Joyce Culver, 92nd Street Y“Fashion advertisements are hateful,” said Isaac Mizrahi at tonight’s 92nd Street Y panel discussion on the future of fashion, “but they work.”

Glamour’s Editor-in-Chief Cindi Leive moderated the talk between The Washington Post’s Robin Givhan, Ashley Olsen and Isaac. The group discussed Michelle Obama, the economy, Ralph Lauren’s ad scandal, fast fashion and the fate of platform heels while Mary-Kate Olsen and Justin Bartha cheered from a few rows back.

Robin and Isaac spent the first ten minutes relishing the First Lady’s effect on the fashion industry. Robin heralded the example she’s setting “for women over thirty with busy careers and families who feel disenfranchised from fashion,” while Isaac finds her balance of mass and high fashion “so inspirational.”

Cindi asked the group why the fashion industry is so hated and Robin brilliantly responded that people have no problem condescending to fashion because it’s a women’s industry.

“No one ever says spending thousands of dollars on season tickets for football is a waste of money, but spending $5000 on a dress…” to which Isaac almost jumped out of his chair in agreement.

“Right on! Misogyny rears its ugly head again!”

Sarah Jessica Parker may as well change her name to Carrie Bradshaw.

Sex and the City might’ve ended in 2005, and she might’ve tried for a movie career, but that failed to launch and since then her only successful movie role is playing Carrie Bradshaw.

Now she’s using Carrie to launch her perfume and WWD even titled their story, “Carrie On.” AND, she’s wearing an Oscar de la Renta dress in the ads. Meanwhile, the packaging and bottle for SJP NYC explodes with so many prints and colors that if you combined Samantha Jones and Carrie Bradshaw into one character and placed her in 1987, she’d be overwhelmed.

Coty’s thrilled to release the floral fragrance around the movie and from the way they talk about “leveraging” the movie release we’re pretty sure they’re going to make her dress up and answer to Carrie for promotional events.

And if that’s not enough Sex and the City for you, HBO’s launching these Sex and the City flats mid-November. Though there’s really nothing to say about that.

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}

When everyone in fashion gathers in one place, people talk. Here’s what they said today.

1. Becka Diamond for Nylon TV? The latest New York it girl’s been sitting front row at all the best (and by best I mean most fun) shows - Wang, Altuzzara, Ronson - and now we hear she’ll start hosting segments for Nylon TV. Phillip Lim, up first.

2. The Daily’s not-so-blind items. On day one they published an entire page of awful things done by fashion people and most of them couldn’t have been less subtle.

3. White girls and skinny girls. After a summer of talking about race and weight, the girls on this season’s runways couldn’t possibly be any skinnier. And aside from a couple of Chanel Iman and Sessilee Lopez sightings, we can honestly say they’ve never looked whiter.

4. Tonight’s Gareth Pugh ‘experience’ is sensorial. Apparently, it’ll be really hot inside, but you only have to stay for five minutes.

5. Sex and the City’s filming all over West Broadway tomorrow. So if the tents aren’t packed enough for you, head below Houston for increased fashion mayhem.

Meet Miss Lanvin.

Franz Porcelain’s just sent us a peek of their new collection of thirteen dolls, made in collaboration with the house and Alber. They say, “While Elbaz has revitalized the fashion house, he, like Lanvin, still appreciates tradition. Part of that tradition includes a strong affection for dolls.”

Thanks to EW’s Popwatch Blog, we just learned that there will be an open casting call for the Sex and the City sequel a week from today on August 4th. No agent, Equity, or SAG card required - though that doesn’t exclude you if you do have one.

We don’t know much yet about the plot of the new film. Though we do know that Pat Field is hesitant to go all recessionista with the clothing.

And the call sheet doesn’t give away anything incredibly dishy, as we could put any of these people in any number of scenes from the series or the first movie. They’re looking for “international types (Middle Eastern, Arabic, Asian, European, British), professional soccer players, fashion models, urban club goers, gays and lesbians, celebrity types, upscale socialites.”

