Fashion Inside Out by Daniel Vosovic
Season Three Project Runway finalist Daniel Vosovic has written a book that doubles as a great tool for the aspiring fashion designer, and a great read for the casual observer. He discusses inspiration, construction, the business, and styling while interviewing all manner of fashion industry professionals, including big names Tim Gunn, Todd Oldham, Diane von Furstenberg, Heidi Klum, Nina Garcia, and Fern Mallis. The engaging text is accompanied by a plethora of beautiful photographs. A must have for any fashion library.

100 New Fashion Designers by Hywel Davies
This enormous, beautifully photographed volume is jammed with profiles on one hundred new, up-and-coming, and avant garde fashion designers. Some of our favorites: Louis de Gama, Manish Arora, Modernist, Osman Yousefzada, Peter Pilotto, PPQ, Heather Blake, Hall Ohara, Cathy Pill, Bo Van Melskens, Alena Akhmadullina, Finsk, and Chris Liu.

Forgotten Fashion by Kate Hahn
Part fashion book, part humor book, Forgotten Fashion reads like a history of fashion - but it is all faux. The made-up collection of fads and style movements starts at the turn of the century, with “Ticker Tape Trim.” Other favorite faux fads include “Picasso Patchwork,” inspired by the artist’s Cubist period; Fuschette, a line of juniors leggings and oversized tops promoted by the eponymous girl band; Gilded Pinstripes, with 24-karat striped suits; and “Safari Pajamas,” whose slogan was “Every night a honeymoon; every day an adventure.” A fun read with a frightening number of styles that aren’t too far off from real fashion.

Green is the New Black by Tamsin Blanchard
“Green fashion” and “eco-chic” are not just buzz-words in the industry. Blanchard’s book offers the ins and outs of dressing with an eco-conscious. From DIY outfits to green weddings; eco holidays to ethical jewelry, this book shows you how to shop, dress, and accessorize green. In addition to tips, tricks, and how-tos, there is a nice-sized directory of green and ethical clothing, shoe, accessory, and beauty companies.

In Step With Fashion: 200 Years of Shoe Styles by Norma Shephard
It’s shoe porn, but it is educational. Arranged chronologically like a catalogue of fine art, it is page after page after page of shoes. Each is accompanied by date, designer, and history if known. The best parts are the really old shoes, from the 1800s into the 1940s. It might inspire unfulfillable lust, though - I am obsessed with a pair of 1920s art deco booties. The modern shoes from the last 20 years are far less impressive - mostly inexpensive shoes from the juniors department (nothing wrong with that; they are just not nearly as fun to look at as thousand dollar, over-the-top, never-could-wear-them-but-still-adore-them Roberto Cavellis).

Lucien Lelong by Jacqueline Demornex
This gorgeous coffee table book chronicles the life and career of French couturier Lucien Lelong. His career spanned three of the most influential fashion decades in modern history. He was amongst the first to diversify into luxury pret-a-porter, accessories, and perfume. He married Russian royalty. And this draping and structuring was unmatched. This dense book combines an in-depth look into his life and career, with an extravagant selection of sketches, artwork, personal photographs, and editorial photographs. A stunning designer whose pieces define glamour.

• M Edge was showing off a new line of leather jackets for the Amazon Kindle. My favorite was the Prodigy jacket, which not only offers a sturdy, padded leather case and soft microfiber interior, there is also a discreet pocket to slide in their exclusive e-Luminator light. The lightweight light allows you to read in the dark, and it folds away snugly within the cover. Other styles on display include a jacket that allows you to prop up your Kindle on the desk, and one that zips closed with a clear plastic cover, protecting your Kindle from water or sand.

