First, thanks to all of you who responded to our salary survey request. We were so excited to hear from so many of you. And we hope to hear from even more going forward so we can keep bringing you different bits of info that you can use.

Here are just a few of the things we’ve learned so far:

—People just out of school in Montreal are faring way better than those in similar positions here in New York. We heard from assistants to designers, buyers, and marketers making anywhere from $36,000-$56,000. A similar position in NYC seems to be going for $30,000 or under.

I knew exactly who I wanted to interview for my first Life With column as I soon as I got the job here at Fashionista, my old friend Elizabeth Kiester (pictured here with one of her besties, Loven.) I’ve been very blessed in my 11 (gasp!) year career in this business to be able to work with some amazingly talented and wickedly smart and funny people. Eliz pretty much tops that list. And I was lucky enough to get to work with her twice, at Jane and YM.

But it’s not because she’s my friend that I wanted you all to meet her. She truly has had one of the most interesting careers in fashion—going from magazines to trendspotter for A&F to creating collaborations with Stella at LeSportsac.

As of late last year, she is a full-fledged designer, selling her wares at her incredibly colorful store, Wanderlust, in Siem Reap, Cambodia. Yep, Cambodia.

Unfortunately, a trip to Cambodia isn’t exactly in the Fashionista budget, so I talked to Elizabeth via email about how she ended up where she is today and how a life in fashion in Siem Reap is so very different from the one she used to live in New York.

Monday, we’ll chat more about what’s selling out in her store, what she misses most about New York, where Wanderlust is going next, and how to rock 5 inch Marni pumps in a Cambodian village.

Rankin’s set to launch a double exhibition at the Old Truman Brewery on London’s Brick Lane at the end of the month.

Part one will cover the photographer’s epic history, running the gamut from personal projects to political and celebrity portraits and everything he’s dabbled in in between, including hopefully some of his original work for Dazed & Confused (which he co-founded with Jefferson Hack).

The second part of the show is a kind of brilliant commentary on the nature of celebrity these days. He’ll cast 1000 people - total unkowns - based on their style, personality, whatever and string them through hair and makeup to the front of the camera to the actual exhibition wall in fifteen minutes to “comment…on the glamorisation of public figures in an age of celebrity obsession.”

The exhibition runs from July 31st to September 18th which means we’ll be skipping out of New York at least one day early.

This morning come reports from London that Celine has very quietly closed its London store on Bruton Street, its only standalone in the city.

The company is keeping quiet about what this means, if it’s a sign of things to come, or what the future holds in the London retail game.

We couldn’t have loved Phoebe Philo’s first resort collection for the label more, and we certainly weren’t alone.

So here’s hoping this is just a little blip and not the beginning of more financial woes for the brand.

Pop-up shops are all the rage this past year: Target, Puma, Pam Hogg, et cetera. But what about pop-up shops for other things?

Books and magazines to be exact. LOVE blogged that Angela Hill, who manages book selection at Dover Street and Colette in London, yesterday opened a pop up shop of books at St. Martin’s Lane, with a pretty serious collection of vintage fashion magazines (Interview, Ritz and 19 Magazine among others) and some pretty cool art books. It will be around until late August.

We’re green with envy, of course. It seems that so many our cool archival stores have been forced out of business in NYC. And we miss them so. All the more perfect time for a pop-up. Of course, we will then likely become hermits, hidden away while pouring over old issues of The Face and Vogues of all nationalities. But who says that’s a bad thing?

—AMANDA JEAN BOYLE

I think I spent an entire month watching over-the-knee boots march down runways.

From Rodarte in New York, to Pam HoggLondon in and Louis Vuitton in Paris - and about a million in between - they were everywhere, but aside from Lauren Santo Domingo’s turn in custom-made Brian Atwoods, we’d placed stretchy leather up to one’s butt cheeks in the runway-only category, along with everything sheer from SS09.

