Move over Lea T, there’s a new girl in town. Allow us to introduce you to the stunning Valentijn de Hingh.

The 21-year-old transgender model is making waves as of late, but she’s actually been in the public eye for quite a while. Documentary filmmaker Hetty Niesch began following de Hingh when she was an eight-year-old boy up through the time she was 17 and had undergone gender reassignment surgery. It was at this time de Hingh got a modeling contract, and started walking in shows for Martin Margiela and Comme des Garcons.

However, that phase of her career was short-lived. Within a few years, de Hingh had grown from 5′9″ to 6′1″, and many felt she was too tall to model. (This sounds ridiculous to us since plenty of models approach that height. Also, she’s so pretty!) In lieu of a professional modeling career, de Hingh began studying literature at the University of Amsterdam and working as a booker at a model agency on the side.

Her career has recently been jump-started once again, thanks to the success of the androgynous Andrej Pejic and fellow transgender model Lea T. In the past few months, de Hingh has been been shot for Candy, as well as by Patrick Demarchelier for LOVE. Yeah, we think she might be sticking around for a while. The thing that might excite us most about de Hingh? That she wants to be a fashion journalist one day.

Watch Vogue Italia’s video on de Hingh (and check out photos of the model!) below:

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[Vogue Italia]

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American Eagle just released a really, really awful song about jeans. In fact, it’s so bad that it reminded us almost instantly of Jenna Rose’s really, really awful song about jeans. But then we remembered all of those other songs about our favorite kind of legwear that are far better than both AE’s “Denim Song” and Rose’s “My Jeans”.

Allow us to present five songs (that don’t totally suck!) about the wonder of blue jeans.

1. “Forever in Blue Jeans” by Neil Diamond

We too would like to be forever in blue jeans. Wouldn’t you?

2. “Blue Jeans” by Blur

The Brits like denim, too.

3. “In Those Jeans” by Ginuwine

This is a more risque ode to jeans.

4. “Blue Jean” by David Bowie

This one isn’t about pants, so much as it is about a girl named Blue Jean. Still, it’s clever.

5. “Low” by Flo Rida

In which we learn Apple Bottom jeans go great with fur boots.

Oh, and here’s the American Eagle song, if you dare:

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It seems like Emma Watson can do no wrong these days. Her look at the MTV Movie Awards last weekend was one of our favorites, and now she’ll be appearing on the July cover of Vogue!

We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again, Watson seems like one of the most intelligent and genuinely humble young celebrities out there. This past December, Emma rocked her androgynous ‘do in a cream Valentino frock on the cover of Vogue UK. Fashionista reports that for her American Vogue cover, she’ll be wearing Prada — as excited as we are, let’s just hope that we get to see her in something other than a white dress. If history and Prada are any indicators though, we can expect great things from next month’s issue.

[via Fashionista]

Styleite

It seems like Emma Watson can do no wrong these days. Her look at the MTV Movie Awards last weekend was one of our favorites, and now she’ll be appearing on the July cover of Vogue!

We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again, Watson seems like one of the most intelligent and genuinely humble young celebrities out there. This past December, Emma rocked her androgynous ‘do in a cream Valentino frock on the cover of Vogue UK. Fashionista reports that for her American Vogue cover, she’ll be wearing Prada — as excited as we are, let’s just hope that we get to see her in something other than a white dress. If history and Prada are any indicators though, we can expect great things from next month’s issue.

[via Fashionista]

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Want to win a Vespa LX 50 motor scooter and your own customized pair of Havaianas flip-flops? Now you can with Havaianas and Vespa USA’s exclusive Facebook contest! Also, save your pennies for Cheryl Cole’s dress auction, watch a 9-year-old from the 90’s “vogue,” and prepare for Diet Coke to try its luck in the fashion world.

