Fashion illustrator, author and designer Hayden Williams earns this Dazzler of the Day for not only talking the beautiful talk, but walking the beautiful walk, as evidenced his own sense of carefully curated style. His debut publication, ‘Hayden Williams: The Fashion Activity Book’ is available now, allowing all of us to color within the extraordinary lines of his designs and drawings. Check out his Instagram page here for further evidence of his brilliance.
Heading to the Winter Olympics as part of the USA Speedskating Team, Conor McDermott-Mostowy earns his first Dazzler of the Day crowning for exceptional speed and agility. His Instagram profile quotes a motto that has seen him all this way: “A loss is only a failure if you learn nothing from it.”
Watch him whiz by in Milan next month.
When you choose Madonna’s ‘Like A Prayer’ as the music to your short program, you’ve already won my heart; when you add in technical prowess and bravura technique, and become the first woman to land a Triple Axel in this event, you win the whole program and the US National Championship for the third year in a row. Amber Glenn accomplished that recently, setting her up for a run at an Olympic medal. That alone is enough to crown her as Dazzler of the Day as we continue on the road to Milan, Italy and this winter’s Olympic Games. (Bonus: that short program was the highest scoring program to date for a woman at the US National Championships.)
Thus continues our road to Milan, Italy and this year’s Winter Olympics! Alysa Liu, at the time of this writing, just slayed at her short program in the US Ice Skating Championship. It was a performance made more remarkable for the fact that she had retired a few years ago, and coming back in such powerful form, when athlete years equal decades, is more than enough reason for this Dazzler of the Day crowning. She’s got some brilliant competition, as will be seen in future Dazzlers, but she has a newly-found attitude of acceptance and enjoyment from the sport, which is the real reason for doing anything.
Chronicling the world’s most fashionable, and spiritually wise, elders sounds like a dream job, and Ari Seth Cohen has been doing that in books, in print, on the web, and in his life with his ‘Advanced Style’ brand. That earns him the very first Dazzler of the Day crowning for 2026. The doyennes of fashion that he captures are an inspiration for all – and I’m almost in that age-bracket where gaining wisdom meets not giving a flying fuck. The awe-inspiring characters he finds exemplify living life to the fullest at all its stages. Bonus: he’s no stranger or shrinking violet when it comes to personal style and pizzazz, and he has yet to meet a hat that was high enough. That’s a hero.
Check out the Advanced Style website here.
Joining his ‘Heated Rivalry’ co-star Connor Storrie, Hudson Williams earns his own Dazzler of the Day, crowning thanks to his portrayal of Shane Hollander in the smash hit series. Since Storrie had his own assets objectified yesterday, it’s only right and fair that Williams gets his turn in the sun’s-out-buns-out category. See below – and enjoy this very last Dazzler of the year 2025!
It’s been a while since we’ve had a Dazzler of the Day, and we return to the dazzling fold with the steamy star of ‘Heated Rivalry’ – a series that you’ll demand my gar card for having slept on (I’ll get around to it, I swear – I’m just off the television in service of writing and relaxing in a more nature state). Hastening my return to the boob-tube may be today’s Dazzler, Connor Storrie who brings a love story to ice as hockey-player Ilya Rozanov. If I knew anything at all about hockey, I’d insert a bunch of hockey puns here. Failing that, below is a tantalizing glimpse of Storie’s assets. Check back tomorrow for the next Dazzler, also from the ‘Heated Rivalry’ ranks.
A shout-out to my pal Janet for introducing me to the wonder that is Dominique Crenn – the first female chef in the United States to earn three Michelin stars, and now our Dazzler of the Day. An immigrant from France, Crenn carved out a path of culinary excellence while pushing the boundaries and possibilities of a sustainable way of cooking and eating. She’s written two books appeared in multiple televisions shows, and, perhaps more impressively than anything else, has battled breast cancer while maintaining a rigorous work schedule. A personal and professional marvel, Crenn is precisely the sort of inspiration the world needs right now.
