By Trya Banks

Posted May 14th 2010

Hi everybody…

I’m so EXCITED!! I said I was going to do it, and here it is!  It’s for all the girls and guys who want a lot more FANTASY in their lives…  and some fierceness and magic, romance and mystery, crazy and wild adventures, and yeah, some danger too.  It’s my novel called Modelland (pronounced “Model Land”) that takes you to a fantastical place you’ve never seen, or heard about, or read about before… Where dreams come true and life can change in the blink of a smoky eye. 

I think Modelland is going to really touch the dreamer in all of us, whether you’re aged anywhere from 8 to 80. (Please don’t be mad if you’re 7 or 81, but “eight to eighty” sounds better!)

I hope it’s a story everyone will fall in love with.  And I know my partners at Random House (whom I love, BTW) are hoping you like it too, since we’re doing not one but a series of THREE Modelland books.  Hey, I think you’re going to have fun following the lives of the characters…  I won’t tell you their names YET, but I can tell you many of them are based on the real people in my life as well as some of the models I’ve known – both nice and “ice” (Brrrrr…..).

The story happens in a make-believe place called Modelland – every girl in the world wants to go there because it’s where “Intoxibellas” are trained.  Intoxibellas are drop-dead beautiful, kick-butt fierce and, yeah, maybe they have some powers too.  (But I’m confirming NOTHING! Ha. You gotta wait for the book.)  The story follows a teen girl and her friends who find themselves magically transported to Modelland, even though they’re really not supposed to be there. (Okay, now, that’s ALL I’m saying!)

Modelland has always been a part of my mind and my heart.  As you might know, I step into a bookstore and I shake (really!) because I love books so much.  Ever since I was a kid, I couldn’t wait to pick up a new book and see what worlds the writers had created for me. I especially loved books with strong girls and women – you know, girls with guts, smarts and attitude – and then one day it came to me… MODELLAND!   I’m getting it ready for you through my new division called Bankable Books and now I’m shaking for a different reason…  I’m excited that you’ll be able to read about this magical world that’s been living in my dreams for so many years.

So, look out for some special things I’ll be doing here at Tyra.com to start getting you ready for Modelland.  And stay tuned for more news from my company, Bankable Enterprises, where we live, eat, breathe, sleep and DREAM about ways to expand the definition of beauty!  I can’t wait for us live the dream of Modelland together!

Fierce & Love,
Tyra aka TyTy

By MERCEDES CARDONA

As department stores gird themselves for what is expected to be a no-holds-barred fight for market share, Macy’s (M) continues to press its celebrity-driven strategy to revive sales with an exclusive deal with rap mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs.

Sean John, the fashion brand fronted by the artist formerly known as Puffy, will be available only at Macy’s stores beginning with its spring men’s sportswear line arriving in October, and it will have its own in-store shops at key Macy’s locations, such as its 34th Street flagship in New York. Macy’s has been carrying Sean John since the line launched in 1999 with men’s sportswear; it later expanded to a full line of menswear, fragrances and women’s apparel.

Officials of Macy’s — which already has exclusive deals with Madonna, Martha Stewart and Tommy Hilfiger, among other notables — had hinted that they had another deal coming when they met with investors in late April to lay out their strategy to grow as retail emerges from the recession. The company, which is also the parent company of Bloomingdale’s, has made star-powered exclusives a big part of its merchandising plans.

Macy’s CEO Terry Lundgren said his stores are not tapped out in terms of how many exclusive brands they can handle. The Sean John deal fills in some “white space” in the menswear department in stores, but with annual sales around $24 billion, there is plenty of room, he said.

Macy’s will reap a bounty of publicity, free and otherwise, from the deal. “I’m going to be on every talk show in the world,” said Combs, who has a new album out June 28 and a new movie, “Get Him to the Greek,” opening this summer. He promised to plug the fashion line in every public appearance.

Department Stores Take Aim at Rivals’ Customers

Most department store chains have looked to private labels and exclusive deals to restore some luster to their brands and lure back some of the fashion shoppers they’ve been losing to specialty stores since the 1990s. Earlier this year, Saks (SKS) Chairman Steve Sadove estimated his stores’ stock is 20% to 25% exclusive items. Mid-price chains such as J.C. Penney (JCP) and Kohl’s (KSS), and discounters such as Target (TGT), have built entire strategies around big-name exclusive brands.

