Blog Posts by Piper Weiss, Shine Staff

Most shoes aren't described as "patent-pending", but the R-Flex isn't most shoes. French designer Raphael Young has mapped the scientific formula for the most comfortable high-heel on earth. At least, that's the claim and the reasoning behind the $662 price-tag for some otherwise unremarkable- looking footwear.

The shoe, for sale on Young's website, combines rubber and leather for an extremely flexible sole. Latex gel injections at the ball of the foot enhance the overall sneaker-worthy feel. It even has steel inserts to prevent random fits of ankle-twisting.

The R-flex comes in a variety of styles, from peep-toe to patent leather. The highest boast a heel as high as 4 inches but they may as well be flats, according to one Paris magazine editor who told The Independent, "I wore them for a whole day during London Fashion Week and there was no burning pain, or numb toes!" Okay, this woman clearly thinks bricks fastened with twine are standard footwear (burning and numbness?). That being

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Alex Loudon, athlete, businessman, royal wedding date. (Photo by Marcus Trescothick/Getty Images)The Middleton sisters know how to pick 'em. Kate may be marrying a prince, but sibling Pippa is rumored to have a hot date of her own for Friday's main event: 30-year-old Alex Loudon, formerly the Derek Jeter of Cricket, is expected to escort the maid of honor to the wedding of the millennium.

A few thing you should know about Loudon, besides his score of '11' on the 1-10 hotness scale.

1. He and William go way back. They first met as students at Eton, (the prestigious boys' school).

2. According to the London Times, he "caught the imagination of the England selectors when they heard that he was working on a doosra, the off spinner's version of the googly." That means he's either really amazing at cricket, or making macaroni art.

3. He retired from the pro cricket scene in 2007 to pursue his MBA at the London Business School. He's currently a stock trader.

4. He's no prince, but he does come from an aristocratic English family.

5. He's reportedly been dating Pippa since Christmas,

Balmain's tattered and bruised flag tank is selling out online. (via Today.com)It may be the most controversial designer tank top in fashion history. Balmain's American flag print tank top dappled with burn marks and torn at the seems, held together by a line-up of safety pins. And it could be yours for the price of $1,625.

The top is a hit with celebrities like Ke$ha and Kate Bosworth. Now online shoppers are following suit; the top sold out at e-commerce site Net-A-Porter in minutes, according to the New York Post.

But not everyone wants their very own wildly expensive burned flag shirt. "Our flag has witnessed many sacrifices... Shame on those who defile it in any way," Army soldier George Alatzas who runs a flag activism site told the Post.

Flag fashion has been in style ever since Woodstock, and tattered safety pin couture is a staple of Sex Pistol's era '70s punk. Both have been worn as an expression of rebellion. But there's nothing rebellious about spending almost 2 grand on a decimated tank top.

So what exactly are you paying for? Safety pins, some

Aviator glasses. Ruffled frock. Attitude. The three elements of a picture of my mom that changed both of our lives. Four decades after it was taken, I found it, along with some other photographic gems, in an old album, hidden under heaps of family photos. Not long after, she inspired a blog and landed on the cover my first book, My Mom, Style Icon.

There's my mom (left), at 23, a single working woman in the late '60s in Europe on a vacation that she couldn't really afford, looking like a million bucks.

Things were different back then, for the world and for our moms. But some looks never lost their cool. To prove that theory, I started collecting incredible vintage snapshots of mothers from around the world.

In honor of Mother's Day, (May 8, people!) we want to see your vintage mom photos. Upload a stylish snapshot of your mom from back in the day to our Yahoo! Shine Facebook Page. Include any backstory on the photo (when, where, what the...). We'll select our favorite looks and put

Earlier this month, Len Gunn spent four days in a Los Angeles hotel, learning dance moves to an Usher song, and passing out autographed photos to convention goers who'd flown from as far as Australia for the Romantic Times Booklovers Convention. The four day gathering of romance novelists and their fans, hosts panel discussions, meet and greets and a search for the next big cover-boy.

This year, Len beat out of the nine other male models to win the title of Mr. Romance 2011. His prize includes flying to New York to pose for an upcoming cover published by Kensington books.

Contestants aren't paid to enter the contest, but they are required to sign a multi-page document outlining participant expectations. Some regulations include a strict 12:30 A.M. curfew, no sexual contact with authors, fans or any other convention attendant. Even entering the room of a non-contestant is grounds for disqualification. The contract emphasizes the "gentlemanly" nature of the contest, which makes you

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New survey tracks everything we wanted to know about sex and weren't afraid to ask the internet. (ThinkStock Photos)A billion web searches can't be wrong: men think overweight women are hot. They also like MILFS. And that's not all our late-night web research reveals. In what's being called the largest sex study since the age of Kinsey, authors of a new book 'A Billion Wicked Thoughts' crunched data from our web searches to find some surprising facts about how men and women get turned on.

Neuroscientists Ogi Ogas and Sai Gaddam tracked the web exploits of over 100 million men and women in search of the different ways our brains process arousal. Some findings are pretty obvious: men are easily aroused while women require a complicated process of stimulation. You don't need a doctorate in neuroscience to know that. But other results from over a billion web searches reveal some truths about our sexual desires that we may not openly admit, even to ourselves.

1. Men don't discern between body parts: Men see little difference between breasts, women kissing and a bare butt. All three are turn-ons.

2. Age