The big day is finally here and since we have a previous evening commitment, Gossip Girl, we spent the morning with Marc and Anna and Hamish and Harold and even a model or two at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

The exhibit itself is spectacular. It opens with life size elephant cut outs and a mannequin wearing Dovima’s Avedon Dior. A hallway of Irving Penns pays tributes to the originals - Suzy Parker, Lisa Fonssagrives, Dorian Leigh and co. There are New Look coats and dresses, Charles James and a Madame Gres. You turn the corner to David Baileys, iconic images of Twiggy and Veruschka wielding her shotgun. Music blares, “Talking ‘bout my generation,” and the mannequins wear Cardins, Paco Rabbanne link dresses and a YSL Mondrian. Then it’s onto Lauren Hutton, Rene Russo, Jerry Hall and unreal Helmut Newton photographs before turning the corner to Versace clad models carrying, seriously, broken champagne bottles. Lastly, the supermodels and the 90s in a graffitied room stocked with Marc Jacobs’ Perry Ellis, Ellen Von Unwerth photography and mind-boggling pictures of Kate.

It’s this room, according to the Costume Institute’s Director Harold Koda, that Anna didn’t feel was “quite grunge enough” late Friday night. And so Oscar winning set director, John Meyer, stayed up Friday and into Saturday, tagging the walls with “Daria,” “Twiggy,” “Kate,” etc in army green, silver and black spray paint - it’s the best part of the whole thing.

Marc said he’s, “honored, flattered, thrilled, grateful to have anything to do with this institution,” and called his involvement, twenty years after his first Met, “a dream come true.” And Koda said he was a pleasure to work with - his only demand that “the exhibit be lively.”

We could gush some more, but basically, the exhibition lives up to the standard set by 06’s Anglomania. So go.

This model roundtable, hosted by Sally Singer, beats Vogue’s actual model issue by a longshot.

The magazine filled a Minetta Tavern table with Lauren Hutton, Karlie Kloss, Caroline Trentini, Iman, Paulina Porizkova, Naomi Campbell and Hilary Rhoda for a discussion on modeling past and present.

Yes, it should be about five hours longer, but in just this brief clip Lauren says the industry’s become criminal, Iman talks about being YSL’s African Queen muse, Caroline says she’s struggling with her self-confidence, Paulina calls for a model age limit and Karlie expresses frustration over being just another blank slate.

Our world is full of model slash something iterations.

The original, and most common, would be model slash actress: Lauren Hutton, Cybill Sheppard, Cindy Crawford, Elle MacPherson et al. Then came model slash photographer: Ellen von Unwerth, Helena Christensen, Iekeline Stange, ad nauseam. Now we’ve been blessed with a stash of model slash designers which brings us to our point.

To the pretty faces out there making dresses, please spare us from yet another slew of wannabe vintage floral tea dresses. You know who you are, the Gail Elliots, Milla Jovovichs, Erin Wassons and Kate Mosses of the world.

Miss Moss, your Topshop disasters have reached cringe-worthy status. The ditzy, daffodil covered, forties style, matronly, smocks without a dash of cool belong in the back of musty thrift stores, not on high street racks. And you can throw as many super cool Balmain blazers on top of the floral frocks as you like but you’re still a lamb in sheep’s clothing - especially since we know you ordered eight key pieces from Poltock and Walsh this season. Nary a flower in sight, just edgy leopard prints, sharp shoulders and a heavy dose of sexy.

Come on girls, leave the designing to Alexander McQueen. Model slash model can’t be so bad.

—CHARLEY B.

The new J.Crew catalog just arrived in our office, sandwiched in between invites and barely worth a second glance until we noticed they’d snagged Lauren Hutton for the cover.

They’ve been putting their own employees to modeling work on their website for the past couple of months and riding the gigantic wave of Obama publicity — apparently saving their pennies for Lauren who looks, well, kind of ravishing.

The model/actress is keeping up with the supers revival, this marks her third campaign alongside The Row and Mango - and J.Crew’s first use of a household name (unless you’re talking our household in which Anouck, Cintia and Stam definitely count).

Question is, do we want that trench because it’s perfect or do we want the trench because Lauren makes it look perfect?

We’re not sure of the nutritional fashion value of posting this clip, but we know you saw it, and we feel compelled to point something out.

Amidst the Lauren Hutton news, Influence hype and semi-awkward self-interviews, Oprah found time to ask the Olsen’s about their breakfast habits.

Three minutes and thirty seconds in, Ashley Olsen says she loves Murray’s bagels, scooped out, double toasted and smothered in light cream cheese.

Well, Ashley, the first time we ever saw you, before we worked in the same industry and kind of saw you everywhere, was at the Murray’s on 6th Ave. So we know you really go there, but we also know that you didn’t order any bagels, just the biggest coffee we’ve ever seen.

If you had ordered a bagel, you would know that Murray’s doesn’t toast. Ever. Like, no matter how much you beg, even if you are an Olsen, (which no one seemed to realize but us). It’s like Murray’s entire backwards bagel philosophy. So they definitely don’t double toast.

It’s cool. We still love you. Just thought we’d let you know so that next time someone asks you what you eat for breakfast, your answer will be flawless.

Is Lauren Hutton kind of having a modeling comeback?

First she smiled for Mango’s Fall 08 ads, and now Mary-Kate and Ashley have announced that she’ll front one of their own labels, too (we think it’s safe to assume it’s The Row - and yes, we’re going solely by age.)

The twins picked Hutton, who’s also one of the subjects in their new book Influence, not just for the campaign (so we guess there’s going to be a campaign - for Spring?) but also for “catwalks” - So the The Row’s going to have a fashion show? Does that mean they’ll show at Fashion Week?

So many questions.

In any case, Hutton’s quite a change from the girl used in their promotional video for Holiday, no?

One of the best show’s during Fall 08 Fashion Week was Shalom Harlow’s Earth Pledge. The supermodel culled together the cream of the designer and model crop to show off a series of stunning, eco-friendly outfits.

This year’s Fashion-Cares-About-The-Environment event will take place at the Museum of Natural History on September 4th. The Angela Lindvall hosted runway show doubles as the launch of the Be Eco-Chic campaign.

Donna Karan, Ralph Rucci and Vena Cava are a few of the designer’s showing looks modeled by Alek Wek, Lauren Hutton, Alexandra Richards, Patti Hansen and “a smattering of TV stars” according to WWD.

Everyone should show at museums - they really make the best venues - but we will miss Shalom.

It’s been out for a while now that Alice Dellal would follow in the poses of Milla Jovovich, Penelope Cruz, and Mamie Gummer as the new face of Mango - she’s kind of moonlighting as a body for Agent Provocateur, too.

But now WWD’s reporting that she’ll be joined in some ads by Lauren Hutton, the striking gap-toothed beauty of yore who may look just as amazing smiling next to Alice’s 20-something year-old face.

Lauren’s latest move follows in the Fall 08 ad trend of supermodels coming back for guest appearances, like Eva for Louis Vuitton, Naomi for YSL, Linda for Prada, Claudia for Ferragamo and Chanel, Stephanie Seymour for Loewe, Christy for Escada and Amber for DSquared, though nobody’s coming close to touching Lauren’s experience at 64 years of age.

We hope her shots include at least one leather jacket and nothing underneath.

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?