We’re kind of obsessing over these shots of Natalia from the upcoming issue of V, shot by Hedi Slimane and styled by Nicola Formichetti (who also did that awesome Gaga video we put up the other day.)

One, because we never tire of Ms.Vodianova. Two, because we love pretty much everything that Hedi shoots. Three, the gold eye makeup. And four, we’re suckers for music references mixed with couture.

Here’s what we’ve come up with so far: the last shot is oh-so very Madonna “Like A Virgin” both the video and the classic VMA performance. In the middle spread, we’re feeling a little Brit Brit nude bodysuit circa that rockin’ “Oops I Did It Again” at the 2000 VMAs while we’re getting Grace Jones vibes from the one on the right.

But we’re a bit stymied as to the opening spread shot. What do you think??? (Oh and be warned there’s a little bit of nipple action.)

No, No, and No: I am incredibly opposed to jean on jean. I will never be convinced otherwise. Brit Brit and JT scarred me for life. Kanye on Idol this season did not help the cause. {Grazia}

Does This Make You Smile? We’re not exactly sure why Lily Allen is designing jewelry. But we’ll reserve judgment until we see pictures of the whole collection on Monday. {Vogue UK}

Over and Done: Kiefer’s in the clear as the charges against him for headbutting Jack M. are dropped. We just hope he doesn’t cause any more trouble come September. {Us Weekly}

Oh No, Coop: Word out of LA is that Mischa Barton is being held at the hospital on a 5150. That’s a Britney-style psychiatric hold. Send in Ryan Atwood! {WWD}

Tonchi to Times Square? Stefano might just be leaving T for the 12th floor of the Conde building. Interesting, very interesting. {FWD}

ALT In NC: Andre heads south, discusses Ashford and Simpson, The Wiz, and Maya Angelou. Needless to say the pic is brills too. {Life With Andre}

In the Trenches: Sasha and Malia are about to cause another round of skyrocketing coat sales at J. Crew - this time of the khaki trench variety. {Politico}

LVMH Making Moves? Christian Lacroix was spotted at the Givenchy show just after his own (perhaps final) presentation. Tongues are wagging that the Arnaults might just step in to save the house. {FWD}

If She Could Turn Back Time: Holy photoshopping! Britney Spears looks like it’s 1999 in these shots for Candies. We bet she wishes she could revisit that past too. {StyleWatch}

Who’s the Man? The chicest of the chic stay at the Ritz in Paris. This guy makes their loves run smoothly while they’re there. {W}

As much as pop culture invades every part of fashion these days, we’re not usually the go-to site for MTV coverage. But this WWD retrospective got me thinking about all the fashion-y things I’ve loved and lost on the once very stylin’ network over the years.

Of course, there were the awesome first two incarnations of House of Style which furthered my youthful obsession with models. Cindy was beyond. And I regularly dreamed about being best friends with Shalom and Amber.

But there were so many other style moments that seem to be missing in this era of Lauren, Heidi, et al. Perhaps because it’s hard to even catch a video on the channel.

Because its not like the entire music industry has lost it’s style, just that MTV kinda has.

It’s prom time.

Stores are full of floor length tafetta, there are stretch limos in Times Square and teen based TV shows are heading toward their high school gym.

Which of course makes us think about our prom. I spent three weeks searching for the fifteen pound, multi-colored, wannabe Britney Spears costume that will haunt me forever. Abby wore a hot pink sequined number with matching press-on nails, custom dyed shoes and sparkly hose (Ed Note: The year was 1993. I swear it was cool, not tragic then). Britt wore a short black Audrey Hepburn-esque dress with tulle petticoats - clearly the smartest of us three.

There’s a slim chance I’d wear mine, if it turned into a mini and had a leather jacket over it. Abby will don hers as soon as she gets invited to an-original-90210-90’s-prom-themed party and Britt did re-wear hers to a formal in college.

The question eventually becomes, can you still fit into it? But prom is such a major moment and the dress is kind of the whole point. So whether it was ten months or ten years ago, will you ever wear it again?

— CARSON GRIFFITH

What’s the best way to raise money for charity?

Celebrities are a good start, pretty clothes don’t hurt and when you throw the two together, well it’s pretty much a given that interest will be piqued.

La Perla’s had quite the red carpet turn this year. Molly Sims rocked a ruffled mini, Gabrielle Union wore a flowing turquoise gown to a film festival, Rachel McAdams somehow made a white bustier work and Kristen Stewart wore an asymmetrical black dress to Twilight’s London premiere.

