Heidi Klum graced the pages of the new Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue.

The beloved annual spread is half swimsuit catalogue for women, half eye candy for men. (Yes, apparently over 28 million women read "the Academy Awards" of swim wear fashion.)

In this edition, Heidi wears a suit by Red Carter, and now the label's profits are up 60% from this time last year and they've already sold 400 of the $137 bikini Heidi wears.

When we saw Heidi posing with Will Ferrell, all we could think was, wait, Heidi Klum's a model? While the fashion industry devotes its love to the Tanyas, Natalias and Jourdans of its world, everyone else has made Heidi Klum the face of fashion.

Us Weekly just named her Style Icon of the Year and now even Bloomberg's reporting on the fact that whatever you put on her body will sell out in minutes.

Is it just us, or was her faux Van Cleef clover jewelry enough to discredit her style icon status?

At 12:22 today, I got a text from Natalie: "Hey, are you dead?"

I ignored it and shoved my cell back in my pocket.

At 1:07, she texted: "Just let us know you're ok! It's not like you to be late and not call"

So finally I had to admit where I was. I tapped out: "Hey. Sorry. Cheap Monday sample sale! 5 minutes, i swear! It was a fashion emergency."

I felt terribly guilty, shaking as I handed the checkout person my money, and yet I was filled with the same jittery excitement I always get when I see slashed prices and fitting rooms made from bed sheets.

The stats: Cheap Mondays for 20 bucks (they even have the really exciting pair flecked with dots, and the turquoise ones that look like Ksubis), Rogues Gallery T’s for $15, Vena Cava blouses for $100. Too good to miss. They had every size, even though this is the last day, and random boxes of clothes marked $10.

There was even Shipley and Halmos stuff, but it was all pretty expensive. And the women's Vena Cava was golden, as was all the Wayne (especially this white dress splattered with black that is totally giving us Cynthia Vincent for less).

Seriously, go.

495 Broadway, near Broome

This may be my last post for a while. Natalie is really concerned. She’s sending me to rehab, though secretly I think she's really hoping I’ll run into an Olsen.

--BRETT KANE

Friends in New York and LA send constant complaints about the cost of "keeping up," but as any 10th grader at an affluent school can tell you, it happens in the suburbs too.

Witness the latest proof:

A slew of new boutiques from Intermix set to open in Orlando and Charlotte - cosmopolitan, sure, but hardly places where one immediately thinks "fashion" - in fact, in both cases, our first thought is "air conditioning."

So what can we learn from this?

That because of the internet and fashion's pervasive "reality" on TV, more Americans in cities without visible fashion industries are getting obsessed with labels?

Sure.

That if you're visiting cousins in Winter Park, you can now snag a Chloe bag out of boredom?

Definitely.

But also this: That despite the "crashing" economy, women are still really excited to shop. This is especially odd considering a full tank of gas now costs the name as a Marc dress, but it's definitely something to notice.

Here's an easy way to prove your Louboutins are real, and not from Nine West:

Buy them at Barneys on May 1 (New York) or May 7 (Los Angeles).

Bring them to Mr. Louboutin himself.

Give him a Sharpie.

Voila!

You've just stamped a pair of Louboutins with the undisputed seal of fashion approval.

The signings go from 3 pm - 7 pm, and bring your book / Blackberry / travel-sized game of Scrabble, because you know there's going to be a big line.

There was a love letter to online shopping in the London Times this weekend.

The author says, "Shopping has long been viewed as something that offers comfort in times of need, loneliness, boredom or inebriation, and now the door is open 24/7." She'd rather spend obscene amounts of money on Net-a-Porter than in Harvey Nichols and even admits to buying a few outrageous pieces after a night of heavy drinking.

Natalie sympathizes. She loves to shop online - she's bought clothes, shoes, bags and even, wait for it, bras. She credits some of it to the fact that she often buys the same brands so she always knows her size - she also knows the difference between buying a bag (safe) versus buying a dress (risky) over the internet - and that Nordstrom has the best return policy ever.

But I'm so baffled by the entire concept. How in the world do you know how something fits/feels/hangs without trying it on?

When I shop, I have to take every size - yes, small, medium and large - into the dressing room to see which fits best. I own jeans in sizes 28 through 31, dresses range from a 4 to an 8 and that's even from the same brand! I can't be bothered with ordering something, waiting for it, and possibly hating it and having to go through the trouble of sending it back.

Not to mention the fact that I have little self control and once I open the floodgates of online shopping, it's only a matter of time before I stumble home at 3 am and buy the shoes to the left with little or no thought of the consequences.

If you shop online, how do you do it? And do you still go to real stores like Natalie, or do all your purchases get made in cyberspace?

We're getting a little Gossip Girl crazy around here.

The sun is out, we're eating Sour Skittles, and there are only 5 days left until "The Greatest Show of Our Time" returns, (we're obsessed with NY Mag's running commentary and look forward to it almost as much as we look forward to the show itself).

Fred Flare's thrilled too.

Their "What's New" section boasts a Canvas Jenny Tote and a Blair baby doll dress. The tote's kind of eh but the Blair dress comes complete with a bib, buttons and ruffle - she'd totally wear it with white tights and patent pumps.

We searched for a Chuck grandpa cardigan or a brightly colored Serena scarf but no luck yet. We'll be checking back for more inspired titles.

(Editor's Note: Please enjoy this shot of Chuck at SubMercer courtesy of photog extraordinare Faran. Britt's to the RIGHT, but she didn't think her beauty could hold up next to Mr. Bass. Check out that ripped jersey and exposed dog tags, ladies!)

