New Books Explore Living (and Eating) With Celiac Disease

Shauna James Ahern and Daniel Ahern share 100 gluten-free recipes in their new cookbook.

A friend of ours discovered she had celiac disease, after years of mistakenly believing she suffered from rheumatoid arthritis. But we didn’t fully understand the implications of the autoimmune disorder that makes it impossible for her to digest gluten, until she stayed with us for a weekend. Knowing that just the smallest bit of gluten would make her joints swell, we were in charge of finding places she could eat without getting sick. Since then, we’ve been more aware of how important it is for those with celiac disease to have access to good resources and information. So we were eager to read two of the latest books about living with celiac disease: Gluten-Free Girl and the Chef (Wiley, 2010) by Shauna James Ahern and Daniel Ahern and Real Life With Celiac Disease (AGA Press, 2010) by Melinda Dennis, R.D., LDN, and Daniel Leffler, M.D.

Before Ahern discovered she had celiac sprue (another name for the same condition) in 2005, she suffered for years, remaining undiagnosed even after CT scans and trips to the emergency room. Because only 5 percent of those with celiac have been diagnosed, she says, “I’m one of the lucky ones.” Wanting to reach out to others and share her story, she started a blog and penned a memoir of the same name, Gluten-Free Girl (Wiley, 2007).

Her latest work is not only a cookbook with 100 gluten-free recipes, but it’s also subtitled “a love story.” The book chronicles her life with husband Daniel Ahern, a chef at The Hardware Store in Washington state, and their shared love of food. Recipes include pumpkin soup, smoked duck breast ravioli, roasted chicken with apricot-corn relish and cilantro sauce — and even crusty bread. “Told I should never eat gluten again if I wanted to save my life, I vowed to taste everything I could eat, rather than focusing on what I could not,” Ahern says.

For the undiagnosed 95 percent, Real Life With Celiac Disease seeks to raise awareness. Dennis, who was diagnosed with celiac disease 20 years ago, and Leffler, founding member of the Celiac Center at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston — as well as 50 additional experts — show readers how to adjust to gluten-free living — and thrive. The book is divided into three sections, with the first providing an understanding of the disease, while the second explores gluten-free living. The third deals with overcoming obstacles, including celiac-related diseases and complications and a chapter on cancer risks. There’s also a handy list of resources.

Both books emphasize that there’s life without wheat (and rye, barley, triticale, spelt, kamut and farro). “I wanted to eat,” Ahern says. “I didn’t want to nibble on beige food for the rest of my life.” Below is one of the Aherns’ tasty gluten-free recipes.

Roast Turkey Breast With Kiwi Salsa

For kiwi salsa:

10 kiwis, peeled and medium diced

2 navel oranges, cut into segments

2 tomatoes, peeled and seeded

½ cup sliced green onions

1 bunch fresh cilantro, chopped

1 bell pepper, medium diced

1 jalapeño pepper, seeds removed, finely diced

2 tablespoons brown-rice vinegar

1 tablespoon each kosher salt and cracked black pepper

For roast turkey breast:

One 3- to 4-pound turkey breast, skin on, bone in

Kosher salt and cracked black pepper

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

Making the salsa: Combine all the salsa ingredients in a large bowl and stir. Remove a quarter of the mixture and purée it briefly in a food processor. Add the puréed part back into the salsa and stir. Refrigerate at least 1 hour before serving.

Preparing to roast the turkey: Heat the oven to 500° F. Meanwhile, place the turkey, skin side up, on a rack in a roasting pan. Season the breast with salt and pepper. Slather the turkey breast with the oil, rubbing it with your hands.

Roasting the turkey: Slide the roasting pan into the oven. Let the turkey roast until the skin gets a little crisp, about 15 minutes. Turn the heat down to 375° F. Roast the turkey breast until the internal temperature reaches about 155° F, about 40 minutes. Take the turkey breast out of the oven and let it rest for a few minutes. To serve, carve up the turkey breast and place several slices of turkey on each plate. Top it with a generous spoonful of the kiwi salsa.

Serves 4

NUTRITION SCORE (per serving)

478 calories

17% fat

Fat 9 g

Carbs 20 g

Protein 76 g

Fiber 4.5 g

Calcium 90 mg

Iron 4.7 mg

Sodium 557 mg

We think these two books are must-reads for those who can’t digest gluten. What resources do you suggest for those living with celiac disease?

BoF Survey | How can we make The Business of Fashion work better for you?

The crowd at Fashion Pioneers with Natalie Massenet | Photo: Lawrence Randall

Dear BoF Community,

We are approaching our 4th birthday here at The Business of Fashion and have some big plans in store for 2011 — but before we go any further, we want to get your input on how to grow and develop The Business of Fashion in the year to come.

2010 has been an exceptional year for us. We launched our Fashion Pioneers series of exclusive live-streamed interviews with Natalie Massenet and Jefferson Hack, grew our website traffic by 250 percent, and now have more than 10,000 subscribers to our daily newsletter, which has become a tool that savvy industry insiders around the world have incorporated into their daily professional routine. BoF has also been honoured with media attention from all over the world this year — calling us “The Economist of Fashion“, “A Legitimate Authority“ and “Frankly Genius.”

The time has come for us to take all of this momentum and make BoF even better. As we embark on a new phase of design and development, we’d be grateful for your thoughts and ideas.

You can fill out the short anonymous BoF community survey by clicking here. It will take 2 minutes and will be hugely valuable to us.

Thank you very much for your time,

Imran Amed, Founder and Editor-in-Chief

Toms v. Bobs: Quite Possibly The Most Ridiculous Adventures in Copyright Ever

When we read this story in the LA Times on Sunday, we couldn’t quite believe it:

Skechers, makers of those ugly, inefficient sneakers that were inexplicably popular in late 1990s, has created a line of shoes called Bobs. These shoes are in the style of a traditional alpargata shoe–kind of like an espadrille loafer–and for every pair sold, two pairs will be given to a child in need.

Sound familiar? That’s because it’s the business model of Toms, a shoe line launched by trustafarian/entrepreneur Blake MyCoskie a few years ago. MyCoskie gave away his 1 millionth pair of shoes last month, according the Times.

Skechers says its line is different because it’s giving away two pairs of shoes for every pair sold. Um, yeah. According to intellectual property lawyers the reporter on the story spoke with, MyCoskie has a strong case against Skechers. Unfortunately, he might not have the cash to take them to court. What’s more, these shoes aren’t MyCoskie’s design; they’re centuries old.

But we just find this whole thing, well, sketchy. If you like the business model, use the business model. But don’t copy the design, too. Ick.

J.Crew Gives in to Internet Outcry, Switches Out Hairy Legs Tights on Model

Last Friday, someone on the internet noticed that the model at the top of J.Crew’s women’s shoe page online looked like she had really hairy legs. Initially folks thought that it was a photoshop prank. But how very un-J.Crew! The real reason was that the model was simply wearing a pair of the brand’s lace tights ($22.50) that, in the “fawn” color, ended up making their models’ legs look more hairy than haute. Or, like an actual fawn’s legs.

The weekend was enough time for the “J.Crew Hairy Leg Tights” to become something of an internet meme and today the Daily Mail is reporting the story with the headline, “Somebody get the girl a razor! Trendy tights that appear to make legs look HAIRY take internet by storm!”

So, in what seems to be an effort to quell the “internet storm” that has been brewing over the tights, J.Crew has switched out the lace tights in “fawn” for a pair of black patterned tights that are, unquestionably, tights.

J.Crew is still selling the lace tights, in “fawn,” and, they are still the pair that appear on the model in their accessories section.

Would you wear them?

Lulu & Co Launches on Thursday With Pieces Designed By Gareth Pugh, Marios Schwab, Jonathan Saunders

Lulu Kennedy might not be a fashion household name here in the States, but if you’re part of the industry in London, she’s somewhat of a demigoddess. The founder of Fashion East launched the careers of some of the UK’s most beloved designers, from Richard Nicoll to Jonathan Saunders.

Now Kennedy has teamed up with several of those clothiers to create Lulu & Co, a caspule collection that hits stores on Thursday. (Specifically Matchesfashion.com, Harvey Nichols, Colette and Restir Tokyo.)

The launch includes dresses from 10 designers, and we want them all. Click through to pick your favorite.

