Gisele Bundchen Has Literally Put Brazil on the Map

This Brazilian beauty is one of the most famous faces in the world, and she came from almost nothing to become a multi-millionaire mostly thanks to those looks. She was born Gisele Caroline Nonnenmacher Bündchen (but just Gisele is alright these days), in Tres de Maio, Brazil, and grew up in Horizontina, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. She has five sisters, including a fraternal twin named Patricia. Gisele originally intended to become a volleyball player, and even considered playing for the Brazilian national team. However, she enrolled in a modeling class at the age of 13 along with her sisters Gabriela and Patricia.

A year later, Gisele was discovered in a shopping mall by a modeling agent. She went on to compete in multiple modeling contests until 1996, when she ultimately moved to New York City and made her Fashion Week debut. Her first magazine cover was in the July 1999 issue of Vogue, and she proceeded to grace the cover of Vogue two more times, equaling three consecutive covers. This was just the tip of the iceberg. Gisele has been on the covers of more magazines than I could even begin to mention (as of now the grand total is over 500 worldwide covers).

All of this success has led to one thing...money, money, and more money. At an estimated net worth of over $150 million, Gisele Bündchen is the world's highest paid model. Aside from modeling, Gisele has been featured in two films. She was Serena in The Devil Wears Prada, and she played one of the main characters (Vanessa) in the film Taxi which co-starred Jimmy Fallon and Queen Latifah. She's also become a staple on the television show TMZ due to her relationship with New England Patriots' quarterback Tom Brady, as well as her previous relationships with Leonardo DiCaprio and Kelly Slater.

Thankfully though, it seems like all of the fame and fortune hasn't gotten to her head because here she is in NYC, hailing a cab just like the rest of us (although I'm sure she only had to wait for about a millisecond). The messenger bag she's carrying is the Besace by Yves Saint Laurent.

$1,995.00

Here we have the lovely couple out and about in Paris. Gisele looks très chic in a comfy beige sweater, gray skinny jeans, vintage leather boots, and a Christian Dior Gaucho tote.

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One of Gisele's best features in my opinion has got to be her facial bone structure. The Dolce & Gabbana shades she's wearing only highlight this fact.
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Half (actually most) of a supermodel's job is to look good in a pricey dress...and Gisele never disappoints. I'm pretty sure that jaws fell to the ground when everyone saw her in this body-hugging Versace gown at the 2008 Met's Costume Institute Gala.

...And here she is doing her thing at a Christian Dior couture runway show.

RIP Yves Sait Laurent

Yves Henri Donat Mathieu Saint Laurent, aka Yves Saint Laurent was a French fashion designer who I personally consider to be one of the greatest visionaries in high fashion. I use past tense because he just recently passed away on June 1, 2008 from brain cancer. Yves Saint Laurent was born in Oran, Algeria, where he acquired a fashion sense from his mother and friends. He first studied at the Chambre Syndicale, and then he went to work for French designer Christian Dior at the age of 17.

When Saint Laurent was only 21 years old however, Christian Dior passed away and left Saint Laurent in charge of saving the House of Dior from going bankrupt. It wasn't until 1962 when he was finally released from Christian Dior, and he and his lover (Pierre Bergé) began their very own fashion house. During the 60s and 70s, the couple brought many fashion trends into the mainstream, including safari jackets, the beatnik look, thigh-high boots, tight pants, and women's tuxedos. Saint Laurent was the first to popularize the idea of wearing silhouettes from the 20s, 30s, and 40s (which we still do today). He also introduced ready-to-wear clothing lines, with Rive Gauche. But above all, Yves Saint Laurent was the very first to employ black models in his runway shows.

In 1999, Gucci bought the Saint-Laurent brand, and designer Tom Ford was asked to design the ready-to-wear collection, while Yves Saint Laurent designed the haute couture line himself. After Ford left in 2004, Stefano Pilati was left to design the prêt-à-porter (ready-to-wear) line.

As I've already mentioned, YSL is one of my absolute favorite designers, and I get inspired everytime I look at one of his pieces. Let's start with the YSL Tribute shoe and handbag. Here are Halle Berry and Drew Barrymore, sporting black patent leather Tribute bags. I'm not gonna lie, I paid more attention to the bag than who was carrying it. That's how spectacular it is.

$1,395.00

...And then there's the YSL Tribute shoe. I almost shed a tear when I first saw these because they're that gorgeous. Jessica Alba, Paula Abdul, UK singer Jamelia, and Victoria Beckham seem to agree with me.

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Here is an image from the Yves Saint Laurent Fall 2008 New York City runway show by designer Stefano Pilati.

And this is an image from the YSL Spring/Summer 2004 Rive Gauche collection. This would be Tom Ford's final spring/summer show for Yves Saint Laurent.