A major component of the magic that is the land of Oz in the ‘Wicked’ movie universe is wondrous work of costume designer Paul Tazewell, who won a rightly-deserved Oscar for the first film, and continues his enchantment in ‘Wicked: For Good‘. This post marks the return of our Dazzler of the Day feature, and Tazewell more than merits the celebratory nature of this post. His costumes are the stuff of high art – exquisite of style and enchanting of detail – and they manage to be effortlessly whimsical while telling their own story to accompany those of the characters.
While baby brothers tend to get all the love and adoration, the eldest sibling typically paves the way – in this case Kevin Jonas finally gets some overdue love with this crowning as Dazzler of the Day in celebration of his first solo effort, ‘Changing’. Nick Jonas and Joe Jonas have had their own moments here over the years, but Kevin was in the world first, and has always been the quiet older presence rocking the guitar and guiding the band on its journey.
He’s just been christened the Sexiest 40 Year Old by People Magazine, and he’s been here previously when we used to have a Hunk of the Day feature – today Derek Hough gets crowned Dazzler of the Day for making a name for himself in the world of dance and entertainment. Currently a judge on ‘Dancing With The Stars‘, Hough is still performing, dancing, inspiring, and yes, Dazzling.
Adam Brody earns his first crowning as Dazzler of the Day thanks to a compendium of work that runs the gamut from ‘The O.C’ to his latest work in ‘Nobody Wants This’, for which he’s already been nominated for a Golden Globe, Emmy and Critics’ Choice Award. Add in film work for ‘Mr. and Mrs. Smith’, ‘Thank You For Smoking’, ‘Jennifer’s Body’, ‘Shazam’ and ‘Promising Young Woman’ among many others and you have the combustible talent and curriculum vitae that Dazzlers are made of.
“Fashion has always been a vocabulary for me, a way to express myself to you and to myself. The artistic practice of fashion is a daily act of self invention. An opportunity open to every one of us to recognize a garment as a paintbrush on the canvas of self. We are, each of us, the art of our own design.” ~ Jordan Roth
Fashion impresario Jordan Roth earns his very first Dazzler of the Day crowning thanks to that impeccable sense of cutting-edge style and brilliant genre-smashing courage. The substance behind the outrageous style is found in his Tony-winning theatrical accomplishments as producer, in shows such as ‘The Book of Mormon’, ‘Spring Awakening’ and ‘American Idiot’. Check out his impressive website here, along with all its wondrous portals for more.
Intense artistic introspection and self-reflection are part of the ferociously fertile ground that artist Glen Pudvine explores in his images. His work is a powerful compendium of self-exploration that directly confronts both viewer and artist, forcing the sort of questionable comfort that we sometimes find in someone unafraid to unabashedly revel in and reveal themselves. Studies of other bodies, other faces, and other bodily landscapes round out the artist’s ongoing trajectory, more than justifying this crowning as Dazzler of the Day.
{Check out Pudvine’s website here for additional evidence of his brilliance.}
Artists make my favorite Dazzlers because they usually see the world in a different and thoughtful way – not that appreciators and non-artists can’t, it just seems to be more prevalent and obvious in the work of an artist, particularly if they capture the human condition in the gorgeous way Alexis Franklin does in her paintings. She earns this Dazzler of the Day for all that undeniable talent. You don’t have to take my word for it – check out the introduction on her enchanting website:
“Drawing inspiration from traditional mediums such as oil paints, I enjoy pushing the boundaries of what digital painting can be. I love textures and experimenting with different ways to achieve them, while telling as many human stories as I can. I started out, as most artists do, pencil drawing at a very young age. Eventually, I dabbled in water colors and colored pencil until I discovered drawing tablets. I asked for one for Christmas at the age of eighteen and never looked back. Since then, I have worked tirelessly to teach myself the techniques and processes that have ultimately led to the “painterly” style I’m known for today. Being entirely self taught has been an interesting journey, but it is one I wouldn’t trade. That journey has allowed me to work with some incredible companies and people I never thought possible when I started posting my works online. Some of my clients include TIME Magazine, Apple, Sports Illustrated, O Magazine, and several New York Times bestselling authors.” ~ Alexis Franklin
