The White House won't discuss the details of a planning meeting between Rogers and the Secret Service that took place before the state dinner, and Rogers's voice has been absent from the flurry of buck-passing after the event (the owner of Half Yard Productions, who filmed the Salahis' pre-dinner salon visit, says, "We took them at their word and filmed their preparations for the event. Half Yard Productions had no part in planning their presence at the event."). Her silence, along with the refusal of most Secret Service and social office employees to go on record, has left the field wide open for Cathy Hargraves, the Bush appointee who says Rogers "stripped her" of her former job responsibilities. It's hard not to read a bit of Schadenfreude into Hargraves's statement about what she would have done to keep the Salahis out:

I would have called the deputy social secretary, checked that they were not on our guest lists, and then told the Secret Service, 'Please don't let them in.' Everybody would have been on the lookout for them.

The aftermath of the gate crashing has led to questions about Secret Service management and new security plans for future events. But finger-pointing at Rogers continues unabated. Rep. Peter King of the Homeland Security Committee wants to subpoena her, and has gone so far as to sent her a letter asking if her policies as social secretary "interfered with, countermanded, or in any way conflicted with security considerations." Meanwhile, the press coverage of Rogers has dialed up to full snark. Sandra McElwaine of The Daily Beast writes that Rogers has been forced to accept a lower-profile role in White House operations, and that she may even be shunted off into a position as "ambassador to some neutral country like Switzerland or Luxemburg" once the Salahi scandal has cooled. McElwaine opens her piece thus:

Desiree Rogers will no longer be swanning about at White House parties. Au contraire. Ever since the glamorous social secretary was hobnobbing with celebrities, oblivious to two reality TV wannabes who were crashing the Obamas' first state dinner in November she has been given a timeout.

Even though her Louboutin stilettos still click down the historic hallways of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, there have been no more appearances in designer gowns or pronouncements about pushing the unique Obama brand. Instead the sophisticated Harvard MBA seems to be adapting to more formal protocol and attempting to play a more traditional behind-the-scenes role as she oversees the care and feeding of more than 50,000 guests at 28 different holiday receptions.

And Chicago Sun-Times gossip columnist Michael Sneed suggests that Rogers's silence comes as the result of White House fiat, saying, "Desiree Rogers has been corked . . . curbed . . . shushed . . . hushed . . . and told to keep the lid on it." Sneed adds,

The muffle kerfuffle stems from the West Wing getting tired of the ego show in the East Wing, er, the ladies' room, if you get my drift. (When Desiree was Peoples Gas communications chief she selected herself to star in Peoples Gas TV ads!)

And:

Gate-crashing is a part of it ... but not all. How much you want to bet the expensive gowns and glamor by first lady Michelle Obama's East Wing clique get tamped down in this age of economic uncertainty?

All this excitement over Rogers's chastening — "the sophisticated Harvard MBA" forced to quit "hobnobbing" — seems not so much out of proportion as oddly worded, as though what was important was not a security breach itself but Rogers's penchant for designer clothes (Sneed asks "will Desiree don something more like ... 'comme' to reality?"). And while Rogers's office clearly made serious errors in its handling of the dinner, the focus on her former lifestyle and current comeuppance sounds a bit like mockery of a black woman who tried to rise above her station — mockery that even extends, in Sneed's case, to the First Lady and her "clique." Rogers clearly screwed up, but it sometimes seems as though her crime occurred long before the Salahis showed up at the White House, and that she's being punished now not for the security breach, but for thinking she could wear expensive clothes and take a high-profile role in White House activities. Perhaps bored by the procedural minutiae of the White House social office, the press seems eager to indict its secretary for the sin of pride.

The Salahis' Night At The White House And A Contentious Day After [Washington Post]
The New White House Wallflower [Daily Beast]
D.C. Gag Rule Out On Desiree Rogers [Sun-Times, via Time]

Here's the whole quote, from BizBash coverage of a Creative Coalition-hosted Q&A with Rogers:

When asked what she does with event crashers, Rogers replied (to much laughter), that she's begun adding an extra table, row, or bench to every event she produces, as each time she found extra people would show up in hopes of gaining entrance. "Lots of people just come anyways, they won't take no for an answer," she said. "Finally I just said, 'Alright, come on in, it's no use kicking you out.'"

