Robert Cavalli spring 2005 ready-to-wear, and Deb's sleeves from "Napoleon Dynamite."

“The models swaggered with all of the bravado typically reserved for a $2,000 droopy silk blouson.”

— The Washington Post's Robin Givhan on the H&M runway show in Central Park.

Got religion? Apparently, Derek Lam does — Balenciaga, Kenzo, and YSL Rive Gauche, too. According to Style.com, not since Madonna's early crucifix-fixation has fashion had such an ecclesiastical moment. Even Nicole Kidman is getting in on the act. Coincidence, or divine design?

Related Links: Is fashion your cross to bear? Then wear it on your shoulder.

See Paris Hilton's trademark head tilt in front of Kitson's "See Paris Die" window to promote horror flick "House of Wax." I'm sure you've heard by now that Paris needs a new best friend.

Mega-conglomerate LVMH credits excellent first quarter profits to Marc Jacobs, Celine and Pucci but gives special props to Louis Vuitton's popular Takashi Murakami cherry bag. Nailing counterfeit goods manufacturers probably helped sales too.

Related Links: Pucci, Marc Jacobs and Celine on clearance.

Taking haute eyewear to a new level, Dior has created glitter-edged contact lenses for those who need to get a little closer to their couture.

Related Links: Fetch some gold aviators to match.

Good news for tourists. Tailored, ladylike Bermuda shorts are in for summer, just in time for your trip to Europe. I am Fashion has runway details from Chloe, Diane von Furstenberg, and Zac Posen. Some fashionheads are not pleased — see a pair of Michael Kors shorts dissected on Closet Spy.

Related Links: Let's hope long shorts mean a long summer. Prada's fanny pack is still a fanny pack.

Things got a bit freaky on "America's Next Top Model" when the remaining hopefuls did a Seven Deadly Sins cemetery photo shoot. Turns out Tatiana's "Greed" wasn't greedy enough and the sweet-faced waitress from Hawaii got the boot for being "less articulate and confident than the rest of the girls." Ouch.

Related Links: Knock 'em dead in this chiffon gown.

Spanish designer David Delfín's made some special shirts and jumpsuits (left) that leave an obvious answer to the "Is that a banana in your pocket?" question. A tee from Threadless (right) does the same.

Related Links: Banana-yellow flip-flops, form-fitting trousers.

Y-3's Lampion Bag and Spalding XFL champion football.

Related Links: Bowery football tee

“Where everyone slums around in jeans and flip-flops, your bag is the biggest conveyor of your status.”

— Hayley Hill, fashion director at US Weekly, on Hollywood and Handbags, from USA Today

The New York Times notes that the Stella McCartney store actually has no cash register:

"The absence of a cash register is the white elephant in the room, a coy way of informing anyone who wants to buy something of high-end shopping's most important dictum: if you have to ask, you probably can't afford it."

Related Links: Stella McCartney shoes, and the wallet you'll have to empty to buy them.

“You want to know about Lazaro? His favorite word is, 'me,'”

— Jack McCollough of Proenza Schouler on design partner Lazaro Hernandez, from the new fashion documentary film "Seamless."

Next season's "Surreal Life" is shaping up nicely, with self-proclaimed "world's first supermodel" Janice Dickinson (also a frisky judge on "America's Next Top Model" and guilty as charged by the breast police) threatening Omarosa (of "The Apprentice") on set with a knife and a haircut. No word yet on British model Caprice, who recently shot "a series of glamorous advertising images for ParadisePoker.com," according to her web site.

Related Links: Martinis help take the edge off, robe to keep those unexpected wardrobe malfunctions in check.

“I am the queen of construction,”

— supermodel Gisele Bundchen, who's been gobbling up property in Sao Paolo, New York and Los Angeles. From Vogue.com.

Who but club promoter Damon Peruzzi could require everyone to wear Gucci prints to his birthday party and then show up in a three-piece sequined tuxedo? Confidant to celebrities (Kelis, Maxwell) and underprivileged youth alike, Damon's glittery, ever-evolving neo-retro looks can't be called anything but fabulous.

Related Links: Chelsea boots, Gucci stirrup print

PETA's planning an all-out war against singer/actress Jennifer Lopez, who used fur in her Sweetface collection and loves wearing fur herself. "We hope she will have a change of heart about promoting fur," PETA vice president Dan Mathews told Page Six, "But even if she doesn't, she's providing us with endless opportunities to show what happens when a star so thoughtlessly pushes such a violent industry."

Related Links: Stay on PETA's good side with faux fur and mock croc.

