Innholdsfortegnelse for August 2013 i ELLE

Tuesday, August 6 LITTLE BIT COUNTRY On her fourth album, Invisible Empire//Crescent Moon , singer-songwriter KT Tunstall shows off a new, gentler country-folk sound with a collection of songs about broken hearts and lonely nights, naturally. Download now: "Made of Glass," the perfect soundtrack to a mellow summer night. "But you can't step up to the mike with fear in your heart. You have to love it…and you have to make the crowd love how much you love it.… You have to grab that mike like the song is desperate for you to bring it to life and wear it like a halo." —Rob Sheffield Tuesday, August 6 FINE TUNED After the death of his wife leaves Rolling Stone writer Rob Sheffield in a deep depression, he finds a…

SOMETHING TO TALK ABOUT Scandal addicts proudly refer to themselves as "gladiators"—and nowhere was their Spartacus-size passion for Kerry Washington more apparent than online, where thousands of gladiators have tweeted, commented, and Facebooked about our June cover girl. Below, our favorite remarks on TV's reigning queen of drama: "As an ELLE subscriber for many years, I was thrilled to see Kerry Washington on the cover! Kerry possesses brains, beauty, and talent: a triple threat! She makes all of us proud to be women!"—Carmen Jurado, Aliso Viejo, CA, via e-mail "KERRY WASHINGTON x ELLE MAGAZINE: HAPPY TO SEE HER GET THIS COVER"—@jermainedupri, via Twitter "If I could be anybody for a day, I would be this woman. She is so unbelievably gorgeous! Not to mention she seems like one of the…

When he was 65, the celebrated New Yorker humorist James Thurber quipped to an interviewer that if there were 15 months in every year he'd only be 48. His math was a little off—he'd have been 52—but his point holds: "That's the trouble with us. We number everything," Thurber said. "Take women, for example. I think they deserve to have more than 12 years between the ages of 28 and 40." I agree—there is no other chapter of my life that felt so fertile (no pun intended) and distinct, and as it came to a close I rued the cruelty of its expiration date. My friend Alexandra felt the same way, so when we turned 38 (in the same week of July) she suggested that instead of each facing the…

One thing I can say for certain is that my most monumental coming-of-age moment was when I got my first front-row seat at a fashion show. As much as people like to claim they're excited just to be invited, it's that exclusive seating assignment that means you've made it. Fashion people love to protest their Siberia seats with but-I'm-working whines ("I really need to see the shoes!" or "It will be a better picture for the site!"), but let's face it: It's as much about being seen as it is about seeing. The quest for row one is comprised of three stages: The Crasher, The Invitee, and, finally, The Front Row. I achieved Stage One in 1992 by sneaking into the now legendary Marc Jacobs for Perry Ellis grunge show.…

1. Yellow gold earrings with carved mammoth bone and diamonds, NOOR FARES, price on request, visit noorfares.com | 2. Ostrich-feather plume necklace, NINA RICCI, $850, collection at Barneys New York | 3. Ostrich-feather jacket, KATE SPADE NEW YORK, $1,198, call 212-988-0259 | 4. Curled-feather-embellished bag, LOUIS VUITTON, price on request, visit louisvuitton.com | 5. Viscose-and-silk feather sandal, DRIES VAN NOTEN, $1,875, collection at Barneys New York | Model at right wears: Cotton shirt, $670, cotton and cupro skirt with marabou, price on request, clutch, $1,465, all, DRIES VAN NOTEN, collection at Blake, Chicago…

CIRCLE ROUGE Upper East Side jewelry house David Webb revisited one of its most enduring designs this season for the Red Enamel Collection. First created in 1975, the art deco–influenced cuff shown here features 94 diamonds, totaling 3.1 carats. As for the rest of the range, with everything from harlequin-patterned earrings with pavé diamond accents to wolf's-head cuff links complete with emerald eyes, it's certain to have Webb's Madison Avenue clientele seeing red. Red enamel and diamond bracelet set in 18-karat yellow gold and platinum, DAVID WEBB, price on request, visit davidwebb.com South Sea baroque cultured white pearl, water opal, and diamond double-strand necklace, South Sea baroque cultured white pearl, water opal, and diamond earrings, all, MIKIMOTO, prices on request, visit mikimotoamerica.com CLASSICS LESSON History buffs will swoon for Repossi's…

