One fashion insider has seen the light, and with the zeal of a convert, is preaching the Gospel of sustainability! A former influential fashion editor, Charty Durrant writes in Resurgence mag,

As a fashion editor of twenty years' standing I have found it extremely uncomfortable to admit that the seemingly harmless fashion industry is actually driving our demise. It is at the heart of all that ails us; pull at any social or environmental thread, and it will lead you back to the fashion industry.

We've talked a good bit about the consequences of fast fashion and the virtues - green, moral, aesthetic, and philosophical - of returning to a simpler and higher-quality way of being. A few months ago, I forswore fast fashion, and, Katy Perry-style, I liked it. The first few weeks were embarrassingly challenging, since I was used to breezing through Forever21 on my lunch break, or picking up basics at H&M. But weighing purchases, buying for quality and thinking about what I need have, in fact, saved me some money and made me feel better about what I wear. I went into Forever21 last week, by way of experiment, and I was shell-shocked: stuff felt so crappy! All the mass-market creativity looked so soulless! I bought a $7 necklace!

I got my just desserts when I got a rash, and then it hooked on the back of a chair and broke. But it did underscore the challenges of giving up easy gratification. Even stepping into that Forever21, I began to doubt myself, to crave novelty, to need a hit of of-the-minute. Which, apparently, runs pretty deep as we've come to take constant novelty as our due. Says Durrant,

As the ‘trend frenzy' deepens, we can see that fashion is no longer about style and self-expression: it is primarily about judgment – self-judgment and judgment of others. A toxic media reporting how women ought to look, and celebrity obsession further enforce this strange new paradigm...In the end the true antidote is to adopt an attitude of voluntary simplicity. A manner of living and being that is outwardly more simple and inwardly more rich. A way of being in which our most authentic and alive self is brought into direct conscious contact with every part of our lives.

That's all well and good. But the sad truth is that things aren't quite this simple, and she's talking about two issues, the philosophical and the gray-shaded reality. I used to be all about the boycotts, but a global industry is built on the backs of our fast fashion addiction, and wearing locally made, good-quality clothing in New York doesn't guarantee a better life for anyone - in many cases, quite the opposite. If we boycott, it must be mindfully - and not in a vacuum. Inaction, at the end of the day, is still that. Yes, research companies, and support those fighting the good fight and running good factories, rewarding and reinforcing rather than just punishing. Is "fast fashion" bad? Sure, but as a phenomenon, it's less evil than the specifics of unsafe, unsanitary working conditions or companies who fail to pay a living wage. We need to think not just of our own souls and worthiness, but of real issues like the economic viability of those people who produce clothing. Boycott? Simplify? Yes. But also research, donate, and be mindful of shades of gray. Most of all, let's break our addiction to easy answers.

Dressing Ourselves To Death [Utne]
The Tyranny Of Trends [Resurgence]

Organic And Fair Trade Clothing Directory [Resurgence]

Related: Do You Know Where Your Clothes Come From?
We Love Cheap Stuff, But Fast Fashion Is Hard To Defend
Slow Hand: Native American Dresses, Forever21, Kilts, And The Recession

We've always been kind of fascinated by personal shoppers, and the Topshop team - who deal in the lexicon of high fashion and the budgets of fast fashion - are a particularly fascinating breed. Describes the Times,

The creative style of the sales staff helps to create that illusion.
..Requirements include an exuberant sense of personal style, the ability to size up customers and explain what styles would best fit their body types, a bubbly personality and, above all, an encyclopedic knowledge of what Nicole Richie, Peaches Geldof and Sarah Jessica Parker wore when last picking up coffee at Starbucks. To sell Topshop, they must encourage shoppers, usually during two-hour appointments that are booked weeks in advance, to try things they would never think of wearing.

The team seems to be super-qualified: the piece describes former stylists and design students, all, naturally, hip to the point of pain. It's obvious, from what the piece describes, that, by example, enthusiasm and sheer force of cool, they bear customers along with their confidence, making them believe that they are people who'd wear a lycra mini with a clown's ruff, neon chef's hat and polka-dot fanny pack. Having been prey to the lure of this phenom at "Topshop, Oxford Circus, Lon-Don" more than once, and suffered some serious buyer's remorse stateside, I was girded for my first trip to the New York flagship, dressed not only in a marginally absurd outfit myself (so as better to fly under the radar) but prepared to resist the peer pressure and help others do the same.

