• Unsolicited uterus update: Nicole Richie is in labor!

She has been admitted to the hospital to give birth to her second child with Joel Madden. Details to come. [ET]

• Spoilery secrets from Sex And The City 2: Gay wedding! And Jesus on Manolos, if Miley Cyrus is in the movie that has got to be one of the signs of the apocalypse. [MSNBC Scoop]
• Cops rushed to Halle Berry's house yesterday when someone tripped an alarm on the property by accident. [TMZ]
• Janet Jackson will open the MTV Video Music Awards with a musical tribute to her brother, Michael Jackson. [USA Today]
• It's been decided: Michael Jackson's three children will not enroll at the school Tito's kids attend; they will continue to be home schooled by the same tutors they had under Michael's supervision. [TMZ]
• "Various members of Michael Jackson's family tell TMZ they are already talking about lawyers who might rep them in a wrongful death lawsuit against Dr. Conrad Murray… In California, Jackson's immediate family could sue for the economic loss they have suffered by Jackson's death — e.g., the financial support Jackson could have provided had he lived. Here's the problem — Jackson's death may actually be an economic gain. It's already becoming clear Michael Jackson is more profitable in death than he was in the last years of his life." [TMZ]
• Emma Watson's first days at Brown University: Not going so great. The paparazzi shot her doing orientation activities, and a Twitter user wrote: "My dad made Emma Watson mad by taking a photo of her going inside the Financial Aid office at Brown. She was with her mom & boyfriend." And now: A CNN story! [CNN]
• Rihanna's dad: Not too thrilled about Rihanna topless (but wearing pasties) in Italian Vogue: "The photo was disturbing," he told Us Weekly. He was, however, amused by Chris Brown on Larry King Live: "The costume he wore was so funny. That bow tie thing. He needs to bury that." [MSNBC Scoop]
• Uh-oh. According to this column, even though a judge ordered Chris Brown and Rihanna to stay away from each other, they can't. A source says "They spoke to their lawyers to see what was allowed, and are now planning two weeks in Mexico." As always, consider the source on this. [MSNBC via Britain's Star]
• Tila Tequila's lawyer claims that Shawne Merriman's version of events is "spin." In a statement, Tila's rep says: "Fortunately, we as a society will not tolerate a 6'4", 270 pound all-pro NFL linebacker physically assaulting a young lady who is 4'11" and 93 pounds. It is never justifiable to brutally assault, choke, strike and imprison a woman." [TMZ]
• Shawne Merriman's ex-girlfriend says "he never laid a hand on me" and "it's out of his character" to lash out at a woman. [TMZ]
• Kate Hudson was spotted wearing a diamond band on THAT finger, so speculation is that it's a meaningful gift from A-Rod. [Gatecrasher]
• Amy Winehouse's dad caught his daughter in bed with none other than "druggie and former jailbird" Blake Fielder-Civil. Mitch Winehouse allegedly threatened to "punch his lights out." [The Sun]
• Brody Jenner met with cops yesterday to make a statement about the altercation between his girlfriend Jayde Nicole and Girls Gone Wild mastermind Joe Francis. [Radar Online]
• Antonio Banderas told Ellen that knee operations after a skiing accident required Melanie Griffith to use narcotics again, which is why she went to rehab. Antonio says: "In March, she came to me and said, 'I'm feeling a little bit weak in my determination for this ... so I just thought to go to rehabilitation by myself. So the whole entire family is supporting her, and I am supporting her, and at this particular time more than ever. I'm very proud of her." [People]
• Jay-Z will perform at Madison Square Garden on Friday at a special September 11 benefit concert, and tickets — originally priced at $55 — are being scalped for $200 to $3,000. Jay says he's "disheartened." [AP]
• Yoko Ono allegedly told Britain's Sky News channel that the entire Beatles' music catalog will be made available on iTunes; then the news item was removed. Is an announcement imminent? [MSNBC]
• This report claims that the Yoko/iTunes story is untrue. [CBS News]
• Kourtney Kardashian baby shower "secrets" at the link. [People]
• Kourtney Kardashian's baby daddy, Scott Disick, hangs out with Kevin Federline. [Page Six]
• Pamela Anderson has been dating this electrician/surfer for a while now, but People calls it a "new shocker." [People]
