The D&G catwalk was occupied by more metallics, flashes of color, studded numbers, military-inspired looks, and LOTS of sandals.

That’s right, not only is Milan itself crawling (okay, walking, and riding Vespas…) with flip flops and “mandals,â€? but this Fashion Week has seen its fair share of open-toed climbers on its catwalks.

Our favorite example?

D&G, which sent nearly every model out wearing black or white sandals embellished with silver.

The ones who didn’t wore silver high tops.

Never ones to stray from uniform, the design team wore all black, and the staff wore D&G jeans with white “D&G Staff� t-shirts.

After the show, the designers treated the entire staff of dressers and coordinators to several rounds of Dom Pérignon, which they served themselves.

We thought this was very Milan:

Even when they’re clomping around in flip flops, these Italian fashion men are quite the gentlemen!

—ASHLEY DAVIDSON

It happens every year.

Just when we’re all ready to go to the beach and sit in the sand with some magazines…

Our magazine supply dries up.

It’s the blight known as the June/July issue.

Teen Vogue does it, French Vogue does it. Even the magazines that do put out separate June and July issues often churn out a July magazine that’s thinner than Vlada Roslyakova, which makes for disappointing poolside reading.

Now that resort/ cruise has become a significant mini season (at least for sales), there’s one more reason for the editors at the glossies to bite the bullet and give us more shoots!

What are they waiting for?

Q: Was this post just another excuse to run a racy photo of Daria?

A: A little bit, yes. We’ll never get over her…

—ANNA FIELDING GRIGGS

You’ve given us an existential crisis about summer leg wear options, but we can’t let it go -

Look how the cool, breezy, and slightly damp weather last night called for layering something under your summer dress.

We found this group of four friends, who each solved the legging situation in their own way, and managed to pull it off and look great without falling back on basic black.

The girl on the right balanced out the slightly conservative cut of her navy jacket with shiny pink patterned leggings.

The two girls who choose black varied the texture to keep the look fresh – shiny and rubberized or sheer and sexy.

And then the second from the left girl is wearing white patterned tights without looking like a clown or an exotic dancer.

Note that they all kept their clothes neutral – black, gray, and navy – which gives you the freedom to pull off a tights statement.

—ALISON COOL

Four years ago, I saw a really cool band at a little rock club in NYC.

The lead singer was a brash, bold, and brazenly sexy woman who strutted around stage in a Vargas girl dress that unabashedly showed off her curves. After the show, I thought:

That woman is such a rock star, and someday she’ll be famous.

The band was the Gossip and the woman was Beth Ditto. This October, she’s been chosen by young British designer Christopher Kane to represent him and perform in his clothes at the Swarovski Fashion Rocks for the Prince’s Trust gala.

What make this so cool is that not only is Beth sexy and talented;

she’s a size 20.

It’s great that Christopher would rather see a woman like Beth rocking his designs than someone like Victoria Beckham, who recently tried to borrow one of his dresses—

and was turned down by the designer. She ended up buying the Chris Kane dress herself.

We’ve always been excited about Christopher’s beautiful dresses, but we’re even more impressed by his attitude.

You can see more of Beth in this month’s British Vogue - editor-in-chief Alexandra Schulman is into her, too.

—ANNA FIELDING GRIGGS

We love Erin Fetherston.

We love Target.

We love the way Erin put blonde wigs on all her models for this shoot.

And we love this collection, but you’ll have to wait for it:

The beautiful coats, dresses, and leggings don’t hit stores until November, but our secret sources sent us images today.

Enjoy, and get ready: Libertine for Target hits shelves in two weeks!

Somebody give ELLE Magazine a curfew.

Their fashion staff must be out at all hours, drinking Crystal Light shooters, posing for photo blogs, and flirting with Jackson Pollis.

How else can we explain their gleeful, glittery embrace of even more hipster hautness?

A quick review:

First, ELLE embraced Kool Aid hair colors, just like Greg K from MisShapes.

Next, they write about their love of huge logo tees, just like Henry Holland.

Then came the ELLE rhapsody on all things neon, as seen on Agyness, Ikeleine, and all seven issues of Super Super Magazine.

And now?

Their feature story is called Rave New World. It’s stuffed with photos of Boom Box, Studio B, and MisShapes. It’s crammed with day-glo nail polish and hot pink lipstick. And it’s further proof that the Crayola streaked style surge we’ve seen for the past two years might be an indelible, glow-in-the-dark mark on our decade.

Or:

ELLE just wants some free Red Bull for their fashion closets.

Last night, Swedish fashion editors, designers, and hangers-on piled out of taxis in Stockholm’s Djurparken, where Filippa K. was holding her Spring/ Summer 2008 show.

Amazingly, no one seemed to mind hiking up a little dirt trail through the woods in their stilettos to get to the runway, or the fact that the show was more or less in the middle of nowhere. Can you see jaded fashion industry insiders hiking in the woods in their Manolos? In February, people freaked out because Luella was showing on 11th Avenue!

As for this show:

The womenswear collection was stronger than the men’s, and both carried this season’s nautical theme well into next year (so go ahead and buy that MJ jacket Faran)!

We were very happy to see that purple (our favorite color!) dominated the palette in both women’s and men’s.

But will guys outside of Sweden wear nautical purple denim? Here’s hoping!

—ALISON COOL

When we’re in a funk, we go shopping for dresses.

When Esprit is having a bad day, they go shopping for entire companies. So which one will they buy?

Bloomberg News announced today that the famous sweatshirt company is hunting for a luxury brand. Even though they sell loads of sportswear to Germany and the rest of Europe, they know they’ve got nothing on TopShop, H&M, or even The Gap in terms of style cred.

Their hope is to find a company that makes Esprit look better to designers and fashion folk who might, eventually, pair with the line. Says their president, “I would like to integrate such a brand as a better sister of Esprit and as a role model to access good designers who normally wouldn’t want to work for Esprit.”

Okay, so who should be the cool kid that Esprit wants to be? And - more important - who’s a small luxury brand that would be happy with a huge company as a new parent?

We know the Proenza boys were in talks with overseas buyers this Spring, and their Target collection showed they can do mass appeal. They might also like the retro kitsch of Esprit sweatshirts, even though Esprit’s current line is… well, it’s icky. They needed Jack and Laz like, yesterday.

Other picks for a pairing: Esprit and Phillip Lim. Esprit and Luella. Esprit and Catherine Malandrino.

Esprit and _______?

Lisa Belkin’s piece in Thursday Styles about briefcases and backpacks on wheels really struck a chord with us.

Although running around NYC with an approximately ten billion ton purse (while wearing heels, naturally) has left us with no small amount of pain, we have to veto the rolling bag idea - unless we’re at the airport.

It’s not because of the danger of running over small children and animals, but because these rollers are the most hideous thing we’ve seen since last week’s toeless boots.

This quote from the article really sums it up for us:

“Nerd-o-rama,� sniffed Mark Stevens, the chief executive of MSCO, a global marketing firm in Rye Brook, N.Y. “I would rather carry a baby grand on a broken back than swish around with a rolling bag.�

Is this all just senseless vanity?

At what point to you have to compromise your style in the name of practicality?

(Alison says never! Faran says, only if you need physical or psychological therapy for a particularly painful outfit…)

—ALISON COOL

WhoWhatWearDaily keeps us covered on the celebrity fashion front, and they do a great job pulling the paparazzi princesses.

So, it’s sort of no surprise to spot Mischa Barton, Kate Bosworth or Jessica Alba in their daily posts.

But what about a Vogue editor?

Meredith Melling Burke makes a somewhat unexpected appearance as one of the chosen fashionable ‘celebs,’ since she’s not a movie star, she’s the fashion market director at the magazine.

It’s not that she isn’t stylish enough to make the ranks, it’s just funny to see her next to girls who are more famous for their boyfriends, their drugs, or their sunglasses than any real work.

Where’s the justification?

The site’s founders - Hilary Kerr and Katherine Power - previously worked as ELLE magazine editors, so we can understand why they might classify ‘editor’ as ‘celebrity.’ We certainly do.

But here’s what we’re wondering - why not choose from ELLE’s stylish masthead?

—SARAH MUEHLBAUER

I’d like to introduce you to some old friends.

I’ve known them for a while, but I still like to go visit them from time to time. They all live together in Soho, and they’re really chic. They only hang out with designers. They used to be on the runway but they haven’t been getting out much lately.

They’re the clothes on the basement sale rack at Kirna Zabete, the pioneering Soho boutique.

Let’s meet them:

There’s the Behnaz Sarafpour dress Natasha Poly wore down the runway in the Spring 2006 collection. Originally, $1645. Now: $412.

The dress Isabeli Fontana wore in the Spring 2005 Behnaz show: originally $1255, now $315.

The Lanvin tulle blouse from Fall 2005 that Ann Catherine Lacroix wore on the runway, marked down from $1665 to $166.

The yellow and white Nina Ricci gown, $5265 to $1317.

And my favorite twins:

The pumpkin colored silk bias cut dresses from Rodarte’s first collection (Spring 2006). Once, $1380, now $345.

There are others (the gaggle of Rick Owens sweaters, the Zac Posen family), but the pieces listed above have the most seniority and are thus closest to my heart. They’re so familiar. They’re always there… like for the last two years.

Why? Keep reading.

—ANNA FIELDING GRIGGS

Britney Spears has revealed that her style icon is Katie Holmes. Her choice quote about the Chanel addict?

“Katie always looks so cute in her Armani and Manolo Blahnik stuff. I’m gonna go for that vibe and all the trimmings.”

Okay, stay calm…

“All the trimmings” might mean a heap of Van Cleef and Arpels jewelry, some vintage Hermes bags, and a few silk headbands, which would be lovely.

Of course, it might also mean a cult initiation, a faux pregnancy belly, and a husband who believes he’s the spawn of an alien life form…

But, you know, sometimes that’s the sacrifice you have to make to steal things from the Gucci sample closet. We wish Britney, her stylist, and her future Scientology minder immense luck in her makeover quest.

The death knell for the turban trend has sounded.

Funny, since Vogue has engaged in full-on turban mania for the past few months. Remember the photo of Sasha in a turban, followed by Rachel Roy and Liz Goldwyn as her disciples? Try to forget it - the magazine has officially MOVED ON.

You may not have thought it was possible, but they’ve found a trend to hype that could be even weirder:

The babushka.

As in, that thing your Russian grandmother wore on her head that looked like an oversize napkin. Or the one you wore in the chorus of your 10th grade production of Fiddler on the Roof. Now it’s on the runway.

Will this trend have more legs than the turban?

We’re thinking possibly:

Maybe the babushkas will be adopted by stylish Muslim women, who could re-drape them as hijabs.

Or maybe we’ll be reaching for one on a really bad hair day.

—ANNA FIELDING GRIGGS

Lauren Dresser, furniture saleswoman at Room and Board (note her last name!)

Got her: Strolling down Mercer St. near Fanelli’s Cafe

Stalked her: Because we were feeling some seaside nostalgia…

Shot her: Because she worked two trends - nautical and high-waisted - and
erred on the side of elegant, as opposed to looking too trendy, too scary, or literally about to set sail.

She says: “These pants are from Viktor and Rolf, and the top was a present from a friend. Today is definitely very ‘sailor girl,’ but I always use a lady-like approach with my outfits.”

We say: (Stars) and stripes forever.

—SARAH MUEHLBAUER

Whenever you look at a fashion shoot, do you think you could do it better?

Stefano Pilati and Nick Knight are giving you the chance to prove it on Friday, July 13.

The YSL designer will collaborate with SHOWstudio to create a catalogue and film to celebrate the forthcoming YSL capsule collection, Edition 24.

Starting today, SHOWstudio is accepting screenplay submissions for the 24 hour live broadcast, which will star “a model or actress” - but we’re hearing Agyness - and showcase the upcoming collection.

The move takes place in a hotel room, on a plane, in a studio, and at a cocktail bar - they’re meant to represent things a top model does every day, and to give you guidance as you write her story.

Which brings up the question:

What would you like to make Agyness do for 24 hours?

Submissions are only being accepted through Friday July 6th, so get busy…

—ANNA FIELDING GRIGGS

Hip Swedes flock to Stockholm’s Weekday, a local streetwear superstore, to pick up their denim, sneakers, and plenty more.

The makers of Cheap Mondays (practically a national uniform hwew) also sell another brand, called MTWTFSS, which are also cool and cheap, but come in a larger variety of fits (not just skinny!) more accommodating to um, American body types.

Best of all, every time we’ve been to the store, they seem to be having a 50% off sale.

Here are some helpful Swedish shopping expressions that you may need if you decide to check out the Nordic retail scene:

The fashion world is used to underage girls representing its brands: At fifteen, Gemma did Prada and Riley Keough did Dior, and whether Tanya D was fourteen or younger when she shot YSL is often discussed.

So Versace’s new teen face shouldn’t be shocking - except that it’s a sixteen year old boy.

As pegged by Paris Vogue, their new poster child is Tuki Brando, the grandson of Marlon and the son of Tarita Cheyenne Brando, a former model who committed suicide when Tuki was five. He was raised in Tahiti by his grandmother, and lived there until recently, when he flew to Paris for a L’Uomo Vogue shoot with Bruce Weber.

No doubt the new boy will be fun eye candy in magazines - but will he entice grown men to buy into the Versace brand?

And isn’t it odd that Versace’s men’s collections have gotten way more grown-up on the runways, thanks in large part to Cloak’s Alexander Plohkov, only to be faced by someone born in the ’90s?

Sweden’s equivalent of New York’s Parsons or London’s Central St. Martins is Beckmans College of Design, home of Stockholm’s most prestigious fashion design program.

The winner of this year’s highly-lauded student prize is Jennifer Blom, whose finely-crafted white frocks were inspired by the 1930s in colonial Ceylon as well as modern and futuristic architecture.

