Sara Moonves

Dont judge a book by its cover... Unless it's a magazine, in which case, sometimes the cover is the deciding factor of whether or not to buy the mag altogether. The best covers of 2011 returned to a new naturalism and a fun aesthetic, like the Lara Stone T cover we're still drooling over, pictured at left. Sure, there's still room for artifice in fashion (see: Stella Tennant on Vogue Italia), but 2011 was a year for reflecting on natural beauties, incredible models, and stellar photography. After toiling over hundred of covers, we're bringing you "The Best" according to us. Did we forget your favorite? Let us know in the comments.

It happens every year: Our ever-growing pile of fashion magazines inches higher with each passing month, and by the time December rolls around, we can barely sift through the hundreds of stylish images we bookmarked for inspiration. 2011 was no exception, and in a year that celebrated retro supermodels, androgyny, vivid colors, and plenty of experimentation in the beauty department, choosing our favorites was particularly difficult. The best editorials of the year ran the gamut from huge ensemble casts of blue-chip models styled by greats like Katie Grand and Carine Roitfeld, to intimate, one-on-one portraits of our favorite girls like Lindsey Wixson and Daria Werbowy. The acid brights that dominated the spring collections allowed for some pretty trippy trend stories last season, but the fall glossies featured much moodier imagery, with a number of gorgeous spreads in black and white. Here are the editorials from 2011 that will stay tacked up on our walls and fill our inspiration boards well into the new year—and beyond.

It's September, which means a new collection of Olsen-approved tees are available to StyleMint members and a new behind-the-scenes video is up. more

We have a few significant moves to report on this week. Publicists arranging Fashion Week invites and seating charts, take note. Candy Pratts Price, who was laid off last year from her position as Style.com's executive fashion director, was just hired as Vogue.com's new creative director. The two sites are owned by the same company. Basically, this is just a shuffle that took a really long time to happen. Nancy MacDonell, another former Style.com editor, has just been hired at AHAlife as a contributing editor. Gilles Bensimon was also just hired by the new lifestyle shopping site as creative director.