Rather than relying on police cracking down on fakes, Loro Piana's decided to make their goods un-fakeable.

They've created their own metal ring bearing the Loro Piana logo that'll be sewn into each of their cashmere products. The rings will be engraved with an identifying serial number that can be used to trace the origins of each product, down to which piece of fabric it was cut from and which batch of yarn was used to weave its raw fiber.

We think their initiative is great, even though we think it would be fairly easy for a counterfeiter to just throw any old number onto a metal ring to make the scarf appear genuine at first glance, but then again, maybe the process would just be too expensive to make the fakes worth it.

(In other counterfeit news, we hear Forever 21 is about to be embroiled in a huge fake-related battle - a tipster says an LA lawyer is "representing a handful of names bringing some big suits against them" - care to take some guesses?)

And even then, they became associated with a very specific kind of boy whose outfit was generally topped off with a pastel shade. But two weeks ago, we saw a pair walking through the West Village, and they were topped off with a drop dead gorgeous Lazaro Hernandez and not a pastel in sight.

Then someone told us that "all" the hipsters are wearing them, (we're not sure we believe this since we live in Hipsterville, Brooklyn and we've yet to see them). Then an ex-boyfriend texted to ask where he could get a pair. Then we saw three, yes three!, adorable girls out last night wearing boat shoes with their flirty summer dresses. And then the final proof that they are indeed a trend? There's an entire row of red and blue ones at the Forever 21 on Broadway.

We'll forever associate them with those New England boys around campus, but we think they actually work with girly dresses - they tone them down a bit and make them perfect for lazy afternoons.

Are you searching high and low for Sperry's or are you sticking with your trusty gladiator sandals this summer?

1. Because we're becoming obsessed with flowers

2. Because these might actually make a decent gift for Mother's Day

3. Because whenever we get a cute bobby pin, we lose it immediately

4. Because the red will really suit our hair color (or anyone's)

5. Because we're getting into muggy heat territory, and these are better than just plain black ones to hold up braids

6. Because sometimes, it's the littlest details that really make a look

We have it on good authority that Marc Jacobs didn't love his Friday night lights last season, and he'll be moving his show back to its traditional time slot, on Monday night at 7 pm / 8 pm / 9 pm / 4 am / your guess is as good as ours.

Marc and Robert Duffy famously pushed their show forward to the last Friday of February's Fashion Week, in order to give themselves more time to finish the collection. In fact, their latest show started so promptly that editors who were even 10 minutes late to the spectacle got shut out of the production, which included a lot of cable knit cream stuff, and also Sonic Youth performing.

It'll be fun to see when the show starts this season, but there's one thing for certain:

Everyone will show up promptly 10 minutes before the show says it will start, even if it ends up running much later.

And as usual, we are already so stoked.

WHICH lovely actress arrived on set for a photo shoot and then refused to wear the fur clothes the stylist had pulled? Did we mention the shoot had a previously announced fur theme?

We each went with one specific item in mind but walked away with three or four. Among the racks of surprisingly very cute, organic cotton clothes we learned the following:

1. The Voguettes aren't interested in Target clothes - even if they're in Barneys - and instead headed straight for the surrounding racks of Philip Lim and Mayle.

2. Jessica Szohr, aka Vanessa, is not only a huge fan of Rogan - she walked away with armfuls of tops and brightly colored swimsuits - but also the most beautiful Gossip Girl cast member we've seen in person. (Actually, we've met everyone but Leighton and yes Jessica even beats Chuck and this is huge for us).

3. We own something from every single Go International collection and Rogan's is far and away the best quality. Whether it's because the fabric's organic or because it was literally two years in the making, we're not sure, but we do know it managed to hold it's own among the regular Rogan clothes and every other lust worthy piece of clothing on the 7th floor.

4. When Rogan says eco-friendly, he means eco-friendly - all purchases were packaged in the organic cotton tote to the left.

5. While shopping, we got a message from a tipster that he overheard a girl at the register say, "My ass cheeks are totally going to falling out the bottom of these but, whatever, I'm not going to wear them to work" - she was buying the leopard print shorts.