I was wrong, of course. Byrdie Bell broke hers out for a party a couple of weeks ago and as fall merchandise creeps its way into stores, we’re preparing for an onslaught. Stuart Weitzman’s square-toed versions, in both suede and leather, hit Shopbop this week and StyleFile is even contemplating thigh high clogs.

I remember the first time I wore almost knee-high leather boots to my suburban Catholic high school and gave everyone a heart attack. Even if this is New York City circa now, I imagine a similar, if not more dangerous reaction with those six extra inches of leather. I love the idea, am obsessed with the look, but I’m pretty sure I’d look like a hooker regardless of what I wear on the rest of my body.

Abby, however, can’t wait to rock a pair. Thoughts?

Nasir Mazhar’s one of those little treasures we wish we could keep for ourselves.

The milliner’s extravagant headgear has been on our radar since well before he designed for Madonna’s Dazed and Confused tour or built Agy’s infamous reindeer hat. The hairdresser turned hatter, one of the coolest things come out of London since a young Alexander McQueen, should stay on this side of the pond.

But, sigh, the dreaded Hollywood claws sunk in yesterday thanks to Lady Gaga’s appearance on Ellen. She wore one of Mazhar’s orbital hats, which (though we loved it) might’ve resembled our grade school retainer.

Now, it’s only a matter of time until he sweeps the red carpet and we can say, “Remember when?”

—CHARLEY B.

Despite the overwhelming presence of shoppers in London, no, retail is not thriving.

Unless of course you’re offering product at 70% off or you’re Burberry and the Chinese, Russian, Indian and Turkish markets just can’t get enough of you. Either way, London shoppers simply cannot be relied upon.

But thanks to Burberry’s brilliant marketing, rebranding (its success story will be a case course at Harvard’s Business School next year) and Christopher Bailey, the old British standard’s opening brand new headquarters just yards from Westminster Abbey.

A company spokesperson gave us a private tour of the 160,000 square feet design wonder. The dark, symmetrical space, designed by Bailey, holds over 800 employees and is polished off with black chrome, grey marble and glass block floor bridges among superb lighting.

It is, of course, achingly hip and even the cafeteria felt more like the latest cafe for cool kids than a canteen. Though of course, when Bailey himself popped past to grab a cup of coffee, we lost all our own cool.

—CHARLEY B.

What credit crunch? London’s a hotbed of fashion retail growth.

This past week, Rick Owens and Marc by Marc Jacobs opened doors on South Audley street in Mayfair. And a walk down New Bond Street revealed workers near completion on Michael Kors’ new store, set to open later this month - all of which suggest both designer and brand faith in shoppers.

And if they’ll find that loyalty anywhere, it’s London. There’s a palpable difference between shoppers here and in the states. I spent a Saturday afternoon walking from Barneys to Bergdorf in New York just a few weeks ago. Racks of clothes went untouched and bored sales staff milled around. It was like a museum of clothes in which more than one salesperson told me, “No one is shopping in New York right now.”

But then I spent this past Friday doing some spring shopping in Harrod’s and the store was bumper to bumper, can’t-get-a-salesperson-to-help-you packed. Sure, London’s an international shopping hub, but so is New York.

Why, in the midst of this global economic crisis, do London’s stores feel like the circus and New York’s a mausoleum? And is the answer to that question the same as why designers continue to open stores on this side of the Atlantic?

—REBECCA SUHRAWARDI AUSTIN

With a fan base that includes fashion arbiters (Diana Vreeland, Babe Paley and Coco Chanel), royalty (Aga Khan and Princess Diana) and stars (Sarah Jessica Parker, Greta Garbo, Halle Berry), Verdura, the Italian jeweller, has a very “niche” appeal - those with strictly superb taste and the bank account to match.

Yesterday in London, Nico Landrigan, Verdura’s VP, brought over from New York seventy of the jeweller’s most treasured archived pieces to the Obsidian Gallery in a “part exhibit, part sale”, to celebrate the company’s 70th anniversary (the exhibit opens to the public this October). Given what was on display, the security should have been as tight as it was down the street as the Obama’s and Sarkozy’s of the world assembled for the the G20. For the rare buyers (anyone got £50,000 handy?), jaw dropping pieces are available.

