Tastevin Magazine October 2013

FITNESS + FASHIO

ION + FUNCTION

BodyRockSport.com

HORS D’OEUVRE Masthead Contributors Letters On Set From the Desk of the Editor

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BEAUTY & WELLNESS Cross Check Your CrossFit: Becca Kantor investigate allegations of poor quality control behind the workout giant—and hot new fitness trend—CrossFit. {Beauty} Trick to Try: In this new column, we share the latest beauty tip to get you through the day faster and prettier!

Healing Powers of the Hike: The easiest exercise method is also the one that can help you make the most memories.

Emily Van Guilder shares her story.

ARTS & LEISURE What Ails About This Ale: Just in time for Oktoberfest, our Food and Drink Guy tells you why he hates India Pale Ales and shows you how to be a true beer connoisseur.

Turning Tricks for Treats?: How has Halloween gotten so slutty?? We’ve got the scoop on All Hallows Day celebrations around the world.

The Lost Promises of Xanadu: A poem of promises made, kept, and broken.

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FASHION & FEATURES

You&Me: We stood in line at six in the morning for it, but it was worth every minute. Check out the 3.1 Phillip Lim line for Target.

Share Your Where: Our UK Editor traveled to Prague before she truly embraced the art of eating.

Share Your Wear: This fashion designer is petite, but she packs a punch. Finally, a stylish line for the active fashionista.

Revamp Your Look for Fall: We took all the trends from the fall runways and put them together for you in one easy-to-use guide. You’re welcome!

She’s SO Not What You Think: Scheana Marie is more than what the tabloids say. She tells us about owning up to her mistakes and moving on with her career.

Always end with something sweet

CAROLINE A. WONG Editor-in-Chief

BRANDON GAMBLE Creative Director

FASHION AND FEATURES Fashion and Beauty Editor BREANA POWELL Accessories Editor ADRIANE CARRANZA Features Writers LINDY TOLBERT & AMANDA CHI

ARTS AND LEISURE Arts and Leisure Editor MOLLIE MCKENZIE Arts and Leisure Writers BLAKE DAVIDSON & DANIELLE ROBBINS

BEAUTY AND WELLNESS Beauty Editor COLETTE CHOI Wellness Editor EMILY VAN GUILDER Assistant Wellness Editor BECCA KANTOR

ART Photographer ALEXANDER HERMAN Assistant Photographer HAIL NOWAK West Coast Editor ROSIE RYAN UK Editor JENNA ANDERSON

When Amanda Chi is not traveling, she loves rock climbing, reading, and watching Arrested Development. Her adventures this month take her into the foreign world of slutty Halloween costumes!

CONTRIBUTORS

October 2013

Born and raised in Orange County, CA, Emily Van Guilder enjoys anything and everything related to outdoor exercise. In this month’s issue, she reminisces about the wellness of hiking.

Blake Davidson is a beer guy—but he’s not your average beer guy! In “What Ails About This Ale” he debunks the India Pale Ale myth and dishes on the brews that will make you actually look like a beer connoisseur instead of a crowd-pleaser.

As Tastevin’s newly minted Fashion and Beauty Editor, Breana Powell is a powerhouse when it comes to looking good. This month she helps you do the same in “Revamp Your Look for Fall” by sharing runway trends to try!

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Tastevin Magazine October 2013

Becca Kantor loves to work out and get fit, but she won’t go to a class if it’s going to be a waste of time. This month, the Texas native investigates CrossFit classes and the allegations of poor quality control in “Cross Check Your CrossFit.” Alexander Herman is a Los Angeles-based photographer and filmmaker.

He photographed Scheana Marie for this month’s cover shoot and even mixed her a drink after the shoot wrapped!

Brandon Gamble loves fashion and design. He probably has a bigger closet than you have… but that’s how he makes Tastevin look so snappy every month! Long live the blazer!

Jenna Anderson is an avid wanderer who collects stories. The most recent addition to her collection is her “Share Your Where” story in which she recounts how a gastronomy museum in Prague restructured how she views not only the kitchen, but also the act of eating.

Arts and Leisure Editor Mollie McKenzie likes to be artsy while also being leisurely. Check out her artsy poem “The Lost Promises of Xanadu” in your leisure time!

WHAT DO YOU THINK? You had a lot to say about last month’s cover story with Rachel Reilly! When Reilly tweeted about her Tastevin feature, you took to the Twitter-verse like mad. Here’s just a sampling of your replies: “Been waiting to see it. #excited” – Star Herion, @akabobsgirl

“U are beautiful!”

– Bianca Serrano, @BiancaTheFoodie

“Awesome!”

Is there something you’d like to see in the pages of an upcoming issue of Tastevin? Are you an awesome fashion designer or an up and coming musician looking for exposure?

We want to hear from you! Send your thoughts on the September issue (and any other thoughts you might have!) to letters@tastevinmag.com or go to www.TastevinMag.com and fill out the form on the Contact page. All submissions become the property of Tastevin Magazine and may be edited, published, or otherwise used in any medium.

And if you think you have what it takes to write a column for our magazine, show us what you’ve got! Send your resume along with three column proposals and a writing sample to editor@tastevinmag.com for consideration.

– Pamela Lopez, @pammie141

“Her twitter is automated linkd 2 a pay site pathetic coz her sis…abused amanda on mcrreas bday 4 nothing hope ur family proud ur sister was an evil snob” – John Rice, @irish_jackill

“Great interview and the photos are great. You look beautiful” – Vicki Hobb @ColorInFusion

“Fascinating interview. Good photos. Green gummy worm > pink gummy worm though” – Pnationx, @Pnationx

“It’s so cute” – Sarah Cooper, @Coopx5

“OMG! You look gorgeous!!!!!”

– Farleysson, @Farleysson

“Loved that photoshoot :-) xoxo” – Gaborrr, @gaborrr 3

On Set

For this month’s cover shoot with Vanderpump Rules star and pop sensation Scheana Marie, we went with a “summer never dies” vibe to ring in October. Scheana was game for the bikini-bottoms and sweaters look, despite battling a cold. Once we wrapped, photographer Alexander Herman helped everyone warm up by mixing some whiskey gingers! Check out the rest of the looks from the shoot on page 64.

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Tastevin Magazine October 2013

t

t r a g s s e e g k m

5

from the desk of the

EDITOR

When I was a kid, I was a purple dinosaur for Halloween…for three years straight. My mom swore to me it wasn’t a Barney costume since by then I had decided that I’d outgrown Barney and Friends.

But alas, it was a Barney costume indeed, and so for a good portion of those highly sensitive, impressionable young years, I conveyed an excessive love for one particular Tyrannosaurus rex who just happened to be a pleasant shade of magenta. As a side note, did anyone know Tyrannosaurus rex translates to “tyrant lizard king”?

Maybe Barney was more badass than I thought.

Dinosaurs aside, bad costumes still persist, from “sexy Elmo” to “skanky SWAT girl.” We investigate the fascination with slutty Halloween outfits and whether it’s a purely American trend in “Turning Tricks for Treats” on page 32. It might just change your mind about slipping into latex for that party at the Playboy Mansion.

Our cover girl, Scheana Marie of Bravo’s Vanderpump Rules fame, has also gotten some heat for being “slutty.” Some of you might know her best for inadvertently being one of actor Eddie Cibrian’s “other women,” a list which also includes his now-wife LeAnn Rimes (although for Rimes it wasn’t so inadvertent). The ensuing drama for Scheana included numerous confrontations with Cibrian’s ex, Brandi Glanville, who also happens to be a friend of Scheana’s boss. Talk about awkward! Scheana’s costar has even accused her of being a homewrecker on more than one occasion. But, like my ill-advised Barney costume, mistakes happen—and Scheana is determined to make that particular mistake part of her past. Give this sweeheart a chance to do just that and check out my emotional chat with Scheana on page 64.

I know you’ll no doubt have a lot to say about this month’s issue, so I’m expecting our inbox to be packed. Fill it up at letters@tastevinmag.com!

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Tastevin Magazine October 2013

Your Cross Fit Becca Kantor goes behind the scenes to investigate the trendiest new workout phenomenon, Cross Fit. Her findings are shocking.

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COURTESY OF CHANDLER RABENS

Cross Check

rossFit reigns as one of the most popular forms of exercises due to its high intensity, high competitiveness, and pushing-yourselfto-the-brink mentality. Finding a CrossFit gym is easy—they pop up everywhere and anywhere, and seemingly all the time. But every CrossFit gym is not made equal, and poor quality control has led to concerns of high risks of injuries for participants.

The main problem lies in how little a person has to do to be considered CrossFit certified. For just $3,000 a year, a gym can be affiliated with the CrossFit brand. There is an application process, but one of the main requirements is that the person running the gym is a certified CrossFit trainer. And just how hard is it to get a CrossFit certification?

