United Bamboo

Here's what would happen if cats could become fashion editors...and talk.

Jessica Simpson served as maid of honor this weekend for her former assistant, looking chic in a black gown that revealed her baby bump. {US Weekly} You could be seeing a lot more of Pippa Middleton (and her fabulous bum): Rumors are swirling that the Today Show is courting Kate's sister to be a correspondent, with a hefty six figure lure. {Jezebel} American Apparel is not too pleased about the recent ASA ban of one of their ads, reporting that the "sexualized child" in the banned ad was actually 23 years old when the photo was taken. {WWD}

Could you imagine a world without high-quality, well-designed calendars featuring photos of cats wearing designer outfits? Neither could we. At least

So, this is happening: United Bamboo designed a small capsule collection for Madewell and it hits stores tomorrow. Considering most collaborations ar

This weekend I had the distinct pleasure of crashing the photo shoot for the 2013 edition of the now-famous United Bamboo cat calendar. This past Saturday, nearly 30 cats (and their owners) came through United Bamboo's Soho studio to pose for photographer Noah Sheldon in the label's special cat-size collection. One of those cats happened to be Skeleton, the seven-month old kitten of famed artist Terence Koh. Fittingly, Koh, Skeleton and Koh's husband Garrick Gott, were the last to arrive

Tired of seeing skinny human model after skinny human model in fashion magazines and ad campaigns? Well, back in 2010, United Bamboo started doing t

Thanksgiving is a notoriously hard holiday to dress for because it requires sitting at a dinner table for hours with relatives who you only see once a year while simultaneously trying to consume unreasonable amounts of food and/or liquor. This presents a unique problem: dressing to impress your distant family while maintaining a level of comfort that is conducive to eating and sitting for long periods of time. While we all know Thanksgiving isn't the time to break out our best Carine Roitfeld-inspired look--too tight for face-stuffing!--finding a fashionable alternative to sweats can be difficult. We've pulled together the most stylish items that are comfy, chic, and won't disturb your proper Grandma. (So don't wear your Balenciaga Darth Vader visor, ok?) Of course our list includes Stella McCartney, the legendary mixer of casual and elegant, our favorite button downs from Madewell, a hat trick of cute shoes, and a Céline t-shirt--because a girl can dream, right? Check out all the Thanksgiving-friendly options in our slideshow!

Most of the beauty looks this season were minimal, natural, and quite pretty and wearable (well, except the wet mullets). But those aren't fun to look at, are they? No, we don't think so either. So please click through to see the 10 looks that we never hope to see on someone in the subway at three in the afternoon but that we loved seeing on the runways.

We are toiling tirelessly in the tents to get yet more reviews for you. Check out our latest set including Kimberly Ovitz, who was inspired by Japa

"We wanted to make clothes you can wear to work," Thuy Pham, one half of the design duo that is United Bamboo told us after their spring 2012 show. And if you want to be the chicest, hippest, girl at the office, this collection is for you. There was an emphasis on suiting, but with a relaxed bent: a black leather blazer you could live in; navy linen pleat front pants and blazers to match; printed slouchy silk dresses. But as always with United Bamboo, there are subtle twists and tricks. The feminine bow details at the shoulder of dresses served a function, too. Pham demonstrated on a dress his co-designer Aoki that the bow is actually a ribbon sewn through the waist of the dress, so when it's tied at the shoulder it's gathered just-so. Blazers were split open at the back. Pham said the pair were influenced by Issey Miyake in the '90s. The abstract prints were done by Aoki's husband, a painter who was inspired by '80s street graffiti. And of course we couldn't leave without asking about their famous cat calendar (obviously a Fashionista favorite).

United Bamboo Deal: All proceeds will go to Tsunami relief efforts. When/Where: Tues—Weds 11am—8pm. 217 Centre Street, 6th Floor Link: www.unitedbamboo.com Ends: Wednesday, 23 March 2011 3.1 Phillip Lim Deal: All proceeds will be donated to the American Red Cross to aid Japan's relief efforts When/Where: Thurs--Fri 10--6pm. Phillip Lim Showroom, 260 West 39th Street, 17th Floor (Between 7th and 8th Aves.) Link: www.31philliplim.com

Of course we had our favorites. And here they are, in no particular order. For the most part. What were yours? nextpage 1. Proenza Schouler We all

For Fall 2011, United Bamboo created a wardrobe that could last a decade. From the crisp white button up and the easy plaid sack dresses to the tweed suits and perfect platform loafers, it might be wise to spend $3,000 on this collection and never shop again. Of course, most of us can't do that. But we can dream. Especially about those loafers. **All photos by Imaxtree.

more Ms. Gaga has always had a penchant for pink hair, and her March Vogue cover makes us take note of all the bubble gum hued 'dos we've see on the

The second installment of United Bamboo's beloved cat calendar went up for sale last week. And last night, we feted the cattastic calendar at Creatures of Comfort (205 Mulberry St.), where framed prints of the cats done up in RTW United Bamboo frocks are being auctioned off to benefit Animal Haven and Kitty Kind (as if you needed another excuse to go to Creatures of Comfort). Beyond raising funds to help the kitties, the best part about last night's party was the chance to see the glorious calendar in full. On the flip side of every catetorial calendar page, there's a kitty bio (including their pet peeves) and super cute anecdotes about them. Like how Oscar, Mr. February, is blind and has cheated death twice and does NOT like it when you blow on his whiskers! And that Egon lived in Istanbul for a while. And that TJ loves seaweed nori. Of course he does. But we're sure you want to know more. So we bring you, exclusively, the backstory behind the United Bamboo calender cats.