INTO THE WOODS Hanako Maeda spins a fairy-tale-worthy collection fit for modern dryads "We've been getting a lot of random requests on our info e-mail," says Adeam designer Hanako Maeda of the response she's received since showing 20 looks inspired by woodland sprites and Gerhard Richter's "Landscapes" series at her first New York Fashion Week presentation, in February. For example? Alicia Keys wanted a cutout suit for a video shoot; Shakira, a long-tailed blazer to wear on The Voice. And then there was the one-line missive from stylist Brandon Maxwell that landed in the inbox: "Hi, Lady Gaga is arriving in New York on March 4, could you please send the attached pieces?" "I was like, Is this for real?" recalls Maeda. Samples were duly dispatched, and behold, Mother Monster—for…

Woody Allen's Blue Jasmine starts aboard a flight from New York City to San Francisco, with an older woman getting an earful from her chic but anxious seatmate, a total stranger. Played by an Oscar-worthy Cate Blanchett in classic Chanel with an Hermès scarf and bag, Jasmine is a shallow pseudosocialite whose world has come apart—and so, it appears, has she. She breathlessly spills the intimacies and agonies of a broken marriage, a horrific financial crack-up, and (gasp!) a déclassé sister whom she has mostly ignored but who didn't hesitate to take her in when it seems that no one else would dream of doing so. One of the greatest actors of our day, Blanchett knows just what to do with Jasmine, a disturbed and disturbing woman of seemingly endless…

Saïd Sayrafiezadeh's collection of linked stories, Brief Encounters With the Enemy (Dial), makes for a tantalizing fiction debut from the author of the popular, Whiting Award–winning memoir When Skateboards Will Be Free, in which he, the son of an Iranian father and a Jewish mother, described growing up in Pittsburgh. The eight longish tales in Brief Encounters take place in an unnamed contemporary American industrial city and in far-flung war zones; they feature young men whose mainly blue-collar lives are circumscribed by their alternately hapless and heroic searches for identity, camaraderie, upward mobility, and, if not romance, at least a little sex. In the strong title story—narrated, like the rest, in the first person—a soldier named Luke describes going out on patrol: "The first time I went up the path,…

OBJECT OF DESIRE Marc Jacobs finally launches a makeup line, and we already have an early fave: the ultrapigmented Lovemarc Lip Gel in Strange Magic. FACE VALUE Baccarat craftsmanship meets Lancôme technology in the limited-edition Absolue L'Extrait cream, which is packed with up to 2 million rose cells per crystal jar. TIME OUT Take a break from standard black liner with the soft but still smoky Dolce & Gabbana Intense Khol Eye Crayon in Graphite. PRECIOUS METTLE Based on skin-care secrets of Japanese geisha, Tatcha's Gold Camellia Beauty Oil protects and nourishes skin while providing a subtle shimmer. GOLDEN GATES OPI Nail Lacquers in San Francisco–inspired shades Haven't The Foggiest and Embarca-Dare Ya! give new meaning to heavy metal. BIG LOVE Guerlain's hockey-puck-size Terra Ora illuminator combines the universally flattering…

What do you do when your best friend of nearly two decades receives a breast-cancer diagnosis? Bergdorf Goodman social-media manager Cannon Hodge cut her bum-grazing, fairy-tale-princess hair into a below-the-chin crop, in hopes of contributing to a wig for her friend Caroline Brown. Growing up in Fort Worth, Texas, the two were inseparable, and they fulfilled their childhood pact to go to college and move to a major city. Both built fashion careers in New York City, although Brown has since relocated to Houston. Before Brown's diagnosis, they even wore their hair the same way. "We have the same color and texture," Hodge says. "She's a long-haired Texas girl; I'm a long-haired Texas girl." For Hodge, shearing off the extra length to make a wig for Brown was an obvious…

SEXY SEATING, POLISHED POTS, MAD MARBLE, AND MORE… For those who want their homes to be as au courant as their wardrobes, there's Milan's annual Salone del Mobile. With more than 2,500 participating exhibitors, it's the interior-design world's answer to fashion week. Becky Sunshine highlights the fair's chicest ideas 1. OFFICE MAX "Finding beauty in the unloved is important to me," says Danish designer Nina Tolstrup. Indeed: In conjunction with London design gallery 19 Greek Street, Tolstrup created a standout limited-edition line of daybeds, sofas, chairs, and tables using discarded seating from a London secondhand shop and bolts of kicky fabric left over from Marc by Marc Jacobs' spring 2013 collection. 2. NATURE'S FINEST Sustainability is always a big talking point at the fair, and this year exhibitors dug deep…

