The weather in New York has taken a turn for the cold and blustery incredibly quickly. It’s making me sad. Except for the fact that I can start busting out my tights on a regular basis.

What I’ve realized I’m lacking is an array of black patterned ones. Every night this week, I’ve seen at least one adorable pair on a girl in a simple outfit that becomes a little less simple with that extra addition.

Unfortunately the Louis Vuitton and Chanel versions aren’t exactly how I should be spending my paycheck right now. Unless of course I decide to give up Christmas presents for the fam. Last night at the hair salon one of the girls (who also happened to be a dead ringer for Rayanne Graff) told me hers were from Urban Outfitters and that she’d just picked up a whole bunch of them.

This Betsey Johnson pair seem to fit my criteria perfectly: black, not so dark as to obscure the pattern, and affordable. Plus they have bows! Even if those aren’t your style, there are tons of others to choose from.

Friday shopping complete. Now if that wind would just die down.

We struggled with this one because Urban Outfitters is essentially an homage to Alexander Wang and Dov Charney, but a reader sent it in and it is in fact ridiculous, so here you go.

While the mere thought of tweed makes us sweat right now, this cozy looking boyfriend blazer was pretty popular last year after Vika wore it down Wang’s smoky runway. So Urban’s a bit late in knocking it off (and they forgot the zippers).

Our tipster attributes its high street debut to recent appearances on NYC Prep. Apparently someone named Jessie’s been running around town in it. The show’s on fashion’s radar, so it’s not an impossible conclusion. Regardless of how or why it’s being copied and no matter how upset you are you missed out on it the first time, don’t buy it.

Mostly because copying is bad, but also because one should never spend $100 on something from Urban Outfitters.

There were a few feathers in February, mostly of the rock n’ roll variety.

Black and brown ones peppered Ann Sofie Back’s collection while William Rast decorated his punky cowboy jeans with white. They were used best in Ann Demeulemeester’s elaborate headdresses. Meanwhile, they’ve translated rather funny for fall.

We embrace feathers in general - they’re both sexy and we imagine comfortable. But the idea’s not being executed properly off the runway. Why, for example, is this Haute Hippie long vest made in bubble gum pink? The woman who will spend $695 on an over-sized boa doesn’t want it in pink. This Cavalli top, though just printed with feathers, looks like a pair of massive wings. And this beaded, feathered hair piece from Urban Outfitters would make Ann weep.

If we want to wear feathers this fall, and we do, should we be starting our most elaborate DIY yet, or have you seen some more promising feathered accessories?

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}

London Fashion Week has already been shaping up as the place to be this fall.

And now for those of you not in New York the week before, there will be even more places to celebrate, this time for high street fashion.

According to Vogue UK, stores like Topshop, Mango, H&M, Urban Outfitters, and New Look will be banding together from September 7-11 to hold champagne-filled late night shindigs, collection previews, and even beauty workshops.

We won’t be able to make it as we’ll be ensconced in all things NYC. But we’re sure you Londoners will have a good time for all of us.

Nudie Ladies: Finally, outtakes from Terry Richardson’s Pirelli Calendar shoot. WARNING: There are lots and lots and lots of naked boobies. {VanityFairIT}

Hallelujah: Is there anything wrong with the fact that only one photographer and one model have been booked for the August issue of French Vogue? Not when Inez & Vinoodh are shooting Daria. {WWD}

Are You Ready: It’s that time of year, when the fashion blogosphere holds its breath in anticipation of Fall ads. So far, Marc Jacobs throws Natasa V out the window and Calvin Klein casts Jourdan Dunn. {TheFashionSpot & Fashionologie}

Mellow Yellow: Have you seen this yellow Margiela clutch Sea of Shoes Mom has? It’s amazing. Also, Sea of Shoes Daughter is designing shoes for Urban Outfitters, but we’re not supposed to know that. {SeaOfShoes}

Watching Mark-Paul Gosselaar do his entire segment on Jimmy Fallon the other night in character as Zack Morris (complete with giant cell phone and pegged jeans) got us thinking about all our old favorite Saved by the Bell episodes.

