Blog Posts by Joanna Douglas, Senior Fashion and Beauty Editor

The 1970s were all about bell-bottoms, big collars, jumpsuits, and platforms, and while the decade made a fashion resurgence this season, we think most '70s-inspired attire looks like a "Saturday Night Fever" costume. For example, this ridiculous silk flare pants by Ellery. They're marked down from $1,125 to $338 but you can only buy them under the condition that you hum "Stayin' Alive" by the Bee Gees all day. OK, we made that last part up, but these pants have a 56" leg opening. Really?! You could hide a small child under there!

Wear these pants and risk comparisons to John Travolta. Photo courtesy of Shopbop

If white flared pants aren't your thing there's also gold lamé. Let's just say the fabric is spelled like "lame" for a reason. It looks weird and costume. This gold lamé dress is marked down from $195 to just $39 and is part of the Halston Heritage collection. We loved some of those Halston dresses Bianca Jagger rocked at Studio 54, but perhaps the past should remain in the past. On the other hand, if you're looking for a Halloween costume seven months

A new blog highlights mom style. Photo courtesy of ElizabethStreet.comWe always read about stylish teens, stylish 20-somethings, and even stylish old ladies, but what about stylish moms? A new blog called Elizabeth Street launched today that targets mothers with an eye for style. According to their mission statement, the site "covers fashion, travel, activities, culture, philanthropy and lifestyle with a unique voice geared towards moms who want the best for themselves and their families." Obviously, we're in love.

The street style section is our favorite since it features tastemaker mommies from around the globe. It's so cool to see what moms are wearing everywhere from New York to Madrid and learn a little about each stylish lady. For example, Jess Afshar of Kansas City is a former Air Force service member, cancer survivor, User Experience architect at a digital marketing agency, fashion blogger, and mom to an 8-year-old boy. She inspires us! Or Sophie Trauttenberg of Vienna (left), who is a homemaker with two young children. Her favorite accessories

The Council of Fashion Designers of America announced their nominees and honorees for their 2012 CFDA awards, and Johnny Depp will be the first ever male recipient of The Fashion Icon Award. on June 4, Depp will take home the award for his "personal and eclectic sense of style." It's definitely eclectic... but is Depp's fashion sense actually good? We dug through decades of photos and decided that while Johnny's incredibly hot, his weird outfits and obsession with accessories is a little much for our taste. Click through our slideshow and tell us what you think. By Joanna Douglas, Shine Staff

As part of our ongoing partnership with Amazon's flash sale site, MyHabit, we have exclusive preview of their Friday designer clothing and accessories sale. This week you can save hundreds of dollars on spring shoes, a classic trench coat, and Marni jeans (yes, that Marni). Check them out in our slideshow! Click here to sign up for MyHabit and click over on Friday at 12 noon EST for paycheck-worthy deals. By Joanna Douglas, Shine Staff

There's no better feeling than scoring a pair of perfect-fitting jeans, and these days you don't need to spend a bundle to get them. We've found tons of cute, colorful, well-cut, and perhaps even office-friendly spring jeans all under $100. Click through our slideshow for some great denim deals. By Joanna Douglas, Shine Staff

Win a bottle of Essie's new Barefoot in Blue nail polish!We love shoes, but some less fortunate people can't afford them. In fact, millions of kids worldwide live without shoes and as a result they're not allowed to go to school and they're exposed to injury and disease every day. April 10 is One Day Without Shoes, an event sponsored by TOMS which asks participants to go without shoes so kids don't have to.

Once again Essie cosmetics has partnered with the event by creating a special limited edition nail color, Barefoot in Blue, to encourage people to go barefoot with colorful pedicures. The creamy, sky blue shade is right on trend and sure to make a statement.

"We are thrilled to partner with TOMS again to support One Day Without Shoes," Essie Weingarten, founder and creative director of Essie cosmetics said in a statement. "We wanted to come up with something that would really spark conversation and bring attention to the campaign--a new rally cry for an important cause. There's no better way to do that than with blue toes!"

To help

Even Gwyneth Paltrow has unflattering photos. Photo courtesy of celebritycloseup.tumblr.comOn top of being beautiful, celebrities have teams of makeup artists to get their skin and cosmetics looking flawless. Thank goodness for the great equalizer: unflattering photos. A Tumblr blog called Celebrity Close-up shows life-size head shots of celebs under bright lights and reveals what your average red carpet photo cannot: blotchy skin, crooked lipstick applications, cold sores, crooked teeth, freckles, and bad nose jobs.

It's not that we like tearing down celebrities--it's just refreshing to know they too have undereye circles and pimples covered up with concealer. This blog is proof that everyone from Angelina Jolie to Gwyneth Paltrow is capable of taking a bad photo. And that Kim Kardashian wears so much makeup she looks like a living mannequin. (Seriously, look at the picture below, it's insane.)

Intrigued? Check out Celebrity Close-Up for hundreds of surprising celeb photos. We'll confess we spent about 30 minutes gawking at shots of Mick Jagger (really wrinkled), Anna

Banana Republic's Kate dress was inspired by Kate MiddletonKate and Pippa Middleton have become style stars overnight, and mass retailer Banana Republic is hoping to cash in by copying two dresses worn by the famous British sisters.

PHOTOS: Kate Middleton's 10 Most Dazzling Looks

We couldn't help but notice a striking resemblance between Banana Republic's "Kate" sheath dress and the tan Reiss bandage dress Kate Middleton wore when she met Barack and Michelle Obama (see image below). Both dresses are the same color, have the same hemline, have cap sleeves, have a banded waist, and have the same two seams coming down from the neck towards the waist. For Banana Republic to name the dress "Kate" tells us they're admitting to their knockoff and hoping to please customers who admire Middleton's sleek style.


Kate Middleton's tan Reiss dress inspired a similar gown by Banana RepublicThe Reiss Shola dress the Duchess wore cost $340 and immediately sold out online. The Banana Republic design is more affordable at $130 and is quickly selling out as well (only select sizes are still available). Even if you're not obsessed with