The Style Notes

Tennis players' on-court style has been gaining more and more attention in recent years, and the U.S. Open is no exception. When fashionistas like Venus and Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova step onto the court, their outfits are under more scrutiny than their backhands. Many of the top players chose two outfits for the tournament: one for daytime matches, and one for nightime ones. Defending champ Serena, below left, chose a black Nike dress with magenta accents and large hoop earrings for her night matches. For daytime, she switched it up and went with a magenta dress with black accents. Venus, below center, designed a hot pink, collared dress with her own line, EleVen. The dress features pleating on both sides and the EleVen insignia on the back. Maria Sharapova, on the comeback trail after shoulder surgery, custom-designed her black and silver geometric dress with Nike and is wearing Tiffany earrings designed by Frank Gehry. In an on-court interview after her first round win, Maria said that the dress was inspired by New York City's architecture. For her daytime matches, Maria is wearing a pale pink dress of the same design with yellow trim and a matching visor instead of the headband.

Caroline Wozniacki, a Danish 19-year-old ranked number 9 in the world, recently replaced Maria Kirilenko as the new face of Stella McCartney's Adidas line. She debuted her new dress at the U.S. Open, seen below left. Stella McCartney commented on their collaboration: "It's very rare for a fashion designer to dress one of the top 10 players in the world. I couldn't be more thrilled and happy to be given that opportunity. Lets hope this will enhance her performance!" Wozniacki is equally thrilled: "With the Adidas by Stella McCartney tennis line I feel like I have everything any fashionable female tennis player always dreams about: cutting-edge Adidas technologies combined with Stella's unique designs that actually perform." (Get your own Stella McCartney tennis dress, similar to Wozniacki's, here.) Another stylish player in the top 10 is Jelena Jankovic (below center), who, despite being ousted in the second round, turned heads in her ruffled red number. American teen sensation Melanie Oudin, below right, made her own fashion statement by customizing her colorful shoes and inscribed the word "Believe" on the side. You better believe that this 17-year-old has tons of talent, because she ousted number 4 seed Elena Dementieva in the second round and former US Open champ Maria Sharapova in the third round. 

Now on to the men's style. This year, tennis' elite chose bright colors for their on-court outfits. Rafael Nadal, below left, chose a sunny yellow Nike shirt complemented by blue wristbands and headband. Nike says that Nadal's look was inspired "by the streets of New York City and its signature yellow taxicabs. Also featuring a multi-row dot print across the chest, the polo is inspired by the colorful numeric subway signs of New York City." Defending champ and world number 1 Roger Federer went with a red Nike polo and contrasting black accents. In the last few years, Federer has pioneered the style movement for men's tennis: "I think it's important to look good on the court," Federer said at Wimbledon in '07. "I see that players are more aware now of the details, that the headband matches with the shorts, so forth. I always thought that was important, you know, that the whole entire outfit matches together." Serbia's Novak Djokovic, below right, went with an tangerine shirt with dark orange graphics that also appear on his shoes and socks.

Let's not forget about the stylish celebrities in attendance. Sienna Miller showed up with a new beau, British DJ George Baker, and watched Venus Williams play, while Anna Wintour watched her favorite player, Roger Federer. Kim Catrall, currently filming Sex and the City the Movie 2, also made an appearance at the U.S. Open in an off-the-shoulder black top and jeans. From a fashion perspective, this year's US Open turned out to be a grand slam.

[photos from: yahoo sports and usopen.org]

The DVD version of the highly acclaimed documentary Valentino: The Last Emperor is available at amazon.com for $15.99 beginning September 8. It includes 46 minutes of bonus, never-before-seen material, including tours of his many homes around the world, "revealing the unique lifestyle he’s created for himself and the amount of work it takes to maintain it." 

Summer is a great time to sit down and relax with a good book, so if you're interested in fashion and looking for a summer reading book, be sure to check these out:

Fashion Babylon by Imogen Edwards Jones- This book follows a fictional London-based designer over a six month period. It opens the day after their runway show and closes the day of their next show, six months later.  Though the designer is fictionalized, the author claims that everything about the book is entirely true, stating that "only the names have been changed to protect the guilty". This book explains every little detail that goes into producing a collection, and it's a fun and fascinating read. You'll learn about the mark-ups at stores, the process of hiring models for the show, what it takes to get a good review, and a lot more! 

Some Like it Haute by Julie K.L Dam- This fiction book is about a fashion writer's experiences during fashion week in Paris, trying to get the scoop on the hottest new designer. It's a light read, with not too much substance, but it's jam-packed with interesting tidbits about the how the insiders spend their time during fashion week.

The Beautiful Fall:Lagerfeld, Yves Saint Laurent and Glorious Excess in 1970s Paris by Alicia Drake- This book delves into the lives and careers of two of the most famous men in fashion: Karl Lagerfeld and Yves Saint Laurent. Did you know they used to be friends and were both prizewinners of the same International Wool Secretariat design competition way back in 1954? I am not finished with the book, in fact I have barely started it, but I can tell you that you will be fascinated with the lives of these two icons. Not only will you learn about "glorious excess in 1970s Paris", but also about the historical context that surrounded fashion during that time.

The End of Fashion by Teri Agins- This well-researched book looks at fashion from a business perspective, exploring all aspects of the industry including manufacturing, retailing, licensing, and image making. It explains the beginning and the "end" of Paris couture houses, the rivalry between Tommy Hilfiger and Ralph Lauren, Giorgio Armani's success with Hollywood, and much more. Agins looks at the fundamental changes in the fashion industry and "how marketing changed the clothing business forever". This book is so informative and well-written, anyone who is interested in learning more about how fashion came to be what it is now needs to pick up a copy of this book pronto!

Marc Jacobs has introduced a new fragrance called Lola, modeled by American teen Karlie Kloss below. This is his newest since Daisy, which was very successful. He told WWD that "Where Daisy is more innocent and sweet, Lola is more sensual — the name conjures up a flirtatious, warm spirit," Jacobs told WWD. It is being sold exclusively at Bloomingdales.

Fashion networking site IQONS.com will be launching IQONS Magazine internationally during New York Fashion Week in February. The magazine's editor-in-chief will be Diane Pernet, who is well known in the industry for her blog, A Shaded View on Fashion, and for her work at Elle.com and VogueParis.com, among other websites. Pernet was also editor of Joyce magazine for five years. 30,000 collectible issues of the magazine will be published and distributed in the fashionable cities of New York, Paris, London, and Milan.

You won't feel bad buying these cute tees because a portion of the proceeds go to well-deserving charities. Erin Fetherston's tee will benefit Malaria No More, an organization that will provide 6 bed nets to women and children in Tanzania for every shirt sold. The bed nets can help fight off Malaria, which kills one million children in Africa each year. 25% of the proceeds from Splendid's camouflage print tank will go to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation, and 100% of the proceeds from the Ralph Lauren polo will benefit Fashion Targets Breast Cancer.

From left: Erin Fetherston tee from shopbop.com, Splendid tee from bloomingdales.com, and Ralph Lauren polo from net-a-porter.com

Fashion Week is not the only place celebrities are flocking to in New York this week. The U.S. Open men's semifinal matches today in Flushing Meadows, Queens, attracted many stars and even pulled Anna Wintour away from the front row over at the Fashion Week.

Catherine Zeta-Jones walks down to her seat; she sits with her husband Michael Douglas (Alec Baldwin is in the back row).

Robert DeNiro cheers on #3 player in the world Novak Djokovic in his semifinal match against David Ferrer; Anna Wintour sits in Roger Federer's box and watches him beat Russian Nikolay Davydenko in straight sets.