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9 Stats About Black Friday That Will Blow Your Mind

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More than one in three American adults goes shopping on Black Friday. And that's just one of many frightening statistics about shopping's most dangerous day.

Source: blog.terapeak.com

37
The percentage of American adults who will go shopping on Black Friday, according to new research from the Consumer Electronics Association. That's a staggering more than 1 in 3 of us! What are we all thinking!?

57
The percentage of Black Friday shoppers who "find the experience to be fun," according to a study of roughly 460 consumers for WWD by Marvin Traub Associates. (If this seems startlingly high to you, you might be comforted to know that 43 percent do NOT find it fun.)

42
The percentage of Black Friday shoppers in the Traub study who say they enjoy Black Friday shopping more than shopping any other day of the year.

2,470,000
The number of Google News results at press time for "Black Thursday," the term for stores starting Black Friday deals on Thanksgiving instead of midnight after Thanksgiving. The general mood in the media is that Black Thursday is a terrible idea because retail workers should be able to spend the holidays home with their families (and potential shoppers should be home eating with their loved ones instead of out buying stuff). Black Thursday is already getting pretty ugly, with workers at stores like Walmart — where Black Thursday begins at 8 p.m. on Thanksgiving — and Target threatening to strike. A number of petitions to stop the madness are also going viral online.

A Target employee protests Black Thursday.

Source: cache.comcorpusa.com

4,000
The number of Walmart stores that will have extra security measures in place on Black Friday. "Nobody wants to go into an event when they are risking injury for a video game," Josh Phair, Walmart's public affairs and government relations director told the Arizona Republic. Well at least they figured that out this year!

225,000,000
The number of people who shopped on Black Friday last year.

11,400,000,000
The number of dollars spent on Black Friday last year.

3.1
The percent by which retailers expect Black Friday sales to grow this year. (Last year, growth of just 1.6 percent was forecast, so that might lead us to assume we have an especially fierce Black Friday ahead of us.)

2
The number of tents shopper Itzaida Díaz pitched outside of a Best Buy in Orlando, Florida a week before Black Friday. "We're really doing it for my son who landed second in line last year. He has a very competitive spirit," she told the Orlando Sentinel. Diaz is taking time off from her job as an accountant to camp outside of the store, where she plans to spend $1,500. Her son "wants a Toshiba 40-inch flat-screen TV, and we're also getting tablets, Sony PlayStations, Blu-ray players and other things." Why more than one of any of those things is necessary is unclear.


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19 Foods That Fashion Has Totally Ruined

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If you ever want to lose your appetite for chocolate, pasta, and ice cream, you need to look at this immediately.

Chocolate

Chocolate

Has melted chocolate ever looked as unappetizing as when it's coating a naked woman's entire head?

Source: http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_mcbqrmGZxO1r23qc5o1_500.jpg

Or is it grosser to imagine eating a piece of Karl Lagerfeld's chocolate sculpture of his guy Friday, male model Baptiste Giabiconi? I'm really torn on this one.

Source: http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m2mhilwBM91r3r7a8o1_500.jpg

The Cheeseburger

The Cheeseburger

At least this is a clever way to shove eight beef patties into one burger.

Source: http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lpon4aQHKm1qeho3go1_400.jpg

Steak

Steak

As if the meat dress and matching shoes weren't enough, Gaga had to go and wear this Tarzan costume made entirely of beef for the cover of Vogue Hommes Japan.

Source: media


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Justin Bieber Defends Controversial Overalls

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He didn't have time to change after his gig. Duh!

Source: s3-ec.buzzfed.com

After wearing a shockingly casual and generally puzzling pair of seersucker overalls to meet the Canadian prime minister on Friday, Bieber responded to the backlash against the outfit on Instagram. Using some condescending "unnecessary quotes," he singled out Hayley Peterson, who writes for the Daily Mail.

Is she not the luckiest girl in the world? I think so. Bieber took time to pay attention to her on social media, which is a huge, jealousy-inducing deal.

Anyway, now that we've cleared up why Bieber looked so casual before Canada's PM (none of his handlers carry changes of clothes to the hockey arena, C'MON GUYS), we now need to figure out why his stylist is so obsessed with droopy-crotched pants and why this stylist allows that aesthetic to extend to overalls. Overalls, for the record, didn't even do former pop princes 'N Sync any favors.


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Did Free People Steal An Independent Artist's Design?

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Urban Outfitters, which owns Free People, has a reputation for borrowing ideas from indie designers for mass-produced products.

