• All-American fashion designer Ralph Lauren celebrated the anniversary of D-Day this week in a manner that was pretty tasteful, in the way that those mango-sized logos are tasteful...
  
• ...which is to say, ahem, "utterly gauche actually", because we studied French literary theory and are total snobs about things like commemorating the commencement of a battle in which 60,000 or so (strapping!) young men died liberating Europe from the Nazis by launching a new fragrance. Stay classy, Ralph! [Page Six]
  
• Paula Abdul has a fragrance coming out for (her words!) "a sophisticated type of woman." She has been wearing the still-unnamed fragrance to promote it. And by "wearing" we mean carrying around a bottle containing a strong-smelling liquid she claims is her "sophisticated" new fragrance. [WWD, sub req'd]

• Valentino speaks! The man's first public statement since the purchase of his eponymous fashion house put the retirement rumors to rest: "I'm not thinking of retirement. In the future, we'll see. I love my work too much. There's still a lot to do." [WWD, 1st item]
• The Washington Post's fashion critic, Robin Givhan, interviews Bitten shoppers: "I wasn't expecting Armani cuts at these prices." [Washington Post]
• Now you can smell like $800 shoes, too! Jimmy Choo has just inked a fragrance deal and their debut women's scent will be out in spring 2009. [WWD, sub req'd]
• Ah, the phrase "concept store": It warms our hearts (and makes us scratch our heads)! We're still not entirely sure what it means, but apparently there's a new one on the global fashion block, Cara & Co of Moscow. [Vogue UK]

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