While my coonskin cap (vintage- from my brother's toy chest) and 70s artist smock elicited admiring comments from several employees, I quickly got on their bad side: not long after I'd entered, I saw a timid-looking girl, clearly from out of town, being pressured, I felt, into getting a strange dress. She looked uncomfortable, but a team of arch hipsters was assuring her of the look's awesomeness. I could see her doubt eroding under their persuasion: maybe she could be this person, she was thinking. Maybe this was the beginning of a new life. As a former retail professional, I felt it my duty to interject. "Here's what I like to ask myself," I said in a friendly fashion. "Can I picture this in my real life? Will I think about it if I don't buy it? After all, it's only a bargain if you wear it!" She, her mother, the hipster children stared at me blankly. Who is this stranger in a Davy Crockett hat and why is she talking to me? said the girl's eyes. A few minutes later, I saw her buying the dress. Clearly the magic had not extended to me.

Trust Me. You'll Look Cool in This. [NYTimes]

• Diane von Furstenberg attended the inauguration with her oldest African-American friend, André Leon Talley. She hobnobbed with Oprah and David Axelrod, then dressed up in, um, a ski suit to watch the swearing-in. [Financial Times]

• Poor Peter Som sounds like he's having a hell of a time. He left Bill Blass to focus on his eponymous line, only for his financial backers to, well, back swiftly away. The Cut asked how he was doing, and he told them, "Shit happens. Sometimes it's a lot, sometimes it's a little. So I think everyone's going through some tough times...Why don't you ask me some questions about Michelle Obama's dress?" Turns out he submitted sketches of a long, white gown — "I guess I was in the ballpark, right?" — but obviously wasn't Michelle Obama's final choice. The way I see it, while a Google bump and a Good Morning America interview might have given him some press, the fundamentals are still what counts. And his ability to design beautiful clothes women want to wear is, at least, recession-proof. [The Cut]
• Clearly Som is not the only one in fashion hurting. Abercrombie & Fitch, which had extremely poor fourth quarter sales, laid off 50 workers at their Ohio headquarters. The mall store sees itself as an aspirational brand, so it refuses to discount its wares to move units during any downturn — their sale-happy competitors have no such compunction, which is part of the reason for Abercrombie's double-digit slide in same-store sales since August of last year. Further layoffs have not been ruled out. [Reuters]
• For another view on the recession, check out this interview with Stefano Gabbana and Domenico Dolce, conducted back in September, just as the financial news was going from bad to awful. It's a snapshot of two men who, like we all were back then, are still grappling with the daily news of a world economy in a slow-motion crash. Says Gabbana, "The money hasn’t changed, it’s the mentality." Dolce offers, "Maybe we go well with crisis?" before pointing out a trend piece in Corriere della Serra about the financial crisis bringing people together. Gabbana shoots back, "Yes, but I’m also tired of reading this stupid stuff. I’m sick of it. We said the same thing after September 11. We just continue to do our job in the same way, maybe putting more energy, more fantasia, more creativity into it." As worthwhile a strategy as any. [Interview]
• Other designers plowing resolutely ahead without saying 'boo': Brioni, which introduced a made-to-measure suit that can cost up to $43,000 in October, and Hermès, whose limited-edition silk Josef Albers scarves of last fall cost $2800 each. The "elite of the elite" have bought 30 of the suits, astonishingly. [WSJ]
• Supposedly, LVMH's Bernard Arnault and PPR's François Pinault have buried the hatchet. What kind of world is it where two French luxury-industry billionaires who share a last-name syllable can't get along? [Financial Times]
• Iman compared herself to a duck in an interview with E! Canada. Because ducks look calm and collected, but are paddling furiously beneath the surface. A writer for the National Post, apparently unable to grasp why a supermodel would find an animal metaphor useful in describing her personality as opposed to her looks, takes this to mean Iman has body-image issues. [National Post]
• A stage manager who worked on the set of "Lipstick Jungle" is being charged with the theft of almost $30,000 worth of costumes. Designers who had lent the production their clothing and accessories noticed unreturned items going up on eBay. [CNN]
• Jason Wu is feeling the love this week. The 26-year-old designer of that one-shouldered white gown got his very own profile in the Times' "Sunday Styles" section, right ahead of fashion week. Reporter Eric Wilson mentions Wu was taking interviews in between working on his fall collection, but offers no further details of the intriguing fur-fest. (Wu told Fashion Week Daily fall would be all about fur. And "luxury.") [NY Times]
• Inaugural fashion coverage would not be complete without a lengthy, considered piece by Robin Givhan all about the styles of dress of the attendees not named Obama. [Washington Post]
• For reasons unclear, Spanish feminists protested a Zara store in Madrid. [The F Word]
• J Peterman, the company best known for "Seinfeld" gags and a real-life 1999 bankruptcy, is back. [MSNBC]
• Awesome lady Jane Birkin watched the Hermès men's show in Paris wearing an Obama pin. [WWD]
• Chloe Sevigny talks to the Times about her style, but gives no information about that unisex collection she's presenting this week in Paris. She does, however, shop for hosiery from a guy who is "like the Soup Nazi, but he sells socks." [NY Times]
• Meanwhile, Padma Lakshmi has a line of fine jewelry she'd like very much to sell you. [WWD]
• The Fashion Design Council of India has a new program: model rehab. It's like industry exit counseling, to get you a new job when the clients stop booking you. [Hindustan Times]
• Jim Horne, male model of the 40s and 50s, and first cover subject of the newly renamed Gentleman's Quarterly, died at age 91 in New York. The business certainly was different then. [NY Times]
• Women shoppers are increasingly angered by the poor construction of budget fashion items. Complaints because of unwarned shrinkage, fading, breaking zippers, running dyes, and embellishments that fall off at the first wear are up 22%. Let's not take it anymore! Until there is another sale at H&M. [Independent]
• Marc Jacobs has palatial new digs in someAndre Balazs-developed condo building in SoHo. It's 2,500-square-feet, presumably expensive. [New York Post]
• Pam Anderson's Vivienne Westwood campaign is out. Shockingly, the pairing results in a less than demure aesthetic...let's just say Pamela Anderson's breasts are prominently displayed. Which is more subtle than the pics themselves! [Fashionista]
• At least they're going out with a bang: Hartmarx Corp., the Chicago company that owns Obama Inaugural tux-maker Hart Schaffner Marx, has filed for bankruptcy. [WSJ]
• Kanye West "promotes" his new Louis Vuitton-collab sneakers in a bizarre new video. Which is to say, he proclaims that he's changing his name from "the Louis Vuitton Don" (?) to "Martin Louis the King, Jr." (?) then declares, "and until then, I will be in the building, swagger, until one hundred thousand trillion." [Racked]
• Speaking of odd collaborations, we don't even want to imagine what kind of douchey teen will carry the new Ric Owens Eastpaks to school. At the very least, the inkstains had better be solid gold. [Fashionista]

