Siri is a girl's best friend

This holiday season, let me give you a little shopping advice.

Women don't want more slippers, bad perfume or scarves, and despite what the commercials say, no jewelry, please. We can't afford it anyhow. And we're not buying that the ginormous TV is for us.

What women really want this year is a cheeky little vixen named Siri.

"My new best friend,Ed hardy clothing online store, whether you are looking for fashion items, then you come to the right place, we offer a variety of womenboots.2011 New Style Jeans pumashoes on sale with fast delivery!" "a blessing" and "loyal assistant" are the ways some women have described Siri, the voice-controlled,If you are looking wear to buy sexy sellingshoes the you have arrive. personal assistant on the iPhone 4S.

Women want her. They covet her. They've even told me they "lust after her."

"I would love to have her," Janet Vander Ley told me at an Apple store the other day. She looked at her sad, little iPhone 3, which will never house Siri. "My 16-year-old son has her. We got him the 4S. … He asks her questions all day long."

What would Janet do with Siri?

"Oh, I know you could ask her to make reservations, schedule appointments, get directions," she sighed. "She'd be so useful in my life."

And yes, the program is a she. That was made quite clear to me by another woman in the store when I asked her how she liked "it."

"Siri is a she," said the woman, a federal worker and mother of two teens. "She's my new best friend."

Of course. Who else but a best friend would tell you, when you ask about the meaning of life, that "all evidence to date suggests it's chocolate"?

A good deal of Siri's energy will be spent answering questions like that.

Mostly, by men.

Late-night host Conan O'Brien made that point just a few days after Siri made her appearance, in a sketch that spliced Apple's own scenes of women asking Siri to remind them to buy milk, or for directions to a hospital, with two recliner kings asking her to make "reservations for two at 7 p.m. between your breasts" and so forth.

Siri has a sense of humor designed to deal with men's raunchy questions. When dorks ask her to talk dirty to them, she responds: "Humus. Compost. Pumice. Silt. Gravel.valuableedhardy Running Shoe Flex grooves in the mid and outsole for flexibility ."

And when she is asked, "What are you wearing?" she responds, "Why do people keep asking me this?"

Obviously, this is designed to deal with Man Humor. Women, of course, would ask her who she is wearing.Paintings for sale edhardyshoes buy paintings original painting art.

H.H. Brown Heralds Heritage

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The Heritage Shoe Group at H.H. Brown is preparing for the future by looking to its past.

“When the economy is tough, people return to things they can relate to,” said James Rowley,Ed hardy clothing online store, whether you are looking for fashion items, then you come to the right place, we offer a variety of womenboots. SVP and GM of Heritage.

To capitalize on consumer interest in retro looks, the group in 2009 launched Vintage Shoe Co., a men's and women's brand focused on reviving styles from H.H. Brown's 100-year-old archives. Heritage also has seen its iconic Kork-Ease and Walk-Over brands return to the spotlight.

As a result, Rowley said sales at the division are up 90 percent to date compared with a year ago, and that momentum is expected to continue into 2012.

The men's Walk-Over label, dating back to the mid-1700s, came under the H.H. Brown umbrella in 1991. Its nod to the past, particularly its offering of traditional bucks and saddles, is connecting with men across a wide age spectrum.

Rowley said younger, fashion-driven customers are buying styles such as the Derby 100, a classic buck from the 1970s with new, colorful outsoles that were introduced in spring '11. “We have the classics, and then can update or put a twist on [them],” he said.

It's not just U.S. consumers who have jumped on the Americana trend. Rowley said 60 percent of Walk-Over's business is done in Japan and Italy.

For Kork-Ease, which launched in the 1950s and was acquired in 2009, the Ava sandal remains a signature look. The crisscross banded style on a covered wedge debuted in the 1970s, and its recent popularity has spawned a series of companion shoes that now represent 25 percent of the brand's overall business. One of the updated versions features an exposed cork bottom.

“In all three brands, everyone wears [the shoes] differently,” said John Robbins, director of marketing. “[They] mean different things to [each one].”

Vintage Shoe's authentic combat styles have caught the attention of celebrities such as Adam Levine,Paintings for sale edhardyshoes buy paintings original painting art. who has been spotted wearing the Nathaniel jump boot, and “True Blood” actor Joe Manganiello, who picked up the Isaac tanker boot. Ready-to-wear designer Nicholas K. is also a fan and has used the boots in his last three runway collections.

