow gold watch, Cartier, $4,500, call 800-CARTIER. Her own jewelry THE WOMAN: Alexa Hirschfeld, 29 THE JOB: Cofounder with her brother James of online stationery company Paperless Post, aka the fancy Evite, which has sent more than 85 million electronic invites to date, and in October (snail-mailers, rejoice!) launched a hard-copy line. COMPANY RUNDOWN: Launched: 2009 Headquarters: Chelsea, New York City Financials: $12.3 million in capital raised to date Employees: 55 ELLE: You and your brother conceived of the idea for Paperless Post when sending invites for his twenty-first birthday, which means you've been in charge of the company since you were 23. Do you feel pressure to dress a certain way in order to…

One of the Sundance Film Festival's most reliable pleasures is the breakout buzz that surrounds previously unheralded artists and their works, such as Miranda July's Me and You and Everyone We Know, Lee Daniels' Precious, or Benh Zeitlin's Beasts of the Southern Wild. Fresh talents popped up at this winter's Sundance too, and you'll read about them in future ELLEs when their films come out. But the biggest hit there involved a well-known director, a familiar love story, and two attractive stars who also cowrote the script. So what's all the excitement about? Your life, maybe. Before Midnight, starring Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy, is the latest in what fans call the Before trilogy—Before Sunrise, Before Sunset, and now this film—directed by the versatile Richard Link later, whose range runs…

I femelu has to go into Trenton from Princeton to get her hair braided, and in the opening pages of Americanah (Knopf), Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's third novel, as she slips into a salon-chair reverie, we tumble back in time to her girlhood in Lagos, Nigeria. Adichie (Half of a Yellow Sun)—who has already won a Mac Arthur fellowship and the Orange, PEN/O. Henry, and Commonwealth Writers prizes, to name but a few—thereafter unflaggingly holds us in her thrall with the tale of how Ifemelu got from there to here—and beyond. Ifemelu seems destined to come to the United States with her secondary-school and college sweet heart, the sterlingly loyal and gently mischievous Obinze, who has shared with her his love of American literature and pop culture. But then Ifemelu wins…

Like any tween growing up in glam-rock London, Linda Cantello used to rush home from school to flip on the musical variety shows Top of the Pops and Lift Off With Ayshea. One particular episode of the latter, featuring a performance by David Bowie and Mick Ronson, "changed my life," Cantello recalls. "Bowie transformed into Ziggy Stardust, and he was the most glamorous thing I had ever seen. Suddenly I realized that you could use hair and makeup to become whatever you want." Several years later, Cantello graduated from London's Harrow Art School and moved to Rome, becoming a makeup artist and eventu ally working with the music (and eye shadow) legend on his 1993 Black Tie White Noise album-cover shoot. Today, the Paris-based Cantello is a fashion-world icon. As…

New York's fall 2013 fashion shows are in full swing—as is a walloping blizzard—and I'm hunched over a low table in a hotel room, shakily attempting to adhere garnet-red Swarovski crystals to a synthetic fingernail with the tip of a slim wooden stick. So far, not so good: I've dropped more crystals in my lap than I have on my target. Embarrassing—especially with Kristina Estabrooks, the ultratalented international education manager for CND (Creative Nail Design), standing right behind me, evaluating whether or not my creation might pass muster to grace a model's finger the following night. The sense of urgency is almost palpable here at the CND Design Lab, the war room with an arts-and-crafts-party vibe where a crack team of nail pros gather every season on the eve of…

Last October, the American Society for Reproductive Medicine announced that egg freezing should no longer be considered an experimental procedure. That's quite a feat, given that the technology wasn't introduced terribly long ago and that the major advancement—vitrification, in which eggs are flash frozen—was developed only in the past decade. Motherhood, Rescheduled, out this month, follows three "clocktickers"—women in their mid- to late thirties whose fertility is waning—who not only froze their eggs but later used them to try to have babies. "Even if you've heard about egg freezing," says the book's author, Sarah Elizabeth Richards, who started her own odyssey with the process when she was 36, "you probably still don't know anyone who has done it." Actually, you may: Us Weekly recently reported that 34-year-old Jennifer Love Hewitt…

