Thursday night, GQ editor in chief Jim Nelson hosted a cocktail party at Ago to celebrate this year's CFDA menswear nominees. Nelson donned a Michael Bastian suit for the occasion but admitted feeling pangs of guilt for not incorporating all the night's honorees into his wardrobe. "But you know what?" he reasoned. "You can't think too much about what you're wearing. That's Fashion Rule #17." Intrigued, we pumped the dapper editor for more pearls of menswear wisdom. "I'm not a fan of murses [that's man purses, in case you're not up on your fashion lingo]. But then again you're talking to a guy who can't give up his backpack. It's Bottega Veneta, so I guess it's actually a luxury pack." Across the bar, Michael Bastian waxed philosophical over the fact that he and Thom Browne have the same "weird eighties angular haircut." "I thought I was really rocking something new until I saw Thom. Stuff's in the air, you know? If you're in this business it's your job to be tuned in." And what were the tuned-in folk planning for after Monday night's CFDA? "I'm going to celebrate whether I win or lose," said Browne. "I'm probably going to do some crystal meth and stay up all night," deadpanned Nelson.

"I think it's innate for us. In terms of giving back, women have the ability to do it really, really well," Kelly Rutherford explained at last night's Step Up Women's Network tenth anniversary Inspiration Awards Gala at Chelsea's IAC Center. Rutherford, honored alongside CAA's Lisa Shotland for her work with the national nonprofit, an organization promoting education, advocacy, and social networking programs for underserved teens, garnered some serious accolades from "Gossip Girl" castmate Lydia Hearst. "Kelly is so sweet—I think she's great," the actress gushed. Like Hearst, event host Veronica Webb cited her mother as muse, along with another glamorous, increasingly high-profile wife and mom. "I'm very inspired by Michelle Obama—by her strength and her confidence and also [her] being in a very traditional role and doing something new with it," Webb said.

Our brother site, men.style.com, threw a rocking party two nights ago. So rocking, it turns out, that Dad du jour Michael Lohan showed up and scared Lindsay away from attending. A family feud on our turf! How thrilling! Or maybe Michael showed up in some sort of embarrassing Dad attire, like a Heathcliff Huxtable sweater he scored on eBay, and Lindsay couldn't face it. That Michael, such a jokester. Pre-preteen heartthrob Clay Aiken is opting for fatherhood, too, but he's ditching his Claymates for an older woman, his producer. Nothing was consummated, apparently, but regardless, there's a baby Clay on the way.

"It's a hard night to compete," joked Laura Freedman from the courtyard of the Brentwood Country Mart last night as the one-year anniversary celebration for her jewelry store, Broken English, went head to head with the Chanel opening across town. Brooke Shields and Gregory Parkinson made appearances, joining guests for cocktails, hors d'oeuvres, and the premiere of a short film entitled "Parmi Les Vivants" ("Among the Living"), screened on vintage television sets. "It's an embodiment of youth culture," explained Freedman, who co-produced the Godard-inspired tale of four bandits who break into a jewelry store. Not that anything like that happened last night—rather than grabbing anything from the window, departing guests, bags of take-home cookies in hand, politely inquired as to prices. "That one is about $14,000," responded Freedman to a query about a gold and opal cuff.

She may spend her days trolling the Upper East Side in Chanel's bouclé blazers and cap-toe ballet flats as villainess vixen Blair Waldorf on "Gossip Girl," but Leighton Meester's obsession with everything Karl Lagerfeld doesn't end when the cameras stop rolling. Like the many young actresses who have become avid fans of the line—and brought a whole new generation with them—Meester turned out to pay homage to the iconic double Cs at the new Robertson Boulevard boutique in L.A. last night. In a satin L.B.D. with a jeweled neckline by the designer, Meester said, "I'm about a year old at this point because I just discovered the line about a year ago at their show. I totally didn't realize how much I could love one designer."