Left, Kao's work; right, a mason jar currently for sale in Free People stores.

In 2009, artist Stephanie Kao started working with a friend and professional ceramicist on a line of porcelain pieces that included vases and mugs. He crafted the pieces, and she hand-painted each of them, ultimately copyrighting some of the designs. They called the pieces the "lace and garland" collection, and sold the items at small stores, art galleries, and craft fairs around Philadelphia, where they lived at the time and where Urban Outfitters is based.

In 2010, Kao and her friend stopped producing the line when she moved to New York and he moved to L.A. But over the weekend, her friend found something that looked suspiciously like her artwork enveloping a mason jar being sold at Free People.

Kao says "it's blatantly obvious" that she was ripped off by Free People, which is owned by Urban Outfitters, whose headquarters are located across from one of the shops selling the line. "At the time when I was producing these things, we sold a lot on Etsy as well, and I would check out the scene, what was going on, and I didn't see any designs like this," she said.

Urban Outfitters has a reputation for borrowing ideas from independent artists without consulting them. In 2010, jewelry maker Lillian Crowe accused Urban of copying her skeleton-inspired designs. The Brooklyn Paper reported her allegations, and quoted a source familiar with the company's dealings who suggested they ask artists they work with if they've taken their idea from someone else because, "They know they have this reputation [of knocking people off], and are trying to [dispel it]." Last year, Urban was also accused of knocking off work by Stevie Koerner, who made a living selling state-shaped pendants with heart-shaped cutouts on Etsy. Just this month Urban Outfitters stopped selling a necklace after a jewelry designer accused the brand on Twitter of borrowing the idea from her line.

A rep for Free People has not responded to BuzzFeed Shift's request for comment Monday* regarding Kao's designs. Kao believes there's nothing legally she can do about it, since the company changed the design enough to be outside the realm of copyright protection. She plans to work on another line of ceramic pieces in the near future.

"Part of me felt sort of defeated when I got sent that picture," she said. "All I can do is take this as a motivation for my next line and do something completely new and different."

Kao currently works as a graphic designer in New York and does freelance art projects on the side.

*Update: A spokesperson for Free People said the lanterns are a product from another vendor who sells on Etsy, whose been a member of the site since October of 2011.

This yellow mason jar is currently sold out on Free People's website.

What Women Want For Christmas: Stuff They've Pinned

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About one in four (!) women are using Pinterest to collect things they want people to gift them.

According to a new survey of roughly 3,000 women, who are in constant need of being decoded, nearly two in three expects to use Pinterest for gift ideas this holiday shopping season. Also, one in four plans to use the site to collect the things they want others to buy them. If you have to buy things for women, this might not be a bad way of figuring out what they want from you, since the survey also shows women prefer to receive things they've already hinted at, rather than gifts that surprise them.

The 3,024 women aged 18 and older, all members of the product review-focused social network SheSpeaks, answered the survey online between November 12 and 15, 2012. Conducted in partnership with marketing agency Lippe Taylor, the resulting "Women's Buying Index" reveals women are shopping online for gifts more than ever before, while 60 percent of respondents are using Pinterest to collect ideas.

The survey specifically asked women how they might use Pinterest for their holiday shopping; the responses:

• 60% said they'd use it "to get gift ideas."
• 36% said they'd use it "to do research for gifts I'm already considering buying for others."
• 26% said they'd use Pinterest "to create a list of gifts I want to share with those who are buying gifts for me." (Which might be a better idea than being the next This Girl.)
• 23% said they'd use the social network "to pin photos of gifts I've bought/made for others." (Philosophical question: will this lead to a rise of Christmas lists for GROWN-UPS? Will that become more socially acceptable with the rise of Gifterest lists? Chew on that.)
• 29% said they don't use Pinterest.
• 3% cited some "other" holiday shopping use of the site.

Lippe Taylor CEO Maureen Lippe noted that last year, these numbers would have been wildly different since Pinterest's user base has exploded so much in recent months. She also found it interesting that more women were shopping online this holiday season, which naturally correlates with a rise in Pinterest's influence on holiday shopping. Women who don't normally shop online said they planned to shop online for holiday gifts, while more women (55%) said they planned to shop Cyber Monday, than those who said they would hit Black Friday (50%).