• Pam Anderson plays a scantily clad security guard who strips passengers of animal products in a new PETA ad, which the CNN Airport Network has deemed too racy, saying "children make up part of the demographic in airports." [Page Six]
• Simon Cowell is planning a massive, $400,000 party for his 50th birthday, with Elton John, Kevin Spacey, Denise Richards and Donald Trump attending. [MSNBC]
• Robert Rodriguez is taking over Austin, Texas as his new flick, Machete, starts filming. Look for Jessica Alba, Robert De Niro, Michelle Rodriguez and, yes, Lindsay Lohan. [Page Six]
• Lil Wayne's North American tour grossed about $42 million and drew nearly 804,000 fans, making it the highest grossing hip-hop outing of the year — and the most lucrative rap tour that Billboard has ever tracked. Plus, that kind of cash buys a lot of whatever Weezy drinks out of that styrofoam cup. [Reuters]
• Halle Berry is in talks to star in action-thriller Dark Tide. Penned by Amy Sorlie, the story concerns a diving instructor who returns to the deep after a near-fatal incident with a Great White shark. [Variety]
• Rapper Eve was in the VIP area of a club when she got hungry, so she asked for "something vegetarian, like grilled cheese or chicken fingers." [Page Six]
• Everything you never wanted to know about Sydney Andrews, the Melrose Place character played by Laura Leighton. [People]
• Laura Krafft — who once worked for Stephen Colbert — will head the writing team for Wanda Sykes' new show. [Page Six]
• Spandau Ballet: Making a comeback. [Daily Mail]
• "For a while I thought, well, maybe I just don't want to work any more, or work now, because nothing was appealing to me. It actually was a little nerve-racking. But I read this and I thought: 'Here's something.'" — Edie Falco on Nurse Jackie. [Sydney Morning Herald]
• "9/11 has been the pretext for the systematic dismantling of our Constitution and Bill of Rights… the official story behind 9/11 is a fraud" — Charlie Sheen. [Page Six]
• "The second time I had plastic surgery I got it done for free. People was covering it and I met a team of doctors that had a publicist who kept adding procedures. The guy who did my LASIK surgery wanted to do a 'tune-up' and now I've had five surgeries on my eye. I have partial blindness in one of my eyes, actually. It was very much like Nip/Tuck where they'd be like, 'Tell me what you don't like about yourself,' and then they'd draw all over you with markers to highlight your 'problem' areas. […] Besides, I actually have a theory that my original nose has grown back. I heard that your ears and nose continue to grow as you age so I think that I'm right back to where I started." — Kathy Griffin. [Time]
• "We never wanted to be parents, with all that entails: the loss of freedom, total dependency. I didn't have a work ethic for such a long time. Imagine if I had a child like me? I didn't start earning until I was 36. I'm the sort of person who has to check three times that I've shut the door, so I'd probably stare at a kid all day to check it was breathing." — Ricky Gervais on he and partner Jane Fallon's decision not to have children. [The Sun]
• "I'm not the kind of woman who waits a lot. [Laughs.] I take life as it is, and it just happened that my masseuse, Su-Man, asked me, 'Do you want to dance?' I was lying on the table having a massage, and I said, 'Yes.' Then I met with Akram, and they proposed, 'Do you want to do three days of trying something together?' But I never think of time, because when you're inside of your life, you don't think of time. It's a learning process with my body, and it's challenging, but I love it because it allows me to enter different worlds, spaces, and fears. I don't want to go to the same place. Otherwise, I'm bored." — Juliette Binoche, on In-I, a dance performance she choreographed with Akram Khan, in BAM's Next Wave Festival. [Village Voice]
• Q: Paparazzi get photos of celebrities doing pretty much everything, but they never seem to get pictures of stars after surgery. Why is that? A: Oh, there's a whole system you need to know about. First of all, the plastic surgeons in Beverly Hills all have secret celebrity doors. After the surgery, you leave the plastic surgeon's office covered in a sheet that's not unlike a burqa. Your assistant takes you to an upscale hotel where you hide in a dark room of shame until you're better. There are bandaged rich ladies walking around the hallways of the Four Seasons and the Peninsula in Beverly Hills right now. It's not unlike being a war criminal or a terrorist. — Kathy Griffin. [Time]

