We already heard that club queen Suzanne Bartsch turned down the gig. That would have been an awesome addition indeed, but we have some other fantasy candidates that would really make the sparks fly over on Bravo.

Ruth Madoff: Well, if they don't send her to jail. Not only does everyone already love to hate her, but poor Alex McCord won't have the worst husband on the show for a change. And just wait for her first public event. The cameraman is going to need a bodyguard. [Photo: AP]
Paula Froelich: Well, it's not like the former Page Sixer has a job right now and she does have a book to promote, so what better way that by talking some shit about New York faux-cialites. She's been doing that for years! And Paula is witty, sassy, and just a bit crass. She'll either be Jill Zarin's new best friend, or eat her alive.
Fabiola Beracasa: An honest to God socialite, Beracasa won't need Bravo's help to get invited to fashion shows. We'd love to see how this little spitfire would square off against former model Kelly Bensimon. It would make Bethenny vs. Kelly look like a game of patty cake. She might be nuts enough to do it. She did wear this dress in public.
Ali Wise: She is a young, pretty professional. Just the type that casting directors should look for. She's also nutso enough to allegedly break into someone's voicemail. Just think about what Ramona Singer will do when she finds out someone has been reading her email.
Michael Lucas: Four versions of the Housewives franchise and not a gay housewife yet? You'd think that straight people watched Bravo. This self-promoting gay porn mogul doesn't take crap from anyone, and loves to argue. And, if he's willing to let Perez Hilton take his shirt off in public, imagine what Countess Luann De Lesseps will say about his etiquette.

The prime candidates for string-pulling action would seem to be James's former competitors Olga and Valentine Rei, the siblings behind the bizarre sociological experiment that was Socialite Rank. But they say they've got nothing to do with him and we sort of believe them! "We have not read his site for months. We're not sure anyone does. The only brief contact we've had with James was when he came to New York for the first time. We politely invited him to lunch and he was unfortunately too busy at the time. We wish him luck, though," Valentine sniffed.

A competing and perhaps more credible theory is that James may be the puppet of "writer" Derek Blasberg and muppet-faced socialite Fabiola Beracasa, who "gave James a list of what socials can and cannot be on it," according to a tipster who claims to have heard this from "a credible source."

"He stopped covering all the 'controversial' people, and all the black or asian people and the only people he puts are all the same. And just derek and lyle are the only guys." Fascinating! We've yet to hear back from James about this. Perhaps his dark overlords vet his correspondence.

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Just Asking [Page Six]

5:30 p.m. Finally, for the first time all day, I have a chance to reply to my e-mails. 6:15 p.m. Run to a hair appointment at Simadi Salon. 7:15 p.m. Arrive home and put on a beautiful Valentino dress to wear to the Valentino dinner on the rooftop of the Gramercy Park Hotel. 11:00 p.m. Slip out of the dinner and head to the Rose Bar to have a few drinks with some friends before calling it a night.

A Real Gem [Gotham]
What Do Socialites Do All Day? [WSJ]

Slaves to Fashion [Glamour]

From Tatiana Boncompagni's story in November, "Could You Call Them 'Business Climbers'":

Women like Ms. Beracasa (creative director of an estate jewelry company), Ms. Mortimer (designer of her own handbag line) and many others are exploring a new socialite end game — one in which they become a brand with mainstream recognition (extra points awarded for an actual logo). Aggressively milking the fame they acquire through their irrepressible urge to dress up and be photographed, they are spinning off businesses that may one day provide nest eggs for the time an inherited fortune runs dry or a Palm Beach marriage goes down in flames, or simply as a means of personal fulfillment.

''The idea is to turn this all into something,'' said Ms. Beracasa, who has a bombastic beauty reminiscent of Rita Hayworth and a platinum pedigree (her late stepfather was Randolph A. Hearst, and her father, Alfredo Beracasa, is a banking scion). ''You get to a point where you've created a brand, and you can branch out from there.'

And let's compare with Blasberg's take in yesterday's (UK) Times:

"The word socialite used to have a negative connotation, alluding to a frivolous party girl who was rich and didn't worry about anything," says Fabiola Beracasa, the daughter of the uber-hostess Veronica Hearst, reached by phone in Paris between the Dior and Valentino couture shows. Beracasa, a curvy brunette with a penchant for miniskirts and hosting over-the-top Hallowe'en parties, is the creative director of Circa, a large international buyer of antique jewellery. "The rules have changed," she says. "It can now mean a businesswoman or someone with the ability to promote and sell a product, even if it's herself."

Spoilt Little Rich Kids? [Times UK]
Could You Call Them 'Business Climbers'? [NYT]

On my way to Catherine Malandrino I got a call from Maer Roshan. "Good news," he said: Radar magazine would like Tinsley and I [sic] to join him in Los Angeles on February 21 to host the relaunch, just before the Oscars.

And he wants us to do a photo shoot together before, something "edgy" that they will unveil at the event. I like the fact that Radar pokes fun at the idea of a socialite. I'm the first to admit that if I was on the other side of the fence I would do the same. So Tinz and I are off to L.A. next week! Ooh, something edgy! That Carl 's Jr. imitation ad was edgy. Maybe this time they'll do something kinky with The Burger King.

Fabiola, Tinsley, and Cuba Gooding Jr. Scream for 'Nookie!' [NYM]
Earlier: EXCLUSIVE 'Radar' Peek: The Tinz Recreates Paris Hilton's Carl's Jr. Ad

Noon I ran downtown to the Yigal show. I wore the cute white dress and jacket that we picked out on Thursday, and it was soooo cold! Why would I rather look good than be warm? I got to the show and sat next to Meredith Melling Burke from Vogue and Bergdorf's Roopal Patel, who both have back-to-back shows because of their jobs. I don't envy them. I mean I love fashion, but it's really exhausting to run around like that!!!

1:30 p.m. I went back to my office, changed into my BCBG outfit and by 3 p.m. was back in the tents for the BCBG show. When I walked in, I was stopped for photos so I took a few, and then a few more, and as I walked away, I realized the tag was hanging off the BCBG jacket I was wearing! I was a little embarrassed, but it was a busy jacket so maybe it just blended in?

The show was energetic and uplifting; the clothes were fun and flirty. Afterwards, Derek Blasberg and I went backstage and then off to the W lounge where we swapped schedules and gossiped.

Backstage at BCBG, Dinner at Craftsteak [NYM]

Before, it was either models or actresses—but socialites were, most times, born into this lifestyle. That's what fascinates people. It's a continuous lifestyle that people are fascinated by. But it's not all the media's fault," she said. "You know, it's us posing for the cameras and going out and exploiting the spotlight for our careers.

I just think people like to know something real," she says. "It's not like, 'Oh, a stylist dressed her, and she grew up in a trailer park,' like with an actress. Or a model." She pauses. "Being me, I can say people perceive you in a very one-dimensional way. They don't know us. We do work. We do meaningful things.

25 Little Socialites [NYO]
The Socialist [NYPost]