Glamorous fantasy reigned at the Memorial Sloan-Kettering spring ball last night. "My daughter saw me and said, 'Mommy, you look so beautiful. You look like a princess,' " said Muffie Potter Aston, the event chair. "I said, 'Remember that story of Cinderella?' She said yes. I said, 'At midnight, these jewels disappear.' " She wore a necklace by Bulgari, the evening's corporate sponsor, of cabochon rubies, sapphires, and emeralds with diamonds. Elsewhere, chat centered on what else but "SATC." "I loved the 'Sex and the City' movie. It was really real. In the Vogue magazine shoot, there was André [Leon Talley] and there was Plum [Sykes]. They really strove for authenticity," said Andrew Saffir. Tory Burch countered that the fashion industry "has never been depicted in the right way. It'd be interesting to take '24,' and look at it from a fashion standpoint." But who would play Jack?

Are after-parties passe? Swarovski, for one, is going all-out with a CFDA Awards pre-event bash on Sunday evening at Norwood House for this year's nominees and honorees, each of whom will be presented with one very special party favor—an original artwork by Tobie Giddio (who, with her fiancé, Peter Belsky, is also contributing a video that will debut the same night). Just don't call Giddio's work—that's her interpretation of Dries Van Noten, above—fashion illustrations. "These artworks represent the essence of the clothing, its shapes and lines—they're abstractions that have nothing to do with selling anything," says the New York-based artist. "I wanted purely to capture the inspiration and beauty of the clothing."

You may not have heard of Korner skincare products (yet), but prepare to make room in your bathroom for them: The Australian brand has been taken up by such industry names as Pat McGrath (who recently cleaned one U.S. retailer out of every Körner product in stock) and L'Oréal head of makeup James Kaliardos (who raves that the range is "ultra-nourishing and leaves my skin repaired and fresh"). Started by Rebecca Körner, whose Austrian-Hungarian grandmother was a sort of antipodean Estée Lauder, the line's just opened a counter at Harvey Nichols in London. That's where, beginning on Monday, Körner will be inaugurating what's going to be a biannual beauty event: a weeklong chance to book a facial that uses the Loaded antiaging products, which are touted by insiders as an alternative to Botox. The June appointments are already wait-listed, but if you call now, you might be able to get something for September. For more information, see www.kornerskincare.com.

Dust bunnies, dirt, old toothpicks, sugar cubes, and tiny pieces of poo are usually banished from galleries, not presented as important art. But Tom Friedman is an artist beloved for his witty and wondrous ways with the ickier aspects of everyday life. In "Monsters and Stuff," the American conceptual sculptor's first solo show at the Gagosian Gallery's London branch, he presents a series of works made of scrap wood, small drawings on tinfoil, and huge paper collages, including one titled "Overseer"—a nine-foot-tall naked monster covered in body hair and wearing nothing but giant sneakers and socks. Friedman explains that "from a figurative standpoint," the "monsters" of the title represents the abnormal, which is open-ended, whereas "and stuff" "states an unresolved conclusion." Happily for us, "Monsters and Stuff" resolves itself by making the little things in life seem admirably more than normal.

When Carolyn Roumeguere was a kid, her anthropologist mother married a Masai warrior. And from that beautiful improbability springs Roumeguere's own improbably beautiful jewelry line, which got the trunk show treatment at the West Village Urban Zen store last night. Hosted by Donna Karan and Bonnie Young, the event saw Yvonne Force Villareal, Allison Sarofim, and Urban Zen co-founder Sonja Nuttall making the rounds of Roumeguere's one-of-a-kind pieces, which make their own marriage of first world and African tribal tradition. (One Roumeguere signature, for example, is a pendant made from a reclaimed Dinka ring, with a gemstone embedded on its face.) "I used to sit with the Masai women and string beads," recalled Roumeguere of her youthful days on the Kenyan plain. "It's like I can't even remember a time when I wasn't making jewelry." Roumeguere still makes her home in Kenya, and a portion of proceeds from her sales go to her organization supporting the Masai community. But Roumeguere shrugs off her own generosity. "I couldn't take so much from them and not give something back."