Other holiday shopping trends Lippe sees include a considerable interest in Fifty Shades-fueled sex-related gift wants, with 25 percent of survey respondents expressing interest in receiving "sexy lingerie" this season. Lippe, who once worked on a patch to enhance female desire (it never got FDA approval), said the stats she's seen on the lack of sex women are having and their lack of desire for sex are astounding, and credits the book with helping women rediscover an interest in sex. While she hasn't seen hard data about the book boosting lingerie sales industry-wide, she has one client who makes lingerie she calls "frilly and not utilitarian at all" that's seen a sales boost over the past three months.

And if you don't know what to get the women in your life, there's a good chance she's hinted at what she wants. According to the survey, 47% of women prefer to receive a gift they've hinted at wanting but forces the gift giver to make "the final selection," 41% want a gift that's a complete surprise ,and 12% want the exact thing they've told the giver they want.

So if you're buying gifts for women and feel totally stumped about what to get them, just check their Pinterest boards. But anything sparkly that involves an iPhone or something really retro is probably a safe bet.

Adriana Lima Is The First Model To Pose Pregnant For The Pirelli Calendar

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Also the new calendar doesn't feature any nudity! This is INSANITY!

Here's Adriana Lima posing pregnant (and clothed!) in the new Pirelli calendar.

Here's Adriana Lima posing pregnant (and clothed!) in the new Pirelli calendar.

This is notable for two reasons:

1. The Pirelli calendar — given each year to VIP clients of the Pirelli tire company and celebrities, because celebrities get everything — is known for photographs of naked supermodels. The photographer of the 2013 calendar, which was just unveiled in Rio de Janiero, is Steve McMurry, who elected not to photograph the models naked, as Mario Sorrenti, Karl Lagerfeld, and Terry Richardson all have in keeping with grand tradition before him. "I would say I am a street photographer doing 'found situations,'" McMurry said. "You can photograph nudes anywhere. But these models are clothed, and each of them has her own charity. They are purposeful and idealistic people. So I wanted to photograph them in a special place, and Rio was perfect for this."

2. Pregnant fashion models and famous women always end up posing naked. See: Jessica Simpson covering Elle, Mariah Carey covering Life & Style, Cindy Crawford famously covering W, Britney Spears pregnant and nude on Harper's Bazaar, Miranda Kerr pregnant and naked in W — and I could go on! I don't know why they always end up naked in shoots — if stylists can't find designer clothes for pregnant women, if editors just know that people click on "naked" and "nude" and are just giving you what you want — but this portrait of Adriana really is wonderfully restrained. Clothes! For a pregnant lady! It's a novel idea — maybe one day models will have cellulite too. Ha ha!

You might remember Adriana more recently (post-baby) on the Victoria's Secret runway.

You might remember Adriana more recently (post-baby) on the Victoria's Secret runway.

Here she is on Nov. 7, wearing the exact opposite of what she wore for Pirelli.

Image by Bryan Bedder / Getty Images

Model Isabeli Fontana also posed for the new calendar.

Model Isabeli Fontana also posed for the new calendar.

She's Brazilian and always appears in the calendar so she was probably a shoo-in this time too.


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10 Photos Of Sexy Cats Modeling Bling And Bags

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Why hire people to model things when you can hire CATS? I mean, really!

For its latest campaign, Juicy Couture used humans as props and let the cats do the real modeling work. If Naomi Campbell needs a refresher course in ATTITUDE, she might want to call one of these guys.

For its latest campaign, Juicy Couture used humans as props and let the cats do the real modeling work. If Naomi Campbell needs a refresher course in ATTITUDE, she might want to call one of these guys.


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12 Groundbreaking New "Fashions For Men"

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Yoko Ono designed a a collection of men's clothes for the holiday shopping season. It includes just what every man you know wants: tight, pink, see-through mesh tops with shoulder cutouts!

Mesh Cut-out Shirt - $145

Mesh Cut-out Shirt - $145

Finally, something that will really breath under your heavy winter coat.

Source: openingceremony.us

Pair with "Hand Trousers" - $335

Pair with "Hand Trousers" - $335

These also come in pink, which is great because black and white are really tame in terms of color palettes for pants.

Source: images1.openingceremony.us

Source: openingceremony.us

Bell Board - $400

Bell Board - $400

Copy reads: "Transparent chest plaque with bells and leather neck strap | Writing reads, “RING FOR YOUR MOMMY PIECE y.o. 69-12."

Style over a tank for a more conservative look.

Source: openingceremony.us


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12 Reasons Why 2012 Was The Year Of Gaudy

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May these enormously amusing, super-fun fashion movements continue well into 2013 and beyond. (Except for two gaudy trends that need to die.)