The department stores are preparing for a serious fight for market share this year, both among themselves and against specialty retailers. While they are hopeful that the economy is turning, most merchants don’t anticipate the market will see a lot of additional spending among consumers. At the same investors meeting in late April, Lundgren was blunt in saying he expects Macy’s sales growth this year will come at the expense of its rivals.

Analysts appear to agree. Looking ahead toward spring and summer sales, some observers are already warning investors that the department store sector may have tapped out its potential. Too much focus on the same fashion categories will lead to bruising battles for market share.

For apparel companies, on the other hand, exclusive deals can be a comfortable set of golden handcuffs. While they limit the number of stores where merchandise is available, the department stores guarantee it better display in stores, plus marketing help and merchandising support that can be prohibitively expensive for an apparel company to finance on its own.

“This is one of the greatest business moves I’ve made in my life,” said Combs. The Sean John brand has annual sales of $525 million, and although neither he nor Macy’s executives would give hard numbers, Combs added: “We expect to do a couple of billion more.”

By Joe Lynch in Stop The Presses!

Posted April 24th 2010

Mariah Carey is downsizing her backstage demands for her 2010 tour, but she’s come up with a new set of unusual requests to supersede the old ones. For a self-described Imperfect Angel, she certainly demands perfection.

One of the singer’s latest stipulations is that she not be bombarded with any “busy patterns” in her backstage living room. Floral prints, plaids, and stripes are out, but she can deal with “dark pink” furniture. Additional requests for her main space include two vases of white roses and “eight tall, leafy plants” to give her room that eco-chic ambience.

The updated list of demands recently released by TheSmokingGun.com also reveals that Carey’s taste in adult drinks has matured with time-at least if we compare it to the list they ran a few years ago. The R&B vocal athlete no longer demands a “box of bendy straws” for her chilled bottle of Cristal, and she’s not replacing them with curly ones, either. These days Carey requires a $200 bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon to fuel those saucy “Mimi moments.” Maybe she changed her ways after attributing a rambling acceptance speech at a Palm Springs gala to “splashes of champagne.”

Her water consumption has also become more sophisticated since we last saw her tour rider: Instead of Poland Spring bottled water, Carey now prefers the H2O of Fiji. San Pellegrino–not just plain seltzer water-is now her bubbly drink of choice.

Concert venues aren’t the only ones trying to impress Mimi, though. Hubby Nick Cannon plans on buying her yet another ring in honor of their third marriage on April 30. This time they’re re-retying the knot to celebrate their two-year anniversary.

“We get married every year! That’s our thing,” the 29-year-old singer/actor/comedian told UsMagazine. Even though this is the third ring he’s bought for the woman who will “always be [his] baby,” Cannon promises, “It’ll be something different. Something good.”

Considering Carey’s engagement ring reportedly cost the former Nickelodeon star $2.5 million, it’s hard to imagine how Cannon is going to top that. Maybe he can toss in some bendy straws for old time’s sake.

By Gary Susman

Posted April 24th 2010

Lane Bryant has been making a big to-do this week over the commercial for its new Cacique lingerie line, which the plus-size retailer claims was banned from ABC’s ‘Dancing With the Stars’ and FOX’s ‘American Idol’ because it flashes too much flesh for the family-oriented shows.

LANE BRYANT COMMERCIAL VIDEO

That is, Lane Bryant says the networks rejected the spot because it’s too risqué and because they have a bias against full-figured models.