Good news out there for all you preppy jet-setters: J.Crew just revealed the fruits of their collaboration with storied English suitcase maker Globe-Trotter, and they're just as understated and classic as you'd imagine. Globe-Trotter is well known for being the baggage of choice for everyone from Winston Churchill to Dita Von Teese, and this undertaking marks the brand's first collaboration with an American company. The limited-edition, six-piece range is a part of the J.Crew Collection and is available on www.jcrew.com; it will also be available in select J.Crew Collection stores in New York City. The chic black cases, made of the luggage company's exclusive Vulcan Fibre material, feature natural leather buckles and corners, antique brass locks, and striped grosgrain interior straps, and range from $1,800 to $2,400. As an added bonus, considering the cost of air travel lately, they look even more glamorous when traveling by train.

It was only a matter of time before perennial bachelor George Clooney returned to reign over smoldering singledom; he and his cocktail waitress have supposedly had enough of their motorcycle hi-jinks and Lake Como hiatuses, which is really, truly very sad. Oh, wait a second…we're over it. That was rough. Another recent development written in the stars concerns the assault charges feisty flier Naomi Campbell is facing. Let's hope the possible jail time doesn't interfere with her upcoming campaigns or bring disgrace upon her hard-at-work "supe" friends. Sharon Stone apologized for her less than tactful comments about China's recent earthquake, but not before Christian Dior pulled all traces of the actress' offending visage from its Chinese advertisements. Sounds like a Dunkin' Donuts move; the company made an ad featuring spokeswoman Rachel Ray disappear when irate viewers took offense at her accessories. Hipsters, consider yourselves warned.

"When I started ordering from jewelry display catalogs for my own closet, I realized I had a problem," joked House of Lavande's Tracy Smith at a dinner in her honor hosted by Karen Elson and Sarah Sophie Flicker (both of whom were turning heads in their red dresses accessorized with opulent hair jewels) at Bobo last night. The Palm Beach-based Smith's interest in fine costume jewelry started with a thrift shop find and grew into an obsession—with a retail angle—that's shared by guests such as Elise Øverland, Allison Sarofim, and Sylvana Soto-Ward, who sparkled with more than their usual brilliance (courtesy of Lavande) last night. If you'd like to indulge, you can shop online or send in pictures of your favorite outfit and get advice at www.houseoflavande.com.

As everyone knows, high-low collaborations are all the rage these days. At the moment, a penny-pinching shopper could dart down to Uniqlo for an Alexander Wang dress, hop up the street for a pair of Pierre Hardy wedges from Gap, and wrap up the outfit with a Gryson bag from Target—and still have plenty of money banked for a purchase from the recently announced collaboration between Topshop and hot U.K. designer Danielle Scutt. It's all very egalitarian. But what is fashion for if not the summoning of desires nigh-impossible to satisfy? Enter Luella Bartley. Her new collection of swimwear and surf- and skate-inspired apparel for O'Neill is only available in Europe, which means that the stuff is both relatively cheap and devilishly hard to get a hold of—unless you're planning a hop across the pond this summer. Save some room in the suitcase.

More than 20 years ago, Jo Malone launched small, hand-crafted batches of Vitamin E Gel that went on to be a cult classic. On June 1, the Brit label launches the first Vitamin E Body Treatment Scrub ($75), a luxurious treatment that sloughs away surface cells and promotes elasticity. In addition to the antioxidant vitamin E, the scrub contains purifying salt, organic brown sugar, avocado, and shea butter. Available at Jo Malone shops, Bergdorf Goodman, and select Neiman Marcus and Saks Fifth Avenue stores; see www.jomalone.com for more information.

The whole point of Nick De Marco's eco-friendly new XS Chair is that there's nothing excessive about it. "It's both a commentary on our out-of-control consumer society and a practical means of in-home recycling," explains DeMarco, a student at the California College of the Arts. Not only does DeMarco's idea present a creative application for waste, but since each chair is specially "curated" with trash by its owner, it allows for even the most left-brained of people to become amateur designers. How's that for design within reach?