1. Crazy pants were one of the biggest trends of the year — and they're not going away.

1. Crazy pants were one of the biggest trends of the year — and they're not going away.

From left: Net-A-Porter.com, ShopBop.com, Bauer-Griffin (Beyoncé)

This summer was nothing but a giant blur of bizarre pants, if you ask me. Everything else I normally remember about summer — that one gross sunburn, dolphins frolicking in the ocean, snow cones — took a backseat to all the wonderfully fun pants apparent everywhere on everyone every single day. Probably because you could wear all those summer memories on your pants! Bright pink pants, dolphin-print pants, or even ombré pants. If you could dream it, or if it ever appeared on wallpaper, you could wear it on your legs.

Though the trend seems silly enough to be fleeting, it's not: Crazy pants remain more popular than ever. Printed denim will be a big trend into spring of next year, but instead of a predominance of florals and neon, expect to see more striped, tie-dyed, and — yes — snakeskin styles. Juicy Couture even currently offers a style of pants that is leopard and plaid at the same time. And as Maureen Lippe, marketing expert and CEO of Lippe Taylor, said to me the other day, "Aren't you dying for a pair of gold jeans?" Now that I think about it? Yes.

2. The rise of Zuhair Murad

2. The rise of Zuhair Murad

Kristen Stewart, Blake Lively, and J. Lo all wearing Zuhair Murad.
From left: Tim Whitby/Getty Images, Michael Buckner/Getty Images

Zuhair Murad is a designer based in Lebanon who makes very sparkly, visually confusing formal dresses (and jumpsuits). His label is not a fashion person's label, meaning it's not "cool" in the intellectual way that labels like Givenchy or Suno are cool. Murad's clothes are not avant-garde or interesting as much as they are just very LOUD and SHINY and sort of perplexingly not pretty all the same. In other words, they're more pageant, less runway. But they've become a staple of leading actresses and divas who have to walk red carpets, even though I really doubt most fashion editors would suggest they wear this stuff.

But when you have Kristen Stewart, a face of Coolest Label Ever Balenciaga, wearing a sequined Zuhair Murad jumpsuit on the Twilight red carpet, you know the guy is a force — and more power to him, because nothing spices up a carpet and gives us Internet writers something to talk about like one of his bizarre creations. If his clothes do anything, they get you noticed, which in this age of social media– and reality TV–fueled solipsism, is a really important thing. So every time you see a really famous lady on a red carpet wearing a crazy, sparkly dress that is mesmerizing but not necessarily because it's good-looking, look up the designer and 90% chance it's Zuhair Murad.


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15 Photos Of Kate Middleton's New Haircut

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The princess has side bangs.

Behold, Kate Middleton's newly layered hair.

Behold, Kate Middleton's newly layered hair.

Image by Chris Jackson / Getty Images

It has a sexy tousled look in high winds.

It has a sexy tousled look in high winds.

Image by Chris Jackson / Getty Images

Image by Chris Jackson / Getty Images

Of which the prince seems to approve.

Of which the prince seems to approve.

Image by Chris Jackson / Getty Images


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Need A Holiday Party Idea? Try Cat Face!

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It's an actual thing happening in Brooklyn, New York. How very Girls .

H/t Alanna Okun.

The Definitive 2012 Jumpsuit Awards

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Jumpsuits are just about the most amusing thing anyone can wear in public. When celebrities and fashion designers get involved? All hell breaks loose. Let's review the best and worst jumpsuits of 2012.

Scariest Jumpsuit: Kristen Stewart

Scariest Jumpsuit: Kristen Stewart

You know what? I don't actually hate this since is the most interesting thing to walk down a red carpet in a while, and the last thing red carpets need are actresses who try to look interesting via peplums or some other odious, not-fun trend.

And I have to assume that a girl who used to be so cocky she wouldn't even wear a pair of non-sneaker shoes on a red carpet when everyone else went out of their way to dress up might NOW put on ridiculous-looking shit like this, by the astounding designer Zuhair Murad (learn more about him here!), and just be laughing from within her hideously embellished, mesh-and-sequin, backless choice. They wanted me to dress up? says the voice inside her head. I'LL GIVE THEM DRESSING UP! This is a mad woman's outfit.

