For the Venice Film Festival premiere of Sofia Coppola's buzzworthy Somewhere, the new "Gossip Girl" actress Clemence Poesy dressed down her ultra feminine blush-pink Louis Vuitton top with a denim circle skirt and completed the look with LV accessories, including a pair of super swank black velvet wedges and a small black clutch. Opting for a more elegant take on femininity, Michelle Williams wore a Jason Wu gown, Bulgari gems and a Cecelia clutch for the Venice Film Festival's premiere of Meek's Cutoff. Which do you prefer?

The xx have snagged the prestigious British music award called the Mercury Prize for their prolific self-titled debut album at the Grosvenor House hotel in London tonight.

The south London trio’s ethereal, sensual distinct sound has impressed critics and new fans all around the world in just one year since the albums release. Thus, the Mecury Prize, a $31,000 prize (which also means a huge boost in sales) limited to 1 musical act each year has been rightfully awarded to them.

It was an almost unanimous decision welcomed with open arms by top players in the music industry. The members (Romy Madley Croft, Oliver Sim, and Jamie Smith) stepped onto the stage to graciously thank the wildly excited audience for the money which they said will go towards building their first studio (their first album had been made in a converted basement the size of a bathroom).

Previous top musical acts to win this award include the Klaxons, Arctic Monkeys and Elbow. Catch the xx at the Hollywood Palladium September 22^nd!

New York punk/funk scenesters: The Rapture, Panda Bear and local indie acts: Best Coast, Local Natives, and Dead Man’s Bones (complete with a children's choir) were among the top shining stars of the 35 strong lineup at this year's FYF festival.

Defying hour-long waits for booze and toilets (even the Cha Cha Lounge's VIP section was jam-packed), a crowd of around 10,000 braved the dust, heat and chaos on Saturday at the Los Angeles State Historic Park, to dance, sing, bond and parade an assortment of fashion statements.A few highlights greeted the eager sea of mustaches, oversized hats, vintage boots, lots of lace, denim cutoffs, and how could we leave out the hipster fox tail trend (wtf?).

Panda Bear (Noah Lennox of Animal Collective) completely reinterpreted his usual song structure and onstage dynamic, embracing all things abrasive and discordant over the band’s trademark fluttering melancholia of "Merriweather Post Pavilion."

Also pulling a rabbit out of their hat were the ever-so-eccentric Dead Man’s Bones, who brought a fully-costumed kids choir (who called themselves the "Warm Glass of Milk" of the Silverlake Children’s Choir) on stage as a creative addition to their eagerly anticipated set. Ryan Gosling (whose voice proved to be exceptional live) charmed a huge enthusiastic crowd, some seeming a little miffed by the choir.

The Rapture always has the ability to get the legions on their feet, and this wasn’t an exception on Saturday. Despite New York’s finest having been laying low in a live context for several months working on new material in their Brooklyn studio, The Rapture was in full affect as they closed FYF with the likes of "Get Myself Into It," "Killing," and "Sister Saviour." Frontman Luke Jenner’s vocals were off the charts as he belted out the cowbell-ridden "House of Jealous Lovers" to a wildly excited crowd.

The Rapture concluded their hour-long set with a long overdue new song (their last album release being "No Sex for Ben" in 2008) entitled 'Sail Away,' presenting the bands new sound which moves on from their punk rock proclivities and moves into the new wave world. There's no album release date as of yet, but we will keep you posted!

Local Natives originated in Orange County, California…but don’t let that fool you. Their sound is distinctly Silver Lake, where they moved shortly after forming. Give a listen to their debut album, Gorilla Manor, and you will hear driving, rough-around-the-edges grit and complex melodies and harmonies reminiscent of other Silver Lake indie bands (such as Silversun Pickups), rather than the clean, poppy Orange County sound of, say, Something Corporate. The band, consisting of members: Taylor Rice, Kelcey Ayer, Ryan Hahn, Andy Hamm, and Matt Frazier, collaborates together on every aspect of their album, down to the artwork…and the results show it.

It’s difficult to put a label on Local Natives. At times their sound is mellow, almost ambient, the kind of music you have on but don’t actively listen to. At other times, their music pours out of the speakers and demands your attention with energetic percussion and wild melodies.

Drummer Matt Frazier’s work is especially impressive, from the intense syncopation of “Wide Eyes” to the complete cacophony of “Shape Shifter”, in which seemly random snares, crashes, and the jingle of tambourines somehow mesh together into a unified structure. The band also does a lot with their vocals, using unconventional harmonies that sometimes break into three or more parts. Local Natives has been compared to Vampire Weekend, Fleet Foxes, and Grizzly Bear (and a bit of Dr. Dog too), but make no mistake: this sound is distinctly theirs.