And they’re auctioning all of it off via Clothes Off Our Back. Money raised will be distributed to various charities including Feeding America and Hope North.

Also up for grabs, the corset Britney wore when Karl presented her with her very own Bambi award. Not sure who’s into owning Britney’s lingerie, but hey, it’s for a great cause.

—CARSON GRIFFITH

To: Tips@ Fashionista .com

From: Detective@ Shoestring .com

So I’ll be the first to admit that while I secretly love Britney, her fashion choices have always been a little… how do you say… off (head to toe denim anyone?)

But I just saw that her “If You Seek Amy” video came out and she’s wearing the Christian Louboutin for Phillip Lim S/S 09 heels! Yes, the amazing ruffled ones in that bright red/orange color. They show up at exactly 1:00 minutes into the video. Brit must have had a good stylist, or at least someone who knows incredible footwear when they see it.

xoxo M

Way back in Fall 07, Miu Miu became the ringleader of the circus-y trend with their Harlequin collection, which reverberated across the fashion board, all the way from Topshop to Phillip Lim.

This season, the circus look was full-on at Erin Fetherston, Manish Arora and Diesel, making a certain pop princess look especially prescient.

—CARSON GRIFFITH—

If you, like us, were in the woods for four days eating sickening amounts of turducken and cranberry sauce topped off with pumpkin pie and whipped cream, you missed this gem.

Germany held their Bambi awards last week to honor those in media and entertainment. (To give you a vague idea of their merit, Meg Ryan took home the lifetime achievement award.)

Anyway, Britney Spears performed Womanizer, minus Chuck Bass, in a very Madonna-esque ouftit before Karl Lagerfeld presented her with the Pop International Award. We’re not positive what that means exactly, but we do know that Karl admires Britney, “not only for [her] art, but also for [her] energy,” (emphasis ours) and is thrilled she’s come “back not just as a phoenix but as a Bird of Paradise.”

You can’t really catch the rest due to the German translation, but Meg Ryan’s priceless face kind of says it all.

To: tips@fashionista.com
From: billythekid@popfan.com

Dear Fashionistas,

I don’t mean to be a traitor to my generation, but I don’t understand how pop stars get dressed.

I was having my morning Sanka and scrolling through dlisted when I saw this promo pic for Britney’s new album.

It was like, “Woah deja vu!”

Where had I seen that skirt before? Then it hit me like a ton of unread Vogues that the skirt is very similar to Balenciaga F/W 06, (the same collection that gave birth to the Olsens’ favorite platforms). The skirt isn’t an exact replica, but methinks it’s a modest retail version of its crotch-grazing runway cousin.

First Rodarte, now Balenciaga? Am I going insane or have my fashion eyes deceived me? And why are her stylists bringing her old but not vintage pieces when there’s so much new stuff out there to be worn? Dolce & Gabbana’s S/S 09 collection would fit the album’s theme perfectly. I have no other recourse than to bring my questions to the lovely panel at Fashionista. HELP!!

XOXO,

Billy the Kid

So yes, that is Phillipe Blonde of downtown design duo The Blonds.

And apparently, in between raging parties and rocking Louboutins, he’s spending his time working on the wardrobe for Britney Spears’ upcoming Circus tour.

Which means Brit’s going all out - The Blonds make nothing but show stoppers replete with feathers, sequins, ribbons and lots of shiny things. Think Rihanna at Fashion Rocks, or Katy Perry last night, or their Fall 08 show at left.

It actually seems appropriate for what Brit surely hopes will be a major comeback tour.

And it’s much more suitable than Rodarte.

We had a semi-rude awakening Saturday morning when we caught a glimpse of Britney’s new album cover on Jezebel.

She looks healthy and happy, sure. And maybe we can’t stop humming “Womanizer,” (though we’d attribute that more to Chuck Bass than the songstress), but the pink Rodarte dress kind of knocked the wind out of us. From Alyona on Spring 08’s Runway to Britney on the front of something called “Circus?”

We wondered:

1. Did Britney buy the dress at Barneys last spring and save it for the album cover?

2. Or, more likely, did a stylist buy the dress and give it to Britney for the album cover? Because then we’ll wonder which stylist she’s working with. Rachel Zoe works with Keira Knightly, one of the few celebs ballsy enough to wear Rodarte, but would Zoe work with Britney?

3. Are the Mulleavys secretly huge Britney fans? Which would mean, and this would rock our fashion world, that they actually loaned her the dress.

