[Los Angeles, July 9. Image via Bauer-Griffin]

[Van Nuys, January 21. Image via Flynet.]

• It's official: Nina Garcia is officially a has-been. The recently-fired Elle fashion director is now partnering with Bayer and Yaz to judge a contest in which people submit designs for a new little case to hold birth control pills. I don't know about you, but I like the purple faux-suede "wallet" that my Yasmin comes in just the way it is. [Fashionista]
  
• OMG sneak peek of Nina and Christian Siriano's performance on this week's Ugly Betty. [Sassybella]
  
• Radiohead: Fighting sweatshops. [Yahoo]
  
• Fergie is so P.C.: "I really love people who wear fashions of their own culture; they really touch me and inspire me. I'd like to call myself cultured and not just because I travel a lot and see various hotel rooms. I love driving around, seeing what people on the street are wearing, I would even ask my driver to take me to a cool, young part of town for inspiration. If I went to Africa I would come back with tons of different things, because I truly wouldn't find those things anywhere else." [Chic Report]

• Victoria's Secret is getting a taste of its own medicine: The retailer is being sued by Juicy Couture, which claims that the lingerie chain stole designs and marketing ideas. [WWD, sub req'd]
• A tentative agreement appears to have been reached between Bloomingdale's and the retail employees union. [WWD, sub req'd]
• It's hard to be Zoe Kravitz: "I commute on the Metro North from SUNY Purchase through Grand Central, so that takes most of my time. But I still get to wear Chanel tonight, which is always an upside." [Fashion Week Daily]
• The Versace vacation home in Italy has been sold to a Russian gajillionaire. [WWD, 1st item]
• Lanvin designer Alber Elbaz is designing a denim line for Acne Jeans. He promises it will offer silhouettes other than ubiquitous 'skinny jean.' Does that mean women over a size 10 can wear them? [Fashion Week Daily]
• Crotchity folks are claiming that the Ralph Lauren Ricky bag bears an uncanny resemblance to the Hermes Birkin bag. [Fashion Week Daily]
• At last: Service journalism you can actually use. Here's how to fix a broken nail. [BellaSugar]
• Wanna invest in Cavalli? Quick! Act now! [Reuters]
• Lord & Taylor is thinking about opening a store outside of the U.S, preferably in Canada or Mexico. Way to live dangerously, L&T. [NYT]
• How to dress like Madonna on the cheap. (Yes, go ahead and insert joke here.) [USA Today]
• Guys have body image issues; feel insecure shopping at Casual Male store. [WSJ]
• Since the economy sucks, outlets might be the only way for luxury retailers to make money. [WSJ]
• Bruce Willis' girlfriend Emma Harding: Now the face of La Senza lingerie. Glad things are working out for the girl based on her hard work and merit alone. [Daily Mail]

[London, February 25. Image via INFDaily.com.]

[New York, February 21. Image via INFDaily.com]

• An incognito PETA operative posing as a style-maven turned up at Donna Karan's Manhattan home on Wednesday; the undercover "agent" was invited in, offered a beverage, and when Donna came home, shoved a portable DVD player with footage of animals being slaughtered alive for their pelts in the designer's face. Said Donna, "I've seen all these [videos], but for me it's just purses and accessories." [Page Six]
  
• OMG genius: In its March issue, Harper's Bazaar has recreated a minute-by-minute reenactment of the wait for the Spring 2008 Marc Jacobs show [Fashion Week Daily]
  
• Project Runway held its finale fashion show this morning. We were there. Pictures begin going up in ten minutes.

• Oh models: We love when they try to help the people! Irina Lazarau has been sporting a t-shirt for Angelina Jolie's Global Action for Children backstage while getting made up for shows in an attempt to raise awareness for the organization. Alas, as of Tuesday evening Lazarau reported that, "No one has asked me about the shirt yet." [WWD, 6th item]
• Well phew I'll sleep better tonight: Shark liver oil will no longer be used in our cosmetics. [WWD, sub req'd]
• Can we discuss the fact that Macy's is the exclusive retailer for Tommy Hilfiger? Oy. [WWD, 2nd item]
• Sex and the City costume designer Patricia Field: Not such a fan of Hillary Clinton's. Or her style at least. [Sassybella]
• Tyson Beckford on the lack of diversity amongst working models being used on the runway: "A lot of designers are aware of it, but we want to make more designers conscientious of it. I don't mean just black. We're also talking about Latino and Asian. [These companies need to know] your customer is not just one race. You never want to cater to just one race. You can call that racism." [WWD, 9th item]
• Books we cannot wait to read: Michael Tonello's Bringing Home the Birkin, out in April, an expose on the way in which the author routinely proves the two-year wait list for a Birkin bag to be a load of bullshit. [Page Six]
• Ivanka Trump: Designed the uniforms for the Trump Hotel Collection. And by "designed" we mean that the LA-based House of Uniforms "helped." [WWD, 11th item]
• American Eagle and Aeropostle are launching a campaign called "Declare Yourself" which is supposed to encourage young people to vote and Guess is doing voter registration in-stores: We think politics is a pretty good thing to care about and we're glad fashion agrees. [WWD, sub req'd]
• Rachel Zoe: Arrived at New York Fashion Week with eight steamer trunks of clothes. [Page Six]
• Botkier: Debuting shoes for spring! [Fashion Week Daily]
• ELLE's International Creative Director Gilles Bensimon: A leap year baby! [Fashion Week Daily]