What a difference a few months makes: "hysterical witch-hunting" is, apparently, the new "much laughter." Because if you thought the finger-pointing (and gleeful references to Rogers' finery) was over, someone didn't get her "Weekender," in which the Times devoted a thorough "Styles" piece to analyzing the social secretary's fall under the rather meta guise of examining media scrutiny (a la Robin Givhan), and Maureen Dowd attempted (unsuccessfully, but none the less smugly for all that) to equate Rogers and Tiger Woods as fellow "perfectionist high-achievers brought low."(What, she couldn't work in the "Cougar Cruise" while she was at it?) Never mind that she'd already done a snarkfest on Rogers a few days ago.

Wrote an outraged Amanda Marcotte on XX (and she wasn't even talking about Dowd's description of Rogers "sashaying around and posing in magazines as though she were the first lady, rather than a staffer whose job is to stay behind the scenes and make her bosses look good"), "I fail to see what her larger-than-life personality, strong self-esteem, and love of fashion has to do with this story. When taken in along with the shaming of Rogers for falling down on the job, this kind of coverage stinks of smacking down a black woman for the crime of being "uppity."" For that matter, did no one else find Dowd's final flippant salvo - "Now all we have left to look up to is Derek Jeter" - bizarre? As what? A minority in a position of authority? Someone representing a team "brand?" (Oddly, in the hundreds of commenter euconia I read, no one mentioned this, although someone did mention that, in fact, Jeter wasn't that great, and another wit had the wherewithal to include a laborious parody of "Tyger, Tyger.") We get it: Obama has disappointed a lot of people. Others have always hated him. Here's a scapegoat, who embodies a lot of what people can't stand but can't justify hating, and the glee is palpable. The irony, of course, is that this takes the teeth out of any legit criticism - the high-handedness of refusing to agree to a hearing, or the necessity of seeking liability in any security breach, has been pretty much lost in the shuffle.

Getting back to that July interview, Rogers' closing words seem ominously prophetic and saddening:

We don't want to be stale, we don't want to be boring. We don't want to repeat things over and over. This first year we are really trying to lay the foundation, to set the standard.

And, of course, so is everyone else.

White House Social Secretary Desirée Rogers On Conga Lines, Crashers, And Why She's Avoiding Sit-Down Dinners [BizBash]
How Not To Cover The Desirée Rogers Story [XX]
The Spotlight's Bright Glare [NY Times]
The Lady And The Tiger [NY Times]

The buck has - almost - stopped. Or at least scapegoated: A secret service officer judged responsible for the security breach that allowed national laughingstocks Tareq and Michaele Salahi to crash a state dinner have been put on leave. End of it? Everyone wishes. Says the Wall Street Journal,

"We are all fortunate that this diplomatic celebration did not become a night of horror," said Rep. Bennie Thompson (D., Miss.), chairman of the panel. Committee Republicans stepped up criticism of the Obama administration's social secretary, Desiree Rogers, saying she should be subpoenaed to answer questions about her staff's role in the lapse. Committee Democrats rebuffed calls to compel Ms. Rogers to testify. The White House has said Ms. Rogers won't appear before the committee.

And cheerleaders for the Washington Redskins are also all steamed up - since, allegedly, Mrs. Salahi participated in a Sept. 20 halftime show with a bunch of former Redskins cheerleaders, with cameras in tow, claiming to be a former member of the squad. (That's her with them) But, as the Washington Post reports, the squad became suspicious when "Salahi couldn't perform some of the basic cheerleader routines, including the standard choreography for the team's fight song, "Hail to the Redskins." And, sure enough, she proved to be an impostor.

The Washington Redskins Cheerleaders Alumni Association lists Salahi on its membership roster and indicates that she was a cheerleader during 1991 season under her nickname and maiden name, Missy Holt. However, when asked by the group for proof of her participation, Salahi was unable to supply any...The group's president, Terri Lamb, said Wednesday, "We have no record that she ever was a Redskins cheerleader. She was listed on our 1991 roster at Ms. Salahi's request and based on her misrepresentation to us."

