Partyhopper

Carrie Underwood topped the charts this week by selling more than 500,000 copies of her new Carnival Ride CD—no "sophomore slump" for her! The singer is featured in the story about New York Fashion Week that I edited for our upcoming December issue and you can also see exclusive behind-the-scenes photos from Carrie’s "So Small" video shoot in In Style’s current November issue. “We went for all-out glamour without changing her too much,” Carrie’s hairstylist and makeup artist said of her look in the clip. “It’s just Carrie looking like the star that she is.” 

-- James Patrick Herman

James and Carrie Underwood at this year's Sony/BMG Grammy's party
Photo: Mark A. Neston

Joely Fisher turned 40 yesterday and because she's a fellow Scorpio, I'm sure that she would not be offended to read that I think she looks hotter than ever! I can only imagine the super-fun birthday bash (and massive goody bag) that I missed because if there's one thing that Joely loves more than acting, it's party planning. "I have friends who have planned parties for the Academy Awards, and they tell me: 'If that acting thing doesn't pan out, you could do this for a living,"€ Joely once joked to me about her entertaining skills.

James and Joely Fisher

I don't  think that I need to send Joely a gift because she's already got three great things that money can't buy, even in Hollywood: A successful TV show, fabulous friends and family and a very happy marriage—she and Christopher Duddy celebrated their tenth anniversary in Vallarta Nayarit, Mexico, on New Year's Eve and I was thrilled that I could be there for to join in the fun, the fireworks and, best of all, the dolphin bonding.

-- James Patrick Herman

Photos: Mark A. Neston

I jumped at the chance to party like it was my birthday with 50 Cent at the bash for his new book, 50 X 50. It was actually a surprisingly low-key affair: An intimate dinner of lobster satay, Peking duck, Beijing chicken and—my personal favorite—crispy beef at chic eatery Philippe. The rapper turned writer made his entrance in head-to-toe G-Unit topped with a black cap studded with his given name: Curtis.

50 kicked back in a corner banquette, then walked from table to table, greeting each one of his glamorous guests, including Margeaux Watson from EW, Danyel Smith from Vibe, Nekesa Moody from AP and the coolest party photographer in town, Johnny Nunez. I took a break from my lychee martini so that I could congratulate Curtis on his success, and I asked him how it feels to be a published author. He smiled, threw an arm around my shoulder and evoked the late great James Brown when he said, "I feel good!"

-- James Patrick Herman

Photos: Johnny Nunez

Ciara, that sexy Scorpio, is really excited about turning 22 today. In fact, she’s so excited that she plans on celebrating her birthday not once, not twice, but seven times in places like New York City (tonight at Nikki Beach, tomorrow at Runway), D.C., Atlanta, Miami and the Bahamas.

Photo: Mark Young

And she’ll be looking hot at every stop thanks to stylist June Ambrose, so I have a feeling that Ciara is going to pass on the birthday cake. (When I took this photo with her at Clive Davis’ legendary pre-Grammys blowout, she was wearing a clingy Herve Leger number that looked like it was painted on.) As someone who loves seeing party pictures, I hope that Ciara starts a new celebrity trend!

-- James Patrick Herman

Have you heard Mya’s new song, "My Bra"? No, it's not an ode to Victoria's Secret. It's actually Mya's charitable donation to Lifetime's Stop Breast Cancer For Life public awareness campaign and hopefully it's a sign that we'll soon be hearing more new music from the Grammy-winnning "Ghetto Superstar" singer, "Lady Marmalade" revivalist and Chicago costar!

You can download "My Bra" from iTunes, of course, but you also may have heard it on the recent Lifetime movie Matters of Life & Dating, which costarred Ricki Lake and Holly Robinson Peete. Like Mya, Holly is overdue for a comeback: I was so excited when I heard that she was filming the pilot of an American version of my favorite U.K. guilty pleasure, Footballers' Wives. Sure, the NFL may have been less than excited—to put it mildly—but I, for one, would welcome a soapy drama that is not set in a hospital or private practice. Footballer’s wives have a lot more fun than doctors, right? What do you think?

