As October comes to an end, there’s still lots going on in the fight against breast cancer. Designers such as Betsey Johnson, Donna Karan, Tory Burch, Prabal Gurung, Tracy Reese, Milly, Rachel Roy, Rebecca Taylor and Jill Stuart, have all teamed up with Sharpie to contribute to the fund-raising efforts. (We love our colorful Sharpies and use them every day for graphics so it’s great to see the company getting so involved with fashion this year!)

The designers have created one-of-a-kind designs using Sharpie markers, including a t-shirt customized by Betsey Johnson, who is a breast cancer survivor. All items are being auctioned off on eBay and benefit City of Hope, a leading cancer research and treatment center.

Bidding for the designer sketches and t-shirts ends on Monday, November 2nd at 1pm (PST), so get on over there and bid!

Want to bid? Visit www.sharpieuncapped.com and help support Breast Cancer Awareness. And if you get out-bid you can always buy Sharpie Pink Ribbon markers and highlighters!

Jill Stuart’s show at the New York Public Library was very reminiscent of something. What’s that, you ask? Oh, that would be Marc Jacobs (which is nothing new for the designer) and Balmain.

Shoulders and military styles on the Decarnin front, 80s dresses via Jacobs. We used to have a running joke way back when I worked at Jane about Jill Stuart’s rampant Marc-ness. I just kinda wish she would stick to making those pretty party dresses that she’s always had in her collection instead of belatedly jumping on someone else’s directional designs.

There was also some majorly unwearable shortness in the skirts and dresses. The poor models were pulling them down as they walked in hopes of keeping their lady parts private. All that said there were definitely some pieces that girls are gonna love, especially in black and white. And probably the hot pinks and blues too.

Programming note: we’ll all be seeing this show on Bravo come Housewives of NY’s new season. Kelly Bensimon was on hand (with crew) in all her crazy glory.

Celine, Director of PR for Eres and Bourjois

Got Her: Jill Stuart show, New York Public Library

Stalked Her: Because redheads can definitely pull off red, especially this Isabel Marant dress with an Eres bra showing (of course!)

Shot Her: Um, that necklace (Fendi) and those booties (Stella) made us squeal just a little bit. And the purple!

She Said: “This is my friend’s necklace that she never wears. I told her she was stupid for not wearing it.” We agree.

We Say: We wish we were as cool as all the French girls we see. It just looks so darn effortless. Sigh.

It wasn’t going to be long before designer Sean Monahan of Sea New York hit our radar. He’s kind of perfect for the current climate — a former Wall Street analyst who ditched his career in finance and turned designer.

He started out dressing his best friends which quickly turned into dressing Gwyneth Paltrow, Christina Ricci, Leighton Meester, Blake Lively, Chloe Sevigny, and Alexa Chung. He wanted to create clothes that “make girls smile,” an ethos that whacks the sometimes unbearably heavy gravitas of fashion across the head.

Stocked by Barneys and Milk, his clothes are happy, lighthearted and full of frills, pretty prints and easy to wear dresses so it’s no wonder an army of models are also fans. His clothes kind of embody the “off-duty model” look.

Meanwhile, he’s quietly adding some big names to his design team. Monica Paolini, his best friend, muse and former design director at Betsy Johnson and Jill Stuart, is now on board as well as Emilie Roy of Dior.

There could be perhaps no two houses as misaligned as Betsy Johnson and Dior, so it will be interesting to see what the two new creative forces come up with.

As long as it stays light and fresh, we’re pretty sure we’ll love it.

—CHARLEY B.

If you’ve never shopped the basement of Jill Stuart’s Soho store, we think you’ll probably start now.

The floor is entirely devoted to vintage, all in keeping with Jill’s style. While it may not always be packed with old Gucci or other big names, we don’t think you’ll be disappointed with the label-less pieces. We sometimes prefer them.

What we didn’t know up until recently is that Jill herself literally hand-picks each and every one of those vintage pieces.

So if you’re looking to get your hands on the best of the designer’s eye for vintage, here’s your opportunity. She’s throwing a party (open to everyone!) to celebrate summer and bubbly champagne - two of our favorite things.

Get down to the Jill Stuart store on 100 Greene Street from 6 - 9pm on Wednesday, May 20th.

We recommend RSVPing to 212.343.2300 ASAFP because the champagne will surely go almost as quickly as the flirty summer dresses, and you don’t want to be left standing outside.

—CARSON GRIFFITH

Whenever there’s a show at the New York Public Library, you always have to first figure out exactly where in the library they mean (unless you actually remember to bring your invitation), which can take a few minutes. So when ELLE.com’s Rebecca Suhrawardi Austin said, “Oh look! I see Louboutins and a red swing coat - this way!” I knew our running late wouldn’t matter.

