Who Are You Wearing?: Oscars 2013

It always takes a village to get me together for big red carpets, so here is a list of my team for Oscars 2013.  Thank you to everyone who worked so hard to get me to look my best at such an early hour. It isn't easy!

Here's a list of people I need to thank publicly:

Stylist: Roni B.

Dress by Chagoury Couture--Thanks to Gilbert and Marco for always taking such good care of me.

Jewelry by Charles Winston--Charles and I go back to my ShopNBC days!

Shoes by Stuart Weitzman--They were comfortable!

Hair by Melissa Malkasion from Lukaro

Makeup by Sara Hernandez

Skin Care by Marianne Kehoe Skin Studio

Mani/Pedi by Heather at Hands to Hold

Eyebrows by Sudi at Hands to Hold

Trainers: Monica and Chappell at Yogaworks

A Sneak Peek At My Oscars Jewelry

Year three of Oscars Week begins!

Given the number of views from yesterday's post, you sure like to read about shoes. I gave you a glimpse at the Stuart Weitzman platform shoes I am planning on wearing on Sunday. It may change as my stylist, Roni B., is not 100% sold on that shoe just yet.  She wants 1/2 of an inch more height.  We will see what happens.  

Yesterday, we picked out the final jewelry looks from Charles Winston. He has provided me jewelry over the last few years. You can see my 2011 look here and my 2012 look here. This year, we had to work with the beading on the dress.  It is much more dramatic, so the jewelry had to tell a different story than in years past. I don't want to give it all away, but I thought you might like to look at a piece or two.  

 I am wearing three rings this year. Only one of these rings made the edit, can you guess which one?

I tried this ring on early and even tweeted it yesterday. I was obsessed from the moment I saw it. This will definitely be on my hand on Sunday. The exciting thing is that I always get to keep one piece of jewelry after the Oscars each year. Can you guess which one I am already eyeing? 

 It was also a cold, wet morning on the red carpet. The red carpet has not been laid down yet. That should happen this morning, as long as the weather holds out.  We've had some rain in the last few days. The good news is that Sunday is expected to be sunny and hopefully, a little warm.

Yep, it was wet and ugly out there.

If you are interested in a little Oscar dance scoop, find out the names of the SYTYCD cast members who are performing on Sunday's show. It's a pretty good list. 

To follow my most up-to-date information on Oscars Week, make sure to follow me on Twitter.

Where In The World Is KB?: Summer 2012

Many thanks to Roni B. for making sure I had my signature hat for my trip!

Around this time last year, I was off to Paris, thanks to a really amazing client who hired me to host a game show (Or a quiz show for you dignified Europeans.) for them.  They kindly also sent me to Orlando, Chicago, and New Jersey over the past year. (Don't knock NJ, I had the opportunity to meet this guy.)  This year, they are shipping me off to Munich which means I won't be drinking beer now that I am officially Gluten Free.  (Ah, better to miss the beer than to endure a migraine.) I plan on having a blast and posting a photo each day, so I hope you join me on this adventure.  I will also be hitting one other country after the job is over for a little R&R.  Gute Reise!

 

Chagoury Couture's Fall/Winter 2012 Sneak Peek

Love this dress, love this model who stuck a pose for me.

It's no secret that I love Chagoury Couture and you've seen me in their gowns here, here, and here.  So when I was invited to take a look at their Fall/Winter 2012 collection, I immediately called my stylist, Roni B. and told her she was going to come with me.  Yep, that was an order.  Gilbert Chagoury creates amazing silhouettes for women that drape and hug the body in such a flattering way.  Every time I put on one of his gowns, I feel good about what I am wearing and how my body looks.  That is a hard thing to accomplish since women are so notoriously critical of their figures.

The evening was all about "Philanthropy of Fashion" to create awareness for the Children of War Foundation where twenty percent of the evening's proceeds were donated to the charity. The keynote speaker was Dr. Mark Urata, the Chief of Plastic and Maxillofacial Surgery at Children's Hospital Los Angeles.  He spoke of his work with children who had cleft palates and how they were often mistreated in their cultures because they different.  With simple procedures to correct the cleft palate, the children were able to go on to lead normal lives.  Small things can make a big difference.  Dr. Urata's work has also been seen on a bigger scale working with separating conjoined twins.  His work truly is a miracle.  To learn more about the foundation or to donate to the cause, click here.