Turns out, not very. All that a Level 1 certification requires is that you be at least

17 years old and pass a $1,000 course. The course itself only lasts two days, from about 9 to 5. As long as you pass the course, in the form of a 50-multiple-choice-question exam, you’re a certified CrossFit trainer.

That must mean the course itself is comprehensive—right? In a way, it is, but maybe not in the right way. The course consists of lectures about CrossFit philosophy, nutrition and health information, exercise demonstrations, and instances where the trainees can learn exercise technique. While the course provides a breadth of information, it’s lacking in the coaching department.

Many reviews of the course can be found online, and the common consensus appears to be that not enough time was spent on how to actually coach people. Because so much of CrossFit involves compound movements such as the squat or the clean and jerk, and because good form for these movements is essential in preventing injuries, the ability to teach and recognize good form is key. Yet it seems that all the Level 1 course certifies people to do is spout off facts about CrossFit’s mission, rather than how to effectively train people.

A Level 2 certification course does exist—for another $1,000—and its primary focus is on developing coaching skills. However, the CrossFit website strongly recommends

that people have at least six months of training people using CrossFit methods before taking the course. So if a first-time CrossFit trainer wants to gain more knowledge and skills about coaching, he has to actually train people on his own trial-and-error basis before getting the tried-and-true skills that would help make him a more effective trainer. Sounds a bit backwards, and plenty risky. How can people train effectively or be protected from injuries if their own trainer doesn’t even know how to do so?

Of course, qualified, experienced trainers do exist and do run effective CrossFit gyms.

But the ease in which anyone, even a teenager, can obtain a certification to teach CrossFit methods reveals the overall lack of quality control that ruins the standing of these truly experienced CrossFit trainers.

“There is such a distinct variation between the CrossFit affiliate owner that has only taken the Level 1 class and has only been training people for a month and the owner who has 20 years of industry experience and has completed multiple nationally recognized certifications,” says Ethan Smith, a personal trainer certified by the National Academy of Sports Medicine. Smith himself is not a CrossFit trainer but has attended CrossFit classes and commends the brand for what it has done 11

for the fitness industry, such as popularizing compound movements and promoting a culture of hard work and discipline. Yet he does find the lack of quality control concerning, especially for people who are brand new to exercise. “Since CrossFit HQ seems uninterested in protecting its participants by adapting it workouts, message, and affiliate ownership requirements, the burden falls on the possibly first-time gym goer to evaluate the quality of the gym and its trainers in hopes of meeting their fitness goals and not getting injured in the process,” Smith says.

That’s a heavy burden for a rookie CrossFitter. Simply walking into a CrossFit affiliated gym is no guarantee of safety or expertise. Fortunately, Smith offers several tips for finding a good CrossFit gym with experienced trainers. Asking trainers what other certifications besides CrossFit Level 1 they have—as well as how long they’ve been training people—will reveal a lot about their experience level. Ask if the gym has a begin-

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ners or on-ramp program and how the trainer helps trainees reach individual goals. One last question that should definitely be asked is whether the gym does solely the workouts on the CrossFit official website or if the trainers write their own programs. “Writing their own program usually suggests some level of competence and knowledge,” Smith says.

Despite the ever-rising popularity of CrossFit, the organization still has a lot of kinks to work out, no pun intended. “CrossFit HQ seems to be singularly focused on making money, not worrying about the long-term effects of a lack of quality control,” Smith says.

However, the failed system is to blame, not the owners affiliated with the CrossFit brand.

“CrossFit affiliates are well-intentioned individuals trying to help people meet their fitness goals and making a living in the process.”

As long as people make sure to find a CrossFit gym that checks out, the only pain they’ll be feeling is the soreness from a high intensity and highly satisfying workout.

CrossFit has a reputation for attractive people working out, but not every location is just about looks.

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{Beauty} Trick to Try

In this new column, Colette Choi shares one simple beauty tip to turn your routine completely on its head.

We’ve all seen the commercials about how soap dries out your skin—but shampoo does the same thing to your hair! If you’re a fitness fanatic, or even if you just don’t like the greasy feel of hair at the end of the day, you might actually be stripping your strands of the precious moisture they need. So try this experts’ trick: condition first!

In the shower, wet hair and lather up some conditioner throughout, not just on ends like most recommendations. Let it sit for a minute in your hair, but don’t rinse! Rub in a little bit of shampoo straight into your locks, then rinse. The conditioner will protect your hair and moisturize it before you put in the harsher shampoo.

For the ultra vigorous, try sulfate-free formulas. This simple trick should keep your ‘do nice and shiny. Here’s to happier suds!

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Healing of the Powers Hike

Think hiking is only for mountain men? Think again.

Our lithe Wellness Editor Emily Van Guilder has been a hiking fanatic from the get go—and all thanks to her dad. Her story might just get you feeling like hiking could be for you too!

COURTESY OF EMILY VAN GUILDER

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wo months ago, I drove twenty hours west from Orange County, CA and started an internship in Dallas, Texas. Two weeks ago, I decided to accept a full time position, thereby postponing my twenty hour return trip until further notice. It’s no surprise that I already miss several aspects from my SoCal life—namely my amazing family, friends, the beach, the temperate weather... However, as excited as I was for my new career, it only took one cursory glance at a Texas map to remember that they don’t make mountains there like they do in California. In short, I knew I was going to have crazy hiking withdrawals, especially when I was told that the nearest “good” mountain range is an eight hour drive away.

I owe my love of the mountains and hiking almost exclusively to my father. Starting in my early middle school years, my dad and I would get up before the sun and drive a little over an hour to the mountain officially known as Mount San Antonio, unofficially Mount Baldy. At 10,068 feet high, it’s the highest peak in the San Gabriel Mountain range and boasts numerous trails to the summit.

The first trek I ever completed on Baldy was the “Ice House Saddle” trail. In reality, the trip to the saddle is probably only about one third of the way to the top of the mountain, but at ripe age of 11, as I slowly shuffled my way up,

I felt invigorated and impressed with myself.

I was less impressed with my performance in the days to follow though, when it felt like an elephant was sitting on my thighs.

The great thing about hiking as a form of exercise is that, no matter the difficulty level or no matter how bone-tired I’ve gotten, I’ve always enjoyed myself and wanted to come back for more. The one minor exception might be the “Bear Canyon” (Old Baldy) trail, which is sometimes literally described as both a “death march” and an “impossibly steep” route to the peak—though my dad calls it just a “bit of an incline.”

I was hooked. Over the years, I got to explore a wide variety of hikes on Mount Baldy as well as on Mount Wilson (another notable peak within the San Gabriels) and Bailey Canyon Wilderness Park, among other places. Despite the fact that I got a lot faster and stronger as the years passed, my dad never failed to surpass me in the mountains. Traditionally, he’d always give me a good twenty minute head start. After about thirty minutes, my dad would catch up to me and continue running intervals up and down the trail as I panted and hobbled around like a grandma.

Several times he actually wore a thirty pound weight vest to even the playing field. Despite that, he would still kick my butt, no matter which trail we were on.

Now, I won’t lie, there have definitely been times when I’ve felt the hiking pain— sometimes a lot of it. One of the first times I went out, I had been feeling rather energetic and foolishly started at a pace far faster than was wise. I was road kill after ten minutes.

The change in altitude coupled with my sudden burst of activity made me exhausted, extremely dizzy, and nauseous. That was the

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last time I played fast and loose with acclimation. There was another, particularly awful, time when I was unfortunate enough to meet up with the “not-so-friendly-female-related” Mother Nature and my period started while I was already an hour up the trail. I remember only two things about the two excruciating hours it took to get down. One, it was the most intense pain of my life and, two, it was an equivalent level of embarrassment since my dad informed practically every hiker we passed about the fact that I was experiencing “severe menstrual cramps.” Thanks, Dad. Way to make me sound tough.

Like any normal teenager, I had a healthy appreciation for sleeping in on the weekends (an appreciation that I have still not abandoned—no judgment). But whenever I was able to drag myself out of bed at 5:30 on Sunday morning, I was always immensely glad I had on my running shoes and hit the dirt. There’s an unsurprising calmness that accompanies any exposure to nature, especially when it’s coupled with a great workout. Though I would never consider pulling a Henry David Thoreau and live like a hobo in the wilderness for years on end, I do enjoy, and almost need, separation from civilization and technology, even if only for a few hours. On some trails in the Bailey Canyon Park, and on particularly muggy days, you can actually climb above the smog layer and see the Los Angeles basin through that sad brown pollution filter.

Though I’m sad about the distinct lack of available mountain trails near Dallas, I was able to do a pretty good job storing up hiking memories with some of my best friends, and of course my dad, in the months preceding my move. I’ve

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“ Despite the fact that I got a lot faster and stronger as the years passed, my dad never failed to surpass me in the mountains.�

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never had problems finding activities or shared mutual interests with my parents, but it was and always will be nice that my dad and I have bonded over our love of the San Gabriels. Hopefully I’ll be able to find some adaptive ways to enjoy the wild Texan outdoors (preferably ones that don’t involve hunting). Then again, there are worse things than driving eight hours to see some fantastic mountains and relive a little California nostalgia.