Every time we read those scary letters on the back of WWD from Chanel, we think we won't see anything tweedy, chained or quilted ever again because it'll make designers too scared of getting nailed with a lawsuit.

And yet, Marc keeps making Raquels, St.John keeps making those knit suits, and apparently J.Crew now makes Candy tweed tank dresses.

But there's one key difference with that last one - J.Crew's Creative Director of Women's Wear, Jenna Lyons, went straight to the source. According to the site, the fabric is "woven at the same English mill a famous French couturier uses."

How cool is that? You could be one click away from the same ingredients that go into making a Chanel dress, but on sale at Crew for 200 bucks.

We can already see you strutting down the Champs-Élysées with a croissant, or at the very least, strutting down Spring Street with a Starbucks café au lait.

--BRETT KANE

Have you guys seen this?

Simon Doonan wrote an entire story for Rag & Bone's spring collection: A Saga of Hope, Drama, and Miniskirts.

The "saga" features Abby Lee suffering a career crisis in some very cute, very preppy outfits with some very rock 'n roll makeup by Gucci Westman, (who in case you forgot is married to the David Neville half of Rag & Bone).

Lee considers both physics and sabotage until declaring, "I could just stick with modeling and laugh all the way to the bank."

Yes Abbey, or you could pair a poison ring with your trench and do both - wouldn't that be the most fun?

Everyone's been a bit worried about Target losing Isaac Mizrahi to Liz Claiborne.

The designer's been widely credited with building Target's fashion cred, but we've always thought their success stemmed more from their GO International collections.

Apparently so do they - the company announced this morning that they won't attempt to form another long term designer partnership and will instead focus on one-off collections.

Long term collaborations don't have the best track record. No one ran to Kohl's for Simply Vera, Kate Moss for Topshop always ends up on the clearance rack, and even my mom declared Isaac's Target clothes "frumpy".

The only reason I woke up at the crack of dawn for Luella and Proenza was because I knew I'd never have another chance. Had the clothes been on the racks for over a year, I definitely would have slept in those mornings and I probably would have lost interest.

Is it the novelty of one-off collections that makes them more successful? Or is it that the cooler designers aren't willing to commit to years of mass market work?

Burberry's sandal - you know the one with thick black straps, silver studs and a rock n' roll buckle - is arguably the most recognizable shoe of this past season.

During fashion week, we saw them on the feet of our favorite fashion editors, the youngest models and the most dolled up socialites.

So we're pretty sure most of the fashion pack and then some are super familiar with the shoe. And therefore, we're wondering who Oscar de la Renta thinks will buy his $665 version?

Sure they're gold, and have studded markings instead of actual metal studs, but, well, you get it.

Awww, look!

Some girl on MySpace is making the Sonic Youth totes from the Marc Jacobs show.

And she's selling them on the internet!

We didn't know those things were so in demand -

We use ours to carry food from the grocery store.

It's way bigger than the I am not a Plastic Bag.

Anyway...

Remember when Vogue put Fendi's white canvas baguette on the last page of their December issue?

Well, we know who bought it.

ELuxury commissioned a pretty random group of people to decorate the classic Fendi shape. Marchesa's is to the left, but the rest won't be up until April 17th.

We picture Kim Cattrall's to be orange suede, with orange paillettes and pink sequins. Chris March will definitely use human hair, maybe supplied by Sally Hershberger who's already completed her markered version?

We bet on a half retro, half Stella McCartney design for Scarlett Johannson, maybe navy with a floral print? And the Misshapes, well, theirs will obviously be black with black embellishments.

The blank one in Vogue costs $5,500 but the celeb DIY's a bargain at $2,500.

The question is, would you rather pay more than twice the amount of money to make the bag your own, or less than half to carry around someone else's vision?

Today, we learned that Banana Republic was launching a new sub-label at their stores.

It's called "monogram" and it's described by Banana Republic as "our signature label collection defined by remarkably rich fabrics, distinctive details and a modern, leaner fit for the most eloquent expression of style. Available in limited quantities.

Translation?

Lots of navy blue.

Interestingly, the collection isn't priced any differently from the rest of BR's offerings, the way J. Crew has a special suiting section in stores, or Forever 21 has their "upscale line," and yes, we were trying hard not to laugh while typing that.

Maybe the Monogram label isn't a higher end thing at all, but a reassurance to customers that as J. Crew and Club Monaco get increasingly trend-oriented, Banana will always have classic (predictable?) looks?

Our favorite part of Entourage is when Billy Walsh calls Christina Ricci's ex boyfriend (whose name we forget) "The Trust Fund Baby" and he almost beats him up in Spago.

We have a similar friend - also called "The Trust Fund Baby" - but she phoned us with a little lament today:

"I can't get the Prada Trembled Blossom bag! It's sold out! I mean, granted I wasn't really aggressive about it..."

We don't know what "aggressive" can mean to a girl who weighs less than the handbags she carries, but ok.

We're dying to know who, exactly, bought the Trembled Blossom bag, and also how easy it is to make your own.

In fact, that last question might be answered a little later in the week (muhahah)...

We haven't been on Bluefly in awhile.

It usually takes too long to find something good and by then, it's still too expensive, ie this gorgeous Prada clutch.

But we logged on today, clicked on YSL and found this bag. You know, the one Lily Allen carted everywhere just a month ago and the one Kate Moss has been carrying for at least a week.

We always thought the products on Bluefly ended up on there because no one was buying them, and even then, not less than a year after they leave actual stores. Are we wrong?

The good news is, if you want Kate's bag for less than retail, you don't have to wait for it to go on sale.

The bad news? It's still $1,500.00 - and you know Kate paid $1,500.00 less than that.