We hear that Teen Vogue intern Whitney Port is being groomed for greatness.

The fan favorite on MTV's The Hills may have taken a runway spill on last week's episode, but apparently Teen Vogue didn't mind. Rumors are quietly leaking to us that Whitney will indeed receive some kind of job with Teen Vogue when she graduates from school this May.

While the most likely solution has Whitney staying in L.A. as a West Coast contributor, some involved in The Hills have mentioned a move to New York for Whitney, a job in the New York fashion closet, and maybe a camera crew, too.

Meanwhile, super intern Emily Weiss graduates soon, too, but she already has her own desk in the Teen Vogue office - and some of the magazine's amazing perks. Last week, she celebrated her 22nd birthday with a Shu Uemura makeover, and a blog entry to match.

Again, we hope Whitney gets the right job for her - we think she seems wonderful, and obviously, Teen Vogue is the best.

Carlo Brandelli is the lovely and very skilled designer of Kilgour, the bespoke suit company that lives on Saville Row.

Carlo also likes to play soccer, or football, or whatever, and he shows his balling skills on a Men.Style.Com video that's really just weird - half the time he's talking about suits, the rest of the time he's punting a ball through his million dollar storefront.

Carlo also issues this challenge:

"If any other designer can keep a ball in the air longer than me, I'll make them a suit."

We don't think Marc, Zac, or Olivier Theyskens could handle this, but Alexander McQueen could probably kick his ass with a soccer ball, and we'd like to see it happen.

Related: Style Dash thinks that David Beckham might bring fashion back into sports. We say sure, as long as his wife isn't the one choosing the clothes...

buy the flats here

During Fashion Week, we gave you the first look at Lancome's mysterious Density Cube.

We thought it looked like a Scattergories cube or a cosmetics Ouija tool -

Really cool, a bit mystical, and perhaps used to tell your makeup future.

In fact, as we now see on Style.com, it's just a well-designed compact that has a cheek highlight and a shadow powder.

We are mildly disappointed that the Lancome Density Cube has no magical powers.

But at least when we buy it, we'll always be able to grab it in the depths of our Edith bag - nothing else has that crazy shape.

This week, Jeffrey Sebelia showed his first collection since winning Project Runway.

Now the question is, does anyone care?

Project Runway was the highest rated show on cable the season that Jeffrey won. But a recent New York Magazine article showed he hadn't made any real money, or seen a true upsurge in clothing orders, since his highly public triumph.

As for his latest collection, it's fine; it's fun - lots of jersey, lots of jeans.

But our money is still on Alison Kelly, the Brookyln hipster kicked off too early, and the only Project Runway contestant to be sold alongside Marc Jacobs and Catherine Malandrino so far - her stuff is for sale exclusively at ShopBop.

Agyness Deyn, 21, model

Got her: On Spring and Lafayette

Stalked her:Oh, we promise we're not really stalking her. Really!

Shot her: She walked right by our office - it was fashion fate.

She says: "Most of it is vintage. The boots are by Trash and Vaudeville, and the jeans are from Uniqlo- only 30 dollars! Actually, this is just what I wore out last night. Those outfits always seem to be the best, right?"

We say: Only on you, Agyness... only then.

--KEVIN KHUONG

Kate Middleton is preparing to sue British paparazzi for invading her privacy.

According to her lawyer, “My client strongly objects to having her photograph taken in a public place while going about her private business.�

We think that's sort of funny, since there are plenty of girls who "strongly object" to Kate's attachment to her boyfriend, the most eligible bachelor in the world. You know?

Anway, until this spat is resolved, we predict British photographers will swarm Kate at a more rabid rate than ever. Therefore, she should be prepared for fashion warfare.

When Jennifer Aniston was assaulted by flash bulbs a few years ago, she wore the same outfit every day - a white tee and a pair of neon orange cargo pants - to make the photos less valuable. Kate could try that, or one of Chanel's massive hooded sweaters from this season.