But are the networks really displaying a double standard, or is Lane Bryant’s claim just a publicity stunt? Is this all just a tempest in a D-cup, an effort to make Lane Bryant seem provocative, controversial and sexy?
The ad in question, which Lane Bryant has posted at its Web site (which calls the spot “The Lingerie Commercial Fox and ABC Did Not Want Their Viewers to See”), shows a curvy woman trying on various articles of lingerie, checking an appointment on her smartphone (”Meet Dan for lunch”), then heading out of the house wearing nothing but a bra and panties under her trench coat for a presumed nooner with Dan. A little salacious for the family hour? Perhaps, but it’s not too different from any other lingerie ad on TV, except that the model in the commercial is voluptuous, not toothpick-thin. Watch:

And that’s the point raised by Lane Bryant in a complaint the retailer posted Wednesday on its own Inside Curve blog. The post claims that ABC rejected the ad as unfit for ‘Dancing,’ except perhaps during the final moments of the show, and that FOX sent it back three times asking for edits before agreeing to air it on ‘Idol.’ This despite similar ads from Victoria’s Secret and Playtex running on both shows. Why? “Too much cleavage” was the networks’ complaint, according to Inside Curve.

As Inside Curve notes, ABC and FOX show plenty of eyebrow-raising programming in the primetime hours during which kids are likely to be perched in front of the TV. “These are the same networks that have scantily-clad housewives so desperate they seduce every man on the block,” writes Lane Bryant’s blogger, “and don’t forget Bart Simpson, who has shown us the moon more often than NASA, all during what they call ‘prime time.’”

But is there any truth behind the blogger’s claim that what ABC and FOX truly object to is that the bare flesh on display here belongs to a plus-size model? “Our new commercials represent the sensuality of the curvy woman who has more to show the world than the typical waif-like lingerie model,” the blogger writes. “What we didn’t know was that the networks, which regularly run Victoria’s Secret and Playtex advertising on the very shows from which we’re restricted, would object to a different view of beauty.”

While it’s true that TV seldom presents plus-sized women as sexy (in either ads or in the programming surrounding them), there’s no indication that ABC or FOX objected to the Lane Bryant model’s ample assets. A FOX source told PopEater that Lane Bryant was treated like any other advertiser for the same product, that ‘Idol’ has aired Playtex lingerie ads with plus-sized models and that Victoria’s Secret (unlike Lane Bryant) agreed to edit its current ad to air during the 9PM results show. And while FOX did balk at airing the Lane Bryant spot at 8PM without edits, it has agreed to show the ad uncut during the 9PM hour of ‘Idol’ next week. So much for the commercial “FOX… did not want their viewers to see.”

ABC issued a statement in which it also denied any double standards and hinted that Lane Bryant was more interested in generating publicity from controversy than actually placing its ad on ‘Dancing.’ “Their statements are not true,” the ABC statement said, regarding Lane Bryant’s allegations. “The ad was accepted to run in ‘DWTS.’ Lane Bryant was treated absolutely no differently than any advertiser for the same product. We were willing to accommodate them, but they chose to seek publicity instead.”

Lane Bryant’s spokesperson, however, told PopEater that ABC rejected its ad for all but the final minutes of ‘Dancing’ while running a commercial for Victoria’s Secret that was similar in every respect except for the weight of the model. “We have never experienced this level of rejection – especially with what was clearly already approved and running on their network,” said Holly Baird of Los Angeles PR firm Sitrick and Company, which the Columbus, Ohio-based retailer has hired to field inquiries about the ad. (Lane Bryant also directed Zimmerman Advertising, the Fort Lauderdale, Fla., agency that created the commercial, to forward all questions about it to Sitrick.)

“The only difference between our work and [Victoria's Secret's] work appeared to be the size of the models,” Baird said. “We do not believe beauty has a size. The networks’ reluctance to approve our spots appear to be discriminatory to plus-sized women everywhere.”

The controversy over an ad that hasn’t even aired yet certainly seems an effective (and inexpensive) way for Lane Bryant to make a splash in a national TV ad market that it’s only barely dipped its toes into for the last couple of years, during a recession in which many companies drastically cut back on their ad budgets. A report from media research firm Kantar Media shows that the clothing chain bought $1.13 million worth of TV time in 2008 but only $1,000 last year. Now, its re-entry into the TV marketplace is getting all sorts of free publicity.

Even so, if this is just a move to generate hype, it could have been a lot more effective, suggested advertising industry reporter Willow Duttge. “If this were a too-hot-for-TV publicity stunt,” Duttge told PopEater, “why wouldn’t they make the ad even racier, even more controversial?”