She says: “The collection reveals the silhouette of the female body, through sumptuous, draped materials all in white, and is a tribute to different ethnicities and civilizations.�

We say: The rose dress is a little too Marchesa for our taste, but the pleating and detailing in the collection are gorgeous. We foresee great things for Blom!

—ALISON COOL

The Trivia Answer:

Marc Jacobs did indeed do the video for Sonic Youth’s Sugar Kane, and here’s the You Tube to prove it.

While the film strip may open with flickers of a baby Chloe Sevigny, we all know the real magic is 20 seconds into the frame, when Marc himself pops into view.

He looks a little bit like a grunge concert groupie, and a little bit like Orlando Bloom in Lord of the Rings… which is about what we’d expect from the future fashion superstar.

As for the clothes in the video, they’re so sickly perfect that it’s hard to remember they belong in the ‘90’s instead of now, and it’s wickedly fun fun to watch them streak through the screen, remembering that this aesthetic is why Perry Ellis fired him from their label!

We can’t think of a young designer today whose clothes have quite as much impact as these clearly did, but then again…

We can’t think of another soundtracck that’s as tragically hip.

Anyway, enjoy.

Gucci announced today that Drew Barrymore would be its new face for fine jewelry, and then we saw the ad.

The actress looks gorgeous but almost unrecognizeable - her head’s at an odd, upturned angle, and her pout is so lush, one would think it was injected into the photograph.

Drew’s also doing the Cover Girl campaign for Fall, so maybe the Gucci team wanted a different, less signature look for the ad, but now comes the next question:

Where’s the product?

We understand the ad is a fantasy, but we’d still like to see what Drew is getting paid to wear. And we can see a tiny glimmer of jeweled something peeking out from Drew’s hand, but sadly, that’s not usually the way we wear our jewelry.

Perhaps this spread was secretly sponsored by Cover Girl, since Drew’s lips and eyes look thoroughly coated in something sparkling?

When Masha Tyelna made her runway debut this spring we thought that she looked like E.T. in heels - and maybe with good reason.

Masha is just the most extreme example of a trend that’s been very present in castings for a while now:

Models with big wide eyes, small jaws, and large foreheads are always booking.

See: Gemma, Lily Donaldson, Vlada, Sasha, and Tanya D.

Their look has been called “alien babydoll,” and they do look a little like a Mattel best-seller.

So why do we think they’re so gorgeous?

Evolutionary biologist Stephen Jay Gould argued that humans evolved from chimpanzees who retained juvenile characteristics (like less hair, prominent foreheads, small jaws, and flat faces) into adulthood. This phenomenon is called neoteny, but maybe it should just be called “the fall runway.”

Other scientists, like Desmond Morris, have discussed how neotenic characteristics are considered extremely attractive in women; particularly hairlessness (hello Brazilians!) and large eyes (babies have larger eyes in relation to their faces than adults do, so we grown-ups have to use Diorshow mascara).

In that light, the current crop of models seems to represent a really extreme example of broader trends in human evolution. They so typify what humans look like that they start to look exceptional.

Do the alien babydolls look like the most beautiful humans to you? Or do you prefer a look that’s a little less “highly evolved”?

—ANNA FIELDING GRIGGS

Amelia Earhart may best be known for piloting planes - but what about fashion trends?

The July issue of Smithsonian features a piece on the late legend from a surprisingly sartorial perspective.

Apparently, Earhart had a penchant for wearing beautifully-tailored clothing. She was best known for her riding outfits, which kept in step with the equestrian-inspired trends of the 1930s - and which, in turn, inspired Alvin Valley’s most recent runway line (Proenza had a few items on their catwalk for lift-off, too).

But here’s what we found fascinating - some time after Earhart reached celebrity status, she helped design and publicize a line of women’s active wear.

We know that Earhart disappeared suddenly -

But has anything from her clothing label ever been discovered?

—SARAH MUEHLBAUER

Even though it’s a country of only nine million people, there really are a startling number of denim labels in Sweden.

According to local fashion and culture magazine People Sverige, Sweden has the world’s largest number of jean designers per capita. We believe it.

The most recent arrival on the denim scene is Fienden, a small uber-hip label known for their limited-edition punchy tees for men and women.

They have just added a tiny run of black selvedge denim for guys. We love the looser, but still narrow fit of these jeans, pictured above.

The motorcycle vest is kind of cool too, although we have a little trouble imagining the affable Swedes as tough gangster motorcycle types.

—ALISON COOL

“Someone please feed Snejana.”

If you didn’t read that as “Snay-ahna”, then you need to read the rest of this post.

Having tackled designer name pronunciation last week, it’s time to move on to another fashion trick:

The crazy names of models!

Please note, our information comes from the way bookers, photographers, and the girls themselves say each others’ names - not the way one would say them, necessarily, if it were 400 years ago in a tiny Ukrainian village.

And by the end of this list, you’ll be so grateful for Hilary Rhoda.

—ANNA FIELDING GRIGGS

New York has graffiti on the streets, but Stockholm has “craftism.”

It’s a street movement stemming from a local craft crew called Masquerade, who transform the urban environment with needlepoint!

Masquerade’s members - mostly female - use yarn and thread to create patterned bands, which they sew around railings, fences, street lamps, and other objects all over the city. They also embroider messages like “kramâ€? ( which translates to “hugsâ€? – aw!) into the cloth seats on commuter trains all over the country.

We don’t know whether to attribute this to the huge resurgence of homemade and handcrafted clothes in Sweden, the continuing strength of local DIY activism, or the country’s long history of radical gender equality and strong feminist movement –

But we love it!

—ALISON COOL

One-piece bathing suits are back, but can you wear them if you’re not going to the beach?

Fabsugar shows some of their favorite one-pieces, including cute styles from DvF, Pucci, and Juicy Couture… the Pucci is especially tempting to wear with jeans, since it’s a status print, but it might belong purely to the poolside.

Norma Kamali’s maillots are always beautifully cut and high quality - and yes, we’ve seen some girls wearing theirs with tons of necklaces and Miss Sixty cutoffs to brunch.

And American Apparel is practically screaming for you to wear their one-pieces with jeans, or under a strapless dress – especially since their suits prove that you can show as much skin (maybe more!) in a one-piece as in your favorite string bikini.

But the most tempting suit to pair with a shawl and some high waisted pants is the new Zandra Rhodes one from TopShop, available next week and pictured at left.

It might be harder to use the bathroom at a party, but the sexy straps across the back, combined with its incredible pattern, might make you the best dressed girl there.

—ALLIE MERRIAM and FARAN

Lia, 20, graphic design student

Got Her:
On our way to yoga, in the East Village.

Stalked Her: We actually did cross the street just to snag her - you could see her checked print from a mile away, and then when we spied the sneakers, we actually shrieked.

Shot Her: Because we loooove Lily Allen, but we haven’t found too many girls who have adapted her style without looking like a bad Xerox. But this dress is just casual enough to work with a pair of high tops, and the proportion of the outfit makes it gorgeous. Take notes.

She Says: “These are my favorite sneakers ever. I got them on Haight St. in San Francisco and I will wear them with anything.”

We Say: “Yeah, it makes me smile…”

Also: Isn’t this totally the street version of that windy shot from Fashion Week? It so is.

WHICH major fashion house wrote a letter to a major fashion magazine declaring they would never lend their clothes out for shoots? Apparently, the magazine’s professional readership isn’t cool enough for the brand - the funny thing is, most people don’t think the brand is so cool, either.

TopShop and the New Generation initiative just announced their fall Fashion Week picks, and here are the kids whose shows will be funded:

Christopher Kane (Versace consultant and Carine darling…)
Danielle Scutt (our new favorite eccentric, at left…)
Duro Olowu (a Nigerian print fanatic with magical silk dresses…)
Erdem (who won the Fashion Fringe award a year ago…)
Gareth Pugh (our favorite mad scientist…)
Louise Golden (a knitwear guru who claimed her last collection was influenced by Burkas…)
Marios Schwab (who won the British Fashion Award last year…)
Todd Lynn (a rock band costumer, and the only menswear designer on the bill…)

The awards alleviate the financial pressure of showing this fall, but they also bring new stress:

If you’ve been dubbed The Next Big Thing by all of Britain, you’d think every stitch was sewing your fate.

Of course, the real mark of a New Gen designer hitting it big is when their sponsor, TopShop, starts ripping off their catwalk collection… or have we forgotten their brief romance with rave t-shirts?

Things Laura Poretzky has that we want:

1. A dress form named “Gemma� in her studio.

2. Ancient photographs of Hollywood movie stars.

3. Fluency in Portuguese.

4. A song written for her by a major rock band (but that’s all we’ll tell…)

5. Every dress and swimsuit that Abaete has ever made. Of course, that’s only right considering she’s the owner.

We won’t lie: there’s lots of little dress labels crafted by pretty party girls who scatter about the city like jelly beans dropped on the floor.

But Laura actually makes all her own patterns and samples, she usually boycotts the scene-y parties, and her dresses end up in W for a reason. They’re cool; they’re cute, and exceptionally well made.

Laura’s clothes are also a little more gussied than some of her competing labels – her dresses don’t come with built-in cigarette ash –

But this means her favorite swear word is even dirtier than most…

Like everyone else, we’ve been pondering one of the great dilemmas of the summer. Black leggings are pretty much unwearable at this point, because if the heat doesn’t kill you, then the conformity will.

And yet…the black tight is pretty much the ideal summer layering item for when it´s slightly too cold to wear your cutest dress with bare legs - or when your favorite summer heels won’t work against pale skin.

So what´s a girl to do?

We think these adorable floral print footless tights from The Sock Man are a good solution. You won’t die of fashion boredom and they’re simple enough to pair with most dresses (and here’s a note from Faran: they also rememble the babydoll textures of summer, without the sack silhouette).

But how are you solving your summer legwear dilemma?

—ALISON COOL

“Dear Fashionista,

Sunday night’s GQ Party, held in honor of their 50th anniversary, was a star-studded event, but perhaps more imprssive than the stars - the magazine invited editors from competing magazines to join in the festivities. Jim Nelson told us that some people on his staff weren’t sure it was a good move, but we loved it!

The festa was thrown in a beautiful (really) old factory on the south side of Milan. Besides the non-GQ editors, the magazine was joined by numerous models, buyers, press, and designers.

Dolce & Gabbana made an early appearance and slipped out before the crowd grew large.

Actor James Franco was led around by a formidable man who periodically said, “We have to move, James.�

Hot Chip played an amazing set; champagne, mojitoes, and Campari were served all around; and security was busy trying to control the number of smokers packed onto the steel staircase outside.

A good time was had by all, and it showed the next morning at the 9:30 call for the DSquared2 show… which is where we’re headed right now.

More from the D&G afterparty later!

—Ashley Davidson.”

We hear that E! is trying to make a True Hollywood Story out of Project Runway, but they’re running into some snags.

Apparently, publicists for various stars of the show - as well as those who work with Bravo TV - are hesitant to let the special proceed, fearing bad blood and gossip will prevail on the tabloid network.

Perhaps they’re reminded of the Sex and the City episode, which delved a little too deep into the feud between Sarah Jessica Parker and her co-star Kim Catrall. Perhaps they’re just reminded of the various New York magazine articles where far too much TV dirt gets dished - remember when Tim Gunn said that Daniel V didn’t get the job he wanted at Michael Kors? Wow.

The show hasn’t been nixed yet, but if it does go forward, cerain key Project Runway figures won’t be involved -

Which is sad, since the show is so amazing and exciting, it would be hard for anybody to talk about their work with young designers without looking fabulous.

In the meantime, we’ll have to console ourselves with new episodes of Top Chef, where Padma looks incredible and so does most of the food…

Jenny Feldman, Nylon Fashion Features Director

Got Her: Outside the ICP benefit party on Ninth Avenue

Stalked Her: Because she was the fifth girl we’ve seen all week in lace-up white Keds, and we loved them paired with a Chanel bag.

Shot Her: Because this is an evening look that screams effortless cool.

She Says: “Everything I’m wearing is from Chris Benz. I think the best part is the way you can just throw it on and it works… there are tiny shorts that go underneath this dress; I’m so obsessed with Chris Benz.”

We Say: Can we borrow it?

We got an outraged email from Michael Ian and loved it.

Mr. Michael seems to be suffering a massive style disappointment.

He scored a pair of gorgeous Marc Jacobs shades for over $200…

And then saw them at Urban Outfitters for under $20.

While Michael ruminates on the Karl Lagerfeld quote, “there is no justice in fashion,” we direct would-be Marc shoppers to Bluefly, where the painted aviators that haven’t been knocked off are currently on sale.

Of course, in several months, they may also appear at Forever 21, but those are the chances we take…

We´re really excited that New York designer Janet Kim, who cut her teeth at Christian Dior and Proenza Schouler, has finally launched her own line.

It´s called Graey, and the brand-new website showcases some of Kim´s beautifully detailed cotton tees for men and women, and will eventually expand to include a full line of dresses and sweaters.

Our personal favorite is the black crown tee -

The cut-outs are sexy - but not ridiculous MTV video music awards red carpet horror show.

Same for the gold applique, which is awesome and almost antiqued.

Well done!

—ALISON COOL

Last night at the Beatrice Inn, we crashed into model Leah De Wavrin, whom we try not to feature on the site too much because… well, she’s just too beautiful, and it gets a little difficult for us to breathe.

True to form, she was perched underneath the disco ball wearing a giant floppy hat that everybody wanted, and pointing a massive fish eye camera at her friends.

We said hi, and couldn’t resist asking:

What was it like to open and close the Hussein Chalayan show… nude?

“It was really cool!” She told us.