Kork-Ease, too, has received a nod from celebrities and designers. “Modern Family” mom Claire, played by Julie Bowen,If you are looking wear to buy sexy sellingshoes the you have arrive. has worn the brand on the show,2011 New Style Jeans pumashoes on sale with fast delivery! and designer Mara Hoffman selected Kork-Ease for her resort '12 collection during Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Swim in Miami.

“The brands have their own rich heritage,” said Tom McClaskie, designer for Heritage Shoe Group. “Our job is to enhance that for the modern customer. We bring the real deal to life.”

Beyond period styling, the brands in the group promote American manufacturing, which is proving to be a strong selling point. All Walk-Over and Vintage product is made exclusively in H.H. Brown's factory in Pennsylvania. A collection of higher-end Kork-Ease products will also be produced there for spring '12. In all, about 20 percent of the group's footwear is made in the U.S., and that share is expected to double within the next two years.

“Heritage is important because it's a trend,” said Rowley, “but ‘made in the U.S.' is a selling feature. People are starting to care about [that]. It has added value.”

American-made product appeals to Eliza Perez, co-owner of Soles 384 in Mill Valley, Calif., who carries the Vintage line. She said the company's domestic sourcing is a key selling point on the floor. “Vintage ties in nicely with the artisan handmade look of the shoes [we carry],” she said. “We're also trying to feature brands made in the U.S., which is rare today.”

Gretchen Plummer, co-owner of Johnny Soles in Portland, Ore., agreed: “Customers ask for [domestically made footwear],” she said. “[Consumers] have seen the fallout of [goods] not being made in the U.S. And [H.H. Brown is] an old U.S. shoe company whose quality and styles are hard to beat.”

'100 Unforgettable Dresses': A century of glamour

The image of Marilyn Monroe giggling while standing over a subway grate in Travilla's white halter dress has been gauged as the second-most-marketed screen image of all time; only King Kong holding Fay Wray has her beat. Why the continued frenzy for an almost sixty-year-old summer halter? Because of how it looked on the woman who wore it. As an icon, Marilyn is still regarded as a watermark or beauty, sexual joy, and innocence.2011 New Style Jeans pumashoes on sale with fast delivery! Her uncensored blush of celebration is what's at the heart of this dress's appeal.

For this scene in The Seven Year Itch,Paintings for sale edhardyshoes buy paintings original painting art. filmed in the heat of summer in New York City, Travilla (who created most of Monroe's screen wardrobes) designed a classic pleated halter dress using sunburst pleats converging at the waistband of the skirt to emphasize Monroe's hips, as well as bring the eye to her cleavage. But what elevated the dress to immortality was director Billy Wilder's decision to place the bountiful movie star over a subway grating on Lexington Avenue and Fifty-second Street and then wait for the back draft of a train zooming to Grand Central Station to give Monroe's skirt a lift. Unfortunately, the crowds grew so large, rowdy, and flashbulb-happy (Monroe's eager playfulness only egged them on), they made it very difficult for Wilder to shoot and caused baseball great Joe DiMaggio, the star's husband at the time, to leave in a huff. The scene actually used in the film was shot in a studio.

Once the film was released, the scene itself, the stills, and the movie poster of Monroe coyly trying to tamp down an unwieldy, weightless dress in the ecstasy of an updraft immediately cemented this image in the public's mind, an enduring symbol of summer in the city and titillation at its day dreamy best.

Today, that image is as strong as ever. You can buy copies of the dress on eBay. It comes in plus sizes up to 24 as well as petite (Monroe was a size 12 to 14).Ed hardy clothing online store, whether you are looking for fashion items, then you come to the right place, we offer a variety of womenboots. Prices range from eight to one hundred forty dollars. Several websites make emphatic claims to have one of the originals. Debbie Reynolds bought an authentic one for her now-defunct Hollywood Motion Picture Museum and has supposedly never sold it.

The impact of the image is so strong that the marketplace is perpetually flooded with merchandise galore based on this famous image: more than a dozen different versions of the film poster, copies of Travilla's charming original sketches for the halter neck in white (the star's favorite color), porcelain and crystal dolls,valuableedhardy Running Shoe Flex grooves in the mid and outsole for flexibility .If you are looking wear to buy sexy sellingshoes the you have arrive. and even ashtrays painted in a high glaze or made of metal are among the scores of goods out there. My favorite venue for the dress, however, is a website that sells three versions of the dress in different stages of liftoff. Touch any of the three dresses at a specific point, however, and it flies even higher by way of an attached battery pack. They even throw in a grating for you to stand on. And, of course, there is a Facebook page, just for the dress.