Gina Hobbs

Posted April 7th 2010

Phenomenally, they are Phenomenal Women

Phenomenal Women and Powerful Topics at 8^th Annual Women of Color Retreat

Cleveland/Akron, Ohio —- “Cause I’m a woman – Phenomenally.  Phenomenal Woman, that’s Me.”  One of Maya Angelou’s most famous poems, “Phenomenal Woman” will be witnessed, up close and personal, as some of the most powerful women in Northeast Ohio convene at the 8^th Annual Personal and Professional Development Retreat for Women of Color.

Alexandria Johnson Boone Chairwoman & Founder Women Of Color Foundation

Over 400 women are expected to attend the event, which will take place Saturday, April 10 through Monday, April 12 at the University of Akron. The Retreat is being presented by the University of Akron, The Girl Scouts of Northeast Ohio, WEWS-TV5 and PNC.

The retreat is a unique concept and forum designed to facilitate the collaboration, networking, mentoring, sharing, executive development and training of women and girls.

Numerous programs with panelists are planned for the three-day conference.  Designed to leave women with a greater sense of “empowerment,” participants will be encouraged to actively participate in workshops and interactive exhibits discussing topics relating to health, career planning, technology and social media, politics, volunteerism, leadership, family life and work balance, and mentoring

Some of the women expected to participate in the Retreat include:  Candace Campbell Jackson, Vice President and Chief of Staff, the University of Akron; Dr. Daisy Alford-Smith, President and CEO, Girl Scouts of Northeast Ohio; Viki Regan, Vice President and General Manager, WEWS-TV, Newschannel 5; Ann Bomar, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Dominion East Ohio; LeJoyce Naylor, Executive Director, Diversity and Inclusion, Cleveland Clinic; Marquita Batchelor, Operations Training Manager, Medical Mutual; Linda Sternheimer, Development Manager, Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Port Authority; Sharon Dennis, Magistrate, Domestic Relations Court; Tracy Oliver, Director, Media, Dominion East Ohio; Dr. Jacklyn Chisholm, Vice President of Planning and Institutional Relations at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum; and Daisey Williams, Retired Training Administrator/Manager, GMAC; and more.

Dr. Daisy Alford-Smith President, CEO Girl Scouts of Northeast Ohio

Candace Campbell Jackson, Vice President, Chief of Staff University ofAkron

Judy Smith, NDMT, NDCT, Internationally renowned Author, Trainer, Poet and Facilitator

S. Renee Smith, Nationally renowned Image Consultant, Speaker, Author and Media Expert

Attendees will have the opportunity to freely navigate between three “tracks” of their choice, featuring a variety of topics:  Track one, Leadership Enhancement, is designed for the professional woman who has already established herself as a senior level executive within her company and/or industry.  Track two, Emerging Leaders, is designed for the woman who is aspiring to a greater leadership role within her company and/or industry. And this year, for the first time, the conference is including Track three, for aspiring college leaders.  Track one topics will include:  “Managing Life, Work and Family…Dispelling the Myth of the Superwoman!”; “The Business of Politics..…Is it a Viable Career Option

for Women of Color?”; and “Getting to the Other Side…..Tips for Surviving the Challenges of Life!”.  Track two topics will include:  “Considering a Career in Diversity and Inclusion?….Hear Critical Tips from Diversity Professionals”; “The Dynamics of Success and Failure for Women in Business and Relationships”; and “Community Building During a Recession….What is the Role of Women?”.  Track Three topics will cover:  “Developing a Career Plan for Success…..Start Planning Now, Before You Leave College!;” “Identifying a Mentor 101……………Talking Verses Stalking!”; and “Financial Literacy and Financial Aid….Things You Need to Know!”  Plenary sessions will also take place and will feature two Executive Women’s panel discussions on “Navigating Corporate Mine Fields………… Strategies for Survival!” and “Am I My Sister’s Keeper?………You Bet I am!”.  The annual Women’s Health Forum, which is one of the most popular workshops at the Retreat, will focus on “Domestic Violence, Murder and Rape..…How Do We Protect Ourselves and Our Children?”  The Retreat will also feature two nationally renowned authors and motivational speakers, S. Renee Smith and Judy Smith.     .  Says “Alexandria Johnson Boone, Founder and Chairwoman, the Women of Color Foundation, “The women and the topics this year, are truly phenomenal.  Anyone who is able to experience this year’s Retreat better bring their own container, because they will be filled with determination, inspiration and motivation to take their personal and professional lives to the next level.”

