Today, we found out that Carol Alt will be posing for Playboy. Weirdly, this is not surprising - we’ve been tracking the naked chick trend for a while, ever since French Playboy started to get all high fashion on us.

Nakedness doesn’t bother us (obviously) - we think you should be able to take off your clothes as you please. But what’s with all the excuses?

Carol says she’s taking it off to send the message, “eat healthy, look healthy and be healthy.” And Lily says she wrapped her knee-socked legs around a plush teddy in the name of “art”. Neither mention paychecks, but then again, neither mention the word “porn”, so we guess it evens out.

But when you think about it, models and famous faces have been baring it all for PETA for about a decade, which is obviously for a good cause, but would we think so if it was Traci Lords baring her business on every newsstand claiming it’s for the animals?

Because the only message we’re picking up on is that nudity is great as long as your publicist has a boatload of excuses and maybe a cause behind it.

And on a not-really-side note, where the hell is James Franco’s PETA ad? Because then we might really believe that people are earnestly using nudity to say something other than that tits sell.

—HAYLEY PHELAN

One of the reasons we’re moderately obsessed with Lily Cole is that she has an exhibitionist streak that really works for us creatively.

The newest addition? Her much talked about cover for the October Playboy, for which we can only come up with a game:

*Lolita, or the Wendy’s girl?

*That teddy bear looks cheap..

*Is it a coincidence that Joe Corre’s is the first interview named in the cover lines?

*Cole rhymes with pole, which seems totally apropos to mention right now.

*We bet the stylist’s assistant had to source all kind of lollipops for this shoot.

*Have Lily’s Cambridge professors seen this?

*Wait, is that teddy synthetic?

*Nice socks.

Did we miss anything?

Playboy sent us a copy of their magazine once. Those three reality girls were on the cover and I’m pretty sure we threw it away.

French Playboy sent us a copy of their magazine once. Lou Doillon was on the cover and we put the pages all over our wall.

It’s kind of like French Vogue and American Vogue, but not so drastic and with less clothing.

So we’re excited for Lily Cole. Faran reported in her Page Six Column that the red-headed-maybe-dating-Jude-Law-model will pose for the cover of French Playboy’s November issue.

Bet she makes this shoot look tame.

During a transitional period of my life, I enjoyed a brief stint as a wardrobe stylist for Playboy magazine - also known as the most ironic job ever.

It was probably the most fun job I’ve ever had - deciding which frilly pieces of lace went with which table top, kitchen counter, couch, pool table… you get the idea.

Believe it or not, naked girls have been popular since long before Dita - but they haven’t always been “in fashion.” But now I can name a handful of lingerie designers (it’s funny to think that Kiki didn’t even exist three years ago) who one-up plenty of designers on the runway, and even mega-store Sephora now has a pin-up campaign.

Lingerie’s been on the mainstream mind since Marc’s Spring 08 show, since burlesque took over the LES, since Kate Moss for AP, since that Playboy France cover shot by Karl - but I’ve been taking notes since puberty.

So that’s why I’m so excited to see lingerie and pin-up get their due with a real-life fashion model - continue after the jump to see Anouck Lepere, and witness just why Playboy France might soon be getting more fashion props than Vogue.

— JAZZI McGILBERT

We all know there’s been a ton of rumors lately that Richie Rich and Traver Rains are walking on separate yellow brick roads these days, but some recent developments might prove otherwise -

First, the glitter boys shot a prom-themed spread for ELLEgirl with Lydia Hearst right after the rumors of their demise swirled Gossip Girl-style all over the internet.

Now, we’ve learned that they’re flying out to LA with Paper Magazine today as special guests at Playboy’s Playmate of the Year Luncheon since they custom designed the winning bunny’s dress - and we were told this by a concerned Heatherette fan that wanted to help “squash the rumors.”

So now the real question is - are these one-time events for the sake of the good old days?

Or can we all expect a blowout show in September?