4. Does Britney know what Rodarte is? If so, will she dutifully sit front row this February?

If you have answers to any of the above, inquiring minds, (that means us), want to know.

—BRETT KANE

Those lucky enough to get an invite to Diesel’s huge party on Saturday know it’s going to be a blast:

M.I.A., N.E.R.D, and Joel + Benji Madden all in one big warehouse, in Brooklyn, with tons of fashion kids and a red carpet curated by Starworks (read: lots of famous people).

But even the extravaganza that is a Diesel bash can’t necessarily contain this rumor:

That Britney Spears is one of the night’s surprise performers.

We heard it from an entertainment agent based in the city, and we’re like, “Nooooo!” and they’re like, “I don’t believe it, either, but that’s what the rumor is.”

So, you know, it could be like Kate Winslet for Vivienne Westwood - totally wrong.

Or it could be like Sonic Youth for Marc Jacobs - totally happening.

Fingers crossed, kids.

I’ve had a long love affair with Hermès. I love the house’s sense of secret luxury; I love the connections with Grace Kelly and Jane Birkin; and I really love the Hermès tie I stole from my dad years ago because I loved the horses on the label.

What I don’t love however, is Heidi Montag’s recent habit of toting Birkins around LA to prove how much she loves “fash-on”. Nor am I much inclined to smile when I see Pharell’s giant purple crocodile travesty. I mean, don’t we have Gucci for these people?

And yet, I still love Hermès despite myself, specifically the ladylike Constance, and anything with a shot of Jackie O. But every time I see some reality TV actress carrying a perfect beacon of elegance, I die a little inside. I think, “Am I really coveting the same stuff as Audrina?”

So the bigger question is, could you wear something that someone you loathed loves? Could you get over seeing say, Britney, walking around in those Roger Vivier flats you’ve drooled over? Or Megan Fox matching her night gowns with that Bottega Veneta knot clutch you’ve been waiting to buy?

And before you come out with “Oh, that’s ridiculous,” just think of how many names are ruined for you because of that bad college roommate or that mean boy on the playground. Sometimes, it’s about the association.

And so, does that translate to what you wear?

—BRETT KANE

When people started mentioning crop tops to us recently, we thought, “No way,” even though American Apparel’s been holding a torch for it for some time.

When we saw some added to Oak’s site this morning, we thought, “Maybe it’s a mirage.”

But when Jazzi told us she saw a girl wearing a red cotton version in the West Village yesterday, we realized that this needs to be addressed.

We can’t really say that we know when this started to come back (is it really coming back?) Maybe it’s a part of the whole return of the 90’s thing (Rachel Green was a big style icon then), or maybe everybody’s over modesty, but we can’t help but think that this one’s a little too early-career Britney and maybe downright ugly to seriously wear outside of the house.

Maybe we could see it with something very high-waisted…? Or over a body suit or clingy tee? Otherwise, we don’t plan on wearing it.

But more importantly, do you?

We wish Britney Spears would embrace Marc Jacobs’ sartorial sense, but until that happens, at least she’s stolen his business plan:

Her latest fragrance, Curious ♥ Heart, comes with a password protected website, just like Marc Jacobs’ Daisy did last year.

But you had to be invited, via mysterious email, to take part in Marc’s Daisy website, while Britney’s access comes with every proof of purchase:

The password for her new site is attached to every Curious ♥ Heart bottle.

And while Marc’s website enlisted fans to win a Stam bag, Britney’s will get you a Nintendo, a trip to Total Request Live, or an Apple gift certificate.

The strategy seems pretty smart to lure Britney’s tween fans (and more importantly, Britney’s grown women fans who still wish they were in Junior High) - maybe if it works, the wayward pop tart will start copying Marc’s style icons, too - though she might not be sophisticated enough to get the beauty of Meg White…

Our favorite “Who Wore It Better” of all time comes from People - apparently Sienna and Britney wore the same paisley See by Chloe dress.

The question of who in fact did wear it better is kind of obvious, but we’re more interested in the bizarre meeting of worlds that somehow led to Sienna and Britney wearing the same dress.

What does it mean? Are Sienna’s days as a fashion icon finally over? Or is Britney some kind of prescient genius that we just can’t fully appreciate in her lifetime?

If we were Sienna, we might have some pretty harsh words for our stylists - how could they let her leave the house in a dress lent to Britney Spears? Unless, of course, Sienna wore it first. In which case, Britney’s stylist should have warned her of the style bar set light years above her head…

—ALISON COOL