REMNANTS

• Yet another reason to buy online: several department stores have purposefully installed fitting room doors backwards as a preventative measure against theft. This is apparently legal in Florida, where a local news station uncovered the privacy-thwarting doors that enable store employees to see into dressing rooms. At that point, why not just install cameras? Or, even better, create a single giant Panopticon-like dressing room so customers can be self-policing? (Gawker)


• Inspired by a fire at his New York studio, Helmut Lang mulched around 6000 of his pieces for use as fodder in a new sculpture series. You might ask yourself, why destroy important works from your fashion archive to create what appears to be stripper poles made out of insulation material? Well, Helmut Lang don’t care. Helmut Lang don’t give a shit. Oh, and the exhibition’s name is MAKE IT HARD. There’s also that. (Styleite)


• Kate Middleton wore the same thing twice and the gossip magazines freaked out about it while the rest of us fell in love with her a little more (except for Kelly Osbourne, who can suck it). (People)


• What is with celebs and their lipstick lines these days? Now we have Rachel Zoe and her Exude lipstick. I feel like I’m missing why I should feel compelled to buy cosmetics from random celebrities. If I wanted a fur-trimmed maxi dress or poncho made out of raven feathers, I would look to Rachel Zoe. Lipstick? Not so much. I have to say, though - the Try It On technology on her site is totally awesome. (SheFinds)


• Rachel Zoe is also launching a kids clothing line which she says will be “American cool with the European chic. But still very attainable.” I’m not sure if Rachel Zoe and I have the same idea of what constitutes attainable. Look, I have a 4.5 month old baby, and my spending habits have of course swung in favor of his needs over mine. However, when it comes to clothing, as much as I like for him to look funky fresh, I always keep the following in mind when purchasing his outfits: a) he’s going to grow out of it in two seconds, b) it’s going to get pooped on at least half a dozen times. Still, I’m morbidly curious to see this line of mini raven feather ponchos. (StyleList)


• Karl Lagerfeld’s capsule collection for Macy’s Impulse now has an ad campaign featuring FO favorite Coco Rocha. (FashionEtc)

Above photo: The Fireplace Project

REMNANTS

• You guys! So apparently you all watched American Idol or went to a Siouxsie Sioux concert or something, and now you are hellbent on sticking feathers in your hair. Which would be totally fine, I guess, except for the fact that roosters and fly fishing shops alike cannot keep up with your demand! Let’s just agree to keep our feathers where they belong: on headbands. (Gawker)


• In other fashion anomalies, Jil Sander and Grey Ant have both teamed up with Teva to create the footwear equivalent of Frankenstein’s monster, or, as I’m sure they call it, comfortable heels. On one hand, they look like Tevas with heels (particularly the Grey Ant version), and on the other hand, they are ridiculously expensive. My advice is to skip all this nonsense and Ebay yourself a pair of Anyi Lu or Chie Mihara pumps. (StyleList)


• While working as Creative Director at Yves Saint Laurent, Tom Ford used to get handwritten hate mail from YSL himself. According to Ford it was because he grew the business exponentially, but I think it’s fair to assume his enviable preternatural hotness may have played a role. In any case, sounds like he saved them for the scrapbook! (Refinery29)


• Speaking of all things Ford, he’s now launching a beauty line. Ordinarily this would elicit a big fat meh from me, as I can’t and won’t keep up with fashion/beauty collaborations, but it is Tom Ford we’re talking about. Add in Ford’s no-nonsense approach (“there are a lot of products out there you don’t even need”), an intriguingly named fragrance of Jasmin Rouge and a superhot ad campaign with Lara Stone, and even I might be a convert. (Women’s Wear Daily)


• Man ankles: hot or not? A completely innocuous yet oddly titillating sock-less gallery follows. (Wall Street Journal)

Photo credit: Nana’s Beverly Headband at Forzieri, $450.

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Models channel Audrey Hepburn at a fashion event in Sydney, Australia.

Photo credit: Gawker

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A model wears one of Jean-Paul Gaultier’s Fall 2009 Couture creations in Paris.

Photo credit: Style.com