Wearing socks with sandals is usually listed near the top of any fashion don’t list.

Last fall, everyone welcomed tights with open toes. But it looks like spring’s headed in an even less practical direction pairing socks, whether ankle or knee high, with your favorite sandals. You can do it with platform wedges a la Topshop or Burberry, flats like Marni, shoe booties like Wang and Charles Anastase or studded party shoes like Louise Goldin.

Marc’s fall 06 show was the last time we even considered trying this (though alas, we aren’t Karen Elson), but we’re still not sure about its resurgence for spring.

As any fashion lover knows, dressing fashionably and dressing for the opposite sex are usually two very different things.

It’s a long debated argument, just who exactly to dress for, one we’ve even covered a few times, but today’s story in the Daily Mail got us thinking; while broad shoulders and draped bodices are hot trends for AW09, wearing say, a poof-sleeved, leather Louis Vuitton-shaped dress on a Friday night, isn’t the best way to rope in the dude at the bar.

Not that we expect that to be your number one concern, we just wonder how you balance your love of runway fashion with your social life. You probably don’t forego baggy Marc dresses or shredded Current/Elliots or massive Marni platforms just because the girl in low slung jeans and a white tank looks at you like you’re nuts or the guy you’re dating says, “You look like a cake topper,” - (true story) - but you also must shy away from being too fashion forward at some point.

The disconnect between fashionable and sexy can be frustrating, so how do you make it work?

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.

I’ve been trying to catch up on the men’s shows before Paris hits and it’s always interesting to scroll through everything at once.

I’m clicking through the boring suits with contrast lapels and short shorts that won’t work on any guy who hasn’t been to the gym every day for the past month and I’m noticing what might be the oddest trend ever: Socks.

My inner fashion demon, the ones from way back, like second grade, have always told me that socks and sandals are the biggest, most absolute NO ever.

But now, post-hours on men.Style.com, I learn that Stefano Pilati thinks they’re OK, Dean and Dan think they’re grand and even Consuelo Castiglioni over at Marni channeled “Grandpa with his pants down” when she decided that loafers paired with knee-highs and boxer shorts make an acceptable outfit.

And now my fashion compass is all sorts of off.

—KYLE HAYES

Kate Moss’ black long-sleeved dress for Topshop was named Dress of the Year by the Bath Fashion Museum.

The UK museum has the world’s biggest collection of historical fashion and announced Kate’s award while unveling past winners, too. Marni, 2003, Prada, 2006 and a Giles Deacon from 2007 - all of which will be exhibited through September

The honor’s usually bestowed upon designers like John Galliano and Jean Paul Gaultier which means that even design awards are getting recession friendly. One of the judges explained, “2008 is likely to be seen by our children as a watershed moment - the end of a glittering party…Circumstances demand we become wiser now,” which we get.

And yet this is still fashion, and despite our endless love for all things Kate and most things Topshop, there’s no way that’s the dress of this year.

Not when people make dresses like this, and like this, or like this.

The new GOOP just landed in our inbox.

We didn’t even make it past the introductory note to Gwyneth’s sure to be groundbreaking Spring wardrobe suggestions because she mentioned she’d done a bit of spring cleaning, the highlights of which landed in her GOOP e-bay store.

She’s selling off some mind-blowing, probably barely worn, stuff including a handful of Chanel bags, dresses from Balenciaga, Michael Kors, tops from Helmut Lang and Marni, Prada, Proenza and Vivier shoes.

Clothes are in the 4/6 range, shoes are size 8.5/9, bags are for everyone and prices are insanely low at the moment- $62 for the Proenza shoes, $146 for the Balenciaga dress.

Profits from the auction go to Robin Hood Foundation, a New York charity that targets poverty within the city. So say what you will about Gwyneth, but you know you’d get a kick out of owning her particular Burberry studded sandals via charity.

UPDATE: eBay called, here’s the link!

Hypothesis: Fall 09 is mostly a season of repeats.

Proof:

1. Balmainia.

2. The entire decade of the 80’s turning up… everywhere.

3. Marni loving Prada perhaps a bit too much.

4. Jean-Charles Castelbajac sending his models onto the runway from a giant mouth a la Viktor & Rolf Spring 08.

5. Jeremy Scott giving out his Longchamp bag to Beth Ditto and Kanye West to tote around at the Fall 09 shows like it’s really Spring 06.