The collective shenanigans have resulted in a formal investigation by Virginia's Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services into the Salahis' vague business, America's Polo Cup, which raises funds fur charitable works. The Salahis claim that "National Polo League" officially sanctions their org; the shallowest of digging raised doubts about the National Polo League's actual existence. In other news, the Salahis still owe money to a landscaper, who took them to court: in lieu of cash, reports the WaPo, Tareq left a Patek Philippe watch that, according to a witness, "makes a Rolex look like a Swatch."

By now it should be pretty obvious that the couples' self-promotion may verge on pathology and blur the "con" line. Clearly, they're pros. Which makes the continued bile being directed at Desiree Rogers that much more confusing. While it's true that her failure to answer questions of the congressional probe looks high-handed (all the more so when one of her deputies is taking the fall) Peter King's accusations of "stonewalling" are somewhat incendiary and more than a little politically-charged.

Officers Put On Leave Over Crashing of Party [Wall Street Journal]
Cheerleaders Get Fired Up About Salahi [Washington Post]
W.H. Accused Of 'Stonewalling' [PoliticoIn Court, Salahis Agree To Settle Debt With Watch [Washington Post]

Although some have claimed that threats are "up 400%," Sullivan denies that there has been much of an increase at all. "I'm not sure where that number comes from," he said. • Congressman Bennie Thompson, the House Homeland Security Committee Chairman, says his staff is preparing to subpoena the Salahis to testify as to how they crashed the White House State Dinner. He added that he will not subpoena White House Social Secretary Desiree Rogers because her testimony isn't worth "engaging in a protracted legal battle with the White House." • Anthony Sowell, who was accused of the murder of 11 women in Ohio, entered a plea of not guilty by reason of insanity today. Sowell has been charged with an 85-count indictment, for crimes including rape, murder, assault and corpse abuse. If convicted, he could be given the death penalty. •  French tennis player Amelie Mauresmo has announced plans to retire. "I don't want to train anymore," said the 2006 Wimbledon title winner. "When you grow older, it's more difficult to stay at the top. It's a bit sad but this is the right decision." •  The Optimum Population Trust has determined that contraception is the cheapest way to help the environment, much cheaper than, say, planting trees of investing in wind power. The group has created a website that accepts donations to help pay for family planning services. •  This story, about a team of soccer-playing grannies from South Africa, will seriously brighten your day. The group of 40 older ladies has been playing since 2006, when cancer survivor Beka Ntsanwisi saw a group of women waiting for treatment, and decided that they needed somewhere to go for both exercise and companionship. Since 2006, several other teams have been set up, and they all compete in a league called the Top Eight. • The Berhane Hewan or "Light of Eve" program funded by the U.N. and Nike Foundation educates about 10,000 women and girls in Ethiopia in hopes of preventing child marriage. The program holds meetings for whole villages to discuss why child marriages hurts girls and gives families a pregnant ewe each time a daughter completes two years of school to offset the poverty that drives parents to marry off their daughters. • Sarah Palin received a special award from College of the Ozarks, a small Bible school in Missouri that goes by the slogan "Hard Work U." (strangely, this was a great favorite of my high school guidance counselor). They gave her the first ever "Great American Award." The press release reveals she got the award for being super patriotic: "Patriotism is one of the important goals of the College." •

According to Ginger Thompson of the New York Times, the Salahis' publicist (yes, they have one) issued a statement yesterday saying that "no laws were broken, that White House protocol relating to invitations was either deficient or mismanaged, and that there were honest misunderstandings and mistakes made by all parties involved." The publicist also claimed that the Salahis had cooperated with the Homeland Security Committee and that there was "nothing further they could do to assist Congress." Rather unsurprisingly, committee chair Rep. Bennie G. Thompson disagrees. He says "the committee is prepared to move forward with subpoenas to compel their appearance." It now appears that subpoenas for the Salahis are likely, and the process of securing them could begin today.

It remains unclear whether Homeland Security will also subpoena Rogers. White House press secretary Robert Gibbs says, "based on separation of powers, staff here don't go testify before Congress" — but Congress isn't buying it. Rep. Peter T. King accuses the White House of "stonewalling," and says, "I don't want the Secret Service to be taking the hit here; what went wrong was the responsibility of the White House." In fact, the White House has accepted some blame for the crashing incident. Deputy Chief of Staff Jim Messina has issued a memo detailing policy changes for future White House events, including posting White House staff at checkpoints. The memo also says, "After reviewing our actions, it is clear that the White House did not do everything we could have done to assist the United States Secret Service in ensuring that only invited guests enter the complex."