Win “Make Your Own” Sandals And A Vespa [Facebook]

Cheryl Cole Donates Her Dresses To Charity [CocoPerez]

Diet Coke Now Producing Fashion-Focused Content [The High Low]

Get All Wrapped Up In Summer Espadrilles [Refinery 29]

9-Year-Old Boy’s Impeccable 1991 Dance Video For Madonna’s “Vogue” [Jezebel]

10 Quirky Finds For Under $ 10 [The Gloss]

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Have we mentioned lately how much we love Beyonce? Because we. Love. Beyonce. Mostly because she’s an amazing performer and a singularly talented businesswoman, but also because the chick can wear some clothes.

Miss Knowles is featured in a generous spread in the July issue of Dazed and Confused, wearing looks from Tom Ford, Givenchy, Yves Saint Laurent, Haider Ackermann, Marc Jacobs and Gareth Pugh. The photos, set in what looks like a the aftermath of a rural tornado, is entitled Trailer Park Fantasy. It looks almost like an extension of her smash hit video for Run The World (Girls), only a little more optimistic and with a little more ice cream. Take a look at some of the photos below.

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[Fashin]

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Last night, we joined Tiffany & Co. to celebrate its new What Makes Love True initiative, a website and iPhone app that act in tandem as a romance guide for all the tech saavy romantics out there. We’ll admit, the website is pretty adorable. Our favorite part is an interactive global map called Love Is Everywhere that allows users to “Share the place where your heart beats the fastest” by tagging a location with a heart, a message, and your and your loved one’s initials. Couples have tagged places where they met, fell in love, or got married with short, sweet messages like “We stared into each other’s eyes for hours and realized that we have something real and beautiful” (ME+AB in Bermuda) and “Every time I’m with you, it feels like home” (VL+EG in Norway). Makes you want to watch The Notebook, right?

If the aww-factor of the website wasn’t enough, Tiffany promised us a tour of New York’s most romantic places, and let us just say, they delivered. The night started with cocktails and hors d’oeuvres in the Tiffany store on Wall Street, where we were given a lovely, little charm bracelet and a Bloggie camera from Sony to document the night. The Tiffany store was a romantic spot in its own right: from the chandeliers to the glittering gems to the marble columns, we couldn’t help but think of Reese Witherspoon and Patrick Dempsey in Sweet Home Alabama (a.k.a every girl’s engagement fantasy).

When the time came time for us to leave the Mecca of jewelry, we piled onto a bus waiting outside which took us to the first of two mystery locations. Curiosity ran high as we traveled uptown until we finally reached Italian Wine Merchants. Surrounded by dark hard wood, a massive collection of imported wines, and soft candlelight, we began a wine tasting, complimented by an assortment of snacks – including a to-die-for salmon and some of the richest, freshly made mozzarella we’ve ever tasted. We weren’t surprised to learn that the Vintage Room, a private dining room that looked like it belonged in the Old Country, had hosted its fair share of engagements. We were sad to leave Italian Wine Merchants, but we were assured that the final location was well worth it – and we couldn’t have been happier that we decided to stay.

As we pulled up for phase three, we could only guess what we were about to walk into. A ballroom dancing lesson? A Frank Sinatra tribute band? Neither could’ve competed with Raine’s Law Room, a former speakeasy that has stayed true to its origins. Filled with dark, crushed velvet couches, sheer curtains that provided privacy and intrigue, a silver-plated ceiling, candles, and antique mirrors, we could’ve stepped back into the 1920’s. The scent of the room has to be experienced to be believed – a little fruity, a touch of citrus, and just a hint of spice. We were instantly relaxed and content. The combination of the low lighting, draped fabric, and vintage furnishings worked together to create an ambience as romantic as it was mysterious.

Tiffany understands that a location isn’t actually what makes love true — it’s the feelings they inspire. And documenting those feelings and places is a truly romantic endeavour.

A Demonstration At Italian Wine Merchants (1 of 4)

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For those of you already obsessed with Tom Ford’s line of super moisturizing and super pigmented lipsticks, we’ve got great news. And for those of you who aren’t, well, this news is still great, because Tom Ford is officially launching a beauty and skincare line — and he’s got some pretty hilarious inspiration.