-- James Patrick Herman

I felt like I had wandered onto the set of Gossip Girl when I made my entrance at the Whitney Museum of American Art’s 2007 Studio blowout—many of the gorgeous guests could’ve passed for extras shooting a party scene with GG star Blake Lively. “It’s so young and vibrant,” fashion and fragrance muse Margherita Missoni said of the crowd, which also included Lauren Bush, Jake Paltrow (Gwyneth’s director brother) and MisShapes DJ Leigh Lezark. The event honored artist Chuck Close’s “Shades of Gray” exhibit and a gigantic portrait of Kate Moss hung like a glamour icon above the main staircase. Down below, Chuck was holding court on the dance floor as his enamored admirers gathered around him and Lezark spun Joan Jett’s “I Love Rock ‘N’ Roll.”

            
Margherita MIssoni and Chuck Close
Photo: Patrick McMullan

I was also glad to see one of my favorite bicoastal power couples: Jason Pomeranc, a.k.a. “the hip hotelier” who owns the Hollywood Roosevelt and 60 Thompson, and Ali Wise, a PR maven for Dolce & Gabbana. Jason was telling me all about his latest hotspot, the Thompson Beverly Hills—a boutique property with a distinctly New York vibe despite its 90210 zip code, thanks to chic black interiors and art curated by fashion photographer Steven Klein. The hotel doesn’t open until November 6th, so I won’t be able to check in this weekend when I fly to L.A. for Marc Jacobs’ party at MOCA, but I still plan on doing a drive-by and checking it out!

-- James Patrick Herman

In real life, Marcia Cross is the mother of adorable twins, but on Desperate Housewives, this guy plays her son. And even though there’s only one of him, he’s still quite a handful for Bree. But Shawn Pyfrom is a well-behaved young actor, so don’t be fooled by his wild child TV character or by that Las Vegas sign in his hand (especially since it’s mine). Sure, he may enjoy the occasional night out at Les Deux, but he knows how to avoid TMZ—and, for that matter, The Hills. Shawn told me about going to Heidi’s birthday party and how he narrowly escaped the MTV cameras, which seemed to be everywhere. “Dude, you don’t want to end up on The Hills!” a friend of Shawn’s wisely advised him. I’m assuming that his friend is not named Justin-Bobby.

Shawn swung by my office to talk about more than just L.C.’s arch-enemy, of course. We also chatted about the new season of those angst-ridden suburban neighbors on Wisteria Lane and how he spends his downtime from his hit TV show—going on MySpace, like everyone else I know in L.A. Shawn claims that he has less than 40 friends on MySpace, which I find a little hard to believe. But he made a lot of new friends—and fans—here at InStyle.

-- James Patrick Herman

Ginger Brang and Me

Photo: Dimitrios Kambouris/WireImage

I may have missed New York Fashion Week because of the Toronto International Film Festival, but thanks to Hugo Boss, I enjoyed all of the highlights of a hot show last night—the sexy clothes, the drop-dead gorgeous models and, of course, the A-List celebrities in the front row. In fact, stunning Julianne Moore was sitting right in front of me—and next to Hal Rubenstein and Cindy Weber-Cleary, In Style’s fabulous Fashion Directors.

Cindy Weber-Cleary and Hal Rubenstein

Photo: Dimitrios Kambouris/WireImage

"It looks so beautiful--I love it!" Kristen Davis raved about Julianne’s return to her redheaded roots (she briefly went blonde for a film role). A photographer appeared and begged to take their picture together. "Okay, but I'm going to get in trouble," Kristen joked before briefly posing with Julianne, then bolting back to take her seat on the other side of the catwalk, where she was perched next to actresses Maggie Gyllenhaal and Kate Winslet (like Julianne, they were dressed head to toe in Boss Black). When the lights went down and the blonde models began strutting down the runway, Maggie and Kate whispered their reviews of the revealing looks to one another.

Photo: Patrick McMullan

A different type of show got underway after the fashion action ended: Suddenly waitresses dressed in French maid uniforms wheeled out carts containing carbs (!) and champagne flutes filled to the rim with bubbly. The crowd then poured themselves into a room that resembled a post-modern jazz club, where waiters served small plates of Chilean sea bass and the Moet flowed freely all night long. Think: Dim lighting, black walls, leather furniture--it was a sexy, smoky scene illuminated only by strips of neon lavendar lights on the ceiling. On a small stage, that fashionista Woody Allen and his band played jazz as everybody’s favorite DJs, The MisShapes, prepared for their late-night set.