At least that way, she'd shield herself from those invasive photographers and up her style game, too.

Christina Ricci has never done a campaign for Samsonite, but somehow the suitcase brand decided she was their muse for the season, and threw a party at the Gramery Park Hotel in her honor.

In a dress by Sophia Kokosalaki, Christina answered the same question - "Do you travel a lot? Is your luggage important?" - about fifty times ("Yes, this luggage is so fun," etc).

Christina's smile is beautiful and her face is shaped like an Oreo.

The new Samsonite luggage is shaped like those '70s suitcases in "Almost Famous." It was designed with help from Cameron Silver, the California style guru who owns Decades, a famous vintage clothing boutique. The lugage is white and stamped with a kooky floral print. "I think it's too Marimekko," confided a company employee. "Maybe girls would use it in Japan, but I think it's wrong for us."

The crowd seemed to disagree - at the end of the night, everyone got a giant Samsonite umbrella, stamped in the weird floral print.

"You guys," said one editor to her friends outside, "Don't laugh at me, but I sort of love this umbrella."

Then she opened it, even though there was no rain, and twirled around in the street. Her friends did start laughing at her, and took a few steps back, like "we don't know this girl."

Christina Ricci was just leaving for her car and she had an umbrella, too.

This week, San Francisco passed a ban on plastic bags.

If the new law gets approved by the mayor, as expected, then drug stores and supermarkets must replace their current bags with recyclable and/ or biodegradable bags immediately.

Paper Magazine has a pretty thorough story about the new law, explaining how plastic bags pollute oceans and forests, and how they destroy the quality of life for millions of animals (and people) around the world.

Meanwhile, we did a thorough scouring of the internet and found our favorite new reason to ban the plastic bag:

J. Crew's new Amangasett tote for $49.

Come on - wouldn't your groceries and shampoo look way cuter getting hauled home in this?

Laura Ashley reports that it doubled its profits from last year, probably because of its huge "farm chic" push in the UK: over the past few months, the brand has brought back the popular prints and styles that made it famous in the '70s.

Meanwhile, girls in America haven't worn Lauren Ashley since The Babysitters Club were best selling books, but the question remains:

If Lauren Ashley goes back into its vintage archive, and markets itself as retro chic to a new set of style addicts, can they permanently turn their brand around?

Well, it was Diane Von Furstenberg's strategy in the '90s, and look what happened to her.

Would you wear a farm girl dress for summer?

The Sartorialist isn't the only one who hits the streets in search of fashion - today, the Wall Street Journal has a story on professional trend hunters.

These fad-obsessed professionals travel around the world to find the latest cool thing on the sidewalks that designers can copy, create, and sell for double.

But are they really so ahead of their curve?

The "upcoming" trends mentioned in the article include high waisted, wider jeans (check), trapper hats (check), and graphic sweaters - like the palm-print one from Proenza for Target.

Maybe they'd have better luck looking at the ELLE.com street shots from Paris?

Tinsley says when she wants to relax, she watches cartoons with her chihuahuas.

Also, she loves strapless dresses.

See what else Tinsley has to say in the video, and look for her new partnership:

She'll team with Chloe Sevigny next Tuesday to host the Famous Cars + Famous People party for Mercedes-Benz in Chelsea.

We hear that Victoria Beckham and Katie Holmes will launch a line of children's clothing together.

Victoria's jeans for Rock & Republic were a success in England, though not so much here. Meanwhile, Katie's forays into fashion have only recently begun - until she started kissing Tom Cruise a little too fervently in public, she was usually dressed in the Gap.

But together, we're confident Posh and Kate can launch a kid's line that Suri and Romeo will sport proudly on the Scientology playground. Of course, the real test is whether Apple Martin, Coco Arquette, and Zahara follow suit.

The line hasn't been designed yet, so we've imagined what the clothes will look like.