The last time I saw Kim Gordon, she was preparing a chicken for roasting. This was several years ago, and I was reporting a piece about the bohemian style of the Northampton, Massachusetts, home of indie rock's most powerful couple, Kim Gordon and Thurston Moore, of legendary noise-rock band Sonic Youth. Moore gave me a tour of the veritable record store that was his basement, and Gordon showed me her art studio and racks of vintage clothes. I saw the rumpled sheets on the couple's bed, the Buffy the Vampire Slayer box set in their den, and the refreshingly girly bedroom of their teenage daughter, Coco. But later, to my friends, what I described was sitting at their kitchen table watching Moore assemble cassette tapes for an upcoming release on…

SUCCESS AND THE CITY DEAR E. JEAN: What rules can you give a woman who's about to enter the world and embark on her first great job in the big city? —Starting the Adventure STARTING, MY FETCHING FLEDGLING: Delighted you asked. Without further ado, it is a high privilege and pleasure to present: 15 Totally Indispensable Rules—With Which You May Absolutely Dispense 1. Make mistakes as quickly as you can, and move on. 2. Don't worry if you meet a man who is too good for you. 3. If you're having trouble choosing between two paths, take the one that's more life enhancing, even if it's more dangerous. 4. When out for dinner with the girls, slather butter on your bread and declare: "The New York Times says, 'Overweight people…

On an unassuming corner of North London's Kentish Town, two little girls are standing slack-jawed. Against a backdrop of modest brick houses, a woman poses in a chartreuse Giambattista Valli couture gown, ski-slope heels, and a veil studded with butterfly pins. A man kneels before her, waving a reflective silver disk, alongside a retinue of stylists, assistants, and videographers. To the girls, it must seem as though aliens have landed in their neighborhood. And then suddenly she's in their world, talking to them. The bolder of the two fans clutches a crossword-puzzle book bearing the woman's image for her to autograph. "There's a book with my face on it?" Rita Ora marvels. Her laugh is part girlish giggle, part knowing wheeze. She gives them each a butterfly pin plucked from…

Structured leather bag, Michael Kors, $995, at select Michael Kors stores nationwide. Leather platform loafer, Céline, $1,090, at Céline, NYC. Patent leather oxford, Reed Krakoff, $625, visit reedkrakoff.com. For details, see Shopping Guide. Leather tote bag, Giorgio Armani, $2,880, at select Giorgio Armani boutiques nationwide. Leather clutch, Saint Laurent by Hedi Slimane, $1,890, call 212-980-2970. Studded leather top-handle bag, Tod's, $1,995, visit tods.com. For details, see Shopping Guide. Resin pearl necklace, Dior, $4,300, call 800-929-DIOR. Calfskin boot, Calvin Klein Collection, $1,595, at Calvin Klein Collection, NYC. Embossed leather clutch, Alexander Wang, $795, at Alexander Wang, NYC. For details, see Shopping Guide.…

TAURUS (Apr 20–May 20) With Mars, Venus, Mercury, the Sun, and, on the 9th, the new-moon solar eclipse in Taurus, you'll have a remarkable chance to realize a dream dear to you. Mars' presence suggests that you'll start an important cycle due to last for years, or possibly decades, and Venus, your ruler, will bolster your determination for shaping your life to your vision. With Saturn opposing the Sun, though, you might face opposition from a partner or collaborator, so be ready with a series of persuasive points to offer this detractor. Still, there's a possibility that this person could offer a germ of advice; if so, hear it out and reflect on what was said. By the full moon on the 25th, financial opportunities will blossom. See what crystallizes…

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A SWIFT KICK TO THE SENSES There are fans—and then there are Taylor Swift fans. Whether she's befriending Hollywood royalty (Selena Gomez, Emma Stone, and Gwyneth Paltrow are all in our March cover girl's contacts), ensnaring and immortalizing bad boys with her tearstained guitar, or looking model-like in Burberry Prorsum, Céline, Proenza Schouler, and more, in our designer-packed feature, she makes loving her, to use the pop star's own word, "red": "Boy, if I was Taylor Swift, I'd run out and buy every single piece of clothing Saint Laurent had. Joe Zee would also live in my purse." —Danielle Lisle, Tomandlorenzo.com "The news is in: Taylor Swift is going through a classic phase! Always classy and appropriate, like Coco Chanel." —@104GREYclothing, via Twitter "I am never, ever getting over that…