Me and Leigh Lezark

Photo: Patrick McMullan

"I'm obsessed with the new Radiohead album, but I'm not sure that I can follow Woody with that kind of music," the MisShapes’ Leigh Lezark told me. I was impressed with Leigh’s rock star lifestyle—she had just flown in from L.A. and she was fighting off her jet-lag with a glass of champagne, so clearly she’s not afraid to drink and deejay. Nearby, I bumped into one of my favorite photographers, Patrick McMullan. (Like Leigh, Patrick has a new book out called Glamour Girls, so if you’re looking for cool holiday gifts, well, look no further than these two stylish tomes.) "I have to constantly keep moving—I’m like a shark," joked Patrick, who then introduced me to actress Olivia Palermo. "I'm a big fan of your magazine," said Olivia, who is also a part-time model. “I just did a shoot with my friend Lydia Hearst for Heatherette,” she added. “It was wild! I had lightning bolts painted on my face." And to prove it, she showed me the David Bowie-inspired results on her Blackberry. Fashion rocks!

-- James Patrick Herman

Spice Girls wannabes rejoice! Pre-order sales of their greatest hits CD went on sale starting October 17th at midnight—but for 24 hours only. So don’t spend too much time rejoicing; hurry up and log onto Victoriassecret.com if you want to be among the first to hear their two brand new songs as well as three remixes and over a dozen hits from their November 13th release. Wow, who knew they had so many hits?

The recently reunited pop group may have snubbed record stores, but they aren’t about to turn their backs on the leading retailer of sexy lingerie; their CD is going to be available exclusively at Victoria’s Secret! If you miss the tight deadline and fail to score tickets to one of their concerts in the U.S., you can still see the Spice Girls live—along with Kanye West and Seal—on this year’s Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show, airing December 4th on CBS.

Who is your favorite Spice Girl?

-- James Patrick Herman

I’ve become quite the connoisseur of parties, but whenever I go to a bash hosted by Colin Cowie, I realize that I still have a lot to learn. Colin always goes all out, whether the event happens to be a ’70s-themed blowout in the Bahamas or an intimate dinner at his super-cool, 007-inspired home. In fact, you could say that Colin wrote the book on party planning—literally! It’s called Colin Cowie Chic and you can read an excerpt from it in our new November issue.

Stuart Brownstein, Blake Mycoskie, and Colin Cowie

Most recently, I attended a lovely dinner at Colin’s home along with an eclectic mix of fun people: There was a legendary magazine editor, a documentary filmmaker, one of the premier interior designer/architects in Turkey and Blake Mycoskie, the philanthropic, photogenic man behind Toms Shoes (for every pair of shoes that Blake sells, he donates a free pair to underprivileged kids in Argentina). To be honest, I was sleep-deprived from having just returned from the Toronto International Film Festival and Colin handed me one of his typically delicious (and very strong) specialty cocktails as soon as I walked in the door, so I don’t recall many specific details about the evening. But trust me, it was fabulous!

Me, Stuart Brownstein, Hakan Ezur, and Blake Mycoskie

Photo by Colin Cowie

I’m amazed that Colin finds the time to entertain at home because he always has so much going on: Aside from writing books and appearing on his friend Oprah’s talk show, Colin also recently opened the C Bar at one of my favorite hotels and holiday destinations in the world, The Belvedere in Mykonos. And he’ll be appearing on the Home Shopping Network practically all day on Thursday—if you’re looking for some gorgeous gift ideas for the holidays, you won’t want to miss it. I’m already enjoying a yummy scented candle from Colin’s HSN collection that he just sent to my office, which reminded me that I still haven’t gotten around to writing him a thank you note for inviting me to dinner a few weeks ago. Clearly I need to read Colin’s book!

-- James Patrick Herman

The David Rockwell-designed C Bar at the Belvedere

What do you get the R&B superstar who has everything for his birthday? Does Louis Vuitton make diapers? Because Usher, who turned 29 on Sunday, is going to be a daddy soon and I can’t imagine what else his life may be lacking: Aside from his great expectations with wife Tameeka Foster, he has a new album on the way, an amazing crib—er, house—in Atlanta, a great charity (the New Look Foundation, an educational summer camp for underprivileged kids), several Grammys on his trophy shelf, not one but two signature fragrances and even a Macy’s commercial costarring Martha Stewart. Usher certainly knows the meaning of a good thing!