Additional activities at the Retreat will include special sessions for Girl Scouts in 1^st through 4^th grades, conducted by the Girl Scouts of Northeast Ohio: the “Penny Project” where girls will learn the value of money, how to earn it and what to do with it; and Cent$ability where they will fast forward to the future where they are now 25 year-old financially savvy young women with a career, and they will learn critical personal money management skills.  There will also be a luncheon with WEWS-TV, Newschannel 5 anchor, Kimberly Gill as Mistress of Ceremonies, and a “Serenity Sanctuary,” (where attendees may indulge in some light pampering on Saturday via manicures, pedicures and massages).  The Retreat will culminate with a “COLORS” Networking Reception.

Other prominent sponsors of the Retreat include Kaiser Permanente, Dominion, Fifth Third Bank, Cleveland Clinic, and media sponsors, The Plain Dealer, the Call & Post, Cleveland365.com, The Cleveland Women’s Journal, Clear Channel Outdoor, WZAK-FM, WERE-AM, Z107.9 FM and Praise 1300 AM.

A variety of registration packages are available for the 8^th Annual Personal and Professional Development Retreat for Women of Color, and other Women of Color events.

For more information, please contact 216-391-4300, ext. 307 or visit the website, www.womenofcolorfoundation.com.

By Chris Chase

Posted March 30th 2010

Venus Williams took it back to the ’90s with the outfit she wore Thursday night at a match in Key Biscayne. The 1890s, that is.

In her opening match at the Sony Ericsson Open, Venus wore a red, spaghetti-strapped corset trimmed with a flounce. It was part can-can, part Valentine’s Day. And though it certainly flouts the conventions of tennis fashion, the dress worked: Venus won the match 6-4, 6-3.

Nobody seemed to care too much about that though. The first eight questions at the post-match press conference were about the dress.

“The motif is really about sporty sexy, and kind of that whole attitude of bringing that to my game,” she said. “I usually don’t wear red. This is kind of new for me.”

Venus said she plans to wear the dress for her next match as well. If it continues to bring victories, who knows … maybe she’ll get one in white for Wimbledon.

By Joseph Brannigan Lynch

Posted March 18th 2010

The sweet smell of success continues to cling to Beyoncé: According to Macy’s, her Heat perfume has raked in over $3 million since it debuted last month.

Even more astounding, the 28-year-old R&B megastar moved 72,000 bottles of the fragrance — which boasts “notes of red vanilla orchid, magnolia and blush peach” — when she stopped by Macy’s to sign autographs for an hour in early February.

Beyoncé’s retail prowess, of course, extends to good old-fashioned record sales, too. Her latest album, “I Am…Sasha Fierce,” moved 482,000 copies in its first week. So when you compare that to 72,000 bottles in an hour, it’s as if one out of every seven people who bought that album in one week showed up to snag a bottle of her scent in a single hour.

How do sales of Beyoncé’s fragrance match up to those of other celebrity essences? Well, Home Shopping Network was sold out of Diddy’s I Am King within 16 minutes last year, and his Unforgivable line netted $48.5 million as well (the title is short for “Life without passion is unforgivable,” obviously).

Even at $48 mil, however, Diddy isn’t ruler of the prestigous fragrance kingdom. That crown goes to Elizabeth Taylor, whose White Diamonds line made $67.2 million last year — a staggering total that Beyoncé isn’t even close to challenging.

But Queen B may be on her way to matching the sales of her diva peers: Celine Dion has the third best-selling celeb scent (creatively titled Celine Dion) at $26.4 million in 2009, Jennifer Lopez’s Glo by J.Lo pulled in $18.5 million last year, and the combined sales of Britney Spears‘ Curious and Fantasy perfumes exceeded $24 million in ‘09. Take note, Lady Gaga: If you like money, then you shoulda put your stink on it.