The collection is, in Ford’s words, “practical” and not “full of B.S.” and includes brow tint pens, eye shadows, lip glosses, foundation, primer, as well as a cleanser and an oil-based serum. And while we clearly can’t wait to get our hands on whatever Ford puts on his face (have you seen the man’s skin?), we love this anecdote he shared with Women’s Wear Daily even more.

“I’ve cared about cosmetics and makeup since I was a kid,” said Ford… Ford recalls an experiment with cucumber slices that took a sinister turn. “When I was 14, I had to be taken to the emergency room because the cucumber slices I had put on my eyes — to camouflage the bags — had made them swell shut. I could eat cucumbers, but my eyes were clearly allergic to them,” he says, wondering aloud what his mother, Shirley, must have thought, seeing her son lying in the bathtub with salad greens on his face.

And that’s an image for the ages. Check out a few images from the ad campaign, in which a naked Lara Stone gets fondled by Ford’s beard, below.

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Tom Ford Lays Out His Vision of Beauty [WWD]

Related:

How Coral Lipstick Saved My Fashion Week

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In a story that makes Botox Mom look like Clair Huxtable, a British mother gave her daughter a £6,000 voucher for breast augmentation surgery as a birthday present. Which would make us cringe even if the girl hadn’t just turned 7 years old.

Sarah Burge, a 50-year-old self-confessed plastic surgery addict, gave her daughter Poppy, said her daughter had been asking for the surgery as a gift, and the voucher will give her the money to have the procedure done at age 16, when it’s legal. “‘If she develops naturally big boobs, she can have something else done with it,” Burge told reporters.

But the implants weren’t the only gift little Poppy got. She and seven friends got manicures, drank faux champagne and ate a cake that costs more than most fancy dinners (it was £250, or over $ 400) in the back of a rented camper. Poppy wore a £300 pound frilly pink dress and also got a computer, Swarovski jewelry and a full day at a spa. Because 7-year-olds need a break from life sometimes.

Poppy says: ‘I wanted a new computer, a holiday and a voucher for surgery. When I got it all, it was a dream come true. All my friends were jealous.

‘I can’t wait to be like Mummy with big boobs. They’re pretty.’

At 25 and 17, Burge’s other daughters have already had Botox and are planning for their own cosmetic alterations. Their mom, who will celebrate her 51st birthday with a facelift later this year, will no doubt serve as a great guide to what kind of recovery techniques will reduce their swelling the fastest.

It’s one thing for grown women to decide that they’d like to have work done, but it’s another to raise a child to believe that she has to alter her appearance to be truly beautiful. And no matter how you slice it, that’s exactly what Burge is doing to Poppy. Still, Burge says the only thing she’s doing is supporting her daughter the best way she knows how.

‘Some people think it’s controversial and I get angry when strangers say I’m a bad mother because I don’t think there’s any harm in giving her this gift.

‘Poppy is a normal kid who is good at sports and loves playing outside. Girls don’t want Snow White and Cinderella any more.’

That might be true, but we’re not convinced that elective surgery is the best trade-off for Disney characters.

[The Daily Mail]

Styleite

Model turned singer turned clothing designer Irina Lazareanu has never really played by the rules, and her interview with StyleLikeU is no exception. While most of the site’s video profiles focus heavily on the clothes, Irina’s is a much more personal look at the model who fled Romania with her family at the age of three, before landing in Canada, then London, and then eventually breaking the record for most runway shows in a single season with an awe-inspiring 76 bookings.

Here’s what she has to say about the industry:

“Yes, the girls are sometimes to young. Yes, there’s drugs. Yes, there’s eating disorders. And everybody just puts it under the rug and into the cupboard, but the truth is that when this hits, when it starts, when you do your first season and you book over 90 shows and you don’t sleep and you don’t eat and there’s this tornado of people around you, that you will not make the best decisions and not the healthiest decisions. And the younger you are, the more likely [it is] that you will screw up.”

Irina also talks about how her childhood as a refugee inspired her to be as truthful in life as possible and why she believes in faking it until making it.

WATCH:

More photos at StyleLikeU.com.

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