• Betsey Johnson defaulted on a $50 million loan. Steve Madden bought the debt, and as collateral, Johnson put up all of her company's intellectual property — every design, every idea, everything that makes the brand its lovable pink-punk self.

• This makes so much sense! Levi's sizing system is now taking into account one very important metric: your ass. Because bodies are three-dimensional, and sometimes people with the same measurements are very different shapes.

• "Children and young women should be informed about airbrushing, so they don't fall victim to looking at an image and thinking that anyone can have a 12in waist. It is so not possible," said Equalities Minister Lynne Featherstone. [Guardian]

• AdAge reports that Ellen DeGeneres and Rihanna are the female celebrities most likely to make consumers stop and pay attention to their ads. The product in top-scorer Ellen's CoverGirl ad was apparently recommended by 30% of readers. [AdAge]

• Rachel Bilson, the new Sunglass Hut "style director," posed for pictures in, you guessed it, sunglasses. "It's fun to wear [aviators] with something a little more dressy because it adds a little edge to your outfit," opines the actress. [People]

• Yesterday's Chanel resort show in St. Tropez saw Karolina Kurkova, Natasha Poly, a purple-clad Karl Lagerfeld, and, as rumored, Crystal Renn walked three times. Georgia May Jagger rode a motorcycle with Lagerfeld's bodyguard for the finale. [Daily Mail, Fashionologie]

• "Working with these incredible hair and makeup teams, you go in looking like a schmoe, and you come out like a movie star," Scarlett Johansson tells V. "You're like this perfectly prepared sausage…no one ever sees what goes in." [People]

• The inquest into Alexander McQueen's death has revealed that before he hanged himself, the designer took a lethal quantity of cocaine, as well as tranquilizers and sleeping pills. He also slit his wrists. He left a note, which read:

• Marc Jacobs and his fiancé, Lorenzo Martone, are reported to have broken up. Jacobs flew solo last Tuesday at the wedding of his business partner, Robert Duffy. [NYPost]
• Duffy and his husband, Alex Cespedes, made the Times' weddings section. [NYTimes]

• Paulina Porizkova says news of Kate Hudson's breast augmentation "headed straight to my heart...The availability and ease of transforming our bodies is completely losing our identities and uniqueness. No one ages anymore, no one has imperfections of any kind anymore:

• Police arrested a 47-year-old man at Nick Knight's SHOWstudio for trying to sell an unusual prop: this giant stuffed Bengal tiger, which was once a prop for an Alexander McQueen shoot. The tiger, an endangered species, lacked papers. [Daily Mail]

• To pursue her goal of creating the world's ugliest clothing in every design category known to man, Lindsay Lohan is reportedly in talks to launch a line of handbags with Ed Hardy. [E]

[Washington, D.C., March 9. Image via Getty]

• While we assume McQueen's death will add gravitas, Fashion Week is off to a farcical start. "Phones not working because of the snow...Girls have had phone problems because they are using them outside. They forget that snow is WATER!" [NYMag]

• Isaac Mizrahi video-blogged his excitement over Michelle Obama's decision to wear one of his dresses to the SOTU. "She was saying, 'not let, nor right,' it was kind of like a bipartisan dress," said the designer. [IsaacMizrahyNY]

• This picture of Tavi and Alexa Chung pulling faces at photographers is adorable. That is all. [IsaacLikes
• Obama's Weatherproof billboard was finally taken down. No word on whether the company has gotten Sarah Palin to agree to an ad. [Gothamist]

• There were rumors that Sarah Jessica Parker would be the face of Halston, the brand people just can't keep themselves from reviving. And she wears Halston in the poster for SATC2. But is she actually seeking a design role? [E!]

• Beyoncé's first perfume, Heat, launches in February. She says, "Red is one of my favorite colors, as is gold." And the bottle is intended to look antique, because her mother had so many old perfumes when she was little. [WWD]

• Kate Moss says her motto is, "Nothing tastes as good as skinny feels." [WWD]

• Dana Thomas — author of Deluxe — wrote an excellent feature on the quagmire of the house of Versace. Thomas takes aim at Donatella and Santo Versace's resistance to change and ham-handed business decisions. It's a thrilling read. [Newsweek]

• UK Harper's Bazaar named Stella McCartney its best-dressed woman of the year. [Telegraph]
• Georgia May Jagger is rumored to be the next face of Versace. [Fashionista]

• Pictures of the new Kate Moss Topshop collection are out — and they prominently display the supermodel's breasts, which she just recently up and grew, like she's some kind of experimental woman built by science, or something. [Telegraph]

• Of course a Nicole Richie clothing line was inevitable. It's called Winter Kate, and it will be hitting stores next February. [WWD]
• The full Jimmy Choo for H&M lookbook is out. [Daily Mail]