And then this afternoon we happened upon this shredded leather bracelet at Urban Outfitters took us back to another classic, Silver Spoons.

We feel like it’s a sort of updated version of the rubber bracelets made insanely popular in the ’80s by Ricky Schroeder. Man, did we love those things. And for only $28, we can kind of recapture the moment without being too literal.

Now if we just get one of those trains like Ricky had to ride around our apartment.

Magical Machines: Gareth Pugh constructed outrageous plastic masks to accompany Thierry Mugler’s cyborg outfits for Dazed & Confused’s man machine issue. {DazedDigital}

Paris Je T’aime: It’s the second annual A Shaded View on Fashion Film festival curated by Diane Pernet and hosted by Jeu de Paume and Standard Magazine. You can submit your films here. {ShadedViewOnFashion}

So Clutch: Karla Martinez sees snake and we see chains, either way, this is both chic, inexpensive and not a copy. Hurray! {TheMoment}

Just in Case: Todd Selby put it up last week, but just in case you missed the peek inside Sally Singer’s Chelsea Hotel apartment, here you go. We got stuck on the shoe picture - where’d the Nicholas Kirkwood Rodarte’s go? {TheSelby}

Avedon Chance: The International Center of Photography’s launching a Richard Avedon exhibition next week. It focuses on his work in fashion in particular from 1944 to 2000. {TheMoment}

Fairy Dust: Pixie Geldof’s interning at LOVE. Apparently she talks too much and befriended a meerkat — or they’re just as fun and silly as we thought. {LOVE}

Circus Time: Paolo Roversi shot a Lucinda Chambers-styled Guinevere Van Seenus for the new Vogue UK. The results - gorgeous, if not a little creepy - make us wish shirts were optional in real life. {Models}

Time Will Tell: Just in case you still have hundreds of thousands of dollars handy and you’re shopping around for a pretty watch, VF’s lined up some winners. {VanityFair}

Urban Scoops: Lizzie Fortunato’s working on a collaboration with Urban Outfitters, a role previously held by Bing Bang’s Anna Sheffield. It’ll be called Hope Marian and her jewels’ll look swell with Lark & Wolf’s striped tanks for summer. {TeenVogue}

Sneaking Suspicion: Natalia Vodianova for Vogue UK looks very similar, and yet so different, from Beth Ditto’s inaugural LOVE cover. {CatwalkQueen}

Welcome to Part II of Life With Steven Alan (here’s Part I) wherein we discuss:

- How to land a coveted space in the Steven Alan showroom.

- How to land an arguably more coveted space in the Steven Alan store.

- Why girls should dress like boys.

- Whether or not he’ll ever stage a proper show.

- How you can thank his high school for your favorite wrinkled button down.

Steven Alan might be the trickiest Life With subject yet.

He doesn’t just design men’s, women’s and children’s collections; he doesn’t just run a showroom representing over twenty of New York’s hippest designers; and he doesn’t just operate ten of his own stores - he also hangs out with his seven-year-old son.They like to eat things like seaweed with rice and salami and tuna and rank their favorite chefs.

But when he’s working, Alan works hard, scouting the best new designers to fill both his showroom and his store while maintaining one of the most cohesive design visions around.

After the jump, I try to understand just how he wears so many hats, so well.

(And since the Life Withs get longer and longer as I get more curious, check back tomorrow for Part II.)

This morning, among emails from people we actually know, our inbox was filled with notes from Abercrombie & Fitch, Barneys, Bergdorf, Michael Kors, Neiman Marcus, Tiffany & Co., and Pottery Barn - and it’s only 9:00.

Is it just us, or do you delete these immediately and move on? We could just click ‘unsubscribe’ at the bottom of each one, but we let them keep coming with the hope of learning something earth-shattering.

We do occasionally find a golden nugget of goodness in the subject line - free shipping on whatever or amazing new shoes with our name on them. But usually it’s things that we couldn’t care less about like post-collegiate Abercrombie sweatshirts or floral frilly bikinis from Urban Outfitters - all because we bought a t-shirt from them five years ago.

So to those responsible for mass emailing, may we suggest asking our product preferences? Something as simple as are you a boy or a girl? And perhaps a comments section in which we can give a thumbs up or down?