• The Pennsylvania Department of Labor is investigating whether Jon and Kate Plus 8 is complying with child labor laws. A spokeswoman for the department says there was a complaint, but a TLC rep says: "TLC fully complies with all applicable laws and regulations..."

• "Jon & Kate Plus 8 is no exception. For an extended period of time, we have been engaged in cooperative discussions and supplied all requested information to the Pennsylvania Department of Labor. We will continue to engage the appropriate officials and meet any standards or regulations that are applicable to TLC productions." [TMZ]
• Star harassed Jon Gosselin's mother at her home in Pennsylvania. She said, "I don't think [Jon] will ever be portrayed fairly... It's always twisted." [Star]
• At a progress report hearing today, a judge said Redmond O'Neal is "responding well" to drug treatment. [The Daily Mail]
• Angelina Jolie was injured today on the set of Salt and taken to the hospital. She got a nick between her eyes and bled a bit but she will be fine. [TMZ]
• Angelina was only taken to the hospital as a precaution because she bumped her head and got a scratch. She's already resumed filming. [People]
• Britney Spears is being sued for running over photographer Rick Mendoza when she was pulling out of a parking lot in 2007. He says Brit's people, who are also defendants, "should have known...Britney was not in the mental, emotional and/or physical condition to operate the subject motor vehicle in a safe and reasonable manner." A video of the incident show Brit only ran over his foot after honking repeatedly as paparazzi circled her car. Plus, she gets upset and Mendoza says he's fine. [TMZ]
• Britney Spears filmed an ad for Logo's NewNowNext Awards that spoofs her perfume ads. In the ad for the fake fragrance she says, "Mo. One spray and the gays will run your way." Logo executive producer Christopher Willey says, "She's having fun with her gay audience, because she's an official gay icon." [Perez Hilton]
• Anna Wintour talked with Rihanna at the Met Gala and said she wanted her for the cover of Vogue. A source says, "Anna told her Vogue absolutely loves her and really wanted to work with her. Rihanna was ecstatic." But now that nude photos which may or may not be Rihanna have surface, Wintour won't return her calls. [ONTD]
• Eve has taken Tweeted an attack on Chris Brown. She says, "He's guilty until proven innocent, and no man should ever raise a hand to a woman. I'm so sick of people kissin' his ass." She added: "a clip of him saying he isnt a monster...yeh motherfucker u are. let him or any other man come to me with power fists..id fuck him up.." She wrote that Rihanna is "beautiful and talented" and deserves better. "finally,no we dont no wat happened that night, all i no, is seein rihannas beautiful face bruised and upset..thats enuff 4 me," she said. [Star]
• Karen Sala, a Canadian woman who claims to have known Keanu Reeves since childhood, says she wants him to provide DNA samples to prove he is the father of her children and pay $150,000 per month in child support, plus $3 million. By the way, the kids are 20 and 25 years old. [Perez Hilton]
• As mentioned in Midweek Madnesss, Spencer Pratt used to be called "the King of Weed," before he went to rehab for pot and prescription medication. He still dabbles, but he's lost his crown. [Star]
• Mel Gibson's pregnant girlfriend, Oksana Grigorieva, is suing a web hosting company that bought the site OksanaGrigorieva.com. She says they are cyber squatting and put false information up to make it look like her official site. [TMZ]
• You can watch the trailer for Toy Story 3 here: [Perez Hilton]
• Adam Lambert responded to Clay Aiken blogging that his voice makes his ears want to bleed. Lambert said: "I don't know Clay. I'm glad he's getting headlines now though, because he wasn't before. If he wants to ride my coattails about it, good for him." [Perez Hilton]
• On The View today when American Idol judge Kara DioGuardi was asked about Adam Lambert's sexuality, she said, I don't think that Adam was ever in [the closet]." [People]
• Roger Moore, who took over the role of James Bond after Sean Connery, said, "Looking at Sean, I realize how damn good he was. I can't believe I had the ego, when I took over, to think I could replace him." He says his Bond was lighter than Connery's because, "I couldn't be the tough Bond that Sean was." [Reuters]
• Candy Spelling wrote on the Huffington Post that reporters shouldn't have published headlines reading "Candy Spelling: Tori's Actions Killed My Husband Aaron Spelling," because all she actually said was Tori Spelling's abandonment cost Aaron Spelling his will to live. She writes, "I didn't intend to create headlines. I was asked a question about my daughter not speaking with my family, and I answered truthfully. My husband was very ill, and he had stopped eating and taking liquids. He called Tori on a daily basis, and never stopped asking if Tori had returned his call. We had to say no every day." [The Huffington Post]
