We were flipping through the gorgeous and excellent Barneys Holiday Mailer this morning, when we spotted the latest Lanvin bag:

A luxe blue leather with a handle, a flap, a zipper in the middle, and a cinching strap that can be flung over one’s shoulder.

It was a gorgeous and practical bag, but it reminded us a little too much of Foley + Corinna’s signature City Tote, especially the parts with a handle, a flap, a zipper in the middle, and a cinching strap that can be flung over one’s shoulder.

It’s no secret that Foley’s bag’s been ripped off before - at Forever 21, and of course, during the Steve + Barry’s debacle where Sarah Jessica Parker’s Bitten line included a copy of the tote in their line sheets as “a mistake.”

But this is the first time we’ve seen the City Tote have such influence over a status brand like Lanvin. And in this case, it’s actually more ethical to buy the cheaper version (cheaper = $444)!

Perhaps things are getting more Democratic already…

Last Friday, we had the privilege of attending a TimesTalk with Sarah Jessica Parker and television reporter William J. Carter.

The talk coincided with the beginning of SJP’s press junket for the film, as well as Ginia Bellafante’s article on the upcoming movie for The Times itself.

Sarah Jessica was dressed like an Olsen - black Rick Owens t-shirt, black Bitten cropped jeans, motorcycle booties with wooden heels, the best blonde highlights we have ever seen in our lives.

She was really funny and really cool, and after the talk was over, she shook our hand (“Hi, I’m Sarah Jessica, so lovely to meet you,”) and when we told her Girls Just Wanna Have Fun was a formative part of our childhood, she laughed hysterically.

It was pretty awesome, and although we still don’t love the concept of Bitten, it’s pretty settled that we do love Sarah Jessica Parker, because she actually was that smart and that funny, and that comfortable in too-high heels.

Here’s what had to say about the upcoming Sex and the City flick:

On Her Wardrobe: “After our first screening, one reporter told me I was exposing more skin than I had in the past, with my costumes, but that’s not true. In fact, that would be suicidal on my part at this age – it’s just because the movie screen is so big, that it looks like there’s more of me!”

On The Movie Trailer: “We’re not giving anything away! Who knows what part of that is a dream sequence and what order of events they put that trailer in!”

On SATC Fashion Trends: “Around the 2nd season I saw nameplate necklaces. I was growing up in the city during that time when girls wore nameplate necklaces, and this generation of girls were not of that generation!”

On Putting Her Name to Clothes: “I can’t sketch; I can’t do anything that should be required to have a clothing line. I have so many friends that are actual designers who wouldn’t get funding to do real collections, so I always declined offers to design a range for myself. Bitten is different, it’s like, jeans.”

On Using a Stylist: “Before I met Patricia, I thought everything had to match! When Patricia started dressing me, I would ask her, don’t these colors clash? And she would say, yes, great, anything to offend the eye! It was great!… I do use a stylist and not infrequently. I cannot go and do all that wardrobe work. But I am not a Paper Doll, I will tell you that.”

On Shoes: “I do like shoes; they are special. But do I like shoes as much as Carrie? Oh, no, no, no! We’re not even in the same league.”

And hopefully, that will tide you over until the actual film.

Last Year, Kate Moss wore a dress from Topshop (yes, we know it was her own design, but still) to the Met Ball - the party of the year and the most appropriate time to wear couture.

A few weeks ago, Sarah Jessica Parker, that ultimate paragon of the cheap dress / expensive shoes look showed up to Matthew Broderick’s premiere in a dress from Bitten. It’s one thing to go on Oprah wearing a $40.00 outfit and $700.00 shoes to promote your new line - but the red carpet’s a bit of a different scene. And this is the woman who not too long ago wouldn’t step out on a red carpet in anything less than couture. Now she’s in a $10 cotton sun dress?

Is this what she meant when she said she and her friends compete over who spends the least on their outfit?

And then last Thursday, Vanessa Von Bismarck, PR Princess and real life Countess wore Banana Republic to a Lulu DK event at Antony Todd. Her wedding was documented inVogue and the dress was custom made Derek Lam. But now that she’s pregnant she decides mid-priced career wear is more her speed? As far as we know, she is not designing a line for BR.

We love Banana and Topshop, but given the choice, Britt would wear Vivienne Westwood, Natalie would go straight to Matthew Williamson, and I would be on the phone with Thom Browne. Maybe if we wore Chanel Couture on a weekly basis, we too would be jonesing for a cheap and chic red carpet look.

How about you?