Once inside, I realized what a wonder it was that I thought it was hard to find. Believe it or not, the Jill Stuart show is insanely popular - with photographers, for all the good models, and with the crowd that attends, mainly girls looking for a sweet little dress to wear to death.

The paparazzi simply freaked when Paris and Nicky Hilton showed up - Michelle Trachtenberg and one of the mean girls from GG were also there - so much so that we found ourselves wondering if it was suddenly 2003 again.

Though we’ve always thought of Jill Stuart as the go-to prom dress brand for rich high school girls, we’ll admit this show actually had a little more substance than seasons past. It began with a little more of a rocker edge than usual, a couple of the backless black dresses are exactly the kind of thing you want to wear when running into an ex, but then it took a turn into shiny florals and Blossom hats, which had us again wondering if we were actually attending a show meant for Fall.

In the end, the girls in the crowd loved what they saw, and Paris and Nicky walked ahead of everyone making their way to Bryant Park, a high-heeled nucleus in a very flashy, ever-growing cell. And that’s when we realized that it may be a bank holiday Monday, but it’s definitely still Fashion Week.

If we were Twittering, we would tell you that Jill Stuart’s front row - the one that’s boasted Hilary Swank - now has the Hilton sisters. Blame the economy!

Some gift bag news for those who don’t consider themselves too cool to pick through the freebies while waiting for a show to start:

Jill Stuart, who’s showing at noon on Monday the 16th, is throwing some of her highly coveted makeup line into her goody bags, marking their first appearance stateside.

The line has been available in Asia for quite some time, and won’t be making its US debut until “late spring / early summer.” So if you’re looking for a preview, or just a way to recreate the looks from her Spring 09 show, we suggest snagging your bag immediately.

Kind of makes all those unwanted MAC shades even less appealing.

Bonjour Monsieur,

We’re two weeks deep into Fashion Month, and we know you’re incredibly busy with your own upcoming show, so we want to make sure you’re paying as close attention as us to what’s been happening on the runway.

It seems as though your stunning Spring 08 collection stunned more people than just us, having made quite an impression on a bevy of designers, both young and old.

We think it’s only fair you charge a petite fee for the “interpretations” of your designs. You should, for example, earn 5% of sales for Jason Wu’s jewel toned gowns, and at least 15% of the profits on sales of Alice Temperley’s one-shouldered mini. We think you might also make a small fortune off sales of Jill Stuart, Ossie Clark and Erin Fetherston, to name just a few.

None of their dresses mushroom-cloud as beautifully as yours, none of the jewel tones seem as rich the second time around, but it’s clear that none of their gowns would exist without yours.

A bientôt!

xo
Fashionista

There was kind of an awkward moment at the Jill Stuart show yesterday morning.

In between the floaty, wannabe off-duty ballerina layers and blush tones (except for the all black outfit worn, appropriately, by Karlie Kloss), one of the models had a bit of a wardrobe malfunction. As in, a really, really bad one that she didn’t seem to be aware of, leading her to continue down the runway jiggling away anyway. Guess everyone’ll just have to wait for the lookbook to see the outfit.

All the photographers (except one weird one who also had a video camera) stopped shooting, and the crowd kind of gave an “Ohh” and politely looked away.

And that’s pretty much all that happened.

This just in from our shopaholic intern, Audrey:

Jill Stuart’s Soho store’s slashing prices, which means everything spring/summer is up to 60% off at 100 Greene Street.

That means you can grab a handful of great summer dresses with up-to-there hemlines marked down from $450 to $175.

That’s basically like buynig two for the price of one - and maybe still have something left over to buy us a tank top?

Wouldn’t it be fun to skip past the mile-long iPhone line with a bag of your new stuff?

—KYLE HAYES

Jill Stuart, like many designers, has been known to name her bags after models.

So far, she’s made The Gemma, The Freja, and even a Calista (ok, maybe they’re not all models.)

But now, she’s doing it with shirts, too.

Witnessed this weekend while shopping: a few different blouses all named The Behati, also seen on Bluefly, at left.

And there you have it.

But we think we would have preferred a super skinny clutch.

Last season, Jill Stuart named her bags “The Freja” and “The Gemma” - understandable, sure, and very fun for fashion junkies.

This season, it’s a little more confusing -

Her hallmark bag (at left) is called “The Calista.”

This is really funny because…

1. It looks like a Stam bag, so maybe it should be called “The Jessica.”

2. It retails for $395, which seems like what Ally McBeal would pay for an accessory.

3. It’s a lemony color that we really can’t picture with Calista Flockheart’s skin tone.

4. It looks heavy. Perhaps too heavy for the frail actress to even lift.

But hey, it is pretty cute…

Portfolio reports that Lindsay Lohan has lost her ad campaign for Jill Stuart.

The rehab refugee’s replacement?

Hilary Swank.

It’s true the actress has an Oscar, an immense amount of talent, and killer abs.