Last season, Factory Girl was supposed to come out three months before it actually did. That meant we had a flood of Sienna covers and parties without a Sienna movie.

This season, it's Scarlett's turn to peak early - as Page Six reports today, The Nanny Diaries now debuts in August - not now - and yet Ms. Johansson has a Vogue cover and a Reebok line launching now. Both are perfectly timed for the film's non-debut, and both are amazing, especially considered together:

Vogue's piece on Scarlett mentions twice that the actress refuses to diet or exercise. Meanwhile, she's put her face on a line of exercise clothing, including an amazing pair of sneakers and a tunic dress with a built-in butt.

Incredible.

Meanwhile, joining Scarlett in The Nanny Diaries is noted philanthropist and socialite Allison Sarofim. Her character's name? "Eating Disorder Mom."

This should be a fun one for the Cinema Society to screen at Soho House.

Suzy Menkes and the International Herald Tribune recently paid tribute to Colette, the French boutique that's managed to become, arguably, the coolest store in the world.

How?

It was one of the first stores ever to mix high and low items, and still offers a $5000 Lanvin dress and a $5 mix CD within mere feet of each other. It's also a great champion of new designers - Proenza, Zac, and Christopher Kane all took off at Colette.

Suzy explains "the [store] policy is simple: Always be new, fresh, surprising - and streets ahead of the rest."

Maybe that's why Colette's latest import is a tee from Mark the Cobra Snake, the scenester photographer who's pictured at left with Colette owner Sarah Lerfel.

In the photo, Mark wears the shirt for sale. Meanwhile, we think how his doodle has now been seen by Colette's most regular shopper, Karl Lagerfeld. C'est formidable!

At a stylist's apartment this weekend, I spied a suspiciously cute sweater dress - black, slightly sheer, and shaped like the torso of a rock star.

"Did Stella McCartney have a sample sale?" I asked.

When her face turned red, I thought it meant, "Yes, and I didn't tell you because secretly, I haven't forgiven you for that one time in London."

Instead, she confessed something different.

"It's not Stella," she said, "It's Strawberry. I don't know what ever compelled me to go in there, but now it's like my new Forever 21 - only even cheaper and less crowded. I'm obsessed."

I heard the same story from three other girls last week.

Tell me you've heard it too?

Bravo to I Am Fashion, who braved the motley crowds of Canal Street for a fashion expose of sorts:

After examining Louis Vuitton's spring bag collection - and spotting its most iconic tote, a high/ low riff on the plastic bags used to carry the fake Louis Vuitton bags through Chinatown - the author went down to Chinatown herself to photograph the bag's inspiration in action.

Her verdict?

"I'd like to point out that while they make it look really stylish and cool on the catwalk and in the photoshoots, the actual people who uses these bags are not so glamorous.

In fact, these bags are commonly used by street vendors as storage and for garbage disposal."

Okay, it could be a clever reversal of fortune, in a Warhol Brillo Box way, but would we pay $1000 for it?

Actually, yes, some of us would.

Last week, we watched Kate Moss hold an entire conversation on YouTube - this week, it's Daria Werbowy's turn.

Thanks to the Lancome girls, there's now a Daria podcast featuring the Canadian supermodel and the Proenza Schouler boys, who created a one-of-a-kind gown for Save the Children.

Daria models the gown for the photo shoot.

The gown was inspired by Lancome's Hypnose bottle.

It goes onto eBay in April, but for now, it's just a little couture fantasy courtesy of Daria and some hand held camera action.

Last week, British Vogue reported that London hoodlums were copying Henry Holland's tees and selling them for dirt cheap.

Then a reader asked if there were fake House of Holland tees in America.

And last night at the Paper Beautiful People party, we actually saw one.

Behold the faux House of Holland tee, inspired by the UK mega-trend and stamped with its own ironic New York slogan.

It's making us wonder if Henry should get here quick, it's also getting us to revisit our favorite game: Make your own House of Holland slogan!