• Kim Kardashian told The Sun: "I definitely want to get married again, that's the best part of life - finding that person you can be with forever and have a really good relationship with ... I've been through a marriage and divorce and I don't want to do that again, I'm definitely more cautious and I'll make sure I don't jump into anything too quickly this time." The paper thinks this is good news for British men because she also said she likes accents. Too bad she's already engaged. [The Sun]
• '80s rapper Tone Loc collapsed during a concert in Florida. He was complaining about the humidity earlier in the evening, and may have a history of seizures. [Perez Hilton]
• Chace Crawford's Gossip Girl costar Connor Paolo said he'll dance well in Footloose "Chace has got a lot of upper body stuff going on. He raises the roof a lot," said Paolo adding, "Come on, anything Chace does will work for him." [People]
• Blake Lively, whose Gossip Girl character lives in the penthouse of the Palace Hotel, says, "I don't know if I could live in a hotel. I need a kitchen because I love to cook, but I love the Palace Hotel so much! I had my 21st birthday here. It was a black tie formal, and I had it downstairs in the Madison Room. It's one of my favorite hotels in the city by far." [Observer]
• Though Liam Gallagher has always hated Blur, he said of their comeback, "I'm right into the Blur reunion, 'cos it'll finish off the Kaiser Chiefs and put them to bed...There's nothing worse than a s*** Blur. And at least the original s*** Blur are back to finish off all these other s*** Blurs." [The Sun]
• Christian Bale says his father is the driving force behind his career. "He was very adamant that the greatest thing to be fearful of in life was being boring and being bored," said Bale. [The Telegraph]
• Ozzy Osbourne is suing Black Sabbath bandmate Tony Iommi who claimed sole ownership of the band's name in a filing with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Osbourne says 50 percent of the name and the profits are his. []
• British glamour model Katie Pierce walked the runway for the first time since her split with Peter Andre. She was modeling a neon pink cropped t-shirt and hotpants, which is part of her equestrian clothing line. [Mirror]
• Jane Fonda posted on her website about her 1970 mug shot photo. She writes that she had been on a college speaking tour protesting the Vietnam war, and when she was returning from a college in Canada, "at the Cleveland airport all my luggage was seized and gone through. They discovered a large bag containing little plastic envelopes marked (in red nail polish) ‘B', ‘L', ‘D'–signifying breakfast, lunch and dinner- that contained the vitamins I took with each meal. They confiscated that as well as my address book (which was photocopied) and arrested me for drug smuggling. I told them what they were but they said they were getting orders from the White House–that would be the Nixon White House. I think they hoped this "scandal" would cause the college speeches to be canceled and ruin my respectability. I was handcuffed and put in the Cleveland Jail, which is when the mug shot was taken. (I had just finished filming "Klute" so, yes, it was the Klute haircut)." [JaneFonda.com]
• Susan Boyle is staying at a "safe house" as she prepares for Saturday's Britain's Got Talent final because she is feeling too much media pressure. Judge Piers Morgan said, "She had a rocky moment a couple of days ago when she woke up and saw some very negative headlines and suddenly felt the pressure of world attention. You have to remember this is someone who has gone from complete anonymity to global stardom in the space of six weeks. It's understandable. People should give her a bit of slack. She's 24 hours from the biggest day of her life and she's starting to feel the heat." [BBC
• Edie Falco says starring in Showtime's Nurse Jackie is different than working on The Sopranos because, "My work stuff doesn't have the same intense desperation it used to have, and now that the desperation is gone, it's more about doing the work because I love to do it, not because it's the only thing that matters to me." As for the show's success, she says, "If people respond, great. If not, onto the next thing. I'd be sad, but that's life." [Newsweek]
• Apparently Fergie sent Alanis Morrisette a butt-shaped cake after she did a cover of "My Humps." Newsweek wants to know if Alanis ate it. She says: "I had every intention of eating it, but then I had this party at my house and all my friends were putting their fingers between the cheeks, taking pictures with it. So after everyone had touched it, the butt wasn't very sanitary." [Newsweek]
• Kanye West writes on his blog that the version of his video for Paranoid that leaked to the internet isn't the final cut. He says, "IT HURTS ME TO SEE THE OLD AND VERY WRONG VERSION OF THE PARANOID VIDEO GET LEAKED ALL OVER THE NET WHILE I WAS ON AN 11 HR FLIGHT AND COULDN'T DO ANYTHING ABOUT IT. IT'S JUST FRUSTRATING WHEN THIS STUFF HAPPENS BECAUSE I REALLY CARE ABOUT THE PRODUCT AND SINCE VIDEOS NEVER GET PLAYED ANY WAY YOU MIGHT AS WELL TWEAK THEM AND MAKE THEM AS SPECIAL AS POSSIBLE. THE VERSION THAT GOT LEAKED FROM THE CAMERA PHONE LAST WEEK IS AT LEAST A LITTLE CLOSER TO THE FINAL PRODUCT. THANK YOU EVERYBODY FOR YOUR SUPPORT BUT THAT VIDEO WAS NOT UP TO MY STANDARDS." [Perez Hilton]