If you choose to download a digital copy of Gorilla Manor directly from their website, you will also get videos of live performances and other extras. If you want to see them live yourself, you’ll have to do a bit of traveling (or craigslist searching)…Local Natives will be in Los Angeles at the Henry Ford Theater on September 17th and 18th (with The Love Language and The Union Line), but both shows are sold out. You can still get tickets for their shows in Solana Beach and Santa Barbara. But, by the looks of things, you’d better hurry. You can also follow them on Twitter @localnatives.

Whether it's thigh-high knitted socks, lacy knee highs, or last spring's bike short under dresses/shorts/skirt trend, this new era of legwarmers are definitely making a comeback for Fall 2010.

As temperatures cool down, make that wardrobe evolution easy and effective. First get yourself some bike shorts, we said it, either lace ($40 by Only Hearts), mesh, or spandex, and pair them with denim cutoffs or a floral frock. For, a date night, rock some knee-high sheer socks ($14 at Urban Outfitters) with a pair of vintage boots and you're good to go. Next, go for some thigh highs ($14 at Urban Outfitters, and no, not like a hooker) to jazz up that outfit and keep those stems warm for a night on the town. Coordinate with temperatures accordingly and you're set for fall!

Next week’s Downtown Film Festival (launches September 8th) is shadowed by controversy with the screening of the much talked about art/sex film series called "Destricted."

Destricted is the first short film collection of its kind, bringing together sex and art in a series of short films created by some of the world’s most visual and provocative artists and directors. Beyond explicit in content, these films (including Richard Prince’s House Call, Gaspar Noe’s We Fuck Alone and Hoist by Matthew Barney’s a.k.a. Bjork's husband) reveal the diverse attitudes by which we represent ourselves sexually.

Formed in 2004, the Destricted brand is the first in a continuing series. The seven films highlight controversial issues about the representation of sexuality in art; opening up for debate the question of whether art can be disguised as pornography or whether pornography can be disguised as art or something else altogether. The result is a collection of sexy, stimulating, challenging, provocative, strange and sometimes humorous scenarios that leave it up to the viewer / voyeur to decide.

The 2010 Downtown Film Festival L.A. will be held Sept. 8-12 in venues throughout Los Angeles’ historic core. More than 100 feature-length and short films – narrative, documentary and experimental – will be presented along with filmmaker Q&As, panel discussions, cocktail parties, live music events and receptions. More information can be found at www.dffla.com.

Presenting “Lady & Relic,” the newest affordable jewelry line brought to us Angeleno’s by the other coast. Melissa Limoncelli, Graduate of 2005 from New York’s esteemed Parsons, has managed to create a cohesive collection of effortlessly cool jewelry.

From the uber trendy three-finger rings, head-turning spiked bangles, mixed-metal necklaces, and glitzy stud earrings, “Lady & Relic” is the hottest (and most reasonable – prices range from $35 to $650) jewelry line to grab our attention since Nicole Richie’s “House of Harlow” first debuted. Every piece (delineated by each of the subcategories: Tribalista, Sugar & Spykes, Urban Warrior, Rebel Simple, and Mon Petit Charms), reflects that of a modern minx - timeless beauty with a whole lot of edge.

Our picks include: The Chain Gang Bangle ($150) is a more feminine piece that shimmers delicately on your wrist while the Call Me Petit Spyke Bangle ($180) gives a nod to punk rock. The Tangled In You Necklace ($595), with its tangled mess of metals and silver is just perfect – see for yourself.

Limoncelli says she “aimed to create modern relics — durable pieces that pay homage to ageless standards of quality while offering a current perspective for a new generation of women.” And she’s done just that. Get yourself a custom-designed geometric mixed-metal ring (via her website) and you’ll easily take that ensemble to a whole new level of cool.

If there’s one thing you can say about Arcade Fire, above all else, it’s that they know how to construct an album. The Suburbs, which entered the Billboard Top 200 albums chart at No. 1, is less an album and more a symphony, with interludes, songs divided into parts I and II, and repeating themes. Oh, and the music is damn good, too.

Given the band’s propensity for making statements with their music, the title "The Suburbs" should immediately give you an idea of what you’re in for. The message of husband-wife duo Win Butler and Régine Chassagne isn’t hidden in these lyrics; they’re sung out loud and unabashed, determined to warn us of the impending loss of our freedom as we resign ourselves to punching the clock and living behind our white picket fences.