• VivaBox makes gift-giving easy and personal. More personal than a gift card, yet allowing the giftee to choose exactly what suits them,

• Intentional Chocolates contend that their chocolates provide the consumer with increased energy, vigor, and well-being. How? Each batch has been blessed by a Buddhist monk with an “intention” that the consumer will be granted health, peace of mind, and general well-being. In a double-blind study, 67% of the people who ate the Intentional Chocolates report increased energy and well-being. It sounds a bit like hokum to me - after all, who doesn’t feel better after eating chocolate? But whatever the case, it is made of high-quality, all-natural ingredients, and the company donates 50% of profits to charitable causes. Plus, it is some of the tastiest chocolate I have ever had!

• The BevWizard is an ingenious little device that simply slips onto a wine bottle. As you pour, the specially-designed cap aerates your wine, and moves it through a pair of strong magnets, thereby softening the wine, making it smoother, and cutting down on the harsh tannins. I don’t really understand the technology behind it - something about the way the magnets rearrange the wine molecules - but with no chemicals it’s worth a shot! The BevWizard retails for under $30, and claims to make your two-buck-chuck taste like seven-buck-chuck. That’s more than three times a better chuck! It also works on spirits.

• Inca Textiles offers three separate lines: Inca Mama, for pregnant women; Maya Luna, matching knits for mommy & me; and Alexa Chloe, knits for contemporary women. Started by Carmela Pinillos de Brouwer, her lines are inspired by the hand knitting techniques and sumptuous fibers of her native Peru. All pieces are hand loomed in Peru by local artisans. Many garments are made of native Alpaca wool; others are cotton and blends. One dollar from each garment sold is donated to educational programs for the poor children of Peru. She is also developing a line of fragrances for pregnant women; look for that by the end of the year.

• Aden + Anais swaddling wraps are meant for babies, not just as swaddling, but also blankets, burp cloth, nursing cover, whatever you can imagine. The lightweight, breathable cotton-muslin is really soft and has adorable, yet modern prints. I know these are for kids, but I like them, too! They are so huge - 47 inches square - that I am certain I can find an adult use for one. Maybe a sarong, or a scarf? They are just way too cute and soft to not get creative.

• Milena candles are 100% vegan, kosher soy, with cotton wicks that burn 40% longer. When the soy wax is in liquid form, you can dab a bit onto your skin to use as a moisturizer - how’s that for double-duty? All candles are hand mixed and hand poured by Milena herself. The candles come packaged in beautiful, feminine pink and brown packaging. Best of all? Milena’s product line boasts over 200 different fragrances.

• Malibu Toffee started in the kitchen of Sherri Swist in 2006. The candy was such a hit, that it is currently being carried in gourmet food shops across the country - most notably some Whole Foods markets. The old natural toffee is made using pure ingredients, from an old family recipe. The toffee is enrobed in milk chocolate and dusted with crushed almonds. I love that this toffee doesn’t have that horrible stickiness. You won’t find clumps of it in your teeth, and it is not likely to yank out any fillings. Oh yeah, and did I mention that it is heavenly?

• Teen With a Dream was started in 2003 by 14-year-old Hodgkin’s Lymphoma patient Spencer Harrison. His organization is dedicated towards programs to enrich the lives of pediatric cancer patients, such as Chemo-Day care packs, filled with games, toys, and candies to keep their minds off their treatment; providing computers, internet access, and other educational tools in cancer wards so patients can keep up with their schoolwork; and sponsoring Germ Lite Events that allow patients to partake in normal childhood activities in clean environments. By the way, Spencer has fully recovered and is a healthy young adult.

• Suki Fresh jewelry is a line of lightweight, delicate pieces using precious metals and semi-precious gems. We especially like the stackable rings.

• Deborah Lindquist designs “environmentally conscious clothing.” Using specially-selected suppliers, she makes old material and clothing new again. Sometimes this is as simple as beading and appliques on an old sweater; other times she fully deconstructs garments and sews them back together into something completely new. She specializes in upcycled cashmere and eco-friendly wedding gowns.

