Paris Couture Combines Fashion and Fantasy

July 16, 2008— -- Life is a constant balancing act.

I take great pride in keeping my relationships and friendships as balanced as my diet and designer wardrobe. I've got my homegirls I grew up with on Long Island, my glam goddess Hollywood girls and an eclectic mix in between. But certain places, events and moments in this oh-too-fabulous life as a fashionista are surreal, even to me. So to keep myself in check, I love sharing those moments with my chosen family: my friends. And there is no better place than Paris during Couture Fashion Week to share la belle monde.

The couture shows are a veritable petri dish of red carpet and ready-to-wear fashion. And although I've been to this carnival of fetishist fashion several times before, the fun, excitement and glamour are more enhanced when shared with friends. So, for this couture go-round, I called upon my best fashion friends to share in the festivities.

Up first, Gloria Limani-Armstrong, my BFF and fashion muse since we were in the third grade. She is now a Southern triple threat, raising a family, being a wife and partner and managing restaurateur Jeffrey Chodorow's latest venture, the Maxim Prime in Atlanta. Gloria, my suburban alter ego, and I live our lives vicariously via Verizon.

It is fair to say that couture is not part of this domestic diva's everyday vocabulary or lifestyle, but that's what we gay husbands are for! We keep the balance by bringing the glamour! As Gloria so brilliantly put it, she gets to "dip her toes in glamorous waters, enjoy a swim and not get caught in the undertow!"

Next on my list is my other BFF and traveling buddy, Keisha Whitaker, who does the Hollywood Housewife Triathlon. In her hustle and bustle lifestyle, she is a mother, a business woman and a wife all day, every day. Fortunately for me, her hectic schedule happened to find her heading to London with husband Forest Whitaker and their three fabulous daughters to attend Nelson Mandela's 90th Birthday Celebration and promote her ultra-hot Kissable Couture lip gloss line.