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As you may have heard, Michelle Obama recently wore a red Alexander McQueen evening gown to a state dinner held in honor of the Chinese president, Hu Jintao. This apparently made a lot of people very unhappy. More »
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• David Walliams says Stone asks, "'What time are you home because I want to know what time to put the shepherd's pie on?' I never thought I'd have that. An international supermodel who can make a great shepherd's pie." [Sun]

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• Alexa Chung says His Kaiserness Mr. Karl, The Gloved One "is actually really easy to talk to because he knows everything. So if you're stuck you just say, 'Um, tell me about Medieval times.'" [The Cut]

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• Emily Blunt on Young Victoria's costumer, Sandy Powell: "She said, ‘The shape needs to be right.' I said, ‘Well, I can't breathe, Sandy.' And she said, ‘I don't care.'" [People]

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• Michelle Obama may have skipped the CFDAs, but she'll celebrate the National Design Awards at the White House on July 24. The winners, chosen by the Smithsonian and including Francisco Costa, will participate in events around Washington. [WWD]

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• We are Nietzsche and God is dead: Paris Hilton's stint in jail saw her fragrance sales rise 30% higher than where they were at this time last year. [WWD, sub req'd]

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• After shooting her for a Dom Perignon campaign, Karl Lagerfeld expressed amazement at Claudia Schiffer's ability to play the diva at the heart of the campaign's storyline. We further express amazement that Karl got over his own whopping diva attitude to actually compliment someone other than himself. [WWD, 1st item]

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• "If I could just do one thing for 24 hours it would be [have sex] . . . or sew. Or have sex while sewing. Or sew an outfit to have sex in." So says singer Beth Ditto, which is why the plus-sized Ditto is now collaborating with New Look to become the most unlikely (and kinda awesome!) celebrity clothing endorser yet. [The Sun]

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• The Sopranos is coming to an end, but the Valentino drama continues. Private equity firm Permira struck a deal over the weekend with the Marzotto family to buy the family's remaining shares in the fashion house. But what to do with the 20% of shares held by Antonio Favrin, a member of the Marzottos rival family? We hear James Gandolfini may be looking for work...[WWD]

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• Private equity concern The Carlyle Group is rumored to be out of the race for control of Valentino, as the $3.5 billion needed to buy out the company is way too steep. [WWD, sub req'd]

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The first step of the much buzzed-about sale of Valentino has finally occurred, with private equity firm Permira taking the first chunk (29.6% of its shares), making it the (new) largest shareholder in the company. Permira, which recently acquired English chain New Looks (home of Lily Allen's "Lily Loves" line) bought their shares from the Marzotto family, who took control of Valentino back in 2002. Not to be the Debbie Downers of fashion, but if we were the Marzotttos, we'd be checking our beds for dead horses' heads left by rival families. More »
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