This is one of the few busy ensembles Rochas showed in Paris today. Floral patterns are a go-to for Spring, but in these garments, the look is softly bold, instead of sickly sweet.

Cinched waists and full skirts have a retro vibe without feeling costume-y.

Though I have expressed my Growing Concern about The Direction Of Pants, I find these to be quite elegant and fresh-looking. Even if I wouldn't wear them.

Excuse me, Miss? You seem to have forgotten something.

I like the color here; I like flowers, the belt and the way this fabric appears to be completely luxurious… I don't like what this means for Team No Pants.

It's kind of cool how the colors and the pieces are a little bit "off" — it keeps things from being too predictable. That said, sometimes you see an ensemble on the runway and it represents the You You've Always Dreamed Of. This doesn't do it for me.

I have been ignoring the very ugly shoes on purpose. But I do understand how they fit with the clothes.

But Blair Waldorf is ordering this right now.

Degas-y, dreamy.

Restrained and refined, but still graceful — with a sense of humor.

[Images via Getty.]

• Could Anne Hathaway be taking Posh's gig as Marc Jacobs' favored campaign model? [Daily Mail]

• Derek Lam, like Rodarte and Zac Posen, just shot his first advertising campaign. For fall, expect to see Solve Sundsbo shots of Karmen Pedaru wearing Lam's wares, walking down a beach. [WWD]
• Retailers hoping for a boost in sales, or even just foot traffic, courtesy of the Topshop opening weekend melee, were disappointed. SoHo businesses found that while people were willing to line up for almost two hours to enter Topshop, once they'd achieved that goal, they didn't feel moved to shop anywhere else. [Crain's]
• Miranda July, the filmmaker and writer, will get married in a specially-made Rodarte dress. Which I am already coveting, even in absence of any photos. [WWD]
• Could Olivier Theyskens — who was essentially fired from both Rochas and Nina Ricci for making clothes that were intricate and critically successful but didn't actually sell — be on his way to Halston? American sportswear seems a less than likely berth after being found "too editorial" for Paris. But Halston needs a designer, and some people are saying that the talented Belgian gothic visionary...no, this is just too ridiculous. [Hint]
• Not only will Roberto Cavalli smile and make nice with Ittierre, the Italian licensee that the designer savaged after its move into receivership forced him to cancel his Just Cavalli fall show, for the remainder of their contract — Cavalli is reportedly close to extending that contract another five years, to 2015. Cavalli is in talks to sell a minority stake in his business, and a trouble-free relationship with his diffusion line's licensee might make such an interest more attractive to potential buyers. [WWD]
• Ann Taylor isn't the picture of financial health just now. The company lost $334 million last year, its revenues shrank by 9%, and 160 of its stores are to close. At its head offices, 19% of the staff has already been laid off. Same-store sales were down 29% in the fourth quarter, and its stock price hit a 52-week low last month. So clearly it's the right time for CEO Kay Krill to receive a 14% pay raise, to $7.84 million. [Crain's]
• The retail sector as a whole rose 5.8% in last week's stock trading; some experts hope this means the worst is over. [WWD]
• Stores giving away money: officially a thing now. [WWD]
• Alexa Chung, who is a former model and a current British TV presenter, is moving to New York to further her television career. Last time this happened, it didn't go so well, but Chung can actually write, so I say, fuck the haters. Welcome to Brooklyn! [Grazia]
• Snotty designers like Vera Wang, Donna Karan, and Oscar de la Renta complained to WWD about how Michelle Obama isn't wearing their clothes. "You don't go to Buckingham Palace in a sweater," said de la Renta. [WWD]

• Fresh off his CFDA award women's wear nomination, Marc Jacobs is reportedly engaged to his Brazilian boyfriend of one year, Lorenzo Martone. Mazel tov to the happy couple! [WWD]