—BRETT KANE

We’re psyched for the Sex and the City trailer in spite of ourselves, and even though we’re fuming that Carrie’s getting married, we have something else to discuss:

The plight of Samantha Jones.

It’s not a secret that Samantha, or rather Kim Cattrall, didn’t get along with Sarah Jessica Parker as well as her other cast mates. She felt (perhaps rightly) that she wasn’t getting enough money, enough credit, and… well, even more money, and so refused to commit to a Sex and the City movie for years.

But despite reports of “reconciliation” between SJP and Kim, we’re a little worried when we see glimpses of her upcoming costumes.

Samantha, and Kim, are gorgeous.

These outfits are just not.

And since SJP is the executive producer of this movie, could it be she gave Patricia Field some specific instructions to make sure Samantha looks a little… well… old/ puffy / delusional (circle one)?

But maybe Samantha’s costumes are actually gorgeous, and our eye just isn’t sharp enough to recognize real fashion when we see it. After all, we didn’t care for SJP’s Bitten line, either.

See the whole trailer below.

There’s a weird problem with Project Runway’s “Get The Look” for last week’s episode:

Each week, Bluefly tries to show how to snag a Project Runway look without breaking the bank. But this week’s winning outfit is actually available - for about $20 - at Steve & Barry.

We would never suggest buying a Bitten piece because… well… we’ve already gone there, but still:

Bluefly’s alternative is a 12th St. by Cynthia Vincent frock that sells for about $200, even on sale.

Another strange fact- it doesn’t look anything like the winning dress that contestant Victorya designed.

Immediate thoughts: why in the world would you pay more for a look that is kind of hideous to begin with?

And, is it just us, or does this miss the point entirely?

We’ve always thought well of Amanda Bynes, especially after her teen hits What a Girl Wants and She’s The Man. Anyone who can dress up in drag and get Colin Firth to sing the BeeGees is obviously awesome.

But lately we haven’t been loving the actress, because of her coldly calculated moves on the red carpet. It’s as if her publicist and manager said, “Okay darling, if you want more parts, you’ll have to get sexy,” and boom. Plunging dresses. Too much makeup. White-blonde streaks.

And of course the piece de resistance - an eponymous clothing line, thanks to Steve + Barry’s.

The whole thing seems so forced that it bums us out - Amanda’s so talented and sweet. Does she really need fashion to keep her career?

Well, maybe.

With so many starlets cramming for parts, studios want girls who are constantly “out there,” ensuring bigger box office appeal. When Scarlett poses for Louis Vuitton, she’s reminding every Vogue reader to see her movie. When Sienna has a Twenty8Twelve party, she’s also smiling for her latest movie. And Kate Bosworth’s billboards for Tod’s and Coach and Revlon enforce her presence onscreen.

In fact, when we scoured our minds for really good starlets without a solid fashion job, we only found two:

Natalie Portman, who seems weirdly resistant to makeup commercials and designer partnerships… and Anne Hathaway, who’s managed to avoid signing herself to one fashion house.

Though we have heard rumblings of a Valentino deal…

Steve + Barry’s wants to assure you that no designers were harmed in the making of their Bitten collection -

In other words, they sent us a very firm email declaring the Anna Corinna ripoff bag that caused such a fuss was never, ever made.

We don’t shop at Steve + Barry’s (sorry!), so we can’t confirm seeing the bag or not seeing the bag (as you readers have). But we do think it’s awfully funny that even after insisting the bag never made it past production, it still appeared in not one, but two press previews of the line.

Still, we appreciate the S+B awareness of the issue, and we even made a special graphic (below) for Bitten’s second collection.

It admits that some of their new pieces are darling, and now the only issue is the tag line “Fashion Should Not Cost More Than Your Groceries.”

Well, our groceries definitely don’t cost as much as our clothes… maybe we’re just not eating enough?

Fashionista’s middle name is trouble (okay, Faran’s middle name is Alexis, and Allie’s middle name is Leigh, but still, you get the point).

Today, Steve & Barry’s told WWD their Anna Corinna ripoff bag - as spotted by Fops and Dandies, tipped to us, and featured in Thursday Styles - was never produced.

We didn’t visit Steve & Barry’s during the Bitten debut, but much like Carrie Bradshaw, we “couldn’t help but wonder” —

If the bag had been pulled from the collection, why did they give an image of the tote to the New York Times … two weeks after her line had launched in stores?

That’s why we turn to you:

Did you see the Anna Corinna bag in Steve & Barry’s? Did you buy it? Do you love it?

Or is this a new mystery - The Case of the Missing Copied Bag?