The problem with having a reputation is that once you've earned one, you are stuck with it. And if being the ultimate pulse raiser was what she was aiming for at the 2000 Grammys, then Jennifer Lopez shot straight through the heart with decimating accuracy with her Versace number (see page 58). So what do you do for an encore?

To her credit, she seemed to know that there's no winning when playing “can you top this?” against yourself, so Lopez tried to steer public perception from Jenny on the Block back to Jennifer Lopez, movie star. Blessed with skin so luminous that even face-to-face she seems to be lit from within, and with the fact that every designer wanted to dress her, her attempt should have been one smooth ride. But sometimes you don't see a pothole until it's too late.

For the 2001 Oscars, Lopez turned to Chanel couture, which clothed her in what initially appeared to be a classically sedate choice: a ball gown with a full dove-gray taffeta skirt and a greige chiffon top that fell from one shoulder, twisting and looping around to the other. With her hair slicked back, a nude lip, and tasteful diamonds on her ears, Lopez probably glanced in her hallway mirror and left swearing she had nailed it.

Bras and Panties Get The Royal Treatment in Jakarta

When lingerie boutique Valentine Secret held its fashion show earlier this month, organizers had to search far and wide for models, settling on 10 from Russia, Uzbekistan and Brazil.

"We couldn't find any Indonesian models who were willing to walk down the runway in their lingerie," Santje Sonna Natalia said.

Santje hopes to convince Indonesian women of the importance of lingerie.

"Nothing completes your look more than excellent lingerie,” said Santje, a stock person at the Jakarta-based clothing manufacturer Gaya Hidup Masa Kini (Lifestyle Today).

As a woman, she knows well that lingerie — even though it is often small, inconspicuous and primarily hidden — determines the entire look.

"It supports your [physical] assets from within," Santje said. "Good lingerie enhances your body posture and gives you more confidence.2011 New Style Jeans pumashoes on sale with fast delivery!"

But finding quality bras and panties isn't easy. Lingerie must fit snugly without restricting breathing or movement, and it must also provide support. It should be discreet, but if a woman chooses to reveal it, it should be both pretty and enchanting.

Santje hadn't found the perfect lingerie for her until a visit to Montreal, Canada, in 2007, when she stepped inside a Valentine Secret boutique.

"I immediately fell in love," she said.Ed hardy clothing online store, whether you are looking for fashion items, then you come to the right place, we offer a variety of womenboots. "It's a mix between classy European and dynamic American styles."

Santje talked to the boutique's offices in Montreal and worked out a deal to gain licensing to bring Valentine Secret's products to Indonesia.valuableedhardy Running Shoe Flex grooves in the mid and outsole for flexibility .

"I wanted to educate Indonesian women on the importance of high-quality lingerie,” she said. "It can really change their lives.”

The company received the license a year later and now operates two Valentine Secrets stores, in Jakarta and Balikpapan, East Kalimantan.

The fourth annual fashion show, themed "Queen of Queens” and held in Jakarta, introduced a collection designed to make women feel as special, well-dressed and beautiful as royalty.

The stage was made to resemble a woman's private boudoir during the Victorian era. Its lilac walls were embellished with carved golden plaques. Black chandeliers hung low over the gleaming white runway. Lasers shot from behind thin smoke and added a mysterious and exciting element to the show.

One by one, the models sashayed down the runway in dark velvet capes and Venetian masks. As they reached the front, they shed their capes to show off beautifully ornate lingerie. Embellished with rhinestones and Swarovski crystals,If you are looking wear to buy sexy sellingshoes the you have arrive. the pieces sparkled under the spotlights.

"Our lingerie is so bejeweled that it almost looks like a piece of jewelry,” Santje said.

A padded black bra, made of silk satin,Paintings for sale edhardyshoes buy paintings original painting art. was embellished with intricate embroidery in the pattern of scattered rose petals in autumn. Paired with black panties with a similar pattern, the lingerie exuded an aura of romantic elegance.

Another memorable pair was a raspberry-red bra and panties overlaid with French lace in the pattern of blooming sakura flowers.

