Photo by Kiino Villand, courtesy of Style Section L.A.

Check out this cool story about the unofficial Filipino Fashion Club, made up of some of the hottest names in fashion on the West Coast, including Los Angeles Times fashion editor Melissa Magsaysay, WWD west coast chief Marcy Medina, designers Oliver Tolentino and Monique Lhullier, Michelle Ravelo-Santos, the west coast PR manager for W Hotels, and Decades owner Cameron Silver (who is not so much ethnically Filipino as he is culturally apparently):

http://www.stylesectionla.com/area/article/2010/10/08/filipino-fashion-club

PSss… I have a secret to tell you. This secret is so going to change your world. You might be ashamed of it at first, but I tell you, no shame in it. Everyone is doing it. Everyone. So you know when you go to events and you see these girls with amazingly beautiful, long, full hair and you wonder, “what genetic lottery did you have to win to get that?” Or celebrities. How come their hair always looks perfect? It’s extensions my dear. Extensions are a woman’s best friend. I use it, I’ll be the first one to admit. And I think Hair Couture’s Clip N’ Go in 18” is perfect because at that length, you’d want your hair to look long and full, not stringy and thin. So seriously, get some extensions. It’s no longer a shameful secret to hide. Get ahead, girl! Get extensions!

I don’t know about you, but home exercise DVDs are pretty useless for a non-athletic workout-phobe like me. I mean, working out is a huge chore, and when it comes to chores, there are plenty of them around the house (wash the dishes, organize files, read mags, give yourself a facial). Plus, you’re at home, so there’s no one busting your butt about holding that pose or going for one more rep.

Dancer Andrea Lin’s exercise DVD, Dance a GoGo: Sexy Nightclub Workout Ultimate Edition, on the other hand, is a whole different story. For these provocative moves, home is the best place to practice. Seriously, until you perfect her swaying, sashaying, ka-powing, you’re not gonna want to take this public. But once you do, these moves will have all eyes in the club on you, not just because you’ve got some serious dancing cred now, but I’m pretty sure all that hip swiveling and pelvis thrusting is giving your core one serious workout.

After all, Lin’s got “sexy” and “nightclub” down. She’s danced for everyone from Britney Spears and Madonna to Li’l Kim and Dave Chappelle.

And it’s not some boring 1-2-3 how-to. No, Lin pretty much throws you into the fray. So just go with it. Simulate, don’t imitate. Have fun. Let go. It’s a cool version of Christina and Meredith in the apartment after a badass surgery.

Here’s a taste:

Get ready to groove on New Year’s, or shock that cutie in IT at your office holiday party. We’ve got five DVDs to give away to five lucky readers! Just comment by Wednesday, October 13, 11:59 p.m. and retweet for an additional entry. As always, you must have a U.S. mailing address to win.

Good luck!

The right clutch for an event is always difficult to scrounge up. You only need a few necessities for the evening. A lipstick, credit cards, a camera, your phone. Therefore the bag has to be compact yet pretty enough that acquaintances won’t think you just picked a random brown bag off the street and decided to use it for the night. No one is going to think you just lifted this Beth Springer Clam Shell Metallic Gold Leather Minaudière off the street. Perfect to fit your nighttime necessities, this little clutch has got all the right class and sass. Blinging!

Video recap is here!

Yes, it was all that and a bag of fried chicken wings.

Audrey contributor Tamae Ishii shot some very stylish Asian Americans at New York Fashion Week last month. Here, some of our favorites and why.

This is “how to wear your cocktail dress for day” 101:

Sheer polka dot tights are hot.

Why this works: Camel-toned accessories (a staple in daytime chic), a faded denim jacket and rugged lace-up booties tone down what could have been an evening-only piece in her closet. Try something similar with your favorite cocktail dress!

Next, we have a lesson in mixing it up at night:

Plush meets hard-edged.

Why this works: The plush brown wrap takes an otherwise typical all-black evening ensemble into the current season. (That hardware-embellished bag doesn’t hurt either.) Don’t be afraid to mix it up — it’ll keep you warm at night, too.

When in doubt, go grey:

Grey leather.