Silver and white catsuit from Alexander McQueen's spring 2005 collection and 1982 sci-fi flick "Tron" (with props to the wonderful and amazing Tron Guy).

Related Links: White and silver sneakers, plus a belt to help you through a pixelated world.

“Wear a dress with confidence and you can't go wrong.”

— designer Leona Edmiston, from E!Online.

Watchmakers Audemars Piguet plan to create a special timepiece celebrating rapper and Rocawear founder Jay-Z's music career, according to WWD. The luxury Swiss watchmakers finally made good on rapper and Rocawear head Jay-Z's product placement offered by the lyrics from "Show You How":

Damn you fadin' hov, how you gave 'em that?
the Audemars Piguet, with the alligator strap

Note to aspiring rappers: quick, what rhymes with Balenciaga?

Related Links: Clothes for The Hard Knock Life, The Dynasty or The Best of Both Worlds.

While most high school seniors will don silks and satins for upcoming proms, a few will brave festivities dressed from head to toe in duct tape. The $2,500 offered by the "Stuck at Prom Scholarship Contest" has inspired young duct tape fans to new heights of creativity (pictured: some of last year's winners). No pin needed for that duct tape corsage.

Related Links: These strappy silver sandals look like duct tape and last longer on the dance floor.

Monique, 29-year-old hairstylist from Manhattan
Fashion credo: "Style is what you make it."
Style icon: "me"

What she's wearing...

boots: Nine West
skirt & belt: a boutique on 125th Street in Harlem
jacket: Gap
panther brooch: street vendor
purse: Bebe

Related Links: Urban cowgirls love pink prairie skirts, denim jackets, western belts

"Every few years," says the New York Observer, "the well-groomed girls of the fashion-and-philanthropy set light upon some lucky young man as their new favorite mascot." The it-boy of the moment, the electronic musician Moby, may not enjoy being described as "smart and cute and cuddly" by the founder of Alice and Olivia, or as a "really soft, sweet guy," by the market editor of Vogue. But perhaps he's ready to retire "vegan" as his go-to identifier.

Related Links: If you can't wear Moby on your arm, try one of these.

A discussion underway on Style.com's forum wonders what films are most relevant to cutting-edge fashion at the moment. So far, the list has flip-flopped between naughty and nice: "Striptease," "Showgirls," ("it's Ver-sayce") and "American Gigolo," share the list with buttoned-up 1950s movies like "Gigi," "All About Eve," and "The Birds." In a nod to crocodile skin and khaki, "Jurassic Park" got tossed in there too.

Related Links: Go prim and pretty with this floral dress, or vamp it up with faux-croc slingbacks.

In the latest "How much do jeans cost these days???" expose, the San Francisco Chronicle found that when hot jeans are on the line, cost is not an issue. "Girls as young as 11 and women in their late 50s are snatching up designer jeans — no matter how high the price and no matter what their incomes are." Levi Strauss, clad in sensible work jeans no doubt, is probably rolling over in his grave.

Related Links: You don't have to spend a fortune on your jeans... Just look like you do: Yanuk workers, Earls, and Diesels.

Could it be? Gasp! A model on the cover of Vogue ? Shocking! What, were there no actresses or starlets available to push their latest B-list venture?

Related Links: Look like Liya in this cute checked dress.

Have the folks over at Sanrio forgotten that Hello Kitty is, well, a cat? Actually, no. This Hello Kitty iPod is docked to a special edition BE@rBRICK, a sort of customizable plastic bear made in Japan. The repeated Hello Kitty Hello Kitty Hello Kitty across the bear's torso certainly drives the brand home.

Related Links: A pink purse with room for your iPod and more, plus manga-inspired flip-flops to match.

“The history we read is constructed to make us believe that fashion and feminism are incompatible...”

— Stylish feminist Linda Scott, talking to the Houston Chronicle about her new book "Fresh Lipstick: Redressing Fashion and Feminism."

Sexy star Kate Winslet admitted to Glamour UK that she doesn't always feel so glamourous walking down the red carpet. "When I read how an actress 'made a statement in black', I just think, 'Oh, period or fat day.' Sometimes you just don't feel confident enough to wear twinkly yellow taffeta."

Related Links: Some back-up black dresses for your next red carpet event: a flirty Catherine Malandrino number, a simple, strapless Vince, an elegant, floor-length affair from A.B.S.

Rapper and "Beauty Shop" star Queen Latifah describes her worst haircut ever to E! Online:

"The lady kind of chopped my hair off, trying to cut some of my straight perm out. It was just miserable. And it was freshman year in high school, worst time for it to happen."

Related Links: Good hats for a bad hair day: from pretty awful to total disaster.

