Raise your hand if you think Gisele is gorgeous. How about Adriana Lima, the Fernandas and Madonna’s Jesus? Yeah, we pretty much agree that Brazil has bestowed upon us some of the world’s most beautiful people.

So when a friend emailed us this link this morning, we found the recent study cited rather curious. According to this, Brazilians and Americans view physical beauty differently. Researchers pointed to feature position and culture as the culprit in this varying POV. Interesting, as of course cultural differences have always played a part in views on beauty.

But how does that explain the global unanimity on the aforementioned beautiful ones? Our guess: Fashion and all its trappings is its own very stand-alone culture. Just refer back to that quote of the day from this morning.

Stam Does Shrimpton: Everything about this shoot for Numero Korea is spot-on 60s perfection. That hair is a-maz-ing. {Models.com}

Madge’s New Girl: I’m going to go out on a limb here and say that when Madonna picks one of your dresses to wear to a Marc Jacobs show, you’re having a pretty awesome moment. Even if you have to hear about it through Facebook, like Caroline Seikaly. {Vogue Daily}

Game Night: Britain’s facing a bit of a housing crisis. To raise money 52 creative types like Damien Hirst, Vivienne Westwood, and David Bailey designed a deck of cards to support Shelter’s House of Cards campaign. Do good and play Hold ‘Em at the same time. Sounds like a plan to us. {Guardian UK}

Anyone who talks to me for more than five minutes will likely become aware of how pop-culture obsessed I am. It seeps from my pores and I’m not ashamed of it, well, most of the time.

And while I’ve not yet been pregnant myself, I fully admit to analyzing and critiquing the maternity stylings of Hollywood moms-to-be. Let’s just call it research. Gwyneth always looked incredible. And I’m fairly certain Gisele is going to work a laid-back chic that I will love. But my favorite has to be Nicole Richie. Love.

But I’ve always wondered how on earth she still rocks those JET jeans that we’re obsessed with when she’s super prego. I mean, the girl is crazy tiny, but c’mon. Turns out that designer John Eshaya was making Nicole (and other celebs like Christina Aguilera) custom maternity jeans with a stretch belly.

And now the service is available to anyone here. Maternity jeans have definitely come a long way in the past few years, thank god. But the JETs may be the coolest yet.

Riccardo Redux: Come October you’ll be able to buy pieces from Tisci’s new Redux capsule collection. And yes, there will be many white blouses. {Vogue UK}

Non, Non: Seems yesterday’s Keith Kelly musings about Hearst taking over a piece of Elle are just that. {Observer}

Matte-ify It: We’re partial to the matte shades from KO. The beauty department at Nylon tries on some other options too. {NYLON TV}

Baby Brady: Yesterday London Fog announced that they airbrushed Gisele’s pregnant belly to “respect her privacy” which, you know, didn’t. Now People’s got the shot that can put all the speculation to rest. via {The Cut}

Upstream Upheaval: An intellectualization of the trials and tribulations of shopping for swimsuits and why, unless you’re Gisele or Gwyneth, the experience blows. {NewYorker}

Shopping Buzz: Singtex Industrial Company, based in Taiwan, is turning leftover coffee grounds into eco-friendly “soft, light, flexible and breathable” clothes that can be UV resistant and water-repellant. {Guardian}

Ghosts of Beales Past: A new family is moving into Grey Gardens. We hope this means Celerie Kemble is going to start wearing towels as head wraps and upside down skirts. We won’t mind if they take a pass on the hot plates and raccoon roomies. {WWD}

Is Moss the New Cowell? Kate is apparently in talks to judge on a Battle of the Bands-y show in Britain. Loves it. The girl certainly knows her way around a tour bus or a music festival. {Grazia}

It’s the Monday after a holiday weekend. I’m bummed that I’m not in Paris watching couture shows and spending evenings at the Meurice. And I miss Britt.