In “Sprawl II” (one of a few multi-part songs on the album), Régine sings “They heard me singing and they told me to stop, quit these pretentious things and just punch the clock”, and repeats through the chorus, “Dead shopping malls rise like mountains beyond mountains, and there's no end in sight, I need the darkness someone please cut the lights.” These images of the wasteland of the suburbs, darkness and light, freedom and the search for the place where we belong are the spine of this album. But the message isn’t to avoid this next stage in life at all costs: in the title track, Butler asks “So can you understand/Why I want a daughter while I’m still young/I wanna hold her hand/And show her some beauty/Before this damage is done.”

The tension in the lyrics between having to grow up and “fit in” and trying to avoid becoming “wasted” come through in the music as well. As the first track (“The Suburbs”) begins, the swinging beat and piano sound almost jaunty, and even in the desolation of “Sprawl II”, the melody rises and falls, ending each line with a pleasant major resolve.

But at times throughout the album, the melody will fall to a cold minor tune…a mirror of the idea that no matter what suburban life might look like on the surface, there’s a different story going on underneath. These major and minor tensions keep you on edge for the entire album and kick you every time you start to get comfortable, until finally you reach the reprise of “The Suburbs” and hear a defeated echo of the opening melody.

So, it’s not exactly easy listening, but the intricacies of this album will draw you in and keep you playing it on a loop. It’s difficult to top the award-winning predecessors Funeral and Neon Bible, but The Suburbs does come close to doing so.

Make sure you check out Arcade Fire's newly released ultra inventive viral video for The Suburbs single, "We Used To Wait." (If you don't have Google Chrome, take a minute of your time to download it and welcome to the future.) The band will be making a short trip down the west coast of the U.S. in October, so be sure to catch them at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles on Oct. 7th and 8th!

Last week, Natalie Portman stopped for lunch at Urth Cafe in West Hollywood in just about the nerdiest frock we've ever seen. Though, she made it up for it last night at the Venice Film Festival’s Style Star Lounge.

Portman looked ravishing in a deep purple Miu Miu dress and Charles David shoes while promoting her new flick, "Black Swan," the opener for the festival. The thriller, directed by Darren Aronofsky (The Wrestler), is set in the world of ballet rivalry (starring Portman, Mila Kunis, and Winona Ryder). "Black Swan" hits theaters December 1st, 2010, check out the trailer here: ]]>

Last week, Natalie Portman stopped for lunch at Urth Cafe in West Hollywood in just about the nerdiest frock we’ve ever seen. Though, she made it up for it last night at the Venice Film Festival’s Style Star Lounge.

Portman looked ravishing in a deep purple Miu Miu dress and Charles David shoes while promoting her new flick, “Black Swan,” the opener for the festival. The thriller, directed by Darren Aronofsky (The Wrestler), is set in the world of ballet rivalry (starring Portman, Mila Kunis, and Winona Ryder). “Black Swan” hits theaters December 1st, 2010, check out the trailer here:

With the balmy days dwindling, so are your chances to bare flesh publicly while bands play outdoors. For those not burnt out by the recent plague of local festivals, including Sunset Junction, Sunset Strip Festival, or Outside lands, get to Fuck Yeah Fest this weekend for another chance to don your denim cutoffs.

Nestled downtown just beside Chinatown, LA State Historic Park plays host to a plethora of indie outfits on Saturday, including UK dance hybrid scenesters The Rapture as well as !!!, New York’s Panda Bear of Animal Collective, L.A.'s very own overnight phenomenon Local Natives, actor Ryan Gosling's band Dead Man's Bones, and a huge collection of local groovers.

Others include Sleep, Unbroken, Man Man, 7Seconds, Thee Oh Sees, The Mountain Goats, Ted Leo + Pharmacists, Delorean, Cold Cave, Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti, Washed Out, Wavves, School of Seven Bells, AA Bondy, The Blow, Best Coast, Davila 666, Titus Andronicus, The Soft Pack, Abe Vigoda, Warpaint, Off!, Vetiver, Ceremony, Big Freedia, Screaming Females, Magic Kids, The Growlers, Lower Dens, Let’s Wrestle, Cults and more.

Now in its seventh year, FYF 2010 will offer three stages to host the 30+ acts booked for the day. To top this big bash off, FYF will offer vegan food, DIY silk-screening, a record swap meet, local comics and ultimately provide the perfect venue to wear vintage wayfarers, stripe or plaid shirts, and various accoutrements of the hipster uniform (not?)