Fashion News Roundup: Diddy Won’t Wear Pink to Support Breast Cancer Awareness, M.I.A Wears A Burqa on the Red Carpet, & Amar’e Stoudemire Wants To Co

Diddy Doesn’t Wear Pink: Sean ‘Diddy” Combs hosted a pink-themed charity party for breast cancer awareness. Except he wouldn’t wear pink. Apparently organizers had to hand Diddy a pink scarf, but he never put it on. He just carried it. {Page Six}

Lagerfeld’s Dubai Fashion Island On Hold: Last week, we told you about Isla Moda, a man-made fashion-centric island off the coast of Dubai that Karl is helping design. However, it looks like things have screeched to a halt due to city’s economic collapse. {The New York Observer}

M.I.A is Burqa-Chic?: M.I.A walked the red carpet for the Spike TV Scream Awards wearing a burqa (or niqab). For her performance, the singer ditched her burqa for a more colorful, less conservative getup. {Coco Perez}

Anthropologie To Open Accessories-Only Store: On October 29, Anthropologie will open its first ever accessories-only store in Chevy Chase, Maryland. The store will have a large selection of shoes and jewelry, including estate and antique jewelry. The new store marks the start of several new retail-concept stores Anthropologie plans to roll out. {WWD subscription required}

From Meat Dress To Meat Bling: Remember Lady Gaga’s meat dress? Well, now you can wear a meat necklace a la Gaga. Onch Movement, an LA-based jewelry label, has created a jewelry line inspired my Gaga’s dress. The “Meat-Lace” and “Meat-Cuff” are 100 percent animal-cruelty-free compared to Lady Gaga’s dress, that was turned into jerky. {Racked}

Amar’e Stoudemire Wants To Cover Vogue: New York Knicks star Amar’e Stoudemire told the NY Daily News he hopes that “Anna [Wintour] will bless me to be on the cover of Vogue, but it hasn’t happened yet.” We’d usually raise a brow at a response like that, however, after being spotted with Wintour at several fashion week events, we could see Stoudemire’s dream coming true. Maybe. {NY Daily News}

This Will Make Your Monday. Willow Smith’s “Whip My Hair” Video Is Out Early and It’s Amazing

After Willow Smith made the rounds at Milan Fashion Week, we sensed a budding style icon. This video ups the ante. Not only is the song amazing but whomever styled her for this video deserves an award. From the nail art to the hair art, to the, yes, lip art, we’re digging Willow’s style in this video in a major way.

Made Her Think Is Looking For An Intern!

Jewelry line Made Her Think is looking for an intern to assist with production and product development.

Interested candidates should be:
-Preferably a fashion student who is able to recieve college credit as this is an unpaid internship.
-A jewelry and accessories design major is great, but not necessary. Anyone with an interest in learning about high end jewelry and accessories is great.
-Must be able to commit to a minimum of 2 full days a week.
-A self-starter, hard-worker, eager to learn, organized, detail-oriented, and be able to multi-task.

Responsibilities Include:
-Assisting production department with visits to local vendors and suppliers in New York City.
-Assisting with packing and shipping orders.
-Assisting on the development and organization of new products.
-Staffing special events and projects such as sample sales, collection presentations, photo shoots, etc.
-General office assistance and organization projects that may come up from time to time

If you think you meet all the criteria, and are interested in applying, send your resume to Carla Bobrowicz at carla@madeherthink.com

Stylist Sally Lyndley Needs Interns!

Superstar stylist Sally Lyndley–and Fashionista columnist!–is building a new team of interns in New York City, Los Angeles and a virtual intern team to work on Research and Market Editing via the internet. The intern teams will be working with Sally and her full time teams on both coasts. During the internship, they are committed to teaching their teams as much about the practice of styling as possible. In return, they ask for teamwork from interns to help Sally prepare shoots, consultancy projects and runway shows.

Sally is looking for interns to work in ALL the following areas:
-Creative Research
-Shoot Preparation, Location Assistance & Returns
-Requests
-Database updating
-Runway show preparation & assistance for February
-Market Editing

Interning with Sally Lyndley means working with some of the most respected companies and clients in the fashion world. Sally Lyndley currently is a freelance fashion editor for Love Magazine, V Magazine and US Vogue, among others.

The knowledge interns gain working with Sally and her team is not taught in any school, hence the reason schools insist on internships to get real-world experience. Interns learn how to build a database from scratch, how to be prepared for almost anything for a shoot or show, and most importantly, how to begin to work on your own styling practice.

Sally’s purpose for working with interns is to better set them up to move forward in their own styling careers, whether it be a recommendation to become a lead assistant for another stylist or a market assistant at a magazine, in exchange for the valuable teamwork interns can provide.

Conditions of Satisfaction:
-Available 3+ Days per week for 6 months
-Live in NYC or LA
-Own a Laptop, have Internet access at home & a Mobile Phone with a camera
-Some background of fashion knowledge. Like do you know who Steven Meisel is? If you do, then awesome! If not, you are probably not quite ready yet.