Groundbreaking? Sure. Influential? Undoubtedly. But sexy? Not the first word that comes to mind when contemplating one of Piet Mondrian's grid paintings. Marlies Dekkers, however, begs to differ. The Netherlands-based titan of luxe lingerie is celebrating her 15th anniversary with a retrospective at Rotterdam's Kunsthal that opens this weekend, and a Mondrian or two are included among the 100-plus works of "inspirational" art she's selected for the show. "It's not as simple as, oh, that Mondrian stripe in the painting, I used that for a bra strap," Dekkers explains. "But the work goes into my head, and somehow, the inspiration comes back out again. And in the case of Mondrian, specifically, for me the association is pretty clear; there's a focus on stripping down to the essential. That graphic element has always been a part of my designs." Americans eager to check out Dekkers' graphic underthings will finally get their chance this year: In September, the first Marlies Dekkers store in the United States will open at the Plaza. And in the meantime, the Kunsthal exhibit will be open through the end of June.

At the "Sex and the City" premiere in New York--in case you somehow missed it, it was last night—Style File asked, "What's your favorite 'Sex and the City' episode?"

Candace Bushnell: "I always loved the pilot. It was directed by Susan Seidelman, who did 'Desperately Seeking Susan.' It was just so interesting and fabulous. No one had ever seen anything like it before."

Fergie: "I loved every time Carrie broke up with Big. I wasn't on Team Mr. Big. I just wouldn't want to be treated that way. Single girls should play hard to get. It might seem from my songs that I don't, but I'm more old-fashioned than I come across."

Kathryn Neale Shaffer: "I don't know why, but my favorite one was when Carrie told Aidan she wouldn't marry him outside the fountain. That was the Carrie that I fell in love with, the girl who didn't get married."

Andrew Saffir: "The one where Carrie was in a fashion show and went splat on the runway. I just loved the way she bounces up and with her spunk and resilience perseveres and makes it through the rest of the show."

Street art strives to shock the bourgeoisie, but as suburban kids keep picking up spray cans and graffiti becomes more like urban decor than urban blight, the middle classes are becoming blasé about artists' attempts to anger them. "The Disenchantment of the Bourgeoisie," London-born, Berlin-based Anton Unai's second exhibition at CircleCulture, Berlin's top "Urban Fine Arts Gallery," plays with this conundrum. The exhibition, which opens tomorrow, consists of a site-specific installation and relics from the artist's unauthorized conversion of an abandoned tattoo parlor into a showcase for his art. Unai converts rusty sheet metal and discarded newspapers into canvases paying homage to literary references, African iconography, and artists such as Jean-Michel Basquiat and Sir Howard Hodgkin. Our verdict? It's most likely to delight viewers from all social strata.

If the increasing likelihood of bankruptcy is making you bitter, suck on this: a miracle fruit that turns sour flavors sweet. Better stock up on food stamps if you like the sound of that. Brangelina is one couple that won't likely be worrying about inflation and such trifles; they've got a massive, sprawling château to move into, even if it is just a loaner. Madonna might be in the market for a new crib, too; the Malawian powers-that-be have declared her fit to care for a babe, which must come as a relief to someone who's already a mother.

Incredible as it seems, Federico Fellini and Ronald Reagan actually had something in common. Both, it turns out, were devoted readers of FMR, the exclusive Italian art magazine. And though it's not clear whether the Gipper had his own nickname for the keepsake glossy, Fellini liked to call it "the Black Pearl of the publishing world"—fitting praise, given that FMR's pages are pretty enough to frame and its writers have included the likes of Borges and Calvino. In March, the Black Pearl had a glitzy relaunch at the Met, with focus on its new columns and expansive companion Web site, www.fmronline.com. And now the pearl comes in another color, too: This month, the magazine debuts its first issue devoted to contemporary art, and to mark the occasion, the publishers are switching out FMR's iconic black cover for one in white. "It's not that the magazine will be covering what art is now, this minute," notes Marco Trevisan, FMR's point person in the U.S. "We aren't racing to report on the newest new thing. For us, the idea is to look at art from a contemporary point of view." Henceforth, subscribers will find the FMR White Edition trading places with the black one on a month-to-month basis. In the meantime, Trevisan tells Style.com about bridging the old and new, bringing back patronage, and books made out of marble.