We like a socialite series - "HOLY CRAPOLA, IT'S FABIOLA" and "LYDIA HEARST WAS MY FIRST". Any other ideas?

In many ways, Rodnik is the British version of Trovata - cute boys taking a classic aesthetic from their country (for Trovata, it's waspy prep; for Rodnik, it's British Victorian) and turning it into something fun for young style hounds.

When we heard last night that the Rodnik boys, Rich and Phillip, are friends with Trovata founders Sam Shipley and Jeff Halmos, we weren't surprised.

We were also reminded of Trovata's infamous "Cat People" prank - staged by John Whitledge, the only member of Trovata who's still with the company - when we saw these photos from Selfridges in London.

The Rodnik boys climbed into their own display at the store, and put on a rock 'n roll show for fashion groupies like Peaches Geldof and the Made in Heaven girls.

The Beatles they weren't, but Rodnik is still planning a stateside tour - we hear that after they make some appropriate band t-shirts, the design duo will hit Barneys to play their very first American concert!

And sell some cute clothes too.

Karen, 25, "I'm a bad student."

Got her: In front of Unis on Prince and Elizabeth

Shot her: Because when we saw her, we realized Spring was officially here.

Stalked her: She's got a great dress. And great boots. And great hair. What else is there?

She says: "Dress is from Paris, boots are vintage. I thought it was an appropriate way to inaugurate this gorgeous day. Plus I have a crush."

We say: Yeah, us too.

--KEVIN KHUONG

the site

WWD reports that Hedi Slimane's Dior contract is almost over, meaning our speculation from yesterday about his Calvin Klein future may come soon.

Meanwhile, there's another guy who quietly went to Calvin this season - shoe designer Courtney Crawford.

The St. Louis native had a stint as the shoe designer for Missoni last year. While working in Italy, he befriended Andre Leon Talley and somehow landed on Chanel's spring runway as a model - that's him, in Karl's designs, at left.

Now Mr. Crawford is back in America, and hopefully helping Calvin Klein return to its cool-kid glory.

"But don't worry," he told us at last night's bash for Paper magazine, where he was named one of the magazine's most beautiful people, "I'm still working on my own line, too."

Hey Courtney, we're waiting...

Calvin Klein's "In2U" campaign isn't the only fragrance hype happening right now for teens:

Vera Wang has blitzed Style.com and Flip with an invitation to consult on her "top secret project," related somehow to her Princess fragrance. The move comes after hiring teen actress Camilla Belle to be the perfume's face.

From what we hear, this mystery contest will let select girls help shape Vera's next scent, including its bottle shape, associated celebrities, and campaign - a lot like Dooney & Bourke's "It Girl" contest for Teen Vogue, where a crew of art students (including MisShape Leigh Lezark) traveled to Italy to help design D&B bags.

Meanwhile, FabSugar reports that "robotic fragrance testers" are now in department stores.

This seems like the ideal way to market new scents to younger shoppers - if most of their interactions are through a computer anyway, then a perfume robot should be more effective than those scary women who chase you around, Will & Grace style, and ask if you'd like to smell... whatever.

Perhaps the best line from Eric Wilson's piece on Top Model auditions is this wish from a contestant's mother:

"I drive a city bus... It would be nice to see her plastered on the side of it."

Fashionista understands the sentiment, but would like to remind this hopeful parent that Top Model contestants have indeed been on the side of a bus, but so have sex columnists (Carrie Bradshaw), stylists (Rachel Zoe), LSD hippies (at Burning Man), and recently we saw Elmo's picture whizzing down Fifth Avenue, too.

Therefore, take heart: If Tyra doesn't see the true beauty within your child, there's always a chance with the Muppets.

Several years ago, Wall Street Journal fashion editor Teri Agins wrote a book called The End of Fashion.