Image by Tim Whitby / Getty Images

Image by Tim Whitby / Getty Images

Least Organic Jumpsuits: Rita Ora

Least Organic Jumpsuits: Rita Ora

In case you don't know who Rita Ora is, she sings that song, "How We Do (Party)" that goes, "I get that drunk sex feeling" etc etc. I don't believe she's wearing this jumpsuit because she really likes the way it looks. I get the feeling she's only wearing it because she knows that one way divas look "edgy" these days is by wearing one-piece outfits, especially lace ones that make everyone watching wonder how thoroughly lined they are.

I know fun pants are in but when you wear them attached to a fun top of the same pattern and tightness you end up looking like a confused Nascar race entrant.


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Behind The Scenes Of A Fashion Video Shoot Starring Cats

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I went to the set of a fashion brand's shoot with cat models/actors. This is what I saw.

When I arrive at the studio where Juicy Couture is shooting what it hopes will be a highly viral holiday-themed video starring beautiful cats and fashion writer Derek Blasberg, I am greeted by art director Tara Rice. A striped cat meows incessantly from his perch on the set. He's gotten a little cranky after spending all day modeling jewelry and acting under hot stage lights.

"There's a whole other room filled with cats," Rice tells me, escorting me out of the studio and into a room next door where three more cats are waiting to be called to the set.

There, a striped orange shorthair relaxed in his roomy cage, while a white Persian named Dyna Glyde, who looked like a cloud of fluff with a tiny face, batted at a toy feather through her cage. Her neighbor Cutie Patootie, an off-white stunner, was enjoying lunch of raw bits of red meat set on a small paper plate. Various members of the production staff came in periodically to coo over how astoundingly cute the cats were.

"He's burnt out, this cat," says a member of the production staff as the handsome striped guy is brought in from the set, still meowing.

"Oh, he's exhausted?" Deborah Kenny says, tending to her amazingly docile, quiet Persians. Kenny lives in Delaware, and got up at 2:30 that morning to bathe and brush her fluffy beauties and drive them to Williamsburg, Brooklyn, for the shoot. When these cats aren't modeling jewelry for fashion brands and becoming viral Internet sensations, they compete in cat shows. Dyna hadn't started yet because she wasn't quite 8 months old, the age at which cats become legal for competition, but would be hitting the show circuit soon.

Dyna is new to the entertainment world. She had recently done a shoot with Alicia Keys, who apparently is not a cat person. But the photos came out nice anyway.

Cats cast for shoots like this always come with a backup, because you never know if they'll cooperate on set. For a day of work with a few cats, a brand like Juicy might pay anywhere from around $600 to $1,200.

During lunch break, Derek Blasberg is texting in his makeup chair. This is his first shoot with cats, he says, which is a good thing because he's allergic to them. "I feel a little puffy," says Blasberg, a dog owner. He's taken so much allergy medicine that he's starting to feel "high."

Before the next scene, a production assistant tells Kenny to put Cutie Patootie in his Christmas sweater, which is extremely tiny. Most cat owners know that putting a hat, much less a super-tight sweater with sleeves and everything, on a normal cat is courting death. But professional cats don't care. Cutie Patootie just sits there as his owner pulls the sweater over his head and puts his paws through the arm holes. I've never seen a cat be so shockingly blasé about getting dressed.

On the set, Blasberg just has to hold the sweater-clad cat. The cat does not mind being held. He sits there in Blasberg's arms, not caring at all about the 20 or 30 people making viral video magic all around him.

"Look down at the cat and just, like, melt," the director instructs Blasberg. "Look down and just like, Oh my god. Look down and have that moment."

Blasberg does his lines again, finishing with a look into Cutie Patootie's eyes and saying, "Aww, look at that face." He has to do this four or five times, until the director decides the delivery is convincing enough.

The director goes to his monitor to review the footage. "It's a cute cat," he says.

Over on the set, the cats look like they're falling asleep.

Here's the final product.

Click here to see more cat-themed marketing by Juicy Couture, possibly the most cat-obsessed brand of the fall season.


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The Drastic Differences Between What Pinterest Users Want And Want To Give For Christmas

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I hope Pinners aren't planning on doing any gift exchanges, or they will be SORELY disappointed.

Things Pinners want to give include: lotion bars.

Things Pinners want to give include: lotion bars.

But lots of Pinners really just want jewelry.

But lots of Pinners really just want jewelry.

Make that diamonds, actually.

Make that diamonds, actually.


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10 Things To Freak Out About Now That Kate Middleton Is Pregnant

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Is she having twins?! Is she buying maternity clothes?! LET'S ALL FREAK OUT IN A SEMI-ORGANIZED FASHION!

