We’ve been sent some weird stuff at Fashionista, but never have we ever been more perplexed by an accessory than we are by the legwarmer-sock-boot cover product known as “Bella Legs.”

The package arrived Monday; we’re still gaping at it Wednesday. They’re essentially legwarmers that widen at the bottom to fit over your boots (though they don’t fit over my Frye boots) or heels. The kicker though, is the wide variety of styles.

We’ve got an awful Burberry plaid knock-off, white cable knit, black lace, ruffled chiffon, rhinestoned fleur de lis, and the worst possible phrase we may ever utter on this blog: black, glitter, ruched faux fur with drawstrings. (Let’s not pretend I didn’t just run around the office pretending to be the Yeti.)

But seriously, they’re supposed to turn “one great looking pair of boots into an amazing collection of boots.” Not that there’s anything wrong with high socks or legwarmers; we love them a la Marni or Marc by MJ, but a) why can’t this look be acheived with regular socks or legwarmers? and b) sometimes less, as in just one pair of boots, is more.

Do you ever sit at your day job and dream up different businesses that might be more creatively stimulating and all-around fun for you?

We think that must have been what sisters Ilissa and Dorian Howard were doing because they’ve now launched Milk & Honey Shoes their own customization business in Los Angeles. Two girls with some creativity, a love of shoes, and an entrepreneurial spirit can sometimes lead to a second career.

They even landed a very fashion-y celebrity client in Ginnifer Goodwin who, along with her stylist Penny Lovell, created the vegan-friendly, aubergine pumps she wore to the Prada book launch.

The International Herald Tribune’s hosting a conference in Berlin right now.

Techno Luxury’s the theme and Christopher Bailey, Jefferson Hack, Claudia Schiffer, Tomas Maier, Natalie Massenet, Frida Giannini and Prada’s Tomaso Galli will take turns speaking and answering questions about new technology’s effect on the fashion industry - blogging, twittering etc.

Top quotes (via Twitter of course) so far:

Federico Marchetti: The Marni online store is already the biggest store they have in the world. —Business of Fashion

Natalie Massenet says fashion bloggers contribute to 5% of Net-a-Porter’s sales. —Bryanboy

Massenet of Netaporter says that 25% of sale are returned. But as the store is in “every city in the world” that is not so bad. —The Moment

C[hristopher] B[ailey]: From Facebook, we understood how many of our young fans were entering the Burberry brand through fragrance. —Business of Fashion

You can tweet questions for Claudia Schiffer @IHTluxury right now - she’s up in two hours.

The bleaching of models’ brows was all the rage for S/S 2010 (and actually was fairly popular the season before at Prada, Balenciaga, and Miu Miu). We’ve been fascinated as to how all the girls’ eyebrows didn’t fall out by the end of Paris Fashion Week.

Today, we went to a Cover Girl lunch with the amazing (and always fun) Pat McGrath and got some answers.

First of all, we had no idea that Pat has had a hair colorist on her team for years. While he does many other things as well, brows often fall to him. Very cool. And considering the lady does around 30 shows a season (not to mention countless editorials and covers), it makes a lot of sense to have everyone you may need at the ready.

She told us that she suggested to the models that they not go through the bleaching process more than twice. Instead, the makeup teams would just color in darker versions when necessary. “Of course some girls insisted on always changing back, but what are you gonna do?” said Pat. We’re sure those ladies are regretting those decisions right about now.

Pumpkin Pie: Is Danny Roberts the cutest thing we have ever seen? YES! Check out his Coco Rocha painted pumpkin. {Igor + Andre}

Prada Pop-Up: Architect Roberto Baciocchi has designed a seriously awesome temporary Prada store in Paris. Even if you can’t afford to splurge on the designer pieces, you should at least check out the architectural masterpiece. Talk about eye candy! {AR}

Dapper Diane: It’s pretty clear we love Diane Kruger and everything she wears. But whose style does she admire? {Vogue UK}

This Is It: Michael Jackson is probably the only man who can bring hip-hop royalty, fashion royalty, and actual royalty together in one room. Derek Blasberg talks about his royally cool night. And we get a wee bit jealous. {Blasblog}

My love affair with thigh high boots has been well documented, but I promise this is it.

The search ended last night when I swung by Soho’s Max Azria store to meet a good friend.

(Full disclosure, tucked in my pocket was a gift card the nice people at Max sent sent pre-Fashion Week. I didn’t plan on using it; I’d save it for a rainy day and probably buy something boring like a black Herve mini-skirt because my wardrobe’s pretty boring, but yes, it did make it easier to take the plunge when part of it was paid for.)

When I saw these boots, it was all over.