It detailed the way small fashion houses had become big corporations, and how other smaller brands were getting vacuumed into a system that stressed bottom lines above experimentation and creativity. Teri's prognosis was bleak: soon all clothes would look the same, and style would be dead.

That hasn't quite happened - yet- but the WSJ's new chart, called Who Owns What, will certainly make you dizzy.

Among the family ties:

Karl Lagerfeld and Marc Jacobs have both worked for Louis Vuitton - that house owns Fendi, where Karl likes to explore his feather fetish. Stella McCartney is famously anti-fur, but she's owned by the Gucci group, which uses a lot of mink on its runways. Next time you're embarrassed about a pair of Nine West shoes, remember their company also owns Barneys. And Liz Claiborne owns both Juicy Couture and C&C California, which is funny, because we still can't tell the difference.

read the full Radar article here.

Tracy, Nylon TV star, 20

Got her: On the roof of the Gansevoort Hotel.

Stalked Her: Because who isn't stalking her lately?

Shot her: Because of her classic New York combination: an H&M dress with Marc Jacobs heels from the collection. She has also toned down her red lipstick, a move we appreciate.

She says: "This morning, Marvin [Scott Jarrett, the editor-in-chief of Nylon] asked me what I was wearing to the party.

I think he was worried because when I told him a long black dress, he probably thought it was like a gown!

He gave me this lecture about how I should always be myself and not worry about what other people are wearing.

It was sweet."

We say: We don't really need to say anything, because Tracy says it all: Check her out on the new episode of Nylon TV!

Tell us all about yourself, and you can win a stack of infamous Sharpie bracelets and/ or a Starbucks card. You will also win our hearts, forever. Merci.

Read the full story at Vogue.fr

Last month, we noticed a strange post on MediaBistro: a production company associated with Laguna Beach was looking for a "fashion obsessed" assistant to work at a high profile magazine in New York, and to be on television. Her living expenses would be paid, and she would be introduced as a new character on a reality series.

Naturally, we wondered if Hills star Lauren Conrad was packing up and moving to Manhattan.

Last night on The Hills, we actually got some proof: When Lauren's fellow intern, Whitney Port, announced she was flying to New York for a job interview with Teen Vogue's Amy Astley, Lauren responded, "If I go out there next year, you'll be, like, my boss!"

Thanks Lauren. We live for lines like that.

We also live for Lisa Love, Vogue's West Coast Editor, who informed Whitney that her tumble and recovery on the runway - during a fashion segment for Good Morning America - was commended by Anna Wintour.

We really hope Whitney gets the job.

Thanks to Sassybella for this story:

A fifteen year old Australian model named Katie Braatvedt is Vogue Australia's current cover girl, and she's sparked a national outcry. Newspapers declare Katie too young to represent fashion, and Australia's style industry questions what should represent its ideals (and its consumers, most of whom are not fifteen).

Katie's cover is beautiful, but her face is wide-eyed and doughy - she really looks like a child.

Of course, Gemma's first Prada glory came at fifteen, Kate Moss and Corinne Day began their partnership at that age, and the astounding Tanya D. shot her first YSL ads when she was fourteen - just a year older than Dakota Fanning, whose recent Marc Jacobs ads caused a stir (and some giggles) of their own. Is this just the way it goes?

We love good deals, and here's a great one:

This Saturday, bring an old Diane Von Furstenberg dress - or any other dress - into Saks Fifth Avenue's New York store.

It gets donated to Dress for Success, a great charity that helps women with high career goals but low incomes dress professionally for job interviews.

Meanwhile, if you buy a new DVF dress at Saks that day, you'll get 10% off your purchase.

Since you were planning to sort, purge, and store all your winter clothes this weekend anyway, there's really no excuse...

Q: What's with the photo?

A: It's a shot of Diane herself from the '70s, totally gorgeous and very inspiring for the warm weather, and I thought you should see it.

buy the tights here.