This admission likely won't forestall criticism of the White House or of Rogers herself. Time's Jay Newton-Small calls the "separation of powers" claim "a familiar excuse often cited by President Bush protecting Karl Rove, Josh Bolten and Harriet Miers," and says, "though, Bush usually cited that protection so that staff might speak freely when giving crucial advice on issues of national importance — not sure how much crucial advice the social secretary usually gives." Of course, the Bush White House "stonewalled" on some much worse issues than party-crashing — like, say, whether Iraq had WMDs. But the fact that Rogers and her staff committed a relatively small sin (that could, it's true, have had much more serious consequences than it eventually did) hasn't stopped the press from piling on. The Times's Caucus Blog reproduces this little exchange:

Q. Has there been any concern about Desiree Rogers' performance prior to this instance?

Mr. Gibbs: No.

Q. No one has questioned the president or told the president that she is a very last-minute person, poor planner?

Mr. Gibbs: No, I think you - you all have been to and seen, either whether you're part of a pool, whether some of you've been to receptions, the remarkable work that they have done in pulling off a lot of events here. The first family is quite pleased with her performance, and I've heard nothing uttered of what you talked about.

Q. Well, what about the issues of her being in fashion spreads early on in the administration? Did you put the brakes on that? I mean, that is - it's been raised. It's now public. It's - you know, you saw it in the magazines, her pictorials. You saw her on the cover of –

Mr. Gibbs: There's a - I get Sports Illustrated in my house.

Gibbs's Palinesque comment about Sports Illustrated isn't doing Rogers any favors, and it doesn't seem like the White House is handling criticism particularly well on this matter. Still, the focus on Rogers's reputation as a fashion maven feels a little unfair. Both the White House and Secret Service deserve blame for letting the Salahis slip through the cracks. But the Salahis, whose famewhoredom goes way back (here you can watch Michaele Salahi, in 2008, tossing a polo ball and then bizarrely narrating said tossing), started this whole mess by being charlatans. The state of Virginia has begun a formal investigation into their shady-seeming charity, America's Polo Cup. And they're the ones Congress should be most eager to talk to — but, as Talking Points Memo's Josh Marshall says, "perhaps not inviting them would be a better way to get them to show up."

Subpoenas Possible In White House Gate-Crashing [NYT]
White House Accepts Some Blame For Dinner Crashers [LA Times]
Don't Tempt Us [Talking Points Memo]
Desiree's (Sure To Be) Bad Day [Time]
White House Blocks Testimony On Party Crashers [NYT]
EXCLUSIVE: Raw Footage Of Michaele & Tareq Salahi, Alleged White House Party Crashers, At The 2008 World Snow Polo Championships [Plum TV]
Va. Launches Probe Into Business Entity Run By Salahis [Washington Post]

You know it's bad news when Maureen Dowd sinks in her claws, and that's exactly what the NY Times columnist did this morning to the glamorous White House social secretary, declaring archly,

The statuesque social secretary brandishing a Harvard M.B.A. and animal-print designer shoes is not any mere party planner. The old friend of the first couple from Chicago has the exalted and uncommon title of social secretary and special assistant to the president....Instead of standing outside with a clipboard, eyeballing guests as Anne Hathaway did in "The Devil Wears Prada," Desirée was a guest at the dinner, the center of her own table of guests, just like the president and first lady.

In sum, concludes Dowd, "Even before the Salahis swept in preening, the Obama staffers were there preening, standing around celebrating themselves. And of course, savoring the wonder of the Obama brand."

She's referring, of course, to Rogers' infamous WSJ interview, in which the social secretary (clad, as everyone mentions, in Viktor and Rolf, Prada and Cartier), "We have the best brand on earth: The Obama brand." And despite - or because of - her #28 ranking on Vanity Fair's power list, title as Best-Dressed Washingtonian and front-row seat at Fashion Week next to Anna Wintour, the White House thereafter clamped down on the elegant Rogers' public speaking. As the Washington Post explains,

In recent years, social secretaries had always quashed their own public profiles, demurred from seeking the limelight, in service to their position and in deference to the first lady. Indeed, the names of the most recent social secretaries — Cathy Fenton, Lea Berman and Amy Zantzinger probably ring no bells outside of Washington circles. Those who have more prominent profiles such as Ann Stock, who worked in the Clinton administration and now at the Kennedy Center, and Letitia Baldridge of the Kennedy years, waited until their post-White House years to step into the spotlight.