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What Ails About This Ale

ALEXANDER HERMAN

Beer has long been the “bro” drink—or the drink of ladies trying to prove they can hang with the bros—but faux beer connoisseurs trying to set themselves apart from the crowd often gravitate toward India Pale Ales, the fast food of beers. Resident food and drink guy Blake Davidson can’t stand IPAs and goes behind the scenes to expose what goes into a true, really kickass beer.

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State, I do not generally find myself among he truth often makes people unhappy. It forces them to really the droves of blonde-haired, tan-skinned beach goers rushing for an IPA. evaluate themselves: the choices

I’ve had my fair share of beers. Actuthey’ve made in error and the fallacies they’ve accepted as fact. Their whole ally I’d wager that I’ve had a lot more than my fair share of beers and for the life of me, worldview gets turned on its side. So I would I could never understand the obsession with like to apologize preemptively and to warn you now that what you are about to read Sierra Nevada, Anchor Steam, Lagunitas, Racer 5, and the droves of other similarly styled cannot be unread. I claim no responsibility IPAs. But after long hours at bars, gingerly for the potential depression, self-doubt, or inevitable existential crisis that may ensue. sipping on over-hopped bitter beers with I’m about to expose the truth about the infe- no real character and wondering if I should just give up and switch to wine, I developed rior beer Americans have been drinking since a theory. What I came 1990 when The Siup with, what it reerra Nevada Brewing ally boils down to, is “I’ve had my fair share of Company went “mainup until recently stream.” But first, beers. Actually I’d wager that that people haven’t had a some background.

I’ve had a lot more than my wide variety of beers IPA, or India to choose from. And fair share of beers.”

Pale Ale, originated in because they haven’t England for shipment had a choice, they to—you guessed it— haven’t explored alternatives. IPA was the India. And though I wasn’t around in the 18th century, I’m told the reason for this beer’s first thing on the scene after the traditional, over-carbonated, under-flavored, bodiless lapopularity is that it didn’t spoil on the voyage from England to India. I can see it now: rich gers. People are sticking to what they know under the guise of trying something new and merchants growing tired of their quinine-ladinteresting. They hear IPA and go, “Yeah, I like en gin and tonics and games of snooker, cravIPA. It isn’t mainstream. Everyone will think ing a proper beer. Surely anything that hadn’t that I know my shit.” And on top of it, everyspoiled on the voyage would do. So with open one with taste buds is going, “This stuff sucks! arms they welcomed the over-hopped pale How do these hipster fucks stomach it?” But ale and the rest, as they say, is history. But stories like that are the stories of how tastes when your soul has been disfigured by hours of listening to Animal Collective and your develop, aren’t they? brain fried from always being under a beanie

Fast forward to today. Walk into any in the 85-degree Los Angeles heat, it becomes bar in California and if they have two microbrews on tap, I’d bet you five to one that one a little easier to understand. But I digress.

Back to my theory: better beer, and of them is an IPA. What’s so awful about IPA more specifically, a large selection of better you ask? Hops. I hate hops. I absolutely detest them. No, I’m not talking basketball hops, beer has only recently become available again in the United States. Furthermore, despite the though that also tends to be a sore subject for large selection that is now available, people a half-Jewish white kid who is under 5’5”. I’m continue to drink beer in the style of the first talking about the hops in beer: those aromatic different beer to go mainstream (Sierra Negreen cones that impart a floral and often bitter taste in the kind of beer that Californians vada—an IPA) thinking it is the best thing out there. Brewers continue to brew IPA in mass love. And though I’m a native of the Golden 27

quantities to meet the demand, thus perpetuating the cycle of what is available and thus, what people are drinking.

But don’t take my word for it. I hate to give another history lesson here, but the first step to overcoming ignorance is education. Bear with me: after some research I found that my hypothesis does have some credence.

Beer history in the United States is surprisingly brief following the Prohibition.

All you need to know is that brewery numbers hit an alltime post-Prohibition low in 1983 with just 44 brewing concerns operating 83 breweries. Compare that to over 2,500 today. Sierra Nevada opened in 1980, but ten years later in 1990, they had already become the first micro-brewery to break out of that classification by producing more than twenty-five thousand barrels of beer. By 1994, there were 84 microbreweries in operation: one more than the overall number of breweries only eleven years prior. At this time, the top five brewers were Anheuser-Busch, Miller, Coors, and the now defunct Stroh and G. Heileman. In 1995, there were 500 breweries in the US with three or four new ones opening weekly.

Maybe it was the success of Sierra Nevada that led to the droves of imitators; it was something different,

something new, something local. But one thing is for certain: hops have become a major selling point for beers.

In fact, as the proprietor of my favorite local liquor store once quipped bitterly, “When in doubt, add more hops.” And while I don’t have too much faith in bartenders or liquor store clerks, the good ones tend to know what they’re talking about when it comes to all things fermented and drinkable. But hops aren’t bad in and of themselves.

They are flowers that, when used wisely, can lend an airy, almost ethereal quality to a golden pint. It’s the way they are used, nay, abused in American brewing practices.

So perhaps it would be more accurate to say I hate what’s being done with hops more than the hops themselves.

And you can’t exactly blame the consumer either: if you’re given a choice between a Bud Light and a “craft” IPA, what are you going to choose? You’ve had plenty of Buds, might as well try something different. It would even be a difficult decision for me, a guy who hates this type of beer with some level of passion.

So the lingering question is: what are my alternatives to the big brand lagers and the IPAs? There are literally hundreds. There are great beers from Germany, Poland, the Czech Republic, the UK, Japan, France, Bel-

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gium (not including the overhopped, over-rated, Delirium Tremens), even Mexico (though “great” might be a stretch), not to mention beer brewed right here in the good old US of A. I understand that navigating the shelves laden with microbrews and foreign beers can be overwhelming at first, but don’t be afraid to ask the clerks at BevMo! or Whole Foods or better yet, a decent local liquor store for advice. Tell them you can’t stand IPA and ask for a nice German beer or a mellow stout. Watch out for local porters as they seem to live by the “when in doubt, add more hops” rule.

If you’re still feeling like you’re in the dark, I’ll leave you with a few solid starters:

Germany

It’s hard to go wrong with a good German beer— Paulaner, Hofbräu München, Spaten, Weihenstephaner, Erdinger. If you can find Erdinger on tap, it’s downright heavenly: wheat-beer brewed to perfection, with notes of honey coming through. They also make a good darker varietal—the Pikantus Weizen-Bock.

Poland

Żywiec—pronounced zhiviech—is a good introduc-

tion to your standard Polish beer. Drinkable, not over complicated. They also make a darker version that isn’t bad. Best enjoyed with sausage.

Czech

Budweiser Budvar— yes, Budweiser. The original Budweiser. Give it a try, it’s not half bad.

British Isles

Originally, it was my intention to write this article about the wonderful beers, and more particularly, the wonderful stouts of the British Isles. However, when I noticed that it’s nearly impossible to get a good stout over here, I began tracing the problem to its roots, inevitably leading to this dialogue about IPA. The Brits have been drinking beer as long as anyone, or at least longer than we have (as they frequently point out at pubs that are older than our country). These are true drinking beers. Don’t get that confused with chugging beers. They’re dark and thick, but incredibly smooth, and despite the common misconception, a dark beer does not necessarily betray high alcohol content. They generally come in at the standard 5%. Unfortunately the list of good UK stouts available in the US is pathetically short.

Ideally what you want to find

is a beer in a widget can (the widget is a small plastic device that helps a canned or bottled beer form a thick head when opened): Murphy’s (Ireland), Wexler’s (blonde, Ireland), Belfast (Scotland), Boddington’s (England), Young’s (England). There are also a number of beers from the UK without widgets that are pretty good, like Samuel Smith’s, Old Speckled Hen, St. Peter’s, and Hobgoblin. Like I said though, the selection is painfully small and they’ll never be quite right as long as they aren’t on tap. I’m still waiting with patiently for the day when the Scottish Black Isle Brewery decides to start shipping to the US.

Japan

Hitachino. Drink it. Or try Kirin with your sushi— “Brewed For Good Times”

Belgium

One word: lambic. Dry, cidery at times, reminiscent of wine at others, the overall taste is sour. They often add fruit to flavor it. It takes some getting used to, but when you find a good lambic, it’s a revelation. Unfortunately, lambic is another example of beer that is painfully under stocked in the US at the moment. I have yet to find a truly great lambic here. They also tend to be more expensive, often coming in larger bottles

with corks. I prefer Lindeman’s to Liefman’s, but neither one is quite right.

USA

Buy local.