It is Monday, so you are probably furious and tired and generally already over it.

Therefore, we have a fun treat for you:

The new Vogue Homme spread with Pete Doherty, styled by Carine Roitfeld and appearing in its raw and freshly scanned entirety below.

And speaking of "entirety," thanks to the many of you who emailed in to say that maybe Fashionista's work place is a tad liberal, and maybe one of these photos is of Pete Doherty naked, and maybe you don't want to get caught looking at him in front of your boss.

Apologies to those who were taken aback.

One more ammendment: Fashionista does not support heroin junkies, and we (honestly, truly) think drugs are gross. However, we do support Carine Roitfeld, always. Conclude what you will.

xoxo.

In truth, there wasn't a flood of amazing ideas to come out of LA Fashion Week, but the rush of California clothes did have some interesting highlights.

Our favorite runway moment was Lydia Hearst on the Alvin Valley catwalk.

Our favorite collection was by Juan Carlos Obando, though we admit we'd probably choose to wear the Tarte stuff and the dresses by Corey Lynn Calter before anything else.

Our favorite makeup, as mentioned, was the blackly beautiful lipstick at Imitation of Christ.

And our favorite roundup comes from ELLE.com, where you can sift through pictures from the catwalks, the parties, and the red carpet, and also see our favorite LA model, Devon Aoki.

She's dreamy.

Britain's Royal Air Force announced this week that they'll launch their own clothing collection.

The range is a public relations move aimed at hyping awareness for the R.A.F. and their duties, and the clothes have been compared to those at Ralph Lauren.

Of particular interest is this quote from the story:

"Any money made by the RAF will go towards the Royal Air Force Museum's two sites in England. JOI managing director Nick Adams said the firm was in talks with one UK high street chain and with retailers in the US.The States look like they are going to go absolutely mad over it because they love anything royal and anything British," he said."

Will we flip for these clothes? Head to the RAF website for a collection preview and let us know.

see the whole list at Style.com

It's that time of day when you really need some procrastination, and we really wonder who exactly keeps leaving comments about Kate, Pete, and Proenza Schouler.

Which leads us to our first-ever Fashionista survey.

Tell us about you, send us your email address (which we will keep secret and never use, promise), and if we like your answer to our final question the best, we'll send you a huge stack of our infamous Sharpie bracelets. Or a Starbucks card, if you prefer.

xo Fashionista

Naomi Campbell's shoot for W may not have been the magazine's only high profile project for spring.

We hear that hot young photographer Ryan McGinley shot Pete Doherty and Kate Moss naked for their June issue.

If true, the story will follow April's Vogue shoot of the couple, which was personally supervised by Anna Wintour and probably dreamed about by everyone else.

Meanwhile, Ryan McGinley was recently dubbed one of "Warhol's Children" in a hotly debated cover story by New York, but while everyone in New York seems keen to find traces of Andy, we think this situation is more Annie Leibowitz:

Her shot of John Lennon and Yoko Ono for the cover of Rolling Stone (at right) is one of our most iconic rock images from the last fifty years. The photos from this shoot might just be the next ones.

Also: did Kate ever emerge from her hiding place in St. Barth's? Write in if you know.

Much fuss has been made over the temperate reception of Madonna for H&M, but the idea that no one's buying isn't quite true.

On Friday night, I swung into the H&M on Broadway and found a crush of kids in hoodies and giant gold earrings who were not just in love with the clothes, but buying select pieces - mostly the shirt dress and the tank - in handfuls.

Then this weekend on a West Village stoop, a drag queen on her cigarette break came outside and informed me that she and all of her friends had bought one of everything from Madonna's collection, noting that the excesss sequins on the clothes - and their availability in large sizes - made the line ideal for performances and big nights out.

We expect Madonna will be thrilled.

We've always been a ShopBop fan because they seem to have clothes nobody else finds - who knew Charlotte Ronson made those amazing wedges at left?

