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What are the Fashion Experts Reading?

Geoffrey Henning, J. C. Penney’s design director, sheds light on his top reads over at the Reading Room. Sneak preview: Twilight!

Skinny Bitch Author at The Joule for Vegan Desserts and Book Signing

In honor of the launch of her website HealthyBitchDaily.com, Kim Barnouin, New York Times bestselling author New York Times of Skinny Bitch, will host a happy hour celebration downtown with vegan desserts and organic wine. If you haven’t checked out www.healthybitchdaily.com yet, it’s a straight-forward healthy living advice blog without the sugar coating and with a dollop of fun sarcasm. To toast to the author behind it all, head to The Joule Nov. 4 from 6 pm to 8 pm. 1530 Main St. 214-748-1300. To attend, RSVP to RSVP.03321@luxurycollection.com.

Tomorrow Night: $500 Gift Bag

At least, that’s what they’re saying. Don’t forget the Nicole William’s Girl On Top event at The Limited at NorthPark. If you can’t make Wednesday night’s event, there’s another one on Thursday at The Limited Galleria. If you RSVP, you’ll partake in schmoozing with the other Dallas ladies that have come to participate, free Girl On Top cocktails for three hours, career advice from author of Girl On Top, Nicole Williams, and a 40 percent discount off The Limited’s new business wear. (Yes, yes, and the gift bag.) Both nights run from 6 pm to 9 pm. RSVP here and enter D Magazine in the “How did you hear about GOT?” field. We’ll see you there.

*Update: I was just told gift bags are first-come, first served basis.

Polish Pick: Barefoot in Barcelona

If nude colors are your thing, this new one from OPI’s Collección de España is a must. It’s similar to CND’s Cocoa, but not quite as warm. This creamy pink-beige-with-a-hint-of-gray color is dark enough to wear on toes, but muted enough that you can wear it every day with any outfit. I rarely finish a bottle of polish, but this might be one I’ll have to buy in bulk to keep my stock from running short. To purchase a bottle go to your local nail salon, Ulta store, or online at drugstore.com. Follow the jump to see this color on fingernails. (more…)

Mattia Bonetti – I’m Looking for You

I’m currently obsessed with a new book by Rizzoli of Mattia Bonetti’s work that is a somehow cross between Gaudi and modern architecture.  I’m also sure I’ve seen this table somewhere in Dallas – Laura confirms I had this image on my wall at the old office.  So where is it, and where can I see the whole collection? Any ideas from anyone?  A self-described “troublemaker turned traditionalist”, Bonetti’s style was referred to as “barbaric.”  Now. that wasn’t nice, was it?

Italian Touch by Donata Sortorio

I’m new to Mad Men, and like any convert, I’m obsessed. I have Mad Men outfits. I pretend I’m going to Ossining, New York, when I’m taking DART to Mockingbird Station. And I desperately want to copy Betty Draper by going to Italy, piling my hair up in a very, very, very high beehive, and kissing my husband Don Draper. In the meantime, I am making due with this gorgeous book–Italian Touch by Donata Sortorio. This gorgeous book almost makes me forget all about the fractious families on Mad Men for a moment or two and instead focus on gorgeous and stylish Italian families and how they live. How do they get away with looking this good in casual clothes? Seriously, do you know how absurd my family would look if we tried to pull off this off? Sigh. Go get the book now.

Girl on Top Book Tour Event (Plus 40% off at The Limited, Free Cocktails, and $500 Gift Bag)

Here’s an event we, at ShopTalk, are excited about. Nicole Williams, author of freshly released book, Girl on Top, presents her expert advice to you in this tale of career advice, where she turns “dating rules into career success.” Playing hard to get, she says, can actually apply in the business world, too. Exploring attitude, stress, networking, etc., this tell-all book aims to make work “glamorous, relevant, and fun.” Anyone that can make work feel like a trip to the mall is worth a trip to see, right? The career coach herself will be in attendance at two fun events here in Dallas on her book tour. They’ll take place at The Limited, because, as Nicole confirms, “clothes are a big part of it. (You can tell your husbands she said that.) Sign up now—spots are limited—to get in on the fun, which will include:

• 40 percent off on The Limited’s new business-chic attire
• free cocktails all night
• a $500 gift bag (Warning: I don’t know what’s in them.)
• career advice from Nicole Williams

The events are free, but you must reserve yourself a spot. Click here, and make sure you mention D Magazine in the “How did you hear about GOT?” field to book yourself a place. We’ll see you there! Event dates: Wednesday, Oct. 28, The Limited at NorthPark and Thursday, Oct. 29, The Limited at Galleria. Both run 6 pm to 9 pm. Don’t forget to choose the correct date when you sign up.

Join the Discussion on the Reading Room Monday, October 5

The bad news is, you have only five days to read chapters 1-20 of Joan Didion’s Play It As It Lays. The good news is, in five days you can probably read the entire book 10 times over. (It’s a good, quick read.) The other good news is, Play It As It Lays is a lot better than Wonderful World, our first book. The Reading Room, D Magazine’s online book club, led by editors Christine Allison, Laura Kostelny, and Peggy Levinson, starts book No. 2 this Monday, October 5. You can purchase the book from Legacy Books in Plano for 15% off; just tell them you’re with us. Speaking of Legacy, in case you missed it earlier this year, check out Willard Spiegelman’s essay about the country’s largest independent bookstore.

