GeekSugar

Take Black & White to a New Level!

Allison McNamara — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 14:09:21 PST

Black and white outfits covered the runways for Fall, and celebrities like Blake Lively and Cameron Diaz have been rocking the classic color combo. In today's episode of Currently Trending, we headed to Saks Fifth Avenue to show you three creative ways to wear this sophisticated color palette right now. From a textural leather and fur combo to Winter-white separates and ladylike peplum, take a cue from these outfits when wearing black and white this season. On Allison: Tibi jacket, Equipment blouse, Zara shorts.

How Social Media Is Changing Casual Sex

Colleen Barrett — Mon, 21 Mar 2011 15:45:59 PDT

Last week the New York Observer published a trend piece that concluded young New Yorkers are having less sex. A sweeping statement based on a handful of people noticing no couples pairing off at the dead end of night. From there, he hastily drew a familiar conclusion: everyone's a narcissist now. People would rather groom their online persona by posting where they're at than actually interact, but - I can assure you - nobody loves sex more than a narcissist.

Nobody knows how much sex people have without straight-up asking (and even then, who knows?), so I did the next best thing. I talked to someone who knows a lot about "young New Yorkers," their parties, and - for better or worse - their sex lives, Brooklyn-based writer Diana Vilibert. See what she thinks below.

What Odd Mementos Did You Keep From Your Wedding?

Colleen Barrett — Fri, 04 Mar 2011 12:30:18 PST

Keeping the wedding dress, bouquet, or invitation is expected, but now The New York Times is calling out a new trend: keeping something unexpected.

Some out-of-the-wedding-book mementos require planning, but I'd say the best ones are spontaneous, like the couple who kept a Spider-Man water squirter that was a prize from a box of Froot Loops guests opened to use as confetti in a makeshift, postceremony parade. One bride went all Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants for her destination wedding by sending her wedding-day shoes to all her female friends who couldn't make it for signatures.

And then there are the unexpected mementos that start traditions. One couple kept a jar of rain from their wedding day, which they've since used sparingly to baptize their children. A little water remains, but the woman has begun collecting rain for other couples with stormy-day weddings. Sunny-dayers, you're on your own!

So planned or not, if you're married did you keep anything out of the ordinary? And if you aren't, would you plan to?

Source: Flickr User tantrum_dan

Online Revenge Gets Points For Creativity

Colleen Barrett — Thu, 03 Mar 2011 03:30:03 PST

It used to be that if you went around town hanging up photos of your ex to warn people a registered sex offender had moved into the neighborhood, you'd get a bad reputation: "the crazy, spurned lover." Now I bet if someone hacked into the National Sex Offender Registry and actually registered an ex, they'd be applauded . . . and arrested, but still applauded as a hero to the brokenhearted.

Online revenge is becoming the norm; creativity seems to cancel out the psycho, stalker stereotype of scorned lovers past. There was the guy who broke into his ex's Netflix and reviewed movies until her top recommendations were all films about cheating; the woman who turned a photo of her ex-boyfriend into a LOL Cat-style meme and used SEO to ensure Google picked it up; and now one woman is selling her ex's stuff on eBay, posing seductively in each shot and marketing the stunt on the site My Ex-Boyfriend's Closet. Personally, I give her low points for creativity - she's probably not the first to try it, just the first to publicize it so well - but I'll reserve further judgment until I hear how much she earns.

And why not publicize it? Online revenge seems to return fleeting, Internet fame; real revenge earns long-term, bad raps. Not that I'm suggesting it!

Celebs Try On the Geek-Chic Spec Trend - Who Pulls It Off?

Hannah Weil — Tue, 01 Mar 2011 12:45:46 PST

We have brainy icons like Woody Allen and more recently Tina Fey to thank for popularizing geeky specs; now they're showing up everywhere - in Madewell's lookbooks, on bloggers and celebs, and here at Sugar HQ, our Fab editorial assistant's been sporting them all week, sans prescription. Case in point, you don't need a doctor's note - and neither do these celebs. Vision may be 20/20, but these specs are all about the style statement - just click through to see the celebrities sporting them and decide who's better off with and without the specs.