“They asked me at the casting to do it - they said, Leah, you are the youngest girl, you are the bravest girl, can you do this? And I love Hussein and so I said, sure, why not? But then on the day of the show, I got so nervous! And you know, they put the crazy hat on me for rehearsal, and I thought, oh no, I cannot do this. But everyone backstage started screaming my name and the dressers just pushed me out there, and I thought, okay, well, here I go!

And Carine Roitfeld stood up and started cheering, and I felt great. It was pure, it was beautiful, I’m glad I did it.”

But what did her mother say?

“Oh, she told me never to do anything like that again!”

(That’s Leah, fully clothed at right, with Paris Vogue’s Michaela Dosamantes).

WHICH fashion editor has her assistant sell all her swag under a pseudonym on eBay? To make sure they keep mum, she gives them a percentage of all her freebie sales…

According to the BBC, Cameron Diaz made a public apology after touring Peru with a vintage bag from Maoist China.

Like those unfortunate tattoos of “Chinese charactersâ€? which don’t quite mean what the wearer thinks, Diaz thought her bag was cute and cool… not evocative of murder, strife, and chaos.

The BBC says:

“The Shrek star visited the historical Machu Picchu site with a green bag which had a red star and the words “serve the people” printed in Chinese. It evoked memories of a Peruvian war against Maoist rebels in the 1980s and ’90s, when up to 69,000 people died. Diaz admitted she did not realise the slogan’s “potentially hurtful nature”.â€?

We say:

Do you think Cameron needed to apologize? When you buy vintage or find something secondhand when you’re abroad, how aware do you need to be of the item’s history and significance?

—ALISON COOL

Like Faran, we associate 1960s and 70s style with nostalgia and fascinating glimpses into our mom’s high school yearbook. While ethnic-print dresses and truly wild florals are beginning to look a bit tired, we are really into the resurgence of tie-dye.

You can do it yourself – it’s fun, but incredibly messy and requires strange ingredients like “soda ash.� Or, you could follow the path of least resistance and seek out designers who have done the work for you.

Tie-dye has been all over the runways for a couple of seasons now, notably from Prada, but we love the way smaller designers are incorporating the wild pattern in a very controlled way.

And thus, our new obsession:

Maxine Dillon and her line, Figmint.

Because tie dye without the rock festival connotations might be even cooler…

—ALISON COOL

Shopping List for Summer of Love Trendoids:

*Fringed Minnetonka boots

*White Wayfarers

*Layered thrift-shop necklaces (also okay from H&M…)

*Miu MIu maxidress

And… soap? That might be taking dedication to another level.

We spotted hippie favorite Dr. Bronner’s soap at the Lower East Side restaurant Freeman’s over the weekend, which lead us to contemplate the lengths one goes to achieve a fashion lifestyle instead of just a look.

Dr. Bronner’s became an iconic brand in the 60’s and 70’s when the company’s emphasis on social responsibility, and the use of certified organic materials struck a chord with the original flower children. And every guy we’ve dated says he used it at summer camp.

Their soap is instantly recognizable by its two-tone label, covered in company values and scripture. And since the soap comes in no-frills scents like lavender, eucalyptus, and peppermint, we can add “natural” to the list of principles scrawled across the bottle.

So here’s the question:

If you’re dedicated enough to buy a $1000 dress in celebration of the Love Summer, can you also suck it up and use $6.50 biodegradable soap?

—ALLIE MERRIAM

Traditionally, cruise collections are tailor-made for the privileged. Who else could take a mid-winter vacation to The Maldives?

But TopShop’s first-ever Cruise collection emerges mid-summer, and it’s a clear indication of TopShop’s direction towards high fashion trends with mass market appeal.

Yes, the military style shorts are a bit reminiscent of Chanel’s 2008 Cruise collection, and the numerous floaty, floral pieces remind us of Dior’s - but none were as fun as Topshop’s.

What kills us is the attention to detail: The cut of the garments, the belts, the shapes, and the earthy accents.

Cruise collections normally provide a break from winter’s heavy layers, but because TopShop is releasing their line now, many of these items are perfect buy-ins to this summer’s trends of bright colors and one-piece swimsuits.

The graphic blue-and-white maillot is our personal favorite, but how do you feel about the daisy and polka dot tube top? Too Daisy Duck?

—SABRINA BACON

Is Harry Potter a fashion inspiration?

It is so, according to Australia’s Brisbane Times.

Fashion is, of course, inspired by anything and everything, and movies are an often-recurring source of material for designers.

If The Wicker Man (the original very cool British movie, no the Nick Cage knockoff…) can inspire Gareth Pugh, why not Harry Potter?

Certain elements of Harry’s look are easier to replicate than others. Hermes and YSL showed long black capes that had a certain Hogwarts mystery and intrigue. Sienna Miller has been spotted out and about in capes as well, although she has a preference for more modern cropped capes in bright colors.

On the other hand, Harry’s trademark round spectacles will be a liitle harder for us Muggles to pull off.

And for any over the age of twelve, a Hogwarts-style striped scarf is just a big, big no-no -

Though Ginny and Hermione wore some really cute cable knit sweaters that we swear came from Marc by Marc…

—ALLIE MERRIAM

In the spring of 2003, Miuccia Prada send out some sandals.

They were flat silk, and encrusted with plastic pieces cut like jewels. And to say they were a hit would be an understatement - because, within months, they were everywhere.

You can still find the sandals at various places - thrift stores in LA, outlets in Milan, fashion closets in Manhattan - but when you wear them, everybody always goes, “Ooh, those Prada sandals.”

Except with ours, we started to look down and go, “Ew, those Prada sandals.”

So we grabbed some black nail polish and did a quick paint job.

Now they look like a completely different pair of shoes, but a few swipes of nail polish remover with a cotton ball, and they’re back to Miuccia’s original vision.

We’re sick of getting pedicures for ourselves, but giving them to our designer shoes was a sort of hysterical experience.

Kara Janx, the South African designer from Season 2 of Project Runway, sent us her F/W 2007 look book this weekend. Despite initial hesitations about actually liking clothes from a P.R. alum, Janx’s collection looks pretty good.

She describes her work as “feminine with an urban slant” - the “urban” is represented by a gray wool dress & blazer combo.

There are also loads of dresses: A multi-colored silk goddess dress, a brown crepe pinafore, and a tweed minidress. Taking her cues from Teen Vogue, she’s styled many of her pieces over white or black tanks.

We think her stuff is definitely feminine and adorable, especially her tiered babydoll dresses - although it reminds us of a certain creation from the Project Runway show, as seen at New York Magazine…

Nothing wrong with a little self-plagiarism!

—ALLIE MERRIAM

Well, men’s fashion week is officially kicking off in Milan.

Here’s the lesson from the night-before: 30 makeup artists alone are endeavoring, as we write this, to make 60 male models at Dolce & Gabbana and Versace look tan and more buff than biology has allowed.

The recipe for natural looking perfection?

Estee Lauder tanning lotion with an instant tint.

Laura Mercier concealer for the face.

MAC body foundation for a smooth finish, and an illuminating gel to define or create the illusion of muscle tone.

—our Milan correspondent, Ashley Davidson

Last spring, Diane Von Furstenberg made a red sunburst print on a series of sundresses and jackets.

This spring, Urban Outfitters adds a few more petals to the print and voila, it’s their newest staple.

While the Diane dress sold for about $300 - and sold out, completely, within a few weeks - this Urban Outfitters piece is going for $58.

It also comes in black.

Though two more runway shows have passed since this look, I’m pretty certain that Diane and her team haven’t forgotten their previous efforts…

and also their previous prints.

And you know what happens when anyone tries to mess with DVF…

Watching the Spring Lanvin show stomp down the catwalk, I whispered, “are you kidding me?” a little too loud.

I got glares, but I stand by my outburst.

Here’s why:

It seems incredibly hard for normal woman to wear a face on her dress, especially a giant blow up face of a movie star, a pop star, or a model.

Great clothes should illuminate the women wearing them, while bringing that woman into a greater context of ideas, environment, beauty - that’s what’s happening when you see a gown on the runway and you gasp.

Putting a woman in a dress with a giant face on it - well, you’re not looking at the girl anymore. You’re looking at the face, and probably comparing it to the face of the wearer. Unless she is Doutzen on the cover of Paris Vogue in that dress, it could be a problem.

Clothing with face-prints may be the fashion equivalent of Avenue Q, the play where humans are visible onstage, but everyone is looking at their puppets instead.

And the Lanvin dress isn’t the only face in stores. Urban Outfitters has The Edie dress, with a giant film print of Ms. Sedgewick’s face around the bodice. Heatherette has gowns with Judy Garland on the front. The new Mulberry t-shirts from Julie Verhoeven also have fantastical faces printed across them -

Can it ever work?

Kate Moss has a clothing line and Cindy Crawford lisences couches, so why shouldn’t a model agency make their own hair care line?

This month, Elite Models announces a new partnership with Rowenta, the appliance company sold at Sears. They’re launching a series of 8 hair styling tools like flat irons and hot brushes, all inspired by the glamour and carefully crafted beauty of Elite Models.

Will using their new “Jumbo Tong for Large Curls” make you look like Elite’s Coco Rocha, Darla Baker, or Marisa Miller, who’s staring at you on the left?

Maybe not, but hopefully one of those girls will be pictured on the box.

Also: Elite has a blog!

It’s men’s Fashion Week in Milan, and we’re hearing there was something of an exodus at Versace, when several key buyers actually left the presentation in the middle.

Outside the lobby, our spy heard the words “boring” uttered in several languages.

Usually we love this sort of thing, because it’s fun when misaligned fashion gets called out for poor form, but this time we’re bummed.

This time, the Versace clothes are exceptional.

They were designed with help from Alexander Plokhov, the displaced Cloak createur, and they are clean, cool, awesome. We think draining the Kool Aid colors that usually grace the Versace men’s collection was a brilliant idea, because now they look like an outfit and not a costume.

Also: For maybe the first time, the line doesn’t look like it was designed for confidently gay men. It looks like it was designed for confident men, period.

See the whole collection, and read Tim Blanks’ rather spiffy review, on Style.com.

And keep your fingers crossed for Alexander; this is good stuff…

“Hey Faranista,

Glastonbury is still a muddy mess. It’s not glamorous at all! You Americans are so obsessed…

I’ve been on the lookout for any girl in a Stella McCartney for Oxfam t-shirt and I haven’t seen a single one - though it may have been coated in mud. Will keep looking.

As for Kate and Pete, yes, it is very easy to see them. They are staying in a giant trailer down the road from the press tent. VIPs can rent the trailers for the entire festival. They cost 6000 pounds and they come with electricity and internet and someone comes round to do your laundry for you every day. And then a helicopter comes to take you from the camping site to the festival grounds. I’m not kidding.

Pete keeps riding his bicycle up and down the road here. It’s sort of irritating, but you would love it.

As for actual Glastonbury fashion, here’s a photo of what most people are dressed like.

More soon - and read The Daily Mail tomorrow to see more of my photos!

—Diamond Rodgers”

Yala Toy, IT saleswoman

Got her: On Mott Street, where we have installed permanent spies outside our office…

Stalked her: Because her gladiator sandals made our day.

Shot her: Because she wore simple pieces with great detailing, and
balanced out the all-black with a good injection of crazy color. Also, note the little shorts!

She says: “The top is Jill Stuart, and these sandals are Prada, from like
five years ago. I love to mix and match my outfits.”

We say: The black chic of the family.

Editor’s Note: The Prada sandals will be back in another post today!

— SARAH MUEHLBAUER

WHICH major Hollywood actor has a teen son who’s a secret drag queen? The boy is frequently spotted in several famous LA vintage stores - trying on women’s ballgowns and heels in the dressing rooms. Apparently, he has a thing for Pucci.

The American street artist Shepard Fairey is doing a lot more than tagging these days.

He did the art for the new Smashing Pumpkins album cover and now has a show of his work opening at the Jonathan Levine Gallery here in New York this Saturday - see Style.com for more info on that.

But if you can’t afford a piece of Shepard’s art, you can still buy a piece from his clothing label, Obey.

Most shocking are his sundresses, which are surprisingly feminine for a militant street artist (and $75!).

Maybe Shepard is following Claw Money and the girls at Fafi (and Stephen Sprouse) in making graffiti a fashion statement.

—ANNA FIELDING GRIGGS

Have you ever dreamed of seeing a model pursued down the runway by a giant blue glowing cephalopod?

Diesel made your dreams come true last night in Florence, during the show for their S/S 08 collection entitled ‘Liquid Space’.

Technicians projected holographic images of various sea creatures, which interacted with the real life models on the runway by scattering at their approach, puffing up in defense, or just swimming through them.

And then the models turn into holographs, piloting their own shimmering blue submarines.

Is this cooler than Alexander McQueen’s holographic Kate Moss?

Decide for yourself by watching the video here.

—ANNA FIELDING GRIGGS

We almost did a double-take when we saw this woman at West 4th Street. Her purple shoes were great, but it was her bag that made us look twice.

It’s a bag, but it looks like a folded shirt!

We love how it looks a little like a modern art exhibit, but it’s still wearable.

For some reason, it seems easier to pull off a cutting edge accessory, but if you try to wear a conceptual dress, you may look like an extra in a student art film. We’re dying to see if anyone ventures out in a metallic Dolce corset or anything from Hussein Chalayan’s spring collection. And how many girls can actually wear the plastic Gareth Pugh coats?

As for this bag, it’s from English (by way of Sweden) designer Ann-Sofie Back. We want one!

—ALISON COOL

Though LA Fashion Week has been a tired affair in recent years, it might shape up in October because of their new focus:

Mercedes-Benz and IMG announced today that the week is going green.

That means the Tents will make an effort to conserve energy, and designers sensitive to environmental concerns will be encouraged to show.

Besides being so LA, we think the new green movement for the week is pretty amazing. Not only will it continue the discussion about what fashion can do for the environment, it also might harness some smaller labels like Linda Loudermilk, Panda Snack, and Loomstate (their jeans are at left), whose entire brand platform is built on sustainable energy and organic cotton.

