ADAM

Summer is almost officially over (we know, sad) and that means that New York fashion week is right around the bend. Like three-weeks-from-now-around-t

Adam Lippes is back at the helm of his namesake brand. The designer has bought back his name and intellectual property rights from brand marketing firm Kellwood, WWD is reporting. While terms of the deal were not disclosed, Lippes also bought himself out of a non compete clause, meaning that the designer could partner with another company in the future.

The Office's Mindy Kaling Relaunches Blog, is Hilarious and Awesome: The Concerns of Mindy Kaling is full of honest and LOL-worthy observations and tips, like what jewelry to wear if "you want to look laid back but rich, like say, Matthew McConaughey’s girlfriend." There's a good chance you'll start believing she's your actual BFF... word of warning. {MTV Style} Apparently Wearing Makeup Makes You More Likable: Studies conducted by Procter & Gamble, which (a bit suspiciously) produces a huge array of makeup products, show that women who wear makeup are perceived as more likable, competent, and trustworthy than those who do not. The only exception was for women wearing "glam" makeup, who seemed less trustworthy. Are you listening, Kardashian Klan? {The Gloss} Lindsay Lohan at PFW with Fash Folk: Remind me again, what exactly does Lindsay Lohan do these days, aside from being photographed? Here's the... ahem, actress, hanging out and making various hand gestures with Terry Richardson, Lindsey Wixson, and Charlotte Free in Paris. {Refinery29 via Terry's Diary}

Name: Lindsey Manilla Age: 25 Occupation: Associate Designer, ADAM How would you describe yours style? Easy feminine, with [some] uptight preppy man.

The latest shows are up on our lovely fashion week page! Among them are Adam's High Line-inspired candy-colored confections, Jill Stuart's ladylike

If street style snaps from NYC’s Tompkins Square Park teem with Doc Martens as often as Upper East Side pics boast Céline handbags, the hallmark styles found on Chelsea’s High Line should be-- according to Adam's Adam Lippes-- something more peppy, colorful, and exuberant, yet hard to pin down. Kinda like a whimsical Teen Vogue editorial, pre-configured. Or at least that what’s Adam’s spring show suggests. Inspired by the “runway in the sky” he observes from his design studio window, Lippes translated High Line style into pieces as energetic as they were eclectic. There were kitschy floral blazers, bold bandleader jackets, and polka dots galore. On the runway, the contrasting prints mingled together, but the Adam girl will probably dilute the look, choosing to pair one of the statement separates with muted basics.

Here's a recipe for commercial success: Start by thinking about your actual, real life customer. Add a dash of niche, specific inspiration, but don't get too heavy handed. Split the vision up into separates. Lather, rinse, repeat. For fall, Adam Lippes did just that, churning out yet another ADAM collection that was "wearable" in only the way that fashion people say it, as if surprised when clothes are actually accessible. "The starting point in designing every collection is the woman who wears my clothes," Lippes' show notes explained. Past that, his inspiration was a recent trip to the National Museum of the American Indian. But sticking to the recipe, Lippes added just the right dash of native, not a dousing.

If you thought Hilary Swank was the kind of serious two time Oscar-winning actress who wouldn't become the latest in a never ending chain of celebs to launch a clothing line, think again. Hilary Swank is developing a clothing line, WWD is reporting. Swank is working with DMA Designers Management Agency, the same agency that arranged the collaboration between Amar’e Stoudemire and Rachel Roy, to develop a concept for her collection. Swank's line will reportedly have an athletic bent, given her gymnast background. “Our platform is a contemporary, outdoor, athleisure brand,” DMA co-founder Marc Beckman told WWD. While this news might seem a little out of left field, given that Swank isn't an actress who is particularly known for her style (though we'll never forget the Guy Laroche she wore when she won the Oscar in 2005), there was that head-scratching item last month that she is developing a fashion game show for the CW. Two years ago she signed on to produce a movie version of Falling Out of Fashion, a novel by Jane Pratt's former executive assistant Karen Yampolsky. We've yet to see anything come out of that deal yet but the title is listed in IMDB for 2011. And then let's also not forget that she's buds with Marc Jacobs and has been known to work in his West Village store just for kicks. So maybe Swank is more of a fashionista than we thought.

Adam Lippes knows a thing or two about pretty; he was, after all, global creative director at Oscar de la Renta for seven years. But while Lippes’ own adam+eve line emerged in 2004 as a bank of basics, since then, not only has the name changed, but so too has its aesthetic. In the past couple seasons, ADAM has gone back to pretty. Like, really pretty. Perhaps it’s just another case of this season’s sartorial shift from grandeur and drama back towards minimalism and femininity. But whatever the cause for the slant towards sophistication, one thing’s for sure: Lippes is more than well trained for it.