Now, here is what you have been waiting for, a sneak peek at Chagoury Couture's Fall/Winter 2012 line.  I think my Oscar dress is in here, can you pick out which one it is?

 I love this color.  Perfect for the red carpet.

 The flowing lines of this dress is what captured my attention.

 Look at the incredible beading on this dress.  

 Every angle is consider with a Chagoury Couture gown. 

 Divine.......

 I love this shot from the window, very Toulouse-Lautrec inspired lighting.  You can see how packed the event was.

 Roni B!

Me in my new Ted Baker dress from this event. 

Many thanks to Gilbert Chagoury and Marco D'Angelo for the invite to the event and for always being so gracious in letting me wear their designs on the red carpet.  It's such an honor and privilege.  

Who Are You Wearing: Oscars 2012

I have always said "it takes a village" to put me together for big awards shows and the 84th Annual Academy Awards were no exception. My team did an incredible job pulling together clothing, jewelry, and the right lip color for last Sunday.  Without them, I would have been on that red carpet in my yoga pants and Ugg Boots.  So, thank you to Team KB for making me look WAY better than I do in real life. Your early morning efforts were beyond appreciated.

Let's give kudos to them:

Stylist : Roni B 

- (http://www.RoniB.com)

Hair : Lisa Cavalone

- (http://www.Lukaro.com)

Make-Up : Carolina Groppa 

- (http://www.CarolinaGroppa.com)

Dress : Chagoury Couture (And an article about who they dressed this year!)

- (http://www.ChagouryCouture.com)

Jewelry : Charles Winston (Rings, Bracelets)

- (http://www.CharlesWinston.com)

Earrings: Swarovski Crystal

Shoes:  Guess (I've worn these a million times.)

Yes, my toes were blue to match my dress. 

Getting Red Carpet Ready

I don't know how it is possible, but it is the night before the Oscars.  This week has flown by and I am sitting quietly on my couch trying to calm my nerves.  My team has assembled my wardrobe, makeup, jewelry, and hair look over the last several weeks.  I am so excited to see it all pulled together tomorrow morning as I sit back and start getting ready at 6:30 AM.  Yep, that's my call time.  It takes hours to get glamorous.  I've always said, it takes a village.......

Team KB hard at work.....Roni B and Charles Winston consulting over a few jewels.

This year we were fortunate to have my Oscars jeweler, Charles Winston,  in town to talk about red carpet looks and what we might see come Sunday.  Also, the infamous Roni B. talks about this year's Oscar look and how we pulled it all together. I'm glad we were able to do a fashion segment this year, so let's take a look at what it is all about........fashion and a few hints about what I am wearing.

Which ring did I choose?  Find out in the video above. 

Awesome shot of Roni's store!

The Winning Dress for Oscar Nominations Day

I know there has been a BIG debate this year over which dress I was was going to wear.  The blue one or the green one?  The interesting thing is that everyone was drawn to one or the other and there was no in-between.  Those that were in favor of the green dress loved the cut and color.  Those that were in favor of the blue dress thought that blue was a better color for me.  Several were concerned that the blue dress would be too baggy.  That's the beauty of online shopping, you don't know what it's going to look like until you try it on.

So please, congratulate Ali and Julia for picking the winning dress from Bloomingdale's.  Yes, the blue dress won.  It fit like a glove and it was a fun dress to accessorize.  The green dress from Banana Republic was huge on me.  I loved the color, but I needed a week with a tailor to remake the dress.  That is the one caveat with Banana Republic:  if they don't offer it in a petite size, a regular size 2 or 4 is often cut more like a size 6 or 8.

In case anyone wants to know, Julia is 12 years old.  I think we have a budding fashionista on our hands.