And dare we say it, the initiative might lure bigger eco brands like Edun, Rogan, and Libertine back to California for an official runway show.

One more thing: The move is especially appropriate for LA and the city’s obsessive love of vintage - especially with all the conversation about disposable fashion and environmental responsibility that’s happening lately…

Gemma Ward must really be a star now - just like Brad, Angelina, and Madonna, she’s starring in an ad campaign in Japan that she’d never do in America.

In Gemma’s case, it’s for Swarovski crystals.

Last year, Gemma was photographed alongside Guinevere van Seenus, Vivian Solari, and Maria Dvirnik in New York (see their shots here) but Gemma’s shots aren’t being released to English language magazines - we only found this shot of her in L’Officiel Japan.

She’s looking very mystical and and a little bit pensive here, but we personally like the shots of Guinevere better…

Even though she probably got a smaller paycheck.

—ANNA FIELDING GRIGGS

Alert reader Rachael tipped us off to this remarkable “coincidence� –

Steve Madden has this pair of floppy red and black flats almost exactly identical to a pair that Tod’s is selling right now.

Except, you know, the Tod’s are $325, and the Steve Madden version goes for $89.95.

We can’t really gauge what’s up with these floppy shoes anyway.

The only possible use we can envision for them is to roll them up and stash them in your purse for when your heels eventually start hurting, as they always do, and desperation drives you to put them on for the long walk home.

Are they really that floppy when you finally pull them on your feet?

—ALISON COOL

Priscilla Allouche, 19, student

Got her: Walking on Greene Street in Soho

Stalked her: Because she had a glow, and so did her dress.

Shot her: Because she was able to combine several bright shades and a bold print without looking like a clown.

She says: “I added the belt to this summer dress to give it a high waist, and the sandals are open and hippieish.”

We say: One last accessory - the smile.

—SARAH MUEHLBAUER

Usually, designer diffusions go down market - H&M, Target, New Look.

But this Fashion Week, Chris Benz is actually trading up -

His latest collaboration isn’t with The Gap, it’s with Christian Louboutin, who will make his shoes for Spring.

We wonder if girls who’ve been sporting his spring dresses with white Keds (stay tuned for an example on Monday) will trade in their sneakers for satin heels.

And we also wonder if the move is one of both coolness and convenience -

Louboutin’s studio is right across the street from Chris and his famous photo booth!

Usually when we see the “what were they thinking� fashion disaster sections in celeb magazines like US Weekly and People, we secretly like and would happily wear most of the outfits. When Michelle Williams wore that really cool Chloé prairie dress recently with her new Mia Farrow pixie cut, she got blasted by the tabloids, but we thought she never looked better.

But when we saw this People story about the “questionable� trend of open-toed booties, we had to agree whole-heartedly.

In this picture, Lindsay’s shoes are kind of OK, mostly because they don’t really look like boots, but some kind of weird stilettos that are borderline acceptable. But SJP and Victoria Beckham?

Have you ever seen worse shoes?

—ALISON COOL

How do you pronounce Gareth Pugh, anyway?

You asked and Faran answered (Pugh is said like pew), and then we thought - designers are difficult, and maybe we need a cheat sheet - or else face the fate that Faran once witnessed, when a fashion director heard a potential assistant say “Ralph Lauren” and never asked them back.

For designers with French names, remember that in Francais you say “er” as “ay” so: Gaulti-ay is a couturi-ay.

In French you don’t pronounce the “s” at the end of a word, so Comme des Garcons is com day gar-sohn, Yves is Eve, Hermes is air-maze (you don’t say the first h at the beginning of a French word), and Rochas was Ro-sha.

And:

Abaete is ah-bye-ah-tay.
It’s Caro-leena Herrera, not Caro-lie-na Herrara.
Nicolas Ghesquiere is Ni-co-la Guess-key-air
Givenchy is jhee-von-shee
Ralph Lauren, like the girl’s name!
Monique Lhuillier is Monique L’oo-li-ay
Christian Louboutin is Christian (with a light n) Loo-boo-tahn
Marchesa is Mar-kay-sa,
Moschino is Mo-ski-no, not moschino like the cherry
Dries van Noten is pronounced Dree-s
Raf Simons is Raff See-mon
Hedi Slimane is Eddy Sli-mahn
Olivier Theyskens is Olivi-ay Tay-skins

Now: can anyone who speaks Japanese tell me how to say Rei Kawakubo? Thanks.

—ANNA FIELDING GRIGGS

Irina Lazareanu likes reading Turgenev, running around in 3.1 Phillip Lim, and channeling sixties French chanteuse Francoise Hardy.

These things keep her pretty busy.

Too busy to start designing for Ralph Lauren.

In an interview with Canadian paper Macleans, today Irina says she turned down an offer to design wtih the American sportswear giant.

At first we thought the choice was odd - Irina for the land of cable cardigans?

But then we remembered, it was Ralph who dressed Diane Keaton in wide pants and suspenders for ‘Annie Hall’.

So while she might be able to bring some coolness back into their brand, we think Irina already has that menswear-inspired look cornered.

See also: Vogue’s digital index of Irina’s favorite things.

—ANNA FIELDING GRIGGS

Today’s Wall Street Journal features a piece about the cultural history of Frye boots.

Binkley relates the boots’ popularity with women in the ’70s to combat “a period of restrictive femininity: housewives vacuuming in heels.”

She also pushes the correlation between their utilitarian anti-fashion aesthetic and the political unrest that surrounded the Vietnam War and Nixon’s presidency. Binkley uses the obvious connection between America’s issues in the ’70s and certain ‘contemporary issues’ to argue that Frye boots are back.

It’s not that we can’t see her point, but we have to wonder just how cutting-edge her observations are.

Is the cowboy boot comeback really something new for ‘07?

We actually thought the trend was exhausted two years ago when everyone wore them with floral dresses to the Lower East Side.

Are Frye Boots over?

—SARAH MUEHLBAUER

The fashion industry has been repeatedly slammed for hiring young girls as models. Critics say this makes them more vulnerable to exploitation, and creates an unrealistic standard of beauty and thinness for the rest of us.

But, here’s the thing:

A lot of models actually aren’t that young.

Or, at least, not as young as their agencies would like you to believe…

Agencies routinely shave 3, 4, or even 5 or 6 years off the ages of their models, ostensibly to allow them to work longer. In an extreme example, Irina Lazareanu has been reported by magazines to be anywhere from 19 to 27. Our guess? 25.

We remember one summer, when a good friend was modeling for a major agency - and though we celebrated her 23rd birthday, her clients knew her as 19.

Why do you think the industry does this? Do younger models have more authority on trends by virtue of their age? Does a 21 year old’s style automatically read as cooler than a 24 year old’s?

Maybe the lying agencies are doing us a favor:

We can all feel better thinking that the reason we don’t look like the girl in the Burberry ad is because she’s younger than we are…even if she’s really not.

After hosting a Soho party a few weeks ago, it seems Preen has finally committed to a New York show slot.

We hear the label from London has been quietly reviewing PR firms for seating, parties, and showroom placement, and that although Matthew Williamson, Marc by Marc, and Luella will remain in London for September, they’ll be moving here for their first New York season.

Also fun:

On February’s runway, model BFFs Behati Prinsloo and Coco Rocha committed to London Fashion Week together so they could hang out and party in a new (and fabulous) town together - and both hit the Preen runway, giving the label a boost of It Factor.

Will they be too busy with Marc, Zac, and Anna Sui to recreate their London roles with Preen this season?

Did you know that the 10th of February, 1999 is the historic date that Pete Doherty decided to purchase a black bowler hat?

You’ll learn that, and lots more - like that Kate and Pete like to have sex on the Eurostar train when they zip to and from Paris- once you read the selections from Pete’s diaries. They chronicle the life, loves, and various addictions of the great man himself.

Many of the entries were written in Kate’s garden shed, which is where Pete likes to sulk when Kate is mad at him about his heroin use - we’re not making this up; he says that in the entries. Apparently, even power couples have their issues.

In the end, love prevails and Pete writes about his intention to marry Kate this summer. He says this will make him “ten times happier than any given smackhead.”

When he writes sweet nothings like this:

“For single mothers everwhere in love with crackheads you [Kate] are a shining light of hope.”

What women could resist?

Or, as Faran wonders, is this all a giant hoax?

—ANNA FIELDING GRIGGS

Dear Sarah Jessica Parker,

Fashion may not be a luxury, but how about the talent of the young designers you so often say you promote?

Designers like Anna Corinna, whose city tote sells for $360 on ShopBop.

The cuties at Fops and Dandies think it was unfairly copied.

We can’t deny there’s an incredible resemblance in everything but price and quality.

But here’s the real question:

Now that you’ve told your fans and Bitten shoppers that it’s okay to buy a knockoff bag, will you finally give in and make some knock off Christian Louboutins, like the amazing pink ones you wore in the last episode of Sex and the City?

Or is fashion still a luxury when it comes to cute stuff that women actually want?

Last year, Josh Goot took over the windows at Henri Bendel.
This year it’s time for the MisShapes.

In celebration of their new photo book, the trio - Geordon Nicol, Leigh Lezark, and Greg “The Other Guy” Krelenstein - will deck the halls at Henri Bendel, where giant print-outs of their pages will be displayed on the first floor, starting in late August. The skinny style icons will also curate the window displays, and host a party at the department store to launch their latest project in mid-August.

But maybe what’s most interesting about the whole thing is this idea:

Giant photos from a grimy downtown party will line a glittery uptown boutique that’s stood for old-school luxury for over a century.

It seems like the tables will be turning because these kids hit the turn tables…

We can’t believe that WWD ran a blind item today, but here it is:

The Hollywood heat around Georgina Chapman, the designer of Marchesa along with Keren Craig, has apparently reached the couture ateliers in the capital of fashion.

Rumors are rife in Paris that a major fashion house, under new ownership, offered the English designer a hefty contract to become the house’s creative director.

Chapman, who declined to comment, is said to have turned down the offer because she wants to devote all of her time to building her fledgling brand.

The obvious answer here is Valentino. Can you think of any others?

Eric Wilson continues his MVP streak at Thursday Styles, with a report that the hoodie Lindsay wore while wasted was from American Apparel, and now it’s all sold out.

Also: Nicky Hilton was snapped in a Kate & Kass dress while visiting unrepentant Paris in prison, and now the store can hardly keep them in stock.

“Do customers no longer make such distinctions in their idolization of celebrities? Not likely. A typical comment posted on the American Apparel blog: Who hasn’t been drunk in our hoodies?�

We see this as yet another indication of how fashion is undeniably celebrity driven. Even when celebrities aren’t on their best behavior, they make being bad look great. Even though Lindsay has probably flushed her life away one shot at a time, she still looks iconic.

Something else:

We think that in the picture Lindsay looks like pretty much everyone on Cobra Snake, so when people are copying her drugged out glam, they’re already two steps removed from the scenesters that inspired her style.

And so the scenester-celebrity-fashion feedback loop continues.

—ALISON COOL

Ilirjana, writer of the Pop Manifesto!

Got Her: while eating lunch on our Soho stoop.

Stalked Her:
Mostly our stalking was because of those stockings…

Shot Her: Because we loved how the tights became the accessory for the entire outfit, and the simplicity of the clothing that helped frame it.

She Says: “I’m a little bit of a tights freak. I got these at TopShop, but here there are lots of little places that sell great ones… and even Urban Outfitters is okay.”

We Say: Great legs. No, really.

Is Roberto Cavalli going public?

Initial reports from Italy indicate the line is ready to become a traded franchise, which means soon, stylish stock fiends will soon be able to buy and sell Cavalli shares the same way you can buy and sell his older dresses on eBay.

The move would make Cavalli even richer, and just in time - he’s not a young man, and might soon want to release his fashion reigns and retire permanently to the beach.

Adding more fuel to the rumor mill is the H&M collaboration announced yesterday - a launch that will boost the brand’s visibility, and pave the way for even bigger projects…

Also: expect the frenzy for Cavalli’s throne to equal Valentino’s in the next few years. Who’s sexy enough to take over?

WWD has a morning roundup of designers who make restaurant uniforms.

Our first thought: Was it inspired by our fashion trivia question last Friday?

Our second thought: Jeffrey Sebelia is making aprons?

But yes, it’s true. The Project Runway winner created the uniforms for One, a Los Angeles eatery where they pretend each table is a private dinner party.

Accordingly, Jeffrey’s dress-slash-uniform is slinky, sparkly, and perfect for snagging a one-night stand with a married Hollywood power player.

Which leads to our third thought:

Wait a second - these dresses are still less revealing than the Bratz Doll outfits Jeffrey designed for their upcoming movie…

It sold out in three hours.

It sold out of every Anya Hindmarch store.

And it will be in Whole Foods on July 18, for those that didn’t make it in time.

The End.

We’ve always thought days of the week underwear were kind of cute. But let’s face it – who wants to wear a depressing “Monday� pair? Even “Tuesday� or “Wednesday� could be kind of a bummer.

That’s why we were glad to find these adorable “Saturday� undies from Toronto-based Parsons grad Candice Levine. We like how they are they locally and ethically produced, super comfy, and cute.

But we are even more excited about how you can just buy your favorite day of the week for $20 (ours is Saturday – obvious, but still…) instead of shelling out for a weekly 7-pack.

This way, you get to skip out on the depressing days.

Now, if only there was a way to do this in real life…

—ALISON COOL

WHICH socialite-slash-whatever got a publicist as a teenage birthday present? We hate to say it, but the investment is certainly paying off…

My first band t-shirt was a Sleater-Kinney tee that proclaimed “show me your riffs” in white block letters on a black background. Wearing it taught me that a surprising number of people don’t know what riffs are.