How is Kate feeling?!

How is Kate feeling?!

Image by Arthur Edwards - WPA Pool / Getty Images

The pregnancy is obviously epically wonderful news — the news we've been waiting for since Kate entered the media at all! — but the palace told the world in its statement:

The Duchess was admitted this afternoon to King Edward VII Hospital in Central London with Hyperemesis Gravidarum. As the pregnancy is in its very early stages, Her Royal Highness is expected to stay in hospital for several days and will require a period of rest thereafter.

This condition, hyperemesis gravidarum, is a serious one. According to the U.S. National Library of Medicine, "Hyperemesis gravidarum is extreme, persistent nausea and vomiting during pregnancy that may lead to dehydration."

Additionally:

The cause of nausea and vomiting during pregnancy is believed to be rapidly rising blood levels of a hormone called HCG (human chorionic gonadotropin), which is released by the placenta.

Extreme nausea and vomiting during pregnancy can happen if you are pregnant with twins (or more) or if you have a hydatidiform mole.

Many experts believe that hyperemesis gravidarum is what took Charlotte Bronte's life at 38 years old in 1855. Treatment for the illness today includes small, frequent meals and plenty of dry food, lots of fluids, and medication to reduce nausea.

But wait did I gloss over something really important, now?

What if she's having TWINS?!

What if she's having TWINS?!

All we know is that she's conceived, not necessarily that she's just got one baby growing inside her, so Royal Twingate could indeed be upon us.

Image by Arthur Edwards - WPA Pool / Getty Images

Is she having a boy (or boys) or girl (or girls)?!

Is she having a boy (or boys) or girl (or girls)?!

Diana said she was glad she had boys and not girls because baby girls are obviously so much more viral (not that it would have been "viral" when Diana was pregnant — more like "breaking newsstands everywhere," ha ha) than boys. Just look at Suri Cruise vs. Tom and Gisele's Benjamin. Although everyone will probably be just as obsessed with this blessed child, whether it's a boy or girl.

Image by Kirsty Wigglesworth, pool / AP


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8 Things To Expect While Kate's Expecting

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Royal Baby Fever is set to seize the world for the next year, at least. Are you prepared?

1. "Diana" will probably be somewhere in the baby's name.

1. "Diana" will probably be somewhere in the baby's name.

Source: newsroomtonursery.files.wordpress.com

To be royal means that you have an ungodly amount of names. Like, three or four, instead of just a first and middle name like normal people. So, William's full name, excluding his last name, is "William Arthur Phillip Louis." His dad Prince Charles's full name — "Charles Phillip Arthur George" — is so complicated it was famously bungled by Diana when they got married. (She said "Phillip Charles Arthur George" during the ceremony, which seemed like a great reason to cut back on the number of names these people have, but royals don't like to edit tradition, you know.) Whether or not the royals smoke something crazy and decide to give Kate's baby two names like their commoner mother (Kate = Catherine Elizabeth. SIMPLE.), they'll have opportunity to work "Diana" in there somewhere if Kate births a daughter.

Royals expert Diane Clehane, author of Diana: Secrets of Her Style, says she doesn't see them giving the maybe-daughter "Diana" as a first name, "but I see Diana's name in there somewhere." Of course it would be pretty awesome if they had a girl and Diana WAS the first name! "I sort of have this fantasy in my head they'll have a girl and they'll name her Diana," Clehane says, "and she'll be queen and Diana will have had her revenge in the end."

2. Kate's pregnancy will be totally different from Diana's.

2. Kate's pregnancy will be totally different from Diana's.

Source: assets.nydailynews.com

The royal family has been very welcoming and protective of Kate. Things were very different for Diana, who had no one when she was 20 years old, married Prince Charles, and suddenly folded into royal life after dating the prince for just months. This combined with Camilla's continued presence in Charles's life led to a disastrous end to their marriage that disgraced the royal family.

"There would be no Kate if there had not been Diana," Clehane notes. "The royal family learned a very tragic lesson with Diana — this is what happens when you try to force the hand of a relationship that looks good on paper but isn't meant to be." Clehane thinks that this is partly why the royal family was open to William marrying a commoner like Kate.

Kate is getting a lot more coddling from the palace than Diana ever did, because the future of the royal family rests on her and William and their children. Keenly aware that you can't have a "royal family" without the "family" part, the palace has taken great care of her up until now to make sure the marriage succeeds. That ought to only continue while Kate and William are royally pregnant.