Timmerman's goal in writing the book was to force consciousness of our clothing's origins — and how closely our buying habits are connected to the fates of those who produce it. Often, he says, we oversimplify the issue, and gives the example of the infamous Kathie Lee Gifford scandal, in which we learned the talk-show host's clothing line was being produced by child labor. The outcry led to a wide-scale boycott of Bangladeshi goods; in response, factories laid off child labor. Great, right? Well, according to Timmerman, who calls it "the toughest thing I came across...a really harsh reality," not entirely.

"It turns out that a lot of these kids kids actually needed to work — these children, just because they're not working in a factory, doesn't mean they're not working at other, way worse jobs in Bangladesh...all we're doing [in boycotting] is removing our guilt."

Timmerman is at pains to elucidate that he is "not a proponent of child labor" but does urge us to remember that while we may recoil at the words, it's important to take a realistic look at the situation. What do we really imagine will happen to these children if they stop working in factories? That they'll suddenly be given opportunities for education? As Timmerman points out, the alternative is more likely begging, brick-breaking or sex work. None of which is to say child labor is acceptable; just that our knowledge and concern — and activism — needs to go beyond easy shades of black and white. Timmerman also makes the point that as an educated consumer, it's important to make distinctions between factories and true "sweatshops" rather than condemning all foreign labor as such.