FMR White Edition is not, as you say, a periodical about the contemporary art scene. It's not ARTnews. So what makes a magazine whose first article is about Artemisia Gentileschi contemporary at all?

Each of the issues will have a theme. For example, the monograph portion of the first issue is themed around the idea of "the Feminine Genius." The goal, for us, is to explore the development of that idea through time, from all the way back to Artemisia Gentileschi, through artists like Sonia Delaunay and Louise Nevelson, and all the way up to Gazira Babeli, who is the preeminent artist in Second Life. Also, I think it's nice to start the very first issue with this piece on Artemisia; it makes a nice connection to the black FMR.

So, for people who aren't necessarily familiar with FMR Black, the essential difference between that edition and the white one is that FMR White extends its purview up to the present moment in art.

Essentially, yes. There are other differences—the columns in the back are not the same, for example—but the strategy is always the FMR strategy of shaping pieces that are timeless. We want readers to be able to come back to an article in FMR months or years later, and still find it compelling and relevant.

It seems as though FMR has been a hotbed of activity lately—there was the relaunch of the Black edition, and the expansion of the Web site, and, as I understand it, you're inaugurating some kind of book project, too?

Yes, a book project—but not just any book. This week in Bologna we will be presenting the "Book Wonderful," as we call it. This will be a book about Michelangelo's sculptures, very limited copies, and each one will cost something like $150,000.

Um…why so much?

Well, for example, the cover of the book will be made out of the same marble, from the same quarry that Michelangelo used. The paper is very special, every one is signed by hand by the artists who worked on the books. We are selecting the buyers—the idea is to get back to this idea of patronage, as it existed in the Renaissance, and also the idea of the book as objet d'art, which was very important then as well.

A lot has changed since the Renaissance. There's the Internet, for example.

Yes, but there are also ideas that should not fade away. For the "Book Wonderful," we have been working with the very best of Italian craftsmen, and to do this is still quite meaningful in Italy. You look at the great Italian fashion houses, Valentino, Armani, for example—these are designers who came of age at a time when people understood the importance of craft, as distinct from art. That's a beautiful tradition, the bringing together of the man of ideas with the man of action. It's an old idea, but we believe its time has come again.

A quick scan of the headlines will confirm that consumers are in serious belt-tightening mode these days— good news for Brooks Salzwedel, who makes belt buckles. The emerging accessories maestro stumbled onto his waist-nipping fashion niche as a resin-obsessed art student, when one of his projects came out, in Salzwedel's words, looking "kind of like a belt buckle." Not long thereafter, Salzwedel found himself hoofing to stores around New York City with a bag of things that looked kind of like belt buckles slung over his shoulder; menswear emporium Odin picked out a few and a business was born. "That was about three years ago," recalls Salzwedel. "Now I'm pretty regularized about the whole thing. Whereas my art tends to be work that I just get started on and see where it takes me, the buckles require more discipline. You're working with a very small canvas; the image needs to read." Since launching his line with graphic, black-and-white designs trapped in his signature resin, Salzwedel has expanded into buckles that are on the one hand "cloudier" and on the other more textural and embellished. And now he's working at refining his canvas yet further: Among the stock of Salzwedel items at the Venice, California, boutique A+R, shoppers will find necklaces hung with tiny, log-shaped pendants. "If you look at the very end of the log, there's an image," says Salzwedel. "A little surprise."

