Who knew MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow had to ability to influence anything fashion-related (we love you Rachel, but um…). It turns out Andre Leon Talley coined his term “drecktitude” after watching an episode of TRMS. If Talley’s term wasn’t already common knowledge, it will be after the 14th cycle of America’s Next Top Model. The word is sure to enter the zeitgeist of fashion slang as a foil to the over-used “fierce.”

Talley promises to bring a much needed does of fashion cred to the Bankable show, which arguably jumped the proverbial shark several cycles ago. And not only will he lend legitimacy, the Vogue Editor-at-Large is hilariously entertaining. Talley is known for his blunt commentary, which doesn’t stop at unknown model hopefuls. Even mogul-in-the-making Tyra Banks had to prove herself worthy of his attention.

“I saw her four years ago on the red-eye from Los Angeles. We were both sitting in first class and exchanged numbers. But I put her number in a flower pot or something and I lost it,” he told Wall Street Journal blog, Speakeasy. Banks asked Talley to join the ANTM production when it first began in 2003, but he turned it down.

Tyra’s humility and persistence is well placed in courting Talley. As the person that introduced Jason Wu to Michelle Obama, he is essentially responsible for the designer’s straight shot to the upper echelons of the fashion food chain. That’s why 21-year-old queens designer LaQuan Smith should be kissing Talley’s fur-trimmed feet right about now. When asked who he’d like to intro to the First Lady next, Talley named Smith.

He showed 15 looks [at New York Fashion Week] for the first time this season and it was simply outstanding. His point of view was totally contemporary. He makes clothes for urban ladies. Lady Gaga and Rihanna have worn his leggings. He had the courage to go ahead and his father, a retired postal worker, gave him the wherewithal to pull that fabric together and turn it into magic. I went to that show and I saw magic. I can only hope that one day we’ll see our first lady wearing LaQuan Smith:

LaQuanSmith clothing has been seen on big names like Rihanna and Lady Gaga, but his own name was still fairly obscure. Now, with such a resounding endorsement the young designer is squarely on the map. A quick peek and Smith’s Website shows a Fall 2010 collection with incredible polish and sophistication – especially for a designer so young.

Source

Above, L to R: Dr. Jane Aronson, Tyra Banks, Marissa Mayer

You might be surprised to see Aronson in the best dressed line up, but I found her suit to be very chic. The fit is comfortable, without being sloppy and those blue glasses (which seem to be a tradmark of hers) are fantastic. Read more about Dr. Aronson the “orphan doctor” at her Website.

Tyra Banks wasn’t among the Glamour honorees, but she’s a Cult honoree here. I love the lines of her shift dress, which is on trend but still simple as befitting a woman of her stature. Tyra looks great at any size (especially sans the weavaliciousness), but I image the fashion set has embraced her again now that she’s back to her old svelte self. Read about how she lost the weight here.

Marissa Mayer is officially my new hero. The 34-year-old is a VP at Google and was the uber-tech company’s first ever female engineer ten years ago. And in a rare twist, she’s is incredibly stylish. Geek-chic at it’s best!

2009 Glamour Women of the Year Honorees:
* Rihanna
* Maria Shriver
* Stella McCartney
* Amy Poehler
* Marissa Mayer
* Serena Williams
* Jane Aronson
* Susan Rice
* Euna Lee & Laura Ling
* The Women of Iran’s One Million Signatures Campaign
* Maya Angelou
* Special Recognition: Michelle Obama

Read more about the Women of the Year at Glamour.com

The 36th Annual Daytime Emmy Awards came and went last evening without much notice from me. I was only alerted to the event by the appearance of the lovely photos in my inbox this morning. Nothing spectacular, but a few basically well-dressed folks on the carpet. The one standout wasn’t for stellar style, but for pure peculiarity: Stacy Haiduk, now know as the “crazy cat lady.”

The cat looks like genuine taxidermy at it’s finest – which is totally creepy, but no less nasty then your average fur coat. I suppose. And besides, you can’t blame a girl for grasping a few straws of limelight at an event where the most of the stars are best known as their character names.

See the Cult picks for best dressed in the gallery below.

Every cycle host, producer, and overall model extraordinaire does at least one shoot with the model wannabes in which she is the photographer. Wednesday’s episode was that shoot and Super Tyra photo’d the models as bird-like creatures in the Brazilian jungle.

I wasn’t all that disappointed to see Celia go, but I was disappointed at how much they harped on her age (only 25!). Sure, she’s a bit mature to be just starting, but they acted that homegirl had wrinkles an inch deep and titties down to her knees! The youth obsession is as bad as the size obsession in fashion. It’s a shame.

See the full episode in six parts, plus a preview of the finale, below. Enjoy!

photos: yahoo.com

Among my early favorites, only Celia remains among the Cult favored, while Fo has pulled ahead to take the top spot. The mixed race model is the shortest of the bunch, but seems to have the biggest on screen presence. Her interpretation of the Carmen Miranda shoot was very literal, but it works.

See photos from the last two episodes below.

photos: tv.yahoo.com

It never takes longer than a couple episodes to see who the stand outs are on America’s Next Top Model. As usual, there’s a handful of pretty girls that just can’t seem to get it through their perfectly symmetrical skulls that modeling is more than just being genetically blessed. They are promptly getting weeded out, thankfully.

My favorites are Sandra, London, and Celia. In that order. I like Fo and Aminat has in incredible face, but neither has proven their modeling chops.

SANDRA

LONDON

CELIA

FO

photos: yahoo.com