Do you try to have a few scented candles on hand, just to make sure your home doesn't smell like last night's dinner when you have company? If so, get ready for something far better -- Joya candles are more than just a pleasant aroma. They're a small work of wax art for your home.

Even if you don't burn candles too often yourself, you have to admit that a beautifully designed, fabulously scented candle can be the perfect gift for a friend, so read on!

The Dark Knight is receiving a huge amount of buzz, largely due to the astounding performance of the late Heath Ledger as The Joker. Apparently he is riveting, and this "sequel" maintains the high standards of excitement and action set by director Chris Nolan's 2005 Batman Begins.

We love us some Christian Bale around here, especially when he's dressed up, like at the film's New York premiere on July 14th. Naturally he looked devastating, and even better, everyone at the screening looked goth. They were all dressed in black, as if for a funeral, or a wake. Which in a way, they sort of were.

At some point this summer, there will be a family reunion, wedding or christening. If the good news is that kids are invited, but the bad news is the idea of an itchy, stiff dress turning your little princess into a monster, then check out Lucy Sykes New York, and all the pretty sundresses.

Beautiful prints, lightweight cotton, and, for a special party dress, fairly reasonable prices -- certainly under $100. It's not Target, but it's also not Dior. The dresses have a classic shape, with twirly skirts and enough ruffles to be festive without looking like a square dancing costume. They are also refreshingly free of glitter or other Bratz-like flair.

Sykes and her doubtlessly beautiful family -- including sons Titus and Heathcliff -- spend weekends in the Hamptons and jet around the world to Paris, Milan and London. Lucy tries to infuse her dresses with the spirit of these places. We're not sure if she succeeds, but we can definitely imagine them on some little girls we know, playing tag while the grown ups sip celebratory cocktails. Now that's a summer party.

Italian names may rule the fashion industry, but that doesn't mean that the average joe is some kind of fashion dynamo. According to Giorgio Armani -- he's a shirtless slob. At least, that's what he told the Telegraph about the rampant casualness going on in the Italian fashion centers these days.

The 73 year old Global Fashion Leader thinks that Italy's hold on fashion elegance is slipping as a result of its increasingly lax attitude towards personal appearance. From the article:

"It is time to straighten ourselves out, we are too slovenly... Everything seems to be allowed, even eating and drinking in a church square while stripped to the waist."

We're enjoying all of the Wall Street Journal coverage about Michelle Obama and her sartorial choices. Last week it was about what she wore on The View. This week's Michelle missive reveals the name of the designer behind the purple "fist bump" sheath dress, and so many of Michelle's great looks: Chicago-based designer Maria Pinto.

We must confess: Deep in the pit of our black goth heart, we totally dig preppy stuff. Not just that punky plaid stuff. We're talking clothes that pair pink with green. Orange with turquoise. Bright yellow with more yellow.

It goes with the dream of a summer place on the Vineyard, preferably next door to Carly Simon. In the closet would be a vivid Lilly Pulitzer dress- and capri-filled wardrobe. We would also be pleasantly buzzed on G&Ts all day long, and tan without freckles or skin cancer.

We're a sucker for two things: sunglasses and unusual watches. Nooka is a boutique design company that specializes in really smart-looking watches with funky digital layouts. Instead of the same old four-digit readout, their watches tell time in hour dots, dashes and status bars -- what a contemporary way to know when an hour has finished downloading.


We've got no problem with the old school watch face, but we think it's time for a new and slightly more intuitive way to tell time. Plus, we just like stuff that puts style before convention. Nooka's watches look like some kind of super trendy line from Tokyo that you can't find in the States, but Nooka's actually the brainchild of New York designer Matthew Waldmen. Still, they're not available in many stores, so your best bet is to pick one up on their website or Elsewares.

[via Gear Crave]

It's hard being rich and beautiful.

Just ask Gisele Bundchen.

The former Victoria's Secret Angel is being sued by a carpenter who injured himself after falling off a staircase in her New York apartment where he was doing work. The poor man suffered a fractured shoulder, broken ribs and herniated spinal discs thanks to his tumble.

No word if the accident had anything to do with the fact that the carpenter was trying to catch a peep of the Brazilian babe, while her football boyfriend Tom Brady wasn't around.

Just kidding! We don't want to get sued by anyone either. Although if we had as much money as Gisele, we wouldn't be sweating the legal fees too much.

[via Reuters]

Do you see better fashion on the ride to work than you do in Vogue magazine -- or are you stuck with JC Penny's, and dreaming about H&M? While it's certainly possible to be stylish anywhere, the fashion-forward tend to flock to a few choice locations around the globe. But where?

Forbes magazine has recently ranked the "World's Most Stylish Cities," and while some of them -- like New York, London and Paris -- are obvious, there's a few on the list that might surprise you. Here's the top 10 -- did you city make the cut?

[via Haute Concept]

Five months until Topshop opens in New York and the UK retailer teases us with another cool designer collaboration that we'll only be able to buy on its online store.

Cruel and unusual indeed.

Building a fake New York City in the back lots of LA is expensive and difficult -- not to mention ridiculously unnecessary when there's a perfectly good real NYC only a few thousand miles away. Apparently, Ugly Betty's producers have finally caught on to this revolutionary concept, and insiders say the whole production is headed for the East Coast. No more green screens of New York skylines or LA streets dressed up to look like New York -- next season's Ugly Betty will be shot in the real Gotham.

We're a little confused over why they even started filming the show in LA, except maybe that they didn't expect the show to last 2 seasons, but they were obviously dead wrong. Now that they're looking at the long-term, ABC execs are looking for ways to cut down costs and still get that authentic New York vibe. We think they'll be happy with their decision. New Yorkers Vanessa Williams and Ana Ortiz are probably happy about it too.

[via Perez}

Seriously. It's...it's a busted umbrella. That's all it is.

The handle is supposedly the selling point. Unfortunately, the handle looks like a large chicken bone made of wood.

Know what doesn't surprise us?

After a few months of paying ridiculous shipping charges for adorable plaid blouses and tops covered in stars from across the pond, the UK's prized fast fashion chain Topshop will be opening its doors stateside on October 15th.

Everyone: Awesome!

Located at 478 Broadway in SoHo, the flagship will stay true to its British roots. Sir Philip Green -- owner of the company -- says that the stores will not be receiving any sort of an "American twist."

The guys at American Apparel may consider Woody Allen their spiritual leader, but apparently they didn't read up on his teachings regarding celebrity endorsements, or copyright infringement. Woody's legal team filed a lawsuit yesterday against the clothing company, seeking damages in excess of $10 million for using an unlicensed image of the filmmaker in some of their billboard advertisements. The billboards went up last May in New York and LA, where they were on display for about a week before they got pulled. In the gospel according to Woody: you use an image from one of his films without permission, you get served.