• Anna Sui, who is being given the Geoffrey Beene lifetime achievement award by the Council of Fashion Designers of America, talked to Style.com for the occasion about New York's garment district, which has been threatened by rent rises and zoning changes, not to mention the increasing number of designers who outsource their fabric and notions sourcing, and their sample construction. "So much of my work is based on the resources in that neighborhood — the lacemakers and the pleaters and so on," said Sui. "I have my design studio here; I drape on a mannequin; we sew our own samples. That's how I know how to make clothes. I can't make sense of a dress without seeing how a fabric drapes, for example...I would just really hate to see the fashion industry go the way of all industry in America, and give up and go totally outsourced. We used to have the most beautiful woolen mills here, and the best denim. There was a sense of craft." [Style.com]
• Louis Vuitton, a company whose zealotry in protecting its intellectual property is well-known, is taking on Google in the European Court of Justice. At issue: the fact that the search giant sells ads to companies that make counterfeit Louis Vuitton products, and that those ads appear above the legitimate search results. Louis Vuitton says it's tantamount to copyright infringement, Google says it's up to users whether they click on any ads or not. [The Cut]
• Spring at H&M involves a wide-legged drop-crotch zebra-print jumpsuit. Don't say nobody warned you. [Fabsugar]
• This otherwise fine profile of Lauren Hutton begins by calling her "fashion's most wondrous wrinkly." Which certainly made me wrinkle my nose. [Telegraph]
• Even though he, like Hutton, is increasingly an actor these days, Tyson Beckford wishes magazines would use more models on their covers. [AP]
• And as if to taunt him, here's Penelope Cruz, looking sort of like she needs to pee, on the April cover of Spanish Vogue. [Popsugar]
• There are all kinds of fashion-y things going on with your television this week. Today is the premiere of CNN International's Carine Roitfeld documentary, which you can watch online, Friday is Valentino Day on Martha Stewart, and Saturday is the debut episode of the newly revived House of Style with Bar Refaeli and Chanel Iman. In case that's not enough, Valentino: The Last Emperor is opening in select theaters today, and soon enough we'll be treated to whatever Morley Safer cooks up on Anna Wintour, too. Phew. [Fashionista]
• Speaking of Valentino: his half-dozen pugs might guest-blog on Martha Stewart's dogs' blog, the Daily Wag. I thought the whole point was that on the Internet, nobody knows you're a dog? [The Cut]
• Meanwhile, Gwyneth Paltrow (who says those pugs are "not good kids dogs") said at the New York premiere of the film that it had failed to reveal Vava's "naughty" side. "He's the naughtiest [man]-slash-gentlemen in the entire world," said the actress. [WWD]
• Catherine Zeta-Jones can be seen moonlighting in a seven-minute advertisement for Unilever's Lux hair product brand, developed for the Asian market. [AdAge]
• Nike's sales for the third quarter declined slightly, but there may be worse times ahead: the company largely sells according to futures orders, orders for clothing and shoes scheduled one season ahead of time. And those have contracted by 10% this quarter, to $6.5 billion. [WSJ]
• The company that makes Crocs is likely to go under. At least, that's the opinion of its auditor, as disclosed in the business's annual report. Falling revenue makes it all but impossible that the company will be able to secure a new revolving credit line after its current one matures on April 2. [The Street]
• Eddie Bauer also says it's at significant risk of violating its debt obligations. After two attempted debt restructuring deals were rejected by creditors, a third amended debt deal was made, under which the company will pay higher interest rates and issue warrants for its stock. Fourth-quarter revenue fell 5.7%, and the company has seen a wave of recent layoffs and store closures nationwide. [Reuters]
• The auction of items from Gianni Versace's Lake Como villa netted some $10.3 million — far exceeding the original estimate of $3.3 million. And that was after the withdrawal from sale of the 18th century Johann Zoffany painting whose ownership is now in question. [Telegraph]
• Hermes beat its profit forecast for 2008, and says it is on track as of right now to meet its expectation of stable sales in 2009. [FT]
• Proctor and Gamble-owned Rochas, which in the years since firing Olivier Theyskens has existed only as a perfume brand, is a fashion house once more thanks to Marco Zanini. Zanini was most recently heard from as the guy hired to relaunch Halston. (It didn't go so well.) The new collection looks a little bland, and it's interesting that only now, in the post-shows news gulch, is this a story. [WSJ]
• And in news to make you barf, Goyard has a "limited-edition" pink trunk for sale at Colette in Paris. It's large enough to fit a Barbie doll and her accoutrements, and it costs $3650. [Forbes]

• After Palin names Escada as her fave brand, the creative director is gracious: "If she does wear Escada because she likes it, I mean, I’m honored actually. It’s not politics; it’s clothing, after all. No? She’s an attractive woman, so why not?" [New York Mag]
• Fashion's totally in the tank for Obama — but we knew that. [WWD]
• Halloween update: Blake Lively was Cleopatra, Martha Stewart was Medusa. [Sassybella]
• Andre Leon Talley: "Fashion may not be the most important thing in life, but it definitely helps you get through it," [Philadelphia Inquirer]