After months of swooning for out of reach Prada and Stella and crying (not actually) over their less expensive counterparts that hung loosely from my thighs or wouldn’t even pull over my calves, I found the perfect pair. They’re slightly pebbled black leather with a dark wooden heel and the best part is, the two zippers (better seen here) are actually functional which means I just bought a pair of booties, a pair of knee-high boots and a pair of thigh-highs for the price of a single Stella shoe.

I’m headed to DC (for the first time ever) to meet my mom (in from Qatar) and my uber-conservative grandparents (in from California) and since a small part of me is actually in Paris, I think I’ll give them all a minor fashion heart attack.

So far my two favorite runway hairstyles take their inspiration from little girls, as far as I can tell. And I mean that in a good way.

Braids and pigtails remind me fondly of my carefree days playing tag and tetherball, and doing penny drops off the monkey bars—with shorts underneath my skirt, of course. (None of us could let the boys peek. And now of course we’re giving up pants altogether. But that’s a whole other matter.)

From the much-beloved Alexander Wang braid to the pigtails yesterday at Prada, elementary school hair is making a comeback. And I like it. A lot.

This isn’t the properly combed look that your mother painstakingly did for every morning. The styles are a little more f***ed up, with teasing, flyaways, and that perfect version of messiness that editorial stylists are so genius at. And of course, a power glossy bright lip wasn’t really in the mix on the playground.

Stella McCartney sent pants-less looks down her runway as early as her Spring 2008 collection (September of 2007, when Gaga was still just a noise babies made). She carried the look through to last spring’s line-up of pants-less suits and rompers, but this season almost every designer jumped on the bandwagon.

Charles Anastase showed a killer nude and black playsuit; Marc layered pants-less options under military jackets; Miuccia showed hotpants in Milan last night; Brian Reyes’ opening look was nothing but a white bodysuit. As if a lack of pants wasn’t enough, Alex Wang sewed sheer panels into his and Jenni Kayne added a matching leather bandeau, conservatively draped with a grandpa cardigan, of course.

But, well, you know which question remains.

As we were watching Tweets come in from the Prada show in Milan, one statement came through loudest, Miuccia’s not doing pants this season. And the beach was going to play a big role. @MrJoeZee has already put the word out that Gaga should take a look if she’s planning a vacation.

Fashionologie has the first full set of pictures that we’ve found and I’m already madly, deeply in love after two quick viewings. The crystal section of the show (and the shoes) are kind of blowing my mind and I can only imagine what they look like up close and personal. There’s a good chance I would have shed a little tear of joy.

And the first set of slim shorts with cropped jackets and the prints aren’t far behind on my love list. I’m even kind of liking the clear plastic bags and sandals.

Throw in coral lips and low, mussed pigtails and I’m firmly planted at Miuccia’s altar again this season.

Dear Fashionista,

I’ve come to really enjoy browsing Bebe’s website for a daily dose of designer knock offs. They’re so lazy that they don’t even bother tweaking their designs in the slightest (minus cheap fabrics).

I’d grown used to their love of the sexier runway bits: sky-high Gucci heels and skintight Balmain minis, but I couldn’t have been more shocked to find this AW09 Prada dress, complete with AW09 Prada hair in their embarrassing online magazine.

There are so few women who can even pull off the original; I’m terrified to see what happens when it’s available to the masses.

xoxo,
S

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?

Remember this Alexander Wang dress?

Its evolution started with a runway debut on Aline Weber last September, hopped right to a V Magazine party that same week on Anja Rubik, and quickly became the new Prada lace, popping up in every single editorial until even Topshop attempted to rip it off, disastrously, and everyone who’d bought it finally tucked the piece away into the back of their closet.

But we hear Tyra Banks rocks it on the season premiere of America’s Next Top Model.

What does this mean? Well, we’ll finally see it on a womanly body, which could give those squiggles a whole new dimension. But more importantly, it means Tyra might start incorporating relevant fashion into the show (though yes, a year behind). Maybe she can put the models in Prada’s epic SS09 sandals in the second episode and see if they fare any better than the originals?

A friend emailed to say she was skipping coffee and heading straight to Prada this morning to pre-order the thigh high boots I mentioned in my second of what will now be three posts on the matter.

I might wax rhapsodic about them, but I can’t actually afford them while she, corporate lawyer with perfectly long legs can both buy and wear them — the question is where? Underneath her slacks?

Most everyone we (as in at Fashionista) know functions in a world in which anything goes, in fact, the crazier the better. But we often forget about people in the corporate world who actually wear, gasp, suits to work everyday. And we wonder how they get their fashion kicks.

If we worked in a proper office we imagine, unrealistically, that we’d wear Vivienne Westwood suits and round toe black Louboutins, but we’ve been to midtown and it doesn’t look like that. Yet we know a love of fashion isn’t restricted to those working in it. So basically, in an attempt to reach outside our bubble, we’re wondering what you wear in your office if you’re into fashion enough to be reading this site.