The details on the dress:

Dress:  Aqua by Bloomingdale's.  (With coupons and Ebates, this dress was under $75.)
Shoes:  BCBG Girl
Ring:  Forever 21 (Also seen in this post.)
Bracelet:  Gifted from a Gift Bag long ago.
Necklace: Jessica Matrasko 
Belt:  Roni B (I wore this belt backwards..buckle in the back.)
Hair: Lisa Cavalone

The Dress: IAWTV Awards

Well, that's a first.  I'm not sure I got a clean full-length shot of me standing on the red....er, blue carpet. So, I cobbled together what I could for my post on my dress details.  So, here we go:

Stylist:  Roni B.

Makeup:  Aurora Nerone 

Hair: Candace Campbell

Colorist:  Lisa Cavalone

Dress:  Minuet, $47 (Yep, a red carpet look under $50, but don't forget to use your fashion tape to prevent wardrobe malfunctions.)

Shoes:  Guess, Winter 2007 collection

Bracelet:  Aldo Accessories, Winter 2007 collection.

Ring:  Roni B

Earrings:  Roni B

I think my dress color has become my signature color.  I wore a similar shade to the opening night of Godspell here and to a deeper shade to the Oscar Nominations in 2011 here.  I think it's time to retire the color....just for a little while.  I love it because it pops on the red carpet, but I am on the verge of overdosing on this look.  Nevertheless, I was very comfortable in my outfit at the IAWTV Awards and I wouldn't have done my outfit any differently.  

A big thanks to Aurora and Candace who put together my red carpet hair and makeup.  We haven't worked together before, but they did a great job making me look like a much better version of myself.  It was a wonderful collaborative process and I think they got the look I wanted down perfectly. So, if anyone needs any Vegas referrals, I have two great artists for you.  So, thank you to Team KB for putting me all together.  You know I couldn't do it without you.....

Photos Courtesy of Mingle Media TV.

Photos Of The Day: L'Arc de Triomphe

The years I spent in high school in Mr. Walsh's dark art history room were such vivid memories today as I finally hit the L'Arc de Triomphe.  I went after my rehearsal later in the day when the crowds had dissipated and I could enjoy the view without throngs of tourists jostling for space.  Every detail of Mr. Walsh's class from archways, sculpture, and flying buttresses all came back to me the moment I stepped under the arch.  The top of the the Arc promises the best views of Paris and it certainly didn't disappoint. Yes, I am still wearing my hat that I bought at Roni B's in the Valley.  French boys seems to like it, so on my head it stays.  The day finished off with a walk down the Champs-Eylsées and a meal of moule et frites at a sidewalk café.  Tomorrow is a long day of rehearsal and the opening of the show........time for bed to finish off that jet lag.  

The Deets on the Dress

I've received so many kind emails, comments, and questions about the dress I wore to the 2nd Annual Thirst Project Gala.  Thank you!  This look was originally assembled for another event last fall, but I never got a chance to wear it.  The outfit finally made its debut on Tuesday. So, here is everything you need to know:

Stylist:  Roni B.
Makeup:  Carolina Groppa
Dress:  Daisy, $72
Shoes:  Stuart Weitzman (Winter 2007 Collection)
Jewelry:  Roni B and Target

I wanted to give you a close up of the detailing on the Stuart Weitzman shoes.  Roni and I went through every gold shoe in my closet because Purple and Gold has a tendency to make me look like a Lakers Girl.  It had to be just the right shade of gold to enhance the eggplant-colored dress.

One other wonderful detail added by Roni was the brooch in the middle of the vertical bow.  It made a very simple dress look elegant and sophisticated.  A perfect compliment to the rest of the look.

Take a look at a few other outfits Roni has pulled together for me here, here, and here.

Top photo courtesy of Leilani Gushiken.

It's Showtime: The Tony Awards

All of my videos will be posted over on Starpulse as soon as I finish editing!  It was such an incredible night to celebrate the tradition of the American theatre.  I really hope all of you support a show at some point whether it is your local community show or a production on the Great White Way.  Nothing gives back more in art than an electrifying performance surrounded by an audience witnessing the same incredible energy and inspiration.