Although the House of Yves Saint Laurent is no more, the label still lives on thanks to celebrities and red carpet events where the designer's brilliant work will eternally be showcased. Check out two-time Oscar winner Hilary Swank in a stunning white YSL dress at the P.S. I Love You premiere. And who could forget Nicole Kidman in the flapper-style YSL dress at the 2004 Golden Globes?

Angelina is Her Name, Glamour is Her Game

The word jolie is French for pretty, and it goes without saying that Angelina Jolie is one of the most beautiful women in the world. She was born in Los Angeles on June 4, 1975 to actors Jon Voight and Marcheline Bertrand. Clearly, she was destined to be an actress, as well. However, Jolie has once said that watching movies at a young age made her want to become an actress, it wasn't her parents' influence. At age 11, she began attending the Lee Strasberg Theatre Institute in LA, and later Beverly Hills High School. Believe it or not, she used to get teased for her looks because she was so thin, wore glasses, and had braces. Eat crow people.

Anyway, Jolie went on to have a flourishing career as a movie actress with starring roles in films such as Gia, The Bone Collector, Girl, Interrupted, Gone in 60 Seconds, and the Lara Croft series. She also garnered three Golden Globes, two Screen Actors Guild Awards, and an Academy Award.

Outside of Hollywood, Angelina has also made quite the name for herself in the world of philanthropy. She first became interested in humanitarian work after filming Tomb Raider in the poverty-stricken Cambodia. Ever since, she and her partner Brad Pitt have gone around the world adopting children, doing charity work, and generally making the world a better place. She currently has four children (Maddox, Zahara, Shiloh, and Pax Thien), and twins on the way. As a result of her high-profile relationship with Brad Pitt, Angelina has been hounded by the media. Poor woman, she literally has to look presentable at every minute of the day. Well, at least she's doing a good job at it.

Here she is carrying little Zahara. She's wearing an all black outfit, with an elegant white Valentino handbag.

$2,172.00

...And here she is with another child in one hand (Shiloh), and a fabulous bag in the other (Gerard Darel Dublin 24 Hour Bag).

$399.99

With her flawless bone structure, nobody wears a pair of shades quite as well as Angelina Jolie. Here she is sporting a pair of Tom Ford Whitney sunglasses.

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Although she's naturally stunning and gorgeous, when Angelina isn't off fighting world hunger and strife, she cleans up really well for a red carpet. She looked absolutely radiant arm-in-arm with Brad Pitt at The Cannes Film Festival 2008 in a green Max Azria gown. The cut of this dress did more than flatter her figure, as she is pregnant with twins. In my opinion, she won Best Dressed at this entire event.

Will the Real Katie Holmes Please Stand Up?

Katherine Noelle Holmes Cruise...aka Katie Holmes...aka Katie Cruise...

Whatever happened to good ol' 90s Katie Holmes. I'm talking Joey Potter on Dawson's Creek, everyone's favorite know-it-all tomboy and the object of Dawson Leary's affection for who knows how many years. Katie was born on December 18, 1978 in Toledo, Ohio to your average Roman Catholic family. As I've already mentioned, she gained notoriety for playing Josephine Potter on Dawson's Creek alongside James Van Der Beek. Anyway, as I was saying, Katie Holmes was originally known by everyone as a meek, average girl. She's always been beautiful and everything, but it used to be a very understated beauty.

The girl-next-door Katie Holmes as Joey Potter.

...And the glamorous new Katie Cruise

Now, she's this glamorous, enigmatic character living a charmed life shrouded with mystery. I saw her on Oprah's special with Tom Cruise where he talked about their marriage and life with baby Suri, but I still feel like Katie Holmes is being kept hidden. Everytime I see her on the red carpet she just stands there glued to Tom Cruise's arm like a statue. She rarely says anything, and Tom answers all interview questions while she just stands there smiling. Strange.

The lovely couple at the Lions for Lambs premiere. Katie is dazzling in Armani Prive.

Even stranger is her obsession with chopping her hair shorter and shorter. I understand wanting to mimic gal-pal Victoria Beckham's chic bob, but I think Ms. Katie Holmes has taken it a bit too far. Soon, she might pull a Natalie Portman and shave her head bald!

Here's classic Katie Holmes with long flowing locks of hair, and then she cut it. I knew what she was trying to do, but I didn't feel that the bob was very well-executed.

Finally, she got it right. This sleek bob with bangs is very remniscient of Anna Wintour's trademark 'do...I personally like Katie's better. You be the judge.

...or

The plus side to the Katie Holmes saga is that her style has evolved from sorority girl to Vogue cover girl. The fabulous marathoner has been blessed with a supermodel-slim figure, pre- and post- baby bump. It's almost ridiculous how quickly she lost the baby weight. She ballooned to the size of a small tent during pregnancy, and now she's probably thinner than before. The wonders of Hollywood.

Here's the slimmed down Katie Holmes playing with baby Suri Cruise, sporting a pair of wonderfully chic wide trousers by Roland Mouret.