Alaskan Brewing Co. makes a good smoked porter. Deschutes Black Butte Porter is also a good example of a dark, flavorful porter that hasn’t gone overboard with the hops. Allagash makes a great white ale that is an alternative to Hoegaarden: a pretty good white ale, despite the fact that it’s been taken over by Anheuser-Busch (that might prove to be a shocker even to those of you who already knew Blue Moon was owned

by MillerCoors). TrumerPils, a German-style pilsner brewed in Berkeley is a light, easy-drinking but flavorful pilsner great on a hot day.

There are of course, weirder things out there; from red ales to Saisons, and other more novel beers. Kona Brewing Co., for example, known for Longboard, makes a surprisingly good passion-fruit beer.

I know, I know, but don’t knock it until you try it. My last recommendation is Old No. 38 Stout by North Coast Brewing Co. It’s a great stout, not overdone on the hops, although not quite as mellow as a British pint. Their Scrimshaw Pilsner is also great: reminiscent of Paulaner, but it’s a little bit lighter. I haven’t had everything they have to 29

offer, and I know that these guys are responsible for Old Rasputin, a Russian imperial stout (Russian imperial stout were developed much like IPAs, but for export to Russia rather than India, and also tend to be heavy on the hops and high in alcohol content) that I can’t stand, but I’ll let it slide because I’m in love with the Old 38 and the Scrimshaw. Keep up the good work guys.

There are numerous more beers that I’ve been unable to include and my selections for the US have been somewhat arbitrary I must admit: more of a crosssection than anything else. But hopefully I’ve been able to provide a few good suggestions in there somewhere. Furthermore if I screwed up anywhere throughout the article, I sincerely apologize: I’m not a beer expert, just an avid drinker and enthusiast.

The truth is, there are plenty of people who would prefer an IPA to a good German beer.

I personally think you’re crazy and that your taste buds are either destroyed from challenging your friends to one too many jalapeño eating contests at the local salad bar as a kid or that they’re completely nonexistent. But that’s what’s so great about the US: something along the lines of “we have the freedom to drink crappy beers if we want.” So have an IPA if you’re so inclined, but please explore your options.

There’s a wonderful world of golden goodness out there, just waiting to be drunk.

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CAROLINE A. WONG

Halloween is coming up, so it must be that time to break out the Princess Leia slave costume again. Or is it? Amanda Chi explores the history of All Hallows Day and how America differs in its more scantily-clad celebrations. Trick or treat!

Children dressed as little ghosts, witches, and skeletons trot eagerly from house to house to fill their bags with candy. But wait… what’s this? A slew of girls pass by—a slutty nurse, a slutty witch, a slutty fairy, and quite possibly even a slutty pumpkin a la How I Met Your Mother. Why even bother wearing costumes to begin with? And why do these costumes seem to have less and less fabric? Why is Halloween even a real holiday? Many merely take it as a chance to dress up and run wild, but over 2,000 years ago, Halloween had a different take.

Halloween originally began as a Celtic tradition. The festival called Samhain was held at the end of the summer where people would honor the dead with offerings. The Celts believed that on that day, the barrier between the worlds of the living and the dead were 33

lifted and the deceased would come back to the earth. People would wear masks in order to trick the ghosts into thinking that they were kindred spirits. To keep the dead away, people would place food in the front of their homes to placate the hungry ghosts.

The Celtic traditions eventually made their way through the Roman Christian empire. During this time, the Pope established the pagan festival of Samhain as All Saint’s Day in order to commemorate all the martyred saints who never had their own special day.

All Saint’s became interchangeably called All Hallows, which in turn how Halloween came to be. The holiday made its way to America as Irish immigrants brought over their traditions and once again the festival shied away from Christian association as the term “trick or treat” became popular.

But undoubtedly the costumes have changed since Celtic days. The aim is to no longer dress scary, but slutty. If you’ve ever seen Mean Girls, Cady (Oh, Lindsay Lohan!) famously quips, “In the regular world, Halloween is when children dress up in costumes and beg for candy. In Girl World, Halloween is the one night a year when a girl can dress like a total slut and no other girls can say anything about it.” Why is that? Almost as a new coming of age rite, the slutty Halloween costume seems to announce to the world that you are no longer a little girl asking for candy. It’s an opportunity to test out more risqué attire—like that scandalous leather bustier—under the guise of it being a “costume.” It’s easier to blend in with everyone else if they have also got a little bit of skin showing.

But what example do women in “Girl World” set for little kids? The holiday is a mixed generational one, with both twelveyear-olds and twenty-six-year-olds roaming the streets. It definitely seems as if retail stores have given into the popular demand for slutty costumes that are short skirted, tight all around, and cleavage-baring. On one side of the drugstore aisle you have a kid’s fairy prin34 Tastevin Magazine October 2013

cess outfit while on the other side is a “sexy devil.” Some retailers even sell sexy Peter Pan and sexy Big Bird costumes. Since when were Peter Pan and Big Bird considered sexy?? Everything that once had its youthful innocence is now sexualized and commercialized.

The slutty Halloween ensemble remains a largely Westernized way of celebration. In Hong Kong, people celebrate their Halloween—or Yu Lan (Hungry Ghost Festival)—in July by burning paper money or preparing food in honor of the dead that were thought to have walked the earth. Since it is not a celebration as much as it is a ceremony, people do not tend to dress up and party. The Japanese Obon Festival also honors the dead with food and dance. A religious celebration, the customary ware is a particular kimono called a yukata. But perhaps the most famous holiday associated with Halloween is the Mexican Dia de Muertos, or Day of the Dead.

A three-day celebration that begins on the eve of October 31, it honors deceased loved ones with altars bearing food, flowers, pictures, and incense. In probably the closest tradition to Halloween costumes, Day of the Dead participants wear skull masks or Calaveras…but usually not slutty pumpkin outfits.

What these various celebrations have in common is a cultural reverence for the dead. That’s how Halloween started off as well, so it’s interesting to see how traditions have changed over time. What started off as an Irish practice is now a time to let your hair down and dress as scandalously as you want.

Perhaps consider it a death of your childhood innocence for a night.

AVAILABLE NOW! Get it on the iTunes store or at www.jaydentonmusic.com

e d a M

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DANIELLE ROBBINS

by Danielle Robbins

Custom Cake Stand I love cake and cupcakes, and I have a sneaking suspicion that you just might love them too. I’ve been looking for a way to display my lovingly baked goodies at parties and created my own special cake stand to do just that. To make your own, you’ll need a candlestick, plate, E-6000 glue, spray paint of any color (I used Krylon Pistashio), and clear gloss spray paint. I got most of my materials at the dollar store, making this a really cost effective project!

Put E-6000 glue on the top of the candlestick and glue to the bottom side of the plate. Be sure this is as close to the middle of the plate as possible, otherwise your cake stand will look lopsided and topple over. Let glue fully dry.

II Spray paint the cake stand with your chosen color, painting the underside first. Make sure you’re in a well-ventilated area and spray in even strokes back and forth. After you’re done with the underside, let the paint dry and turn the stand over to spray paint the top. Use as many coats as needed until the cake stand is fully covered with even color. Use the clear gloss spray paint as your final coat.

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III

IV Adorn your cake stand with delicious goodies to show off!

DONE!

The Lost Promises of Xanadu

By Mollie McKenzie

When I was a child, my father would whisper words of love to my mother, but when she asked him to stay, he said no.

I cried but she dried my tears, telling me that girls were better without men. I buried my face next to my smiling doll. Her golden hair filled my mouth and made me gasp for air. I pictured my father searching for gold in Xanadu, where he said the sun shined all day long, Oh Xanadu, where mothers give their children chocolate kisses of love daily, where a chorus of sweet and silvery voices made songs all day-long, where trees and rivers know the thoughts of mankind, where beasts of the earth smile like humans and where no fathers leave behind their little girls.

In school, short skirts and thick makeup was worn by girls who thought they could sell their bodies in exchange for a Xanadu romance. They hid my golden heart necklace, but a smiling boy found it and placed it around my neck and loved me. We sat at the lunch table, holding hands but I knew when he looked back at the short skirts that it was over and it made

me think of that Land. Xanadu, where no one made promises they couldn’t keep, where other girls never laughed at you for not wearing makeup, where no fathers left their daughter alone at the Valentines Dance. In Xanadu, where vain words and actions of love weren’t merely used as excuses. But I had to smile

because this Land was worlds away. I smiled when a man knelt down on one knee in the mud even though the rain made both of us shiver with cold. My mother gave me away, my father’s love and empty promises are only ghosts belonging to a young girl.

The man at the aisle’s end doesn’t belong to Xanadu.

He doesn’t need to make promises because I know

that his hands will always be there to hold mine. No thoughtless desires, where fantasy destroys reality, and where smiles mask tears, can distract me. Once upon a time there was a place called Xanadu, where dreams tempted the hopeless and helpless, where people made golden shrines to its gods, where young girls and women believe in a thing they called love.

