Derrick Salters/WENN.com

If this is true, Dame Dash is drowning in debt right now.

In a report by The New York Daily News, Dash filed papers on Tuesday saying is so deep in debt that he cannot pay his personal bills, which includes his rent in a Carmel, NY mansion where he is currently behind in rent by $100,000.

Over the past few years, Dash has lost two New York City lofts to foreclosure, his vehicle has been seized, he owes $2 million dollars in New York State taxes, an undisclosed amount in federal taxes and he says he’s facing criminal charges for non-payment of New Jersey state taxes.

Wow.

On Thursday, Dame went to court to ask the judge not to garnish his wages (whatever they are). He says that at this time, his money goes to the following (your mouth will drop):

- He pays $24,000 every three months to his ex-wife, fashion designer Rachel Roy, for child support of their two kids, and to cover money owed on the lofts.

- New York state forces Dash to send another $4,341.10 per month for support of his son, Christian.

- He paid nearly $20,000 in garnished wages in late 2012 for other debts.

- And he faces a pending $40,000 tax payment for business earnings.

Dash says in paying for all that, he is barely keeping his business afloat let alone able to pay his personal bills.

Well, we can see how that could be the case.

Dame sent a message through his attorney saying:

“I’m an independent businessman and this is what comes from business.  I have the guts to fight my battles on my own and it’s entertainment to everybody else because I’m so cool about it.”

How “cool” can you really be when you’re obviously still spending beyond your means and barely have a place to lay your head?

It sounds like someone needs to put their pride to the side and get himself together.

(Photo by Charles Sykes/Invision/AP)

Fashion designer and Project Runway guest judge Rachel Roy has launched a new digital content portal, The Life, whose mission is to inspire women to live the life they’ve always wanted. Located on her website, the site also has its own hashtag, #RRTheLife.

The press release outlines the layout of the site, which includes five sections: Learn, Style, Giveback, RR/TV, and About, that covers everything from philanthropy to travel, food, and, of course, fashion.

In addition to the text content, there are a series of videos that feature interviews with women that Roy takes inspiration from, including FEED projects founder Lauren Bush Lauren and jewelry designer Jacquie Aiche. Check out the clip below for a sample of the first season.

Will you become a subscriber?

C. Smith/WENN

From ESSENCE

Inspired by a recent trip to India, designer Rachel Roy recently celebrated her 39th birthday with a mission of giving, instead of receiving gifts. Roy has partnered with the charity: water campaign to raise $20,000 to give 1,000 people clean water in India. “Water changes everything. Diseases from unsafe water kill more people every year than all forms of violence, including war,” explains Roy.

On What She Observed During Her Trip To India

This is my fourth year working with charity:water actually! I heard about them around the time of my 35th birthday and what I love most about charity:water is how simple they make the act of charitable giving. There are no rules or expectations, and you can donate as much as you feel comfortable giving.

During this time however, and through seeing how the dollars have been spent, I’m reminded just how essential clean water is in setting up a foundation for everything else in life. In a developing community, clean water is the most important commodity, and it’s such an easy gift for us to give.

On What We All Can Do To Give Back

I think it’s always best to start on a local level. You’ll know what needs attention and how to make the biggest change in your own community. A fantastic resource and a great place to start is Volunteers of America. It’s a nationwide database of all sorts of organizations that could use an extra pair of hands. It’s as simple as putting in your zip code to see what non-profits are active in your area.

Check out what else Rachel has to say on giving back as well as her goals for 2013 over on Essence.

Do you have time to volunteer?

Photo Credit: DJDM / WENN.com

We love star gazing! And we know you do too. Check out these photos of our favorite black celebrities out and about!

zimbio.com

When it comes to exuding effortless style, designer Rachel Roy always gets it right.   And when she showed up to a screening of “The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2” in New York City a few weeks ago, she looked absolutely great in a simple winter chic look.  By taking winter staples and mixing in a few trendy pieces, she shows us just how to create a fabulous look high on fashion without over doing it.  See how you can create Rachel Roy’s stylish look for less with just three pieces.

irishcentral.c

Dear Readers, we at Madame Noire indulge in a lot of things.  Mostly philosophizing, qualitative matters, and world situations.  But in the midst of all this deep thinking (“So, if we get the soda with the meal it’ll be cheaper?”) we know that sometimes delving into the world of frivolity is sometimes fun.  With that being said:

Within North America sometimes if a person is of color, but their nationality isn’t as obvious, people tend to just categorize them as black (or being “mixed”).  However, in this big Melting Pot we like to call the U. S. of A. there are so many different nationalities, and even celebrities can get classified as belonging to one group when they are actually proud members of another.