Last week, I spent a few days in LA soaking up the other side of the fashion industry, one that loves the art as much as we do, but revolves almost entirely around celebrities.

So I dove right in, starting with a celebrity stylist: Nicole Chavez. Never heard of her? Well, you probably love her work since she styles Rachel Bilson (who, let’s face it, is best known for her style), Scarlett Johansson and Kristen Bell. I’d spent time with my fair share of editorial stylists, but for a career that has the same name, it couldn’t be more different.

We spent the day pulling clothes for three events for Scarlett - Comic Con, the LA Shorts Film Festival and a Dolce & Gabbana in-store appearance - which means we ran from her loft to a designer’s house to Dolce’s showroom to Prada’s store stopping to pick up shoes on the way and unloading FedEx boxes at home. It was a never ending parade of pulling and editing and choosing and trying on and my peppering Nicole with a million questions.

So how’d she get started? What was it like working on The OC? Does she ever want to do editorial? Find out after the jump!

I’ve spent almost three of the past four weeks in California which means I’ve worn pretty much nothing but old Levi cut-offs, white James Perse tees and my red Saltwater sandals.

It’s been wonderful.

But yesterday it was back to reality, which means gearing up for fall, for fashion week, for September issues etc. and while dicking around online, I changed my mind. Now, I want, need, must have a pair of thigh high boots. The problem is a) which pair and b) will anyone make a pair for under $1000 that don’t scream Pretty Woman and then of course c) what do I wear them with?

The thing is, while they were on almost every runway, I half expected them to elude the actual market given the state of the economy, as if fashion would pay attention to a reality other than its own. Sure enough, the boots are everywhere. Ideally, of course, I’d have a spare $1,470 for the Brian Atwoods which I’m tempted to call the originals. And if those didn’t fit over my slightly-larger-than-LSD-thighs I could always go for a flat version from Chloe for $1,235. But I’m barely 5’4” so I’d probably do better in something like these Pradas. In my dreams though, I’m wearing the Louboutin-meets-Catwoman version (though they might me higher than thigh) because I don’t know if the Nicholas Kirkwood for Rodarte masterpieces are even being made. The only high street ones I’ve spotted are suede, Topshop, and called the Brittany - a sign?

Maybe, but as of this morning they’ve already disappeared. What’s a girl to do?

I took a fashion road trip this weekend—after three years in New York, I finally made my way to the much lauded Woodbury Commons.

I’m not a shopping in a group kind of girl and I’m not an outlet kind of girl because it’s generally too much effort, but this was like walking through a living archive of legendary runway looks that had me squealing up and down the aisles. Plus at this point in the summer I’ll get out of the city any which way I can.

It started at Prada which currently houses an entire rack of AW09 lace priced around $2000—black dresses, gold skirt, blue tops. Anna’s favorite floral prints are on the clearance rack for about $400, along with the red and blue checked skirt, a single Harlequin Miu Miu mini and a lone black turban.

Balenciaga’s packed with SS08’s structured florals—skirts, dresses, jackets—priced under $1000, but it was the riding hats from AW06 that really made me gasp. Alas, they were low on shoes, though I found these at the Neiman Marcus outlet for $200 (along with the pink fur stole from Chris Benz’s AW08).

The Ultimate How To: We know this was yesterday, but it’s brilliant. So in case you missed it, go on. {Refinery29}

The Creep Factor: Donna Karan’s still looking to save a few dollars with virtually constructed ad campaigns in lieu of Kate Moss’ daily fees, but putting Toni Garrn’s head on Sasha P’s body is a bit much. {Fashionologie}

Ouchie: Modelinia’s built a slideshow of models falling including legendary moments like Naomi at Vivienne and Prada SS09. Not so well known, but infinitely worse? A model at Gharani Strok 06. {Modelinia}

“NYC Prep is boot camp in Prada shoes.” — The New York Times reviews Gossip Girl’s wannabe reality counterpart, Bravo’s NYC Prep.

I’ve been trolling the internet looking for wallets. For Britt. The girl literally stuffs her cash, credit cards, etc into her bag with reckless abandon and zero organization.

It makes me nervous in a “feel like my mom way” every time I see her reach into her bag. Seriously, it’s giving me major agita.

And in the meantime, I’ve realized that my own M by MJ is about a hundred years old and covered in pen marks, so maybe I should upgrade too..

This afternoon I happened upon this darling See by Chloe wallet that just happens to be on sale at Shopbop. It’s not the cheapest, but I have no problem investing in something that I use every single day. And will likely keep for years.

Plus, how happy would this make you every time you saw its bright green color and fun little cutouts?

Britt, however is in the market for something simpler. More like classic Prada or YSL. But if she doesn’t get one soon, I’m going to have to buy her one, if only to stop my multiple daily panic attacks. Feel free to send suggestions.