I was fighting off the flu, but I'd wrapped myself in a dress, cinched the waist tight, and now sat, flushed and underfed, sipping down a hot toddy (my cold medicine) in a hotel bar. At 34, I'd agreed to meet for drinks with a man 24 years my senior. A painter, he was dressed as he'd been when we met—at a literary party in TriBeCa, to which he was accompanied by one of his nude models—in a fleckless Savile Row suit. He wore it effortlessly, in the way only men over 50 can. He had the solemn good looks of a Roman senator and brushed his dark hair, thick as a horse's mane, straight back from his temples. Realizing where we'd sat, he laughed: Leering down at us from…

Leopard-print faux-fur coat, Simone Rocha, $2,010, at Susan, San Francisco. Brushed cashmere sweater, $995, silk briefs, $650, both, Burberry Prorsum. Crystal-trim tiara, Ban.do, $300. Tights, price on request, leather boots, $1,845, all, Saint Laurent by Hedi Slimane. For details, see Shopping Guide. Angora knit top, $850, silk and viscose skirt, $1,625, both, Versace, at select Versace boutiques nationwide. Hand-knit alpaca wool hat, Eugenia Kim, $160. Sunglasses, Anna-Karin Karlsson, $555. Needle-pinched top, $1,975, ostrich-feather skirt, price on request, both, Proenza Schouler, at Proenza Schouler, NYC. Yellow gold pyramid cuff, Jennifer Meyer, price on request. Yellow gold and diamond cuff, Jennifer Fisher, price on request. Tights, price on request, leather boots, $1,845, all, Saint Laurent by Hedi Slimane. On men, left to right: Fur cape, price on request, wool shirt, $750, wool…

Embellished silk dress, $4,725, wool sweater, $770, suede belt, $375, all, Prada, at Prada boutiques nationwide. Lace bra, Eres, $350. Pink topaz, diamond, and pearl earring, Delfina Delettrez, $1,170. Tights, Fogal, $55. Calf-hair and mink pumps, Fendi, $1,990. Embroidered lace skirt, Tom Ford, price on request, at Tom Ford, Las Vegas. Cashmere and silk knit top, Dior, $990. Belt, Givenchy by Riccardo Tisci, price on request. Silver bracelet with pink topaz, $1,100, gold-plated silver bracelet with orange topaz, $1,100, both, Delfina Delettrez. Calf-hair and mink pumps, Fendi, $1,990. For details, see Shopping Guide. Wool coat, silk crepe dress, prices on request, embroidered satin boots, $2,100, all, Dior, at Dior boutiques nationwide. Pink topaz, diamond, and pearl earring, Delfina Delettrez, $1,170. Beauty Secret: For a classic, effortless look, go with a…

COVERS Silk lace top, briefs by Dolce & Gabbana, prices on request, at select Dolce & Gabbana boutiques, call 877-70-DG-USA or visit dolcegabbana.com. Drop earrings by Lana Jewelry, visit lanajewelry.com. Rose gold heart bracelet with diamond by Chopard, $2,120, call 800-CHOPARD or visit us.chopard.com. Yellow gold and diamond pyramid cuff by Jennifer Meyer, $12,500, at Barneys New York (Beverly Hills). Black rhodium, diamond, and black quartz ring by Jack Vartanian, $6,700, at Jack Vartanian (NYC). Embroidered organza sweater, embroidered tulle gown by Givenchy by Riccardo Tisci, prices on request, visit givenchy.com. Reptile boots by Givenchy by Riccardo Tisci, $2,490, collection at Ikram (Chicago). Wool hat by Ralph Lauren Collection, $398, at select Ralph Lauren stores, visit ralphlauren.com. BEHIND THE COVER Page 52: Top by Juicy Couture, call 212-796-3360 or visit…

Joining ELLE.com as our guest blogger won't be the only first for violinist Sarah Neufeld in the month of August: After 10 years of ensemble playing with Arcade Fire and Bell Orchestre, Neufeld is making her solo debut with the album Hero Brother (dropping August 20). In addition to being a critically acclaimed musician, Neufeld is the co-owner of (and an instructor at) the NYC outpost of Moksha Yoga; the studio, which offers a new hot-yoga method, has been opening locations worldwide over the past year. While wellness and rock 'n' roll might seem an unlikely pairing, the Vancouver Island native strikes a harmonious life balance: Get inspired by her updates from the road, meditation techniques, favorite recipes, music picks, and more on ELLE.com.—Catherine Straut MEDITATION MINUTE TAKING A…