But is this the best we can hope for? A measured pragmatism that finds child factory labor preferable to child prostitution? The idealist in all of us doesn't want to believe it, and shouldn't. The ultimate and only course, as the author says, is addressing the grinding poverty that creates the situation. And none of this is to say that boycotting — and, more to the point, selective and educated buying — is not important. It's essential, and should become as second-nature as questioning the provenance of the food we eat, itself a relatively recent phenomenon. Many of us are quick to think of the plight of a factory-farmed animal but still able to buy a shirt at Forever21; it's this disconnect that Timmerman's book seeks to address. His point is, we need to take the time to learn where things are produced, and under what circumstances. (Alpha Consumer emphasizes the importance of looking up where things are manufactured — a small step that nevertheless connects us to the process.) Should people boycott what they find reprehensible? Of course, but with an awareness of the realities our actions create — and the impossibility of easy answers. We could all wear nothing but locally-made artisanal garb, and that's great, but it would do nothing for the poverty in Bangladesh; in fact, it's two different issues.

I'm not advocating the disingenuous piety of trickle-down economics, just saying that when we boycott, let's also do something pro-active, be it as simple as education or as old-fashioned as a donation towards sponsoring a children's organization. Not to be a total downer, but as a society it does seem like we have to wean ourselves off of a self-satisfaction we've come to take as our due for minimal sacrifice — while all the while not being overwhelmed by the reality of the task's scope. What say you?

Podcast: How Our Clothes Are Made [US News]

Related: Where Am I Wearing? [Amazon]

This contrast is really stark when you consider the 50 or so 19th-century Native American garments currently on display in at New York's National Museum of the American Indian. The woman who wore these, as the NY Times puts it, "could tell you exactly who had hunted the animals from which her dress was taken. She would know who had tanned the hides, stitched them together and sewed hundreds of beads onto them, and what the pattern of those beads signified." And they could tell us a lot about how to handle a recession.

The wealth of history and biography woven into each of these dresses is amazing: the implicit trajectories of colonization and changed hunting patterns, the changes in materials, inclusion of new ones and ingenious substitutes for once-plentiful decorations. The eyeteeth of an elk were "a way for women to show off the hunting skills of male family members. New brides often wore dresses made by their mothers-in-law and adorned with elk teeth collected by their husbands over many years." Italian glass beads or woolen fabrics showed the influence of European traders. Perhaps most fascinating are the tangible and valiant attempts to keep culture alive under the threat of extinction, as in the prevalent use of American flag imagery in many of the Sioux dresses. "On the reservation, Indian ceremonies (banned by the government) were replaced by Fourth of July festivities and other patriotic celebrations," but using these motifs on traditional garments was a subversive means of bridging the gap. The use of traditional motifs in clothing was also a means of silently evoking the "ghost dances," which were banned because the government felt they evoked massacres like Wounded Knee.

In sum, writer Karen Rosenberg concludes that "it’s hard to find a better example of art, labor, storytelling and female bonding" than this exhibition. I'd add that it would be hard to find anything more relevant to current discussions of the cultural ravages of fast fashion and, even more aptly, the nascent "slow fashion" movement. We've talked a blue streak about the human and environmental costs of fast fashion juggernauts like Forever21, as well as the cultural erosion it's helped precipitate - never have we valued things or quality so little, while paradoxically been so steeped in unwholesome materialism. In this sense, the current economic challenges could hopefully provide, if not a silver lining, at least the necessity of reevaluating our priorities.

So far, slow fashion is a tiny movement — far from the natural, traditional evolution of the garments featured in Inwood, the attempt to create small-batch cottage industries from fair trade materials can feel forced and somewhat twee. Much as local and organic eating is only beginning to shake off the stigma of yuppie luxury and become a slowly-growing cultural norm, so too must clothing with a provenance. However, the movement can also be a boon for small, old-fashioned industries — the Guardian mentions a new interest in traditional, hand-woven Scottish tartans and hand-made shoes - especially since the quality of such things usually qualifies them as those hot-button recession justifications, "investments." Anyone who has ever worn something homemade, however crummy-looking, knows how much more valuable it feels than something bought for $12 on a lunch break. Even a particularly exciting thrift-store find feels more special for the work invested. Slow fashion is obviously a virtuous enterprise, but the slight taint of self-righteousness it carries is worth it; like eating a really good heirloom tomato. We are not conditioned to save and invest and buy investment pieces — we are too conditioned for easy gratification, me and my eBay habit probably as much as anyone — which is why something like this exhibit is such an excellent shot in the anonymously-clothed arm.