That particular design isn’t in The Art of the Band T-shirt by Amber Easby and Henry Oliver but lots of others are:

A Bruce Springsteen muscle tank that proclaims “and on the eighth day God created SPRINGSTEEN,” the famous 1981 Rolling Stones lips tee, and lots of hipster favorites like a Yeah Yeah Yeahs scrawled with the lyrics to “Maps” designed by Karen O’s stylist Christian Joy.

Which brings us to the question:

Why haven’t there been more designer/band t-shirt collaborations?

Stella McCartney just signed on to do the shirts at the English music festival Glastonbury, but who else would you like to see joining forces? And what would their shirts look like?

We envision:

The White Stripes and fellow Detroit rock enthusiast Anna Sui
Lily Allen and Heatherette
The Horrors and punk grand dame Vivienne Westwood
Cat Power and her fan Karl Lagerfeld
Babyshambles and Kate Moss for Top Shop
Bjork and Balenciaga

And, given the t-shirt pictured, Fugazi and Anya Hindmarch?

—ANNA FIELDING GRIGGS

We love our MySpace comments, but imagine how the 35 kids felt when Alexander McQueen randomly send them messages?!

The uber-hip and super young (no one over 21 allowed!) MySpace kids were selected by McQueen and his team to help design their Spring/Summer 07 marketing campaign for his new, younger McQ line.

We love the way he describes the MySpace idea on the website:

“For the marketing campaign we wanted once again to turn to the source of the brands [sic] inspiration. So the McQueen team created an experimental communication project with an [sic] objective to generate an inspiring campaign for McQ�

The lucky MySpace kids were then narrowed down to six of the best-looking and most creative, who each got to make their own ad. You can check them out here – they’re actually pretty good. We like the clothes too.

And we wouldn’t exactly call MySpace an “experimental communication project, � but whatever, we love McQueen.

—ALISON COOL

As we help recent grads find jobs, we’ve noticed a fair number of fashion/media/entertainment companies posting job ads for receptionist or assistant positions. Like this one, for example.

All of that is pretty normal, but read the ad closely and you notice that the receptionist should also serve as the company’s fit model.

What’s a “fit model”? It’s a girl with a perfect body, who helps designers measure clothes on a real person. Meanwhile, the job of a receptionist is basically to answer the phone and say hi to people when they walk in to an office. We don’t see an obvious overlap between these two skill sets.

Unless we go by this conspiracy theory:

Equal Opportunity Employment means that you can’t hire someone based on their looks, ethnicity, religion, etc. So, if you were an image-conscious fashion house that only wanted to hire an extremely thin receptionist – one way to get around the non-discrimination laws would be to make part of the receptionist’s job description require being thin.

And so the receptionist/fit model job position is created.

Alison says: There’s a very fine line between managing your brand’s image and illegal hiring discrimination.

Faran says: What if a small design company can’t afford both a receptionist and a fit model, and so they need to use one person?

You say: ________________

—ALISON COOL

Sometimes, commercials are so good, you forget they need something from you.

Such is the case with Club Monaco’s latest promotion, which puts a clip of Peter Lindbergh up on YouTube.

As one of the biggest commercial photographers today, Lindbergh describes how he approaches a campaign, what makes fashion photography different from his other snaps, and how you convince a model not be scared.

If you can get past the cheesy background music, it’s definitely worth watching -

Especially when you remember that the guy in the campaign is Orlando Bloom’s replacement for Kate Bosworth.

The pants are cute, too.

Zoe, outdoor smoker from Christopher Tottman

Got Her: Right outside of our Mott Street office

Stalked Her: Because metallics will keep hitting the runway, and we love seeing them during the day.

Shot Her: Because we thought you’d like to see a sack-dress alternative.

She Says: “This dress was actually a tunic, but I closed the seams on the sides because I knew it would work!”

We Say: Full metal jacket!

Italian designer Roberto Cavalli will be the next designer for H&M!

Cavalli follows Karl Lagerfeld, Stella McCartney, and Viktor & Rolf - oh yes, Madonna too - in the H&M diffusion club. British Vogue reveals his designs are expected to hit stores this winter, right between Temperly for Target and Erin Fetherston for Target.

While Cavalli’s recent cowboy kick might translate well into a mass market line, it’s tough to see his signature dresses, which are skin-tight and often stuffed with feathers, becoming something cheaper.

It’s also fun to wonder who will model this collection - Kate Moss was supposed to do Stella’s H&M line, but then the cocaine happened and H&M vetoed her.

Raquelle Zimmerman helped out Viktor & Rolf by wearing their giant wedding dress in the print campaign. And now Kate Moss is the face of Cavalli… but it seems unlikely she’d front an H&M collection, especially since her designs for TopShop will continue hitting stores through next year.

Maybe Heidi Klum, whose family vacations with Cavalli’s, will strike a pose?

The International Herald Tribune has a sunglasses story today, and it calls them “the last affordable luxury.”

Of course, they’re also the most fragile of the status accessories:

It’s really hard to leave your YSL ruffle bag in the dressing room at Brown’s, but that’s exactly what I did with my vintage Calvin Klein shades last year in London, and I’ve never seen them again!

There’s always the argument that if you pay more, you’ll take better care of them, but I’ve never found that to be true (see the completely wrecked pair of Prada velvet wedges in my closet). Also, a pair of designer sunglasses retail for $200 - $300, which is roughly the same price as a Miu Miu bag on Bluefly.

Still, the article points out that “sunglasses are the last bastion of hope for those who want to bask in the luxury-label sunshine but can’t afford to keep up with the skyrocketing prices for designer handbags and clothing,” in part because they place designer logos so close to the face (if you’re into that sort of thing).

But just as handbags have gone from $500 to $1000 in recent years, the article describes new premium glasses from Louis Vuitton and other brands, that will sell for double - or even triple - the average price of a designer pair.

Can you still afford your sunglasses, or are you like me - buying twelve pairs at once at Forever 21, then burning through them until they’re all gone?

Behind every great man is a great woman, whether the men know it or not.

Luckily, the ones at Men.Style.Com do, and threw a soiree last night to celebrate the girls “who make the world more glamorous.” Then they made the night more glamorous by renting out the Gramercy Park Hotel rooftop.

The judges of which women made the cut: Editor in Chief Dirk Standen, his editorial staff, and a panel including photographer Billy Farrell, sartorialist Scott Schuman, wife-of-a-Sykes Euan Rellie, and BFF Derek Blasberg.

They selected a smattering of women who work behind the seams to make everything from the “I’m Not a Plastic Bag� bag to Proenza Schouler’s Target bustier dress look even better.

Some of their girls included Holly Harnsongkram, the Nom De Guerre designer; Isabel Spearman, the Anya Hindmarch publicist, and Julia Von Boehm, who may be our favorite stylist ever.

Also: Ally Hilfiger was there in a great white sack dress, but we couldn’t find the little thing for a photo-op.

—BESS LEVIN

My issue with the gold-plate name necklace:

Isn’t it kind of narcissistic to wear your own name, albeit gold-plated? And what if you’re around some skeezy guy, and you’d rather he didn’t know anything about you?

The jewelry designers at Brookadelphia understand this conundrum.

Scrapping the name idea, they hung on to the cool graphic element of a single word on earrings and necklaces, and updated the look with bright plastics and mirrored metals.

We’re torn between the “Post-Modern� necklace and the “Radish� necklace.

We think the solution might be layering them to create the perfect medley of pretentious and goofy.

—ALISON COOL

Let’s face it: summer is all about tote bags.

Unlike the leather clunkers we carry the rest of the year, lightweight canvas totes are the perfect carry-all when the temperatures start to rise.

Not only can you take them to the beach, they also fit that book you are meaning to read, the copy of US Weekly that you’re actually reading, your sunglasses, a big bottle of water and whatever else you could possibly want, need, or desire.

However, if you don’t properly prepare, you will inevitably end up toting a weird and embarrassing pharmaceutical brand canvas bag handed down ages ago from your old roommate’s ex-boyfriend’s mom who was a psychiatrist.

Not that we’ve ever had to do that, and been totally traumatized…

Anyway, to avoid this fate, we recommend these mysterious and enigmatic bags from Something’s Hiding In Here.

We also recommend it for girls who can’t camp out tomorrow morning for their Anya Hindmarch non-plastic bag.

—ALISON COOL

Helen, 27, retailer

Got Her: Waiting in line for Shakespeare in the Park.

Stalked Her: Because her formal dress and fanny pack combination were thrilling.

Shot Her: Because she’s breaking several other key rules, and making them work: a long dress and flats on a petite person; dark lipliner on light lips; pink pedicures and red shoes… and all of it looks amazing!

She Says: “I buy a lot of my accessories off the street. This one was like seven dollars from one of those stalls downtown… and the dress is from H&M!”

We Say:: Leader of the pack?

Like the t-shirt, the trench coat was originally a military invention that slid into the masses between World War One and World War Two.

It’s traditionally made from khaki fabric, but recent memorable editions have come in pink (Burberry, Gap), silver (Gareth Pugh), and red (Ruffian).

To celebrate the staple, which may be the only piece of outerwear that’s never hit an “out” list, the designers at Aquascutum have released a new book on the coats.

Written by style critic Nick Foulkes, the book has 250 color photographs of trench coats throughout history.

Alas, unlike its subject, it is not waterproof.

In several short years, the Lower East Side has gone from a garment district to an underground hotspot to an actual hotspot and now, basically, to shit.

On weekends, the streets are so crowded, it feels like Times Square. The bar-to-litter ratio is one to one. And the fashion, once so inspirational, has melted into the madness of rehab jeans and rehashed trends. Aside from occasional glimmers at Annex and Foley + Corinna, the whole place has gone stale.

But Karl Lagerfeld still uses Rivington and Delancey as his default spot for impromptu photo shoots at 3 am, and Gemma Ward’s announced it as her new haunt in Paris Vogue.

Then last week, we got an email from designer Sam Shipley, saying he was scouting a new apartment near Pixie Mart.

And today? Charlotte Ronson debuted her new campaign in WWD, starring Annabelle Dexter Jones and Donald Cumming, the lead singer of The Virgins. Last season’s shots were done in Central Park, but this season the images come from The Lower East Side, not far from Charlotte’s Mulberry St. store.

Which leads to the question:

Is the neighborhood getting another shot of trend infusions, or has it just finally hit the mainstream?

Many, many times we have tried on crochet dresses.

Each time, we hope that just this once, with this one particular dress, we will be able to pull off the cool 1960s je ne sais quoi crochet style.

Instead, each time we face the facts: this open-knit weave is just not flattering, unless you are so tall and so thin that you’re getting paid to wear the dress at hand.

This might be why the hand crocheted earrings from Angela Spencers’ a.s.i.s. line are calling our name.

Cute, vintage-inspired, available in multiple colors, they evoke the spirit of A.P.C.’s knit gowns and Missoni’s knit bikinis for summer.

The big difference here is that one size really does fit all!

—ALISON COOL

Model junkies are buzzing that Naomi Campbell will star in the next Dunkin’ Donuts commercial, hawking one of their sugar coffee drinks.

The move puts Naomi in a scene where she must freak out on a friend and start throwing garden tools around the set, and it sounds… well… dumb.

The commercial also comes at an interesting time, when the British press are turning against Naomi after her appearance at Fashion Week Live - the runway shows in Houston and San Francisco where people paid thousands to see models and dresses.

The news also hits just as Naomi’s most recent abuse settlement was made out of court, with Naomi’s former maid receiving thousands of dollars for her suffering.

The payment was offset, no doubt, by the Dunkin’ Donuts commercial fees, though the actually TV spot won’t do Naomi any favors with her fans.

Perhaps her work in the upcoming French film, Bad Love, will make up for it…

The drawing geniuses at So Little Lions will make you your very own pair of Vans-like slip-ons with any animal, vegetable, or mineral you so desire for the very reasonable price of $85.

We guess you could also do it yourself, if you want them to look terrible (cough, Faran, cough).

We loved their Abraham Lincoln and Robert E. Lee pair, which got our wheels turning thinking about about who we might like if we were to order a pair.

Most celebrity magazines - and websites, for that matter - argue that without the paparazzi, celebrities wouldn’t get press for their movies, and subsequently wouldn’t get hired for more movies.

But Lauren at Portfolio has a different theory that’s slightly more fun:

Celebrities need paparazzi because without them, they don’t get as much free stuff!

“Marilyn Heston, a fashion PR in Los Angeles, explained that all celebrities are not created equal. Who you give the free stuff to depends on the product and if you want a quick hit of PR (think Mischa or Nicole or Cameron) or a slow burn (someone like Jessica Alba or Kate Hudson who isn’t photographed every day). A fact the frequently-photographed celebs are all too aware of.”

Which leads us to two questions:

1. Can’t Kate Hudson afford her own Beaton bag?

2. Once a bag is photographed on celebrities, it’s value seems to go up. But once The Sartorialist and Bill Cunningham photograph it on real people, will its value go down?

Over the weekend, we headed over to this year’s Renegade Craft Fair to see if it was worth it.

Held at Williamsburg’s McCarren Pool, the fair had a lot of your typical homemade tote bags and overwrought tees, but we also managed to find a winner:

Brooklyn-based sisters and design team Katherine and Elaine Kin, whose Kept line of dog beds virtually has the market cornered on comfy items for pets that are not embarrassing or awkward to display in your apartment.

Their pillows are stamped and screened with abstract designs, and their color combinations remind us a lot of Marni.

In fact, we loved their hand-screened black and cream cozy pillows so much that we bought a large one…

Even though we don’t actually have a dog.

Instead: we’re curling up on it to read magazines.

—ALISON COOL

We’re not convinced that The Horrors are an amazing rock band, but they sure do make great muses.