The San Diego Wild Animal Park named a 3-month-old white rhino "Ecko" after the apparel line Ecko Unlimited. Designer Mark Ecko donated $150,000 to the International Rhino Foundation's project, which works to keep endangered Indian rhinos safe from poaching.

Related Links: purse with non-rhino horn, hope on sale

"America's Next Top Model" Wonderbra pillowfight photoshoot and Melissa George in "The Amityville Horror".

Related Links: perfect pillow for fights, something else for your house (even though it's not haunted)

“If I can't wear makeup, then the girls or the staff can't wear makeup.”

— James Herndon, 16, suspended for wearing lipstick and eye makeup to school. From the Associated Press.

Wearing a 10-gallon hat, pink sunglasses and poncho, Jay McCarroll, designer and winner of "Project Runway" (aka "The Wild Card"), spent a good portion of the Stella McCartney/R.Crumb party in a drunken rage. Read his rant to the Daily News about designer Kai Kuehne, of label As Four:

"For God's sakes, the guy had Docksides on tonight! Who the **** wears Docksides besides people in nursing homes?" McCarroll yelped to the Daily News reporter. And oh yes, it gets better...

If you're looking for a long-term investment in the metallic trend, pass on gold and silver and go for the bronze. Far from third place in accessories this season, bronze accents are big, and will see you through fall after your summer tan is gone. You may find it has a narcotic effect on men (see Gucci ad, left).

Related Links: March through fall in these bronze boots, or strut in these hot bronze heels from C Label

Simon LeBon's goofy — but still hot — limo driver getup at Duran Duran's New York City show last night still makes me tingle. Roughly 18,500 fans (many dressed to the nines in 1980s style) got the final dose of Duran Duran's "Astronaut" tour at the still-cute band's three-hour show. Yeah, yeah, new songs like "Reach Up for the Sunrise" are catchy, but we came for "Rio," dammit!

Related Links: Skinny black tie, much like the one Simon opened with.

“You know, Las Vegas, and the fashion here —
it's, I don't know.
You know?”

— clerk at the new Juicy store in Vegas, from The New York Times new Styles section.

Fangs bared and cash in hand, I bounded into the Hugo Boss sample sale, wiggling down to Jockey bikinis without shame. In an hour I'd found what I needed to go from "struggling writer" to "Eat me, I'm money": a gray wool/silk suit, black leather shoes and a breathtaking wool overcoat suitable for nightclubs, interviews and funerals. I felt very Carrie Bradshaw -- tossing rent money to the wind, yet "saving" four grand.

Related Links: see the exact same suit I snagged

America's Next Top Model ad campaign and Nirvana's album Nevermind, recently added to the Library of Congress.

Luxe label Burberry predicts bleak sales for this year, according to the Associated Press. The plaid pusher blames its woes on the weak U.S. dollar, but also on unruly soccer fans — known as "chavs" — who like to sing "In Me Burberry" before launching into drunken brawls with rival soccer fans. Not exactly model behavior.

Related Links: Dress like a chav. Or don't.

We always like to see models eat. Naomi Campbell was spotted gobbling down an Atkins-unfriendly meal of fried chicken, mac-n-cheese and fries at Diner 24 in Manhattan in the wee hours, according to the New York Post.

Related Links: evening wear, flatware

Since even exotic materials like python and ostrich elicit yawns from garmentos, designers are turning to weird-yet-normal skins. How about Manolo Blahnik's lizard slingbacks? Or Magda Berliner's deerskin cape? What's next? Rat fur shoes? Cockroach totes?

Related Links: Here's some deerskin accessories. Need some camo to go with it?

While there's no maternity wear on Britney Spears' web site yet (she finally announced her pregnancy on her site today), there are some comfy yoga pants, with Britney logo, that will make the wearer "the envy of your yoga class." Nice to have a little jealousy with your asanas.

Related Links: Non-Britney yoga pants, plus belted camis with room to grow

A discussion in Fashist! Forum about model Karolina Kurkova's look in Elle's May issue turned sour when stylist Carlyne Cerf's name was brought up:

Posted by isa:

"that rich boho bitch in monte carlo look [sic]. At least Carlyne managed to resist sticking a beaded baseball cap on her head for once."

Related Links: No beaded baseball hats, but how about this sporty sequined polo?

“Tom Ford's presence would be radicalizing Estee Lauder in a very good way,”

Annette McEvoy, head of a consumer marketing consulting firm, told Bloomberg News re: Tom Ford joining Estee Lauder.

Artist's conception of ad campaign if Demi Moore replaces Madonna as Versace's new face, as is rumored.