Interested in being part of the virtual intern team? Sally is also looking for interns to work with us via the internet on research and various other projects on the time zones of NYC and LA.

If interested in an internship, please email Penny for more information: penny@sallylyndley.com

Street Style: Suttirat Dresses Like An Urban Grandpa

Name: Suttirat Larlarb

Age: 38

Occupation: Film Designer

What was the last good movie you saw?The Social Network

What are you listening to? Billie Holiday

What are the most prominent colors in your wardrobe? Green and grey

What is your favorite fall drink? Macchiato

How would you describe your style? Urban Grandpa

What are you wearing? An Anntian necklace, Future Classics blazer, Isabel Marant trousers, Mersil shoes, and a Borsalino hat

**All Photos by Ashley Jahncke

Breaking News: Pierre Hardy x Gap Booties Won’t Arrive in Stores Until October 28

Tear. Our beloved Pierre Hardy x Gap booties, which were scheduled to hit stores tomorrow, won’t arrive until October 28. That’s next Thursday.

We’re assuming this has to do with shipping. Even though the shoes weren’t produced in France, they might be coming through Gap Europe, and with the all the strikes going on in the country, there’s a chance that they are stuck in transit.

Besides, it’s only 10 more days, right? Let the countdown begin….

Racked Dealfeed: Dolce Vita, Decadestwo, & MaxMara

Dolce Vita
Deal: 30% off everything in store
When/Where: Friday, October 15 through Friday, October 22. Mon—Sat noon—8pm, Sun noon—7pm. 149 Ludlow St between Stanton and Rivington Sts (212-529-2111)”>Dolce Vita

MaxMara
Deal: Markdowns on fall/winter coats, womenswear, and accessories
When/Where: Monday, October 18 through Friday, October 22. Mon—Thurs 9am—6:30pm, Fri 9am—5pm. Soiffer Haskin, 317 W. 33rd St between Eighth and Ninth Aves (718-747-1656)

Decadestwo
Deal: 20% off designer merchandise from labels like Prada, Balenciaga, Dries Van Noten and more with the code DEC20.
When/Where: Online

The Best Looks from Willow Smith’s “Whip My Hair” Video

We’re completely unabashed about our love for Willow Smith’s “Whip My Hair” video. The song is awesome but the styling is even better. Willow earned some fashion cred when she sat front row next to her mom at Milan Fashion Week. This video should cement her status as the most fashionable nine-year-old in the land. We’re betting the video was styled by Mariel Haenn, who styles Willow as well as Rihanna, and for this dazzling display of creativity (hair as a paintbrush, lip art, and silver eyelashes are just a few of the standout style moments) she deserves massive props. And it’s all age-appropriate. We’re looking at you Cyrus sisters.

Here are our favorite looks from “Whip My Hair” (images are screengrabbed from the video and from Just Jared):

Win an HP Mini 311 and Palm Pixie Plus, Courtesy of DvF

Diane von Furstenberg and HP are having a love affair. On Fashion’s Night Out, the computer giant and wrap dress goddess teamed up to host an event at DvF’s studio. Guests played with new HP technology, and there was even a photo booth where you could dress up in DvF looks. Cute.

And they’re together again, this time to offer Fashionista readers–you lucky ladies and gents–a chance to win an HP Mini 311 and a Palm Pixi Plus. The HP Mini 311 is a lightweight notebook with built-in WiFi and lots of other awesome features, including plenty of storage space for images and files. And the Palm Pixi Plus will put whatever phone you have to shame. It features a thin design with an exposed keyboard, as well as a multi-touch screen.

The winner will win BOTH prizes–we’re jealous–but you’ve got to sign up here by 5pm on Friday, October 22.

And if you haven’t already, make sure to follow DvF on Twitter and Facebook. Because she’s amazing.

The Ladies Of Mad Men: A Style Evolution

Since Mad Men hit the air in 2007, it feels like half of the praise the show receives is about its stunning–and stunningly accurate–costumes.

And if you read our Mad Men Style Recaps, you know we’re big fans of the woman behind those wares, costume designer Janie Bryant. But while we’ve documented the on-air style of Mad Men‘s women quite regularly, we’ve been fairly quiet about what they wear off screen. Thus, in honor of last night’s season finale, we’ve tracked the evolution of their red carpet style.

Mad Men Style Recap, Episode 13

Tomorrowland. It’s how Disney saw the future in the 1960s, brimming with hope and the potential for progress, but come 2010, the future Disney predicted looks nothing but silly. With the future in mind, Mad Men closed season four, making moves that Mad Men’s modern day viewers will think are ill advised.