You know what makes everything just a bit better…puppies! Seriously, it’s true. Sure they may not be the answer for all that is failing in our economy, as seen in this funny sketch. But they do make us smile.

Modelinia’s slideshow of the day features the girls (Miranda, Gisele, Maggie) we love to watch walk and the pooches they walk every day.

And you know what? The afternoon just got a little better. Give it a try, we think you’ll like the results.

At least in the US, that is. Procter & Gamble is going to stop selling the brand domestically, though it will continue to globally.

We haven’t paid much attention to the brand over the past few years, and apparently, we are not alone. It seemed a bit schizophrenic lately, signing Carmen Electra to a contract one minute, but then a year later seeming to shift gears back toward fashion by hiring makep superstar Pat McGrath as a spokesperson and most recently Gisele for the ads.

The brand’s disappearance might not impact our daily lives, but we’re sad to see a company with such a rich history say goodbye to the country where it started. It is the original makeup artist brand and was once the epitome of old Hollywood.

It’s also a bit of a shock to hear about the downsizing of a major beauty brand, as that industry is usually able to withstand economic downturns better than most. Hence the term “lipstick index” where in tough times, cosmetics sales often improve. Though that doesn’t seem to be the case with this recession.

Here’s hoping there won’t be more closings to come.

It’s official!

Victoria’s Secret and Givenchy model Adriana Lima is pregnant with her first child with new husband (and NBA player) Marko Jaric.

Pregnancy rumors have been swirling as of late about Adriana and that other newlywed supermodel/superstar athlete couple.

Adriana’s rep tells People that she’s due this winter and that, of course, the pair is very excited.

We can’t wait to see this newest member of the world of the tall and ridiculously good-looking.

Gisele, Tom - do you have anything you’d like to let us in on?

Modeling behemoth IMG (home of Kate, Gisele, Daria, the Lilys, and oh-so many more of our favorite girls) has just signed former Gilmore Girl Alexis Bledel to the agency to handle her commercial endorsements - so now she and Little J can hang out at the office?

And we’re excited to see what they’ve got planned.

We were always big fans of Rory and Lorelei and her porcelain complexion and blue eyes are pretty incredible.

Anything that brings her some cool new exposure works for us.

Bring on the campaigns.

Ok, not really. But Plum Sykes’ article on shoulder-length hair in the new March Vogue does explain how Gisele ended up chopping off her Gisele Hair, copied by thousands of magazine-gripping women everywhere: Apparently, she spaced, cut her super long hair to her shoulders, then freaked out and called her hairdresser at John Frieda in shock (we’re sure he helped shape it up later).

The thing I find most funny is that I’ve been cutting (ok, trimming) my own hair for years. I haven’t seen the inside of a professional salon in about a decade (I just put my hair in the most even braid possible every few weeks, then chop off about an inch), which has worked out quite nicely for my shoe budget.

I’ve always thought that unless you’re doing an all out Audrey Hepburn-inspired cut-a-thon, you can probably get away with most styles on your own - most girls I see just have long hair with a few shorter pieces in the front anyway.

Do you cut your own hair at home? Or does that just sound like a bad Full House waiting to happen?

Those Max Factor ads featuring Carmen Electra’s eyelids weighed down by 20 oz. strips of false lashes will soon be no longer:

WWD reports that Gisele’s been named the new face of the makeup brand once fronted by Mrs. Ricardo, starting with Nick Knight shot ads in all the October magazines.

But here’s a fun fact: Gisele will only be the face in North America, with Carmen Kass remaining as the face pretty much everywhere else.

So what is it about Carmen (Kass, not Electra) that works everywhere but here? Or better yet, why wouldn’t Gisele, who’s really known much better for her body than her face, work everywhere else?

California may be home to Hollywood and Hugh Hefner, but Miami is getting a one-up in the form of a secret:

Victoria’s Secret, that is.

Today, the company announced its December fashion show won’t take place in Los Angeles, but instead in Miami, Florida.