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All The Fake Royal Baby Twitter Feeds Are Royally Disappointing

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The competition to become the go-to parody account for Kate Middleton's unborn child is getting uncomfortably fierce. Do we really need to make “Kate doesn't eat solid food” jokes when she's laid up in the hospital?

Image by Arthur Edwards - WPA Pool / Getty Images

The main problem with all the fake royal baby feeds that sprang up all over Twitter yesterday following the official confirmation of Kate Middleton's pregnancy is that none of them are actually really funny. Snarky and sometimes mean? Yes. Funny? Meh.

But they're all fighting to be the number-one parody account commenting on Kate Middleton's pregnancy, which is thought to be fewer than 12 weeks along, possibly as few eight. As these parody Twitter people try to make jokes about the unborn child in 140 characters or less, Kate Middleton remains laid up in the hospital, where she's expected to remain for days as reporters stake out the joint, where there's nothing to see but two royal guards at the door and Mr. Kate "Prince William" Middleton popping in and out occasionally.

First, there's fake account @RoyalFetus.

@RoyalFetus started on April 29, 2011 — the day of Kate and William's wedding — with this cheeky post.


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Eccentricity On Full Display In The New Vogue Documentary

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Retired editors and ex-assistants tell Devil Wears Prada -esque stories. What's not to like?

HBO's new one-hour documentary about Vogue has the signature attitude and fashion of Vogue, the sass of the Golden Girls, and that sense you get when you watch the History Channel that the people on the TV are really getting off on ye olde things.

In Vogue: The Editor's Eye premieres Thursday night on HBO in honor of Vogue's 120th year of existence. Since documentary pieces about Vogue have already been made — the stupendous The September Issue, a 2009 60 Minutes segment on Anna Wintour, and a recent Web series about the CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund contest — this new documentary focuses on the fashion editors who did photo shoots for Vogue over the past 100 years. These Vogue editors and former Vogue editors sit on tufted red velvet settees with artfully mismatched throw pillows and tell silly stories about the models and celebrities they photographed way back when, calling incredibly famous photographers like Richard Avedon just "Dick," which seems a bit like saying, "Oh, Kate and I were just in Topshop," when referring to the Duchess of Cambridge, as though it were nothing. But this is Vogue, so extreme fabulousness is just a given.

The movie opens with Anna Wintour saying, "I made a very big thing over the years of not celebrating anniversaries," because she likes to look forward (like a certain reelected president who might make her an ambassador). She continues, "It was my sense when I first came to Vogue, people were a little bit embarrassed about it?" Meaning, they felt silly working in fashion, a seemingly insignificant, decidedly not-smart thing that retains its reputation for being vapid and crazy today. The CFDA has only christened Lady Gaga a "Fashion Icon" so you really needn't think too hard about why this is. But it probably helps explain why Anna has let so many people videotape things that happen in the office of Vogue over the past few years — she wants to show that they're serious, smart people who work hard and don't just pitter-patter about gushing over dresses, making assistants cry, and throwing shoes at each other all day.

Vogue Creative Director Grace Coddington writes in her brand-new memoir that Anna probably only agreed to do The September Issue "because she wanted to show Vogue is not just a load of airheads spouting rubbish." She adds, "By then we had all had enough of The Devil Wears Prada, with its portrayal of fashion as utterly ridiculous."

If you haven't had enough of the ridiculousness of fashion, fear not! In Vogue has plenty of it. The film opens with the fashion editors trying to answer the question of what a fashion editor does. Anna calls them "producers, directors...psychiatrists." Fashion editor Camilla Nickerson just says, "A fashion editor doesn't do very much." Nicole Kidman also pops up to spout platitudes about the importance of fashion imagery without answering the question.

(Here's what fashion editors do: They come up with ideas for how to photograph clothing and then figure out how to pull off the shoots, putting together the right photographer, model, clothes, animals — whatever's needed to create the images they see in their head.)

With that question left unanswered by the editors themselves, the movie gets into the business of trying to explain. First up is Grace, who talks about an Alice in Wonderland spread starring her favorite model, Natalia Vodianova, as Alice. Appearing in this segment is Nicolas Ghesquière, who was just replaced by Alexander Wang as Balenciaga's head designer and remains unemployed. He talks about having just 30 minutes to move some ruffles from the front to the back of a dress modeled by Natalia Vodianova, which proves Project Runway challenges DO have real-life applications. (Ghesquière's other best moment in the film is when he pops up to say that in the '70s, "French people were laughing at American women wearing sneakers to work.")