After a season of rocky patches and forced modernization, Mad Men is shedding its skin and attempting to start fresh. Don, the most tragic of heroes since Hamlet or James Dean, worked to become a new, modern man and ended up engaged to his new, modern secretary. It’s the oldest trick in the book, really, so passé and yet just the fix for Don’s penchant for progress.

Don pitches the American Cancer Society in a dark, dreary gray suit and tie in a wood paneled room that’s more stuffy than the interior of the National Arts Club. Pete, beside him, looks equally uptight in a greenish suit and black tie. A dark seriousness permeates the episode’s start, things still looking down from Lucky Strike’s departure. Once in sunny California, Don tries to brighten up, but still sticks out like a sore thumb. He wears a suit to the pool, in the hotel room, and to visit Anna’s home, before finally loosening up and jumping in (in teensy black swim trunks). Later, he’s looking more modern in a Stella McCartney-esque denim shirt and khaki pants. The next morning he’s switched out his suit shirt for a loose black button down at brunch, but back in the SCDP offices he’s looking pretty old-timey again in a dark suit and tie. Though at least he’s smiling while next to Megan.

The only scene involving Don where I wasn’t cringing was the final one, where he goes to his home upstate and runs into Betty. In a haunting moment Don and Betty share one of the most honest conversations to occur on Mad Men. Betty has been labeled everything by Mad Men fans, including “monster.” To be fair, she’s not so much a monster as she is old fashioned.

Betty’s entire wardrobe this episode is comprised of full skirted, New Look ensembles in cool colors. She fires Carla in a full on AW10 camel ensemble, gets in a tiff with Henry in a plaid dress that could’ve been the inspiration for Prada AW10, and loiters in the Draper home in a gray dress and cobalt swing coat. Everything she knows is from an older time: morality, parenting, strictness, behavioral codes. She fires Carla for disobeying her about Glen, whose friendship with Sally is too modern for Betty to understand.

And then there was Megan.

She’s outgoing, upfront, and clear about her desires. Her style is like a young Fran Drescher, straight, skinny, and mod, minus the Queens flair. And like Fran Drescher in The Nanny, she marries the boss.

Starting the episode in a slim navy dress with white striped trim around the neck, Megan acts as Don’s nanny to California. It should be noted that the only reason Don needs a nanny for his kids is that doesn’t have a wife to care for them while he works. Megan fills the role of wife and nanny. In an ivory full skirted dress with red patterning she looks proper and fresh while playing with the kids and she goes chic and modern in the pool in round sunglasses and a floppy hat. She pulls a Don when she goes out with her friend from college wearing a black dress with a square keyhole front. It’s an excellent business decision, spending time with someone connected and ambitious, even if they are pompous. Finally Megan wears a coral slim dress when she’s announced to be the next Mrs. Draper to the SCDP staff. Turns out coral really is the color of love.

On the losing side is Faye. She was too much of an equal for Don, too real of a woman for Don to commit to loving her. She started the episode leaving Don’s bed, foreshadowing her leaving his life, wearing a white and black patterned, tie-neck blouse. She’s getting on a plane, maybe a pun on her flight attendant wardrobe that I loathe so passionately? Even though Faye was badly dressed, I enjoyed her character, but she was too cunning to last. When Don calls to break up with her she wears a brown slim dress that ties at the neck and an engagement ring. How can Don propose to a woman whose already married to herself? Don wants to be Mr. & Mrs. Donald Draper, not Mr. Don Draper and Ms. Faye Miller, and so Faye’s ambition will always be a problem for him. But it’s this same motivation that may come back to bite Don. Faye knows about his true identity and with her implied mob connections, the future for Dick Whitman isn’t looking too bright.

Outside of the Don plot line, there were some breakthroughs for Peggy and Joan.

Peggy performs amazingly well in a meeting with Topaz hosiery, and ends up signing the account. Wearing her dark black and tan dress, (kind of topaz-y colors), she shoots out one line after another, a truly stellar performance for a copywriter. She’s furious that her triumph is being, yet again, overshadowed by Don. She commiserates with Joan, also wearing dark tones, about the ridiculousness of SCDP. Let’s hope a friendship forms here, since their plot lines are strangely similar, except the baby is Roger’s this time and will be posing as her husband’s. Joan hides her baby bump first in a teal dress and later in black.

So, in a nutshell, that’s what happened sartorially on Mad Men this season. It was shocking and modern and a little crazy, and, just like Don, I’m excited for what the future holds.