-- James Patrick Herman

I remember the first time that I laid eyes on Eva Mendes, and it was love at first sight: She was at the Toronto Film Festival to promote Out of Time, her movie with Denzel Washington, and she looked like such a glamorous bombshell, even though it was around 10 A.M. Eva was so cool, funny and all around fabulous that I thought to myself: Someday this gal is gonna be a huge star! So I’m glad that Hollywood agrees with me: Here’s Eva at the Calvin Klein-sponsored Cinema Society screening for her latest film, We Own the Night.

Photo: Jim Spellman/WireImage

Eva and I talked more about fashion and music than movies: She told me about this band called the Tigers that she was managing in her spare time, and when she later FedExed their CD to me, I was impressed with her great taste in indie rock. Since then, Eva has appeared in hits like Hitch and Ghost Rider and she’s currently filming a remake of The Women with an all-star cast that includes Meg Ryan, Annette Bening and Debra Messing.

But success hasn’t gone to her head. When I recently interviewed Eva, she told me this story about how she likes to treat herself when she travels: “I grew up very working class, and when my family would go away and stay in hotels, I was never allowed to take anything from the mini-bar because everything was really expensive,” she recalled. “So it still makes me so happy when I can take a Coke from the mini-bar. That’s a little indulgence that hasn’t gone away. And because of the way I was raised, I don’t think it ever will. It’s such a nice feeling to drink that $5 Coke and think: I can do that now!”

-- James Patrick Herman

Who doesn’t want to read about Victoria Beckham’s guilty pleasures? That’s what I was thinking when I interviewed the Spice Girl, designer of the dVb fashion line and wife of soccer stud David for our Oct. issue’s back page. I learned a lot, such as the British phrase “cheeky sod,” which was Victoria’s term of endearment for me (or so I hope). I also learned that Victoria is a fan of Elizabeth Arden’s Eight Hour Cream (David, too!), fluorescent bras (!) and, believe it or not, carbs: “I eat loads of those bloody American pretzel things,” Victoria revealed to me. “They’re so addictive!”

Once I found out how she snacks, I wanted to know where she shops. As it turns out, Victoria likes to shop online, perhaps because she spent the past few years living in Spain (I can’t imagine seeing her at Zara): “Net-A-Porter is great because you can buy things and get them delivered within two or three days,” Victoria told me. “They have some great designers on there.” When I asked her to recall some of her posh online purchases, she said: “I bought a fantastic Alexander McQueen cape that I wore when I went to the YSL show in Paris with Katie Holmes. It was black with some gorgeous detailing and lovely little sleeves and it even had a gold chain around the waist. I got that from Net-A-Porter and I loved it!”

-- James Patrick Herman

Photo: Tony Barson/WireImage

Hey, have you heard about J. Lo's joyous announcement yet? She’s so happy to be...back home in New York City! Yes, that was the big news that Jennifer Lopez shared from the stage when she performed with husband and salsa superstar Marc Anthony at Madison Square Garden. Perhaps it wasn’t exactly the news that you were, um, expecting?

I first met Jennifer at Marc’s super-chic apartment in San Juan. It was Mother’s Day and she was treating her mom Guadalupe and sister Lisa to a girl’s night out—how sweet is that? I’ll never forget this evening for another reason: I recommended my favorite moisturizer to Jennifer’s mom and the next time I saw her she told me that it had burned her skin! But hey, that’s what I like about the stuff—it’s like Photoshop in a jar!

Anyway, I was happy to see Marc and Jennifer performing together this time, especially because Jennifer was rocking Roberto Cavalli, who had one of the hottest parties of Fashion Week with his Just Cavalli store opening. The couple that sings together, stays together!

-- James Patrick Herman

Photo: Kevin Mazur/WireImage

The last time I saw Arcade Fire was at Coachella, and I distinctly remember seeing an ecstatic Lindsay Lohan breeze past me. Now that she's free again, I was hoping for another Lindsay sighting this weekend at Randall's Island, which seemed like a mini-Coachella of sorts, what with the surprisingly warm weather and a lineup that included indie rock acts like Les Savy Fav, Blonde Redhead, LCD Soundsystem and was capped with the epic, orchestral rock anthems of Montreal's Arcade Fire, which proved why they deserve their rep as one of the most amazing live acts around. Between the dozen or so band members on stage and the bizarre array of instruments they were playing (everything from a French horn to a cello), that sure must be one crowded tour bus. "Summer decided to stick around, so we wanted to play this next song," said handsome frontman Win Butler, by way of introducing a number called "Cold Wind." I have to admit that before this concert, I had no idea where Randall's Island was: Hello, Triborough Bridge! And now I can highly recommend crossing the Triborough on foot, which is a perfectly romantic spot for seeing stars of the celestial variety.