[Los Angeles, December 22. Image via INFDaily.]

When we hear the word rappers, we think of black males; they're what feminists would call hip-hop's unmarked category. This makes tough going for pretenders outside of this category, and it's meant that many of the identities that female comers have carved for themselves—Boss' gangsta bitch, Kim's badass nympho, or, recently, Lil' Mama's lunchroom alpha girl—have registered as one-offs or fads. (We see the same thing with white rappers, whether it's the Beastie Boys' nerdy boogie or Eminem's white-trash horror-core.)

A couple of weeks ago, NPR's Farai Chideya spoke to Spinderella and YoYo about the dearth of female rappers in hip hop. Yo Yo said, "I think that hip-hop has not been allowed to grow up… It's not getting better." As for Spinderella, she mused: "I think women need to really take advantage of the moment — the lack of females that are mainstream right now allows for someone else to come and snatch it up."

Unlike pop or rock, hip-hop has always been the voice of the streets, raw words with an un-Photoshopped, un-censored swagger. I've said it before and I'll say it again: Why should the boys have all the fun? In a spirit of celebration and reminiscence, here are some of my favorite hip-hop tracks with women at the helm:

Salt n Pepa, "Push It"

Yo, yo, yo, yo, baby-pop/Yeah, you come here, gimme a kiss/Better make it fast or else I'm gonna get pissed/Can't you hear the music's pumpin' hard like I wish you would?/Now push it/Push it good/P-push it real good

Monie Love, "Monie In The Middle"

Brother what is with you, you can't take a hint?/I need to shove a splint between your eyes for you to see/You and me were never meant to be/Your homeboy likes me, I like him, too, get out the picture/I get your point but I'm not rolling with the punch/I scrunched up the letter you wrote me in lunch

Missy Elliot, "The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly)

I got my umbrella/My finger waves these days/They fall like Humpty/Chunky/I break up with him before he dump me/To have me? Oh yes you lucky

Lauryn Hill, "Everything Is Everything" (Also "Ready Or Not")

I philosophy/Possibly speak tongues/Beat drum, Abyssinian, street baptist/Rap this in fine linen/From the beginning/My practice extending across the atlas/I begat this/Flippin in the ghetto on a dirty mattress/You cant match this rapper slash actress/More powerful than two Cleopatras/Bomb graffiti on the tomb of Nefertiti

Queen Latifah & Monie Love, "Ladies First"

I break into a lyrical freestyle/Grab the mic, look into the crowd and see smiles/Cause they see a woman standing up on her own two/Sloppy slouching is something I won't do/Some think that we can't flow/Stereotypes, they got to go

MC Lyte, "Ruff Neck"

I need a ruffneck/I need a man that's quick and swift/To put out the spliff and get stiff

Missy Elliott: "Lose Control"

I've got a cute face/Chubby waist/Thick legs in shape/Rump shakin both wayz/Make u do a double take

Lil Kim, "No Matter What They Say"

If I was you I'd hate me too/Louis Vuitton shoes and a whole lot of booze/Every other week a different a dude and other crews/I make offers nobody can refuse/You might even see me on the channel nine news/I get paid just for laying in the shade/To take pictures with a glass of lemonade/My rocks shine like it was dipped in Cascade

Additional tracks: Eve, "Who's That Girl"; M.I.A., "Galang", Bahamadia/Roni Size, "New Forms". Oh, and Trina's couplets in Trick Daddy's "Shut Up".