But would you buy a dress from her?

Our guess is no, and here’s why:

Because much like puppies can smell their own moms, young women can sense when someone has been dressed, versus when they’ve actually picked a gown off the floor and gone with it.

Ms. Swank’s talent and poise are her own. But her plunging silk necklines and diamond-dripped details?

Those seem more out of place on the Next Karate Kid than a polar bear in the desert (and yes, that was a vague Lost reference, with apologies).

We’ll see how Stuart’s profits do next season. And then we’ll applaud her team when they hire a new face, like Sienna Miller, and let Swank get back to acting.

A fight broke out at the Jill Stuart show yesterday.

Between us and a “photographer,” (we consider Craig McDean a photographer - this guy was paparazzi).

He shoved in front of us to snap shots of Hilary Swank while we tried to explain to him that we needed pictures of the actual clothes. Hello! It is a fashion show!

In the end, we probably should have just stared at Hilary Swank. Stuart’s best known for her party dresses, and for putting Lindsay Lohan in her ads, but aside from the navy and black one at left, even her usual fare was just ok.

The collection was piece-y; it ranged from teenage dresses to watered down Rag & Bone style military jackets and capes, and ended with a deep-v sequined jumpsuit.

It wasn’t bad, but Hilary Swank looked better.

Jill Stuart made some rompers this season that reflamed the Would-You-Wear debate at the office, but we’re still laughing about this:

Before the show, Bijou Phillips arrived in a blue Jill Stuart sheath with buttons down the back. Nothing special, very nice, whatever.

Then Carmen Electra came into view, wearing the exact same dress.

Bijou quietly stood up, ran backstage, changed into another Jill Stuart dress - this one a little more like an ice skating costume, with a sparkled top and shredded flowed chiffon on the bottom - and promptly took her seat.

Fashion crisis averted.

It’s a month until Fashion Week, and accordingly, designers are starting to let their visions leak.

This is when it gets really exciting, and so we were thrilled when a model called into the office and told us this:

“I had a fitting for Jill Stuart last week. It was me and one other model. Her collection this season is really structured, really futuristic, and so she took her inspiration pieces - Thierry Mugler, mostly, and some Alaia stuff from the ’70s - and had me wear it.

Then the other model put on Jill’s upcoming sample for the show, and they tweaked it to make sure the fit and silhouette resembled the vintage stuff.

I was a little surprised to see how heavily a designer relies on other people’s clothes, but the collection should be really cool.”

We’re eager to see it.

And for those who don’t know, Jill Stuart’s vintage archive is said to be one of the most extensive in the industry. She sells tiny bits of it in her Soho shop, but a lot of her old dresses could be in museums.

Gilles Bensimon may be gone, but ELLE’s keeping one of their key players - Lindsay Lohan - on the scene.

A tempestuous cover story last year gave us the best sentence ever seen in a magazine:

“I was taking a trip through Lohanland, and if I had to pen a travel article on my stay there, it would be one-word short, and in the diction of its indigenous people: whatever.�

And yet, Ms. Lohan is back for a second cover, which should hit news stands shortly before Lindsay goes to jail.

Why are we telling you this - and bringing her up again?

Partly because Jill Stuart announced today that Lindsay would no longer appear in her Japanese ads, where the brand is huge and popular, and Lindsay probably won’t be for much longer.

And partly because ELLE releases their outtakes of Lindsay’s second cover shoot at 1 pm today - though we’ve got a few of their chosen images below…

Apologies for the double post, but some of the photographs were just… remarkable.

Companies have always used models’ images to sell products. Now, they use their names, too.

But it’s not just high fashion that gives an insider’s wink to its models and muses (think Marc and the Stam).

Now mass brands are calling their favorite items “The Gemma”, proving the concept of a stylish namesake has trickled down to bigger labels.

While Jill Stuart and Ralph Lauren bring us a Gemma bag and a Gemma shoe, so do LK Bennett and Stride Rite.

If you love fashion enough to spend several hundred dollars on a bag or shoe, chances are you know why it’s called “The Gemma” - or “The Raquel” or “The Freja.”

But in the case of Banana Republic, Juicy, and Rocket Dog - all with “Gemma” items - we have to wonder:

Does their target customer even know Gemma’s last name?

—NATALIE MATTHEWS

Yala Toy, IT saleswoman

Got her: On Mott Street, where we have installed permanent spies outside our office…

Stalked her: Because her gladiator sandals made our day.

Shot her: Because she wore simple pieces with great detailing, and
balanced out the all-black with a good injection of crazy color. Also, note the little shorts!

She says: “The top is Jill Stuart, and these sandals are Prada, from like
five years ago. I love to mix and match my outfits.”

We say: The black chic of the family.

Editor’s Note: The Prada sandals will be back in another post today!

— SARAH MUEHLBAUER