Arguably, people have been waiting for Rogers to get her comeuppance for some time, but the Salahi's opportunism seems a pretty weak pretext. As Time's Michael Scherer explained it,

Rogers' sin, if it can be called one, was apparently in making herself a guest at the State Dinner-a star not a clerk, you see-for which she wore a cream-colored Comme des Garcons number, which was so high fashion that it looked like she might have made it herself. She also did not assign a staff person to hover over the Secret Service gates checking off guests as they arrived. Security is not her office's responsibility, everyone agrees, but it was possible, some mused, that Rogers or her staff might have provided a second set of eyes to spot interlopers when the Secret Service failed to do its job. Both the Secret Service and the House Homeland Security Committee have promised investigations, but that has not stopped a chorus of conclusions.

Immediately, fingers were pointed at Rogers. Said Lloyd Grove, bitchily, "Where, oh where, was Desiree Rogers?...In the past, White House social secretaries have worked, not partied." Michelle Malkin, of course, jumped into the fray with a slideshow of the secretary's presumably Marie Antoinette-frivolous gowns. Always with the clothes! Said Washington Post fashion critic Robin Givhan, sagely, "It was the sort of attention-getting dress, with its translucent sleeves and strands of pearls encased in layers of tulle, that proclaimed the wearer a fashion savant."

When Bravo floated the D.C. Housewives franchise, the response was low-level incredulity. No self-respecting D.C. hostess would, it was said, countenance such a thing - and if they did, whither the drama? Well, here we go. This one, first incident has launched enough cattiness for a whole season of Real Housewives, and then some. That's what's so absurd: the objectively ludicrous Salahis didn't need to bring down the dignity of the occasion, or the city, when the tsuris was all there and desperate for any excuse to get out. Bravo's just figured out how to make this series the most dramatic of all - because this time, it's political.

Piling On Desirée Rogers—Is The Social Secretary To Blame For Two Ticketless Boobs At The White House? [Time]
Who's Sari Now? [NY Times]
Rogers's Unwanted New Guest: Scrutiny [Washington Post]
The New Establishment 2009 [Vanity Fair]

Desiree Rogers Voted Washington's Best-Dressed Woman (SLIDESHOW) [HuffPO]

Desirée Rogers' Brand Obama [Wall Street Journal]

Few dispute that the Salahis' admission to the dinner honoring Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was a serious oversight by the Secret Service and the White House staff. Bush appointee Cathy Hargraves, former White House "assistant for arrangements," says it used to be her job to physically check guests off a list at the White House's East Gate portico entrance. But when Obama took office, social secretary Desiree Rogers told her the position would no longer be needed because, "In these economic times, I don't think we're going to have very many lavish expensive dinners. It wouldn't look very good." As a result, no one from the White House social office was at the East Gate to check if arrivals were actually invited guests. Rebecca Dana and Lloyd Grove at the Daily Beast hint that Rogers herself, who attended the dinner as a guest (in a dress that, for what it's worth, I think is cool) rather than staffing it, may be abandoning the social secretary's real responsibilities. But a White House official says the Secret Service was supposed to check with a social office employee about any questionable guests, and that they never did so.

Secret Service Director Mark Patterson issued a statement reading, in part,

Although these individuals went through magnetometers and other levels of screening, they should have been prohibited from entering the event entirely. That failing is ours. [...] While we have protocols in place to address these situations, we must ensure that they are followed each and every time.

As our investigation continues, appropriate measures have been taken to ensure this is not repeated.

Both the House of Representatives and the Obama administration have plans to review Secret Service security procedures. Meanwhile, the more we learn about the gatecrashers, the worse they look. It's been widely reported that Michaele Salahi was angling for a spot on The Real Housewives of D.C., and her path to "fame" apparently included a lot of stretching the truth. Salahi claimed she had been both a "supermodel" and a Washington Redskins cheerleader, though there is no evidence she was either. And her husband Tareq's polo organization hosted a match in the spring, supposedly to benefit a children's charity run by the Salahis and called the Journey for the Cure Foundation. But a few days later, the state of Virginia issued a warning that the foundation had "not registered with or been granted the appropriate exempt status by the Commissioner as required by law."

