At the Balmain show this morning in Paris, Twitter was again on fire. From Derek “@dizzyblazeberg” Blasberg’s: “‘This is some hooker military shit,’ the stylist next to me observed” and “It’s a slutty sexy tent city over here” to @TheMoment’s “Savage Balmain! Think G.I. Jane meets Cher! Super sexy- again.”

And then we came to Joe Zee’s TwitPic of the sequined jeans. We’ve seen lots of sequins already this season, but I can only recall one other, Ralph Lauren, that involved a pair of jeans. I believe I stand alone at the office in liking this particular Ralph look (and the entire collection for that matter.) But I cannot be swayed. The sequins on those jeans are cool.

Now the Balmain version is of course much flashier, and will indeed cost a phenomenal amount more money. But these are definitely going to be all over the Beyoncés and Rihannas of the world. Riri even watched them go by in person from the front row.

And granted there could be some ugly trickle down versions that happen that happen as a result of this trend. But I’m on board so far. What about you?

Okay, Ciara isn’t exactly a new singer on the scene, but people are starting to talk about her real potential to become a new musical style icon, à la Beyoncé, Lady Gaga or Rihanna. We’re not so sure.

We liked the “Love Sex Magic” video, but not totally because of its style. Well, we dug the zebra print jumper, and the white leotards were classy, and the girl is seriously bend-y in serious heels. But mostly it was insanely sexy and our heart stopped a little when she licked Justin Timberlake’s ear. But we were excited to see what she was bringing to the table this time around.

After seeing the Richard Avedon fashion photography exhibit at the International Center for Photography, our love of fifties glamour is revived. We especially love the circle skirts that give volume to the models’ slim frames.

The fifties have certainly never disappeared from the fashion spotlight but what’s being accentuated of late, however, is the hips - going back to the Balenciaga S/S 08 runway or Galliano’s Lisa Fonssagrives-inpsired couture with its armor-like hip plates.

But it seems that the shoulders had to take their turn first.

Now that we’re all more than a little sick of that Balmain jacket, the hips taking center stage, quite literally in some cases.

Sasha and Carine brought the look to the beach and the past two nights, Beyoncé sang and danced in a gold Thierry Mugler leotard with padded hips at Madison Square Garden.

Seeing as this is an area of the body that often causes loads of female insecurity, do tell us, would you ever try out this look?

—AMANDA JEAN BOYLE

If we were as clever and cute and charming as Seth Meyers and a team of SNL writers, we’d launch into a “Really?” tirade pointed at Target’s PR right now.

At a party the other night, someone told us we were the Rip-off police; we get at least ten emails per day alerting us to various knock-offs; lawsuits (Anna Sui, DVF) have been brought after reading our Adventures in Copyrights and today, or yesterday actually, Target’s PR sent us an email.

It says:

Hi Britt,

Hope you had a great weekend! Recently, stars like Beyonce and Rihanna have been sporting the Balmain military look which has had fashionistas everywhere dying to replicate the style! Now, Target has the answer with the Go International Line Bandleader Vest which is perfectly pared-down chic to pull of[f] this trend at an affordable price.

The email comes with pictures of Beyonce and Rihanna wearing actual Balmain next to pictures of Target’s sleeveless copy. We’d ignored the vest because it’s not an exact copy and it’s been written up everywhere, but companies sending us their rip-offs is too weird to ignore.

Really publicists?

—PHOTOGRAPHY BY JEREMY KOST

Parlux, the fragrance giant behind scents from Jessica Simpson, Andy Roddick and Paris Hilton, has inked a revolutionary deal with Jay-Z, Rihanna, Kanye West and an unnamed female celebrity (probably Beyonce).

They’re partnering with Parlux via Iconic Fragrances LLC., a different fragrance company owned in part by Jay-Z to make their deliciously sweet perfumes. But instead of just getting a check, the four famous faces will share in the profits through royalties and the Parlux stock they’re about to inherit.

“What they have done is, for the first time, they’ve calculated not how much they can sell but what they can make in profits and how the company can succeed,” says Parlux’s chariman.

We can’t wait to see how all of Kanye’s aggressive fashion research plays into having his own fragrance. Will the bottle cull influences from both Christopher Kane and Louis Vuitton or will he capture the scent of the bustling first row?

Stay tuned.

“En ce moment, je regarde Shakira et Beyoncé. Je vais sur YouTube à 2 - 3 heures du matin, je mets Single Ladies de Beyoncé et je fais danser tout le monde. Je monte sur la chaise et je danse pour me doper. Souvent, je ne me couche pas. Alors, je vais me brosser les dents, je me lave la figure, comme si je me réveillais.” - Alaia, on his adorable late night pick-me-up routine, in Vogue Paris Avril 09.

(click for English translation)

To: Tips@ Fashionista .com

From: Jordan @Catalano .com

Heads up.

I figure you’ve probably already seen it, but Beyonce’s new video “Diva” is basically a recreation of Gareth Pugh’s SS09 show. It’s also SAWEEEEET.

I don’t care how impractical they are, how bad do you want those metal fringe sunglasses?

J

Did anyone else recognize the YSL before Beyonce on the January cover of ELLE?

“Umpteenth time around, arguably the only trick that would have made BS look more try-hard and ultimately conventional would have been if she had got Mark Ronson to produce her record.” - Hadley Freeman, on the Beyonce/Sasha Fierce (BS) style change, in the Guardian.

Another point for Style.com:

The day before Thanksgiving, they predicted that Beyonce, who was jiggling on the Today Show that morning, would announce that Thierry Mugler would be designing the costumes for her upcoming Sasha Fierce tour.

But even though we paced between rooms to try to catch the announcement for over two hours, which never happened, we’re not mad, because it turns out they were totally right.

Beyonce, who’s lately taken to performing in Pugh, will rock a 58-piece rotation of Mugler designs, surrounded by back-up dancers, singers and band members all also donning Mugler - he’ll even serve as the Creative Director, which means he picks the lighting, consults on choreography, and directs several segments (god we hope it looks like Too Funky), including one called “Ave Maria.”

Which kind of makes Mugler the new Madonna/Gaultier. Or, we need more latte.

PS Is it possible that MTV is not in on some kind of documentary for this? Because True Life: Thierry Goes Fierce would be the perfect Sunday lunch.

Looks like Rihanna has some competition in the race for most fashion-forward starlet -

Beyonce arrived at the MTV Europe Music Awards this week wearing none other than British babe Gareth Pugh, Spring 09. Then, she changed into one of his Fall 08 looks to perform (left).

Needless to say, we’re impressed.

Though to be fair, we should probably point at that the first time Pugh appeared on MTV was probably when Ashlee Simpson wore one of his Spring 08 dresses in her video, “Outta My Head” last winter.

But who’s counting.

We’ve been wearing strapless American Apparel leotards under summer skirts for years. They’ve kind of been our little secret, like pulling a tube dress out of a magic closet.

And when we saw them in H&M last week, we knew our smooth move was officially a full-on trend.

But we’re not seeing them paired with tasteful pieces, like high-wasted skirts or paper-bag shorts. We’re seeing them with huge fur coats, spangled capelets and, most importantly, without any pants.

Some people think wearing a leotard a la Sienna is cute in a leggy kind of way. And even though you seem on display, they ensure that everything stays in its place.

We still think an uncovered leotard makes it look like you’re about to bust a move to Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker Suite at any second. But maybe we’re just not playful enough?

Would you wear a leotard? Or is this a look better left to pre-teen dance recitals?

—ALISON COOL