Though Rock &Republic is mostly known for its denim collection, the brand has slowly been expanding beyond that. I was at their showroom not long ago and really enjoyed what they had to show, especially the beautiful, super-high-heeled studded platform boot (above, left). Same week, different market appointment, I saw a very similar boot, but this time made by the Italian shoemaker Diego Dolcini (above, right). Both of them are hitting stores in August, so you have your pick of which to wear—and how much to spend—this fall. Rock &Republic Isla Boot, $548, available at www.rockandrepublic.com. Diego Dolcini lace-up boots, $1,120, for more information see www.diegodolcini.it.

"Don't worry, the cocaine isn't real." Although a little unsettling, the announcement made to guests entering the Earnest Sewn shop last night definitely piqued our interest. Turns out the white powder was merely a prop in a bedroom setting that Ruffian's Brian Wolk and Claude Morais commissioned from set designer Anne Koch to house their back-room collaboration with Earnest Sewn—the denim company cut jeans out of the label's designer fabrics, and Ruffian made cropped jackets from ES's familiar denims. The idea was that the shop's back room was transformed into the bedroom of a young girl who had just graduated from boarding school and was grappling with her childhood decor and life as a modern Gossip Girl. Hence the mixture of pink wallpaper, frilly curtains, and a guinea pig with the aforementioned nose candy, used condoms, torn up Playboys, and the all-too-familiar fragrance Colors by Benetton. "This is kind of what my bedroom looked like, except the walls were blue," Morais explained as he readjusted the patterned mosquito net over the twin bed after a reveler stepped on it. "Mine was more Warholian," reminisced Wolk. "I had my parents do a whole black-and-white theme." Koch, however, had an inside track to her design: "My childhood bedroom didn't look like this. But my bedroom now does." Minus the illegal stuff, presumably. "Oh yes, definitely."

One of the first things you notice upon entering Desiree Kohan's boutique in Los Angeles is the subtle fragrance of amber and wood—a scent that happens to be an obsession with the former Prada and Gucci trend forecaster. "You know how most women love diamonds? I feel that way about amber and wood," says Kohan, who likes the smell so much that she's launching a signature soy candle, Archipelago for Des Kohan, next month. Also new at the shop in June will be vintage homeware pieces (Hermès desk accessories, Rosenthal china, antique botanical butterfly and hummingbird sets) handpicked by Kohan. For more information, and to order a candle, see www.deskohan.com.

When Sofia Coppola was searching for the costumes for "Marie Antoinette," she found the naughty bits courtesy of Nuits de Satin's Ghislaine Rayer and Patrice Gaulupeau. The pair has one of the largest collections of antique lingerie in the world, numbering over 7,000 pieces that range from 1820s wasp-waist corsets to 1950s girdles. After many years of selling their never-worn finds at the Paris flea market (their clients included Dita Von Teese, Alexander McQueen, the infamous corset-maker Mr. Pearl), the partners decided to replenish their dwindling stock with their own collection, which they've based on traditional construction methods. "Most lingerie today is made in China in stretch fabrics, but we work with real Chantilly lace and the few ateliers that are left in France," says Rayer. Their finest remaining vintage pieces, meanwhile, are now available for designers and historians to view. Nuits de Satin, 5 rue Jean Bologne 75016 Paris, www.nuitsdesatin.com.

Looking to add some more heads of state to your buddy list? Just friend Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao the next time you're on Facebook and hope he accepts. Sharon Stone, who had a few choice words to say about China's recent earthquake, is probably not one of the 12,500-plus in Jiabao's entourage. Michael Bloomberg's new friend Nathan Lane may have gotten the mayor a role on Broadway, which, if he accepts, means he might have to go up against the musical version of "Ugly Betty" in a bid for best worst idea. Speaking of friends, trustworthy Michael Lohan says what everyone's been thinking about Lindsay and gal pal Sam's close relationship. Whatever the connection, at least Samlo are friends in real life, unlike the "Sex and the City" fan who dropped over 20 grand to hang out with her television friends, only to find out it was scam. Which got us to thinking: Isn't the most significant relationship of all the one you have with yourself? Yeah, that's we thought.