Though might there be a soccer player in Samantha’s future? If you score a background part, be sure to send us tidbits from the set.

All the details after the jump!

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.

We hardly recognized January Jones in the August issue of Elle since we really only know (and love) her as the WASP-y chic, increasingly independent wife of Don Draper (swoon!) on Mad Men. She actually looks a little like Naomi Watts here with Donatella.

But we digress. She looks slick and cool and we appreciate that they didn’t do a modern “Betty” photo shoot, what we’re really excited about is that this means that Mad Men will be returning to us soon. August 16th in fact.

Of course we love the drama and the plots. But what lured us in from the beginning was the styling and the set design. It’s just perfection. Who knew AMC had it in them?

Do You Swing? A new film gets the real story on what happened to Biba’s Barbara Hulanicki after she basically dressed a generation of Brits in the 60s in a new film. Also, see what Barbara thinks of Kate Moss. {Independent}

Victoria B meets SATC: And so the Sex and the City sequel rumors begin. First up, that Mrs. Beckham will be making an appearance. She’s allegedly taking acting lessons to get ready. We love her, so we approve. {DigitalSpy}

Loub Library: All the old favorites and new obsessions. Now if only we could get a card that allowed us to check them out for free. {Grazia}

Rumor has it that Patricia Field might part ways with the Sex and the City sequel, over creative differences with Sarah Jessica Parker.

SJP wants Carrie’s wardrobe to be reflective of the recession, which Field is apparently not so into. The flame-haired style maven told Grazia, “I don’t use the recession as a reference for my creativity.”

Whose side are you on?

In these times, we have all had to struggle with balancing our lust for fashion and cautious saving, or just outright lack of funds. And it’s nice that SJP is considering realism. But do we, as viewers, actually want Carrie Bradshaw to cut down on her fabulous and outrageous outfits? Is this one of those times when art doesn’t have to imitate life?

Personally, this strikes us as exactly the right time and place for fashion escapism.

—AMANDA JEAN BOYLE

Vera Wang’s going to be on Dancing With the Stars, continuing television’s obsession with all things fashion.

The former figure skater will be sixty when the season starts next September. She’s signed on for the waltz and the foxtrot.

We’ve never actually seen the show so our first thought was, “Wow, can’t believe she’s doing this,” and something along the lines of, “This is so much worse than saying ‘fuck’ inside her store.”

But if she is going to do it, we can’t wait to see what frilly bedazzled outfits she whips up to dance her away across TV screens.

The rumors have finally been replaced with an actual date: On May 28, 2010, Sex and the City 2 hits the silver screen, though we bet there won’t be a silver hair in sight on screen.

The entire quartet is signed on, as is writer/director Michael Patrick King, but there is one name curiously missing from the list: Patricia Field.

Could the truly over-the-top ensembles of the first edition have nixed Pat from the sequel’s wardrobe planning? If so, we must admit, adding a little mystery to the movie’s costume department might be the rejuvenation they need to get people talking about this…

During a high school field trip some years ago, I noticed that one of my classmates had two different sneakers on. As in, her left sneaker was from one pair, and her right from another. When I asked her about it she looked down, laughed, and said she’d overslept and literally gotten dressed in the dark and didn’t notice, and maybe wouldn’t have, until I asked her about it.

I hadn’t seen anyone else pull the two sneaker move until I saw this picture of Chris Benz from the He’s Just Not That Into You premiere.

A part of me really likes this idea - on the right person, it’s kind of funny, like a nod to junior high fashion antics. But on the wrong person (read: almost everyone, and definitely me), it would look a little like a move made to fit in with the art kids (read: juvenile).

It works on Chris, but Chris is also a tall, thin, cute boy, and it did work on Carrie in that LA episode where she wears different colored Louboutins, but the shades were complementary and designed to be so - plus, it’s TV.

So would you ever try wearing two different shoes at the same time? Or is this a sartorial switch that should only happen by accident?

