The City: The Civil War Years
We were so busy trying to promote our birthday party that we didn't have time to watch The City last night. Luckily fictional freelancer Betsey Morgenstern was there for all the bitch-on-bitch fighting action.
Elle's Publisher Wants You To Know She Had Anna Wintour's Hair First
It's bad enough that Elle's business is booming while Vogue is in the toilet, but now Carol Smith is on the cover of the Daily Frontrow taking credit for having Anna's bob first. And it's a lie!
• Condé Nast Publications exists no more. The company will now be known simply as "Condé Nast," since the powers that be there have finally realized that people like to read stuff on the Internet every once in a while. [NYP]
• Bill O'Reilly invited Jon Stewart on his show this week. (Bold!) Unfortunately, all of…
• Rupert Murdoch is hoping to give the Times a run for its money. The mogul plans to put $15 million into the NYC edition of the Wall Street Journal. [NYO]
• ABC still hasn't said who's replacing Diane Sawyer on Good Morning America, which has led to some "puzzlement and frustration" among staffers. [LAT]
• Why is…
The City: Stop Being So Sketchy
Due to an unfortunate TiVo glitch, we couldn't watch The City last night, but thankfully there are plenty of budding social reporters out there who can fill in for us. Here is one promising dispatch.
Is the Worst Over?
• Some luxury fashion companies think (or are hoping, at least) that the recession has "bottomed out," and the tide is "slowly turning." Let's hope so! [WWD]
• Related: Saks is hoping to now "wean wealthy customers from discounts" and "re-educate" them to pay full-price again. Good luck! [NYP]
• How are fashion mags…
A Jackson Reality TV Show, Elle Combats Homelessness
• Just when you think members of the Jackson family can't possibly stoop any lower comes confirmation they've agreed to do a reality TV show for A&E. It's going to be "genuine," says the show's producer. Clearly. [THR]
• Because the public has been clamoring for 24/7 access to fake wrestling matches, the WWF is now…
Homelessness Now an Edge in Elle Internships
A homeless woman has landed a (coveted?) four-month internship with Elle magazine, proving that unemployed journalists need only fall a *little* farther to get "back in the game."
The Return of Imus, Hachette To Sell Elle?
• Two years after he was booted from MSNBC and CBS Radio for making racist comments, Fox Business is now in talks to team up with Don Imus. [LAT]
• Is Hachette selling Elle? The company seems to be hedging. [AdAge]
• Magazine publishers are allowing advertisers to slap their ads just about any place they want these…
September's Harper's Bazaar, Rodarte For Target
• The September issue of Harper's Bazaar features Susan Boyle in her first-ever fashion shoot. More importantly, Gossip Girl's Leighton Meester, who appears on the cover of the issue, shoots down the recent rumors that she took part in a sex tape. [Harper's Bazaar, Us]
• Rodarte's Laura and Kate Mulleavy will be…
Elle Probably Not Changing Hands, Probably Not Infected With Swine Flu
The Post's Keith Kelly reported today that Elle's parent company has been in discussions to turn over a stake in the magazine to Hearst. Could to be true? For what it's worth, a Hachette spokeswoman tells the Observer there's "no truth" to the report. And while we were hoping that Joe Zee might be able to shed some…
Lacroix's Possible Savior, The Bleak Month of September
• Christian Lacroix saved? Possibly! Although Lacroix is keeping mum, a bidder for the struggling fashion house may have emerged. [WWD, Reuters]
• More depressing news about the state of the retail: Manhattan's vacancy rate is 6.5% and rising. [NYT]
• Ashley and Mary-Kate Olsen are on the list of the 31 new…
Haute Couture, Christian Lacroix & JCPenney, Too
• In the market for a $40,000 dress? Better jump on a plane to Paris. Haute Couture Week kicked off today. [AP, Vogue UK, Independent, FWD]
• The situation at Christian Lacroix, which filed for bankruptcy a few weeks back, is getting bleaker by the day: The company may be reduced from 124 employees to 12 if a buyer…
J.Lo's Defeat, Bar's New Gig
• Another celebrity clothing line bites the dust: Jennifer Lopez's Sweetface is going on "hiatus" after this season. It's the third Lopez label to disappear in recent years, although in the case of Sweetface, there's always a chance it could return, so at least J.Lo has a glimmer of hope to hold on to. [WWD, Cut]
•…
Lauren Models, Jesus Poses, Roberto Chats
• Voguette and social fixture Lauren Santo Domingo is branching out into modeling, apparently. [FashionCopious via Pipeline]
• Madonna's very special friend Jesus Luz is very much front and center for Dolce & Gabbana this season. [Telegraph]
• Kira Plastinina, the teenage designer and daughter of a Russian oligarch…
Did Lindsay Lohan Steal $500K Worth of Jewels?
TMZ is reporting tonight that noted garment thief Lindsay Lohan is wanted for questioning by Scotland Yard in regards to $500,000 worth of jewels that disappeared from a recent magazine photo shoot in the UK.
Donatella's Excess, Excessively Expensive Items
• Versace CEO Giancarlo di Risio is expected to hand in his resignation tomorrow. He's leaving after reportedly clashing with Donatella Versace "over her lavish lifestyle," not surprisingly. [NYT]
• The second season of The City has started filming inside Elle's offices. [WWD]
• Rosa Cha has launched a line of…
Britney, Brown, & The Arrival of Prince Harry
• A recent Elle photoshoot with Britney Spears turned out to be a bit messier than expected. [P6]
• A photographer has filed suit against Chris Brown. He's claiming the singer's bodyguards beat him up when he tried to take pics of Brown in March. [Us]
• Is Anthony Weiner engaged to Huma Abedin? [P6]
• Jay-Z is…
Elle Prepares For Olivia's Arrival
Olivia Palermo starts her new "job" in Elle's publicity department next week. But she isn't coming alone: Since the gig will be incorporated into the next season of The City, she'll be followed around the entire time by a MTV camera crew. This probably explains why Elle staffers have been sprucing up the office ahead…
Nobody Wants to See Tom Hanks Naked
Tom Hanks' sex scenes were cut from Angels & Demons, Olivia Palermo joins Elle, and John Mayer tries to get girls to sleep with him by text messaging "I want to tuck you in."