In Tribal Dresses, Life Stories, Intricate Labor and Female Bonding[New York Times]

• "Designer" Heidi Montag to design own dress for "wedding" to "fiance" Spencer Pratt. How much cleavage will she show? [Just Jared]
• Further evidence that Project Runway's going down the tubes: LiLo's gonna guest-judge on Lifetime. [NY Mag]
• Dolce & Gabbana make bff Naomi "Siddhartha" Campbell their official muse. [Mail on Sunday]
• WTF? Why is Juliette Lewis walking in Milan? Granted, for a label called "Miss Bikini Luxe." [WWD]
• Cavalli, watch your back: Paris Hilton's latest line has hit Milan. Apparently it featured "baby pink, dog print T-shirts and sequins." [Daily Mail]

• Milan shows open with a plus-size line! We love Italy. [Telegraph]
• Even though they just bought a huge stake in Narciso Rodriguez, like, yesterday, now Liz Claiborne hates them and they're apparently parting ways. Short version. [WWD]
• OMG! Simon Doonan's memoirs about growing up stylish in a dysfunctional family are being turned into a BBC series! [Independent]
• Looks like fast fashion is over. [IHT]
• Project Runway finalist Jillian is Team Leanne FTW. [NY Mag]
• Model Jodie Kidd rebounds after that unfortunate drug sting. "She's in love too, with mature student Thomas George, which perhaps accounts for the glow currently illuminating those famous features." [Daily Mail]
• European shoemakers rebel against EU duties. [Reuters]
• Australia calls for "urgent development of a new national sizing standard." Maybe they have Banana Republic over there, too? [Sydney Morning Herald]
• Agyness in V: "The stunning set of black and white shots, that appear to take an almost anti-fashion stance, portray a topless Agyness in nothing more than a string of pearls, classic black underwear and a nude leotard." "Anti-fashion" meaning, "anti-clothes"...? [Daily Mail]
• Five years after the trend, Juicy Couture finally introduces a plus-size line. [The Budget Fashionista]
• Frustrated by frumpy Capitol Hill looks and gaping blouses, a lobbyist turns to fashion. [NPR]
• We've expressed our distaste for NY Times fashion writer Cathy Horyn before. Here she is on Milan: "Andre Leon Talley and Michael Roberts wanted to show me their outfits as soon as I’d said hello to Roberto Rimondi and Tommaso Aquilano. Andre and Michael each flashed open his overcoat to show they were wearing matching gray sweat shorts and a sort of grayish polo shirt. Andre’s luggage (I can’t imagine how many pieces that means) hadn’t arrived and he demanded fashion solidarity from Michael." [NY Times]
• We have expressed our love for the absurd Roberto Cavallli. Here he is on his recession-era fashion line: "The story of a trip that started in the colonial day and has yet to be finished." [FT]
• Nestle unveils a "beauty drink." Quik-flavored?! [Cosmetic News]
• Even in tough economic climes, luxury "pioneers" must embrace risky markets. [IHT]
• MAC suggests makeup looks for Palin, Michelle, Cindy. Um, thx? [Beauty Snob]
• Mohammed Al Fayed's daughter Jasmine is a hot young designer at Harrods. But doesn't her dad own the store? [Independent]
• Italy finally embraces online sales. [IHT]
• Metrosexuals have evolved into creepy fashionistos. Allegedly. [Daily Mail]
• So I guess someone will buy model Jamie Strachan's men's jewelry line. [VogueUK]

(Click on any image to begin gallery)

Earlier: We Love Cheap Stuff But Fast Fashion Is Hard To Defend

• Snoop Dogg takes cross-marketing to a whole new level: He's promoting his clothing line, Rich and Infamous, via his reality TV series Snoop Dogg's Father Hood, on his concert tour, through placement in movies and videos, on iTunes, through a Web series, and, natch, on the packaging of his new CD. [Variety]
• It's easy to believe Kate Moss is a crappy neighbor, but it does seem like this would be the least of the problems: "Neighbors at her Oxfordshire summer home have complained to the local planning authority about Moss’ two 15 feet teepees erected in her backyard. Their complaints are that the tents are an eye sore on the 17th Centrury home... and also obscure the view of the Cotswold hills." [Sassybella]
• Albert Hammond, Jr. is going into menswear. The Strokes guitarist, solo artist and Agyness Deyn fiance explains: “A lot of people hate suits, because when they fit terribly, they feel strange inside, like they’re going to a bar mitzvah and they’re 30,” [NY]
• Rememeber those Russian faux-lesbian school girl sorta-pop singers who were big for like two seconds five years ago, t.A.T.u ? Yeah. For some reason Marc Jacobs is featuring them in an ad. [Perez Hilton]