We understand the rationale behind bombarding us with information to see what sticks, but it’s getting ridiculous. We read Net-a-Porter’s Wednesday emails religiously, and look forward to Colette’s monthly newsletters because their content’s worth reading.

If you really need to reach us everyday, why don’t you start a blog?

—BRETT KANE

To:Tips@Fashionista.com

From: Beep@Beep.com

Hi!

Thought this was strange and up your alley…

Remember the American Apparel Figure Skater Dress?

Well, this landed in my inbox today from Urban: Silence & Noise Figure Skater Tunic.

Kind of blatantly obvi, no? Thoughts?

K

We’ve been pretty into Urban Outfitter’s collaborations.

We welcome Steven Alan in any form and surfed through Spring Fashion Week in a couple of Hawks by Geren Ford tops.

They’re dressy and sexy and less than $100.

They’re also, apparently, the same exact design as Geren Ford’s main line - or at least this one particular Gather Ruffle Neck Top is. The blouse-y top comes in silk on Shopbop for $258 or a rayon/polyester/spandex blend for $88 at Urban Outfitters. (Also, the silk one’s dry clean only which adds about $100 to its lifetime cost.)

There’s also this: the Rivet Back Tank on Shopbop for $220 or the Grommet Back Tank at Urban for $88. Not exactly the same, but close enough. And because it’s all made by the same designer, there’s no copy guilt.

Just in case you were about to spend your hard earned recession-era pennies on Shopbop and you don’t particularly mind fake silk.

I am a big fan of short.

Come Spring/Summer, my dresses/skirts/shorts are as short as they can possibly be without causing a scandal. But even I’m thinking twice about the recent crop of pants-less pants.

Stella’s Spring 09 runway kicked off the trend (actually, Vlada did at SS08 McQueen). Her little suits and rompers are my dream version of office-wear (if my legs looked anything like Natasha Poly’s). Then, the pink and orange Marc by Marc romper sold out on Net-a-Porter within a day, even though it doesn’t have legs - just elastic bands and about a half-inch inseam. And last weekend, I seriously contemplated trying on these hot-pants at Urban, in navy blue, until I realized I’d really started to lose it. I have lacy boy shorts that cover more of my bottom.

— Sidenote: The office thinks I should note that I did once wear pink sequin hotpants in public for an entire night. But it was for a roller skating party and therefore I deem it irrelevant. —

But there’s a pretty consistent fashion trickle down. Starts with the runways - Stella, McQueen, Wang. Then hits the celebrities - Lady Gaga and Katie Perry ditched their trousers long ago. Then the high street - Urban, Topshop. And in no time at all, everyone from Reese Witherspoon to Williamsburg residents are running errands with their ass hanging out.

But will you?

Lara Bohinc, the Brit-based jewelry designer who’s worked with brands like Lanvin and Gucci, is probably best known for her knot jewelry.

The shiny gold and dull platinum knots come in different shapes and sizes, sometimes plaited, in rings, bracelets and necklaces. You’ve probably seen them accompanying a red carpet dress or two and even though they sell for upwards of $500, they’re unique enough that they used to fly out of the store when I worked in retail.

They sold so well that Urban Outfitters (who’s usually a lot quicker on the uptake) is ripping off Bohinc’s signature designs and warping them into $78 “mixed metal exclusive to Urban Outfitters” versions. In the store, they’re merchandised three at a time, layered over each other, to at least lend an image of richness.

But as you can see in the picture, they don’t even come close.

Hayden-Harnett made a Camille clutch for spring.

Its shoe counterpart is the sandal on the far left, the shoes that Natalie’s revolved her weekend around and probably one of the most unique sandals we’ve seen in a long time. The orange and blue and grey leather links top a gray suede platform - there are even little studs in the back, because if you’re going to commend Toni Hacker on one thing, it’ll be for her attention to detail.

Anyway, Urban Outfitters has a Camilla shoe. It’s on the right and has orange and white and brown leather fabric atop a faux wood wedge fastened with elastic and sells for $128.

The colors might not be as pretty but they’ve got the idea - someone else’s idea - down pat.