After catching the attention of Hedi and Viktor and Rolf in Europe, the boys managed to land a spread in Teen Vogue, shot by David Bailey, and then the cover of L’Uomo Vogue, thanks to Steven Meisel.

Now the boys are getting the video treatment, starring in a new documentary from Nylon’s editor, Marvin Scott Jarrett. He’ll travel with the band in New York, LA, and the boy’s home base of London to get the footage, and the film should be out next year.

The film doesn’t have a title, so we told Marvin it should be called, “I’m Not Scared Of You.”

Then Marvin said, “That’s funny, I’ll think about it.”

Okay.

Like everyone else, we fell in love at first sight with Marc Jacobs’ primary-colored 1920s inspired hats for fall.

Unlike everyone else (or at least, everyone we saw at Balthazar this morning), we don’t have a spare $1000 lying around to purchase those hats.

That’s why we were so pleased to find these adorable handcrafted hats from NYC-based label Artikal, designed by Holly Slayton and selling for about $130.

The felt ones are really cool and very Amelia Earhart, our secret fashion icon, but the straw ones are definitely more wearable and perfect for any Great Gatsby-esque summer occasion.

The best part is you can ask Holly to custom make a hat for you in any colors or design you dream up.

Plus, you’ve got to love a female milliner, or should we say, millineuse!

—ALISON COOL

Gareth Pugh’s run at the V&A museum on Friday was apparently amazing, and it’s led to other museum offers for the designer / artist / kook:

Next week, Gareth presents his work at the Guggenheim museum in Bilbao, Spain.

The presentation will be similar to what he did at the V&A, and comes just as Gareth’s fall line for Bergdorf’s and Barney’s goes into production.

To celebrate, we’ve got one of Gareth’s first projects - an airbag-inspired collaboration with BMW - shot by our favorite London photographer, Diamond Rodgers.

You can also watch Gareth’s V&A presentation online at ShowStudio, and speculate on this fun piece of trivia:

Who was Gareth kissing at MisShapes last weekend?

We hear Adrian Grenier and the rest of the Entourage cast had their stylist raid the Armani tuxedo closet a few weeks ago.

Why?

The boys were shooting some pivitol scenes on the red carpet at Cannes, where their fake masterpiece, Medellín, will show next season.

Which means the movie gets enough money to go into post-production, Drama doesn’t get killed in the jungle by Billy Walsh, the final cuts actually get pieced together into some sort of film despite the crazy director and the millionaire producer whose money got blown in a cocaine bust, and a nervous breakdown from Sloane / Ari / Rex Lee…

Well, none of this has to do with clothes, but it’s still pretty exciting.

Anyway, look out for those tuxes next season - we bet Turtle will wear his with Adidas sneakers the color of Pixie Sticks.

Jules Kim, 27, jewelry designer

Got Her: On Elizabeth Street in the blazing heat.

Stalked Her: Because we saw the denim boots and realized the rest of the outfit was just an accessory.

Shot Her: Because it’s awfully hard for a grown woman to make a pink dress work, and this is a good example. Also, have we mentioned the boots?

She Says: “The dress is from Kate Moss for TopShop - I guess they have a bunch of the deadstock from the collection at Opening Ceremony. These boots are vintage, from Italy. Everywhere I go, I get stopped about them. And the necklace is a new piece I just made for my collection!”

We Say: Sorry, we’re still staring at the boots. Click below for a closer look.

Long ago, Kate Spade worked with a designer named Gabi, who later started a clothing collective called AsFour.

The group was famous for its fashion commune, its zany wadrobe, and its very bad behavior - fist fights, screaming matches, death threats, the works.

But maybe what made AsFour most famous was their circle bags, which soon spotted every downtown corner with their massive flat fabric.

We haven’t seen those bags in a while, but we did see this Kate Spade bag, on sale at Nordstrom for $295.

It is called “The Gabi.”

There’s a very good bit in the New York Times, where Vera Wang’s first meeting with Kohl’s is described:

“Vera Wang reviewed prototypes from an exclusive new collection… that Kohl’s plans to sell under her name. “This is all black,â€? said Ms. Wang, dismissively. “Black is very ’90s.â€?

And it’s true - we haven’t seen much of it on the runway, unless it’s part of a print or heavily layered with blues and violets. Even the most coveted handbags have switched from black to blue-gray or white.

But maybe only in New York and LA. According to The Times, “Julie Gardner, a marketing executive for the Kohl’s chain, described the meeting as an epiphany of sorts — a moment when she realized that much of what she had assumed to be fashionable was, in fact, out of date. “We were hanging on her every word,â€? Ms. Gardner recalled. “We all looked down and we were all wearing black from head to toe.â€?

The question is, are you? Or do you think that black can be a trend color, the way everything was orange in 2001?

One more interesting thing: We couldn’t find a photo of Vera Wang where she isn’t wearing black!

We interrupt Fashion Trivia to bring you this crucial warning:

If you’re in New York City, don’t shop quite yet.

Hold off for two weeks, because City Hall just passed a resolution - and by just, we mean, like, an hour ago - eliminating all city sales tax on clothing and shoes.

The law goes into effect on July 1, which is fifteen days away.

That means if we hold out just a little while longer, we can buy these Marc pumps, which we like even more than James McAvoy - and that’s very hard to beat.

To say that I wasn’t a huge fan of the Spice Girls Wannabe would be an outright lie, which is why when Faran asked if I wanted to check out Posh Spice’s new label at Saks yesterday, the 7th grade girl in me had to go.

But as a SG fan, I’m not necessarily into Victoria Beckham’s clothing line. The label, dVb, currently features both denim and sunglasses collections, and the pieces were actually cute. I could imagine the classiest girl in the girl band wearing them herself, unlike a certain celebrity designer we all know.

But upon my arrival, it became immediately clear which demographics want dVb:

Tweens and teens who love Posh Spice and old, mildly creepy men who do too.

Miss V posed for many pictures, but didn’t speak with any of her fans (thankfully, we’re not exactly fans, so she did utter “hello” and “excuse me” as we took her photo).

But perhaps she’s letting the clothes speak for themselves.

What do you think they’re saying?

—BESS LEVIN

We’ve never been to Australia, but we are really into their fashion scene (and their wombats). We love Ksubi (you know, they used to be Tsubi, but now they’re not…), and that’s just the tip of the iceberg.

In fact, it seems like there are two Australias – one that pumps out drunk twenty-something rowdy tourist boys and exports them to youth hostels around the world, and a second, mysterious Australia where original, creative, young designers are making clothes for their friends.

If you don’t feel like taking a 20 hour flight to find out more, you can obsess over the land down under on the internet at www.ozdesigner.com Our personal favorite is Alice McCall, whose summer dresses, as in the picture above, are totally refreshing and different, and have a gorgeous color palette.

—ALISON COOL

PS: and Faran’s favorite Aussies are Sass + Bide, and Karen Walker!

First Prada gets Ridley Scott to make their movie with Daria.

Then Chanel has their little flick with Julie Orton.

Now it seems Gucci feels left out - their latest project is a fragrance film, directed by David Lynch and set to debut later this year.

The movie celebrates Gucci’s first fragrance created by Frida Giannini, the creative director of the house. And while no stars have been announced yet, we did get an odd text yesterday from London that said “Freja! Gucci movie!” that we didn’t quite know where to place…

Until now.

The move would make sense, since Freja Beha is one of Gucci’s ad stars, but still - she’s already the face of CK In 2 U, and we can’t imagine the two brands would want to overlap.

Still, it’s hard to imagine Gucci’s brand image as a blonde, and we can’t think of other dark haired models who’d be as aloof and sexy… can you?

I promised we’d talk more about Anna Wintour and Paris Fashion Week today, and here we go:

This morning, Lauren Goldstein Crowe at Portfolio discusses the possibility of a condensed Paris Fashion Week, where there’s 30 shows only, with 10 being American.

Her take? She thinks the rumor is true, since Anna had a hand in shaping up Milan.

And her scorecard:

Big designers win - they get more attention.

Big magazines win - they get to shrink their budgets.

Big hotels lose - whatever will the Plaza Athénée do?

Small designers can go either way: They’ll lose Paris, but they can move to London, further establishing the city as a style hotbed.

Of course, if those designers get angry, they can protest in these new shirts from Neighborhoodies, as seen on Racked.

Meanwhile, if Fashionista had our way, they wouldn’t say “Devil” - so lame - but maybe, um…

ALL I WANNA / SEE IS ANNA?

Kate and Pete are indeed star-crossed lovers, but they might not get to cross Europe together in July. That’s when Kate’s all set to launch her new fragrance this summer in Marrakesh, and of course she wants to bring boyfriend Pete along for the trip.

Can’t you just see them sitting in the sun and taking drags from a hookah together?

Apparently Kate’s perfume bosses don’t; they’re offering Kate and Pete a free vacation anywhere in the world— as long as Pete stays home in London for the launch.

Are the bonds of love stronger than those between a supermodel and the products she’s pitching?

We’ll see - but here’s a reminder from Faran: when Kate launched her TopShop range, Pete agreed to stay far away from the Oxford Circus hype, or any of the line’s industry parties, for fear of tainting the line’s image… —ANNA FIELDING GRIGGS

WHICH former fashion director is flirting with a magazine with a revolving door for fashion editors? Though it could be a great match, some staffers are worried that the men in the fashion closet may soon outnumber the women.

Vogue and Nylon have moved their shopping pages online, but Hello takes it one step further today, with the launch of their own web boutique.

Designed as a collaboration with Yoox - the site that sells discount designer clothes, as well as capsule collections like a recent Jeremy Scott sportswear line - the Hello Boutique takes the tabloid’s famous “Get the Look” section, and pushes it one step further:

Now it’s a shopping page, where you can click on Sienna Miller’s various signature items, and buy them on the spot.

The move might erase any shreds of objectivity in the magazine - Will you say you like Nicole Richie’s outfit if it’s all vintage and you can’t buy it? If Mischa’s wearing something heinous but you’ve got it for sale, will you try to make it look good? - but at the same time, it’s incredibly fun.

How many times have you looked at a celebrity and thought, “Wait, I need to buy that!” And will this make it easier for women to shop the trends, or harder for them to trust the magazine?

We’re usually really impressed when guys pull off a shoe-related fashion statement. Based on our few and far-between experiences of the men’s footwear retail scene, the vast majority of non-sneaker options for guys are incredibly frightening and occasionally truly repulsive.

This is especially true in the summer. Leather sandals? Flip-flops? Weird Eurotrash pointy business shoes? Ew!

Add to that the fact that most men have ridiculously high standards for shoe comfort and extremely weak comprehension of the idea that you must suffer to be beautiful, and you are left with the small satisfaction of the choice between black and white Converse.

That’s why we are so pleased to see so many boys - not just preppies and hipster, but “normal” guys too - have converted to deck shoes. They’re like the boy version of ballet flats!

Keep up the good work, guys.

—ALISON COOL

Father’s Day brings up a fun knot of issues for many people, and even those with good family relationships feel a strain - after all, shopping for your dad can be just as painful as a psychotherapy session.

Jack Spade seems to understand this, and tomorrow, their Greene St. store launches their MisterMort collection, a resurrected line of ties, cuff links, pocket squares, and sanity culled from original vintage archives.

Their new ties are made from ’50s silk deadstock, which is pretty cool. But besides that, the boutique has taken your emotional needs into consideration as you consider your father:

Coffee for last minute shoppers, whiskey for last minute panic, and the usual supply of cute boys who mill about the store, for a last minute date.

As for the lingering feeling that the complicated process of parenthood has been crammed into a simple commercial gesture… well, you’ll need your shrink for that one.

Last season, Kenzo came out with a great graphic tee that quickly got adopted by models, DJs, and MisShapes disciples like intern / model / troublemaker Tess (whom you can see at left).

This season, it seems their shirts have been tastefully hijacked by the mass market, at least according to Phil Oh from Streetpeeper, who writes…

“Dear Fashionista,

I love your Adventures in Copyrights posts - here’s one I found. I was in Topshop in London and took a photo of this obvious Kenzo Minami ripoff.

Then I got kicked out of the store for taking photos.

Oops.”

Oops indeed. But what’s the bigger faux pas:

Getting booted from your favorite high street store, or wearing a shirt that’s been lifted from a pack of photo hungry teen ravers?

First, Salvatore Ferragamo launches jellies, reminding girls around the world of their inner 8-year-old.

Now they’ve gone one step further, commissioning a children’s book from Annamaria Sbisà, with illustrations by Michele Petoletti.

The book looks gorgeous, and was created as part of Ferragamo’s 80th birthday celebration. Especially intriguing is its synopsis:

“Adrift in a hot air balloon, Leonardo Leopard and his animal friends alight on top of the Duomo in Florence, accidentally tearing a hole in their balloon. Fascinated by the city, the animals descend in search of adventure.

While Leonardo explores the city’s art, his friends indulge in idle pursuits: Audrey Giraffe and Grace Butterfly hit the stores, Linda Parrot heads to the hair salon, Jackie Zebra goes stripe-less, and Ella Elephant hits the spa to slim down.

Inspired by the wonders of the Florentine art, Leonardo alone recognizes the beauty in individuality, and is aghast that his friends have tried to hide their unique allure. He encourages them to tap into their innate personal style, helping each of them unearth their own special talent, and together they repair the balloon with great artistry and élan, allowing them to sail away together on new adventures.”

We don’t know what’s more exciting: That small children will learn of their inner beauty from an Italian fashion house, or that small children will undoubtedly learn a new word - élan - by the time the story has ended.

Fans can buy the book this Fall at Ferragamo stores for $40, with portions of the profits going to the Baby Buggy charity.

Bows, ruffles, and hearts are everywhere this summer. We’ve been seeing them on blouses, dresses, headbands, jewelry – you name it. While a bow is one of Marc Jacobs’ signatures, at what point does it cross the line from cute to cloying?