But now the web boutique is realizing it could get even bigger.

A designer friend tells us that soon, ShopBop will revamp its entire site with an upscale boutique, where more luxe brands will sell along with their usual stash of C&C t-shirts and DVF dresses.

The site might also get an infusion of editorial content, so it can compete with Net-A-Porter, whose homepage is a virtual fashion spread of runway shots, trend montages, and editorial anecdotes.

We expect ShopBop will even have a blog like Bluefly and Sephora - though it will probably have a heavier emphasis on Nicole and Lindsay, who seem to be the style icons for everything ShopBop sells.

Bitten by SJP might be disappointing, but the first images from Libertine for Target are out, and they're fantastic.

The line launches this August and includes a striped t-shirt dress in green/aqua or red/pink, several skull print sweaters, and embroidered bags and tees with bugs and tree branches. The clothes combine Victorian motifs with sharp, girly shapes like the points of A-line skirts and the diagonal slopes of cardigans against a blouse. The clothes are the color of Crayola.

We remember the movie Seamless, when Anna Wintour compared Libertine's Johnson Hartig and Cindy Greene to Galliano. We think maybe they've departed from that early prediction, going for less art and more commerce, and far too much fun.

Next up: Chip and Pepper launch their first diffusion line, with J.C. Penny, later this year.

See teeny tease pictures of the whole Libertine collection below.

Today's odd text message:

Kate Moss is missing.

She was in St. Barth's with Daria Werbowy shooting the David Yurman campaign with Peter Lindbergh. She was supposed to stick around to shoot French Vogue but she bounced.

No one knows where.

Perhaps it's irresponsible on our part to reprint the text here, and apologies for that. It came from a source close to the story, and that's all I will say.

But it's just so strange and interesting... maybe if it's true, she's finally snuck off to marry Pete?

Flypaper shows us this DIY Chanel bag from Craft magazine.

It looks vaguely hideous to us, but also vaguely relevant:

Karl Lagerfeld's most recent collection for the house was stuffed with penguin sweaters, ice skates, and scarves so huge and prickly, they brought to mind a woolly mammoth.

Looking at the Double C crochet, we wonder two things:

1. As we learned from Bazaar publisher Valerie Salembier, counterfeit bags made in factories are morally wrong.

But how about the ones you make yourself?

2. If we posted this photo by itself and said "Karl's Pre-Fall '08 bags have arrived," would you have believed it?

(We heard that before Flip launched, Anna had a Conde Net editor come to her office and walk her through the site. We heard that she loved it. But we didn't realize she had her own account.)

Kate Middleton gets glowing reviews from Hilary Alexander for her new "confident, new image" but we're not sold quite yet.

It's true that Prince William's girlfriend is a beautiful girl - and also a very nice one, as we learned during a spring term at St. Andrew's University.

But really - she's wearing a tweed jacket and a skirt that's a little too long, with pointy stiletto boots and a beret.

She looks cute but hardly groundbreaking, and something about the enormous effort behind the outfit

- you can tell, she's really trying to look good, and also really trying to not look like she's trying -

It reminds us of Lauren Conrad more than anything.

If Kate were walking down the street in New York City, we think she'd look like a pretty college student freshly flown in from a wealthy D.C. suburb.

But if course, it's not up to us - what do the Fug Girls think of Kate?

And what do you?

A reader from Arizona writes the Wall Street Journal to ask about Sample Sales.

Are they really that good?

Are they only in New York?

Fashion editor Teri Agins explains that most sample sales are indeed in New York, but other big cities like Los Angeles, Chicago, and Miami have their share too, and so does the internet. But then comes to sad truth, which has nothing to do with geography:

Be aware, though, that just like factory outlets, sample sales nowadays are heavily stocked with goods specifically designed to be sold as "markdowns." To differentiate these from the true designer samples, watch for outfits grouped in a wide range of sizes. True samples will have limited selection.

Translation?