>>  Enjoy the break you all hopefully have, and I will see you again in about a week!  (Unless I can find internet sooner than that!)

>>  If there were ever a reason to be glad you're a beauty director of a top fashion magazine, this is it: the leading beauty ladies at Hearst and Conde Nast received the much-coveted and officially sold-out vinyl Coco Cabas handbag from Chanel as their holiday present.  All who are jealous, say I! 

>>  The Camera della Moda Nazionale, Italy's Chamber of Fashion, has proposed that models must acquire a license before being able to walk in Milan next season.  To receive a license, which guarantees that the model is healthy, the model must be at least 16 years of age, have a BMI of at least 18.5, and be assessed by the Chamber itself, the Association of Fashion Services ASSEM, and a group of doctors, nutritionists, psychologists, and other scientific experts.   Interestingly enough, geographical and ethnic factors that affect body type will be taken into consideration. 
No word yet on how the Council of Fashion Designers of America plans to address the issue, but Didier Grumbach, who heads Paris' Chambre Syndicale, has said that he has no plans to "regulate something that functions."

Sidenote:  Has anyone else noticed how all the articles about this "models are too skinny" issue seem to have a picture of Snejana Onopka?  Hmm...

>>  Last Thursday, WWD published a top-ten list of the most recognizable supermodels, ranked by the percentage of the 1,800 polled who said they were familiar with the model's name.  Some interesting results (funny how what's hot in the fashion world and what's hot with the general populace are two toooootally different things):
1)  Tyra Banks, 78%
2)  Cindy Crawford, 77%
3)  Christie Brinkley, 73%
4)  Naomi Campbell, 67%
5)  Kate Moss, 56%
6)  Elle Macpherson, 51%
7)  Heidi Klum, 46%
8)  Rachel Hunter, 45%
9)  Gisele Bundchen, 29%
10)  Christy Turlington, 28%
Gisele may be the top-paid model, and Kate may have had a comeback, but Tyra can talk, and apparently that's what the general populace wants to hear.

I would also like to note how fantastic it is that two black women are on the list (with one in first place, no less) -- perhaps designers should take more note when they're casting their shows -- black women seem to be underrepresented on the runway lately. 

>>  The real-deal "Devil Wears Prada" -- coming soon to a theatre near you.  "A very candid and very exclusive" documentary on Anna Wintour is about to begin being shot by director R.J. Cutler, who will follow Miss Wintour for the next eight months, chronicling the making of next year's September Vogue issue.  No pressure to make a good issue or anything. 

But regardless of how good the issue is, I will be seeing this movie (even if I tend to hate documentaries).   Make it juicy for us, Anna.  No nicey-nicey.

>> Highlights from the Marc Jacobs annual holiday party, held last night:
--  Guys and girls dressed full-on as Marie Antoinette to compete in the costume competition.   Guys had Monsieur Leonard-inspired birdcages and chandeliers on their heads.
--  Marc Jacobs himself dressed as a pastel blue pigeon (see left).
--  At one point everyone broke into a waltz, because Jacobs had sent his entire staff to lessons.
More details here of the extravagantly ridiculous (and hilarious) night here and here.

>>  With the success of The Devil Wears Prada on film, it's unsurprising that fashion-focused TV shows are rolling off the line -- first with Ugly Betty, and now  Steven Spielberg of all people is working with Christy Turlington and her husband Ed Burns to develop an hour-long TV drama focusing on five twenty-somethings with fashion jobs (including a photographer, a designer, a makeup artist, and a model).  I'm really curious to see how Steven Spielberg treats the fashion industry.

>>  I'm happy to announce that Stella McCartney gave birth to her second child, a baby girl named Bailey Linda Olwyn Willis, on Friday.