For fashion historians and junkies, not only were the jewels exhibited, but also the original, handwritten ledger books from the 40’s, including four items purchased at around $2500 (a grandly sum then) by Mrs. Henry Fonda. Vanity Fair’s Amy Fine Collins once said of the Italian Duke, whose muse was Babe Paley and lover Vogue editor Nicky De Gunzberg: “He is the century’s best jeweller… his designs are not for insecure people and does not appeal to the herd instinct. Women who wear Verdura don’t want to look like every other person wearing their Van Cleef diamond flower pin, their Chanel suit and their Prada bag.” Nuff said.

—CHARLEY B

For those of you who only read WWD for the news, you might not know that Thursday’s the start of the G20 Summit in London, a yearly meeting between the world’s largest national economies to discuss an agenda that usually includes IMF reform and strategies to revive the global economy. Naturally, this attracts protestors of all kinds, which naturally makes the world’s bankers both in attendance and in the general vicinity a little nervous since most people blame them for the current global credit problems.

In anticipation, the British police have advised bankers to dress down so they’re not as easily recognized. But here’s what’s funny: They’ve also been told to avoid “chinos and loafers” since those too readily bellow “banker trying to dress like a normal person” - kind of like when you see an Olsen trying to blend in on Bleecker behind her neon Oliver Peoples and venti latte that’s bigger than her forearm, or when a kid plays hide-and-seek in the middle of the room.

So we’re wondering - Can you spot an off-duty banker? What gives them away? The untucked Thomas Pink shirt over dry-cleaned jeans and never-before-used Nikes? The super gelled Ross Geller hair, like they’ve been swimming against the tide all morning?

We don’t really know any bankers, so we’re curious - what exactly do they look like whilst they walk among us?

“In fact, the best wardrobe disguise a banker can adopt on Tuesday is probably the Mark Ronson look, aka the ironic Hoxton suit. Ideally it should consist of a brilliantly boring cardigan, neatly buttoned and worn with a skinny-ish tie and narrow-fit trousers. All the better if you can accessorise with a pair of nerdy glasses. It’s a little bit Matthew Horne, and not especially on-trend, but it suggests that you shop at Topman, and not Thomas Pink.” - the Guardian’s style suggestions for London bankers looking to blend in during the G20 summit next week, a sartorial move suggested by the city’s police.

Last week on South Audley Street in Mayfair, London’s Rick Owen’s store opened alongside its pretty cool neighbours, Marc Jacobs, Dover Street Market (DSM) and the pap-favourite Scotts restaurant. Thursday, Lanvin is to open its doors in the same hood.

On a “go-see”, DSM and Rick Owens were completely empty. Going west, a smidge past Notting Hill, the much talked about Westfield, Europe’s largest (over a million square feet) and expensive (it cost nearly two billion pounds to build) mall is practically a desert. In its chandelier-laden “Luxury Village”, with shops like Burberry, Prada, Tiffany, Miu Miu Twenty8Twelve, etc, the atmosphere is tense. According to reports, sales are dramatically down. Foot traffic has fallen and about half a dozen stores have shut - barely six months in. One store hadn’t made a sale in six days. Pretty dire stuff.

So, how do retailers feel these days? Said one, sipping water at a recent opening, who naturally did not want to be named: “If we hadn’t signed the lease over eighteen months ago, and planned it for four years, I would have cancelled. Now, I am just [redacted due to un-polite language, so let’s just say the word “clenched” was involved].”

Let’s hope Lanvin knows what they’re doing.

—CHARLEY B

Parties? They’re still happening, but opposed to the good old days (last year), where it was three or four fashion events/private views/store openings/dinners/etc per week. This year, it’s just one(ish) - and its always a bun-fight*.

At a recent soiree, there was a strict one tipple** per guest rule. Call it the the English Revolution - Let Them Drink Water, and tap water at that. Sadder still, VIP guests were passed secret cards and shuffled to back rooms, where the hosts meted out drinks at one per hour. Oy.