But I said no, and I accepted his scars and he mine. I made my decision smiling, with joy not many girls know. I can turn away from Xanadu and its whispered words of love.

Caroline A. Wong braves the crowds to bring you this month’s designer collaboration—3.1 Phillip Lim for Target. Can this collection satiate the thirst of all the fashionistas that stood in line for hours before stores opened?

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T

arget still surprises me. I should expect it by now, but the megastore really just does a damn good job when it comes to their fashion collaborations. Where most collections usually go wrong (poor quality, unknown designers), Target delivers, upping the ante with well-made pieces from the fashion world’s newest and best darlings.

Sure, there’s been a hiccup or two in their fashion history (ahem, Kate Young), but the latest Phillip Lim partnership blows all those mistakes away. 3.1 Phillip Lim was started by the designer and his business partner, Wen Zhou, in 2005 when the two were both 31, hence “3.1” in the name. Eight years later, 3.1 Phillip Lim is a phenomenon.

While the lookbook for the Phillip Lim collection didn’t seem to get as much coverage as the Prabal Gurung collaboration a few months back, it might have just been because

MOLLIE MCKENZIE

Dress, 3.1 Phillip Lim for Target, $75.

Leather jacket, INC International Concepts.

Booties, Nine West. Bangles, Kate Spade.

the line was a little less cohesive than Gurung’s “Love” theme. Nevertheless, the fashion press drooled over the lookbook, especially noting the chic men’s looks, including a grey poplin button up with black sleeves and a motorcycle jacket made from real leather. I’m always intrigued by fashion collaborations that feature both men and women’s looks, so I was curious to see what the turnout would be like in stores.

On a fateful Sunday in September, men and women lined up hours before Target stores opened to worship at the Church of Lim. Most of the coveted pieces sold out in the first hour, namely the dresses with faux leather appliqués and the handbags. One woman walked away with about six handbags in her cart, and I was pretty sure someone would try to jump her in the parking lot to steal and auction off the goods. eBay bidders have shelled out more than twice as much as retail for the satchels.

I sifted through the buzzing fashion vultures and tried on a few pieces. The blue shift with the half-jeweled collar was a disaster, and I was told that I looked like a frumpy flight attendant. There were some gems, however, that made the visit worthwhile. The verdict? Phillip Lim is a collaboration superhero.

The Navy Dress

This stunner was a pleasant surprise.

While decent on the hanger, it really shines when worn. One of the more expensive looks in the collection, the dress has a sequined back with a flowing skirt and one sheer shoulder strap. It can veer into “precious” territory, so edge it up with a leather jacket and booties. To make it more casual, you can throw on a sheer white cardigan instead of the leather and pair it with wedges instead of booties. In other words, this is more than a simple party dress.

The Peplum Top

Phillip Lim outdid himself with this great floral print. The black accents really go a long

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way to making it more grown up. The line also featured an amazing shirt dress in this print, but the XS through L sizing meant extensive alterations would need to be done to adjust the fit of the sleeve and bodice. I opted for the sleeveless peplum instead. It’s an extremely versatile look, moving easily from the office to cocktails to brunch. Keep the look interesting with a textured pant and statement necklace. Try leather pants for a put-together going out ensemble.

Peplum top, 3.1 Phillip Lim for Target, $40.

Textured pants, H&M, $50. Suede pumps, Nine West.

Prague Gastronomy

“You Are What You Eat” One of my favorite movies to watch on a rainy day is You’ve Got Mail. Four years of film school never rid me of the love I have for that film, thanks to its sparkling dialogue and Meg Ryan’s enchanting, cable-knit sweater-wearing, small independent bookstore-owning Kathleen Kelly. There’s a point in the script where Kathleen’s journalist boyfriend Frank (played deliciously by Greg Kinnear) writes an article on her store in efforts to save it from almost certain demise at the hands of Tom Hanks’ character. Amidst high-flouted

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By Jenna Anderson

references to Herodotus and appeals to the moral integrity of his readership, he beckons them to support Kathleen’s shop in order to protect “one of the twentieth century’s most profound truths: ‘You are what you read.’”

In this moment Frank is playing off of the old adage “You are what you eat.” Like most idiomatic phrases in the English language, I can’t remember where I first picked up the expression—I’ve heard it in everyday conversation since I was young and have used it myself on numerous occasions. But it’s a stunning idea when you think about it, and I’ve never questioned its authority (ap-

OTANA JAKPOR (left page) / JENNA ANDERSON (right page)

Share Your Where

parently neither has Frank). But do you ever wonder, just how old is the adage?

As it turns out, this statement originates from the long eighteenth century. Hailing from France, Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin (1755-1826) is now considered one of the founders of gastronomy writing. When he wasn’t writing essays on food and drink, he was a lawyer and politician—so it’s safe to say he saw a wide variety of human behavior in his lifetime. As reflected in his writings, Brillat-Savarin considered the food people consumed to say a lot about them. Among his famous quotations is the somewhat familiar, “Tell me what you eat, and I will tell you what you are.”

French Gastronomers in Prague

Last month, I traveled to Prague with a dear friend from university. She had just completed an amazing research internship in Paris, and I had just turned in my masters dissertation, so this trip was in many ways a reward for our very separate forms of hard work in one of the most beautiful cities Europe has to offer. While we were there, we stepped into a small two-story building that houses the Czech Republic’s very own Gastronomy Museum. This was perhaps an unconventional choice on our part, as Prague holds (among many magnificent things) the world’s biggest castle complex and multiple towers with stunning views of the entire city.

But even amidst these other places, the Gastronomy Museum didn’t disappoint us.

A tribute to the art of cooking over centuries of documented human civilization, this place was a gem. It was especially interesting to follow the transformation of the kitchen as a physical space over the years. Nowadays kitchens are often directly joined to the living or dining rooms in the home, and restaurants like Benihana thrive off of customers being able to watch their food being cooked in front of them. In Brillat-Savarin’s time, however,

the kitchen was an extremely hidden space, only regularly visited by those from the lower classes. One only has to think of any episode of Downton Abbey where the servants are sent into shock at the sight of a lord or lady in the kitchen to understand how different Brillat-Savarin’s world truly was from our own. To bring things a bit nearer BrillatSavarin’s time, Mrs. Bennet is appalled when Mr. Collins asks which of her daughters prepared their dinner in Pride and Prejudice. She responds with “some asperity that they were very well able to keep a good cook,” asserting that “her daughters had nothing to do in the kitchen.” I’m not sure Mrs. Bennet would approve of how many young and respectable ladies frequent their kitchens to prepare their own meals in 2013.

While the kitchen was in many ways invisible to the literate world of the long eighteenth century, those that did write about food chose to write about what they could see—the dining room table. A contemporary to Brillat-Savarin was Alexandre Balthazar Laurent Grimod de la Reynière (1758-1837), another famous gastronomer who claimed that the dining table was the site where the privileged could be revealed by how they conducted themselves while eating. He wrote that

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“a dumb man does not behave more foolishly than at the table; while a quick-witted person, more than anywhere else, has the opportunity to show himself off in the best light.” For Grimod, the dining table was also a site of social communion, where he emphasized that all individuals dining together “must have equal rights before the Law at the table. We are all equal at the table.” In the eighteenth century, the question was not only about what you ate, but also about how you ate it, with whom, and where. Because for men like Brillat-Savarin and Grimod, the place where you ate was also the place where you demonstrated your knowledge, cleverness, and affinity to all humankind.

“You Are What You Read”

Etiquette pervades writings on gastronomy in the long eighteenth century, which was in a time that also witnessed the rise of moral conduct books on education for both women and men. So when Frank in You’ve Got Mail connects the sphere of reading with that of eating, he isn’t being quite as original as he may think. Grimod made a similar connection in his day when discussingthe abilities of a host to present his food to his guests. He wrote, a “host who cannot carve is equally shameful as an owner of a beautiful library who cannot read.”

While we ate exclusively at restaurants and cafés during our time in Prague, our visit to the Gastronomy Museum made a lasting impact. I remember particular meals with better vivacity that usual, and I believe that is because the Gastronomy Museum had me paying attention to the details. Whether it was the chicken schnitzel from Lokal, the apple strudel we tried our first night in Prague, or (my favorite!) the carrot restaurant at Café Savory, certain dishes and dining experiences were made more memorable as we thought critically about what we ate.

Since returning to Scotland, I’ve been

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thinking a lot about what makes the party of a great host—lively conversation, easy manners, and of course, good food. When you see someone facilitate a party well, it’s effortless, yet so perfectly orchestrated…like a dance.

And in a way, hospitality is a performance.

It’s an art form. And if you don’t have it completely mastered yet, that’s okay. There’s fun to be had (and stomachs to be filled) on the journey.

Whether in romantic comedy films from the late twentieth century or in essays on gastronomy in the eighteenth century, eating and reading both become acts of individual performance. For Frank, his article (which is supposed to be about his girlfriend’s bookstore) transforms into a personal platform from which he can flaunt his own knowledge.