So what's the proper punishment for these small-time charlatans turned big-time party-crashers? Sens. Evan Bayh and John Kyl think federal charges should be brought against them. Republican political operative Ed Rollins concurs, suggesting, "These people want a reality TV show, give them one. It's called ‘Dealing With the Federal Prosecution System of the District of Columbia.'" Our favorite suggestion comes from Tareq Salahi's own mom, Corinne Salahi, who says, "I think they need a spanking." But perhaps the best punishment for the Salahi's would be denying them the attention they so brazenly seek. Unfortunately, given the boost their stunt has delivered to the Real Housewives franchise, that's not very likely to happen.

Secret Service Agents Interview Intruders [NYT]
White House Guest List Chief Says She Quit Post [Newsweek]
U.S.S.S. Head On Security Breach [Politico]
'They Need A Spanking' [Daily Beast]
Days Of Wine And Poses [Washington Post]

• Michelle Obama wore a sterling-silver sequined dress by Indian-born designer Naeem Khan to a state dinner in honor of India's prime minister. [USAToday]
• Desiree Rogers wore Comme des Garçons. Which makes this the most fashion-forward administration, ever. [Mrs. O]

• "I feel so happy to be a part of this historical event between the two countries where my heart lies," says Khan. [People]
• And Mrs. Obama has apparently ordered thigh-high leather boots from Robert Clergerie. [Telegraph]
• Daul Kim's recent video spots for the Chanel "Cocoon" bag line are still on the Chanel website. [Racked]
• Emma Watson went to a hockey game n New York with a Spanish rock star and YSL designer Stefano Pilati. This is, apparently, big news. [Elle UK]
• The mother of Catherine McNeil, the model who appeared in public in Sydney with cuts on her arms, says that her understanding is that McNeil fell down some stairs. (Her agency said the cuts were the result of a skateboarding injury.) Her mother also said that the loneliness and distance from her family of modeling often left her feeling "down." "She hasn't had it easy. She hasn't had much of a life. I never forced her into modeling, it was her decision, it was her choice," said McNeil's grandmother, who raised her. "But it's not as glamorous as it appears. There's a lot of pressure to maintain your looks and sometimes it gets her down." [News.com.au]
• Mounir Moufarrige says Lindsay Lohan isn't going anywhere: "Yes [she's staying on], she has a job to do." Her first collection as "artistic advisor" for Ungaro led to the label being dropped by major U.S. retailers like Neiman Marcus. (Moufarrige says the clothes are "selling well.") Even Emanuel Ungaro himself — who has not been involved in the running of his namesake company since 2001 — joined in the chorus of criticism, calling Lohan's work "a disaster." "Mr Ungaro has his views, he can keep them," said Moufarrige, tartly. [Reuters]
• Victoria Beckham is re-launching her denim collection. No longer will it be sold under the name dVb: she's opted for the more prosaic "Victoria Beckham Denim." Prices will start at £140. [Elle UK]
• Of course D&G publicist Ali Wise would be getting filmed for Tinsley Mortimer's reality television show. [NYDN]
• Adidas would like to move its production of NBA jerseys to Thailand, from a factory in upstate New York. Not if Chuck Schumer has anything to do with it! [AP]
• Meanwhile, Stefano Lattanzi's Manhattan store continues to sell $18,000 men's crocodile skin boots. Women's cost $25,000. Arnold Schwarzenneger is allegedly a fan. [NYDN]
• Refinery29's list of ten fashion catchphrases — from "smize" to André Leon Talley's "I look authori-taaay!" — is dead-on, perfect, the end. [Refinery29]
• Target has announced its first ever collaboration with a millinery designer. Next April, a line of hats by Eugenia Kim — who previously did a lower-priced line for Urban Outfitters — will go on sale at the retailer. A shoe collection by Cynthia Vincent will also hit the chain on the same date. [Stylelist]
• Don't hold your breath for such a collab with Michael Kors. "We don't need to," says the orange one. [Independent]
• Jimmy Choo's collection for H&M cost up to 45% more in Ireland than it did in England. H&M says the difference reflects "taxes and transportation costs" as well as currency fluctuations. [IrishTimes]
• Christian Restoin, longtime partner of Carine Restoin-Roitfeld, is teaming up with Current/Elliot's Serge Azria to relaunch Equipment shirts. [Elle UK]
• Irina Shabayeva, of Project Runway near-fame, designed a wedding dress for Kelly Ripa. Since Ripa eloped with her husband, she wore it on national television instead of to her wedding. [People]
• Fashion blogger Lindsay Ibarra, on fashion bloggers: "What has been a pertinent trend throughout the most popular fashion blogs is the sort of self-indulgent act of getting dressed up, striking an adorable pose and writing a few witty words about what you're wearing and what you did that day. While this is all well and good for the purposes of creative journaling, what is happening more and more is that these faces are starting to be considered the new voices in fashion. Sea of Shoes blogger Jane Aldridge recently designed a line of shoes for Urban Outfitters, Julia Frakes and Rumi Neely (of Bunny Bisous and Fashion Toast, respectively) have both been signed to Next and Tavi from Style Rookie has her own fan club of editors and stylists championing her as the next Diana Vreeland. What's interesting about fashion is that it is one of few industries where you need virtually no education to be a star. Dressing and presenting yourself well take the place of a diploma or experience and in some cases even dressing yourself badly works, too." [EvilMonito]
• J. Crew's quarterly results were so far above analysts' expectations that its share price rose 7% in after-hours trading. Same-store sales for the period rose 8% on last year, and revenue rose 14%, to $414 million. [Crain's]