• USANA Sense bills itself as “the science of beautiful skin”. Sure, their skin care regimen is scientifically developed to cleanse, purify, de-puff, de-age, and all those other things you want out of a skin product. But it is done so without harsh added chemicals. Hooray! I especially like the sunblock, which is as light as a moisturizer, but loaded with sun-blocking-goodness.

As illogical as it is, I have experienced the following scenario, not once but several times in the course of my never-ending (that is until I recently discovered Barefoot Tess) search for shoes that fit my rather large feet and more importantly, didn’t make me look like I was wearing my great-grandmother’s shoes. I never know if it is the desire to make a sale, a basic human desire to be helpful, the challenge or the sight of my enormous feet currently shod in your basic clod-hopper, that motivates the sales staff. You can draw your own conclusions.

My story, like a reoccurring nightmare goes like this. I receive an invitation to a special affair - “a wedding of a dear friend, a date with the guy who takes my breath away, or just a reunion of best friends who I haven’t seen for ten years”. I need a new outfit and simply must look my best! Oh dear, that includes new size eleven and a half (or 12) shoes.

After a day shopping, I have in hand a “perfect outfit”, but no shoes. Upon entering what appears to be one of the largest shoe stores on the planet, a salesman approaches me offering his help. I describe to him what I am looking for and he proceeds to tell me they have several shoes which fit my description and he motions for me to sit down.

Then the dreaded moment. He asks my size and I tell him. Initially his jaw drops and then I see the twinkle in his eye. “Well can’t you wear a size ten?” he asks optimistically, sure that he found the solution. As he hurriedly heads to retrieve the size-fits-all size tens, I stop him midway. I ask him “What size shoe do you wear sir?” He responds that he wears “a size 11, men’s that is, of course.” I ask “Do you think you could wear a size 9 1/2 ? Men’s that is, of course.”

Sometimes, the sales person understands my meaning. Sometimes I have to explain - if you can believe it. I inform my “knowledgeable and trained” shoe salesperson, that when I wear shoes that are smaller than my feet, assuming I can get the shoes on my feet in the first place, that in about ten minutes time, my feet start to hurt. Not only does the pain start but it gets worse every minute until I can tolerate not a second more of the torture and remove the hellish bindings!

On one occasion, a young, very pretty,and very petite sales girl, listened attentively to my tale of woe. Afterwards she nodded, said she understood, and asked “Would you like to see what I have in size ten now?” On a rainy Saturday shopping excursion, a preppy young clerk called two of his co-workers over and they huddled together trying to come up with a group solution. He turned to me and said he had one shoe that the staff all agreed ran “big” and actually was very “soft” so it might “stretch” some. Would I like to try it on?

Another time, an elderly gentleman, who seemed to sincerely appreciate my dilemma offered to show me his “least masculine” men’s shoe in a size 10 or 10 1/2, which he said would be about the same size as a woman’s size 11 or 12. He kindly offered his professional opinion stating “For an athletic shoe, you know a sneaker etc., you could wear a men’s shoe and no one would know the difference with today’s styles- but they tend to run just a tad wider (the men’s sizes).” I thanked him and exited the store feeling depressed.

Finally about seven or eight years ago with the advent of our generation of taller children, many stores added a limited selection of size 11 women’s shoes. Unfortunately I had given birth to two very large baby boys during those years and my feet crushed by the additional weight they carried during my pregnancies, spread to a whopping size 12 or even 13 in certain styles!

Since then, I call ahead when shoe shopping and inquire as to the largest size the store stocks. Ninty-five percent of the retail shoe market is eliminated without me enduring the reoccurring nightmare. As a result of these efforts, I found two stores where I could purchase shoes. I say “purchase” because “shopping” was out of the question. The shoes at one store were either hopelessly orthopedic or totally out of any style that existed for the past thirty years. The other store offered some current styles if I wanted only black, brown or navy blue shoes. There were also sporadic beiges, whites, and greys.