Grimod and Brillat-Savarin saw the same potential for social and intellectual interaction at the dinner table, and consequently warned their readers against inappropriate behavior that would reflect poorly on not only them but also the people with whom they ate. For these gastronomers, the performance in a dining room was meaningless unless it was internalized by members of society. Having access to food and fine cutlery could be severely handicapped by the owner not knowing how to use them; similarly, owning books is an altogether separate step from reading, understanding, and in a way “digesting” them.

Like the accessibility of the kitchen as a physical space, talk about food is constantly changing in appearance. In essentials, however, it’s remained quite similar for centuries. So the next time you say “you are what you eat,” you’ll know where it comes from. Consider this my own little performance.

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Share Your Wear

By Caroline A. Wong

BodyRock Sport

PHOTOS COURTESY OF BODY ROCK SPORT

Tastevin Magazine

I first heard about you and your BodyRock Sport line through your appearance on Say Yes to the Dress. On the show, you were depicted as a high fashion queen and bought a $34,000 silver Pnina Tornai gown from her runway show for your wedding. Has fashion always been an influence in your life?

Kelly Dooley Oh yeah, for sure! Since I was a

little girl, I was obsessed with fashion. When I was like three…there’s this Christmas video where I got new underwear or something for Christmas from my parents, and I had to try them on right there, right by the Christmas tree. I was always obsessed.

TM How would you say your fashion has de-

veloped over the years?

KD When I first started [BodyRock], I honestly didn’t really know what I was doing. I didn’t go to design school; I just had a really good idea and a marketing background. I kind of went into the industry a little insecure because I kind of had to teach myself everything.

But now, fast forward three years, it’s like I’ve learned so much. I understand textiles! That definitely influenced my designs a lot because, I would say, it’s much more sophisticated than it was when I first started. If [I had] to describe my taste now and my designs compared to three years ago, it’s just that it’s evolved a lot.

But the one thing that hasn’t changed is that I 51

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totally just follow my instincts when I design.

I don’t really watch what other people are doing. I just do what I want to do. That’s served me well because now [BodyRock] is considered an innovator in the industry.

TM When you learned new techniques, did you do your own research or were there people that you consulted?

KD Definitely a combination between teaching myself and just working with people. I didn’t really know the right people when I started. I had some friends in the industry but not specifically in active. [What I was doing] was completely different than designing for the contemporary or couture market where you’re working with different fabrics. But now, I have a little family, so to speak, that I can really rely [on] and trust to help me do what’s best.

If something’s not going to work, I’m always happy to change it.

TM Why did you feel it was important to focus on fitness and functionality in fashion?

KD I was always into fitness fashion. Before the days of BodyRock, I would go online searching for cute clothes that I could call active wear. I did wear those horrendous Nike capris, but there was nothing else. [Laughs] That was at the time when Ed Hardy was popular so I would order these $300 hoodies and rock them at Equinox, and I thought I was so cool.

But then I decided to train for a marathon. The race was January 2009 in Walt Disney World.

I was looking for a really cool outfit. I wanted a really cool sports bra. I wanted it to have an iPod pocket because I didn’t want that farmer’s tan that you get from the armband [made for working out with an iPod]. I had tried to wear this Gucci fanny pack thing, but it was flopping around so that wasn’t going to work. I was like, ‘I need a pocket for my Motrin and my hotel key!’ The bra made the most sense because it’s right there. It’s easily accessible, and there’s no flop. For the race, I ended up wearing a Nike sports bra with a New Balance tank, and the outfit was fine. It played its functional role, but it didn’t make me feel the way I wanted to feel

and I wanted to feel fabulous! That was where the name BodyRock Sport came from. It’s based on “Rock Your Body,” which is all about the confidence.

TM How was BodyRock received in the beginning?

KD My goal was to launch within a year, so I launched January 2010 with twelve sports bras under four different names based on your needs and body type. There was Keep ‘Em In, Lock ‘Em Down, Show ‘Em Off, and Zip ‘Em Up. About four months before my launch, we did a soft PR launch, which was great because from the beginning, we had a lot of press coming in.

Everyone was wondering who in the hell was this crazy girl making these crazy bras. From there, I had all these fab options for the top and ugly bottoms, so the line naturally evolved.

Initially, my intention was to just do an online e-commerce website, but there was so much wholesale interest that we started working with stores. Really, to be honest, when I started, my idea was much smaller than what it has become. And now my vision is to be the worldwide leader in crossover apparel, so it’s happening slowly but surely. Maybe not so slowly!

TM That’s awesome! You mentioned the idea of body confidence. Could you talk a little bit about BodyRock’s line of Empowerment bras?

KD That is one of my favorite products just because of what it stands for. When I first started, like I said, I wanted the line to be all about confidence, but I didn’t really understand the impact of that. Women email me everyday thanking me for the work we do. It’s amazing. I order online all the time, but I’ve never taken the time to email a designer thanking her for her work.

I just have better things to do! [Laughs] In 2010, I was starting to raise money for breast cancer so we did this fundraiser with Susan Sarandon’s SPiN club, this ping pong club on 23rd Street [in New York, with other locations around the country]. It was a huge success. We had this tournament called ‘Supermodels v.

Survivors.’ A bunch of breast cancer survivors went, and I asked them all two questions. The 53

first one was ‘What was the best part about having breast cancer?’ They had amazing answers like ‘I’m having the best sex I’ve ever had in my life,’ ‘I wore thongs for the first time,’ ‘My hair’s the prettiest it’s ever been.’ There was this really wide range of answers. And I asked them all what was the worst part of having breast cancer was, and they all said the same thing, which was that they couldn’t find a sports bra or bra afterward that made them feel beautiful. I ended up hiring one of the survivors that I met at the event to do product development and product research since she was actually going through another mastectomy and, as a result, she had all those sensitivities.

She suggested that we do all the bras without Swarovski crystals, but on our website, we offer them with and without. When people order them online, they always get them with crystals. It’s all about the bling!

TM You have offices in New York, but you were born in SoCal. How would you character54 Tastevin Magazine October 2013

ize the difference between east and west coast fashion?

KD West coast is much more laidback. The fashion in general is much more casual. Here, I find it to be kind of—it’s weird because New York City girls generally aren’t that fashionable. I think that they kind of have this pretentiousness. Like, they wear all black and think it’s cool. New York is supposed to be the most fashionable place in the world, but in my opinion, it’s not at all. I just got back from Columbia, and I was blown away by the fashion. I was like, ‘Wow, these women get it!’ I would say the difference is laidback versus pretentious.

TM As a designer, do you feel a certain pressure to look fashionable at every moment?

KD Oh, totally! But I love it!

TM Are you the type of girl that would ever go out without her makeup on?

KD I do [go out without makeup], but thankfully I have pretty good skin. And I always wear eyeliner. I just think that people look weird

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without eyeliner.

TM Last year, you designed a $20,000 “Eternal Love” sports bra for Britney Spears to wear while promoting the Twister Dance game.

Your company has grown a lot in just a short amount of time. What advice would you give to a young entrepreneur looking to create a successful company like your own?

KD First of all, I would say read this book by Seth Godin called The Icarus Deception. That book is like my Bible. Whenever I feeling the heat of people not accepting me or my line or whatever—if I’m just feeling insecure—I go into my book and read a line from it. One of my favorite lines from it is, ‘An artist is someone who uses bravery, insight, creativity, and boldness to challenge the status quo. The world is filled with ordinary people doing extraordinary things.’ The book is basically all about going against the grain and not settling. People are taught to just settle. You work from 9 to 5. You live in the suburbs or whatever. You do something boring. You don’t really follow your dreams. The book is all about people following your dreams and how the world needs people

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like you. You are the next generation. You are an innovator. It’s really an empowering book for people like me because sometimes being an entrepreneur can be a bit alienating. People don’t really understand being ‘on’ all the time and not wanting to not work. For me, I’m on the beach with my drink and I have my phone and I respond to emails. That is me on cloud nine.

In a short sentence, my biggest advice would really be to follow your instincts and fall in love with fear. So many people are so afraid to do something that they never do it. I’m afraid every day—don’t get me wrong—but I use fear as a compass. It’s so easy to forget when you’re putting so much pressure on yourself to get wherever you’re trying to go. I think that the most important thing in fashion and life and in any other aspect of what you’re doing is to really acknowledge what you’ve done and not be too hard on yourself. It’s so easy to get lost in that. I think it’s really important to just stay centered, whatever that means for you.

All looks are modeled by Kelly Dooley. Her designs can be purchased at www.BodyRockSport.com

blackmilkclothing.com

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Revamp Your Wardrobe for Fall

Fashion editor Breana Powell makes sure your style isn’t left out in the cold as autumn approaches. She collected all the trends from the fall runway shows and presents them here for you in one easy guide!

