• Noooooo! Grazia reports Olivier Theyskens is leaving Nina Ricci. [The Cut]
• Or not: the mag attributes the scoop to "buzz currently sweeping through the front rows of the Couture shows in Paris." [Fashionista]

• Los Angeles jeweler and creator of the worst ad ever Loree Rodkin is enjoying a bump in sales following Michelle Obama's decision to wear a number of Rodkin's pieces. Like Jason Wu, she won't recreate the exact jewelery, since it was all custom-designed, but she will make similar items available for public sale. For $20,000-$50,000. [WSJ]
• ONTD has what they claim are leaked David Alexander sketches of costumes for Britney Spears' upcoming tour; if these are legit, expect our girl to look a little like Barbarella when she takes the stage. [ONTD]
• One thing that hasn't changed in the recession: the purpose of the couture shows is still not to much to actually sell a large number of $80,000 hand-made dresses but to maintain a brand identity fantasmagorical enough to shift gallons of perfume, acres of accessories, and counters of cosmetics. Attendance at the Paris shows hasn't dropped, and Chanel and Dior's couture divisions are expecting modest growth. (Further proof those wealthy enough to buy couture are very far removed from current economic realities.) [Portfolio]
• That seems to be the customer Tom Ford is seeking as he releases a $990 jean. The button is gold-plated. [The Cut]
• There for us at the other end of the denim market is Stacey London, of What Not To Wear fame. She's going to shill for Lee, because Riders "fit great and make you look slimmer." We'll take 'em 'cause they cost less than $20. [Brandweek]
• Never to be outdone, Hermès is releasing a $24,000 folding chair. It's made of black crocodile and nickel. [Racked]
• Beth Ditto is going to design an 80s-inspired fashion line with the British plus sized brand Evans. They're only in Britain and Northern Ireland, and there's no word on potential US distribution. Maybe Barney's will pick it up, like Kate Moss for Topshop? [Blackbook]
• Amanda Seyfried has become a face of Movado. [WWD]
• Eddie Bauer is being sued by outdoor clothier Woolrich. They say Eddie Bauer's slogan "The Original Outdoor Outfitter," is too much like Woolrich's, "The Original Outdoor Clothing Company." No argument there, but hasn't that been Eddie Bauer's slogan for eons? Did Woolrich just notice? [AP]
• Multinational giant Unilever, owner of the brands Dove, Axe, as well as skin-bleaching cream Fair & Lovely, is buying the TIGI hair product line and its hair-care schools from Toni & Guy. I just learned Unilever also owns Ben & Jerry's, so next time before I get high and mighty about an Axe ad, I'll try and remember how much I love Cherry Garcia. The world being nuanced and all. (But, ugh, Fair & Lovely?!) [WSJ]
• Time "investigates" the Anna Wintour retirement/replacement story, talks down to Page Six and the online sources that initially broke the rumors, and then rehashes everything you read here and elsewhere six weeks ago. MSM FTW! [Time]
• Glenn Close must have read that article in February's Glamour about "shopping your closet": She went to the Armani couture show in the same outfit she wore to the 101 Dalmatians premiere. In 1996. [WWD]
• Freida Pinto, the female star of Slumdog Millionaire, has been criticized for the mustard-yellow strapless Christian Lacroix gown she wore to the Golden Globes. She says, "It seemed like the right choice at the time." So many things do. [Times of India]
• PETA defaced Aretha Franklin's star on the Hollywood walk of fame. They called her a "Fur hag." [Daily Express]
• At the other end of this link lies proof positive that anybody can be made to look like Marilyn Monroe for a fashion ad. You'd never know Daria Werbowy to be a brunette. [Sassybella]

