As October comes to an end, there’s still lots going on in the fight against breast cancer. Designers such as Betsey Johnson, Donna Karan, Tory Burch, Prabal Gurung, Tracy Reese, Milly, Rachel Roy, Rebecca Taylor and Jill Stuart, have all teamed up with Sharpie to contribute to the fund-raising efforts. (We love our colorful Sharpies and use them every day for graphics so it’s great to see the company getting so involved with fashion this year!)

The designers have created one-of-a-kind designs using Sharpie markers, including a t-shirt customized by Betsey Johnson, who is a breast cancer survivor. All items are being auctioned off on eBay and benefit City of Hope, a leading cancer research and treatment center.

Bidding for the designer sketches and t-shirts ends on Monday, November 2nd at 1pm (PST), so get on over there and bid!

Want to bid? Visit www.sharpieuncapped.com and help support Breast Cancer Awareness. And if you get out-bid you can always buy Sharpie Pink Ribbon markers and highlighters!

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.

We are so excited for September.

While the official list won’t be released until August 17th, we just received a huge rundown of events for Fashion’s Night Out, the New York City fashion celebration this September 10th. Over 300 retailers in all five boroughs have already signed up to party from 6pm to 11pm. We’re a little overwhelmed by it…in a good way.

We already told you about Alex Wang at Barney’s. That’s just the tip of the iceberg. Also at Barney’s? The Olsen twins (girl crush times two!), Jonathan Adler and Lisa Perry, on hand to teach you how to knit. After you learn, you can knit a square to be included in a blanket to be sold to benefit the September 11th Memorial Fund.

This week of fashion parties continued with last night’s celebration of Ruffian’s new book, Ruffian Inside Out.

Though the book, written by Style.com’s Executive Editor Nicole Phelps, officially launched in April, we’ve been loving it since their AW09 show in February. Jamie Isaia’s photographs of Brian Wolk and Claude Morais are basically fashion porn.

Thus the party was a celebration not just of the book, but of the talented designers themselves. John Demsey, Group President of Estée Lauder, played host, even offering up his own home for the night and we spotted everyone from Simon Doonan and Rachel Roy to MAC ûber makeup artist James Kaliardos.

MAC has a special relationship with the brand and the book — they created a limited edition, just-for-Fashion-Week, not sold in stores lipstick shade for the Fall 2009 show called Ruffian Red, (which Britt obsessively rocked throughout Fashion month) that they so generously handed out again last night.

I also got a sneak peek at those fabulous Jin Soon-created polishes we mentioned last month and I can tell you, judging by the gorgeous orchid shade I saw, the collection is going to be fantastic.

—MEGAN MCINTYRE

Fact: It’s supposed to be around 56 degrees in NYC on Sunday.

Fact: So whether you’re getting home from Paris via JFK or poring over the shows on Style.com, the Fashion Odyssey has probably made you think of nothing but shopping (and yes, we know that NaP sale isn’t doing shit for us either).

So you might like to know there are a couple decent sales this weekend:

The Adam sale, which started Wednesday and ends Sunday (60 - 80% off) and Rachel Roy, which starts Sunday and gives you the chance to pick up some Spring pieces at 75% off. It’s also the last weekend of the Resurrection anniversary extravaganza, which means you could hit a triple header of sales before hitting up the brunch special at Nero.

Happy Friday.

Jason Wu may have gotten some much needed press attention due to the First Lady’s love of his clothes, but it looks like Michael Kors is set to get even more non-TV-related press thanks to Mrs. O, too.

Not only did she wear a basic black Kors in her official White House portrait, but she sports an eye-scorching blood orange (or red?) dress on the April cover of O (which is news in and of itself - the only person to ever grace the cover of O during its nine year history is Oprah herself, until now).

Bruce Weber shot the cover, and Oprah wore Rachel Roy for the very first interview Obama allowed in the White House -

Which kind of makes you wonder exactly why it was held until after Vogue’s March hit the stands first…

Barbie’s 50th meant major sensory overload - not delicious seven course meal overload but one too many cherries atop the sundae overload.

It went a little something like this: Kimora Lee Simmons on one end of the runway and Vogue’s Marina Rust on the other, both holding Barbie wielding children. A Real World: Brooklyn cast member sat on the right while Heidi Klum sat on the left, sandwiched between Miss J and the ubiquitous Robert Verdi who wanted to chat with Simon Doonan. Simon was trying to catch up with Diane who joyously embraced Suzy Menkes while Peter Som looked on calmly from his center perch. Rachel Roy’s daughter handled the paparazzi better than Lindsay Lohan and the soccer moms behind us tried awfully hard to make sense of The Blondes while I enjoyed a breakfast of Barbie chocolates.

The show opened with a Barbie through the ages sort of montage and ran to a Barbie-fied Top 40 soundtrack; Ken got to wear Kenneth Cole (ha!); the crowd went wild for Bob Mackie’s creation; the video screen told us that, “A plastic tan never fades” and for the second time this week confetti rained down atop our heads.