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It’s always fun to change up your wardrobe when the weather starts to change. The Fall/Winter 2013 runway shows featured a ton of trends that you should try out, such as old-school silhouettes and rich colors. Fashion tends to repeat itself, so it’s a safe bet that you already own items that are back in vogue this fall. Here are the trends to try!

Jacket, Leather, 1 Statement Emerald Green

This jacket combines three fall trends! One of the most basic ways to get chic for fall is to invest in a nice, versatile jacket that you can mix and match with various outfits.

Leather remains a timeless texture and is worth experimenting with this fall. And although black leather is always a sleek and modern color choice, this emerald green is a refreshing change.

2 Oversized Coats

If you want to go even bigger when it comes to your outerwear collection—do it, literally! This long, structured coat is reminiscent of old Hollywood glamour with its big buttons and high neck. A coat like this would look great over a dress on a chilly night out.

3 Beanies

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Sure, some people wear beanies in the summer in the name of fashion, but now you can be comfy, stylish and keep your head warm.

(Also clutch for bad hair days.) A must-have for those cardigan days!

Thigh-High (or Knee-High) Boots

If you’re ready for a seriously grown-up shoe, try a thigh-high boot. No guarantee of comfort, but you’ll look like a million bucks. You could try this with a light pullover sweater, a leather vest, and dark-wash jeans.

5 Cobalt Blue

Cobalt blue is a vibrant pop of color that works well paired with whites, creams, and black. But it’s also always fun to play around with color blocking (perhaps these trousers could be styled with the emerald green jacket).

6 Plaid

Whether you’re into the schoolgirl or 90s grunge look, dust off the classic staple if it’s hidden in your closet. Style it with a crewneck, pumps, and a modern handbag.

7 Animal Print

Animal print is still going strong, fashionistas. You can find ways to freshen up the print, such as this skirt, which features vertical stripes at the top and bottom.

8 Turtlenecks

The 90s aesthetic really is back with a bang.

Turtlenecks, especially cropped ones, are perfect for high-waisted skirts.

9 White

Fashion rule to break: white after Labor Day. Do it. Look at how fab the white sweater looks next to all of these skirts.

10 Midi Skirts

You may have been told to stay away from a midi skirt because it’s unflattering. Ignore whoever told you that. Try pairing it with a fitted blouse and heels to balance out the shape of the skirt.

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She’s SO Not What You Think Scheana Marie may have gotten a reputation for being the flirt on Bravo’s Vanderpump Rules and for playing third fiddle to LeAnn Rimes and Brandi Glanville. But as the show’s second season airs next month, Scheana is determined to prove that she’s a rising star in her own right.

Photos by Alexander Herman Makeup by Scheana Marie Styling by Caroline A. Wong

This page: Jaclyn Smith (worn through66 Sweater, Tastevin Magazine October 2013 out). Previous spread: Sweater, Banana Republic.

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cheana Marie arrives at our cover shoot wearing sweats and Rainbow flip flops—and she looks stunning. She exudes Californian ease and chats openly about her life, even about spoilers that I’m ultimately not allowed to reveal to readers (sorry!). And though she confesses that she’s battling a cold, she gamely joins the crew upstairs on the roof and smiles away for the camera. In short, she’s a lovely person and working with her was a breeze.

But you wouldn’t necessarily think so if you had just watched the first season of Vanderpump Rules, which follows workers at Lisa Vanderpump’s restaurant SUR. Scheana’s coworker Stassi Schroeder accused Scheana of being “far below [her] in terms of class,” and the Scheana-bashing continued over multiple episodes, peppered with your friendly terms like “homewrecker,” “man-stealer,” and “whore.” If you’ve managed to steer clear of the drama, a recap: Scheana is infamous for being actor Eddie Cibrian’s “other woman” while he was married to Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star Brandi Glanville. Cibrian is now married to LeAnn Rimes, with whom he had an affair while the two were still married to other people. While Scheana maintains she didn’t know Cibrian was married—she explains that to me later!—the mess has still earned her a reputation. But maybe it’s an undeserved one.

Drama aside (for now), I ask Scheana what she’s been doing since the first season of Vanderpump Rules wrapped. “Since my song was a big hit, I actually got to travel with that a little.” She performed her song “What I Like” at Hollywood’s Roxy Theatre during filming for the first season of the show. “I performed in Chicago and in a huge club in South Carolina. [Performing] is still new to me. The first show in Chicago I was so nervous. I was freaking out more than [at] the Roxy.”

As Scheana’s music career develops— she played a recording of her upcoming single

for the Tastevin crew on set—she’s enjoying every minute, but don’t expect her to embark on worldwide tours just yet. “It’s something that I want to do for now, but I’m not going to be a Jennifer Lopez performing in my forties with a couple of kids. I just don’t see myself doing this long term.” So what does she have planned for the long term? “I would love to get into entertainment news and hosting. I got my degree in broadcast journalism from Azusa Pacific University. I’m very versatile. I can do acting or hosting or singing, and I enjoy doing all of them.”

With her career aspirations more or less in place, Scheana doesn’t seem worried that the drama at SUR might derail her future. “I think [the show] absolutely helps because it’s exposure. The saying ‘Any publicity is good publicity,’ I actually believe.”

Scheana’s outlook on her participation with Vanderpump Rules remains positive. “I think I’m going to gain a lot of opportunities from this show. And I’m not playing myself—I am myself on the television show, so I’m already a TV personality. If I could transfer that into hosting—what I want to do one day is have Maria Menunos’ job. I would take her job or Giuliana Rancic’s in a second!”

Part of Scheana’s charm is in her unabashed ambition. I respect her all the more for it—I mean, we’ve all been there, forming our dream careers in our head and forging forward on the path it leads us. But some people can be intimidated by raw purpose, and maybe that’s what jealous costars find off-putting about her. Scheana is incredibly aware of what she wants to do and has lined herself up to do just that. But while Rancic also co-hosts Fashion Police, Scheana leaves the fashion stuff to Schroeder. “I don’t think I even really have a style,” she laughs. “Stassi loves gold, which is one thing I was never really big on. I was always a silver or white gold person, but now I love gold everything.

She’s really good with putting a certain bag or a certain bracelet and just accessorizing an 67

Bikini bottoms, Xhilaration

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outfit to make it look expensive when it might be from Forever 21.”

While Schroeder is a fashionista both on the show and off—she writes for Vanderpump’s daughter’s site—I wonder if everyone on the show is portrayed the way they act in reality. “Absolutely,” says Scheana. “Stassi can sometimes come off a little harsher on cameras that she is in person, but if she doesn’t like you in person, she doesn’t like you. I think Stassi [was] the main focus [of season one]. I was kind of secondary to that. And Katie [Maloney] and Kristen [Doute]—you didn’t really get to see a lot about them, and people can’t even tell them apart. I think the good thing is, next season you’ll definitely see an entirely, entirely different side to everyone—except me.” Scheana smiles. “I think I’m pretty much still the same levelheaded one.”

Scheana is quite candid when it comes to discussing her costars. “I see these girls and they’re just like—tequila shot, tequila shot. Do you realize you’re filming a television show right now? What are your parents going to think? But some of them just—they have no filter. They just do what they want.

Which is great! Everyone’s just so crazy. But I always am thinking ahead, so I’m like, ‘In the moment, do I want to get drunk right now?

Yes. But am I going to regret it later? Yes.’” Scheana’s careful demeanor is surprising, even refreshing. So how did she get so caught up in the drama?

“It’s annoying. The thing with Brandi—sometimes I just want to be like, ‘Can you just get over this already?’” Scheana still owns up to her mistakes, however. “I get it. I dated [her] husband. I’ve apologized to [her] on national television for that. I don’t know what else [she] wants me to do, but [I wish she would] just leave me alone and stop using this as a crutch for sympathy and publicity. It’s kind of pathetic, honestly.” The drama, it turns out, is something she can’t seem to avoid. “It’s one of those things that I know I’ll never be able to escape, but I don’t let it both-

er me anymore. If that’s what she wants to do to get her name in the press, then I feel bad for her. She has nothing better to talk about than what happened seven years ago with me and her ex-husband.”

When Glanville or the press criticizes her, Scheana tries to take it in stride. “If I can’t ignore it, I just brush it off. If I let every single thing that people say bother me, I would crawl into a hole and live the rest of my life there. And I can’t do that. Now they get to my mom more than me.” Scheana’s fam-

“It’s one of those things I know I’ll never be able to escape, but I don’t let it bother me anymore.” ily is among some of her biggest supporters, but her mother wasn’t always on board with Scheana’s career goals. “My mom always said, ‘You can always be famous. You can always be an actress. But you’re gonna finish school first.’ And so I did school plays, and when I was in high school, I started doing some extra work just to get into the film industry a little bit. In college, I studied broadcast journalism, film and television production, [and] radio production. I graduated when I was twenty, and I’m doing everything that I want to do now. I’m glad I have that education to fall back on.” Is her mom more receptive to the entertainment career now? “My mom is my biggest supporter in the entire world. I love her so much, and it’s so sweet that she sticks up for me. But she lets [the critics] bother her, and I hate that it bothers her because it doesn’t bother me. But what can you do? You put your life out there so you’ve got to take what comes with it.”