• Screw the conventions: it's official. Obama and McCain are now paper dolls. They've been drawn by renowned artist Tom Tierney, "who casts the candidates and their spouses as ready-to-dress paper people, each with about half a dozen wardrobe changes (oddly, Barack Obama's daughters Malia and Natasha are included — each with a single cold-weather outfit — but John McCain's brood of seven is absent)." And yes, they're in undies. [LAT]
• New Rachel Zoe line will, apparently, contain everything plus kitchen sink: "We're doing accessories, clothes, everything — we're going across the board. I always have a lot I want to say, and I think there's a gap in certain areas [of the fashion market]. I'm thinking it will launch sometime in 2009. It will be very accessible. I want people to have access to fashion fantasy all the time. I also want the person who's spending $500 on a purse to want to buy it. It will be a mix of lower-tier and midrange prices — maybe with some limited-edition items." [LAT]
• "Nike Sportswear" opens its first boutique. [WWD]
• Heidi Klum has designed a butterfly/tennis ball tee shirt that we wouldn't wear if our lives depended on it. [Sassybella]
• Why do celebs think hawking T-shirts is the answer to all the world's problems? Elettra Wiedemann. Isabella Rossellini's moddle daughter, "is more than just a pretty face - she's trying to save the world one T-shirt at a time. The Italian stunner is working with the Solar Electric Life Fund to equip a failing hospital in Kigutu, Burundi, with solar power. To raise $450,000, Wiedemann enlisted the help of fashion-industry friends to design limited-edition, Africa-inspired T-shirts to be sold via JOFD.org." [Page Six]
• New J. Crew accessories catalogue is ridiculously high-end. And no mittens! [WWD]
• You can thank this woman for Rachel Zoe: "Founder of the Margaret Maldonado Agency, one of a dozen or so offices that place stylists with high-profile clients, she's the image maker behind the image makers." [LAT]
• Honeymoon's over: more fast fashion condemnation. [Guardian]
• "Brazilian design and designers are spearheading a new look that is increasingly taking over in Europe and the US." The nature of "the look" is vague. [Independent]
• Is Madonna going to pioneer a "hosiery trend?" We're gonna go with "Winter" on that one. [The Sun]
• Rumor has it that American Apparel is extending its evil, vertically-integrated empire to shoes. [Fashionista]
• Tyra claims she was Kimora's modeling mentor: "She didn't have rhythm … I'd teach her how to roll her hips sexy," says the modeling mogul. [NY Mag]
• Horseshoe boots, anyone? The top five strangest Japanese fashion trends. Just look at it, okay? [Inventor Spot]

• More Olympian ovations! This week we crushed on Shelly-Ann Fraser's gleaming braces and Shawn Johnson's balance beam dominance.
• You sent in your retro sports photos, which won the adorable Olympics.
• We audibly squeeeeeee-d when we discovered that Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams were back together. Squeee!
• We did not squee over P.U.M.A.s, Will Bower, or any other mouth-breathing, politically destructive a-holes.
• International Male from the early mid-80s. Fringe and short shorts and spandex oh my!

• We pondered fast fashion.
• We no longer want to ponder the status of Jennifer Aniston's vagina, ring finger.
• It's the weekend, y'all! So eat some questionable sushi, read some delightful YA novels about brother fucking and relax!

First: the facts. There's no free lunch and there's certainly no $20 dresses. Well, not without a lot of people in Bangladesh's garment districts eking out a very meager existence to meet the demand. As The Daily Mail's Liz Jones puts it, "Ever-cheaper fashion... is like cheap food: it means people's lives and the environment are being violated."

Of the 2.5 million Bangladeshi garment workers, 75% are women and children, who earn approximately $5 a week. The environmental toll, which the House of Lords emphasized, is heavy too - we're throwing out literally tons of cheap clothes every year, most of which are made from, ahem, less than earth-friendly materials. The high turnover of the collections at these stores keeps us on the lookout for the new, the fresh, all the time - and this has in turn influenced the high fashion industry, which is producing more frequently in order to satisfy our restless tastes, with similar environmental and human costs.