Feel free to let me know if I've missed anyone.

Ladies! I Can't Hear You! No, Really, I Can't Hear You! [Slate]
Ladies Of Hip Hop Tell Their Side Of The Story [NPR]

The Good:
Eve is elegant in basic black.

Let me admit right now that I've always been confused as to when exactly Nicole Richie became respectable. Is it when Rachel Zoe styled her? When she hooked up with Joel Madden? Neither of these things seems like the a passport to elegance, but that's why I'm not an A-lister. Anyway, I really like the caftans she's been working lately.

An unfortunate instance of pee-pee stance, but the simple elegance of Rosario Dawson's Little Black shines through.

I think we can all acknowledge that at times Chloe Sevigny's embrace of the avant-garde can be… Less than flattering. This frock provides interest, but remains wearable.

The Bad:

I think Eva Mendes' coral-colored velvet sack speaks for itself.

I just don't get it. I mean, these women's stylists must bring them, like, multiple options, right? And Fergie put this one on and everyone gasped and was like, "That's it!"?

Kimora Lee Simmons (does she still go by "Simmons?") eschews quiet good taste. Or loud good taste.
Words cannot express the depth of my hatred for this shoe trend. And if there were nothing else horrid about it, it foreshortens the leg of a petite dame like Hilary Duff.

The Ugly:

"The Ugly is kind of like the grand prize," mused a friend of mine the other day. If this is true, Lady Victoria Hervey wins it.

Images via Getty

The Good:

Olivia Wilde played lezebel on The OC and now she's on House. I think she is super pretty and I like this sleek, city-chic outfit.

China Chow keeps it simple and showcases her shoulders. Some people just don't need lots of jewelry.

Rawr! Jacqueline Bisset is a stone cold fox in a leather jacket and pencil skirt.

This column makes Joy Bryant look like a tigergoddess.

Beth Ditto from The Gossip! She's a performer. She's on stage. Therefore this is good. At a premiere or a quiet brunch, a red sequin jumpsuit would not be appropriate.

I don't really know who Rose Apodaca is (Google says a fashion journalist?) but I like that she's got the ovaries to rock something weird and cool that no one else is wearing.

I think Eve's dress is good! Flowy, goddess-y. Let's look at it from another angle.

Yeah, it's good.

Well you can't wear this to work at a law firm or even to a restaurant where you might have a pasta dinner, but this is Janet Jackson and this is a work of art and therefore it is good. As long as she doesn't try to light any candles.

We interrupt this post to bring you a picture of Vidal Sasson, who is 80 years old and still a handsome devil.
You may now return to your regularly scheduled critique.

The Bad:

I'm not feeling the pattern of the dress Tracee Ross is wearing.

Rebecca De Mornay's tube dress and doo-doo brown pashmina seem sad.

Ioan Gruffudd is ridiculously hot (did you see him in King Arthur with Clive Owen?) but this outfit rubs me the wrong way. I mean, those are jeans, right? With scuffed round-toe boots? Sigh.

Animal print made Joy Bryant glow; it just makes Lady Victoria Hervey look washed out.

Cat Deely is wearing the same dress Natalie my best friend from 7th grade wore to our semi-formal in the '80s, and not in a good way.

The Ugly:

Green is good, but this dress is drowning Kelly Lynch.

Ew. Ew. Ew. Jay Manuel. Of America's Next Top Model. How can someone who supposedly has good taste pic something so awful? Maybe cream and ivory are in his "palette" but matching your jacket and pants to your hair is just odd.

Magda Berliner is a designer who needs a makeover.

[Images via Getty.]

[Sydney, April 28. Image via Splash.]

[Sydney, April 23. Image via Splash.]

• Christian Siriano for president! I mean, hell, if Sienna Miller, Eve, Brett Ratner, Becki Newton, and Brittany Murphy all like him, surely the's a uniter, not a divider. [Page Six]
  
• Botkier is doing a line of bags for Target. [WWD, 1st item]
  
• Designer Anna Sui on what she does: "My main objective was to design clothes for rock stars and people who went to rock concerts... The ultimate goal of making a show that is entertaining for people is always in the back of my mind. I also think, 'Is this collection going to be cool enough for people like Keith Richards to appreciate?'" [WWD, sub req'd]
  
• And designer Isabel Toledo on what she does: "I try to interpret things. A garden can have a shape and I interpret that." [WWD, sub req'd]