And that's how you know just how awesome the clothes are.

The line launches for the public today - so get up there!

WHICH pop legend turned down both an invite to the Costume Ball and the cover of Fashion Rocks? She tells influential photographers that she disagrees with what Vogue tells American women.

The mystery face of the upcoming Vogue Italia is none other than the statuesque Iman!

She'll be surrounded by some other models (surely just a group of out-of-focus guys, er, girls), and now we're betting there'll be at least one picture of her and Chanel Iman together, hopefully wearing Chanel.

We're hoping this isn't just another rumor -

But we guess we'll see.

I used to live in the West Village, and let me tell you, walking past Magnolia bakery on your way to and from work every day is disastrous. The last thing in the world I would have needed is a free cupcake.

But now that I live in Brooklyn and have lost the ten pounds I gained during that six month sublet, I can't think of anything better.

Only catch is, in order to get your free cupcake, you have to buy something at the newly opened Coach store down the street.

This is bad because it means supporting the outdoor mall that now lives on Bleecker, but good because you can get cute shoes (without c's please) and a delicious pink cupcake.

Just please don't eat it on Carrie Bradshaw's stoop.

“This is my trademark: I rip my T-shirt. I’m into the whole showing-a-bit-of-chest-hair thing.” - Ed Westwick, in Time Out.

And in lieu of Lady Amanda Harlech, Lagefeld's striking muse at Chanel, the designer will be inspired by himself.

The bags will go so far as to have his initials woven into the quilted designs and the CEO of ANG sounds thrilled, "There's so much potential with the Lagerfeld line because Karl himself is endlessly inspiring."

We've always thought of Karl as a sort of king of branding, but we're guessing this is exactly what he meant when he answered questions at the Met Ball regarding which superhero he was channeling and he repeatedly answered, "Karl Lagerfeld."

There's a Derek Lam sample sale today, at 601 W. 26th St (the Chelsea Art Galleries) on the 17th floor.

But we kind of wish she'd e-mailed us about it yesterday, since she added that that's when she saw "the lovely Caroline Trentini browsing the clothes."

Sigh.

Exactly what Gossip Girl wouldn't do.

But thank you for the info anyway! Maybe we'll sneak over on our way to Barneys later...

First, she was named the face of the French lingerie brand Chantelle, then she did an amazing spread for V followed by an entire issue of Pop that was literally too steamy for our front page, then she was named contributing fashion editor at Interview (we are anxiously awaiting for her interview with Alaia - you know it has to happen), and then she shot a Gap campaign alongside Shalom.

So what's left?

A catalog, apparently. Saks' fall preview book will feature Stephanie as the only model for all 63 pages, shot by Nathaniel Goldberg, Sebastián Faena and Jamie Isaia.

Memo to Vogue: She obviously wants to work a lot again, so please book her way in advance for next year's shape issue. You know she's the best choice!

The Marilyn model's been working for just two weeks, and she's already on the verge of blowing up.

She met with W yesterday, is being shot for Vogue US this week, and has already done a spread with Testino.

Oh, and she's definitely in the upcoming Vogue Italia - twice. She scored one spread all by herself, and another alongside Jourdan, Chanel and Alek Wek.

The Dominican cutie was also spotted hanging with the models at the Met Ball Monday night, some people even say she looked better than most of the girls there...

And to think, we still have no idea what her last name is.

We know Gossip Girl doesn't exactly qualify as news. We know we reference the show a lot as it is. We know it's probably weird to cancel Monday night plans to make sure we're parked on the couch at exactly 8pm.

But you know what else we know? We know Gossip Girl's as good as everyone says it is, and not just for the fashion - yes, we love the plot lines, too.

One of the best parts about Gossip Girl, other than the accessories, is that it's turning out to be a sort of murder mystery, and we've realized that all of the episodes are littered with clues.

So allow us to indulge ourselves (and if the comments section is to be believed, to indulge you guys, too) by musing a bit on what we think is going to happen in the next two episodes.

Please don't click through if you aren't up to speed with the show. Spoilers abound...

Ladies and gentlemen, that model is Jessica Stam.

