I have always had a pout plumper than your average Joey.  Sure, people nowadays spend good dough to have doughier lips, but lusciousness was just not trendy on the schoolyard.  I will be the first to kiss and tell that I was often subject to the sound of smooching air kisses or constantly asked if I ate Twizzlers.  So, I did what any twelve-year-old kid would have done and turned these Pisces lips inward to look less Angelina and more…hmm…Kirsten Dunst?  The problem was that doing this made my lips always chapped, and this was before Sugar by fresh was invented.  Well, now I know that ladies who lunch, grrls, and gurls please, covet these lip smackers.  Above all (besides the fact that I ❤ RED licorice,) the lips motif is a fashion designer’s muse.

Without the inspiration of lips in fashion, what would happen to Lulu Guinness whose trademark is the lip clutch?  In fact, before Bleecker St. became a zoo (thank you SJP,) I use to look through Lulu’s window after passing by Magnolia Bakery and admired the red Swarovski and the Great Britain clutches.  Today the cupcakes at Magnolia can be envious of all the variations of lips sold at the boutique.  And aside from Ms. Guinness, there is also Diane von Furstenberg who literally seals her envelope bags with a kiss, and Charlotte Olympia who literally kisses the feet of her clientele.  I always thought people in the fashion industry were tired from overwork or dieting, but it might just be Mono.  Kiss-kiss!

Before these women came Salvador Dalí who’s not only known for his ‘Mae West Lips Sofa,’ but for the jewelry collection he created that included a brooch constructed of rubies for lips and pearls for teeth — could this be where the ‘ruby red lipstick’ and ‘pearly white teeth’ descriptions come from? Which came first, the chicken or the egg?  Anyway, I had the privilege of viewing those lips this past autumn in Figueres, Spain in that building with the gigantic, well, eggs on top.  I am sure Dalí influenced Sonia Rykiel when she designed a jewelry line of her own that featured a lips theme.

Aside from all the lip-cessories, the pout became more prominent on my fashion GPS with Christian Dior’s recent couture show in Paris.  It reminded me of so many Friday nights hanging out with Edi Carlos and JR on Avenue A when Opaline was still open, and I would notice Richie Rich’s lips were often a Dorothy red that really sparkled under the streetlights.  And of course, whenever Ms. Heatherette was around there was always the inimitable Amanda Lepore and her iconic lips whose “red lipstick kisses” were and are still fabulous.

This Valentine’s Day, if you do not have that special someone to smooch, there is always the option of avoiding drunken bar-kisses and instead purchasing a lip-themed fashion accessory in the Village, Meatpacking District, or even Saks that you could kiss forever until you decide to put in on eBay.  There are the chocolate kisses too, and these will definitely not give you Mono!  xxx

RELATED LINK: