NEW YORK – While Megan Hilty’s character is still scheming to play Marilyn Monroe in the bio-musical at the center of NBC’s Smash, she’s wiggling her voluptuous way through one of the star’s most iconic screen roles with gusto in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. Playing just seven performances as part of the annual Encores! series of semi-staged vintage musicals, John Rando’s sparkling production is sheer enjoyment, with some of the most exhilarating jazz vocal harmonies and time-traveling dance breaks to be found anywhere near Broadway. But Hilty’s bombshell is the prize.

our editor recommends

Lorelei Lee lives again in “Smash” star Megan Hilty’s inspired comic turn in this 1949 musical, based on Anita Loos’ novel about a gold-digging flapper who knows how to work her assets

1. Start growing early – as soon as you can. Chauhan, now 54, started growing his moustache in 1970 – facial hair grows fastest in one's youth, he says. "As you grow old your hormones grow weak, so the speed slows down."

But in the UK, the Handlebar Club says it has noticed a resurgence in bewhiskered men. The popularity of Movember, which last year inspired more than 850,000 men in 14 countries to grow a moustache, is definitely a factor, says Parsons.

Continue reading the main story Notable moustache styles Walrus: bushy, hanging down over the lips – worn by philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche and former US ambassador to the UN John Bolton Toothbrush: thick, but shaved except for a square in the centre – well-known exponents include Adolf Hitler and Charlie Chaplin Handlebar: bushy, with small upward pointing ends, named for its resemblance to bicycle handlebars Pencil: narrow, straight and thin with a wide shaven gap between the nose and moustache – worn well by Clark Gable and Errol Flynn Dali: narrow, long points, bent or curved steeply upward, and areas past the corner of the mouth must be shaved – named after the artist Salvador Dali Is wearing a 'Hitler moustache' a good idea?

3. Get your family on side. Chauhan's wife Asha says they used to fight over his moustache in the early years. "He used to take a long time to get ready, to wash and also people used to stare at him," she says. She didn't feel comfortable. But later, as he started getting recognition for his long moustache, she started to like it and to respect his commitment. Now, she says, the moustache is like a part of the family and she shares his pride in it.

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Movember co-founder JC advises men to ignore the itch and be brave. "Remind yourself that other men have endured worse in the past. Surely you can stand a little face tickle from your mo?"

Rod Littlewood, vice-president of the World Beard and Moustache Association, says it's best for the moustachioed to avoid eating some food in public. "Candy floss is a horror!"

Ram Singh Chauhan of India is the proud owner of the world's longest moustache, officially recorded by Guinness World Records as 4.29m (14ft) long. But what is the secret of his success? Here he offers five tips.

Parsons, who himself sports an elaborate handlebar moustache, recommends leave-in conditioner as an antidote for troublesome split ends. "You can also use pomades or beeswax but that requires a good wash to get it out. Our advice? Dip it in beer on a regular basis," he says.

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4. Endure any discomfort. Chauhan says life is not easy with such a long moustache. When it was shorter, he used to wrap it around his ears. Now it's longer, he wraps it around his neck.

End Quote Steve Parsons

5. Don't be a slave to fashion. When he was younger, Chauhan says, moustaches were very much in vogue in his home country. He earned a lot of respect from fellow students at college, but finds the youth of today have little interest in facial hair. "My own son doesn't have one," he says regretfully.

Ram Singh Chauhan was interviewed for the BBC World Service programme Outlook.

Parsons, meanwhile, admits that his wife is not the greatest fan of his lip furniture, but he has a good riposte: "I always say kissing a man without a moustache is like drinking champagne without the bubbles."

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2. Groom it well. Chauhan spends an hour every day cleaning and combing his moustache. "I massage it and oil it regularly and I wash it every 10 days which takes a long time," he says. "My wife helps me." He uses a coconut-based hair oil.

The Movember charity, which encourages men to grow their moustaches in November to raise awareness of men's health issues, acknowledges that new moustaches can be itchy when they start growing.

Steve Parsons of the British-based Handlebar Club seconds this advice, as a young man's facial hair is more durable than that of an elderly man. "As moustache hair goes white it starts to become more brittle and is more likely break off," says Parsons.

"We used to attract the older gentlemen but recently our membership has got younger. At our last AGM we had lots of men in their 20s and 30s."

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And, of course, he has never cut it, "apart from trimming around the lip area".

Sleeping can be uncomfortable but he says there's no gain without pain and he wouldn't want it any other way. "I am special with my moustache, and I have never dreamt of being without it."

Chauhan wraps his moustache in cloths matched to his outfits

Kissing a man without a moustache is like drinking champagne without bubbles”

Stylist Rob Zangardi who with partner Mariel Haan puts Rihanna in everything from fedoras by Lanvin to flipflops, offers tips on how to wear the hot headgear.

“Make sure to find a hat that fits your head, a hat too big or too small can look silly,” Zangardi says. “Tilt the hat forward a bit just above your eyebrow and cock it a little to the side for more attitude. Wear the hat to the back of your head for more of an fashionable ’80s look. There are so many ways to personalize your fedora, from traditional feathers and hat pins to studs, spikes and broaches on the bandeau.”

Attention KMart shoppers! Fedoras have Hollywood covered and you can have yours for just $6.99!

Across the board, the Panama or Fedora hat is the style hit of the summer. Straw and stylish with a black or blue grosgrain bow around the crown, KMart’s version of the affordable style worn by everyone from Rihanna to Charlize Theron is the hat you want.

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Great style as well as something to shield you from those rays!

By Sasha Charnin Morrison for UsMagazine.com. To read more of the Recessionista blog, click here.

Inspired by his recent viral video, the former instructor teaches two classes in West Hollywood, weaving back and forth between intense workout and a one-man show. 4:15 PM PDT 5/7/2012 by Michael O’Connell

Abramovic is famous for pushing the limits of her physical and mental endurance as a way of expanding her inner-most feelings and fears — and sometimes those of her viewers.

Due to the marathon nature of the works, tired or sleeping visitors reclining on “durational chairs” will be rolled by an attendant to a sleep area and rolled back when they awake, all the while remaining a part of the performance piece.

In the future, Abramovic also plans to build a small hotel to accommodate visitors and a residence for 25 artists who will attend on a grant each year to produce their own performance piece.

Abramovic also wants to use the center to teach her Abramovic Method, in which the viewer becomes the artist and vice versa.

“I’m not going to run the center,” said Abramovic. “I’m going to create a concept and also make some courses myself. But I really want to create a legacy that can run without me.”

For visitors, there will other experiences as well. They can levitate in the Levitation Hall on beds using weight sensitive magnetic fields. In the Crystal Chamber, they can absorb mineral energy to focus their mental and physical energies.

“For the young artists we will have courses which will be in the countryside, without food, in complete isolation, not talking for a certain amount because it’s really important preparation of the mind to do performance work,” she said.

The 65-year-old artist said the institute will be part art center, part school, for ephemera performances involving video, opera, film, music, dance and theater in an environment that erases the boundary between artist and viewer as both don white lab coats and interact constantly.

She unveiled the design for The Marina Abramovic Institute for the Preservation of Performance Art at MoMA PS 1 on Monday.

Construction is expected to begin at the end of next year. The opening is projected for late 2014.

She said the center will not only commission young and known artists but also those “who have never made long durational works of art to see what happens when they do.”

In a phone interview last week, Abramovic said the architectural firm OMA will transform a former tennis center in Hudson, N.Y. — about two hours north of New York City — into a 23,000-square-foot facility featuring ramps and specially designed lighting and furniture, including chairs equipped with wheels for visitors who fall asleep during the lengthy performances.

Serge Le Borgne, a Paris gallerist and curator, will serve as director of the institute.

Abramovic, who lives in Manhattan and also has a home near Hudson, purchased the building for her institute four years ago. She said she chose the city of Hudson because of its historic significance as the birthplace of the Hudson River School art movement and proximity to other cultural venues, including the Center for Performing Arts at Bard College and Dia Beacon.

In one of her longest duration pieces, during a retrospective of her career at New York’s Museum of Modern Art in 2010, she sat in silence during the hours the museum was open, making eye contact with members of the public who sat across from her.

NEW YORK (AP) — Performance artist Marina Abramovic plans to build a $15 million center in upstate New York devoted to the research and production of duration-based works of art lasting from six hours to several days.

“When you’re away from New York, you’re really ready to experience long durational work,” she said.

Style.com’s Fashion Feed brings you the best of the news around the Web and on Twitter, and ranks the most-discussed designers, labels, models, and celebrities. In our weekly series, we call out the top five designers of the previous week (with our handy gloss on the hows and whys).