As it turns out, British-born model Karen Elson was an easy mark for a little Southern charm. Passing through Nashville on a road trip seven years ago with then husband Jack White, the two decided the Athens of the South was the perfect place to call home (or one of them, at least). Today, the former face of Chanel, muse to Karl Lagerfeld, and all-around runway mainstay, has slowed down enough to make the city her full-time residence, where she lives with her children, Scarlett, seven, and Henry Lee, six. "There's a real sense of relaxation I have here that no other place can give me," Elson says. "I'm not late for something. I don't have to be somewhere." The fiery-haired beauty, a singer-songwriter and guitarist who released the ethereal…

Sipping hot tea through a straw, her narrow fingers clasped firmly around a flimsy Styrofoam cup, Denmark-born, Brooklyn-based musician Amalie Bruun took in the scene before a recent appearance at the Manhattan music landmark Mercury Lounge. It was about 15 minutes before she was scheduled to perform, and the showgoers consisted of her nerve-addled manager, Josh; a long lost friend; and a few scruffy regulars. The place was dead, but Bruun didn't seem worried. Worried is most definitely not her style. And sure enough, by the time the singer, clad in a loose gray T-shirt and cropped leather pants, took to the stage—checked in with her three-man band, murmured a few words to the audience, and calmly launched into a series of percussion-laced lullabies—patrons had begun to feel her pull,…

I have never attended a music festival. To be perfectly honest, I can't even imagine wanting to set foot in a music festival. They embody everything I loathe about public gatherings: a noisy mass of rowdy (and/or drunk) people, uncomfortable accommodations, music without volume control, and—here comes the ultimate old-man complaint—the general lack of acceptable bathroom facilities. I can't think of a less appealing situation. Even when it comes to indoor, organized concerts, I am only a reticent attendee. Though I do adore some aspects of the occasional big-production extravaganza (mega–pop stars, box seats, out-of-this-world choreography and lighting), my ADD almost always gets the better of me, and I find myself itching to get to the encore. So, to me, a never-ending string of concerts in the summer heat sounds…

1 . Leather trousers, GIVENCHY BY RICCARDO TISCI, $4,510, collection at Maxfield, L.A. | 2 . Polished rock pendant necklace, IPPOLITA, $1,995, visit ippolita.com | 3 . Calfskin boot, PIERRE HARDY, $975, collection at Barneys New York | 4 . Envelope bag, CéLINE, $2,450, at Céline, NYC | Model above wears : Mink coat, price on request, silk blouse, $1,400, leather skirt, $2,500, leather bag, $2,750, all, FENDI, call 212-759-4646. Yellow gold necklace, TIFFANY & CO., price on request, visit tiffany.com. Link bracelet, ELSA PERETTI FOR TIFFANY & CO., price on request, visit tiffany.com…

Prohibition is (luckily) a thing of the past, but that's no reason to forgo some of the era's more stylish highlights. No modern-day flapper would dream of stepping out without a little razzle-dazzle—and Tiffany & Co.'s diamond-encrusted turquoise pendants and earrings are the perfect accessory for dancing the night away while sipping gin cocktails, bathtub or otherwise. The jeweler's history with turquoise predates the Roaring Twenties: As far back as 1898, jeweler George Kunz used the stone to create a landmark collection for the brand. The newest edition's turquoise cabochons—a nod to the house's trademark shade of blue—are suspended from swinging diamond chains straight out of a Jazz Age jewelry box. Turquoise, diamond, and sapphire pendant necklace set in platinum, TIFFANY & CO., price on request, call 800-843-3269 Turquoise and…

Alexander Lewis' apartment-slash-studio is located in central London's Knightsbridge enclave, across from a pub where, on a recent 11 A.M. visit, patrons were already enjoying their pints. Around the corner from his flat is a picturesque gated garden (a local dowager controls access to the key) surrounded by row houses straight out of Mary Poppins. It doesn't get more quintessentially British than this. But while the 27-year-old de signer has plenty of Anglo bona fides—graduating from Harrow, the prestigious boarding school attended by Winston Churchill; apprenticing on Savile Row—he's something of a human melting pot, part Brazilian, English, and American. The son of an American father and a Brazilian mother, Lewis was born in Chicago. When he was nine, after his mother remarried a Brit, the fam ily relocated to…