The blonde who claims The Virgins as her favorite band and Anthony Kiedis as her ex-boyfriend will take the turntables next week at Eyebeam Studios, when The Down To Earth party hypes Women's Health Magazine (which we're sure Stam has never been in) and The Environmental Media Association.

But can Stam actually DJ?

Well, probably not, but maybe she's been taking night lessons:

Besides being pals with Leigh Lezark of The MisShapes, she also dated DJ AM, who seems to know a thing or two about mix tapes.

"Duvets (the Czech supermodel Karolina Kurkova) and tartan crinolines (Sarah Jessica Parker) have previously been requisitioned hot off the catwalks, giving bloggers endless pleasure as they earnestly debated the unfolding catastrophes. This year the actress and singer Charlotte Gainsbourg came as a lung, Kate Moss as a barmaid and Katie Holmes - Mrs Tom Cruise - finally outed herself as a Thetan." --The London Times on the Met Ball.

Vogue just announced their first ever Viewer's Choice Awards for the clothes we've all seen a zillion times since Monday night.

Starting Friday, you can log on to the Vogue.tv site and vote for your favorite look from the gala, and enter to win two round trip tickets to a $2,500 shopping spree at J. Mendel and two nights at the Lowell Luxury Hotel in NYC.

You have until May 16, but if you think that's a tough deadline, just think of poor Alexandra Kotur who has to manage the politics of the ten best dressed by Monday morning.

Our votes?

Britt can't decide between Christina Ricci and Lou Doillon, Brett likes Zac/Kate Mara and Kate Bosworth, and Natalie thinks both Christina Ricci and Julie Gilhart walked the ball attire/superhero line to great effect.

You?

Which super awesome, uber fashionable stylist still owes her poor assistant $2,500 from shoots that took place in 2007? The spreads turned out to be awesome and the assistant's sworn off fashion - but she still wants her money...

That's probably the most sensible fashion appointment we've ever heard.

Kaye came on as Men's fashion director at Ellis in 1993, the same year Marc Jacobs was fired, and stayed up until 2005 when he launched his own consulting firm working with clients like Levi's.

Hartmarx, the company that owns Dr. Marten's and hopes to expand into ready-to-wear, chose Kaye because of his "vast experience in taking heritage brands and making them modern and relevant in today's marketplace."

We're still waiting for our new docs to arrive in the mail, (they're a gift and we'll be scribbling all over them), and now we'll also be waiting to see Kaye's take on the classic shoe.

The question is, will we actually wear them?

First, the glitter boys shot a prom-themed spread for ELLEgirl with Lydia Hearst right after the rumors of their demise swirled Gossip Girl-style all over the internet.

Now, we've learned that they're flying out to LA with Paper Magazine today as special guests at Playboy's Playmate of the Year Luncheon since they custom designed the winning bunny's dress - and we were told this by a concerned Heatherette fan that wanted to help "squash the rumors."

So now the real question is - are these one-time events for the sake of the good old days?

Or can we all expect a blowout show in September?

"So what we really want to know is - will you name a pair of panties after us?" - Faran to Agent Provocateur founder - and son of Vivienne Westwood - Joe Corre, at the AP party last night.

He swore he would and promised pictures as soon as "The Britt" and "The Faran" are finished.

We hear that Scott Schuman, the marvelous photographer behind The Sartorialist, has been cut from the upcoming Gap ads.

The story of how / why is unclear, but it's obviously and angrily because he's just too damn handsome to star in a photo spread about chinos.

We look forward to seeing the fantastic Mr. Schuman recast in another slew of commercial pictures -

Maybe he can be the Mac, and Fashionista can be the PC, in the next round of Apple hype.

We love you, Scott!

xoxo Fashionista.

Is Daisy Lowe getting recast in the A.P. ads this Fall?!

We really hope the rumor is true, because Daisy is not only a very cool girl, but she's a girl with a very healthy, incredible body, and one that could proudly represent young women in a campaign for sexy, powerful, cool girls.

There's only one question:

How will Daisy handle her new job as a TV talk show hostess with her upcoming campaign duties as the face of one of Britain's biggest and coolest brands?