Why this works: An instant update to all your outfits, leather is especially a standout in an atypical hue like grey. Pair it with the season’s pencil skirt, and you’re pretty much set.

Another shot we really liked:

Shiny slippers are so cool, but oddly enough, I think the best part of this look is that bright red chair contrasting with his geek chic look.

And of course, nothing makes a statement better than a broad smile. Work it like Joe Zee, creative director of Elle magazine …

Joe Zee, creative director of Elle magazine.

… or Kelly Choi, host of Bravo’s Top Chef Masters.

Kelly Choi.

– Tamae Ishii

Now that winter is coming in, it’s time to break out the long pants.

-Wait a second, no one does that anymore! These days, it’s all about the legging and skinny jeans. It’s all about the jeggings! We’ve got a pretty cool one by Flying Monkey. In vintage black, these jeggings go great with boots and long sweaters. Or ballet flats. Or heels. Anything but some muffin tops.

What does “winter” or “the holidays” mean to you? Maybe snow angels? Maybe partying it up on New Year’s? Maybe all the resolutions you failed to keep in 2010?

Regardless, we want to see it! We want to see what “winter” (specifically, December through February) means to you, whether it’s the holidays, New Year’s, even Valentine’s Day! You just might get your photo into the next issue of Audrey Magazine!

Submit your photos that in some way reflect the Asian American experience as well as the theme of “winter.” You don’t have to be a pro, so submit your photo by October 15, 2010. To submit, please see instructions below.

We’re looking forward to seeing your work!

Submissions

Images should be in digital jpeg format, at least 300 dpi resolution and 2400 pixels on the long end. Along with each image, please include your name, location and an explanation of how your image relates to the theme. Only submit photos that you’ve taken yourself. Please do not digitally alter your photos, besides cropping and applying basic tonal adjustments. Send your photos to EDITOR@audreymagazine.com, maximum three entries per person.

Legal & Releases

By submitting, you are granting Audrey Magazine permission to publish your submitted photos online and/or in print with your photo credit. You must be 18 or older to submit; if you’re under 18, a parent or legal guardian can submit on your behalf. We cannot accept photos of “recognizable” people in your photograph without a personal release signed by the person, authorizing our publication of the photo.

So this feather ring by KidViskous is pretty awesome. Two fingered rings are all the rage these days anyway but the brand takes it up a notch with a cute feather design. Coming in gold, silver and black, this is a great accessory for all the writers out there. Even though we don’t use that outdated mode of writing anymore, it’s still good to wear as a fashion statement. You feel me?

Btw: is it just me or does it also look like a mustache? Just me? Just me? Ok.

The Next Food Network Star season 6 winner, Aarti Sequeira

Time spent with Aarti really is a party. The season six champion of Food Network’s number one series, The Next Food Network Star is full of life; from her cascading waterfall of dark curls to her lyrical British accent. Aarti Sequeira was born in Bombay, India and grew up in her mother’s kitchen. Though her mom’s flavorful Indian spices had always surrounded her childhood, Aarti didn’t try her hand at cooking until she got married and moved to LA. Instead, the TV personality worked as a journalist for many years, producing for CNN in Chicago and New York. After taking some classes at a local cooking school, Aarti knew that she wanted to make food her career. But how to go about it? Aarti decided to combine her love of journalism and food together- creating an online cooking variety show and blog called Aarti Paarti. The show caught Food Network’s attention and the rest is history. Or just starting. After winning the reality show, Aarti’s show Aarti Party premiered on August 22 for six episodes that ran through the end of Sept. to great audience feedback. 13 more episodes for a new season are currently in production. From conjuring up the perfect summer picnic to warming up a cold rainy day, Aarti brushes up classic American dishes with a touch of her Indian heritage. Audrey caught up with the next food network star in Culver City, CA, fresh from shooting her first season.

Audrey: So Aarti, you started as a journalist, what made you switch career paths?