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?

(and no, before anyone asks, we weren’t invited… and we’re quite sad we’ll miss the MisShapes DJing, but c’est la vie for refusing to embrace cheap khakis as a blessing)…

Dear Sarah Jessica Parker,

Thank you for your oddly worded manifesto about bloggers, as seen on The Budget Fashionista.

While it’s admirable that you want to make clothing for “people all over the country,” it’s insulting to think that those people who appreciate you and your work don’t appreciate great design - the design sadly missing from your collection.

By saying that “there’s no criticism a person can make” about your clothing line, you imply that women around the country should somehow feel privileged to wear your line of $7 basics as if they were a second skin. Second skin which we haven’t seen you wear, because you’re photographed in designer clothes all around New York.

And when you do deign to wear your clothing line, you’ll look amazing, because you’ll have a hairstylist, a makeup artist, and at least five years with a personal trainer behind you. Don’t forget the Manolos - how much were those again?

We don’t think you should apologize for your amazing style, your success, or your wardrobe - it’s inspired many women and it’s amazing.

But please don’t pretend that you’re “just like us,” that every woman in a flyover state is thrilled to wear your line, that this is a charity project instead of a way to keep you visible in American pop culture. Maybe the real problem with design in America isn’t the lack of cheap blouses, it’s the way mass retailers condescend to their shoppers?

You are right that every woman should “feel good when they go to an interview and they can still pay their utilities and they can still take care of their children or buy a present for a friend.”

We just wish your new clothing line supported that idea a little more.

The normal women whom you champion so strongly deserve it.

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

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

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

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

See teeny tease pictures of the whole Libertine collection below.

Well. Here’s a funny story:

We heard from the Steve and Barry people today, and they were really upset. They begged us to take the images down.

We were a little taken aback. Reader reaction wasn’t that bad - what’s wrong with looking like an Old Navy outfit?

Also, we thought they’d be thrilled with the publicity - yesterday, hundreds of thousands of you got an exclusive sneak peek of the images. Thanks for clicking.

So here’s the deal: We did take the Bitten photos down, but alternate images will be back up shortly. In the meantime, you can keep leaving comments and eagerly awaiting June 7, when the line will be for sale.

Can’t wait that long? Well, you can always visit Old Navy to settle your khaki and cardigan craving in the meantime.

Everyone

Seems

To

Agree

PS - thanks to the tipster who emailed in and said they’re already trying to redesign the line because of the reaction. we doubt it’s true, but there’s still a little time until June 7th…

Bitten finally has a website, though it’s not giving much away.

Still, we like the shot of Sarah Jessica Parker looking gorgeous and low maintenance, and we think the graphic design looks somewhat familiar…

Could it be that the whole line was inspired by Nature Girl’s I AM PETAL lotion and its amazingly cool packaging?

Okay, no, but we still like the pink, and the gray, and the typeface.

Now what about the clothes?

Dear View From the Fourth Row,

We really didn’t want to call you out, but recent events have made it impossible to ignore you. And they’ve made us wonder if maybe, just maybe, you’re not actually a fashion editor - you’re an intern, or the little sister of an intern, or perhaps someone who reads The Daily so obsessively, you feel like you could work there.

And so, we have a few questions…

1. By fourth row, do you mean “standing”? Your blog is so full of anger and hate, the kind we only feel when we’ve been on our feet for six hours in stilettos.

2. Do you really think the Top Five restaurants for fashion people are Koi, Pastis, etc? They’re great places, but after they opened, we started going to spots that weren’t always on Sex and the City.

3. Speaking of Sex and the City, you seem to watch a ton of TV - your knowledge of The Hills is exceptional, and you mention minor characters like Jane Keltner and Emily Weiss a lot on your site. How do you have time for TiVo if you’re constantly at Indochine with Banana Republic publicists?

4. Is it really worth it to give up your Fourth Row seat (or the Fourth Row seat you hope to some day have)? When you’re exposed, you’ll have to forfeit your meetings with Sarah Jessica Parker, your SWAG, and your alleged job.

5. What does your therapist think about all of this?

Clearly, there’s a lot you could throw back at us - “You’re so tacky, you think Burberry is a syrup at iHop!” etc. - but really, that would just prove the point. Instead, we’re hoping for some answers.

Otherwise, we’re imagining you stalking Meredith Melling Burke in the 4 Times Square Lobby, Mr. Ripley style - though that’s not all bad, since remember, Matt Damon lost 20 lbs for the part and was a perfect Size Zero in the movie.

xoxo Fashionista