The 28-year-old “Single Ladies” singer has even more reason to celebrate, because Sasha’s scent is making its mark on a fiercely competitive market. Last year, Parlux France lost $2.5 million in a single quarter, and its financial well-being is bound to fumes from Paris Hilton, Jessica Simpson, and Queen Latifah. In fact, star fragrance sales dropped 10% from 2008 to 2009, so Beyoncé’s success is even more impressive.

Not that she needs her Heat perfume to maintain her wealth, though. Honey B topped Forbes’ list of highest-earning young musicians last year, with the diva pulling in $87 million from a variety of sources, including endorsement deals with L’Oreal, Giorgio Armani, Samantha Thavasa handbags, Crystal Geyser water, and even Nintendo.

If swimming in money is Beyoncé’s goal, then she can consider that destiny fulfilled.

Brett Michael Dykes

Posted March 12th 2010

(Photo By Gerald Herbert)

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and first lady Michelle Obama share a laugh as Andrea Jung, chairman and CEO of Avon Products, not pictured, speaks during the 2010 International Women of Courage Awards Ceremony at the State Department in Washington, Wednesday, March 10, 2010.

In a fitting show of solidarity for International Women’s Day, First Lady Michelle Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton made light of the brutal 2008 battle Clinton conducted to defeat Barack Obama for the Democratic presidential nomination. As Michelle Obama launched a State Department commemoration of International Women’s Day, she briefly stumbled over Clinton’s job title. “Let me thank my dear friend, Senator – Secretary Clinton. I almost said, ‘President Clinton,’ ” said the first lady to laughter and applause. “But let me thank you for that kind introduction, and most of all thank you for your friendship, thank you for your support, and thank you for your indispensable advice in getting me through this first year and helping me figure out how to get my family settled in our new life in D.C.”

The exchange stood as another rebuke to a favored theme of the Beltway pundit set: that tensions between the Obamas and the Secretary of State still run high. More than that, though, the series of events that the first lady presided over drew wider attention to the stubborn lags in gender equality beyond the developed Western world. Both women stressed this issue in their respective speeches. As Secretary Clinton put it, the world “can’t solve problems of financial crisis, climate change, disease and poverty if half of the population is left behind.”

Monday marked the 100th anniversary of International Women’s Day. The day doesn’t get a great deal of attention within the United States, but many other countries honor it with a national holiday. Nations that officially honor it are far flung, ranging from China and Russia to Macedonia and Vietnam. Some countries will encourage men to lavish gifts on the women in their lives, in the tradition of greeting-card holidays like Father’s Day and Mother’s Day. Other countries promote women-only commemorations of the day, with all-female parties and dinners.

The first lady also picked up on these ideas of stronger public recognition for women in her remarks on Monday, when the White House hosted its own event marking the importance of the March 8th holiday. “I get to speak while he stands and watches,” the first lady announced, as the president looked on. She then told the president, “Look at me adoringly,” to laughter from the crowd. He obliged with the reply, “I can do that”-whereupon she mock-chided him with the follow-up command, “With sincerity.”

Still, as the more sober event at the State Department drove home, International Women’s Day is still an occasion of danger, rather then levity, in some parts of the world. In 2007, numerous men and women were beaten and arrested by government officials in Iran for merely planning to celebrate the holiday

Posted March 12th 2010

Herbert and Zelmyra Fisher of New Bern, N.C., hold the world record for life in wedded bliss: 85 years. He’s 104, and she’s 101.

On their May 13 anniversary, they will join an elite club: the longest marriages on record. One couple got a big head start on their marriage. You must go back more than 200 years to find the other couple married 86 years.

A Fisher time line: Around their 10th anniversary, this everyday household appliance hit the carpet. When they celebrated their 25th anniversary, this song was a hit (watch videos). When they marked their 50th, this irritating icon was everywhere (see pictures, if you must). By the time they reached their 75th year of marriage, we were hooked on this reality show.

The Fishers dabbled in social media by tweeting their secrets to a long, happy marriage for Valentine’s Day last month.

Zelmyra Fisher still gets around with a walker, and Herbert loves to watch this on TV. They credit their marital success to faith in God, a loving family and few big fusses over their long marriage.