No wardrobe is complete without denim, whether you're a die-hard prep who believes it's not really a party without a healthy dose of madras, or a decidedly uptown girl who'd never be caught lunching in (gasp!) trousers. In our annual denim guide, we take a peek into the closets of seven style archetypes to uncover denim to suit every taste, from innocent chambray shirtdresses to embellished bell-bottoms. Should you prefer a more gradual entrée into full-on denim dressing, Coach's Breton stripe canvas twill drawstring bag—part of a collaboration with Saint James—is just the ticket. Canvas drawstring bag, $398, wristlet, $98, both, COACH + SAINT JAMES, visit coach.com DENIM GUIDE: PERFECT JEANS, VESTS, AND MORE… TRUE PREP A country club–ready mix of madras and tweed keeps classic blues sporty yet chic…

Think Broadway dancing and you probably picture kick lines, jazz hands, and the wannabes from Glee. But there was a time when the choreography you might see in a musical was not so different from what was performed at the ballet and was in fact being created by the same classical artists. What happened? This month, the invaluable Encores! series at New York's City Center, which offers short runs of classic American musicals in semistaged productions, helps answer that question, with Rodgers and Hart's On Your Toes. First mounted in 1936, the show is in some ways just another silly musical comedy of its era, with threadbare characters hung like wet clothes on a ludicrous plotline. (Oh, if you insist: A gawky professor winds up dancing a ballet with a…

A long visit to Lionel Shriver's London townhouse is so uncomfortable it almost comes round to being cozy. "You might want to keep your coat on," the American expat novelist says, her breath fogging up the entryway. She refuses to use the gas heat ("they're price gougers") and rarely lights the woodstove before nightfall. Two hours later, she'll think to offer a cup of tea. She herself never eats until after evening calisthenics; bedtime is around 3 A.M. "I'm very routinized," Shriver explains. "I'm inflexible. Which is why we're not having lunch!" Her furrowed expression softens as she belts out a slightly smoky laugh, a relic of the one-per-day habit she recently traded in for an e-cigarette. "Jeff gave me a really hard time about inviting you over to the…

COCO NUTS Ever wonder what Coco Chanel would find Pinteresting? Experience her personal collection of fine art, photographs, and objects that inspired the world's most iconic fragrance, Chanel No. 5, during a monthlong exhibition, "N° 5 Culture Chanel," starting May 5 at Paris' Palais de Tokyo. SUN DAZE Hermès perfumer Jean-Claude Ellena is renowned for his ability to seemingly capture light in the luxury brand's fragrances, and the aptly named Jour d'Hermès is no exception. Inspired in part by the profusion of blooms in Botticelli's Renaissance masterpiece La Primavera, the scent is an abstract, radiant floral with notes of gardenia and sweet pea."I like the idea," Ellena says, "of bringing the outside inside." BASIC INSTINCT Just because we're nail-art addicts doesn't mean we've ditched classic polish shades—beige, red, and navy—"three…

NICKI MINAJ Minaj doesn't limit her favorite foundation to just her face—it's also the secret to her flawless legs. "For softness I use VASELINE COCOA RADIANT LOTION. Then I apply M.A.C FOUNDATION to cover imperfections. It's really lightweight." NATALIA KILLS This British singer creates her signature smoky eye by pairing two different textures. "I layer YSL MIDNIGHT BLACK EYE SHADOW under M.A.C LIQUID EYE LINER to create a smoldering 'Egyptian goddess' cat eye. The powder brings a softer, feminine feel to a sharp edge." GWEN STEFANI Musician/designer/ageless-wonder Stefani has perfected the art of staying power (and not just for her lipstick). "I apply a matte, dry base such as L'ORéAL PARIS INFALLIBLE IN RAVISHING RED, and then something creamy and moist on top, like M.A.C LIPGLASS IN RUSSIAN RED." KELLY…