Women's Wear Daily has taken a keen interest in analyzing Roger's satorial choices in magazine profiles, noting how, in some cases, the fashion notes have been omitted from the story:

[I]n May, Capitol File readers were informed that Rogers was wearing a Louis Vuitton coat ($3,370) and freshwater pearl and diamond earrings by Jorge Adeler ($7,900), the more recent Michigan Avenue issue ignores fashion entirely, both in the credits and the story. [...]

Rogers has a tough line to walk between what appears to be her natural inclination toward glamour - for example, sitting next to Anna Wintour at a fashion show - and the sensitivity of representing the White House during an economic crisis. At a cocktail preceding the White House Correspondents' Dinner in May, Rogers declined to tell WWD reporters who had designed her dress, although a White House spokeswoman later identified it as Halston.

Is Rogers being prudent by not flaunting her fashion, or does her ability to even wear the high-end houses say more than words?

Memo Pad: Desiree Rogers' Latest Mag Cover...Kenneth Cole's New Ad Campaign [WWD]

According to the new Newsweek, Rogers recently invited some students from a local cooking school to talk to the White House head chef — as well as the First Lady — as the staff prepared the Obamas' first state dinner. Rogers will also work with the art collection in the House; she says:

"There is a wonderful collection of art, but what's missing is modern art. And also we'd like to see more diversity of the artists themselves-more women artists, more African-American artists, more Hispanic artists, artists of American-Indian descent, Asian-Americans."

And regular people may have a chance to be in the presidential mansion as well: Last week, Rogers told the Washington Post that she's interested in creating an Internet lottery, where a "lucky winner" will get a seat at a White House dinner or event. Rogers is also getting ideas from Sasha and Malia Obama — opinions on the Easter Egg Hunt, for instance. Plus, there was a Wii at the Super Bowl party, because the girls like playing with the Wii.

Having those who previously would not have been invited to the White House is not only part of Rogers' philosophy, but that of the Obamas, of course — "They understand what it means to feel like you've been left out," Rogers says. Still, she knows that her position — as a kind of gatekeeper — has made her very popular, very suddenly. She tells WaPo that people are not being subtle about wrangling an invitation to the House: "I'm a very direct, kind of honest person. So, if you want it, you just say it, and we'll see what we can do. I mean, I can't accommodate everyone, but people, they want to be here."