Welcome to the '90s: Here's how we pulled off our shambolic-chic cover shoot starring Amanda Seyfried as a modern-day grunge girl. Photographer Carter Smith: "We took over a huge suite at NYC's Waldorf Astoria Hotel, with dozens of people. There was a wild, rotating cast of characters, from male models in dresses to Donatella Versace, who stopped by at one point—turns out she lives upstairs when she's in town. It was crazy!" ELLE Creative Director Joe Zee: "I loved Saint Laurent and Givenchy's fall collections and was inspired by Courtney Love and Kurt Cobain." Hairstylist Harry Josh: "Amanda kept cracking everyone up—she was game for anything, including transforming her naturally silky hair into a sexy, tangled mess. I used Serge Normant's Meta Revive Dry Shampoo for a perfectly matted effect."…

Earlier this year, folks who flocked to Annie Baker's latest play, The Flick, encountered something odd and challenging even before the lights went down. Sitting in the theater, they found themselves facing another one onstage. A movie theater, that is: rows of empty seats staring them down. Even odder was the action of the play once it started. A 35 mm projector periodically blazed unintelligible films in viewers' faces. Between "shows," two men cleaned the floors. They talked a bit, but the talk didn't seem to have a point. They cleaned some more. Most of Baker's plays feature as much silence as speech. Circle Mirror Transformation (2009)—now getting a prestigious restaging at London's Royal Court Theatre—takes place in an amateur acting class, with lots of mute exercises. The Aliens (2010)…

1. Cloque top, TORY BURCH, $995, visit toryburch.com | 2. Studded mink and leather clutch, VALENTINO GARAVANI, price on request, at Valentino Boutique, NYC | 3. Yellow gold and diamond rings with lapis lazuli or ruby, MARIE-HéLèNE DE TAILLAC, $4,900 each, call 212-249-0371 | 4. Printed rabbit-fur jacket, SAINT LAURENT BY HEDI SLIMANE, price on request, call 212-980-2970 | 5. Felt and metallic calfskin pump, CHARLOTTE OLYMPIA, $845, visit charlotteolympia.com | Model above wears: Jeweled silk-blend dress, crown, drop earrings, pumps, all, DOLCE & GABBANA, prices on request, call 877-70-DG-USA…

1. Tweed jacket, $2,690, skirt, $990, both, OSCAR DE LA RENTA, collection at select Saks Fifth Avenue stores nationwide | 2. Gloves, TOMMY HILFIGER, $149, call 212-223-1824 | 3. Plexiglas and tweed clutch, CHANEL, price on request, call 800-550-0005 | 4. Houndstooth snakeskin pump, DIOR, $1,100, call 800-929-DIOR | Model at right wears: Tweed jacket, price on request, skirt, $2,420, necklace, leather gloves, clutch, boots, prices on request, all, CHANEL, call 800-550-0005…

THE WOMAN: Lilly Bunn Weekes, 31, New York City THE JOB: Interior designer, Lilly Bunn Inc. Her day is spent meeting with clients, shopping for upholstery, wrangling two young daughters, and consulting with contractors in revamping homes that range from the Upper East Side "classic six" to haute hipster townhouses in Brooklyn. THE UNIFORM: Sensible chic. J Brand jeans in twill or corduroy are a staple, worn with an easy Joe Fresh deep V-neck, Pierre Hardy high-top sneakers or Valentino booties, and red lipstick. Viscose-blend sweater, Carven, $595, collection at Opening Ceremony stores nationwide. Printed cotton-and-silk pants, Dries Van Noten, $965, collection at La Maison Simons, Quebec, Canada. Druzy and diamond necklace, Jemma Sands, $525, visit jemmasands.com. Leather loafers, Giambattista Valli, $550, collection at Blake, Chicago ELLE: You call yourself…

They say you can't choose who you fall in love with. Well, the same truism applies to falling for a bag or a shoe—or, ahem, a necklace. From Céline's chic, minimalist sportswear to Marc Jacobs' louche '30s glamour at Louis Vuitton to Alber Elbaz's exuberant revival of statement jewelry at Lanvin (like the how-can-you-miss-it? style declaration seen here), the fall runways had plenty to enamor our fashion team. For our annual Editors' Picks Issue, we've assembled an utterly subjective guide to our favorite pairings—the pieces we can't wait to get our hands on for fall—to help you successfully navigate the news of the season (and, we hope, find a few key treasures that set your heart aflutter). Metal necklace, LANVIN, $995, at Lanvin, NYC SAMIRA NASR FASHION DIRECTOR Fur-trimmed coat,…

There was a time not so long ago when I had this gnawing feeling of being a midcareer artist who was going nowhere," says James Turrell, who's being feted this summer with three coordinated, successive retrospectives at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art; the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; and the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York City. "Now when you find yourself in the middle of nowhere, I feel like you're probably pretty near my art." The Santa-bearded septuagenarian, known for his work with light and its interaction with space, isn't understating: He's built site-specific installations in 25 countries as far afield as Norway and Argentina and has devoted the past three decades to his still-in-progress magnum opus, Roden Crater, an extinct volcano on the edge of…