• Adidas launching high-end SLVR line. It'll include sportswear, accessories and shoes — but no activewear. [WWD]
• Stella McCartney introduces kid-friendly windows. "Using just colouring pencils, Gary Card will create over-layered drawings of animals, dinosaurs, superheros and fantasy inspired characters on children's wardrobes in his typically naive and charming signature style." Just what you want to see on your six-year-old's Christmas list! [VogueUK]
• SJP's new "Twilight" perfume: just a coinci-dink that it jibes with the teen vampire flick? Synergy! [Fashionista]
• Georgia May Jagger's "style" includes derby hats, shiny leggings. [ElleUK]
• Prada's costume jewelry is gorgeous, as expensive as real jewelry. [Fabsugar]
• Goodwill tries to change its image for the recession; but why? [NY Times]
• Not shockingly, Anand Jon's defense lawyer says he's innocent. [Breitbart]
• Suits make the man. [Forbes]
• Timberland moves into video blogging to woo young men, who allegedly like that sort of thing. [Business Week]
• The first YSL retrospective is kicking off in San Francisco and sounds amazing: "The clothes, displayed in a gallery with low lighting and the feel of a giant walk-in closet, are stunningly beautiful: A 1988 Van Gogh "Irises" jacket embroidered with 40 pounds of sequins and beads. A 1997 garden party of a gown with a thicket of pink and green organza flowers, leaves, semiprecious stones and satin ribbons. A 1990 coat flocked with flame-colored rooster, pheasant and vulture feathers. The black wool dress with satin collar and cuffs worn by Catherine Deneuve in the 1967 film "Belle de Jour."" [LA Times]
• Supermoddle Jacquetta Wheeler comes from a huge Tory clan! [Daily Mail]
• These descriptions of the Australia costumes are totally overcoming our initial resolve not to see it: "Ms. Martin did extensive research for the costumes. She studied archival images and newspapers from 1930s and ’40s Australia and interviewed descendants of the original ranchers around Darwin. 'Whether an indigenous stockman'— or drover — 'wore socks with his boots when he rode a horse, that’s something you either get through a snapshot,' Ms. Martin said, 'or something you have to go talk to the people who lived there about.'" [NY Times]
• The new Chanel Unlimited bags, in a "glossy gray canvas material," sound grotesque. Opines Fashionista: These are totally Karl's answer to Prada's nylon bags. But worse, because they're plastered in not just one, but many logos." [Fashionista]
• Yeah it's barely past Halloween, but if you have "questions" about Holiday attire, The Washington Post will help you out. [Washington Post]
• Rosetta Getty expands her line, beloved of her celeb friends. Nice work if you can get it! [WWD]
• Is it just us, or are these new Helena Christensen ads for Agent Provocateur really unsexy? (Oh yeah, prolly NSFW.) [Daily Mail]
• Rochas names Marco Zanini creative director; he'll show his first collection for the the fall/winter 2009 season. [WWD]
• Princess Di's threads go under the hammer for charity. [VogueUK]

• PETA apparently can't get over Armani's betrayal. Their latest devastating riposte? They've made these posters of Giorgio with a Pinocchio nose. [Towelroad]
• And in case that was over your head, that's "the puppet whose nose would grow when he told lies." [UPI]
• They should be happy with Henri Bendel; the department store's no longer carrying fur! [Nylon]
• Karl Lagerfeld cares about animals, too. Or at least that freaky teddy bear. “I was instantly seduced by the idea. I very much like animals. Above all when they are stuffed with cotton or plastic!” [Fashion Week Daily]
• Sean Connery looks super silver-foxy in his new LV ads. [Telegraph]

• The honeymoon's over: Narciso Rodriguez and Liz Claiborne officially part ways. [WWD]
• The "antiques buyer" from Anthropologie's getting his own show. Which is, I'm sure, very exciting for those of you who watch the Sundance Channel. [Fashionista]
• And if that sounds fun, you might be fascinated by the knowledge John Galliano's going to be speaking at some gala next month. [WWD]
• Avon forced to yank ads that claim its creams stop aging or something completely reasonable. [Daily Mail]
• Apparently in the current economic climate, women "plan" to spend less. Mice, men etc. [Reuters]
• Charlotte Ronson's doing a line for J.C. Penney. This in addition to, at last count, her eponymous line, her stuff for Urban, the collaboration with Shoshanna, and, you know, being a socialite. [WWD]
• Old Navy finally chooses an ad agency. We hope they'll make them bizarre again — I miss Carrie Donovan. [BrandWeek]
• Thanks to a new backer, Rochas pulls (another) Lazarus. [WWD]
• Marco Zanini may design for them. [ElleUK]
• The Pussycat Dolls are looking for a wardrobe assistant. Those with vinyl allergies need not apply. [The Sun]
• Nina Garcia's neuroses: "I wasn’t nervous about being in front of the camera, but I was nervous about seeing myself on camera. My husband makes me watch the show. I cringe the whole time." [Babble]
• Everybody's used to "Orgasm' blush. So Nars ups the ante: Super Orgasm Blush! Take That! [Nylon]