FIRST KISS Slick, nonsticky Vbeauté Lip Spread Color Gloss in Virgin delivers moisture-rich shine, no balm needed. THE REMEDY Sepai V6.6 Elasticity and V6.5+ Lifting extracts are designed to boost base creams and serums for tailor-made skin care. TIP-TOP Lock in polish with Essie No Chips Ahead Top Coat, or skip nail color and wear it solo for a clean, understated finish. TIME-SHARE Revlon Baby Stick (shown in Pink Passion, Tahitian, and Sunset) works double duty, adding color to lips and cheeks. GARDEN VARIETY Soft floral scent Prada Infusion d'Iris L'Eau d'Iris blends Moroccan mint, pink laurel, lily of the valley, orange blossom absolute, and white musk. THE LIFE AQUATIC Tarte Amazonian Clay Waterproof Liner in Splash was inspired by Los Angeles–based synchronized-swimming sensations the Aqualillies. GEOMETRY CLASS Accentuate cheeks…

Curled into the corner of a plush sofa in the lobby of a hotel in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin, three-time Olympian Suzy Favor Hamilton was fielding questions from the starstruck president of the local all-ages track club before taking the stage as the honorary guest at the group's February 2012 awards banquet. One of America's fastest-ever female middle-distance runners, and a representative for Reebok and Nike at the pinnacle of her career, Favor Hamilton is beloved here in her home state as much for her readiness over the past quarter century to pop up cheering at charity runs and promote locally produced soy sauce and green beans as she is for her athletic prowess. Dressed for the event in an elegant black sweater and knee-high black boots—her slightly sidelong, wry grin…

Vintage lace dress, Alberta Ferretti. White gold and diamond earrings with hematite, Stephen Webster, price on request. Adele Adkins is a savior. That statement may sound like hyperbole to the uninitiated, but it will ring true to the millions on the receiving end of her powers: She has saved the music industry by reversing every catastrophic record-sales trend of the last 15 years (thanks in no small part to her album 21, international music sales rose in 2012 for the first time since 1999). She has saved pop by resurrecting the bluesy soul and emotional candor otherwise lost in our current hyperbranded era. She has saved us from our cynicism by giving us something to agree on—that the music she makes is truly, objectively good. She has saved countless hearts…

Textured cotton tuxedo shirt, Mulberry, $600, at Mulberry, NYC. For details, see Shopping Guide. Silk satin top, $2,655, stretch-leather socks, embellished silk satin sandals, prices on request, all, Prada, at select Prada boutiques nationwide. Nylon-and-Lycra hipster bikini bottom, Natori, $62. Cotton T-shirt, Haute Hippie, $85, visit hautehippie.com. Embroidered trousers with whipstitch details, Salvatore Ferragamo, $990. For details, see Shopping Guide. Beauty Secret: To create full, face-framing brows, try sketching in sparse areas with Estée Lauder Automatic Brow Pencil Duo. Linen jacket, Ralph Lauren Collection, $2,498, at select Ralph Lauren stores nationwide. Polyamide-and-elastane swimsuit, Eres, $465. Lace-trimmed ankle socks, American Apparel, $9. Oxfords, Giorgio Armani, $695. For details, see Shopping Guide. Embroidered shirt, $3,995, pants, price on request, both, Roberto Cavalli, at Roberto Cavalli boutiques nationwide. Leather boots, Jil Sander, $1,250.…

Tory Burch is sitting in her sleek, tangerine-lacquered headquarters in Manhattan's Flatiron District, contemplating, for a change, what women don't want. "Even the word ambition women shy away from," says Burch, tucking a piece of butterscotch-colored hair—as glossy as the walls that surround her—behind one ear. "I think it's time for that to end. Women have the right to be as ambitious as any man." Burch knows whereof she speaks: Just a few weeks before our meeting, Forbes announced that the 46-year-old would join its 2013 list of billionaires, making her one of the few females in the roundup and one of only a handful (think Oprah, Martha) who are self-made. It's a benchmark that's impressive for any designer, and all the more so given that only nine years ago…

Thanks to movies like X-Men: First Class and Wanted, James McAvoy has become something of the thinking woman's action star. While not the brawniest, he's got those blue eyes; and then there's that Scottish accent, more Sean Connery than Shrek, with a hint of Craig Ferguson to let you know he has a sense of humor. Indeed, McAvoy, 34, seems to be enjoying himself. Around the time that his breakthrough film, 2006's The Last King of Scotland, established him as a formidable presence, he also scored offscreen, marrying the British actress Anne-Marie Duff. Now living in London with their son, the couple remains fiercely protective of their private life, but McAvoy is considerably freer on-screen—as a badass detective in Welcome to the Punch (out now) or showing his naked ass…