AMERICA'S BEST HAIR, THE SECRET TO PERFECT SKIN, AND MORE… In the Venn diagram on which young Margaux Hemingway and Kim Basinger overlap, according to makeup artist Jürgen Braun, you'll find major brows, lush lips, and piles of khaki-green eye shadow. A longtime fan of the two beauties—both small-town American girls who became Paris-discotheque supericons—Braun created this "mysterious evening eye," he says. "I love how they looked going out at night." By applying shadow from the lash line "all the way up to the brow," Braun says, "you get a very mid-'80s look, but not disco '80s, more rue Saint-Honoré '80s." Le freak, c'est chic! To get Braun's Le Palace–perfect look, try Eyes To Kill eye shadow palette in Medusa 9 and Lip Maestro matte lacquer in Blush 500, both…

PIXIE There's nothing short-lived about the popularity of Anne Hathaway's cropped cut. Since the actress went short for her Oscar-winning turn in Les Misérables, her pixie has continued to evolve—from dark and texturized to ice blond, and back again. For an abbreviated haircut that still feels feminine, Hathaway's hairstylist, Adir Abergel, maintains length and softness around the face. "Everything should be cut using scissors and a comb, never with a clipper," Abergel says. In Miami, according to Riley McLachlan, owner of Snip salon, clients "love being liberated from the chore of blow-drying," making Hathaway's low-maintenance look a favorite. PRO PICKS From left: RENé FURTERER Style Finish Vegetal Styling Wax "adds a bit of texture and movement," Abergel says; he blasts hair with a VELECTA PARAMOUNT PARIS blow-dryer to get a…

Any pride I had felt about successfully navigating Tokyo's notoriously tricky subway system vanishes the second I step out of the Harajuku station. I turn my map over and over yet again, but there's no denying it—I'm lost. My destination is Shima Salon, a minimalist, warehouselike space beloved by both the Tokyo supercool and beauty-industry elite everywhere. At world-hair-trend shows, Shima presentations regularly sweep top honors; I've been angling for my shot at a Shima Salon snip ever since I first learned of the place at the Wella TrendVision hair show in Madrid last year. "If someone wants to make a major hair statement, they go to Shima," says my L.A.-based friend Crystal, who got her first Shima cut during Tokyo Fashion Week and now flies back for trims. I'm…

When I arrive a few minutes late for my lunch date with Marisha Pessl, the author of the 2006 best-selling novel Special Topics in Calamity Physics, she's already seated by the window of the restaurant, serenely waiting. Here to discuss her second novel, Pessl gleams. She wears a black lace shirt by Isabel Marant, jeans, and a leather coat. Her long blond hair hangs in perfect curls. As a preternaturally telegenic personality in a field of solitary introverts, she has a reputation as something of a lit-world anomaly. Still, the level of smooth confidence that she possesses really is dazzling in person. It's also slightly off-putting. Perhaps only because I was an ardent fan of Special Topics—a coming-of-age mystery whose 16-year-old narrator, Blue van Meer, raised by her widowed-professor father,…

Tormented? Driven witless? Whipsawed by confusion? • A GIRLFRIEND IS ALWAYS RIGHT DEAR E. JEAN: Can you clarify the Girl Code? I've been finding myself in some questionable situations over the past couple of years that somehow or other always come down to potential violations of the Girl Code. I may be out of it—I'm 28; you'd think I'd have a clue—but what are the rules among girlfriends? What lines shouldn't be crossed? —Totally Frustrated MISS TOTALLY, MY TRUFFLE: A crone of 28 should be too experienced to follow anything called the "Girl Code." Here's the BLC—Basic Lady Code: Never hate a woman you've never met, never date a friend's ex, never reveal another female's secret, never leave an inebriated friend alone at a bar, never invite a friend's enemy…

Mohair coat, Salvatore Ferragamo, $2,950, at Salvatore Ferragamo boutiques nationwide. Alpaca wool and nylon tank, $415, cotton shirt, $495, both, Dries Van Noten. Leather pants, Acne Studios, $2,700. Gold signet ring, Tiffany & Co., $2,000. Leather loafers, Manolo Blahnik for Band of Outsiders, $695. Beauty Secret: Defy gravity and create long-lasting body with John Frieda Luxurious Volume Fine to Full Blow-Out Spray. Mink coat, Fendi, price on request, at Fendi, NYC. Cotton sweatshirt, $160, sweatpants, $120, both, Chloë Sevigny for Opening Ceremony. Amethyst earrings, Ana Khouri, price on request. Gold watch, Cartier, price on request. Sneakers, Jordan Brand, $160. For details, see Shopping Guide. Beauty Secret: Shine a klieg light on cheekbones with Dior Skinflash Radiance Boosting Makeup Primer. Cashmere coat, Versace, price on request, at select Versace boutiques nationwide.…

