Dropping off my piano shelf for the 2010 Uptown Art FairCelebrity Art Auction to benefit Keys 4/4 Kids, which provides pianos to schools, churches and organizations that couldn’t afford them. Ok, yes, my daddy did my homework, but it was for the greater good: he’s an artist, and people actually pay for his work. I was thinking about the children!
I see how he could make a good girl go bad, but Cobra Starship lead singer Gabe Saporta couldn’t have been more elegant on the red carpet at the Starkey Hearing Foundation Awards Gala. He might have attracted more attention in skinny jeans and a t-shirt with messier hair. But all cleaned up, in a classic Paul Smith tux and a big smile, he stood politely under the radar while a handler announced him. He didn’t swear or tweet. The night before the gala, he attended a party at the Starkey founders’ home with Muhammed Ali and Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne, but said he was too busy talking with some other guy about poker to be intimidated. Indeed, he seemed at home with the older, upper crust gala crowd – mentioning his dad, a doctor, and talking while I starred (come on, he’s a tall, cute Jewish guy!) about the good work Starkey does not only helping kids hear, but helping rockers avoid losing their hearing with special ear plugs designed for the stage. Saporta has been wearing them a lot this summer – he’s hard at work on Corbra Starship’s next album.
There’s another sport Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Bernard Berrian loves almost as much as football: shopping. “I shop where ever I am,” he told me on the red carpet Sunday at the Starkey Hearing Foundation Awards Gala. He wore a Dolce & Gabbana suit with shiny black and white oxfords and a dazzling Breitling watch that he said he “tries” (but not too hard) to keep under cover. Berrian has the confidence and style to dress himself, but says he does have “people” who help him shop. In Minnesota, his favorite mall is Southdale Center. Hmm. J. Crew seems a bit too square. Len Druskin Outlet is a better bet. Who doesn’t love a designer bargain?
So I probably won’t be front row at a Doobie Brothers show any time soon. But Ozzfest is a distinct possibility. See highlights from the red carpet Sunday at the Starkey Hearing Foundation Awards Gala. Don’t those Minnesota Vikings clean up nicely? By the way, off camera I asked Adrian Peterson to go shopping with me and he said yes. Forget training camp – I’m holding him to it!
Vanessa Minnillo is gorgeous. Just perfect. No airbrushing needed for that skin. Wow. She wore a long red strapless Issa gown for the Starkey Hearing Foundation Awards Gala in St. Paul, Minn. Sunday and spoke eloquently on the red carpet about the group’s work to provide hearing aids for kids in need. She clearly was the one who steered boyfriend Nick Lachey to this charity, but she deferred to his love of music in explaining their commitment to the cause. She gently ribbed Nick, in Hugo Boss, about his penchant for ironing and told reporters her man is unlikely to follow in his brother and “Dancing with The Stars” champ Drew Lachey’s footsteps on the dance floor. All perfectly adorable and charming. Just one suggestion, Vanessa: lose the chewing gum. It doesn’t look nice.
To promote the new first bag checked free perk with the Delta SkyMiles Credit Card, American Express is giving away a standard piece of “designer” luggage to the first 200 folks to turn in a used bag at the Minneapolis Aquatennial Best Days of Summer Fireworks Saturday, July 24 from 5:30 to 11 p.m. Drop off is at the corner of West River Parkway and Portland Ave. You don’t have to be a cardholder to participate.
And you thought starting the Black Friday sales on Thanksgiving Day was early. Target is staging its first Back in Black Friday Sale – this Friday, July 23. Leave it to Target to beat the crowd. The sale is online only and will include electronics, toys, home goods and more, mostly at 30 to 60 percent off. Looks like there will be camcorders and at least one big screen TV, but the preview list also includes a three-pack of Zhu-Zhu pets for $18.99 and 83 percent off the “Ally McBeal” series on DVD, which is cause to wonder if this sale is just an attempt to generate buzz for garden variety summer clearance.
Estee Lauder will give away a 10-day supply of its new Advanced Night Repair Eye Synchronized Complex or Advanced Night Repair Synchronized Recovery Complex (I could take it seriously without the long name) on Thursday, July 22 from 5 to 9 p.m. They’re calling it “America’s Night to Repair.” The beauty company will distribute 360,000 of the deluxe samples at Estee Lauder counters nationwide. If last year was any indication, there won’t be any leftovers. The highly touted products are said to repair skin damage and erase signs of aging. The new formula is targeted specifically for the delicate eye area. Advanced Night Repair sells for $47.50 to $49.50. Bring your girlfriends – just one sample per customer while supplies last.
The first complaint is in: Got an email from a Mall of America shopper who is “appalled” by the new white marble floor on South Avenue, the corridor reserved for luxury tenants like Burberry and, coming soon, Hugo Boss. The new floor is part of a major remodel that includes brighter lights and dangling chandeliers. The upgrades do exactly what the mall intended: make it feel fresh and fancier. But at least one shopper thinks it’s also more slippery. “I sure hope their liability insurance is up-to-date,” she wrote to me. “I can’t imagine the chaos when winter comes with wet boots.” That might be a bit melodramatic, but the wet boots comment did get me thinking: sure glad I don’t have to mop those shiny white floors. What do you think about the change?
Leave it to Joynoelle designer Joy Teiken to make burlap pretty. I got a sneak peek of her fall 2010 ready-to-wear collection during a mini-fashion shoot today. Her signature retro-modern cocktail dresses are more textured than ever in this collection, which is heavy on gold and gray. You’ve got to see them close up to appreciate the way she weaves fabric and layers applications by hand. Her hometown crowd in Minneapolis will get a chance to see the entire fall collection on Sept. 23 at International Market Square. Stay tuned for ticket details. She’ll take it to New York in October.
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Dropping off my piano shelf for the 2010 Uptown Art Fair Celebrity Art Auction to benefit Keys 4/4 Kids, which provides pianos to schools, churches and organizations that couldn’t afford them. Ok, yes, my daddy did my homework, but it was for the greater good: he’s an artist, and people actually pay for his work. I was thinking about the children!
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