The stuffed-animal-as-backpack trend might actually be back for a while.

Natalie and Britt first spotted the phenomenon a few weeks ago on Mott Street, but at the time, we all chalked it up to German tourists thinking Cafe Gitane housed a secret basement rave.

Alas, that's not the case:

It seems a huge store on Union Square South - the one just across the street from Strawberry - is selling puppy backpacks (Backpuppies? Puppacks?) and also those plastic sunglasses that look like window shades.

We wouldn't recommend wearing them together.

Okay, we wouldn't recommend wearing them at all. Unless you're auditioning for a community theater production of Rent, that is...

Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen!

The super twins are in talks with the super store for a PA - that's personal appearance - on behalf of their line, The Row.

If they make it, they won't be the first sisters to hold court at a much-hyped store:

Sienna and Savannah Miller launched their line, Twenty8Twelve, at Bergdorf Goodman during Fashion Week last year, and Paris and Nicky Hilton teamed up a few years ago to launch some Tinkerbell outfits for Fred Segal. And of course, Laura and Kate Mulleavy have made quite a few appearances on behalf of their own collection, Rodarte.

Does this mean Hilary and Hayley Duff will be at Bendels by Spring '09?

We hear Dolce & Gabbana is shooting their Fall '08 campaign in a Manhattan mansion, just around the corner from the Palace Hotel, otherwise known as Serena Van Der Woodsen HQ.

The models - Lily Donaldson, Jessica Stam, and Caroline Trentini - have all been dressed to look like Brearley babes going out - and they're shooting them "sneaking out" of their mansion as if it were a paparazzi shoot of these three rich chicks getting caught in the middle of the night.

There's a separate shot of boys, too, in trenches and black suits that don't mimic the North Face puffies actually worn by private school boys, but definitely do imitate the Chuck Bass school of wardrobe.

The whole campaign is being shot by Steven Klein, and it's almost (almost!) done.

A source on the set says Caroline Trentini is the nicest girl to deal with, but that's no surprise...

Britt recalls from her days in retail that the hideously overpriced costume jewelry would sit untouched for months, only randomly purchased by total randoms. In fact, the only time she ever touched any of it was when it needed fixing - the polished rocks (yes, actual rocks) were known for falling from their settings a bit too often.

So we were a little surprised that last week's big accessories news was a tame SJP outfit topped with a mélange of mismatched Beamon baubles, for which we hope she was dearly paid.

And today's first e-mail pitch? "Media Alert: Dita von Teese wearing Erickson Beamon!" from the Phillips de Pury party.

Somebody over there's working overtime to get glass and plated gold that starts at $700 a pop on everyone's mind - the question is, who'll be paid next for a red carpet plug? Paging Rihanna...

She was dressed in about a hundred plastic bags, all pinned to her apron to form a very ugly dress, and she was screaming, "Turn in your bags! Turn in your bags!"

It's too bad we were so creeped out, because it was an excellent idea:

Bring in your plastic bags to LUSH and get something much, much cooler: The chance to sample some of the cool company's signature bath and shower goodies, and the knowledge that instead of your bags filling a landfill, they'll actually get recycled.

But what about recycling the bags yourself by wearing them as a dress?

We wouldn't recommend that - it's a little too Marjorie-The-Trash-Heap from Fraggle Rock.

Oh god, please tell us you're old enough to remember Fraggle Rock...

We learned this fun fact last week after a friend professed his love for the dots' retro vibe, which in turn made us wonder whether he loved the actual spots or just the 50's housewife look it connotes.

So we asked around this weekend, and yes, apparently they love a buttoned up, full skirted, high-heeled woman. Brett even remembers Matthew Broderick saying he preferred a woman in a Stepford Wife-like outfit, (obviously interesting in and of itself since his wife dresses like anything but), and he distinctly recalls a GQ spread in which men professed their love for the women on the Food Network in part because yes - they can cook, but also because they're beautiful and dress conservatively.

The message appears to be that guys don't like girls who dress like Posh or Carrie Bradshaw but want a girl who looks more like Katie Holmes or Charlotte York - and polka dots are an added bonus.

We're wondering though, can stars replace polka dots? Because we're really obsessed with this romper and we're pretty sure every guy we know would think we'd lost it if we started wearing it around.

But if it was spotted - well apparently it'd be ok?

The super-girly vibe seems like a little bit of a departure for the slightly punkier designer, but we think we know how this one happened -

Not even one month after Gossip Girl's British debut, and we're already previewing the denouement of a sure-to-be-worn by Lily Allen Leighton-look in Vogue UK.

Or could we be looking at a very logical product placement option for GG?

Way to strategize, Luella!

Stuffed animal bags.