Silk velvet gown, $2,100, Finn raccoon fur bolero, $4,900, T-strap pumps, $795, all, Marc Jacobs, at Marc Jacobs, NYC. Calfskin bag, Marc by Marc Jacobs, $598. Tights, Falke, $48. For details, see Shopping Guide. Wool-blend gabardine coat, $4,650, leather belt, $660, both, Calvin Klein Collection, at Calvin Klein Collection, NYC. Nylon-blend turtleneck, Wolford, $495. Paneled cashmere skirt, Maison Rabih Kayrouz, $2,350. Resin earrings, Dinosaur Designs, $75. Leather gloves, Tsumori Chisato, $450. Leather bag, Alexander McQueen, $2,595. Tights, Falke, $48. Leather shoes, Miu Miu, $1,200. Beauty Secret: With otherwise minimal makeup, strong brows offer modern-looking polish. Try Revlon ColorStay Brow Enhancer. Scallop dress with sheer detail, Valentino, $3,790, at Valentino boutiques nationwide. Rose gold and carnelian necklace, Van Cleef & Arpels, $1,500. Vintage earrings, from Early Halloween, NYC. Embroidered canvas bag,…

LEO (July 23–Aug 22) After a busy summer, it's time to catch up on rest. With your twelfth house of privacy and reflection lit up, relaxing on an unplugged trip would do you a world of good. But avoid choosing a strenuous sightseeing journey and opt instead for a soothing and calm retreat. You'll need focus—by the 6th, a bright new moon will help materialize a major goal. Uranus, planet of surprise, will be adding luck to the mix, so developments may come up suddenly, but as long as you're committed and passionate, the sky's the limit. And you'll find it best to work alone, at least until the 20th, as the voice within will yield top productivity. Though the smoke-and-mirrors environment of late summer may make it difficult…

The Twitterverse blew up recently over a magazine cover: specifically, the cover of Port that touted "A New Golden Age" of print media—over a photo of six white male magazine editors. There were a few, um, interest groups who took issue with it, and the assertion that this was a definitive list of who was doing the most significant work between the sheets was challenged by no less than the venerable New Republic, under the headline CAN WOMEN'S MAGAZINES DO SERIOUS JOURNALISM? The article nicely pointed out that ELLE is the only magazine edited primarily for women that's been nominated in the Columns and Commentary category for an ASME (American Society of Magazine Editors) award in the past decade. Unfortunately, the chief executive of ASME said, basically, that literary journalism…

     • NAME: Liz Collins PROVENANCE: Birmingham, UK NOW: London and L.A. PROFESSION: Photographer THIS MONTH: "Cover Artists" (page 206). "I adore working with [ELLE Fashion Director] Samira Nasr. Our sensibilities are very similar. Sometimes we joke that we were separated at birth. We often turn up in clothes that the other one has at home." BONA FIDES: BA, photography, West Surrey College of Art and Design; work has appeared in The Gentlewoman, Fantastic Man, Vogue Nippon, Love, and Numéro FOLLOW ME: @thelizcollins. "Instagram is amazing. I try to post a picture a day. It's changed the world of image making entirely. Now people who didn't care about taking pictures are tapping into their abilities." READING: Grace: A Memoir, by Grace…

KNIT WIT (From left) Caylor meets artisans in Peru; a look from Maiyet's fall 2013 collection; weavers on Peru's Taquile Island I'm standing at the border of Peru and Bolivia, midway through a South American itinerary so punishing that when a teenage German backpacker is informed of the many stops we'll be making, she simply gasps in response. But my traveling companion, Kristy Caylor, cofounder of the clothing brand Maiyet, is not only unfazed, she's trying to figure out if our schedule will accommodate a side trip to Ayllu, an electronic dance music festival in the Bolivian salt flats. One of the few airlines that flies there is Amaszonas, whose primitive website suggests that its fleet might be fictitious, or made from balsa wood. Caylor is undeterred, looking up flights…