• English model Daisy Lowe (aka - bastard lovechild of Gavin Rossdale and Pearl Lowe) is like the new Agyness and everyone wants her "style." [Vogue UK]
• Marc Jacobs and Jason Preston are off. Again. [Perez Hilton]
• J. Crew: pushing accessories hard. Which is almost like pushing drugs hard. Almost. [WWD, sub req'd]
• Avon is in talks with crazy print-maker Marimekko to do a color cosmetics collection. Which seems weirdly enticing. [WWD, sub req'd]
• Yeah this coat is really cool. [Vogue UK]
• Want some freebie Ferragamo perfume? Than take a flight on Singapore Airlines. [Fashion Week Daily]

• Lancome spokeswoman Kate Winslet managing to sound annoying while dissing the celebrity product endorsement business: "I remember five or six years ago, it was really a big deal to be the face of a campaign or a spokesperson for a particular brand name. Now, it just doesn't seem to matter so much." [WWD, sub req'd]
  
• Tim McGraw is getting his own fragrance through Coty; we hope it smells like blue jeans, beer and jealous wives. [WWD, sub req'd]
  
• Katherine Heigl is the face of Nautica's newest fragrance "My Voyage for Her," a name which sounds to us sounds like some seventies book on the female orgasm, but okay. [WWD, sub req'd]

• And in further fragrance news, singer Eve wants one, even if no deal has been inked yet: "I not only want to meet the nose, but I want to be the nose. I want to be that person who's in there putting stuff in the little bottles. I'm obsessed with smells." [WWD, 2nd item]
• Designer Rogan Gregory has won the CFDA/Vogue fashion award, beating out Philip Lim, Erin Fetherston, the Threeasfour gang, the Vena Cava girls, and the duo behind VPL. Honestly, what? We didn't even really realize he was in the running. Also he designs jeans and T-shirts. Albeit, eco-friendly jeans made with fair trade cotton and endorsed by Bono's wife or something. [Vogue UK]
• CoverGirl is giving itself a makeover, with its advertising to be more focused on "individualized beauty" and less about its approach of "fresh and clean" beauty. Which would normally be "whatever" until you think of the implications for NEXT WEEK'S EPISODE OF TOP MODEL WHEREIN THEY SHOOT COVERGIRL COMMERCIALS. We so think Heather is going to win. [WWD, sub req'd]
• J.Lo is now designing an intimates collection. It is to be "infused with Latino sensuality." [WWD, sub req'd]
• Okay, but if you thought that was absurd: Vivienne Westwood's cultural-political manifesto, uniformly declared a flop when she presented it earlier this year, is going to be presented once again, this time in London, with Georgia Jagger (yes, Mick and Jerry Hall's daughter) reading the part of Alice in Wonderland (yes, Alice Wonderland figures into the manifesto, which is sorta written as a play). Says Westwood of this trip down the rabbit hole, "If you follow it your life will change." [Vogue UK]
• Infamous footwear designer Manolo Blahnik has been made a Commander of the British Empire by the Queen of England. For his great contributions to giving women across the land major foot problems? [Vogue UK]
• Model Karen Elson just gave birth to her second child and has already been shot as the face of the new BCBG ad campaign. How do these woman look so damn put together this soon after giving birth? To the spawn of Jack White, nonetheless? [FabSugar]
• See Chloe Sevigny as the face of Chloe fragrance here. [Sassybella]
• Aw, we have tears in our eyes: Donna Karan, Zac Posen, and Diane von Furstenberg are all going to work the cash register at the 7th on Sale event (lots of shopping, benefits AIDS patients) this weekend. [NYP]
• Nike is selling off its low-end brand Starter. [WSJ]
• Liz Lange maternity has also gone all private equity on us blah blah and sold a majority share of its company off blah blah. Meaning that now banker types can not only knock their wives up but clothe them on the cheap too? [WSJ]
• And lingerie line Agent Provocateur was just sold to a private equity firm too. [Independent]

• Britney Spears showed up for her comeback at the MTV Awards "late, unprepared, and with a drink in her hand." She was also supposed to be lifted and twirled by the dancers, but refused. And she was supposed to be wearing a corset. [Page Six]
  
• Also, Britney's boot had a broken heel — could that be why she stumbled? [ONTD]
  
• And OMG did Britney's hairstylist quit right before the performance, leaving her with jacked-up extensions? [E!]
  