The company's bridal line, "Sleeping Beauty,” featured prominently in the show's second set.

"They're not the plain and seamless lingerie you wear under your wedding gown," Santje said of the undergarments. "They're beautiful, showy pieces to show your husband on your first night together.”

All bridal collection pieces are in traditional white or nude and are adorned with frills, tassels and bows. Crystals and pearls are neatly arranged in intricate patterns that exude a classic elegance.

Top 10 Gifts This Year

Wondering what the hottest, top 10 items will be this holiday season?

Well you don't have to wait much longer. We have found the items that people may be fighting for the most.authenticguccishoes was created in order to maintain a balance of the athletes' movement.

Let's talk tech first.

Radio Shack and Office Max have a Toshiba Laptop for just 300 bucks. It's a 1.authenticguccishoes was created in order to maintain a balance of the athletes' movement.6 gigahertz processor and 3GB of memory, with a 500 gig hard drive and windows seven.

For 40 bucks less, Radio Shack is also offering a 32-inch LCD TV. Laptops and TV's will definitely be on Santa's list this year!

Now for the big kids in all of us, there's an Xbox 360 bundle up for grabs. Here's what you'll get; the 4GB game console, a controller, the Kcinect, and a game for just $300 at Wal-Mart.

Travel much? Macy's has a pretty sweet luggage deal going. At just $50,Shop for high quality wholesalejeans Watches. you can score a 5-piece luggage set.

Now, if your kids are thinking about anything Nerf, you can get a Nerf Vortex Nitron for $32.99 at K Mart.

And if your kids are into videogames, you can get a Nitendo 3DS for about $180 plus tax, at also K Mart or Target. But at Game Stop, you can score one for 10 bucks cheaper.

How about if you're looking for tablet computers?

Well the Pandigital E-Reader tablet will sell for $70 at Best Buy. Or you can go for the Apple iPad 2, but prices vary on that one. You can expect to pay anywhere between four to five hundred bucks.ladiesshoes clothing and wholesale urban wear apparel for all major brand names.Paintings for sale edhardyshoes buy paintings original painting art.

Finally, major clothing stores everywhere will be having sales on anything from coats to purses, shoes and not mention jewelry.

Puss in Boots: Cats that got the cream

Saucy Spaniard Antonio Banderas and fiery Mexican Salma Hayek have appeared in five movies together - and now, in the animated Puss in Boots, they continue their convincing double act.

During the making of the film Banderas, 51, insisted they voiced their parts together, and recently they have been in cahoots promoting the Shrek spin-off at premieres around the world.

"Salma and I are old friends," says Banderas, who ignited international box office numbers, particularly in Spanish-speaking markets, when his Puss character came on board in Shrek 2. "We have such great chemistry.

We fight very well on camera, we dance well and we glare at each other romantically. We have a kind of rhythm and we can improvise. It was great to work with her again."

The pair are versatile performers who are at ease in both dramas and comedies. On a personal level they're also both outgoing and, as they reveal today at the film's launch in Cannes, they love to talk. Neither has lost their accent, even if they ham it up in the film. Banderas' Puss is a little big man, a deep-voiced ginger cat brandishing a sword, wearing boots and a feather in his hat and brings to mind his dashing hero in The Mask of Zorro.

"I get more attention as the pussycat than I ever did as Zorro. Everyone thinks he's so cute," Banderas coos.

Meanwhile Hayek's Kitty Softpaws is a slinky, brilliantly blue-eyed Siamese with clawless paws that make her a perfect thief. We learn in the back story how her claws were cruelly removed after she had scratched one too many times, though the movie is more about Puss and how he became the cool heroic cat before he met Shrek and Donkey. Kitty uses her sexiness as a tool, not unlike Hayek in her previous roles, most memorably as Santanico Pandemonium in her bikini-clad dance with a live snake in From Dusk Till Dawn. Today she twirls around a feather boa to similar effect.

"This is the first time I do an animation film and I couldn't have picked a better one," admits Hayek, who took a career hiatus to have her daughter Valentina, 4, with husband, French billionaire Francois-Henri Pinault. "Of course I was excited for my daughter to see the film, but in one way it's a little sad because I had to explain to her that the cat is not for real, that's it's actually my voice. She saw the drawings and asked me all kinds of questions. She's very much been part of the process.

"Being here in Cannes is like a comeback. I started out here with Antonio and here we are again, two years later," the 45-year-old jokes.