Last night Fashionista teamed up with United Bamboo, Julia Frakes, and Creatures of Comfort to host a fête celebrating United Bamboo's 2011 Cat Calendar. (Which is of course, our favorite calendar. Sorry Pirelli girls!) The party took place inside Creatures of Comfort's spacious SoHo store, filled with more Margiela than I've ever seen outside the MMM store on Greenwich St. The real highlight of the party, though, was the framed portraits of United Bamboo's calendar cats, which were being auctioned off to benefit Animal Haven and Kitty Kind. Unfortunately, no actual cats were at the party, but there were a lot of cool-cat downtown scenesters. DJ Johnny Misheff spun tunes, Julia Frakes hopped by wearing her bunny ears, and the Fashionista team staffed the bar, meaning the party was so good we completely ran out of wine. So if you woke up this morning in a strange place clutching a cat photo...oops!

Last year, I bought a lovely and warm quilted parka from Uniqlo. And I only wore it once. Why? Because it was ugly. Unless you're someone like Sally Singer--who can pull off a floor length version with aplomb--or you've scored one of Norma Kamali's classic sleeping bag coats, quilted parkas are a bit hopeless. At least when it comes to looking "put together." Enter the military anorak. Guys have been wearing these pumped-up versions of your fall army jacket for seasons upon seasons, but this is the first year that I've found several warm styles for women. I'm going with Relwen's version--it's really, truly warm and won't break the bank at $500. (Yves Salomon's version will, but it's is an investment piece. As in, you're investing in your health by keeping warm this winter!) Click through for this season's top anoraks.

Most of what we see in fashion, as whole, can be very serious. It's full of unsmiling models, people wearing black, harsh editors and moody vibes. We understand and appreciate the serious side of fashion. However, as you may have noticed, we have a soft spot for cuteness. Most recently, Brad Koenig's kid at Chanel warmed our hearts and inspired us to recall our favorite cute moments over the years.

In case you forgot, Thuy Pham and Miho Aoki, creators of $500 cat outfits, design cute clothes for people, too. Not that they want you to forget about their feline obsession--the gift bag included this discount card that looked like a cat driver’s license. However, this cat-free collection did a good job of reminding us to take them seriously again. United Bamboo’s Spring 2011 collection was inspired by "shimmering green ocean, clean, pale sand, and puffy clouds in an endless blue sky." The clothes were fit for a tropical vacation. The models walked through an airy two-room gallery space to upbeat west-African - sounding music provided by Brian DeGraw of Gang Gang Dance. It was kind of like Vampire Weekend meets “Under the Sea” from The Little Mermaid (yeah, my musical references are really sophisticated) and fit perfectly with the collection. The vibe was beachy, minimalist and ladylike. There were definitely a few instances of seasonal trends we’re already starting to notice, including sheer (and not just on top - it seems that visible panties are on their way to becoming a thing), muted colors, and harnesses. There were also a few of these beautiful floral prints with birds and trees, in the form of silk drawstring pants and dresses. Similar works of art could be found at the bottom of an ombre-ish dress and matching long coat. The prints, which added a surprising pop to an otherwise fairly monotone collection, were done by French artist Pier Fichefeux.

By 9pm last night Leah and I were getting a little loopy: Mostly because we both love to eat and we hadn't had time to, save for a bag of Pop Chips, since the early morning. So we headed over to Peels--the new restaurant from the Freemans guys--with Britt, who stared at us in awe as we devoured this steak. (In our defense: We shared it! And the bone just made it look bigger!) Then it was off to Alex Wang's carnival over by the IAC building. Pretty much every person who works in fashion/has something to do with fashion was there--from Alessandra Ambrosio to MIA, who was supposed to perform but maybe never did? No one seems to have stuck around for it. Fortunately, the parking lot was so massive that it wasn't crazy crowded--we had an amazing, amazing time. Belvedere vodka sponsored the carnival, which included a carousel--yes, we rode it--bumper cars--line was too long--and a crazy amount of games. Leah won at basketball, Britt won at knocking down the clown heads, I won at nothing--well, maybe ski ball, but there were no prizes for that. All in all, it was the best fashion party I've been to in a long time--maybe ever. While we were at Alex, Dhani was at United Bamboo. She told me this morning that it, too was a grand time. "It was fun--The Wooly drew lots of well-dressed people despite its out of the way location," she told me. "I didn't recognize anyone but everyone looked cool." Fair enough. After Wang we headed down to Don Hill's to see Courtney Love perform.

From LOL Cats to Stuff on my Cat, it's easy to poke fun at our culture's obsession with felines. But fashion has its own special relationship with the fur balls. From United Bamboo's $500 cat outfits--for sale at Opening Ceremony, if you're interested--to more standard offerings, like leopard print, there are just too many cat-fashion parallels to even try denying this pet's influence on the industry. Are we all just crazy cat lovers? Here's proof of the sad (?) truth. Brace yourselves.

While United Bamboo and Peter Som have uniquely different audiences--the former courts Brooklyn's arty set, while the latter appeals to Upper East Sid

United Bamboo just launched their online store today, just in case you don't have time to pop into Opening Ceremony or Confederacy to pick up one of t