The move comes on the heels of many VS changes, most notably in their models: Gisele is out and Miranda, Behati, and Trentini are in.

Maybe the high fashion profile that comes from using those runway girls is also what motivated the move down South -

Before VS got to Ocean Drive, it was taken over by Karl for Chanel’s most recent resort show!

“I must have more than 100 pairs. I don’t even think that’s excessive for a woman. You could compare it to what guys are like about cars.
 Shoes to women are just as exciting and important.” - Gisele Bundchen, to Contact Music.

“He’s cute, but if he has a girlfriend, he’s gay to me. There are too many men in the world to go after a man who has a woman. Life is too short.” - Gisele, on Tom Brady, to the Herald, back before when.

Does anybody have an extra $40,000 dollars laying around?

Because we’re going to need it to get a piece of Kate at next month’s Christie’s auction.

On April 10th in the middle of the afternoon, 135 prints from the private collection of German photographer Gert Elfering will go up for auction at Rockefeller Center.

Nude prints of Kate and Gisele shot by Irving Penn are among the most sought after, as are Avedon portraits of Brigitte Bardot, a semi-topless Lauren Hutton, and even The Beatles, along with prints shot by Man Ray, Mapplethorpe, Helmut Newton, Diane Arbus and Horst P. Horst.

We’re kind of wondering where some of these pieces will be hung once the lucky betters take them home. Would it be in bad taste to have a naked Kate in the entry way? How about nude Gisele in the kitchen?

No, this isn’t Gisele at the Superbowl…

She’s just freaking out at Rag & Bone…

Guess she really likes tie clips…

Nacho?

—PHOTOGRAPHY BY JEREMY KOST

For more, check out RoidRage.

In the crush that was the Rag & Bone show, we were able to discern a few things:

1. Ellen Pompeo is ridiculously pretty in person

2. Gisele looks a lot like Sienna Miller from the back (when we saw a tallish, messy-haired blonde girl in skinny jeans and flats amid a frenzy of flashbulbs, we assumed Sienna had arrived - alas, it was the Brazilian bombshell herself instead.)

3. Every time we see a Vogue editor at a show, there’s actually about 40 of them there as well.

And the clothes? A bit of I Spy:

1. Thigh highs! (Something in common between Rag & Bone and Baby Phat - more on that later.)

2. Leggings as pants (Something in common between Rag & Bone and Lindsay Lohan.)

3. Exactly one nose ring, on the runway (Something in common between Rag & Bone and 1991.)

Also spotted on the runway: Gold tie clips, gold necklaces made of what looked like gold teeth, Hana’s ass (no joke, that skirt was slit “up to there”, literally), Coco in a suit-ish outfit (twice in two days - see Earth Pledge), tons of blue clothes and boys’ pants tied at the ankles with what appeared to be velcro straps.

The verdict? We’re already trying to think of the perfect place to wear Hilary’s outfit, at left…

While Gisele Bundchen hasn’t exactly disappeared in the last few years, her persona has switched from an untouchable top model to a Victoria’s Secret spokesbunny and sometime girl of Leo.

Somehow this season, that changed.

Witness Gisele’s rocking fashion comeback, which started in September with her bizarre appearance in The Devil Wears Prada, followed by a December \ Daily Mini cover and now, shots on the front of French Vogue and Elle for February.

Why the sudden resurrection? Well, Gisele is really pretty, really cool, and really recognizable to fashion novices who want to buy a magazine.

But Gisele is more than just a gorgeous supermodel - she’s a healthy looking girl. And in the current too-thin tempest that’s sweeping through fashion, she seems to be some sort of proof that models can be both chic and (relatively) curvy at the same time. Whether she’ll continue her winning streak after Fashion Week - and what kind of models we’ll see on the runways next week - is the hot topic in designer showrooms, casting offices, and modeling agencies all over town.

In other words, stay tuned…