-- James Patrick Herman

Photos: Mark A. Neston

Speaking of cool new singers on the scene: I met Alison Sudol—who goes by the Shakespeare-inspired name A Fine Frenzy—at a Lily Allen concert last Spring and I fell in love with the dreamy songs on her MySpace page. I also loved the story she told me about getting signed to Capitol: She gave a very intimate performance for the record company’s CEO at her mother’s house (she still lived at home)—mom even baked cookies!

                     
James and Alison Sudol
Photo: Angelica Cob-Baehler

The next day I blogged about Alison and I wrote: “Her debut album, One Cell in the Sea, could make her a big star when it comes out on June 26th.” What I didn’t realize was how short Alison’s road to stardom would turn out to be: CSI fans may recall that she appeared on the September 26th season premiere and her video for the song “Almost Lover” has become a VH1 favorite—she’s currently on their “You Oughta Know” Tour and last night she played at Irving Plaza, the very same spot where I first discovered her. I have a feeling that Alison is no longer living at home.

-- James Patrick Herman

Who wants to suggest a caption for the wacky birdcage photo?

Regular readers of my blog might think that I spend all of my free time going to fragrance launch parties with Usher and Puffy. But I still love to check out the latest It-Acts from the U.K. alongside American Apparel-clad kids toting skateboards. Such was the Lower East Side scene when Bat For Lashes played the Bowery Ballroom last week: Front woman Natasha Khan crooned her YouTube hit, “What’s a Girl to Do” and an inspired version of Tom Waits' “Lonely” that would make Scarlett Johansson jealous (ScarJo is currently recording an entire album of Waits covers). Natasha didn’t sing this one in concert but she also does a cover of Bruce Springsteen's "I'm on Fire" that I like even more than the original. It actually reminds me of Patti Smith's moody cover of the Boss' "Because the Night."

Photo: Mark A. Neston

This all-female act (a line-up that seems like a reemerging trend, considering fellow European neo-girl groups like The Pipettes and the Plastiscines, not to mention Beyonce’s current touring band) includes a violinist and a viola player, while the Bat girl sings softly and carries a big stick--and you had better believe that she knows how to bang it on the stage for maximum percussive effect. (There's no drummer in the band.) A friend of mine who works for Caroline Records said to me: "Sometimes you can get so jaded when you work in the music industry, but then I see a band like this and I remember why I fell in love with music in the first place."

Guess what celebrity power couple are also big Bat For Lashes fans?

Photo: Jamie McCarthy/WireImage

That's right: Pete Wentz and Ashlee Simpson, those crazy kids. This super-cute couple has great taste in music and my favorite moment of the night was watching Pete & Ash quickly duck out of the VIP room hand-in-hand. One added bonus of partying on the Lower East Side: No paparazzi! They were probably on their way to Pete’s East Village dive bar, Angels & Kings, but since I had a 10 AM meeting the next morning, I was headed to a much less exciting destination: Home.

-- James Patrick Herman

The season finale of Top Chef airs tonight and I can’t even believe that I love this show, because I can barely make toast. I was almost tempted to learn how to cook after host Padma Lakshmi visited In Style's office and showed me an advance copy of her beautiful new cookbook: Tangy, Tart, Hot & Sweet. But then I realized that it’s much more fun to watch other people cook, especially when they’re as telegenic as Dale, Casey and Hung.

Who are you rooting for?

UPDATE: I was rooting for Dale, but Hung made the biggest impression on Padma and her fellow judges. Say hello to the new Top Chef!

-- James Patrick Herman
Courtesy of Bravo

I can hardly wait for the new season of Project Runway to debut on Bravo. Host Heidi Klum won’t unveil the first episode until November 14th, but here’s a chic peek of the 15 contestants who will be duking it out on the catwalk. Certainly no one in the fashion world would ever make judgments about people based solely on their appearances, right? But go ahead and give it a try: Who do you think looks like the most stylish wannabe designer?

-- James Patrick Herman

Photo courtesy of NBC Universal