Though it takes a few minutes to remember through the haze of that fourth watermelon martini, Bungalow 8's aesthetic extends past the palm trees and polka-dot booths. There are the hand-painted stripes on the walls, for one thing, and the window displays that have featured tongue-in-cheek products such as Proper Attire condoms, Passport Panties undergarments, and Lava Ash handbags. The talent behind these touches, as well as the unique lighting and floral arrangements is Matthew Gebbert, a recent FIT grad who moonlights as the venue's "atmosphere director," a job he happened into after becoming a Bungalow regular. "I started with designing the weekly flower arrangements and soon progressed into overseeing the general design aesthetic of the space," he explains. Gebbert helped oversee Bungalow's makeover last summer, which included "new floors, palm trees, couches, and ottomans brought in to freshen up the space." His boss seems impressed. "Matthew's a jack of all trades," Amy Sacco says. "Look out, Simon Doonan!"

Most new designers covet a little ubiquity, but Priestess NYC's Cody Ross cops to a markedly different fantasy: staying out of sight—temporarily, at least. "You know the invisible ring—the 'Myth of Gyges'? Well, with the ring, Gyges could sneak into the castle and everything was accessible. So, given the choice, I might be invisible for a day in New York and just cruise around. Then it's back to work." Given the buzz surrounding the label, Ross—even with Platonic superpowers—isn't likely to fly below the radar any time soon. Having recently been picked up by Lane Crawford and Colette, his two-seasons-old line, notable for its vividly hued, finely textured sweaters, dresses, and tops, is gaining a fast following among sartorially savvy girls like Juliette Lewis and Maggie Rizer. Though Ross admits to having a thing for decades past (and the Day-Glo colors associated with them), he sees the coming months in a slightly different hue. "There's lots of momentum at the moment. I'd say the future looks rosy."

With all the nineties nostalgia in the air, it's no surprise to see the release of Olivier Zahm and Elein Fleiss' "Purple Anthology" (Rizzoli), which can be read as an authoritative guide to turn-of-the-millennium cutting-edge culture (or, as the 16-year-old magazine might put it, to "art, prose, fashion, music, architecture, sex"). The book consists of photos of pages and spreads from old issues, with every year accompanied by a personal essay by a Purple affiliate (Chloë Sevigny, Terry Richardson, et al.), full of anecdotes both blasé and poignant. From 1994, here's Kim Gordon on the death of Kurt Cobain: "Because he was a public figure, the communal mourning was a T-shirt, no matter how exploitative it seemed. The difference, though, is that if you knew the person, then their death is not cool, it's not a cool stance. It's not a cool T-shirt."

Thursday, May 22
We head over to the East End of London, where we meet up with a couple of editors from Pop magazine—a.k.a. the "Pop-ettes." I fall in love with them. They're on their way to Hong Kong to DJ a party. Maybe they'll make an appearance at our after-party in September.… Then I have an appointment with a photographer named Mike from British Vogue, who's taking my pic for a story they're doing for September. He takes my press director, Leslie Rubisch, and I to the Tate Modern. Leslie heads to the airport from there, and I get the tube to Brick Lane to do some vintage shopping. It feels like the Lower East Side, with lots of coolly dressed kids.

Friday, May 23
Today we head to Oxford for the weekend. This is our chance to see the "real" Edon Manor, which is owned by our London host, Davinia Wang. It's amazing (see photo, above—that's me sitting out front) and would be a perfect location for an after-party, hahaha. We end up swimming and watching old movies all day, including one of our favorites, "Death Becomes Her," with Goldie Hawn and Meryl Streep. What a classic.

Sunday, May 25
Our last day in London. We drive back to the city and get ready to go to the pool party at Shoreditch House, a private club where the downtown fashion crowd is based. I run into Chris Kane there, as well as Richard Nicoll. Afterward we head over to Hoxton Square, to check out this new party called "Pony Step." It's amazing—New York is going to have to step it up!