Will you be in / around LA tomorrow? How about nearby EM & Co, the boutique on 3rd St?

Are you a fan of Vivienne Westwood’s Spring 09 Anglomania collection? Or that wedding dress? (Translation: Are you super rich?)

If you can answer yes to all of the above, you’re in luck. EM & Co’s hosting a one-day only trunk show of Dame Viv’s most recent creations, and taking guest measurements if they’re so inclined as to purchase replicas of the wedding gown made famous by Carrie’s flower bashing scene.

The bad news? Only a limited number of the gowns will be produced, so we’re guessing that means you’ll have to bid to get your way. The other bad news? The event if invite only, so unless you can get down there and charm the sales people, you’re out of luck. But, if all you want to do is appreciate the dress in person just once anyway, the gown’s hanging in the store, right now, and will be there through Friday. And hopefully that’ll be enough for you.

C’est la vie.

I didn’t think this gloomy day could get any worse.

But now, on top of thinking about K-Swiss when Chuck Bass comes on the screen, I have to think about the Sex and the City sequel.

Thanks, Kim Catrall (she confirms its existence at about ten minutes in).

I hated the first movie’s wardrobe. The eclectic and charming use of vintage, high street, designer, and couture fashion that made the show so much fun to watch was missing from the big screen. All the vintage was designer vintage, all the “risky” outfits came from the runway, and every single outfit was An Outfit. All the fun parts were missing.

So now that the women aren’t just older, but plain old, how will Pat put the fun bits back into the wardrobe? Because honestly, the plot will be shit - there is absolutely nothing left to say about these women, or Big - and the clothes are all we have to look forward to.

On a related note, wouldn’t it be wonderful if they shot the entire thing inside so that we don’t know what everything looks like months before?

Pat Field’s much anticipated one-off for Marks & Spencer is finally out, so everyone can finally see what she meant by calling it “Destination Style New York.”

Immediately, it just looks a whole lot like Sex and the City.

Take the Glamour Mac, reminiscent of the trenched outfit Carrie wore while darting through the streets with her shameful Vogue underarm. Or the Rose Puffball dress, an edgier version of one of Carrie’s uber-lady ensembles. Or the Sexy Strapless Catsuit paired with a gold belt, the exact outfit she wore to her rehearsal dinner. Pat even went as far back as the Burger days, bringing back to life the “stupid hat” we actually thought was really cute.

We don’t know why we didn’t see this coming - Kate Moss and Rachel Bilson have already sort of paved the way for designing lines based on already existing closets. But even still, we can’t help but wonder where Pat will go once even the most die-hard fans roll their eyes every time they hear “I couldn’t help but wonder”…

You didn’t think Carried died with the movie, did you?

Because if you did, you might be so glad to know she’s back - but younger.

Candace Bushnell and Harper Collins have teamed up to bring you, The Carrie Diaries, a two-book deal that explores Carrie’s life as a teenager, and the series of horrible, awkward dates she went on and the cute, but slightly stupid boy from her geometry class that she pined endlessly for in between scenes in Theater.

The books come out in 2010, sure to be followed by that replacement to Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants Darren Star’s been praying for.

Hold on to your Maddens, girls!

Since the debut of Sex and the City: The Movie, Pat Field’s been busy with a whole lot of projects:

The limited-edition line for Marks & Spencer, her five-day long SATC-inspired line she’ll sell on the Home Shopping Network in September - and now, soda.

Pat’s designed a limited-edition quartet of Diet Coke bottles to be sold exclusively in London at Selfridges (and on her site). But don’t confuse those bottles with certain HBO lady-characters. They represent career (gold), passion (red), love (pink), and fashion (turquoise).

There’s only 25 sets for sale, and they go for $100 each, right next to the Carrie nameplate necklace and the Carrie studded belt from, well, you know.

“I thought Sex And The City was supposed to be about cutting-edge fashion and there was nothing remotely memorable or interesting about what I saw. I went to the premiere and left after ten minutes.” - Vivienne Westwood, to WENN, via IMDB.