And so on.

Conclusion: Discuss!

We spent the weekend in San Francisco where it’s a whopping 75 degrees.

We wore sandals! And dresses without tights! Which means we’re in summer mode (even though we have months of freezing left to endure) and have devoted all CNN commercial breaks to browsing sandals and swimsuits and skirts - these we had to share.

Gap calls them gladiators but we’d call them a $45 color blocked strappy sandal in a Marni meets Marc vein. They come in a neutral grey palette, and khaki, but we’re feeling the persimmon.

You might think it’s too early to stock up on sandals, but you know we’re right when we tell you that by the time it’s warm enough to wear them, your size won’t be anywhere in sight.

Gareth Pugh is taking on menswear.

The very important and semi-surprising piece of information was kept under wraps until the official announcement of the Paris Men’s Fashion Week schedule yesterday. In the past month, Matthew Wiliamson, Carlos Miele, Christophe Decarnin and Roland Mouret have all announced plans to introduce menswear. Pugh, the least commercial of them all, will close the week with his show at Palais de Tokyo, the same venue in which he showed his women’s collection last September.

Pugh’s incorporated menswear into past collections but never produced a full line. We can’t help but picture a more masculine version of his Spring 09 collection - very tight, futuristic, entirely black and white and hopefully no where near Jay-Z’s next tour.

It’s a risky move - Fendi, Valentino and Marni have all cancelled their men’s shows thanks to the tanking economy and Zac Posen told WWD that he will absolutely not move forward with plans for a secondary line despite wanting to for years.

But Rick Owens, who with his wife Michelle Lamy has a 49% stake in Pugh’s brand and is also showing a full men’s collection in Paris, would rather we just go with it.

“Just come with an open mind,” he says.

No problem. A ticket to Paris, however, not so easily done.

Last year, Vivienne Westwood enlisted the help of a handful of second graders to decorate her Fall 08 collection.

It inspired not just us to whip out a few paintbrushes, but also Marni, who took the same tactic to their Holiday Project, “In a World of My Own.”

They’ve asked a bunch of kids to paint themselves into their fantasy worlds, directly on to 240 canvas bags which will be sold in Marni stores. Then they picked five of their favorites and had them screen printed onto cotton t-shirts and tanks which you can buy in stores or online.

The proceeds will benefit educational and development projects in Brasil, Colombia, Guatemala, Tibet and India - mainly schools and hospitals.

So technically, you could make your own, but it wouldn’t be as cute, there’d be no story to tell and your money wouldn’t be going toward a great cause.

In other words, get thee to a Marni.

We love Kelly Wearstler, the adorable interior designer who’s quickly becoming her own lifestyle brand, especially since she shows up in Vogue in odd Marni pieces and the really editorial Marc stuff.

And we love her Domino cover, especially because her shoes are shiny and gold like her incredibly expensive bric-a-brac at Bergdorf, and she’s smiling in a big way.

But while flipping through the issue this weekend (don’t ask), the credits page kind of took us aback, like:

- Why is it “Justin Guinta”, when we all know it’s really Subversive? Does he design a separate line we’ve never heard of? Or is this like when credits read “Nicolas Ghesquiere for Balenciaga”, which bugs us to no end?

- Why is Kelly wearing $451 jeans and $2,300 worth of jewelry? Really? In a magazine that’s about style and smart design, we would much rather see something more realistic. It’s so great to see a cover girl in jeans, but it would be way more inspiring for Lauren Goodman to accessorize with something like this cuff (as seen in Editors’ Cravings, page 38), which we’re dying over, but could actually afford. We’re all for investment pieces, but this seems a little ridiculous.

- Why no credit for the shoes? They’re arguably the best part, even though they’re untied…

—BRETT KANE

On the subway this morning we had a slightly awkward run-in with the girl sitting next to us. Sitting there, reading August Vogue Paris, we glanced over and saw everything this woman owned inside her see-through PVC bag.

We saw incoming messages on her Blackberry (no, we didn’t read them), her itinerary for the day, and even her workout gear for an after-work gym visit. All that and more on display for all of New York to see. Our only thought was, “Why would you wear that?”

