Susan Wood/Getty Images

Photographer Susan Wood captured some lovely moments of public figures who weren’t quite at the peak of their fame… yet.  A younger Martha Stewart kindling her domestic empire, Yoko Ono and John Lennon at home, Anderson Cooper as an aristocratic child. Some of my favorite Susan Wood photos in the Getty collection show David Letterman at home, in Westchester New York.  These are intimate and playful photos that belie the unruffled character we see late nights on television.

Somehow, after news of his office affairs was aired, every vaguely flirtatious gesture is loaded with sexuality that went unappreciated before. Letterman has always had a buttoned-up sex appeal and  Drew Barrymore played on his bashful rigidness in 1995 when she flashed him on set. The scandal has potentially made Letterman more human, sexier and blessed with higher ratings.  It has also potentially alienated a portion of viewers who will find his behavior inappropriate?  Which camp are you in?

Susan Wood/Getty Images

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Kevin Winter/Getty Images – Eric Charbonneau/Le Studio/Wireimage/Getty Images

Amber Heard shows off the novel exposed black zipper on her white-hot minidress at Columbia Pictures “Zombieland” Premiere on September 23, 2009 at Grauman’s Chinese Theatre in Hollywood, California.  She and Zombieland c0-star Emma Stone stole the show in their striking but very different dresses, both with a little surprise in the back.  Stone’s low backed, Alberta Ferretti dress was dusky and elegant, while Heard’s Paule Ka Fall asymmetrical power-mini held a youthful edge.

Which starlet was dressed to wake the dead last night?

Chelsea Lauren/WireImage/Getty Images – Jon Kopaloff/FilmMagic/Getty Images

Eric Charbonneau/Le Studio/Wireimage/GettyImages

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Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images

Pixie Geldof walks down the runway during the Jeremy Scott Fashion Show during London Fashion Week Spring/Summer 2010 on September 22, 2009.  Each Fashion Week has its distinct personality and London’s is a bit more playful, spunky and daring than its Paris, Milan or New York counterparts.   House Of Holland  can be counted on for something novel and Luella always lightens the mood with her quirky retro florals.  This year, Jeremy Scott takes his usual sense of kitsch to the cave, sending models down the runway looking like an adolescent Pebbles.  Maybe like is not strong enough.  This collection IS Pebbles Flintstones wardrobe.  The risk in showing a kitschy, referential collection is that can be easily dismissed.  Do you like this take on caveman- punk or have you already forgotten about it? See more pieces here.

Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images

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Frazer Harrison/Getty Images – Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images

Actress Blake Lively was red hot at the 61st Primetime Emmy Awards held at the Nokia Theatre on September 20, 2009 in Los Angeles, California, but we actually think the black sequined Balmain dress she wore for HBO’s post Emmy Awards reception at the Pacific Design Center was more striking on the leggy Gossip Girls star.  The red Versace dress screamed sex and with that usually comes the risk  of a wardrobe malfunction, so we understand the practicality in switching dresses for an after party.

Rose Byrne was luminous in her creme chiffon Valentino dress at the Emmy Awards but who can really relax when minding a delicate floor-length confection?    She slipped into a shorter grey and violet dress dripping with sequins for the after party.  Byrne, Lively and Leighton Meester were in the minority, having made a wardrobe change between the Emmy Awards presentation and The HBO post Emmy reception, but as Lady Gaga knows, switching it up a little draws lots of attention.

Mathew Imaging/WireImage – Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images

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Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images

Mary Travers, the golden girl of the early 1960′ s folk movement died yesterday after a long battle with leukemia. Albert Grossman recruited Travers along with Noel “Paul” Stookey and Peter Yarrow to form a folk band from the disperate pool of talent floating around the Greenwich Village folk scene in 1961.  Together they popularized Dylans’ “Blowin In The Wind”(he shared Grossman as a manager), John Denvers “Leaving On A Jet plane” and laid a path for other mixed gender folk bands such as The Mama’s and The Papas. Travers had a singing career both before and after Peter, Paul, and Mary but she is best known for her role as the soulful blond harmonizing alongside Peter and Paul.  She had started a family before fame came knocking on her door in the early ’60s.  Her two children and third husband survive her.  Take a look at this stunner songstress’ life in pictures here.

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TORONTO, ON – SEPTEMBER 15:  Director, actress Drew Barrymore attends the “Whip It” press conference during the 2009 Toronto International Film Festival held at Sutton Place Hotel on September 15, 2009 in Toronto, Canada.   Barrymore is no stranger to the allure of the 1980s and here she rehashes the decades high and low points all at once.  Bleachy jean jacket, teal stockings, belted long dress… The most striking element of Drews’ look are her inky paintbrush tips, calling to mind Debbie Harry and Terri Nunn’s 80’s era black on blonde looks.  This is a very safe way to show rebellion as it can be lopped off  at a moments notice.  It can be pulled back to look conservative but it more or less resembles a blonde bob.  Pretty clever!  What do you think of Drews new-wave underside?

Ebet Roberts/Redferns/Getty Images

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Terry O’Neill/Premium Archive/Getty Images

While it was on the horizon for a while, Patrick Swayze’s early death on September 14th was no less impactful.  A man who was synonymous with vigor and spark, was reduced to a slight figure in his last few months, suffering from invasive cancer, but he took the disease in stride.

Swayze had a unique set of skills and interests.  He embodied a complicated mix of vulnerability, grace, and bravado.  A former football player who wrote songs,  danced ballet and flew planes  he proved that as an actor, he could carry two substantial leading roles, in Ghost and Dirty Dancing. To someone of my generation, who was entering adolescence in the late 1980s, he was “the man” in Dirty Dancing; a disciplined rebel with a soft spot.   Looking over photos of his life, it is without a doubt, his enduring relationship with his wife of over 30 years, that is most touching.  Our wishes go out to his surviving spouse, Lisa Niemi today.

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Fotos International/Hulton Archive/Getty Images

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