Related Links: white-and-gold sandals, something for Ashton

Ex-Gucci designer Tom Ford has been tapped to breathe life into Estée Lauder's stodgy aquamarine world. Plans for the future includes a "Tom Ford for Estee Lauder" line, plus a Tom Ford beauty brand. Estée Lauder owns brands Clinique, Bobbi Brown, M-A-C and Origins.

Related Links: vintage-inspired Gucci belt

+ Aki K., 21-year-old student of English and fashion.
+ Born in Tokyo, living in Los Angeles
+ Favorite designer: Coco Chanel
+ What she's wearing:

top: nova check Burberry blouse
shawl: Dior
jeans: Zara
purse: Urban Outfitters
dog: belongs to her roommate

Related Links: Burberry for spring, wicker purse, place to keep your dog biscuits

Spring has finally sprung in New York City, but sunshine and 70-degree weather be damned — slaves to "the guru of grunge" (aka Marc Jacobs) are already buying for fall. Uptown this weekend, at the Marc by Marc Jacobs trunk show at Barneys, young fashion-forward fashionistas (donning the first flip-flops of the year) put their dibs on the wide-wale corduroys and buffalo plaids that will be their October uniform.

Related Links: Get your Marc now with minis, ruffles, and wedges.

Gold feathered hat worn by Camilla Parker Bowles, the newly minted Duchess of Cornwall, and the logo for Mozilla's web browser Firefox.

Related Links: Gold feathered earrings, faux-fur fox stole

Seems that every time someone dons a Christian Dior empire-waist gown, pregnancy rumors fly. Gisele set the rumor mill afire when she wore a bulky Dior gown to the Oscars, and Melania Trump's empire-waisted frock started whispers of a mini-Donald at a recent gala opening. If empire-waist gowns make Gisele and Melania Trump look knocked up, why would we wear it? [Photo courtesy New York Social Diary]

Related Links: An empire-waist dress that doesn't make you look like you have a bun in the oven. Maternity couture.

Free style inspiration from generations of glamourpusses -- from Marlene to Marilyn to Madonna -- is on display at "Glamour: Fashion, Film, Fantasy" in New York's FIT gallery. Best: Marlene Dietrich's pink satin slippers with an explosion of glass beads at the toe and Halston's empire-waisted gown with white 'fro (pictured). Worst: J.Lo's dress from 'The Cell' (except for the red vinyl neck brace under that weird fender-like headdress). The show is well-crafted and inspiring and, best of all, has free admission. Through April 16th.

Related Links: pink silk shoes, boots to match your alien headdress

A new book chronicles the hijinks buyers must endure to purchase multi-million dollar apartments in Manhattan. Donna Karan was refused for appearing before the co-op board in flip-flops and designer Arnold Scaasi was turned away for being too gay (Bill Blass promised not to bring home overnight guests). Tommy Hilfiger was "allowed" to purchase a $12-million apartment — but only because he had a letter of recommendation from Ronald Lauder of Estée Lauder.

It will surprise very few to learn that Miuccia Prada was the only designer to make Time magazine's list of the world's 100 most influential people. "Every trend you see on the streets it seems she started — weird color mixes, platform sandals, square-toed loafers, and box-pleat skirts, to name just a few," said Kate Betts, a Time style editor. Weird colors and loafers? Didn't someone's frumpy grandma start that trend?

Related Links: Prada loafers, granny underwear

“It was like standing next to a pile of manure”

the body odor of Kate Moss' musician fiance, described by his ex-girlfriend. From London's News of the World.

Baby Phat designer Kimora Lee Simmons has a message for all the ladies out there looking to get with her husband, hip-hop magnate Russell Simmons. "I will beat a bitch's a**," Mrs. Simmons said, repeating her message nearly 17 times in a recent Vanity Fair profile. Mrs. Simmons pulled down her Gucci sunglasses to emphasize her point. "I will literally, literally, beat a bitch's a**."

Related Links: Gucci sunglasses, body armor

Spotted: actress Marcia Cross of "Desperate Housewives" purchased some takeout salmon filets at the Whole Foods in Brentwood, CA yesterday evening. We are so used to seeing Marcia portray buttoned-up Bree Van De Camp that it was pleasant to see her wear the casual Los Angeles uniform of beige cargo pants and Ugh [yes, yes, I know how to spell] boots.

Related Links: other boots, cargo pants, martini glasses

Many thanks to Fashion Week Daily for their "favorite celebrities revealed" photo of the day -- of Penelope Cruz getting some hot camel action at last night's "Sahara" premiere. Now I know the truth about Cruz and the Camel.

Related Links: safari garb, really tight pants

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