Finally, I discovered the internet and distributors of “hard to find” products found it too. One day I came across a web page called “Barefoot Tess” and I now can wear soft suede boots with gorgeous bead work, metallic gladiator sandals, buttery soft leather pumps in pastel lemon or pink, or periwinkle Wellies. I can even be found wearing slim little canvas sneakers which are made for a woman’s narrower, if not smaller, feminine foot. And the very best thing about it, is my feet don’t hurt so that all I can think about is releasing my poor bound feet.

Get your own large-sized shoes at BarefootTess.com

Two things set MySkins apart. First, the edges are laser-cut, meaning no sewn hems that can cause potential bulges beneath clothing. Second, rather than coming in the traditional neutral/white/pink/black color palette, MySkins come in 20 different skin tone shades, from the palest porcelain to the deepest coffee.

The idea here is to not only offer a thin, seamless panty that is comfortable, but to make it truly like a second skin. The natural color palette means that even under the whitest of summer whites, you will be as smooth and modest as a Barbie doll.

Fit warning: the panties run a little small. You may want to order a size up. MySkins also offers matching bras. Color cards are available on the website, or mailed out free of charge. Purchase at MySkins.com.

Jonano describes their line as eco-chic. It is hard to decide, however, which has a stronger emphasis: the “eco” or the “chic” part. They offer a wide variety of styles for women and babies, from yoga pants and workout clothes to peasant skirts and cocktail dresses to knit blouses and pajamas, even hospital scrubs. All clothing is made using organic hemp, cotton, and bamboo. Besides ensuring all fibers are organic and sustainable, Jonano has been granted an ISO 1400 certificate for their stringent attention to their carbon footprint, chemicals that have no environmental or human impact, and minimization of factory waste.

Jonano’s trademark line is their ecoKashmere Collection. Made of organic bamboo viscose and a hint of spandex, ecoKashmere has a liquidy drape, is machine washable, and travels well. The name “ecoKashmere” is a teeny bit of a misnomer. It does not feel just like cashmere. It doesn’t have that fluffy nap or warmth that cashmere has. The weight and texture is more akin to jersey. But the most silky-soft jersey you have ever felt.

We checked out the Angel pants and tunic. The wide-legged pants just drip off the body, and make me feel like dancing. It’s almost like wearing nothing at all, except that as you move, it whispers over the skin like a delicate breeze. Yup, amazing wearability. The tunic is equally airy - I like it paired with leggings. Jonano’s clothing offers a rare combination of style, comfort, and true eco responsibility.

ecoKashmere and the entire line of Jonano apparel can be purchased at their website, Jonano.com or on Amazon.com

• Willy Wonka was there, passing out sacks of candy. Okay, it wasn’t really Wonka, but surrounded by all that childhood candy, do you care? They were promoting two new candies: Kazoozles, flavored chewy licorice with a gooey flavored center, and Giant Chewy Nerds, jelly bean insides with a thick shell of Nerds. Other favorites on hand included Bottle Caps, Sweetarts, Gobstoppers, and Spree.
• Glowelle was showing off their “beauty drink mix.” Available as a powdered drink mix, or in ready-to-chug bottles, Glowelle offers vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin E, lutein, cocoa extract, pomegranate extract, goji berry extract, selenium, and other extracts meant to make your skin beautiful from the inside out.
• Socket Sense surge protector is an ingenious little device with tilted sockets and expandable segments to ensure you can use every socket, no matter how chunky your power packs are.
• Since it was MTV, we had to rock out. Vera Wang was showing off the limited edition
  Rock Princess perfume. Both sweet and sultry, the scent is rocking notes of peach, raspberry, jasmine, lily, heliotrope, rose, coconut, iris, cashmere wood, and musk.