The video, which was funded by Dove and directed by Pinny Grylls, uses a split screen to juxtapose the women offering their imagined conclusions about these individuals' lives, and the reaction shots of those being commented on. It makes for uneasy viewing, at times — one woman looks at another and says simply "Divorced" and when the roles are reversed, the second woman says back " 'I'd like to do what you would like me to do,' that's what that face says" — but there are sweet moments, too. When a middle-aged woman with close-cropped hair says a twenty-something blonde "Loves her mum," the younger woman actually tears up. "She's got very nice moles," says one woman, "I like moles on faces, and freckles." When an older white woman says a young black woman with dreadlocks is "the face of a very modern youth," I almost cringed, expecting some sort of borderline patronizing 'Gosh society has gotten SO multicultural!' remark. But all she meant was that women in their twenties no longer have to go out with pancake foundation to face the world. It's all very cute and meaningful, and the point is clearly to remind us that we are all individuals, since at the end the various women tell us who they are, really, and it's sometimes surprising (and wonderful) in the way that it's surprising (and wonderful) to find out the dowdy downstairs neighbor is actually a slam poet, or whatever, and when was the last time you could say an ad by a beauty company was 'meaningful', anyway? This feels kind of like consciousness-raising, or affirmation, only without the taint of granola earnestness, and it will make you smile.

Of course, we all know Dove is owned by Unilever, a corporation whose sheaf of brands includes a fleet of skin-lightening creams marketed in India and Africa, and the execrable Axe body spray. It is in a certain measure hypocritical to promote women's self-esteem and "real beauty" in advertising for one brand, while feeding women's insecurities and underlining the offensive idea that only white skin can be beautiful for another. (Not to mention that it also requires a somewhat elastic understanding of women's natures to simultaneously put together a fake girl band that dances in lingerie while singing about the aphrodisiac properties of men's deodorant.) But it is still nice to see women talking about each other and themselves in surprising ways. Even if it is only an ad.

It also serves as a reminder of the effect that our comments to and about each other have on our self-esteem. Seeing the looks on the women's faces, sometimes anxious, sometimes stoic, as they awaited evaluation by a perfect stranger, made me wince at times. Dove's research — necessary caveats here for "research" completed by a cosmetics company, grain of salt, etc — shows that 15% of women report never being complimented, and 19% say they are complimented only rarely. With that in mind, why not try complimenting three people today? It'll make you and them feel good. (Dove's research did not investigate the self-esteem effects of being complimented and then not knowing how or whether to respond and feeling awkward about it. Next time, I guess.)

Related: Dove Surveys Reveal Why Women Thrive On Compliments [The Sun]
Dove Video "Intuition" [YouTube]
Axe Video "Bomchickawahwah" [YouTube]

Earlier: Hello, My Name Is Awkward And I Cannot Return Your Compliment
The Inconvenient Truth Behind Dove, The Love-Your-Body Beauty Company

• In case you haven't heard, Tennessee's Lady Vols basketball team has won the NCAA tournament after a 9-year-drought. The news reminded us of one of our favorite pieces of literary non-fiction, Madelaine Blais' In These Girls, Hope Is A Muscle, which underscores the role of sports as a self-esteem builder among young women. But we digress. Go Vols! [SportsIllustrated]
• Not too fast, female-proud Tennesseans! Another year, another attempt to outlaw abortion in your fine state. [TennesseeGuerillaWomen]
• Axe Body Spray continues to push the limits of sexist decency. [Feministing]
• Another reason to call your mother: Hormones and red-meat may raise risk of heart-disease and breast cancer in post-menopausal women. [USA Today, BBC]

• Post-partum depression is so 2006! A British psychiatric association suggests that depression during pregnancy is also dangerous and may raise the risk of premature birth. This pregnancy thing is sounding like more and more of a bummer every day. [BBC]
• Salon weighs in on yesterday's Washington Post Op-Ed about how women earn less than men because, well, they're just less motivated to rake in the big bucks. [Salon]
• Two women in today's Times obituaries section: Salvadorian human-rights advocate Maria Jula Hernandez, 68; and ballerina Belinda Wright, 78, who danced the role of Giselle and performed for Grace Kelly and Prince Rainier at gala celebrating their wedding. [NYTimes]

According to today's Slate, Unilever, the company responsible for the above atrocity, is also responsible for the "love-your-body" ads produced for Dove's Campaign For Real Beauty.

More cheap feminism, indeed.

More Cheap Feminism From Dove[Slate]
Girl Parts Mouse Pad: Almost As Good As The Real Thing [Gizmodo]

We beg to differ with the assertion from our sister brother site Gizmodo that this is funny. Other than that, we really can't find much else to say.

Girl Parts Mouse Pad: Almost As Good As The Real Thing [Gizmodo]