I started working at CNN a week after I graduated from university. I loved working there. There’s so much integrity and intelligence there but when I moved to LA, I really had to hustle for freelance jobs. I realized that I’m not a lazy person but I don’t really have that drive anymore for journalism in that form. A couple of years after I moved here, I worked with a Peabody award winning director on a documentary about Darfur that ended up being bought by HBO. That made me feel like, “okay, this is what I was supposed to be doing.” The same journalistic ideals and we’re going deep, deep, deep into it figuring out what is going on. But right around that time, the economy was starting to tank and no one wanted to make docs about Africa anymore. So that was when I started cooking it became the highlight of my day. It really helped me realized that no matter what was happening in my life, when I was in the kitchen, that was my safe place, that was my quiet place. That’s where I could control things.

Aarti and her husband Brendan

Audrey: How did your online cooking show and blog catch the attention of Food Network?

Food Network started doing their casting for The Next Food Network Star and people popped up randomly telling me to audition for this show. I was really hesitant. I didn’t think I had the culinary chops to compete with these people and the challenges that were requiring you to cook in 15 minutes or something. But my husband said to me, “listen, we’re going to make a video, we’re going to send it in and we’re going to see what happens. You have nothing to lose. And so we did and that was it.

Audrey: It seems like your husband is very supportive of you.

My husband has always been my champion. We’ve been together 14 years and he’s always seen so much in me that I don’t see in myself. When I happened upon this cooking show idea, he hopped on it. He’s an actor-director and he understands forging your own way and trying to do what you want to do until someone comes knocking on your door and says, “I like what you’re doing and I want to pay you to do it.”

Audrey: As artists, did you guys ever struggle financially? How did that reflect in your cooking?

Aarti spices up her dishes

Brendan and I have definitely struggled. A year ago, I wasn’t even sure if we could make rent so we’ve really had to make a lot of sacrifices. But it’s been entirely worth it. So that kind of thinking is always going to pop up in my show anyway. Even in the competition, they would give us a budget and I would always spend the least money out of everyone (laughs). Even though I was making these things that were- for lack of a better word-exotic, I always came up really under budget. That’s just the way I cook. With Indian food, at least the kind that I grew up eating, there are so many vegetables, lentils, beans and things in the cuisine- it’s really a budget friendly way of cooking.

Audrey: Speaking of Indian spices. How does your Indian heritage influence your cooking?

I think what I’m trying to do is open the door for Indian cuisine for America. There are people out there who have been championing Indian cuisine for years. What I’m trying to do is take those traditional Indian flavors and wrap them around some classic American dishes so they’re not that intimidating. Here is a whole new way to enjoy Indian spices without overextending yourself. I try to use the spices that you can find at the regular supermarket- tamarack, cumin, and oleander-all those things. I’ve been kind of astonished actually by how many people have run out, bought the spices, come home, made what I made and would upload pictures. I’ve just been floored by that.

Tandoori Chicken from aartipaarti.com

Audrey: If you get a season 2, where do you think you will take your food to?

I’m always on my Facebook page. So I post on there, “what do you guys want to learn how to make?” I got 300 comments within a couple of hours and people are asking how to make these really traditional Indian dishes. They weren’t asking for fusion, they were asking me for the authentic stuff. That was so encouraging to me, I was like, okay, after this season, god willing if I get season 2, there’s an appetite out there. People are willing to order the ingredients online. Or they’re willing to hunt them down in Indian stores.

Audrey: Being a cooking show host is partially about the food but partially about the host’s on-camera personality. Have you always been this telegenic?

My husband is an actor and he would take these improv classes. I would go to his shows every week and I was floored that there were so many things about improv that was affecting his personality in a really helpful way. The great thing about improv is that there are so many things you can completely carry over into real life. Focusing on other people more than yourself or just making a decision and trusting your gut. So I took these classes and it really gave me a sense of confidence. It helped me realize I really do have good instincts and I just have to trust them. That helped in being willing to improvise in the kitchen and trusting my palate. It really helped with my personality because it pulled me out of my shell and it made me feel like I was worthy of being heard, I guess.

Judging from the positive reviews the show has been receiving, it would seem like the rest of America feels like she’s worthy of being heard as well.

Check out Aarti Party Sundays at 12PM ET/PT on the Food Network. You can also read more about Aarti at www.aartipaarti.com