Whether you love her, hate her or want to feed her, celebrity stylist Rachel Zoe makes an impact. With such clients as Mischa Barton, Nicole Richie and Jessica Simpson paying the hefty $6,000 a day price tag for her styling services, Rachel Zoe is definitely making a name for herself-good or bad.

The following excerpt, from a September 24 article in the Times UK, profiles Zoe as a fashion/celebrity stylist who only works with the thinnest of clients and persuades them to be thinner. StyleIT isn’t taking sides, but like it or not, Zoe is responsible for many celebrity fashion trends.

Celebrity stylist Rachel Zoe swept into London last week to find a city poised to loathe every inch of her infamous size 0 frame. The great weight debate had rumbled through fashion week and was reaching a climax just as Zoe — an American fashionista the Los Angeles Times once claimed was “single-handedly bringing anorexia back” — hit town. It couldn’t have been more awkward if Glenn Hoddle had turned up at the Paralympics.

Zoe — her name rhymes with faux — put a brave face on things. “I love London so much,” she simpered to guests at designer Julien Macdonald’s pre-show bash at the Sanderson hotel on Wednesday. “I’d move here if it weren’t for the weather. I’m the palest I’ve been in ages.”

Being pale simply doesn’t cut it with the former fashion journalist. Neither do baggy jeans, trainers, small sunglasses or, God forbid, body fat. Zoe, 34 (unkind fashion types insist she looks 10 years older) is a stylist and for the past 18 months the look she has devised for her long list of celebrity clients — pin thin, orange tan, tousled mane; think Brigitte Bardot on crack — has come to define modern beauty.

Continue reading the article at the Times UK website.

Here at StyleIT, we have to admit that we’re more than just a little obsessed with Project Runway–both the clothes and the designers.  So,  when we came across this letter designer Keith Michael wrote to fellow blog Blogging Project Runway, we knew we had to share it with our readers. Warning!  A long read is in front of you!

Seems like everyone is bitter that I might be actually telling the truth. Look- here’s how it goes- we were NOT told in contract or letter that we could NOT bring books. SO- I BROUGHT BOOKS! IS THIS SUCH A FOREIGN CONCEPT- HAVE WE GONE SO FAR BACK IN TIME THAT BOOK BURNINGS ARE BACK IN FASHION???? When we arrived we were all quarantined, and our bags went through a “customs” check. Unlike the way you see on TV- all of us arriving with our bags to happy Atlas House- we were all held in “cell” apartments though-out the city. There, ALL of our clothes, bags- everything was thoroughly searched, inspected and checked within the first few minutes of our arrival. I was told IMMEDIATELY that I would NOT BE ALLOWED TO HAVE THOSE BOOKS AND THEY WERE REMOVED FROM MY POSSESION THAT INSTANT!

The contract clearly stated that the producers had the right to remove anything they deemed inappropriate- and they did. Those books were returned to my room later the following week. I informed the production team immediately of the return and was told that the matter would be looked into. Nothing was ever done about it. I discussed this with my roommate Jeffery. His thoughts on the matter were that when I won the first challenge and Heidi said to me “ I would find that there are special advantages to winning the first challenge” that this might have meant that the return of some of our personal belongings might be a bonus of some sort. You know- at this point I recalled seeing one of the first project runways where I thought Austin was sitting at a sewing machine with headphones on- all our ipods and music equipment were confiscated when we arrived, so I thought- maybe that’s it- over time if you’re “good” you get your stuff back. Listen there’s no excuse either way- if you say I’m not telling the truth about the books being taken immediately- then according to the RULES, I was not in violation, because anything deemed inappropriate would have been taken- ergo- not taken- NOT A VIOLATION- YOU FOLLOW?!

The rest of Keith’s letter may be found here.

 Here’s the letter received by fellow Project Runway designers.

Have you ever wanted to know what they ACTUALLY signed?

What about they rules they’re supposed to follow?

–Source:  Blogging Project Runway and OhNoTheyDidn’t!

As seen Wednesday at the Today show (photo from AOL) Jessica Simpson proves the fashionistas in the tents at Bryant Park got it right. While attending the Spring/Summer 07 shows last month, I observed stylish women consciously mixing brown and black. Whether it be as simple as pairing a brown handbag with a black outfit, or mixing brown leggings with black dress, this is one streetwear trend making its way up. Pairing brown with black keeps you from looking too grim or too dressy--both can happen easily with an all black ensemble. If Jessica Simpson wasn't proof enough, check out this fantastic look Rhianna managed to create on a rainy day. Black and brown have never looked as good as they do this fall!

Photo Source: cakeandice-cream.blogspot.com

A tragedty to live music, the legendary punk venue CBGB will be forced to close it's doors on October 31.  After 32 years in the same location, CBGB is leaving 315 Bowery, on Manhattan's Lower East Side, due to a raging legal dispute.  CBGB, which stands for Country, Bluegrass and Blues, may not have seen it's last days yet.  The owner, Hilly Kristal, is considering opening a new CBGB in Las Vegas.  For more information on CBGB, including tickets to a special acoustic performance by Debbie Harry, visit CBGB.com.

--Via the NY Daily News

 Karl Lagerfeld had us all fooled.  We thought he had enough to do with designing for Chanel, Fendi and Lagerfeld gallery until a recent article revealed he keeps his 60,000 album collection on over 70 Ipods.  He's turned his love for music into a 23-song compilation currently on sale at Amazon.fr.  Entitled Karl Lagerfeld : Les Musiques que j'aime, Lagerfeld plays DJ, dividing the tracks into an "At Home" disc and a "Fashion Show" mix.  Purchase now at Amazon.fr, or wait until the 2-cd set drops in the US in November.