Perhaps we can justify fast fashion to ourselves because everyone's broke — but given the life span of most of these clothes, it really is true that a slightly more expensive basic pays for itself in wears. And, seriously, are most of us going to Forever21 for our work wardrobes? Maybe a piece here and there, but for the most part you don't want to be in the office in a pencil skirt that changes color under lights. Cheap clothes are, obviously, fun. We all remember the thrill of realizing how awesome Forever21 was and thinking it was an amazing secret that only we were onto, until everyone at the office showed up in the same Marc Jacobs-esque blouse. But the sad truth is, the thrill fades quickly. The clothes fall apart, the styles change — I always justified buying "trendy" shapes at cheap places 'cause I didn't want to spend on something that would date quickly - and because they were easy come, it's a lot easier to part with them when it's time to clean closet. Yeah, you can give them to charity — but I'm guessing that $12 used poly-cotton Go for Target sweater isn't going to be anyone's first pick at the SalvA, either.

Harder to give up, probably, is the pleasure of it, one of the few affordable treats left to us. But in a sense, while it provides a cheap thrill, fast fashion degrades the shopping experience. Just as McDonald's is no substitute for a nice — or healthy — meal, a trip to Forever21 doesn't make you feel especially good. It's loud and chaotic, the sizes are all over the place, employees are often disaffected, you make poor decisions - sometimes just to avoid the hassle of a dressing-room line. Perhaps, as in the case of fast food, fast fashion is yet another degredation of our quality of life. "Cheap fashion, " says Liz Jones, "like cheap, factory-farmed salmon and chicken, has stripped away any notion we had of something being luxurious or in any way special . It has devalued all our lives, making us ever more dissatisfied, always wanting more."

More prosaically, everybody looks the same. Sure, we all have in mind the ideal of the inventive fashionista, effortlessly and creatively mixing high and low fashion into one dazzlingly chic whole. But the reality is that we are far more homogenous in our distinctively-printed designer knockoffs than we would be in simpler basics. The idea of high style comes to us pre-packaged, complete with eclectic jewelry and accessories, and I'm guessing this paradoxical illusion of the unique is at the expense of individual creativity.

Inevitably, this trend is spawning a "slow clothes" movement: locally sourced, small-batch clothing produced according to the highest standards. Equally inevitably, this is still a boutique phenomenon that doesn't come cheap and is likely to be tarred with the same 'twee elitism' brush that first characterized slow food. Realistically, this isn't an option for most of us. And to tell the truth, it'd be a serious wrench to have to give up the small after-work of pleasure of a cheap top. But you know, this is something we've become accustomed to very quickly -—such a thing would have been unheard-of a few generations ago -—and I'm guessing that, together, we can weather the withdrawal. I'm three weeks clean and counting -—one day at a time.

Should We Boycott Throwaway Fashion? [Daily Mail]

• We love Betsey Johnson, but we're kind of weirded out by the revelation that she made out with Anna Nicole Smith, like on a Monday in 10th Grade when you hear about some really random hookup from a party over the weekend. "She was wearing one of those dotted net see-through things with roses on her bullet bra underneath . . . It was when she was doing TrimSpa, and she looked really beautiful." Okay, but wouldn't that be around the same time she was doing eating contests on her reality show? Again: to each her own. [Page Six]
• Janet Jackson's apparently unironic lingerie line, Pleasure Principle, is out. "The legendary hip-hop and R&B diva teamed with Bruno Schiavi, the Australian lingerie designer behind Dr. Rey’s Shapewear line (named for “Dr. 90210” fixture Dr. Robert Rey), for her debut fashion duet. The 18-piece line is named after the hit single from Jackson’s 1986 multiplatinum album “Control,” is designed to be comfortable for a range of sizes — 32A to 44G, and is crafted of mostly satin and lace." [WWD]
• It seems like celebs are always lying about how they're going to wear Project Runway designs, but after guest-judging the Australian iteration, Kelly Rowland's actually making good. "Wearing the custom-made, scalloped outfit on stage at a concert in Cannes, France, a few nights ago, the diva strutted her stuff - which almost brought a tear to the Brisbane designer's eye."She was so lovely and the fact that she has worn my design makes me so proud," Juli Grbac gushed. NB: from the pic, we can kinda see why they usually back out. [News.com.au]