D Reading Room Launches at Legacy

Helloooo, I still work here, and I can’t wait to meet our hundreds of fans tonight at the launch of D Reading Room at Legacy Book Store. I will have slogged all the way up the tollway listening to “Dark Side” at full volumn in order to get some insight about the book we just read -”Wonderful World.”  The book has a sub-plot based on Pink Floyd and Dark Side of the Moon, which if you’re not a fan of music genius you might not know.   I think after finishing, our beloved book has exactly one fan – that means you, Chuckwheat. So plan to be there to eat and drink and help us decide what book to dissect next.

Sue Monk Kidd is Coming to Town

Sue Monk Kidd fans, get your books out for signing. She’s coming to visit us tomorrow. (For those who aren’t fans yet, she’s the author of The Secret Life of Bees and The Mermaid Chair.) The Dallas stop on Kidd’s nationwide tour is sponsored by the Dallas Museum of Art as part of its Arts & Letters Live Series. Kidd will be discussing her newest novel, Traveling with Pomegranates: A Mother-Daughter Story. This memoir comes from the perspectives of both Sue and her daughter Ann as they experience the world, trying to discover their true selves and reconnect with each other. As with her other books, Kidd offers an inspiring, female-empowering tale that almost all women can relate to on some level. If you want to get in on the Q&A with Sue and Ann, you can order your ticket here. Girls, bring your mommas. Mommas, bring your daughters. $30 for the public or $25 for DMA members. First Presbyterian Church of Dallas. 408 Park Ave.

Friday Giveaway: Tickets to Dressed: A Century of Hollywood Costume Design at the DMA

Sorry for the delay, ShopTalkers, but the wait is worth it. This week we’re giving away several pairs of tickets to Dressed: A Century of Hollywood Costume Design. This special event takes place Thursday, August 27, at 7 p.m. at the Dallas Museum of Art and features Academy Award-nominated costume designer and author Deborah Nadoolman Landis. Using examples from her book of the same name, Landis—who has designed for such hits as Animal House, Coming to America, The Blues Brothers, and Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” video—will share “the inside scoop about Hollywood’s most tantalizing costumes and the characters they helped bring to life.” If you’re interested, click on my name and send me an e-mail.

Cucobooks

In the latest issue of D, we gave Cucobooks (cute coffee table books that show-off your children’s artwork) a “Best of Big D” award, unfortunately we misprinted the pricing. The actual price is $150-$550 (as opposed to $150-$950). We regret the error, but promise they’re well worth the money! See who else we got a “Best of Big D” award here.

Jan Showers Does Glamorous Rooms

No surprise there, but it is published and official now.  Her new book “Glamorous Rooms” comes out in September.  Get ready for the social book signing event of the season.  Not only in Dallas at Neiman’s downtown and the David Sutherland Showroom, (where the Jan Showers Collection is featured), but all over the country at showrooms and places where most of us can’t afford to shop (Henri Bendel anyone?).  I had lunch with Jan last week and talked about the experience of writing her book and what makes it different.  To start with is the name – the book isn’t about houses.  And when you think about it, most houses have one or two really great rooms but the whole house is featured.  The book is in first person, so Jan can tell you how to’s and how not to’s ( don’t paint a bedroom red.)  Find out more in the next issue of DHome coming out in October.  Just think, it might even be cool then.

Jane Green is coming! Jane Green is coming!

If you’re into chick lit, check out Jane Green. (Particularly Jemima J and Mr. Maybe.) If you already know her and love her like I do, head to St. Andrew United Methodist Church on Thursday, July 9 at 7:30 pm to hear her chat about her latest novel, Dune Road, then get it signed. 5801 West Plano Parkway, Plano. For information, visit 469-385-1815 or www.standrewumc.org.

Michael Smith at Ann Sacks

I forgot to ask that everyone who is attending (all of you) please rsvp2dmagazine.com.  Now Brooke won’t be mad at me.

Michele + Michael Smith = White House decor

DHome and Ann Sacks are having a book signing on Wednesday, April 22, 5 – 7 and Michael Smith will be signing his new book Houses. In case you’ve been under a rock, this decorator to the stars has landed the mega star herself and will be the decorator in chief at 1600 Pennsylvania.  You’ll see new Michael Smith creations in the newly re-designed showroom.  (I know, because all that marble floor was being jackhammered up last week – headache!) Everyone must come – at the event last week in Chicago, the mayor and various politicos were in attendance.  (I wonder if Blago showed up.)  Come on, everyone show up and get a fabulous new autographed book to show off and let’s prove that we aren’t just Bush country.

Ruffian at Korshak

Brian Wolk and Claude Morais, the designing duo behind the cult fashion line, Ruffian are in town for a trunk show taking place at Stanley Korshak today and tomorrow. Check out the fall 09 collection (so many great pieces!) including this chic look seen on Mary Nelson Sinclair (pictured with the designers), who co-hosted an event at Samuel Lynne Galleries Thursday night along with Capera Ryan and Daily Candy Dallas editor, Brittany Edwards for the launch of their new book Ruffian: Inside Out by Nicole Phelps, of Style.com. The book (pictured below) follows the designers through their creative process for two seasons (2008 collections), featuring many great photos and an inside peek of what it’s like to be a rising star in the ever-fickle world of fashion. For those of you interested in getting your hands on the coffee table must-have, it will be available locally at Stanley Korshak and Anthropologie next month for $18.95.

Open: The World’s Best New Fashion Stores

I recieved an email from David Droese the other day about this cool new coffee-table book. (I was once in a wedding with his lovely wife Suzanne. Oops. Watch your step. I just dropped a name.) Anyway, this book features gorgeous photographs of super cool stores including a Droese Raney Architecture client, Billy Reid in NYC. Too poor to visit Philip Lim in Tokyo? That’s where this book comes in handy. You can check it out without getting the wrath of the good people at American Express (who can get very nasty, by the way).