If you add one too many bows, ruffles, or hearts to your look, all of a sudden you start looking like an overgrown child - or a Harajuku Girl on sugar pills.

We like our bows to be highly stylized and definitely not placed right on the bust, as in the Urban Outfitters tank above. And we’re okay with a limited amount of ruffles - Phillip Lim and Valentino have that mastered - but we draw the line at hearts, especially on underwear.

They have an air of naïve desperation and optimism that weirds us out.

—ALISON COOL

Kelly, 30, stylist

Got Her: at the Form show

Stalked Her: Because we never agreed with gladiator style sandals - until now.

Shot Her: Because this is a great example of how one bold accessory is all you need for an entire outfit, especially when you keep the shape of your clothes uncomplicated.

She Says: “I travel to Paris a lot, so it’s nice to pack simple pieces that you can switch around, depending on your day… and the shoes make everything more exciting.”

We Say: C’est super.

We all know that Evan Rachel Wood has a new and questionable boyfriend, but what about her new and incredible wardrobe?

We hear Evan Rachel Wood’s new stylist is Arianne Phillips, the fashion dynamo whose collaborations with Madonna have helped the pop legend stay on top of her constant metamorphosis.

It seems Evan’s having a similar transformation, from Dita Von Teese clone to something more formal, more elegant, and more Hollywood blonde. Actually, she’s looking a little like Madonna in the early ’90s, especially the Dick Tracy period.

We have no comment on Evan’s love life, as we’ve never met Mr. Manson, but we do admire his ingenuity in casting Lily Cole for his upcoming Alice in Wonderland epic. But we do think Evan’s closet has improved, and now we know a little bit about why.

Stay tuned for an H&M line? Okay, no way, but maybe Hot Topic…

Reader TK reminds us that “before it’s in fashion, it’s in Vogue… but before it’s in Vogue (or W), it’s on the Olsens.”

That certainly seems to be the case with this Alaia belt, which we saw on Gisele yesterday with mixed results.

Maybe Mary Kate had better luck with it at the Chanel Cruise show, where she cinched her Karl-designed black gown with the piece?

Or how about Ashley, when she was snapped last month in the belt as she fled from US Weekly in Los Angeles?

Further proof that the piece doesn’t have to be part of the plastic ’80s ressurection we just witnessed in W…

We wonder what would have happened if MK & A had styled Gisele…

ESSAY QUESTION: Included in this packet is the most recent “Point of Passion” campaign by Conde Nast.

Its image relates to Teen Vogue, and stars Zoe Kravitz, the daughter of Lenny, and Lorraine Nicholson, the daughter of Jack.

Please explain the choice of protagonists in relation to both the magazine’s subtext and the stereotypes it invokes in various media critics. Describe how the juxtaposition of the ad subjects in relation to their setting adds to these themes.

Extra Credit: Why is Lorraine reading the Kate Bosworth issue of Teen Vogue, in particular? And who starred in the first Point of Passion campaign for the magazine?

Please, no shopping during the quiz.

Thursday Styles has a piece on the Theory store in the Meatpacking District. Normally the “gee-whiz, we’ve never been in a store before� column is kind of trying, but today’s article is actually kind of true.

“For me, high prices are justified if I can fool myself into thinking that something is a luxury brand or created by some mastermind with a unique vision of the world. The clothes here do not offer as much wit, passion or unity of theme as could be had for the same amount at, say, Marc by Marc or John Varvatos.�

This got us thinking about other stores that seem overly expensive, considering the quality and the cachet of the brand. And we thought of a serious offender….

Anthropologie.

OK, yes, they usually have cute stuff, but why is it so expensive? It’s basically a more floral Urban Outfitters (owned by the same company), but everything costs five times as much.

A few weeks ago, we stopped by the Fifth Avenue store, and they had the nerve to charge a sale price of $60 for a patterned canvas sundress.

It was nice and everything, except that it was completely ripped along the hem on one side! (All of them were, I think it was some kind of design flaw). Sixty dollars for a torn-up dress? Come on.

Faran thinks Banana Republic’s accessories are shamefully overpriced - you could get a bag at the Prada outlet for less than what they charge! What other stores do you think are fleecing?

—ALISON COOL

As Art Basel becomes a museum gift shop and Milan’s Design Week turns into a couture fest, is it any wonder the Venice Biennale is mixing art with fashion?

One of it’s main draws this year is the Ukrainian Pavilion, where two artists with significant fashion connections are showing— though, strangely, neither is Ukrainian.

Sam Taylor-Wood, the English video artist and photographer who pals around with Kate Moss, is debuting two new video works.

Meanwhile, Juergen Teller, the German-born/London-based photographer who shoots ad campaigns for Yves Saint Laurent and Marc Jacobs, is showing new photos (though not of former YSL face Snejana, who actually is Ukrainian).

Instead, one of Teller’s photos shows a limited edition Vuitton bag next to a stack of nylon shirts on a Kiev street; a depiction of the formerly communist country’s current obsession with status symbols and luxury goods.

The pavilion’s website’s photo gallery features an unattributed shot of a Vuitton bag (designed by Marc Jacobs) on fire, which raises one major question:

Will Marc still hire him to shoot next season’s campaign?

—ANNA FIELDING GRIGGS

Last month, the British fashion hobbits known as Rodnik staged a faux rock concert in Selfridge’s.

Their various models and friends made guest appearances as groupies, and the show was such a success, the boys promised to repeat their performance at Barneys when their collection launches this Fall.

Now the party may be postponed, as the boys have a bigger project in the works:

Their first major fashion show, hopefully sponsored by TopShop and British Fashion Week in London.

If they do hit the runway, expect lots of tailored lace, and a slew of pretty girls swooning in the front row - like Trovata before them, this brand has Band Aids to rival any rock group on the road…

The next issue of W has Gisele looking amazing on the cover - and a little bit odd inside.

Styled by Camilla Nickerson, the supermodel celebrates her emancipation from lingerie and wings in flaming pink ensembles with a Barbie eyeshadow palette that might be called “Priscilla, Queen of the Makeup.” She’s also got maraschino lips and nails to match.

We concede our style expertise pales in comparison to Ms. Nickerson - sometimes we even wonder what Amanda Harlech is wearing, and she’s the Chanel muse - but this look is a clear ’80s resurrection, lacquered in kitsch and… well, it’s weird.

Is this jacquard jacket from Miu Miu really what’s on for Fall - and if so, where is it pushing fashion, besides back to Troop Beverly Hills?

Gareth Pugh is getting lots of press because of his upcoming V&A exhibit this weekend, but with many questions come many answers - some of them contradictory! Let’s compare Gareth’s most recent interviews, with the London Times and the UK Independent:

London Times
Gareth’s Age: 25
Gareth’s Targets: “My big plastic coat has been a big seller with all these rich women in New York!”
Gareth’s Biggest Problem: “Fifteen year old girls can’t walk in a pair of Sex Shoes.”
Gareth on Gareth: “I thought Jean Paul Gaultier was the enfant terrible of the fashion world. Am I the slightly more attractive younger brother?”

Independent
Gareth’s Age: 24
Gareth’s Targets: “I suppose the defining thing was my first shoot, which was with Dazed and Confused.”
Gareth’s Biggest Problem: “I wish people would take more notice of the clothes.”
Gareth on Gareth: “Everyone always thinks of me as this club kid who always goes out but that’s not what it’s all about.”

Got that?

Jessica Simpson may be more famous for not wearing her celebrity designs than for her actual collection - the pop star was sued by Tarrant Apparel Group for $100 million last year when she failed to promote her own line.

Now the blondie seems more invested in her fashion adventures - she’ll appear at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week in Miami for her first-ever fashion show this July.

We can’t imagine the circus that the Raleigh Hotel will become for the show, and the neon bedazzled Lycra explosion that will probably grace the runway. But something about the situation is even more interesting:

Last year, the Simpson clan was in preliminary talks with the very talented swimwear designer Red Carter, to somehow collaborate. But they realized it would make more sense to stick with their own ventures, and so the only signs of a partnership were the Jessica Simpson pumps backstage at Red’s show.

So, was Red the inspiration for Jessica’s Miami runway venture? And is this another example of a young designer getting edged out by a celebrity, or just one more fun parade of girls in bikinis to anticipate in Miami?

Also: Will Ashlee and Pete be there? Ooh!

Have a peek at the girl at left.

Is she sporting a Proenza Schouler for Target dress?

Actually, no.

The girl is wearing a Forever 21 sundress in the company’s newest ad campaign.

The series also includes a radish printed black blouse (cough - Carolina Herrera - cough) and a handful of sunglasses so big, they were probably designed to view a solar eclipse.

But back to this dress:

It’s funny when Forever 21 rips off a runway look, but here, Proenza Schouler already ripped off their own runway looks for Target…

Thinking of a way to describe it, I keep coming back to this:

“The cold pizza of fashion.”

On the upside:

If you couldn’t get your hands on a Proenza for Target dress before it sold out, now you have another chance…

Of sorts.

Reebok has been going nuts lately, frantically churning out new and classic variations on the cushy hi-top. We don’t currently own any sneakers, but we were leaning towards the metallic hi-tops in our shopping imagination.

Then we saw these – the new Basquiat Reeboks, inspired by the famous and doomed 80s artist Jean-Michel Basquiat .

They are a little too wild for our taste, but we could see them looking really cute on the right person.

Either the rest of your outfit would have to be simple, or you’d have to go for a full-on outrageous look head-to-toe. And you still might not pull them off.

Then there’s the issue of Basquiat, who called himself a street artist, getting roped into one of the biggest companies in the world - and one that frequently co-opts urban culture - after his death.

What would Jean-Michel do?

—ALISON COOL

Jay, 24, Red Bull cheerleader

Got Him: In Rockefeller Plaza, just outside the SNL studio

Stalked Him: Because we were reminded of this interview with Alfonso Cuaron, after he directed Harry Potter and he was talking about the three kids. Of emerging hipster Rupert Grint, the redhead who plays Ron Weasley, Cuaron said, “Rupert is either a genius… or a fool.”

And that’s basically our thoughts on this outfit, too.

Shot Him: Well, really, how could we not shoot him?

He Says: “Did you see my necklace by Oxy Cottontail? It’s pretty amazing, right?… I don’t understand why you think this is so funny.”

We Say: It’s not; it’s amazing.

WHICH adorable designer has two stylists - one who actually puts the collections together, and one who’s more boldface to take all the credit and get all the press? It shouldn’t matter because the clothes are so cool, but still… Trios are buzzing right now.

We’ve spotted something gorgeous on the fashion front lately:

Necklaces so wide and high on the neck, they look like part of the outfit.

At the Whitney Ball last week, Doo.Ri Chung wore a dress of her own design (an adorable whipped silk puff, no less, and much more giggly than expected). She paired it with a leather collar from Subversive Jewelry, and loved it so much, she threatened, “You’d better make sure you give Justin credit on your blog!”

So, okay, Justin Giunta of Subversive Jewelry: We’re fully obsessed.

Meanwhile at West Village house party, our lovely friend Kristin wore this beaded lace necklace from a vintage store, which we thought was part of her tank top until she unhooked it from her neck.

We can’t wait until the mass marketeers get on this trend, but we also think it has tremendous runway potential. Can you imagine detachable collars at Chanel and Dior, half jewelry and half clothing that you can remove, swap, and wear everywhere?

Amazing.

Jessica and Ashlee, Haylie and Hilary, Sienna and Savannah, Kate and Laura, Charlotte and Samantha…it’s a good time to be a sister act.

In England, Peaches Geldof is already a star writer and TV personality - and an outspoken critic who insults everyone from Kate Moss to Tony Blair. She is the daughter of rock producer Bob Geldof - who’s been knighted for his charity work and extraordinary track record with tight guitarists in jeans - and the late Paula Yates, a model who committed suicide. Now Peaches’ younger sister Pixie is poised to break out with her newly launched modeling career.

She has signed with Select Models - home of Mariacarla and also Daisy Lowe -and has a fetching spread in this month’s British Vogue to welcome her to the fashion world.

Our favorite photo shows Pixie looking dreamy and revealing the tiny wing tattooed behind her ear.

It’s very fairy chic, but leads to deeper questions, like:

Why are we more interested in famous people’s kids, especially in the fashion sphere?

—ANNA FIELDING GRIGGS

Because fashion-forward stylists are always finding great unique vintage pieces on eBay, we like to track what vintage items are selling the best, even if our skepticism about the ambiguities of vintage sizing (and the occasionally astronomical prices) usually keep us from bidding.

Some people watch sports, but personally we enjoy the rush of a high-stakes internet vintage bid-a-thon more.

Right now, it looks like bright jewel-tone silk 1950s party dresses are all the rage online.

A bidding war over a beautiful sapphire blue wasp waist Christian Dior silk shantung design was up to $700 this morning, with 13 hours to go.

If Dior is out of your price range, there’s also this 1950s Suzy Perette orange and pink tonal floral number, under $100.

Have you had any great successes with eBay? Humiliating defeats?

What’s your secret strategy, if you are willing to divulge?

—ALISON COOL

Another year, another film inspired by Jane Austen…another resurgence of interest in Regency style?

This summer brings us Becoming Jane, the new Austen biopic starring Anne Hathaway (who was surprisingly Texan in Brokeback Mountain, we thought…) and a bevy of dresses with empire waists.

This time around, designers keep their dresses from looking like a Pea-in-the-Pod clearance special by splashing them with bold prints and shaping them into shoulder baring halters (DVF and Marc by Marc in particular…).

We think Elizabeth Bennett probably would have preferred something more sedate for dinners at Pemberley, but we
could definitely see a modern-day Jane in this deep purple dress from Erotokritos.

—ANNA FIELDING GRIGGS

We tracked down the suspender shorts we photographed last week on Andi Muise (or her body double), in response to your requests. They’re by Era of Chaos, and you can get them at LF Stores for $166 in four different washes.