From clear plastic shoes to bags and jackets, PVC is just one of those materials that hasn’t hit our radar. Sure, it’s waterproof, which makes it great for a beach bag or maybe a slick raincoat in a downpour, but the idea of all the contents of our bag on display for any passerby is kind of creepy. Plus, does beach ball material really belong in our wardrobe?

Sure, Marni, Gareth and Balenciaga have all experimented with the synthetic substance in non-see-through colors for clothes, but we’re still not sure it’s a great idea, especially since you know it doesn’t breathe well, or, at all, and could cause embarrassing squeaky noises every time you move.

But back to the bags - do you really want everyone seeing the stuff you cart around, your credit cards, your brand of mints, your stuff you keep at the very bottom?

Or are we just a bunch of prudes over here?

—KYLE HAYES

I’ve been carrying around a zippered Y-3 wallet under my arm for a week, and suddenly, life is easier. I grab everything I need, all at once on my way out the door, which is too much to fit into a pocket-sized wallet.

So I’m particularly delighted with the newest unexpected twist from this season’s menswear runways - the introduction of clutches to men’s wardrobes.

If you think about it, it’s really not far-fetched. Men carry briefcases and portfolios, which are just as hard to carry as a clutch. So why not switch out an attaché case for a sleek Marni envelope? Plus, these days, we’re carrying cell phones, wallets, Blackberries, keys and a bajillion other things. A giant messenger bag isn’t always a convenient, or appropriate, accessory for a night out.

Dries Van Noten’s zippered patent leather option is pretty basic without adding too many buckles or other distractions we’re sure most guys wouldn’t approve of. We love the blood red Ferragamo, left - it’s big but not annoying.

We bet Marc will be next in line with some playful clutches, since he’s obviously a fan of them himself.

The only problem? Keeping your girlfriend’s hands off them.

—KYLE HAYES

Is no one safe?

We expect Forever 21 to rip off guys and gals like Marc, Diane and Christian - but Marni?!

The Italian label’s black balloon bag will forever remind us of Spring ‘08 fashion week, when we saw the coolest European editors toting it all over Manhattan. It’s the go-to label for hip girls who want an awesome bag that refrains from logos and the label “It”.

But now even Marni has trickled down about as low as a design can go - until Canal Street of course.

Forever 21’s version looks like it’s made out of a garbage bag and Marni’s leather looks baby soft, even online.

That must be why it costs a million times more. That, and it’s an original design.

We’ll just keeping dreaming about this tinsel bag instead.

The year 2007 practically glowed green with environmental concerts, initiatives and celebrity spokespeople taking over the world.

The fashion industry followed suit with an influx of recycled/recyclable, organic and vegan designer bags: Anya Hindmarch’s caused a stampede in Union Square; Lauren Bush’s hung from her shoulder at every red carpet event; Marni’s $800 “grocery tote” was made for some seriously gourmet shopping.

Now, we’ve noticed that other constant accessory, the water bottle, changing shape around town: Poland Spring, Ethos (the Starbucks’ water), Deer Park and and Evian (whose website features an environmental link coming soon) are all packaged in newly shaped bottles that use significantly less plastic than the older models in an effort to reduce their awful effect on the environment.

Not only is this a great idea, but we’re hoping designers catch on to it soon, too. Couldn’t you just see an Evian/designer collaboration?

We envision a doll shaped bottle covered in flowers from Luella , an inappropriate, but colorful, shape from Marc or maybe a regal vase-like bottle etched with feathers from Alexander McQueen.

We just hope they wouldn’t charge more than three dollars!

Chloe, 22, NYU student

Got Her: On Second Avenue in the East Village.

Stalked Her: Because we were walking just behind her white coat and Marni shoulder bag, and had to see what the outfit looked like from the front.

Shot Her: Because with all the black bulky coats on the street for winter, this was a crisp and cool alternative. Also, we’re a sucker for red ankle boots.

She Says: “My coat is from a vintage shop in England, and I got my Marni bag at an outlet store in Italy, when I was studying abroad there. I like designer things but I don’t pay that much for them - I have Prada shoes from Milan that were like 70 Euros. And I just bought these shoes this morning, from the Marc by Marc Jacobs store. They were fifty bucks! I bought like four pairs!”

We Say:: Sale away!