A fed up guest, now inured to the “New Deal,” had a mickey of vodka in his breast pocket with a straw ingeniously threaded through his lapel, just to be able to maintain a buzz. In London, one of the cities hardest hit by the global financial crisis, financial pundits tell us the dire conditions are going to last another eighteen months. Better stock up on straws.

—CHARLEY B

*Bun-fight: British-English for “a very crowded party where people jostle around”.

**Tipple: British-English for “a drink”.

What I saw/heard at the Convenience Store pop-up shop at the St. Martins Lane Hotel last night:

- Designer Hannah Marshall weighing in on a raging debate about who started the “shoulder” trend (said Marshall: “I did that shoulder two or three seasons back - I’m pretty much over it now).

- Racks of show stopping pieces from off-the-beaten-track designers like Felder and Felder, Camilla Skovgaard, and Rick Owens, all stocked by Convenience Store’s owner, Andrew Ibi, who easily runs the most adventurously edited shop in London.

- Hannah Marshall telling a story of the world’s most loyal customer ever: “There was one lady who just arrived from Miami, went straight from Heathrow to the shop, let the cab idle outside, bought my jacket, and in a space of three minutes, was gone. That’s the kind of loyalty that I hope to continue to inspire.”

- Richard Mortimer of Boombox, Camilla Skovgaard (the woman, not just the label), Kei Kagami, and rock star Cherish Kaya from Ipso Factor, all cooing over the pieces like a leather harness dress fit for Britney’s comeback.

The store, which is normally located in the seediest, greyest part of West London amongst the projects, will be at the luxe hotel for just three weeks. I suggest snagging the stuff while it’s still easy.

—CHARLEY B (our new London correspondent!)

A few weeks ago, I told you about an encounter with super famous male model David Gandy who is the face of D&G and loved very much by Mario Testino.

I was extremely lucky to run into him again at the London Fashion Week menswear day, in the front row at MAN, where he educated me a bit. For many years, I’ve been under the assumption that models are stupid, especially male models from my experience (not going to lie). But after meeting Gandy for the second time, I was overwhelmed by his intelligence and shocked when he told me he was currently working as the editor of a new magazine about fashion and politics called Fashist. Genius!

The London-based magazine launches later this month, and sees David Gandy also in charge of his favorite hobby: “Motoring.”

He will also be back in front of the camera featured again in Dolce & Gabbana’s Fall 09 campaign shot by Steven Klein.

Intelligence and beauty.

—BR(IT) BOY

Yesterday, somewhere in the UK, someone got the last copy of LOVE - That’s right, 67,000 copies have been distributed and sold, making the new glossy one of the fastest selling debut magazines ever.

So with all these people having a naked Beth Ditto on their coffee tables, it’s become the obvious time to launch her clothing range for Evans, that part of the Arcadia group owned by Sir Philip Green which has been described as the Topshop for the “bigger lady”.

Well today I can reveal the collection may be coming sooner than we all thought: I have word that the campaign is being shot in the next couple of weeks and the collection will be in stores late March / early April.

More details to follow from the shoot.

—BR(IT) BOY

When Olivia Palermo informed Whitney Port of her status as a “social” instead of a “socialite,” it was all funny ha-ha, and then on to the next thing, except for that one bit in the Times.

But we just received a press release about the party for the Azzaro pop-up store in London in our Inbox, which included some rather curious wording: In it, Pippa Middleton, Kate Reardon, Selina Blow, Matthew Freud and Lady Cosima Somerset are all listed with the title “Social” next to their names.

Next up, Webster entry.

Curiously, amid knee-high boots, neon, cut-outs, and body-con dresses, some designers were thinking of present packaging for their Fall 09 designs.

Behnaz Sarafpour, Badgley Mischka, J Mendel and even Christopher Kane worked ribbons into a few of their looks - A touch that seems rather girly for a season that also saw three pairs of actual pants from Marchesa, no?