A huge thanks to everyone who helped me get on the red carpet last night.  First, the village that gets me gussied up to look like a better version of myself:

Dress:  Chagoury Couture (Who also kindly dressed me for the Oscars this year!)
Shoes:  Guess (You've seen these before.)
Jewelry:  Downtown LA (Yep, I went the affordable route.)
Stylist:  Roni B.
Hair and Makeup:  Ellen Zolezzi

To my camerawoman and encyclopedia of musical theatre geek knowledge...thank you!  This adventure would not have been as fun without you!

Camerawoman/Musical Theatre Geek, Anne Mureau.

Finally, here is some unedited footage, but this explains it all.  Why I love the theatre, why I love it when dreams come true, and why I was so happy to be on the red carpet.  My interview with Tony and Academy Award winner, Joel Grey and the story of how he made a huge impact on my life back when I was 16-years old.  

More photos, stories, and videos will be up later on Starpulse. (I have to fly home to LA first!)

All About The Dress

Aryeh designed this dress and also THIS one that I wore to ITVFest 2010.

I received so many inquiries about this dress from the ElfQuest fan trailer premiere, so I figured that it merited its own post.  Many thanks to Roni B. for styling me and to her mom, Sonia, for making sure the dress fit just right. (I actually picked up the dress an hour before hair/makeup in a grocery store parking lot!)  If you haven't read my post about The Undergarments Edition, now would be a good time to do so.  I was taped and pastied within every inch of my décolletage.  It wasn't the night for wardrobe malfunctions when you are broadcasting live.

Here is all of the scoop on my outfit:

Dress:   Aryeh, $65, available at Roni B.
Shoes:  Guess, from 6 years ago!
Jewelry:  Bracelet, ring:  Aldo, from 4 years ago!
               Garnet Necklace:  Gift from Prague
               Earrings: Gifted from Charles Winston, 14K White Gold 8mm Moissanite studs

Makeup:  Carolina Groppa

If you played along with my tongue-in-cheek poll last week of Who Wore It Best?  Here are the results:

I think you guys were just being nice because it is my site, but I love, love, love those who voted for "This poll is lame".  I'm glad someone has a sense of humor.  I honestly think the real winner is Chagoury Couture, they get free publicity any time someone wears their dress on the red carpet.  It's a no-lose situation.

Who Are You Wearing?

I received so many questions about my outfit and my overall look, so here is the entire rundown.  I joked that it took a village to put me together, but I wasn't kidding.  I am so grateful to the team that assisted me, not only for their time and patience, but for really helping me shine on Oscar Sunday.

Stylist:  Roni Binshtock:  You know I talk about her all of the time, but her talents are immense and she was with me every step of the way.  She even made a last minute decision to bring me a stunning gray Sans Souci wrap that I wore through most of my red carpet interviews. (It was cold!)

Hair: Ozlem Dalgic:  She has done my hair now for two Academy Award shows and the DGA Awards.  No one does it better.

Makeup:  Carolina Groppa:  This gal has held me together for the last month and I don't know what I would do without her.  (Thanks, Bonnie Gillespie!)  My makeup and lashes held for a marathon 14 hours and that is impressive in my book.

Dress #2 outside of the after-Oscar party at the Polo Lounge.

Dress:  Chagoury Couture:  Gilbert Chagoury and Marco D'Angelo loaned me the most beautiful gown with such delicate beadwork on the flower.  It fit me like a glove, I felt like a million bucks, and it had two front pockets that added to the comfort of the gown.  After the show, I was able to change into a short dress with draping and incredible trimming on the sleeve and strap.  Thank you, gentlemen!

Even in a goofy iPhone shot, that Charles Winston ring is divine.

  My beautiful Charles Winston bracelet to accessorize my gown.

And don't forget my Charles Winston earrings!

Jewelry:  Charles Winston: I worked with Charles Winston on air back in my ShopNBC days.  I emailed him asking to borrow jewelry.  He immediately said "yes' and he and his partner, Sandy McMillan, made sure I had everything I needed and more.  The cocktail ring alone drew so many compliments, I knew I made the right choice in contacting Charles.

A HUGE THANK YOU to the entire team because I could not have done it without you.  Your contributions to my big night were immeasurable.

Just a few more photos that show the incredible beadwork on my Chagoury Couture gown.....