Like the Seattle scene, Kate Moss in her cK period, and other emblematic icons of the grunge era, Wolfgang Tillmans' photos—rough portraits of grimy German punks, dirty realist shots of lovely waifs for Vogue and i-D magazine—exemplified the aesthetic of the nineties. Now Tillmans is back—in fact, the summer of 2008 is turning into something of a renaissance for the first photographer to win the Turner Prize. One of Tillmans' first collectors was the Polish-born advertising entrepreneur Christian Boros, who will give Tillmans' work pride of place in the five-floor exhibition space he is opening in a renovated Berlin bunker in July. Nearby, a retrospective of Tillmans' photography is on view at the Hamburger Banhof in August. And in London, Maureen Paley will have his work on display from tomorrow. Grunge lives.

Book your Brazilian at J Sisters and reserve your business-class seat soon; the fashion flock is about to get one more reason to head to São Paulo. The legendary Daslu boutique is opening a second flagship on May 29 in the Cidade Jardim mall, an upscale collection of stores in the city's Morumbi neighborhood. The original Villa Daslu became famous for high-flying clientele arriving via helicopter, free-flowing Champagne, a women-only policy in most of the shop, and, of course, a flock of salesgirls culled from the city's social classes. The new store will echo Villa Daslu's design influences, with abundant natural light and neutral tones. The biggest news is that the iconic "Dasluettes"—attendants in French maid's uniforms—will receive a fashion makeover, trading in their black uniforms and white aprons for a khaki and white color combo. The store tops out at nearly 20,000 square feet and will feature Daslu's in-house brands along with major international names such as Balenciaga, Bottega Veneta, and Valentino. Is Madison Avenue next?

And then, the deluge. When Lauren Santo Domingo returned from her honeymoon with her hair chopped to chin length, she appeared to give women the world over permission to lose the locks they'd been growing out since, like, ever. The bob is upon us. Blunt will always rule the day where bobs are concerned, of course, but lately an alternate style has emerged. In the past month or so, Gwyneth, Liv, and Anouck have all shown up for photo ops in slightly unkempt, softer bobs, a look forgiving enough of unruly hair to tempt even the biggest bob-phobe. "Well, fashion's so interested in the shoulder right now; it makes sense that girls want to show that part of themselves off," says stylist Ashley Javier, who's found himself cropping plenty of tresses recently. "And plus, when there's so much that's floral and super-feminine, it's nice to have a cut that's a little sharper, more polished and serious. But the key is to find the right bob for you. If you have curly hair, you need to watch out for a cut that's too blunt, on the one hand, or too layered on the other." And as Javier goes on to note, fans of the last great tress trend need not fear the chop: Bangs will work with a bob, too. "I think bangs got us to the bob," he muses. "I mean, it's like one day women woke up, looked at all their floozy-woozy flowing hair, and thought: Enough of this mess."

I'm getting married next month, and in the endless search to add a little individuality to what is becoming quite a massive production, I came across these cake pulls, from New Orleans-based jeweler Mignon Faget. Bridal cake pulls are part of an old Southern tradition—small charms are tied onto ribbons and placed under the wedding cake, with the ribbons fanning out around the cake board. Each member of the bridal party then chooses a ribbon at random, and, as the name implies, pulls. The charms tell a fortune; the ring charm predicts an upcoming marriage, the heart predicts a new love, etc. Mignon Faget has incorporated her signature designs and silhouettes into the game, like a red bean for luck and a fleur-de-lis for prosperity, all of which are inspired by the nature, architecture, and heritage of her home state of Louisiana. After the frosting is washed off, each sterling-silver Mignon pull is meant to be worn as a pendant, so your bridesmaids can keep you, and the memory of your special day, close to their hearts. Awww. The set of eight is $395, available at www.mignonfaget.com.

Synthetic hair hats have long been associated with the acclaimed Japanese art director Nagi Noda, who's featured them in ads and music videos for clients such as Nike and Coca-Cola. Now Noda is adding animals to the mix. She and colleagues Asami Nemoto and Shinji Konishi have created 15 unique headpieces inspired by creatures such as rabbits, poodles, owls, and elephants (above) for an exhibition that wraps up in Tokyo next week.