Wondering about other wedding records? Not that we’re keeping count, but two French nursing home residents tied the knot at a ripe age. Too bad things didn’t go that well for Ida and Simon Stern.

Though the Fishers have weathered good times and bad, Linda Essex and “Scotty” Wolfe went in a different direction.

Words of wisdom? These centenarians offer video advice for a long life.

If you’re still seeking a formula for a good marriage, try these.

But when you get right down to it, former record-holder Percy Arrowsmith knew the key to wedded bliss boiled down to two words.

Posted February 11th 2010

Heart-cut diamonds nestled in a ribbon-tied box, a decadent assortment of chocolate treats or a string of pearls with a name-engraved clasp-all are classic gifts to bestow upon that special someone this Valentine’s Day. Don’t tell Cupid, though: Times and tastes are changing, with today’s woman really hoping for a gift with a little more style and utility, e.g. a high-tech smartphone or candy-colored netbook that fits right in her purse. Want to really spoil her when February 14 rolls around? Forget the sparkle and shine and stick with the following gadgets and gear, among 2010’s hottest ways to say “I love you,” or at least “Guess who cared enough to skip the Whitman’s sampler?”

HP Mini 5102
Starting at $399

The HP Mini 5102 Netbook offers a 10.1 inch touchscreen display with multitouch support, 1GB of RAM, and the Intel Atom N450 processor. The touch-enabled HP Netbook ships with Windows 7 Starter Edition (including face recognition) or SUSE Linux Enterprise 11. The HP Mini 5102 goes on sale later this month.

The HP Mini 5102 goes on sale later this month.

BlackBerry Presenter
$199.99

The folks over at RIM’s BlackBerry booth gave us a quick demo on BlackBerry’s new Presenter device- an accessory to use with your BlackBerry to aid in giving presentations. The BlackBerry Presenter is actually a small module that connects via Bluetooth to your BlackBerry.

Motorola Backflip
Price TBA

If the Motorola Droid is too bulky and boxy for you, then perhaps Motorola’s new Backflip is just what you’re looking for. This quirky, full QWERTY smartphone had a unique and stylish twist to it-the keyboard swings around 180 degrees to typing position when open. The Backflip also comes equipped with Motorola’s Motoblur which syncs all your info.

SANYO Xacti VPC-CS1 Camcorder
$299.99

Sanyo is calling the VPC-CS1 the “world’s smallest, lightest, and thinnest full HD” camera. The VPC-CS1 can capture 1,920 by 1,080 video as well as 8 megapixel still images and saves video in MPEG-3 AVC/H.264 format.

Samsung TL 210 Digital Camera
Price TBA

Samsung’s new TL210 digital camera boasts 12.4 HP, 27mm wid3e angle lens, 1.5″ front LCD screen and a 3″ rear LCD screen, and 720 HD resolution at 30 fps. There’s a lot going on with new digicam which will be available in March.

L5 Technology iPhone App & Attachment
$50

With just an app and this attachment from L5 Technologies you can turn your iPhone into a universal remote that controls your TV, DVD player, stereo system, cable box, and more. Just download the free app, drag and drop your preferred features into the remote, attach the $50 adapter to your iPhone or iPod Touch.

Sony W Eco Series Netbook
$480

Sony’s new eco-friendly addition to the Vaio lineup comes with a 10-inch backlit widescreen display, a 250GB hard drive, and a seven-hour battery life. This little green-machine isalso made out of 20 percent recycled products and it comes packaged with a reusable carrying case made of recycled PET bottles. Sony’s Vaio W Eco netbook is now available for pre-order.

Pure’s Oasis Flow Internet Radio
$249.99

The new, retro-styled Oasis Flow Internet radio comes with a waterproof and splash-resistant case, rubber feet, and a small, portable body, making it perfect for any outdoor party. This fashionable gadget offers internet radio, podcasts, PURE sounds and music streaming anywhere that you have a Wi-Fi connection. Plus it has your normal FM radio reception.

JVC SP-A130 iPod Nano Speaker Dock
$29.95

Do you often feel the need to match? JVC can help you color code your gadgets. The new JVC SP-A130 is a compact, portable speaker available in four iPod nano 5G colors. This petite speaker dock is perfect for on-the-go activities and will be available in March.