The other day I watched Beyond the Valley of the Dolls, a cheeky, cult movie about a girl band written by—wait for it—Roger Ebert.

The story is silly and the cast earned master degrees in schmacting. But it’s a classic for a reason—the costumes are amazing, the makeup is pure perfection and the hair is beyond refreshing. After years of stringy and over-dyed, limp extensions, it was actually inspirational to see overdone bouffants with some serious lift at the roots. It seems like I’m not alone. Madonna’s hair has been getting higher and higher lately as has Janet’s and my fave Spanish actress Penelope (see the video below) always rocks enviably high, sexy hair.

When we saw November’s disastrous Vogue cover, we just assumed the women were too busy to get together in one place to shoot the image.

We figured Nicole Kidman was on a beach in Australia, Marion in the South of France, Kate in Malibu etc., or maybe in a studio and then superimposed onto the waves. But then we watched this video of them dragging their couture through the ocean and walking on sand in Christian Louboutins and realized that no, they were in fact all in one place.

Which means, just to clarify, that despite the hundreds of gorgeous pictures Annie took of the group, someone still felt the need to butcher it on a computer. (Also, for the record, our favorite part is when Annie says they took a “huge risk” shooting at the beach.)
On the upside, it looks like they had a blast.

Right On: Tabitha Simmons styled a great mini-shoot with the 2009 CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund finalists. There are actors (Sebastian Stan), there are models (Lily Donaldson), there are designers (Patrick Ervell) and there are really great clothes. {Vogue}

Best Dressed: Nora & Delia Ephron talk about their new Broadway play, Love, Loss, and What I Wore, which they adapted from Ilene Beckerman’s book. They reflect on Saks, I. Magnin, Audrey Hepburn and the magic of the perfect outfit. {Glamour}

Sex Sells: We’d kind of forgotten about the Sex and the City sequel, but now Penelope Cruz is in it and we’re suddenly really interested. Whoever dressed in her in that head-to-toe Rick Owens look the other night could give Pat a run for her money. {Grazia}

WTF: Pamela Anderson apparently used a random nine-year-old girl to hold up her train all night at an awards show. Um, and referred to her as her “daughter” and made her sit at her feet? Well, that’s the weirdest part of the day so far. Other than the fact that I was on the Fox News site. {FoxNews}

Kids’ Stuff: You can’t really argue with the fact that little ones look extra cute while wearing designer clothes. Unnecessary? Sure. But still adorable. Especially when said clothes are made by the lovely Stella McCartney. {W}

A Belated Happy Birthday: Mr. Mickey got serenaded by a pretty chic group for his bday this weekend…um, Madonna anyone? And Penelope Cruz, and Beth Ditto, and Pedro Almodovar. Well played, friend! {FWD}

Joanie Got Married: Okay, so this isn’t exactly fashion-related (though the dress looks amazing), but our favorite Mad Men redhead, Christina Hendricks got married and we love her so much we had to post something. Let’s hope her new husband is more of a stand-up guy than that wuss that her alter-ego married. {Just Jared}

Beauty Mark the Calendar: Crazy talented makeup artist Dick Page is coming to town, the Shiseido counter at Bloomies to be exact, on October 21st. We highly suggest making an appearance. {Beauty Counter}

The Vanity Fair International Best Dressed List has always somewhat baffled me. Maybe baffled isn’t quite the right word, but I’m always amused by what a mixed bag it is.

Of course, I don’t expect it to be a straight-up list of fashion folks, as that doesn’t truly represent the people covered regularly in VF. But man, do they throw in some random curveballs.

This year is no exception. Not surprisingly, both Michelle and Barack Obama (dad jeans, notwithstanding, I guess) make the list along with a smattering of royals, other world leaders, and their spouses. Think Carla Bruni-Sarkozy and Sheikha Mozah of Qatar.

The fashion crowd is represented by Natalia V. and husband Justin Portman, Rachel Roy, Georgina Chapman, Tory Burch, and Franca Sozzani (love!), among others. On my questionable list is Stacy Bendet’s “Hello Kitty meets Joan Jett. Randomness” personal style. She’s a choice that makes me go…hmmmm.

Word broke awhile back that Julia Roitfeld would be the Spring 09 face of Mango following campaigns with Gap, Tom Ford and Rock & Republic.

She’s joined by her brother and Lily Donaldson beau Vladimir (chosen for their position in “the new generation of European high society”) as well as Dakota Griffith - Melanie and Don Johson’s spawn - in the Spanish chain’s latest campaign.

Carine’s daughter might be super famous within the high fashion industry but we fail to see how she’ll connect to the same customer targeted by Penelope Cruz. Unless of course it’s the fact that she’s so pretty it doesn’t matter what her last name is.

Anyway, Julia poses in a white trench, white jeans and the most Carrie Bradshaw-ish flower we’ve seen in a very long time. They should have had Carine style the shoot - then we might brave this cold for a trip to Mango.

The U.K. Daily Mail continues to obsess over their tortured relationship with bangs. Ever since Kate Moss got out the scissors, British women have been indulging in an ongoing, irresolvable debate: bangs or no bangs? What looks better?

We love this apt comparison where bangs (or as they call it, a “fringe”) are portrayed as “like irritating small dogs. They seem like a good idea at the time, but you sometimes wish you didn’t have one.”

“You can’t do much with it, it requires constant attention, and you’re forever having to play with it. “

Meanwhile, stars with stylists but maybe not style have started infringing on fringe territory. Penelope Cruz and Maggie Gyllenhaal recently jumped on the bang bandwagon, all because Kate’s bangs have gotten more publicity than her cocaine scandal.

Do you obsess over bangs too? Do you wish you could go for it, but fear and horror hold you back? Or did you go down the thick bangs path and instantly regret it?

—ALISON COOL