Author Archive: Donna Kato
Donna Kato - fashion expert, trend-spotter and style editor - is a veteran journalist who has covered fashion, retail and the beauty industries. Currently a principal in an early-stage technology venture, she helps consumers understand and incorporate into their lives both practical and cutting-edge design.
Feel-good holiday shopping
Before you hit the mall with your holiday shopping list, consider the offerings at a one-day boutique set up to benefit a new, local museum. When I moved to San Jose more than 20 years ago, I felt an immediate kinship to the Japanese-American community in Silicon Valley. I’m thankful to have met and interviewed [...]
The LBD primer
How to choose the best Little Black Dress for you By By Donna Kato; photos by Stephanie Grace Lim In a season abundant with reliably chic classics, the Little Black Dress still reigns in its timeless versatility. The best LBDs always look and feel effortless. The right dress has the power to make you feel [...]
Fashion fixation: star beauty secrets revealed!
Kate Somerville, the Hollywood skin expert whose clients include such luminously-skinned celebrities as Jessica Alba and Lea Michele, will be in the East Bay on Saturday and you, too, can hear some of the same advice she gives her starlet clients. The Beverly Hills esthetician, beauty expert and author brings her expertise to Nordstrom at [...]
Fashion fixation: Pierre Hardy at the Gap
Pierre Hardy brings his special touch with footwear to Gap with a pair of limited edition boots. The peep toe suede wedge, pictured here, make putting away our sandals just a little easier. The French shoe designer’s shorty booties will be in four select stores in the U.S., but lucky for us, that includes the [...]
Fashion fixation: mirror, mirror on the wall
They gave us nightmares when we were kids but now the most famous Disney villains are taking over our vanities with a little help from MAC Cosmetics. Cruella de Vil who tormented 101 Dalmatians, Maleficent from Sleeping Beauty, Snow White’s Evil Queen and new bad guy Dr. Facilier from The Princess and the Frog, are [...]
Camera-ready?
Makeup and hair tips for that special night By Donna Kato; photos by Joanne Ho-Young Lee The makeup A night out means putting more than a fresh face forward, says San Francisco-based stylist and makeup artist Clifford Hashimoto, who did the makeup for models Kyla and Malia in this issue of Scene.“So many women don’t [...]
Master of the drape
Designer Tadashi Shoji on giving every woman her Hollywood moment By Donna Kato; photos by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images for Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week There are two kinds of evening gowns. There’s the imposing entrance-maker, drawing every eye in the room to its wow factor. Then there’s there’s the subtle elegance of a Tadashi Shoji gown, beautifully [...]
Make an entrance
Show-stopping looks for special occasions. By Donna Kato; photos by Joanne Ho-Young Lee California casual may define our sartorial choices, but when the Bay Area’s gala season starts, we easily shift into black tie and formal gowns. Fall’s dreamy dresses are defined by jewel tones, twinkling embellishments and sculpted sophistication. There’s movement and flow and [...]