• Nature’s Cure Anti-Acne skin care system comes with a cleanser, a toner, and a moisturizer. It balances popular anti-acne medication salicylic acid with aloe, witch hazel, papaya enzymes, pineapple enzymes and other natural ingredients to gently and efficiently cleanse skin, without the harsh chemical smell or feel.
• L’Eggs Profiles promises to smooth and shape all your problem areas, at a fraction of the price of Spanx.
• Cosabella was showing off their summer line of Cutie thongs in bright summery hues.
• SmartFood was offering samples of their Purse Pack popcorn clusters. Each totable pouch is 110 calories, loaded with fiber and calcium, and come in tasty flavors: cranberry almond, chocolate cookie caramel pecan, and honey multigrain. Unlike most 100 calorie snack packs, these are surprisingly filling.
• NettieScrub featured handmade, all natural lip balms and body balms. Each are made with ingredients I can pronounce, like shea butter, olive oil, grape seed oil, mango butter, beeswax, soy bean wax, and essential oils.

Luckily the good people at Barefoot Tess have recognized this problem, and are making strides to close the gap in shoe sizes. Barefoot Tess only offers shoes size 10 and larger. You won’t find any nurses shoes here. Barefoot Tess strives to offer shoes you actually want to wear. They offer a wide selection of shoes from well-known designers such as Delman, Donald J. Pilner, Loeffler Randall, Havianas, Steve Madden, and more. The site also offers its own, reasonably-priced house brand of shoes, designed exclusively for the full-footed woman.

Barefoot Tess is offering Spork Fashion readers a chance to win a $100 gift certificate to use on their site. All you have to do is head over BarefootTess.com and email them with your most embarrassing, creative, compelling, or humorous story about the trials of shopping for larger-sized shoes. You can also email your stories directly to sporkfashion@barefoottess.com. The best story wins a $100 gift certificate!

Not a lucky winner, or just impatient? Barefoot Tess has graciously offered 20% your next purchase. Just enter the code SPORK at checkout.

This is just a small sampling of the shoes available at Barefoot Tess. All these shoes are exclusive to their site.

Contest ends June 15, 2009, at 11:59 PM PST

A Few Goody Gumdrops and Chickdowntown.com are giving away a necklace from the House of Harlow by Nicole Richie. Enter to Win!

Bags, Bling and Beauty invites you to check out swimwear tips from Shoshanna Gruss.

Being High Maintenance, not Bitchy is getting summer ready with ChickDowntown and you can too - just read and win!

Couture In The City Shop sandals and save with Smartbargains.com.

Fashion Fille loves colors- and welovecolors.com! Find out what’s her favorite on the awesome tights site!

Raging Rouge blows her diet with a 2,000 calorie treat by MAX Factor.

Shopping and Info found Blake Lively’s brown cross body bag.

Less sugar, less money, less waste - Spork Living asks, why wouldn’t you want a Soda Stream machine? Make Your Own Soda With Soda Stream!

Style Eyes would love to invest in a beautiful, flattering and expertly draped dress

The Bare Skinny knows where Kim Kardashian got her Balmain inspired vest.

Suffering from a breakup? The Well-Heeled Society breaks it down with The Relationship Journalist Lisa Steadman’s new workbook (that gives her gift registry kudos on page 77!).

Doce Vida fitness wear is full of fashionable details and careful cuts to make you look fab while sweating away that flab. Contrasting trims and cuts that are both unique and functional catch your eye. We checked out Paraty pants, and after the inevitable “Party in my pants” jokes, we got to business. The Paratay pants are fitted through the knee and flare into a gentle bootcut that won’t impede your workout. The crossover waistband is very low slung - a little too low for my tastes. It barely makes it to the top of my hipbone.

The real star of this line is the fabric. Made of a secret “ultra-soft, full motion, 12% stretch fabric,” it promises to wick moisture away from your body (it does) and not to fade or lose elasticity (it doesn’t). The fabric is thick and snug, which I find to be too heavy and warm for a sunny outdoor exercise, but perfect for the Pilates studio. It claims to slim, and does through the legs. The company also says that it reduces muscle vibration and fatigue. Honestly, I did not notice this, but that seems to be something you would notice more if you were running.

Get in shape in style at DoceVidaFitness.com