Natalia Vodianova as Alice in Wonderland.

Fellow famous designer Vera Wang appears to talk about her time assisting former Vogue editor Polly Mellen. She clutches her head with both hands and rocks herself as she remembers how "brutal" working for Polly was. Hamish says that Polly would make her assistants cry every day. And Polly herself, well — she did her interview wearing a navy-blue velour tracksuit, which made her seem like a real person. She remembered how she got to go to Japan to shoot a story with Richard Avedon, whom she calls "Dick," and all the other fashion editors were jealous of her. She mentioned it to then-Vogue editor Diana Vreeland, who replied, "Polly, who needs friends? Get on with it." Which is kind of a huge downer, but overall indicative of the loneliness that might occur at the top of the fashion totem pole, which, if I may, The Devil Wears Prada explored rather poignantly.

Anna says when she took over Vogue, she wanted it to reflect how street style was influencing the runways more than the runways were influencing what people wore on the street. Fashion editor Carlyne Cerf de Dudzeele, another eccentric French person obsessed with that intangible thing called "attitude," worked on the shoot that ended up becoming Anna's first cover for the magazine. It was a shot of a blonde model wearing jeans and a heavily embellished Christian Lacroix top, midriff exposed. At the time, mixing jeans and designer sweaters was even more shocking than celebrities giving their babies normal names, apparently, so when Anna sent the issue to the printer, they were so shocked to see a girl wearing jeans on the cover that they called to ask her if it was a mistake. Ha ha, nope!

Other notable moments include Sarah Jessica Parker squinting thoughtfully at the camera and talking about the shoot she did for Vogue in the Plaza Hotel. And there's a fun anecdote about Lady Gaga's first visit to Vogue, and how she showed up to the office right on time wearing a dramatic hat that said "VOGUE," which led Hamish Bowles to believe she was serious about that meeting!

And the credits roll to a track of the editors' quotes playing rhythmically over techno music. I'd pay 99 cents for it on iTunes. Not $1.29, just 99 cents.

So, watch this if you like nutty fashion stories! I really enjoyed it. Plus, it's a classy break from your after-work Bravo routine.


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29 Photos Of Chanel's Etsy-Victorian-Grunge Pre-Fall Fashion Show

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Starring the fanciest, fiercest porta potty you've EVER SEEN.

The show took place in Scotland's Linlithgow Palace.

The show took place in Scotland's Linlithgow Palace.

It's the birthplace of Mary, Queen of Scots. Apparently when Chanel designer Karl Lagerfeld, everyone's favorite eccentric and the owner of a really beautiful cat named Choupette, told a reporter after the fashion show he had never been to Scotland or this castle before selecting it as the location of the show because, "I like how I think a place is. I don’t have to see what it actually is."

This is fashion — "reality" is but a concept.

Bagpipers serenaded the show.

Bagpipers serenaded the show.

Chanel likes to really THEME things out, as you can see. Apparently it was so cold during the nighttime show that it snowed, but Chanel kindly provided guests with blankets under the seats.

Trashcans full of fire book-ended the spectacle.

Trashcans full of fire book-ended the spectacle.

Isn't it lovely?

Chanel also provided guests with some really gorgeous porta potties.

Chanel also provided guests with some really gorgeous porta potties.

The London Times fashion team tweeted this photo from deep inside said porta potties.

Source: pbs.twimg.com


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Kate Middleton Left The Hospital

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How much time do you think the palace put into thinking about what color flowers she should exit with?

After a three-day stay in the hospital, the Duchess left the hospital Thursday morning.

After a three-day stay in the hospital, the Duchess left the hospital Thursday morning.

Kate was being treated for hyperemesis gravidarum at King Edward VII Hospital in London. It's great to see her out, holding a bouquet, and looking well!

Image by Fred Duval / Getty Images

Looking happy and healthy, she also tried something new with her new side bangs.

Looking happy and healthy, she also tried something new with her new side bangs.

A half-up ponytail. If she wasn't leaving the hospital or pregnant, a major headline on all the U.K. tabloids would surely be this better look for her side bangs and pleasantly au naturel makeup.

Image by Fred Duval / Getty Images

Oh and her husband was there.

Oh and her husband was there.

But this is obviously all about KATE. She's out! Yay!

Image by Fred Duval / Getty Images

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