We also really like these high-waisted button-up corset shorts, also by Era of Chaos, but we’re afraid to spend that much ($168) on a trend that probably has no staying power. We have a feeling this is going to be the last summer of belly-button high short shorts, for better or worse.

How much would you spend for a seriously one-season item?

—ALISON COOL

I’ve been following Form since they first launched in a loft - four kids who met on a Paris corner and decided, somehow, to make some clothes.

Their first few seasons, they didn’t really sell. Except for the drippy white t-shirts, which poured down the right bodies like candle wax, the garmets were just so… fast forward. They were stark, and sci-fi, and though beautifully built, a little too into their own galactic universe and a little too removed from ours.

That was two years ago, and now Form is down to three kids - designer Jerry Tam, team captain Eric Werner, and VP of musedom Kelly Andrews, whose Balenciaga training coats the clothes like translucent powder.

Their “pre-Spring” show was on Friday, and “pre-Spring” is just a fancy word for March, and the whole thing was based on kites. Silver dresses pleated like folded origami. White and gray tunics folding over like deflated balloons. A lot of bubble shapes.

Was it beautiful? Immensely. Their best effort yet? Oh yeah.

But now there’s a new question: Before, Form’s clothes were too unique to be comfortable. Now, are they too streamlined to be special, or have they finally found a balance between the world they’ve created and the one they actually live in?

Click through the photos to see the show.

You look good.

Your friend looks good.

Is that a problem? Perhaps it could be if you’re matching outfits with your friends. We spotted three pairs of friends on the street sporting similar styles, and started thinking…

Unlike the well-documented horrors of wearing the same dress as the class weirdo at the prom, this kind of coordination is subtle and pervasive. Friends and couples often spend a lot of time together, shop together, swap mix tapes, and read the same magazines and blogs, so the look-alike look is not unusual.

But at what point do you have to go home and change? Or send your friend home to change?

—ALISON COOL

About a year ago, girls in LA started raiding eBay for lace-printed bangles, cast in plastic or resin and floating around eBay for about $7 each.

Most of the bracelets came from Denmark, where the fusion of high-tech plastic and low-tech fabric made the jewelry huge in the ’70s and ’80s.

We were waiting for Kenneth Jay Lane or Alexis Bittar to start making their own lace/plastic jewelry - or Victoire de Castellane at Dior Joillarie - but instead, Forever 21’s taken up the mantle for the masses.

Their lace earrings come in yellow, red, and blue, sell for $3.80, look pretty cute with a peasant top, and - unlike some other offerings from the store - haven’t been ripped, stitch for stitch, from any runways.

Accordingly, we totally approve.

It seems Paris isn’t the only fashion girl with a prison sentence:

We’ve learned that Suzanne Filan, the office manager of Showroom Seven, will serve time for grand larceny and forgery after stealing thousands from her employers.

The arrest comes at an interesting time, as Showroom Seven is in full production mode for The Fashionista Diaries, a reality show airing on the Soap Network that follows six fashion assistants as they prepare for a Charlotte Ronson fashion show.

We doubt the arrest will be part of the show’s plot, and that’s just fine. There’s nothing more boring than a white collar police arrest, especially when the person stole money and not something more practical, like Charlotte Ronson’s insanely cute denim bomber jacket from last season.

We love Chris Benz. Refinery 29 loves Chris Benz. Therefore, we love Refinery 29. Enjoy.

US Vogue has yet to officially acknowledge The Devil Wears Prada, nor its editor-in-chief’s counterpart’s (celluloid) existence, but apparently the ban doesn’t extend across the pond.

This month British Vogue featured Miranda as one of their favorite “gray goddesses,” alongside British socialite Daphne Guinness and old school model Carmen Dell’Orefice.

Bet you’ll never see that in Anna’s Vogue…

—ANNA FIELDING GRIGGS

If last week’s jellies, pointies, and raffia skimmers just weren’t for you, adorable Lower East Side boutique and downtown shoe destination Dolce Vita just got in a new shipment of metallic sandals that we are crazy about.

Our personal favorites are the T-strap leather “Athens� thongs in silver with the flirty little chain bouncing around by your toes, but we heard that the alligator, silver, and gold strappy “Fondue� flats are also selling like hotcakes.

Best of all, pretty much all of the shoes are under $100, so hopefully you will have some money left over to blow on the breezy “I’m-wearing-a-dress-but-I’m-not-trying-too- hard� frocks by indie favorites like United Bamboo and 12th Street by Cynthia Vincent, plus the covetous and reasonably priced store label.

—ALISON COOL

On Saturday, during a talk as part of Tomorrow Unlimited’s ‘Creator Series,’ London-based designer Gareth Pugh discussed living as a squatter in abandoned buildings with his art collective, WOWOW!

He explained how it’s pretty easy to dumpster-dive for food. He talked about sewing his first four collections on the sewing machine his mother got as a wedding present thirty years ago, and how nothing from any of those collections made it to production.

And then he revealed that his latest F/W collection is being made in Rick Owen’s Italian factory and that Barneys and Bergdorf Goodman have already placed orders.

Seriously: wow.

Or, okay, WOWOW!

—our new intern, ANNA FIELDING GRIGGS

We spotted this girl walking down Orchard Street on Sunday, in an delightful green 60s style coat, simple Chinatown black flats, and a haircut out of a Godard film.

The only thing is – it was 70 degrees and humid!

Why the coat? Our guess: form over function, and she was dying to wear it.

How much discomfort will you endure for the sake of looking good? Is it worth enduring the embarrassment of “Aren’t you cold in that?� or “Don’t you want to take off that coat?� for a seasonally incongruous fashion statement?

In any case, a coat in summer is definitely a good way to get noticed! Hmmm…

—ALISON COOL

Sunday Styles reports that cocaine is newly fashionable. As far as we can tell, any time Sunday Styles hypes a trend, it comes at the end of the wave (see also: Bill Cunningham’s photo report on leggings in October).

“The come-ons in the Casual Encounters section of Craigslist last week — or any week — are as plentiful as they are obvious (and cheesy). Using a variety of euphemisms that have been around since Jay McInerney wrote about Bolivian Marching Powder, posters invite others to join them for a line or a lost weekend fueled by cocaine.”

OK, so Kate Moss still has the “Cocaine Kate” images lingering on Google, and Ryzik dug up some Craigslist posters desperate to trade coke for the sexual vagaries of “casual encounters,” but does coke really have a newfound caché, and more importantly - as author Melena Ryzik suggests, do drugs follow fashions?

If so, wouldn’t we be seeing a return of LSD and ecstasy in line with the styles of back-to-the-land style NYC hipsters and London’s night life nu-rave insanity? Or maybe quaaludes? (editor’s note: at this, Faran gasps and goes, “Like in Almost Famous!”)

Do you need drugs to match your outfits? Where does “lifestyle” fashion end?

—ALISON COOL

Pete Doherty’s first high fashion campaign is this Fall, for Roberto Cavalli.

While WWD reports on its “Wild Wild West” theme, there are some other observations to be made…

*The narrow cowboy hat worn by Pete will most certainly catch light with the kids in London and LA, who are tired of their fedoras but won’t start washing their hair, which would negate the need for a hat altogether.

*Pete is wearing a lot of mascara, achieving a “pretty boy” effect we’ve never really associated with him. We can see Pete Wentz swapping this look with his infamous “guyliner;” thousands of Spin fans will follow.

Could hipsters grab Maybelline Great Lash with the same readiness that they grab vodka sodas? And wait… what guy wears Roberto Cavalli?

WHICH tirelessly dressed socialite is vying for a position on the board of a major museum? The appointment could be a coup, but some close to the board snipe that the woman “isn’t exactly an art lover.” Though she does seem to enjoy painting her face in the bathroom of various benefits…

Madeleine, 25, stylist

Got Her: At Location in Soho for a New York Observer party

Stalked Her: Because we’ve been looking for an expensive-skirt-and-cheap-tee combo for weeks!

Shot Her: Because Luella’s t-shirt and skirt combo is amazing, but the skirt’s flouncy shape is very hard to wear with a tee without looking sloppy (it can also make you look much wider than you are, especially if you have a rounded stomach). Meanwhile, Madeline’s skirt has so much structure, it keeps the outfit more formal - and more form fitting.

She Says: “My t-shirt is from a summer camp I went to when I was eight!”

We Say: The girl’s guide to hunting and swishing.

To the tangle of girls who emailed into Fashionista and begged to know when “That Dress” hit the TopShop website:

It’s finally here, and available in white, cream, and black.

I thought the black would be the easiest to wear, and maybe look passibly chic, but the more I study it, the more I realize that black dotted swiss is a nearly impossible adventure.

Also:

Every time I see this dress, I’m reminded of something but can’t remember what. Now, I think I realize:

It’s the Winged Victory of Samothrace, the one you see going down the grand staircase in the Louvre.

Which is a way cooler inspiration than a Versace dress you wore on a Johnny Depp date. Right?

We heard something fun from designer Claude Morais at Ruffian last night:

Their smoke gray trench coat for Fall hasn’t even hit stores yet, but they’ve already sold out of its inventory twice.

Why?

“It was Chanel,” says Claude - the model, not the label. “She wore that coat down our runway, and poof, it was gone. Chanel worked that coat so that everybody wanted it! We love her.”

In fairness to the coat, it was gorgeous and gorgeously made, but still…

We hear Ruffian aren’t the only ones who’ve realized that when Chanel wears an outfit, its demand goes zoom.

First, ELLE’s trend roundup was Manic Panic hair dye. Then it was giant logo tees worn as dresses. This week, they’ve moved onto the wonders of neon, citing Stella McCartney and Donna Karan as fashion forward examples of the trend.

We adore ELLE - especially its market editor, Carol Han - but we can’t help wonder if way deep down, the editors want to be at Boom Box or MisShapes or The Annex, wearing rehab jeans and acid yellow nail polish and snorting glitter with tequila shots.

Or, something much more interesting:

ELLE is acknowledging the continuing influence of club culture on the runway, but in a subtler way so their readers - some conservative, some (gasp) adult - won’t be apprehensive of buying into the trends.

Either way, we can’t fault the magazine for falling in love with the screaming symbols of downtown - sometimes, all you wanna do is dance.

We heard something fun last night:

Halston’s first collection may not be in stores, but the brand is already developing a new fragrance.

Halston had a signature scent back in the ’70s, but it’s been discontinued. Of course, now that Harvey Weinstein has a major stake in the brand, that fragrance could be revived with a new Halston muse from the Weinstein Stable of Stars. Maybe Emily Blunt is up to the challenge?

The rumor comes at an interesting time, since Jimmy Choo announced their first fragrance today, and Jimmy’s longtime creative director, Tamara Mellon, is working with Halston.

Then there’s the actual smell: How do you revive disco, and put it in a bottle that younger women actually want?

The challenge reminds us of our favorite fragrance, Etat Libre D’Orange’s “Lavender and Cigarettes,” which smells exactly like lavender and cigarettes, which smells exactly like most girls I know when they drag themselves to Sunday brunch.

Rio Fashion Week ended today, and our favorite show was Maria Bonita Extra, the Brazilian line that’s slowly becoming an American girl favorite.

We love the printed minidresses and the brown checkered flutter blouse from MBE, and we also think it’s cool that more and more Brazilian designers are showing each year.

Meanwhile, some Rio locals have emigrated to New York Fashion Week -Alexandre Herchcovitch and Rosa Cha have shown for several seasons, and Francisco Costa of Calvin Klein hails from Brazil - as do Vogue faces Caroline Trentini and Raquel Zimmerman (and my favorite girl, Cintia Dicker).

At the same time, and international buyers are adopting a more diverse global perspective.

Maybe soon, Gisele won’t be the most famous Brazilian in fashion!

—ALISON COOL

Cartier’s new LoveCharity bracelets cost about $500, but fashion editors and ad buyers got them for free at last night’s jewelry bash.

Held at the “Cartier Mansion” - a very fancy name for their store - the party boasted “celebrity designers” like Rihanna and Faith Hill wearing their expensive accessory, which is basically a colored silk cord bound by a gold rivet.

Regular customers buying the bracelets get to choose their charity - Julianne Moore’s goes to tuberculosis research, Djimon Hounsou’s aids children in poverty, etc. - and then $100 of their $500 buy goes to the designated foundation.

Last night was a little different - instead of credit cards, the fashion folk whipped out their IDs and were meticulously crossed and double crossed off a list before getting their hands on the tinkly bracelet.

Woe to the certain magazine cutie who asked if he could have an extra gift!

Christina, 23, publicist

Got Her:
At the New York Observer’s “papier soiree” for Ruffian

Stalked Her: Because her dress was a perfect mix of Breakfast at Tiffany and Tiffany, the ’80s singer from the mall.

Shot Her: Because a Ruffian outfit + Erickson Beamon jewelry + plain black pumps = default “I need to be amazing and I have five minutes” outfit.

She Says: “Parties are my job! So all my clothes are party clothes… and I thought this necklace would be heavy, but it’s not!”

We Say: “But I am mad about Jose. I honestly think I’d give up smoking if he asked me.”

We’ve been skipping around town in round-toe flats and pumps, wiggling our toes in comfort and delight. But lately, we’ve noticed that pointy flats seem to be edging their way back in – we spotted these pairs out and about downtown.

Unlike the horrifying needle-toed stilettos of the ’90s, these points are more triangular than knife-like.

The key to styling this look is to combine the pointies with skinny knee-length denim cutoffs or a more tailored pair, as above. Maybe it’s because we wear a size 9.5 and anything pointed makes us look like the Wicked Witch of the West, but we are not going to be curtailing our toe-freedom anytime soon.

Are you ready to return to pointy, or do you think round-toe is still going strong? Or do you play for both teams?

—ALISON COOL