• While Mommy was "working," Daddy Kevin Federline threw a birthday party for Jayden James and Sean Preston. [People]

• A new version of the Kid Rock vs. Tommy Lee fight: "When Kid found Tommy sitting in his seat at the theater, Kid told him, 'Get up, mother[bleeper]!'" a source says. "Tommy said, '[Bleep] you!'" Tommy also says, "If I wasn't so wasted, I would have gotten a punch in." [Rush & Molloy, 2nd item]
• More MTV Awards gossip: Audience members dove for cash that 50 Cent threw in the air at a pre-awards show party and almost got electrocuted, but the money was fake; Eve's SCRAM anklet was removed on Saturday and she was immediately seen sipping champagne at a party. [Rush & Molloy, 5th & 6th items]
• Lauren Conrad: Dating Desperate Housewives star Josh Henderson? Also, so drunk "she appeared to be nodding off"? [Gatecrasher, 2nd item]
• Does Anna Wintour choose tennis over fashion? One designer tried to push back his show to give her more time to arrive from the US Open. [Gatecrasher, 3rd item]
• Blind item! "Which famous British vocalist, now happily settled down and living in the States, made a living selling Ecstasy in London nightclubs during his '90s career slump?" [Gatecrasher, last item]
• Julianne Moore has a new children's book, Freckleface Strawberry, about a red-haired speckled girl who kids make fun of. [Rush & Molloy, 11th item>
• Harry Connick Jr Turns 40 today; Ludacris turns 30. [TMZ]

The Good: Sophia Bush looks sleek, Eve proves that jumpsuits are hot, Oleysa Rudin rocks modest-chic, and Emily Deschanel is just so pretty and classy that we would totally hate her if we didn't totally love her.

The Bad: Miley Cyrus found Nemo — on her dress, Avril Lavigne needs to get a new look already, Vanessa Hudgens looks like Cleopatra at the prom, and Hillary Duff could be twins with pre-nose job Ashlee Simpson

The Ugly: David Spade, Ryan Seacrest, Sanjaya, and Larry Birkhead: Enough said.

[Universal City, CA; August 26. Images via FilmMagic.]

Pretty ladies! From left to right: Former 'America's Next Top Model' winner Eva Pigford, American Idol winner Jordin Sparks, and chartbuster Rihanna.

Too leopardy, too short, too tight. From left to right: Eve, Ciara, Jennifer Hudson.

The old, the new, the white dude. From left to right: Diana Ross, Tracee Ellis Ross, Michael Buffer

• Rapper Eve's clothing line Fetish is having a revival. After suffering bad break-ups with both the Innovo Group and Marc Ecko, it's now reborn under the Signature Group's tutelage. And, like, the quality's going to be really good and, like, Eve is totally involved on a day-by-day basis with the line this time and we stopped listening and...uh, wait, is Eve even actually famous anymore? [WWD, sub req'd]
  
• Barney's, the luxury department store chain, will probably be acquired by the Dubai government's investment arm for at least $825 million. Because you can always find something to spend your excess oil money on at Barney's. [NYT]
  
• Apparently the Japanese Jill Stuart licensee wants to scrap Lindsay Lohan as the face of its fall marketing. Did these people learn nothing from Kate Moss? [Hollywood Rag]

• But OMG! Victoria "Posh Spice" Beckham is totally going to be at the Saks Fifth Avenue New York flagship store this evening for the launch of her denim line, DVB. Because she is so imaginative, she didn't need a branding consultant to think of that name, which stands for "David Victoria Beckham." [Racked]
• Ok we get it already: Valentino isn't retiring anytime soon. (Even if he does have a bad case of "The lady doth protest too much.") [WWD, sub req'd]
• We are snickering at jewelry designer Carolyn Roumeguere, who told Vogue UK, "I think that my gold and silver discs... epitomise Bedouins. A percentage of each sale goes to education and medical aid in Africa so that I give something back to the country that I have chosen to be my home and have gained so much from." Ugh. [Vogue UK]
• The MAC Cosmetics AIDS Fund donated $1.25 million to the William Jefferson Clinton Foundation's HIV/AIDS Initiative. This is not exactly Bill Gates money but it makes us feel sorta better about buying at least one kind of MAC. [WWD, sub req'd]