Because she’s a Barbie girl, in her very own Barbie world.

Before we say anything about the actual Alexandra Richards DJed Rachel Roy show - we must share the news that Andre Leon Talley is, at this very moment, out and about in New York City wearing tweed pants with a black crop top. As in, his midriff is bare underneath his black and white fur vest.

Anyway, Rachel Roy was a little too inspired by Stefano Pilati’s Fall 08 collection for YSL.

First, there were the sharp bowl-cut bobs and super shiny black lips. But they were paired with feminine, sheer, Easter-colored dresses so we thought, ok cool, those trends have popped up quite a bit.

But then we got to the grey wool trouser suits paired with corsets and really structured jackets. And the black jumpsuit with sharp, angular seams and chunky black shoes and thought, um, that YSL collection’s a little too iconic to reproduce just one year later.

Not that the clothes weren’t gorgeous - because they were and we’d wear that powder blue shorts suit anywhere - it’s just that we should have left thinking about that and not Stefano Pilati.

Everyone wore suits to the CFDAs Monday night, but what about the suit’s slouchy sister?

We’re accustomed to Julian Schnabel’s penchant for his wife’s silk pajamas, in fact we don’t know if we’ve ever seen him in anything but.

However, we’re not thrilled with Rachel Roy taking sartorial influence from the artist. The designer wore the grey silk suit at left to a screening of Australia last week and though we understand the need to be comfortable at the movies, we think wearing head to toe silk PJs is kind of inappropriate for an evening function despite their runway presence - especially when said PJs are wrinkled.

We might actually throw a men’s pajama top over a sequin mini and tights, or under a leather jacket for a pop of color, but wearing a silk PJ top and pants together and in public is like wearing any one of the sheer runway dresses from this season, the way the models wore them.

As in, improper unless you’re a man of Julian’s stature lounging under your mandelier smoking a cigar with a glass of scotch.

Are we way off, or would you wear pajamas?

We just got back from the Rachel Roy presentation at Frank Gehry’s IAC building - and we have to say, we were impressed. The clothes were a bit of a departure for the mommy designer, and it totally worked - think studded leather skirts, little heart purses, every kind of silhouette there is, a very Stella jumpsuit, plenty of attention for the back - and killer shoes Rachel designed for Manolo.

Also of note: we’re now two for two in shows with a very diverse cast of girls. Early coincidence or an indication of the following week?

And now, some I Spy:

- Meredith Melling-Burke in stilettos, snapping away on her digital camera

-Virginia Smith wearing a gauzy, gray sweatshirt like it’s YSL

-The Dior/Carrie shoes paired with a yellow pedicure

-Linda Fargo wearing the sparkly necklace Serena wore as a headband as an actual necklace

-Rachel Roy sporting an Obama Rocks pin on her hip

-Prada lace, in person

-Some wannabe Prada lace, in person

-Sessilee Lopez, stunning, in person

Back soon - with Trovata, Lorick and GenArt…

The death knell for the turban trend has sounded.

Funny, since Vogue has engaged in full-on turban mania for the past few months. Remember the photo of Sasha in a turban, followed by Rachel Roy and Liz Goldwyn as her disciples? Try to forget it - the magazine has officially MOVED ON.

You may not have thought it was possible, but they’ve found a trend to hype that could be even weirder:

The babushka.

As in, that thing your Russian grandmother wore on her head that looked like an oversize napkin. Or the one you wore in the chorus of your 10th grade production of Fiddler on the Roof. Now it’s on the runway.

Will this trend have more legs than the turban?

We’re thinking possibly:

Maybe the babushkas will be adopted by stylish Muslim women, who could re-drape them as hijabs.

Or maybe we’ll be reaching for one on a really bad hair day.

—ANNA FIELDING GRIGGS

The problem with Fashion Week is it always leaves you wanting more - specifically, more to stuff inside your closet.

So if you’re itching to shop the runways, you can actually start right now. Six young designers showing this week have exclusive tees available on ShopBop.com, with all proceeds going to charity.

Commissioned by Glamour magazine, the tees retail for $68 and come from Vena Cava (pictured), Rachel Roy, Jenni Kayne, Thread Social, Rodarte, and Sari Gueron. Best of all, unlike most runway delights, the shirts come in small, medium, and “actually, I think starving myself is rather boring.”

Click here to buy.

A confession: we love Rachel Roy, the California native whose clothes are taking red carpets and haute closets by storm. Rachel began her career as a Rocawear intern and worked her way up, first through the Rocawear ranks and later with her own eponymous label. And it’s really, really gorgeous.

A favorite designer of Vogue’s Andre Leon Talley, Rachel is also the mom of seven-year-old Ava and wife to rap mogul Damon Dash. Rachel’s Fall ‘07 collection debuts next week, but before the madness of Fashion Week set in, she joined Fashionista for a discussion on her process, her latest pieces, and - yes - her favorite curse word.

Click below to read Rachel’s interview, and then check out her favorite charity, The World Food Program, which helps children in developing countries get nourished.