The Busiest Woman in Washington [Newsweek]
Managing the Highest-Profile Social Scene, Voices of Power: White House Social Secretary Desiree Rogers (transcript) , Voices Of Power: Desiree Rogers, Obama's White House CEO (video) [WaPo]

Rogers, by all accounts, "has extraordinary flair and exquisite taste." Rogers recently met with Letitia Baldrige, who was the White House social secretary during the Kennedy administration. Baldrige had a mix of praise and advice for Rogers:

“Desirée is so poised and so charming, so substantial and capable, but nonetheless I told her how important it is to always stand up to the West Wing,” Baldrige recounted later. “The West Wing is the men’s side, and they will want to push you to put all those politicians on the dinner lists, and you’ve got to be strong and say no. Always represent what the First Lady and the president want. In the case of the Obamas, it’s an exciting mix of people—not paybacks.”

But Rogers seems to have a handle on what she's doing. "I get great joy seeing people being entertained," she tells Vogue. "The joy for me will be the moment before they arrive, making certain we have created a great environment for the Obamas and their guests. I’ll have more fun watching than being in the party." She was worried about seating charts until she found out that the White House has "a huge computer screen, programmed with all the tables, so you can drag the names of guests around until you get it right."

As for her personal life, it will also change: Rogers is looking for a D.C. apartment for herself and her daughter, Victoria, 18, at student at Yale. Rogers says of her former husband: "We’re very close, but we just couldn’t live together." That's right, the social secretary is single! Vogue's William Norwich proclaims her "the most eligible woman in Washington." But Rogers seems, wisely, to have work foremost on her mind: The White House, after all, has an entertaining legacy to uphold, and she's about to be in charge of making sure every party and event is perfect. And the Kennedys keep coming up. Writes Norwich:

Many observers have compared Michelle Obama to Jacqueline Kennedy, and I asked Rogers how closely she and the First Lady are looking to Jackie’s White House.“It is definitely an inspiration for us because we hear people talk about it all the time,” she answered. “We would be remiss not to study those years carefully, not in order to duplicate them but to be inspired by them.” The mandate the Obamas have given her, Rogers said, “is about instilling pride.”

But don't think Barack Obama has chosen someone stuffy, or who doesn't know how to have fun: Rogers seems to know that this administration will be different, in many ways:

“Will the president have impromptu pickup basketball games?” I asked.
“Probably,” Rogers answered.
“With videos of the games posted on the Internet?”
“Why not?”
“What about celebrities? They seemed to have been banned during the campaign. Will celebrities be invited to the White House?”
She laughed. “Of course. Why not? They’re people too. Remember, we are inclusive. We want everybody.”

Life Of The Party [Vogue]

Earlier: New White House Social Secretary Is Well-Educated, Well-Dressed

[Photograph by Jonathan Becker via Vogue.com]

The White House Social Secretary isn't just in charge of making appointments — she is (and, in recent times, it's always a she, although rarely a woman of as much prominence as Rogers) in charge of everything about every public event the President and First Lady do — from state dinners to the Easter Egg Roll to the Christmas parties and everything in between. And if that's still not enough for you to think that this her job is on a par with the other work she's done, think about it this way: she's got to know every bit of protocol for every state dinner; make every guest list and every seating chart; coordinate security; choose menus; find entertainment; and satisfy every single person involved. Events at the White House are on a giant and extremely formal scale, and it's not something you turn over to a 20-something event coordinator who is good at small parties. If you've ever tried to plan a massive, security-cleared social event for people so important they get security details (and I have), then you know it's backbreaking, exhausting, tedious work at which incredibly detail-oriented and (relatively) cheerful people tend to excel — if only because when you're done busting a hump to plan the event, you then get to put on a nice outfit and smile and pretend like you don't notice the waiter inadvertently serving the soup from the wrong side.

On top of that, unlike the current White House occupants, who tend to be homebodies, the Obamas have said they want to be a part of Washington, and to have even more social events open to the public. In an interview with the Washington Post, Rogers said she is committed to doing events with kids and more interactive events to allow more people access to the public side of the White House — which would, in effect, make her the Obama's PR person in addition to her more formal duties.

All in all, Rogers is in for quite the wild ride in Washington — and, if you want to be part of the social scene at the White House, she's the person to know. Two tips to Rogers from a D.C. type: everyone calls one another "friends" here in Washington, even when you've met twice; and I have formal etiquette training, always use the right fork and am available at the drop of your hat if you need a seat filler.

Friend Of The Obamas To Be Social Secretary [Washington Post]
For New Social Secretary, Life In The Fast Lane [Washington Post]

Related: First Lady's Photo, October 2007 [White House]