1. Silver-toned brass pin, BALENCIAGA, $335, call 212-206-0872 | 2. Metallic lamé dress, TIA CIBANI, $1,685, at Kirna Zabête, NYC | 3. Metallic leather boot, GUCCI, $1,250, visit gucci.com | 4. Silver leather pants, JEN KAO, $2,461, call 212-239-6515 | 5. Ayers snakeskin clutch, BOTTEGA VENETA, $2,200, visit bottegaveneta.com | Model above wears: Silk lamé dress, $1,500, leather belt, beaded clutch, prices on request, python pumps, $1,795, all, MARC JACOBS, call 212-343-1490…

Few brands are as synonymous with the City of Light as Cartier, the famed French jeweler founded there in 1847. The house's latest collection, Paris Nouvelle Vague, takes as its theme an imagined journey by one of the city's chic denizens to seven iconic spots, including the Tuileries, the Seine, and a baroque opera house—its architectural elegance brought to life in Voluptueuse, a group of pendants, cuffs, rings, and earrings. Rows of diamonds are woven together in the house's Byzantine pattern—based on the Garland style of its founder, Louis Cartier, who was inspired by the circlets of flowers women wore on festive occasions during the early twentieth century. This pendant, a stunning reinterpretation of a headband commissioned by Mrs. W. K. Vanderbilt in 1909, proves Parisian chic never goes out…

NEW YORK Now your iPhone can match your eye-popping bikini. Print-happy designer Mara Hoffman, whose bold swimwear and cover-ups have become favorites of the Coachella set, is debuting mobile-phone cases with Incase, perfect for those looking to dip their toes into the world of psychedelic patterns. marahoffman.com NEW YORK Hannah Bronfman has a beauty app, a record label, a DJ career, and now, a capsule collection with designer Kaelen Farncombe. The candy-colored shorts and tops are perfect for pretty young downtown things (like Bronfman herself). kaelennyc.com LONDON With summer in full swing, a new pair of sunnies may be in order. Snap up these Janis Joplin–inspired frames at UK optician Cutler and Gross's new outpost in New York's SoHo. cutlerandgross.com ST. MORITZ Chinese art is the focus…

INSIDE WOODY ALLEN, OUR NEW ROMEO & JULIET, AND MORE… The truth is, you may already know Brie Larson. If not from her brief stint as a gum-smacking pop star (just google it), then maybe as Toni Collette's rebellious, pot-smoking daughter, Kate, on Showtime's United States of Tara. Or perhaps from when she played the approachable hot girl in 2010's Scott Pilgrim vs. the World and then last year's 21 Jump Street, seducing, respectively, Michael Cera and Jonah Hill. However, if you can't place her, don't worry. That's about to change. In this month's Short Term 12—which took home both the Grand Jury Award and the Audience Award for Narrative Feature at the South by Southwest movie festival—Larson, 23, stars as Grace, the compassionate but emotionally complicated head supervisor at…

No one blinks anymore at a multiethnic Oklahoma! or a black Hamlet with a white mother and an Asian Ophelia. But recently "color-blind" casting has evolved even further, encompassing a deliberate and full racial switcheroo. There was nothing blind about the 2008 Cat on a Hot Tin Roof with Anika Noni Rose or, last season, The Trip to Bountiful with Cicely Tyson; in both, all the leading characters, written as white, were now black. Such swaps can seem surprising at first but often bring out new qualities in long-familiar works. There aren't many works as long-familiar as Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, which has had 35 Broadway productions since 1754 and begins performances again this month. In a version that adds a new shade to the color-blind rainbow, director David Leveaux…

To those who find making their bed a chore, I submit: Try making your bed. As in, actually constructing it. There's a great deal of extremely detail-oriented work involved—especially if the bed in question is from Hästens, a Swedish luxury brand known for handmade mattresses so sumptuous that they have been the official favorite of the country's royal court since 1952. Devotees claim that the experience of snoozing on a Hästens is akin to what it must feel like to drift, weightless, on a cloud, which is a prospect tantalizing enough to bring me to the factory in Köping, Sweden, where I recently found myself down on one knee, wearing goggles, attempting to secure a wily box spring onto a pine frame with a tiny metal clamp. This is my…

What do the possessors of Hollywood's most-admired heads of hair—Sarah Jessica Parker, Julianne Moore, Gwyneth Paltrow, Blake Lively, and Julia Roberts—have in common? Superstylist Serge Normant, whose New York and L.A. salons are paparazzi-stakeout staples. Although his work is the standard for sexy, glamorous hair, Normant has a very laissez-faire attitude when it comes to trend setting. "I never think about trends!" he says. "You can be inspired by looks you see on the runway or in movies and magazines, but it's important to do your own interpretation. I don't ever want to clone people." Your name is synonymous with volume. I love volume because it gives a thickness and richness to hair. But that doesn't mean it has to be teased 10 inches above the head! It's more about…