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“ I see these girls and they’re just like--tequila shot, tequila shot. Do you realize you’re filming a television show right now? ”

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Scheana’s boyfriend, Mike Shay, is among Scheana’s supporters. He had brief appearances on the show’s first season, and Scheana confirms that he doesn’t mind the growing recognition. “He loves it, being in the music industry as well and trying to get his music out there. He loves that this is an opportunity to put both of us on the map. We’re both signed with the same [record] label and the same management company. He’s not as outspoken as I am, but I think we’re a good balance for each other. He has fun filming with me. This season, you definitely see more of his personality.” Scheana reveals what we didn’t get to see the last time around, saying, “Last season, we had so many things that didn’t air! We had so many cute date nights.

We celebrated our anniversary together. You didn’t get to see any of those cute moments with us. And this season, you see a lot of us— I’m hoping.” She almost winks.

Shay and Scheana first met in high school, but it was anything but love at first sight. “I had a boyfriend at the time. [Shay] was cute, but I wasn’t really interested in him.

He had asked me to Sadie Hawkins his senior year, and apparently I turned him down.

I don’t even remember this conversation!”

Years later, Scheana found herself stranded in Las Vegas without a ride home when Shay saw her Facebook status and messaged her that he was also in town. “I go, ‘Maybe I can get a ride with [him].’ I text him and was like, ‘Yeah, let’s hang out.’ We hang out that night.

I ask him to come back to my room with me and he says no!” Apparently years later, Shay got his payback, but it wasn’t at all as revengeful as Scheana initially thought. “I find out the next day he had a girlfriend. Respectfully so, he didn’t come to my room—good guy! We drive back together, totally hit it off. He ended up breaking up with his girlfriend, and we started dating. And the rest is history.”

One of the cute moments we missed last season was when Shay brought Scheana to all the spots featured in the film No

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Strings Attached, a film which resonated with the couple because they also started out as friends. “Everything in that movie was all filmed in LA, and he took me to every spot in that movie. We went miniature golfing. We went to the LACMA to the lamps. We went to dinner. I thought that was just so sweet he knew that that movie was special to me because they started out the way we started out. And I thought that was very romantic.”

But Scheana still appreciates other friendsfirst movies like Friends With Benefits starring Justin Timberlake and Mila Kunis. When I tell Scheana she has a Kunis look about her, Scheana laughs and recounts another Kunis

“What can you do? You put your life out there so you’ve got to take what comes with it.” moment. “On New Year’s Eve one year, this girl was convinced that I was Mila Kunis, and I kept telling her I wasn’t. But she was like, ‘Oh, it’s okay! I’m not going to like ask for your picture or anything.’ And she saw my tattoo [the initials ‘SM’], which is for ‘Scheana Marie,’ and she goes, ‘Oh, what’s your first name?’

And I go, ‘Scheana!’ And she goes, ‘So your first name isn’t Mila?’ And I go, ‘No! It’s Scheana!’ And she goes, ‘Scheana Mila Kunis.’ Oh my god. So I just ended up going with it for the rest of the night.”

When fans actually recognize her for who she really is, Scheana isn’t bothered the way other stars might be. “If we don’t have fans, we don’t have a television show. We don’t have a job. I don’t have an income. My rent isn’t paid. So I’m very grateful for all of this.” There is one caveat. “The only thing that

bothers me is when they ask, ‘Are Jax and Stassi still together?’ Like, I don’t give a fuck if Jax and Stassi are still together! I go, ‘Go ask them. Do you want to hear the specials?’”

Relationships do change over time, especially since filming happens months before the episodes actually air. Reliving the moments, however, isn’t always cathartic.

“It depends where our relationships are at the time, honestly. Stassi may have called me a—what was it?—fame whore, man-stealing something or other, but that’s how she felt about me at that time and then we became great friends. Now maybe we are, maybe we aren’t. But it’s emotional if you’re still not friends with that person and you see maybe how much they hate you. It definitely can hurt your feelings, but [ultimately] we’re making a television show.”

While filming Vanderpump Rules might have driven a wedge between her and some of her coworkers, it brought her closer to her boss. “I look up to Lisa. I respect her. I think that she’s an amazing businesswoman.

She has so many amazing qualities that I can only hope to [have] one day.” For Scheana, Vanderpump is part boss, part confidante. “I feel comfortable enough in our relationship that I can go to her if I have a problem. When I was having all of the—well, I can’t really talk about that yet. I had some medical issues over the past year that she had offered to help me with. And she’s just a very good, loving, giving, and caring person.” One of the best pieces of advice that Vanderpump has given her, says Scheana, is to “never play the victim and never let them win. There was a point where I just didn’t want to be at SUR anymore, and she was like, ‘Why? Are you going to let them win? No. Suck it up. Don’t play the victim.

Deal with it.’ And I did. I’m not a quitter, and she helped me see that.”

Working in the service industry is not always easy. Aside from ornery customers and late hours, Scheana also has to deal with a variety of stereotypes. “I think people just

watch the show and go, ‘Oh, there’s a bunch of dumb waitresses.’ No, I’m educated. I skipped third grade. I have a bachelor’s degree. I think the education would be the main thing that my mom always tries to make sure I plug in. She says, ‘Just let people know you have a bachelor’s degree, and you’re smart.’ And I tell her that doesn’t come up in conversation all the time. Like, ‘Hi, I’m Scheana. I’m educated.’”

But the confident, energetic reality star wasn’t always so. She’s experienced hardship too. “I feel like I got very lost for about five years. I got dragged into the whole Hollywood scene for a while, and now I feel like I’m finally back to the person I was. I was raised Catholic. I went to a Catholic high school and a Christian university. And I feel like I kind of lost that for a while… I was very lonely and depressed and single and kind of in a dark place for a while. I just kept it in. Even my friends— until I started dating Shay, they were like, ‘Oh my god, you’re like a different person.’ Yeah, I fucking hated my life two years ago, did you not know that? And they say, ‘No, you hid it really well.’ I don’t think it’s good to keep all those things in because it can be difficult and it can make you cold and jaded.” Scheana pauses for a moment to reflect. “Just being in a dark place, it’s not somewhere anyone wants to be. And being depressed is not a good feeling. It’s something that I had struggled with for a while. You have to be happy with yourself in order to live a happy life, honestly.”

Scheana’s entanglement with Glanville led to enough media scrutiny and opponents that it could have sent her into a similar spiral of darkness. “In the beginning, with first season and all the stuff with Brandi, I felt the need to defend myself and to explain.” She shakes her head at the memory of Cibrian.

“I met this guy when I was 21 years old. He’s a good-looking guy. Any girl that I worked with would have loved to go out with him. He didn’t wear a ring. He’s not a famous actor!

I’m sorry, no one knew who the fuck he was in 2006!” (For the curious, Cibrian is prob73

ably most recognizable for his smaller recurring roles on CSI: Miami and Ugly Betty.) But when Scheana tried to explain the situation to Glanville, she received even more criticism.

“I was getting tweets like, ‘Oh, just pour salt in her wounds, why don’t ya?’ I was like, no.

I wanted her to know that this wasn’t just some Tuesday night fling. It was more than that, and obviously because it was more than that, I didn’t think that he was ever married.”

Scheana knows her explanations can only go so far. “Take it or leave it. You either like me or you don’t, but it’s not going to change my life. I will defend myself to a certain extent, but there’s just sometimes that it’s pointless.”

Scheana is definitely moving on and moving up, creating the life and career for herself that she’s planned on having since she was a young girl doing school plays. She’s definitely no stranger to making mistakes, but she doesn’t let her past cripple her. “It’s better sometimes, I think, to not care, than to care too much and get your heart broken over and over.” She has a firm grasp on what motivates her and optimism about the future. And even if she does make more mistakes as time goes on, she’ll learn from them. After all, she’s Scheana and she’s educated.

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Do Something Sweet United Against Poverty and Disease (UAPAD) was created in 2010 after founders Toyin and Teddy Idehen lost their oldest twin daughter to maternal health illness after she was delivered at 28 weeks. Today UAPAD focuses on diverse issues related to alleviating the global burdens of poverty and disease and works to provide sustainable solutions to those in need of critical assistance around the world.

UAPAD serves communities in the greater Los Angeles area as well as its outreach initiatives in Kenya, South Africa, Guatemala, and Haiti. Inspired by Robert Ingersoll’s words “We rise by lifting others,” UAPAD assists those who are less fortunate and gives them hope by empowering them with the tools and resources they need.

To take part in this movement as a volunteer, intern, or donor, contact Toyin Idehen at info@uapad.com or call 424-888-2723. www.uapad.com

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