LA Weekly

The flier likened it to WWD meets WWF, but the Style Wars event at Cinespace on Tuesday night was more like Iron Chef meets Martha Stewart's Craft Corner - on crack.

I've got some styling work and a jewelry line under my belt, but the people I competed against were "real" designers and I think they took it all a lot more seriously than I did. Most wore open pins on their person, and the gal who beat me (yes, I lost) actually wore her supplies in her hair!

We had 5 minutes to create a look based on various themes, mine was Bauhaus (the art movement, not the band), and damn, those minutes sure went fast. Thankfully, former Style Councilor Steffie Nelson was in the audience and I enlisted her help on stage.

Unfortunately, we were up against the only gal who had done it before and she meant business (hence the hair above). She actually traveled all the way from San Francisco to compete. Hardcore.

Regardless of my loss, my glitter-queen number (made out of an old '70's empire waist disco halter and a sequined skirt, with added help from an ugly, plus-size thrift store dress Divine might have worn) got some great response from the judges. Project Runway winner Jeffrey Sebelia actually applauded my " creative foresight" and said my frock was more wearable than my competitor's.

Alas, over-the-top trumps everything in this crazy competition.

Had I made it to the next round (incorporating kitchen supplies) I would have totally creamed everyone though. My hubby's a chef and I was gonna use his food safety gloves to make an amazing sash!

Ultimately, the right person won the freaky fash-bash. Designer Paul Magalad worked it, turning a dress into a jumpsuit, and re-creating a wedding dress by turning it upside down, fashioning a frock that could've easily passed for some marvelous Alexander McQueen-type monstrosity.

"Now I can pay last month's rent!" he said of his win. No big shocker- the life of a fashion designer may be fabulous, but like that of a freelance writer, it's definitely feast or famine.

Look for lots more wild behind-the-scenes scoop from Style Wars in next week's edition of Nightranger, and check out this week's column for reports on the Viper Room, the new speakeasy called 86, and more.

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I'm not a "designer," but I am a fierce competitor -and a STYLE Councilor- so I figured why not?

Watch me compete TONIGHT against 7 other fearless fashionistas and deconstruction dymanos at Style Wars.

I suck on sewing machines, but as I found out last night, this competition isn't for thread heads. I met with the House of Diehl peeps (creators of this crazy clothes-o-rama) at the Roosevelt Hotel -along with the other contestants- if their creations are any indication, this thing is about transformation more than anything else. Digging through a suitcase of old thrift clothes, the Diehl guys quickly showed us how to turn uglywear into couture. See samples of their ingenuity below.

A thrift store jacket turned upside down magically becomes a Galiano-esque frock.

Cheap white Genie pants suddenly become a voluminous shrug!

The event promises to be quite the scene. Judges include Project Runway Season 3 winner Jeffrey Sebelia, Jody Watley, and maybe even David LaChapelle and Courtney Love.

Check this out for a taste of the madness.

See ya tonight!

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2008 is around the corner and you need a new calendar doncha? Forget about The Girls Next Door and check out this foxy bunch, all whom happen to be awesome vocalists, including some of my favorite local chanteuses (Abby Travis, Miss Derringer's Liz).

Meet these talented babes and hear them perform tomorrow night at the Hotel Cafe. The I HEART Foundation, which put the thing together, says 100% of the sales will go to the Sojourn Services for Battered Women and their Children, while the door proceeds will be donated to a scholarship for a young girl to attend The Silverlake Music Conservatory.

Yup, this is one calendar you'll be proud to Pin-Up.

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For those of you wondering if I ever made it to the Cavalli collection's opening day at H&M in the Beverly Center, the answer is no. Just to be safe, I called the shop before leaving that afternoon and was told that every single piece was sold within the first two hours.

Some ladies actually camped out! Stuff was literally up on Ebay the same day. Read the pissed Pussycat rants here.

Thankfully, I did get a li'l leopard fix though. Billion Dollar Babes, at Quixote Studios in WeHo was the same day, and I scored a nifty Petro Zillia animal print sweater for 50 bucks, along a pink P.Z. wool suit and some Chloe pants (for 80 smackers!). If you're a label whore with medium deep pockets, BBB is a buy, buy, buy. Become a babe here.

More retail revelry was had at Paper mag's 25 Hour Dept. Store on 3rd and La Brea that night. Part of the New York pub's annual week-long series of events in LA, it was quite the shop hop, as was the 80s dance class hosted by Jeremy Scott and Paris boutique Collette the night before. You can read about all the festivities in this week's Nightranger but for now I'll leave you with this photo of the fashionably freaky fete. It was a real Thriller.

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The leopard loving lass is a special kinda gal. She can be a sweet kitty cat, but get on her bad side and she'll scratch you.

I've been a leopard print fan since I was a kid. My nana had a super-comfy animal print couch and I loved lounging on it and pretending I was a movie star.

When I got older, animal-spotted thrift store finds fit perfectly into my fledging attempts at punk style. I still wear the tattered '60's-era coat I scored decades ago, and I've yet to find a more purrrfectly proportioned cat print.

Alas, new leopard prints rarely come close to vintage ones, though the designs of D&G and L.A.M.B. (Gwen Stefani is obviously part of the leopard love club) aren't bad.

All the major designers have done something in leopard print at this point, which has helped it become a timeless fashion staple. Still, only the fiercest felines can pull off more than a bag, shoes or top. For fans of cleavage, crimson lips, and bold animalistic accents, it's all about Robert Cavalli.

Cheetah girls on a budget are sure to be high-tailing to the Beverly Center tomorrow when the designer's collection makes its debut at H&M.

I hear it's full of sexy jungle prints and cat woman couture-flavored pieces. I'm planning on checking it out, and I fully expect some ferocious fashionista encounters - and maybe even a couple of catfights.

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