1. Alexander McQueen (pictured; last week: 3)
The appointment of Pina Ferlisi as the creative director of McQ made headlines last week. Meanwhile, many saw echoes of the man’s own work in Comme de Garçons’ Spring ‘11 menswear collection, which was heavy on the skull motifs McQueen often employed.

2. Marc Jacobs (last week: 5)
It was a big LV week: There was the strong showing from Jacobs and his lieutenant, Paul Helbers, for Louis Vuitton’s Spring ‘11 menswear collection, as well as the announcement of the new LV women’s campaign, starring Christy Turlington, Karen Elson, and Natalia Vodianova.

3. Stella McCartney (last week: 1)
Stella’s presumably staying off the courts herself—she’s currently pregnant with baby no. 4—but that didn’t stop her from outfitting the Danish tennis pro Caroline Wozniacki for Wimbledon.

4. Diane von Furstenberg
DvF added “hotelier” to her already long list of titles with the opening of suites she guest-designed at London’s Claridge’s Hotel. Pals Gwyneth Paltrow and Madonna stopped by to check them out…

5. Victoria Beckham
…as did Victoria Beckham, who reportedly postponed a vacation to do so.

Taking in the various Resort shows, I noticed a trend I’ve been seeing more and more of over the past few months: python. But not the real stuff—there was that, too, of course, but I’m talking python prints, which give the luxe look at cut cost (though in the case of Lanvin et al., that’s all relative, of course). Those prints even let Stella McCartney, fashion’s loudest animal activist, get in on the style without skinning a soul. The print seems to have a particular hold on summer dressing: Both Michael Kors and Lanvin offered python swimwear, and Alber Elbaz even created an entire ensemble to go with it—a long dress that’d be a perfect cover-up, plus a matching nylon bag and carry-on. Click here for our roundup of serpentine chic, from Stella’s day dresses to Tumi’s wheeled luggage.

PLUS: For more Resort trends, check out our roundup of the top trends of Resort ‘11.
—Marina Larroude

Photo: Courtesy of Lanvin

3.”Call Me Maybe,” Carly Rae Jepsen

4.”Blunderbuss,” Jack White

1.”Somebody That I Used to Know,” Gotye

7.”21,” ADELE

5.”Boyfriend,” Justin Bieber

9.”Wild Ones (feat. Sia),” Flo Rida

(copyright) 2012 Apple, Inc.

8.”Now That’s What I Call Music, Vol. 42,” Various Artists

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1.”Blown Away,” Carrie Underwood

Top Songs:

5.”Up All Night,” One Direction

8.”Starships,” Nicki Minaj

6.”Licensed to Ill,” Beastie Boys

7.”Both of Us (feat. Taylor Swift),” B.o.B

6.”What Makes You Beautiful,” One Direction

4.”We Are Young,” Fun.

2.”Strange Clouds,” B.o.B

3.”Little Broken Hearts,” Norah Jones

10.”Born Villain,” Marilyn Manson

9.”The Music of SMASH (Soundtrack),” SMASH Cast

2.”Payphone (feat. Wiz Khalifa),” Maroon 5

Top Albums:

10.”Glad You Came,” The Wanted

iTunes’ Official Music Charts for the week ending May 7, 2012

This bag is hot, and it’s only $19.99

I like! It’s cute, it’s inspired by Coco Chanel, and it’s cheap. I love that it comes in four different colors — black, fuchsia, ocean blue and purple!

Another creation that’s faux leather, it’s got an extra zip inside and has a nice shoulder strap. And … you still have enough money to buy that latte you’ve been craving after being parched from shopping!

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Accessorize your style! Make a fashion statement with this Candie’s quilted shoulder bag. Available in a variety of colors.

- Quilted pattern offers a unique look
- Faux-leather construction provides long-lasting wear
- Roomy interior with extra zippered compartment organizes your belongings
- Size: 6 1/2″H x 12″W x 2 1/2″ D
- Snap closure
- Shoulder strap

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The Berlin-based eyewear label Mykita first made its debut with a metal frame collection and has since rolled out more eccentric styles, like the futuristic, buglike Moncler frames released in December. For Fall, the brand, favorited by the likes of Lady Gaga and Sarah Jessica Parker, looked to the Panto shape of the twenties and thirties, which resurfaced in the late sixties and again in the eighties, and gave it an update. The four new styles revisit classic round frames in stainless steel with red or blue lenses ($472), but the more square versions (pictured) in amber or gray acetate ($462) are our favorites. Style.com has the first look at the latest sunnies, above. To see the full collection, click here.

Photos: Courtesy of Mykita