Multitasking works best in ruffled panties, yes?

We missed Karlie at the Met Ball last night - but this video makes up for it.

She pirouettes across the dance room at her agency, gets "wholesome" and "classic" career advice from Molly Sims and talks about how her love of sports turned into a love of runways.

The best part is when she teaches New York Magazine reporter Kendall Herbst how to walk - the lesson comes complete with signature death stare.

We love watching models talk. It's such a good reminder of just how young they really are.

"Even you should know that jealousy clashes with L.L. Bean pants" - Jenny to Dan, on last night's Gossip Girl, the Greatest Hour of Our Time.

The Strangers Exclusive Clip
Serena Van Der Woodsen isn't the only dangerous beauty out there:

Gemma Ward's new movie The Strangers might actually come out soon, and MySpace is running this clip of her chasing Liv Tyler through a creepy locked house, wearing a creepy white mask, and carrying a big knife.

The clip reveals nothing about the movie except that Liv Tyler has excellent hair and a powerful scream, but oh well -

If the hype keeps up, maybe next season's Costume Ball can be all about thrillers and macabre, and then Alexander McQueen can have a field day and Gemma + Liv can host.

Who was the crazy denim publicist who stalked SJP through the West Village to hand her a pair of really cute jeans?

We had our suspicions, and now they're confirmed:

The Blue Jean Baby was Misty Twigg, the senior publicist for MiH Jeans, which are actually our favorite ones ever.

Just as Misty told SJP, four times, you can buy them at Intermix.

Giggle giggle giggle.

Armani's talk at FIT is already over, and here are the only Giorgio highlights, other than the free shirts (at left) handed out at the end -

"You live in a city where you can practically eat fashion."

"Not everything that is new is beautiful."

"Make sure the clothes you design are wearable, no third arms or third legs."

"I just fell into fashion by chance."

"What I've done up until now is work to improve the way men and women look."

Do you think he designed this t-shirt to make us look better?

Random FIT students keep sending us camera phone photos of celebrities.

At left is our latest acquisition, a photo of Giorgio Armani sitting on an FIT panel on Seventh Avenue, taken about fifteen minutes ago.

Superintern Brett is on the case, and he'll be back with a full report later.

In the meantime, let's discuss whether Mr. Armani's super power is a Kriptonic orange glow also known as perma-tan...

"Someone somewhere along the line decided that we need a new culture-by-way-of-fashion icon as a sort of generational figurehead. That Moss chick, well, she's just been around a bit long now, hasn't she? And Lily Cole, well, rather unjustly, she somehow became the visual symbol for any discussion about anorexia, so citing her as an icon of fabulous fashionability became a little bit tricky. And then, with the kind of timing that would have Dorothy Parker gasp with envy, up pops Agyness, with her misspelt fake name (Laura Hollins, since you asked), her northern accent (so that what is often referred to as "the London style press" - aka, those big magazines that have a commendable appreciation for the utterly meaningless and will include at least one black and white photo of a model standing by a dirty canal and wearing ugly shoes and a headdress from last year's Notting Hill Carnival - can patronisingly refer to her as "real"), her frankly weird taste in clothes and her fondness for hanging out with people who live in east London. To be honest, there are times when I doubt if she's an actual human being but rather a CGI construct from the office of Dazed & Confused" - Hadley Freeman, on the Agyness Deyn phenomenon, in the Guardian.

Givenchy's teamed up with social advertising site Brickfish to bring us the latest think-of-it-yourself beauty campaign for their bestselling Prisme Foundation Compact.

Those with a serious love for collectible beauty products, or those with a ton of time on their hands, are asked to come up with a "sassy slogan" for the compact, which will be printed right into the foundation of actual compacts should you think of something cute enough.

The person with the wittiest sentence, chosen by Givenchy's judges, will receive copies of the actual compact printed with their slogan to keep or to give out (or sell on eBay?) and a year's supply of Givenchy products worth $3,000.

Submit your entries on the campaign's site to enter - you have until June 16.

We think our readers could do particularly well - so far the entries are mostly of the "Be You, Always" variety.

Our vote for the best so far? "Right angles rarely occur in nature".