• I think we've already expressed that the descriptions of Madonna's upcoming "Sticky & Sweet" tour are seriously depressing us. This doesn't help. "The Sticky & Sweet tour, which opens in Cardiff on Saturday, features an intriguing mix of gangsta pimp, dominatrix and gipsy costumes. And with looks designed by Givenchy's Ricardo Tisci, shoes by Miu Miu, thigh-high boots custom-made by Stella McCartney and sundry items from Yves Saint Laurent and Roberto Cavalli, it leaves no fashion stone unturned." [Telegraph]
• Kids aren't the only ones spending less on back-to-school; apparently teachers are some of the "hardest hit" by the recession. "Teachers from across the country are reporting they are spending less on clothes, waiting for sales and sometimes changing where they shop — even after some taking summer jobs to offset the increasing cost of living, according to an informal survey by WWD." [WWD]
• Nina Garcia "reveals" her list of top-ten "essentials." Spoiler: a little black dress is one of them. [Dallas News]
• Olympic committee rules make uniform expression a challenge: "Because country names on the front must be written in the Latin alphabet, countries like China compensate by using Chinese characters on the back. Flags and sponsor logos must be in a certain place and a certain size. The colors are regulated." [NYT]
• Speaking of rules, official sponsor Nike has been forced to let Speedo make the games' swim suits; seems the banana hammocks are just more efficient. "The apparent benefit of the LZR, which has a novel hydrodynamic construction that compresses the body into a tube, reducing drag while at the same time improving muscle performance, became apparent in national Olympic trials." [Times of Times]
• Teeny tiny Broadway star Kristin Chenoweth loves her some Armani: '"They really came though for me, and I'm a die-hard fan," she gushes. "After [the Oscars] were over, he sent me six dozen long-stemmed white roses with a really beautiful letter that said, 'Thank you so much' and 'I wanna dress you all the time.' " [Yahoo]
• Following Moe's profile of the editrix feuding at Elle, New York defends the story's integrity: "Maureen's story drew on many reliable sources — some on the record, and some on background. We stand by its accuracy." [WWD]
• Wait, so they don't just wear them to look hot? Holly McPeak explains that bikinis are more comfortable for beach volleyball: "You don't have an issue of sweat and sand collecting in places that you don't want it to," she says. "It really is the most functional uniform for beach volleyball." Thank you, we'd assumed that. [NPR]
• Heidi Klum's new ads for her Jordache collection - ripping off Heidi Montag? We're gonna go with, no. [Yahoo]
• Although the study is not conclusive, seems the rich are indeed different - or at least richer. Sales aren't flagging at all on Rodeo Drive. [LAT]
• Speaking of the rich — or at any rate, the titled — peers in the House of Lords have called for a moratorium on the waste culture that is fast fashion. No commentary required. [Daily Mail]
• Does Steve Carrell's wardrobe make the movie? Um, not really. [Guardian]
• Hayden Panettiere's mother apparently prepared to hawk her daughter's undies for charity. She didn't, though. [The Sun]
• Sweater company Lutz + Patmos, who in the past have done lines with random celebrities like Kirsten Dunst and Liv Tyler, is collaborating with Jane Birkin, who — if equally unqualified — is, at least, unassailably cool. [Nylon]

• After shooting her for a Dom Perignon campaign, Karl Lagerfeld expressed amazement at Claudia Schiffer's ability to play the diva at the heart of the campaign's storyline. We further express amazement that Karl got over his own whopping diva attitude to actually compliment someone other than himself. [WWD, 1st item]
  
• French designer Roland Mouret relaunching his new line Web 2.0 style on Net-A-Porter exclusively, with Victoria Beckham its celebrity spokesmodel. What vision! [Portfolio]
  
• Catherine Deneuve to design a handbag line! Which means that, sight unseen, some people (read: Jennifer) want one already. [WWD, 2nd item]
  
• Zara says cheap-chic competitors who use celebrity "designers" are cheating — since, um, duh they don't actually design? [Yahoo]

• Not-so-fast fashion: An Italian designer outfitted a gimpy 3-wheel car into her roving boutique. [WWD, sub req'd]
• Permira is thisclose to world domination! Er, we mean taking over 100% of Valentino. If pesky antitrust authorities don't get in the way, they'll have 60.2% of the label. Mwah hah hah. [WWD, sub req'd]
• Amsterdam-based designer Percy Irausquin is apparently one of the hottest up-and-coming names in fashion. Shouldn't he be from Antwerp or something? [Vogue UK]