Claire Hanan - The Official Website for Claire - Journalist, Publisher & Mizzou Grad

Salvete, omnes! It's been too long, dear readers. With the capstone project coming to a close and the rest of my coursework, I've regretfully neglected you. Anyway, what follows is an abbreviated update: 

David Simon's "Treme": Amazing. Watch it if only for the music alone. I wasn't sure if some of the holdover actors from "The Wire" would be able to make the transition, but they've become their new characters seamlessly. Check out one of my favorite scenes in which Creighton Bernette (John Goodman) gives the youtube world his thoughts on post-Katrina New Orleans. 

New York: I'm officially landing there June 5th, and will start the publishing program the next day. I can't even begin to express my excitement. 

The capstone: The trip to Meredith Corp. in Des Moines, IA, went fabulously. Details to come in the "Better Brunch" tab. Above is a grab of page in our "Brunch Bazaar" feature. I'm having issues uploading such a large pdf, but the entire mag should be available soon. 

What I'm reading now: 
Barbara Kingsolver's "The Lacuna" 
"Best New American Voices," edited by Dani Shapiro
"Gravity's Rainbow," Thomas Pynchon 

My website: 
What do you think of the new layout of the portfolio page? Let me know! 

The fashion photographer who turned his blog into one of "Time's top 100 design influencers."

Here are a few of my favorite outfits and collections of fashion week. The runway is turning out to be an explosion of sequins, satin and velvet. All appropriate for fall, but with the exception of the perfectly tailored blazer -- velvet should be banned.

A note on velvet: it's extremely difficult to make an attractive piece made of the fabric without the finished product looking like it was stolen from the set of The Princess Bride.

On to the clothes!

Above is one of the first looks from Zac Posen. I've read rumors that he's in financial trouble, but if this outfit is any indicator, his RTW could save the biz.

Although fashion week isn't over just yet, words cannot express how much I loved almost all of Diane Von Furstenberg's line. The patterns were exquisite and fresh -- she didn't dwell on the tired '70s carpet look, and she reinvents floral prints almost every show. In the above look, DVF mixes all of fall's trends (happily excluding the dreaded velvet). Even the runway looks like a pile of fun.

As an added bonus, most of fashion's current Top Models walked in the show and looked fabulous.

Let us observe the the collection from Victoria Beckham, who is arguably the best celebrity designer. I think it was Style.com who said that her line of "body-con" dresses has evolved and now embraces draping, while maintaining the beautiful silhouettes and tailoring of her previous collections. The most fabulous thing about this look though, are the glasses.

All photos are kindly borrowed from nymag.com