Postdivorce "Revenge" Plastic Surgery Is Supposedly a Thing

Colleen Barrett — Mon, 07 Feb 2011 14:35:52 PST

When it comes to divorce, a new survey says, revenge is a dish best served on the operating table. I prefer revenge to be creative, meme-worthy, and raging, so a boob job, moob job, and something known as the "yummy mummy package" don't really make the cut.

The results, also, don't exactly represent the average divorcée. The survey was done at Transform Cosmetic Surgery in the UK, and it found 62 percent of its clients were newly divorced and 11 percent of them were men. Of course, it could be that clients are looking to prep for reentering the dating world or their divorce settlements are just begging to be spent, but 48 percent said they had plastic surgery to make their exes jealous.

So maybe there is some truth to it, but isn't it just like the pricier, more painful, and slightly crazier version of looking hot when you see an ex?

Women Who've Had the Vaginal Steam Bath Talk

Colleen Barrett — Wed, 02 Feb 2011 12:15:46 PST

Last year it was vajazzling; this year it's the v-steam. In December, the Los Angeles Times introduced Americans to the vaginal steam bath, a "centuries-old Korean remedy" that's now taking off in both traditional, Korean salons and luxury ones.

Known as chai-yok in Korean, the vaginal steam bath is exactly what it sounds like. Maybe worse! You perch over a bottomless pot of boiling water infused with herbs for about 20 to 45 minutes. You're either naked or wearing a poncho-like getup that does not breathe to maximize the steam's effect.

Ancient Korean wisdom says it fights infections, reduces stress, eases PMS, and even increases fertility; Western doctors say maybe so, but so far there's no absolutely no proof. Dr. Laura Riley, director of labor and delivery at Massachusetts General in Boston, says, "I just don't understand physiologically how putting steam up the vagina is going to change your fertility or help you relieve stress."

So what do women who've had v-steams say? Find out below.

6 Reasons Couples Get Married at Funeral Homes

Colleen Barrett — Thu, 20 Jan 2011 14:35:50 PST

No matter how beautiful funeral homes are, they are inherently creepy. But funeral directors are trying to end the stigma by getting into the business of life. Are people just not dying fast enough?

More likely, funeral trends (there's a blog idea!) are moving further away from traditional wakes toward more personalized services, leaving funeral directors looking for new ways to bring in business. I get why funeral homes are offering weddings, but why are couples going along with it? I've rounded up a few reasons below.

Are There Only More Celebrity Pregnancies to Come?

Colleen Barrett — Wed, 12 Jan 2011 12:40:09 PST

Hollywood is baby crazy right now! Natalie Portman kicked off the trend at the end of 2010, and then Victoria Beckham, Jane Krakowski, Marion Cotillard, and Kate Hudson followed in the New Year. Is it part of a larger trend? If it is, then there are only more pregnancies to come.

For 10 of the 16 years between 1990 and 2006, August was the most popular month to give birth - though Oct. 5 is the most popular day - and February was the least. That would mean August babies are conceived in November.

If November is for baby-making and August is for childbirth, then February and March are for baby announcements. Because celebrities, and their conception dates, are just like us, right?

Soon, You'll Be Able to Buy Cupcake Stock

Emily Co — Mon, 10 Jan 2011 11:30:13 PST

Everyone loves cupcakes, and it seems like the finance world loves them, too! Crumbs Bake Shop, the biggest cupcake chain in the US, has plans to go public, according to the New York Times. Going public a.k.a. doing an IPO or initial public offering means that everyone is allowed to buy shares of the company. As of now, Crumbs runs about 34 stores, but plans to operate about 200 stores by 2014.

I feel like cupcakes aren't just a trend, because the craze has lasted more than a handful of years ever since it was triggered by Sarah Jessica Parker biting into a cupcake on Sex and the City. I also noticed that in every city I go to, there is a never-ending source of cupcake boutiques around to satisfy my sugar cravings. Cupcakes are such a booming industry that it's no wonder investors are hungry to cash in. Other notable "sweet" stocks that are publicly trading include Sara Lee, Nestle, and Hershey. What do you think - would you be interested in buying some cupcake shares?

Source: Flickr User lamantin