She doesn't belong in here," Patricia said. We were at a Missouri addiction rehab facility, where I'd checked in two weeks before, and Patricia was talking about Kelly, a new patient who was dominating group therapy discussions. Kelly was standing at the nurses' station, demanding that the laundry room be opened—in full view of those of us who were lingering in "the fishbowl," so called because it was the main area for patients to gossip, play games, and watch TV, with windows all around so staff could keep watch. "She just wanted to get away from her kids," said Patricia, who'd regularly been getting electroconvulsive therapy that left her hair an upsetting color of yellow. In Patricia's mind, Kelly, a science teacher and mother of three married to a real…

The office of allergist Paris Mansmann, MD, sits on a grassy slope overlooking the Royal River, a wide waterway that originates in inland Maine and winds down across farmland and under train tracks until it hits the coastal town of Yarmouth, where it sloshes into the Atlantic Ocean. When I first came to Mansmann in February 2011, the river was covered with ice, and bare trees stood silver sentry on its shores. I was 36. I'd been sick for three and a half years. During that time, when I wasn't working as a writer and theater director or being a wife and mother, I visited doctors and had tests. I told few friends or members of my extended family how ill I was, because I didn't have any way to…

Doe-eyed and delicate looking, Amanda Seyfried has at first glance the innocent aura of a human Bambi—a physicality that has served her well in such roles as the winsome Cosette in Tom Hooper's Academy Award–winning Les Misérables. But don't let the ingenue appearance fool you: As audiences have seen in the films Chloe and Jennifer's Body—not to mention this month's porn-legend biopic, Lovelace—Seyfried has a desire to explore darker themes. And, by the way, she isn't shy about other human desires, either. "Sex is what people want to explore. Sex is everything. It motivates everything," our cover star (seen here modeling Saint Laurent by Hedi Slimane's winking nod to dishabille) tells writer Holly Millea. This issue offers ELLE's preview of the fall collections, and you'll find that our favorite runway…

Waxed-cotton jacket, Belstaff, $995, visit belstaff.com. Silk shirt, Friends & Associates, $250. Leather bustier, Azzedine Alaïa, price on request. Faux-leather pants, Kenneth Cole Collection, $98. Stainless steel sunglasses, Mykita & Kostas Murkudis, $525. Leather boots, Christian Louboutin, price on request. Vintage earrings, from Madison Avenue Couture, NYC, price on request. Script necklace, Lanvin, $1,150. Vintage pendant necklace, from VineyardVintage.com, price on request. Vintage C pendant necklace, from VeryVintage.com, $850. Vintage gun-motif necklace, price on request, leather and chain belt (on wrist), $895, both, from Depuis1924.com . Vintage leather and chain bracelet, $1,350, multistrand buoy bracelet, $2,250, coin bracelet, $1,200, all, from What Goes Around Comes Around, NYC. Vintage chain bracelet, from Madison Avenue Couture, NYC, price on request. ID bracelets, Noir, prices on request. Vintage charm belt, from Madison…

On a chilly Thursday afternoon in April, I arrive at an unmarked gray door on an industrial block in Manhattan's Chinatown. Following e-mailed instructions, I take the freight elevator up and find myself in the studio of renowned fashion photographer Mario Sorrenti. To the lensman's left, Jennifer Garner—who lends her first initial to the new Max Mara top-handle J bag—is riffling through a rack of coats and sumptuous knits. "I remember discovering Max Mara in my midtwenties," she says. "I was living in New York City and needed a couple of grown-up, simple audition outfits. I bought a beautiful A-line black skirt and a sweater set that I wore to every casting call for at least a year—the lines were flattering but not too showy." To Sorrenti's right, a gaggle…

It's usually the more outrageous personalities that break out from Saturday Night Live, but for almost a decade in Studio 8H Jason Sudeikis has scored by playing it straight. Armed with a sly, knowing smile, he has his heart—and his enviable hair—in the right place, even during his frequent appearances as the Devil on "Weekend Update." A similar understated charm made him awesomely watchable in Horrible Bosses and The Campaign, and, arguably, he's used it to even greater effect offscreen. Since his 2010 divorce from actress Kay Cannon, the 37-year-old actor has become something of a tabloid swordsman, linked—rightly or wrongly—to a string of actresses, including Scarlett Johansson (not true), Eva Mendes (possibly true), Jennifer Aniston (definitely not true), and January Jones (affirmative). Earlier this year, Sudeikis proposed to Olivia…