"And now we are in three dimensions," Banderas interjects. "But Salma is as beautiful in two dimensions as three dimensions. Salma you are like a good wine. Time goes by and you only get better, baby!"

The film's director Chris Miller had worked on all the Shrek films, directing Shrek the Third.

"We'd long been wanting to make a Puss in Boots film", he explains. "Of all the characters that came out of that Shrek universe he was always my personal favourite. I always gravitated towards the cat.ladiesshoes clothing and wholesale urban wear apparel for all major brand names. He may be small in stature yet he's larger than life and full of bravado. He's got this big heart but just enough of the devil in him and is full of intrigue. We always were asking ourselves, 'What's his story? Where did he get those boots? Where did he get that accent?' We really knew we had this breakout character who deserved his own movie."

The film abandons any connection to Charles Perrault's 17th-century fable (even if the ogre-outwitting twist explained what Puss was doing in Shrek 2 in the first place). Set in Old Spain and resembling a Sergio Leone western, the world of Puss in Boots is populated by twisted nursery-rhyme characters like treacherous outlaws Jack and Jill (voiced by Billy Bob Thornton and Amy Sedaris); there's a goose and a golden egg as well as a beanstalk,Of course, the suit jacket was adorned with a silken floral design on the sleeves and front, and some sort of sparkly edhardyjean skull/cross/flowers design on the back. which is particularly effective hurtling through the stratosphere in the film's 3D format.

Most prominently though there's Puss' former childhood friend,authenticguccishoes was created in order to maintain a balance of the athletes' movement. Humpty Dumpty (Zach Galifianakis) with whom he grew up in an orphanage. We are told how Puss was adopted out as a youngster and how they had fallen out. The story follows Humpty coming back into Puss' life in their adulthood as he has found a way to make their childhood dream of finding magic beans come true. A second cat is needed to make it happen and that's where Kitty Softpaws comes into the story.authenticguccishoes was created in order to maintain a balance of the athletes' movement.

The film, which also boasts Guillermo del Toro as an executive producer and story consultant, has been a huge success in the US,Paintings for sale edhardyshoes buy paintings original painting art. beating out the Ben Stiller comedy Tower Heist in Puss' second week of release. A sequel should surely be on the way.

How To: Find the right swimsuit for your bust

Looking for the perfect swimsuit? Finding exactly the right shape for your body can be tricky but balancing your shape starts at the top.

Here are the rules for finding the right suit for your bust.

Rules for a large bust

TWO PIECE: When it comes to bikinis a halter-top offers support without comprising on cleavage. Opt for styles that have a thick band or underwire at the base of the bra to add extra lift and a firm fit.Shop for high quality wholesalejeans Watches. Avoid flimsy triangle tops, bandeau styles and any tops with extra padding.

ONE PIECE: Look for styles with a built -in support shelf and a slightly higher back that work just like a regular bra to keep you supported without compromising on design. Thicker straps will also provide extra comfort but try to avoid boxy,ladiesshoes clothing and wholesale urban wear apparel for all major brand names. square necklines that emphases the width rather than the volume of your bust.

BEST COLOUR? If you want to minimize a large bust then block or dark colours work best – so do over-sized prints. To emphasize shape and size try a pop colour or a tiny print or floral pattern.

Rules for a small bust

TWO PIECE: Demi-cup or bandeau style tops with a touch of padding will add extra volume and lift to a smaller bust. Triangle tops also look great - just keep the straps delicate, the fabric coverage small and create the illusion of volume with the use of ruffles,authenticguccishoes was created in order to maintain a balance of the athletes' movement. horizontal stripes or small print patterns.

ONE PIECE: Underwire, boning, pleating and padding will add shape, definition and fullness in a one-piece suit.Paintings for sale edhardyshoes buy paintings original painting art. Fine straps and a neckline that cuts straight across or has a gentle scoop is the most flattering. Strapless also looks brilliant on smaller busts – avoid halters and plunging v-necks if they don't have padding or detail (the suit pictured above works because of the ruffles and the print).

BEST COLOURS? Create the illusion of a fuller bust with patterns, dots, stripes or bold colour. To flaunt a smaller chest keep it simple and sexy in basic black, navy or white. Next week we look at the best cut for your bottom,authenticguccishoes was created in order to maintain a balance of the athletes' movement. tummy and legs.