Yesterday, we spotted an otherwise chic woman lingering outside Cafe Gitane on Mott Street. She was an otherwise normal-looking person except that she had a dog-shaped purse under her arm. Not a fuzzy wuzzy kind of pup, more like a taxidermic-looking version that we really did mistake for a real - albeit completely stiff - dog that she for some reason was carrying on her shoulder with a strap.

We had kind of a funny discussion about animal backpacks in the office not too long ago, an offshoot of a Clueless discussion. Did you used to have one? Would you wear one? What if it was a bunny, like Stella's for LeSportsac? But we had no idea this look had taken to the streets.

Has anyone else seen this?

[Semi-related note: We went to see The Wackness yesterday, mostly because we were curious to see what MK would look like with dreads (overstatement - more like messy braids), and it was amazing, mostly because we have never missed the 90's more than when we left our seats. Olivia Thirlby wore kinky hair and door knockers, and we have to say, it didn't look Lily Allen so much as just what we thought "cool" was in 4th grade. Summer 2008 style inspiration?]

When we saw some added to Oak's site this morning, we thought, "Maybe it's a mirage."

But when Jazzi told us she saw a girl wearing a red cotton version in the West Village yesterday, we realized that this needs to be addressed.

We can't really say that we know when this started to come back (is it really coming back?) Maybe it's a part of the whole return of the 90's thing (Rachel Green was a big style icon then), or maybe everybody's over modesty, but we can't help but think that this one's a little too early-career Britney and maybe downright ugly to seriously wear outside of the house.

Maybe we could see it with something very high-waisted...? Or over a body suit or clingy tee? Otherwise, we don't plan on wearing it.

But more importantly, do you?

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)...

Every man was in an Armani style power suit, presumably on his way to work, and about the age of my dad. Designers were definitely targeting who they thought could buy their clothes, moneyed older men, by featuring them in their ads.

Now, even though the target consumer probably hasn't changed, menswear ads seem to be going the way of womens' - that is, featuring too young boys who could never afford the clothes and overly sexual scenes (almost always homo erotic) suggesting that maybe menswear designers think that guys in rock bands can keep them in business.

Even Zegna, that final refuge of buttoned up men in expensive suits, has had an about-face with boys in windbreakers, and one of them is too bashful to tell the other guy he likes him. Z Zegna is expensive Sunday brunch gear for CEOs, not really fodder for a bromance.

There's just something about a 16-year old boy in Dior Homme that's a little too jokey for a brand that should be aspirational. Though we've been wondering the same thing about women's ads since forever.

--BRETT KANE

The 60 second up-do is the only way, or at least the only chic way, to guarantee all of our long hair stays out of our face and off of our neck.

We never understood why Sienna Miller received such negative reviews for, among other things, pulling her wispy blonde hair up into the same look.

Now it seems the criticism has dissipated and pretty girls everywhere are catching on to the easiest and cutest way to wear long hair.

We've spotted Mamie Gummer, Lauren Conrad, a random fashionista at Style.com's party, and Christy Turlington (for Chanel) with Heidi braids atop their heads - and that's just this week, it's not even summer yet!

So if your hair's not long enough, start using horse shampoo, forego monthly trims, and please, please, please don't stick a fake braid on your crown.

Lauren Conrad came to visit the NYLON office this week, and I swore I would mop the floors all month just to get in the meeting.

She was very nice, very enthusiastic and knowledgeable about her clothing line, and unbelievably pretty in person. She was also so social that I wondered if she'd ever done anything more fun than go to a party - when we mentioned two big NYLON events coming up, her eyes got huge like she'd just been given some free Chanel shoes.

Actually, she was wearing Chanel shoes, little flats; they were kind of amazing.

Anyway, we took a bunch of photos of her Fall '08 clothes, but I also paid particular attention to her nails. It's no secret that at the Fashionista office, we've always claimed (and only half as a joke) that whatever Lauren did with her fingers, every girl in America would do later.

For about two years, she's clung to Chanel's Black Satin varnish, but this week, it was something different: Totally clear with nothing else.

For those who care, even secretly, I've attached a close-up below.

xo F.

Natalie: Ha. You know it'll get cold three more times before it's actually spring.

Britt: Noooo! It's really really here! I even saw a girl yesterday wearing the new YSL Spring Tribute Sandals. The weird thing was she wore them with white athletic socks. Like thick white socks, over her black tights, under her sandals.

Natalie: Oh my God! I saw that girl! I couldn't figure out what was going on - are we supposed to be wearing running socks outside of the gym now?!

Britt: Um, I hope not. She was French, and so chic, but that's one thing I definitely don't want to try and pull off.

Natalie: Maybe she was just keeping her feet warm. Since this is still fake spring.

Britt: Please stop saying that! Spring IS here.