Along with this frivolity, you’ll have to click; a small price to pay.

Another week, another opportunity to take a look at the smart or silly fashion choices of our favorite sistas. Folks were in full summer mode with all kinds of skin showing, so let’s take a look and figure out what were hits and what were misses.

Looking oh-so-funky at The Teen Choice Awards on Sunday, actress Zoe Saldana wore this eclectic Jonathan Saunders fit on the pink (?) carpet. The green, brown and light blue ensemble was a two-fer, with a puffy skirt and a cropped tank. Saldana paired some satin bow-adorned Louboutin stilettos with the look, as well as some simple hoop earrings. She pulled her hair up and kept her makeup light. I don’t think I would have thought to pair these Louboutins with a skirt and short set like this, but for some reason, I love it! It’s a mature yet playful look all at once. Steal!

As Donell Jones would say, “Girl, you know what’s up!” It’s time to go through some of the most interesting looks from our favorite ladies this week, and decide whether or not these women have styles we want for ourselves, or if they need to stop it and go back to the drawing board. Let us begin!

Amber Rose move over! Evelyn Lozada is trying to steal your bodycon crown this year. For last week’s Essence Music Fest in the NO, the reality personality showed up and showed out in this pacific blue, chartreuse and gray long sleeved dress. She paired it with light green snakeskin pumps, a sandy brown clutch, and don’t forget about that wedding ring! For Essence Fest, I think this outfit is fun, flirty, and appropriate. And though I’m not a huge fan of the Ms. Thang, I think her ensemble and hair look good. Steal.

l to r: photos by James Anthony Photo, Elliot & Erick

Quick. Which of these looks is “high-fashion”? Which is “urban”?

The answer to the second question is none of them, according to Mychael Knight, the designer who created all of them.

“I will correct someone very quickly when they say I am an ‘urban designer’ or a ‘hip-hop designer,” he said. “There is nothing wrong with [designing hip-hop-inspired sportswear], but it’s just not what I do.”

As for the answer to the first question, Knight, who is black, cites an “invisible barrier” that reserves “high-fashion” anointing for a privileged circle of designers—very few of which are black. “Tracy Reese and Rachel Roy - they’ve penetrated that, but I don’t ever really see any placement of them in fashion magazines”—an indication that Reese and Roy are not readily on the mind of prominent editors and stylists.

Perhaps observant of this trend, some black designers early in their careers choose to use white models, particularly for lookbooks, which are prepared for press and buyers, and on their websites where customers seeking high-fashion looks (assumed to be white) can immediately imagine themselves in their pieces.  Though Knight regularly casts models of color for both his runway shows and his lookbooks, he can guess why some African-American designers skip over black models altogether.

“When you open up a fashion magazine—a Vogue or an Elle,” Knight points out, “you never see black models. You think, as a black designer, ‘well, if I need my brand [or] my product to get noticed I need to use the white models.’”  It’s like high school, Knight explains. “People feel like they to need fit in.”

Model booker Carole White gave New York Magazine the racial breakdown as it applies to models.  “Asian girls do really well. You can’t have too many, but they do really well, and it’s quite easy to book them. For Black girls, it is more difficult.” White is further quoted as saying, “[Black models] have to be utterly amazing. There will be less work. It takes much longer to establish them… because clients don’t take the risk on black girls so much.” For this reason, White admits agencies are “very, very picky” when it comes to signing black models. “Maybe you’re not as picky with the white girls, because there’s more work for them.”

With African-American models facing a shrunken market, getting passed over by black designers only further threatens their livelihood. It also perpetuates old school notions of what, and who, represents luxury versus the aesthetic of the street.