[Washington, D.C., November 16. Image via Getty]

WASHINGTON - NOVEMBER 16: Activists protest in front of the DC office of Goldman Sachs November 16, 2009 in Washington, DC. The protest was held to 'demand an end to the Too Big To Fail doctrine, request that their projected $23 billion in bonuses and compensation go to foreclosure prevention programs, and call on Congress to take immediate action on reform.' (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)

• Eva Mendes, along with male model Jamie Dornan, are confirmed as the fall faces of Calvin Klein Jeans and Calvin Klein Underwear. Steven Klein shot the campaigns. [WWD]

• At last night's Met ball, seven models and one designer were conspicuously absent. Azzedine Alaïa, the diminutive Tunisian-born designer whose relationship with his models, particularly the mega-famous 80s/90s supes, is so deep that most of them call him "papa," was not asked to be part of the Met's exhibition, themed "The Model as Muse." Because, explains curator Harold Koda, he assumed, without even checking, that Alaïa would not want to be in the exhibit. Although Alaïa made and fitted dresses for models including Stephanie Seymour, Naomi Campbell (who has been his muse for 23 years), Veronica Webb, and Linda Evangelista to attend the exhibit opening, when he found out that none of his work would be represented at the museum, he asked all his models not to attend. Which they were more than happy to do. "Azzedine has made my dress for every single ball," said Seymour. "I will still make my donation to the Met, but I won't be going." Koda, ball organizer Anna Wintour, and co-chair Marc Jacobs, whose company is sponsoring the event, are all very sorry indeed that the designer who has perhaps the most enduring links of all with his model-muses will not be included in the show about designers, models, and muses. But none of them admit a whit of responsibility, which leads me to point out here, that Azzedine Alaïa, like Dries van Noten and a handful of other successful designers, doesn't produce campaigns. Armani and Versace, the two designers who dominate the 80s section of the exhibit, regularly lavish Vogue with their advertising dollars. [On The Runway & On The Runway]
• Of the event itself, the Times writes: "Asked how she felt about being a museum-worthy muse, Ms. Moss shrugged and pulled a big piece of gum out of her mouth. 'I'm amused,' she said. 'I think it's quite interesting for somebody to go outside of the box and think that a model actually has had some input into fashion. A lot of the time, the models don't really get a say.'" [NY Times]
• Significantly more enthusiastic was André Leon Talley, who, upon his first sighting of Moss, was heard to shriek "Goddess!" [WWD Twitter]
• Today, Chanel launches its new ad for its No. 5 perfume, a video by Jean-Pierre Jeunet, starring Audrey Tautou. In honor of the momentous occasion, the stretch of Fifth Avenue that borders Saks will be renamed "Avenue No 5" and the department store's windows will be dressed to celebrate the ad. [Racked]
• Jason Wu gives New York magazine a tour of the modest West 37th St. one-bedroom, decorated all in gray, that his family bought him after he moved to New York. The designer relaxes by cooking dinners for his friends. In between, he clears off the kitchen bench to design his FAO Schwartz range of dolls. [NYMag]
• Elle MacPherson's style icons are Steve McQueen and Katharine Hepburn. She also name-drops Banjo and Matilda cashmere, "an Australian brand," without specifying that it's owned by her brother and sister-in-law. [Independent]
• Marc Jacobs: "If you have five minutes free in New York, you're a failure. If you have five minutes free in Paris, you're a success." [Glamour]
• Stella McCartney has been making appearances at Barneys left and right; she's doing two more before the week is out. And her 23-piece collection for Net-a-porter goes on sale today. [WWD]
• Miuccia Prada loves her Carston Höller office slide, contemporary art, and Earl Grey tea. And being different. "I always want to be different, as a way to progress. At the beginning, I wanted to make a soft bag out of stiff leather. I wanted to make rich materials look poor, and poor materials look rich. Always there was something disturbing. In the end, that's probably why people like Prada." [Telegraph]
• American Apparel's witness list for its upcoming court date with Woody Allen includes Allen's ex, Mia Farrow, his current wife and Farrow's adopted daughter, Soon-Yi Previn, and Larry Flynt. [Reuters]
• Conflicting reports about Liz Claiborne today: while just last week Racked was reporting that, gee, an awful lot of the new Isaac Mizrahi-designed clothes seemed to be already needing heavy discounts on the website to move, today, Goldman Sachs upgraded the stock to a "buy," partly due to the company's leaner inventories. Share prices rose 30%, to $6.46, following the news. [Crain's]
• In this economy, retailers are trying "positive thinking." Because it's all they have left! Ha ha, I'm kidding. But only a little. [WWD]
• Adidas needs to save 100 million Euros this year. To that end, it's closing regional offices in Europe and Asia, and has not ruled out shutting retail stores. [NY Times]
• J. Crew's children's line, Crewcuts, now has its own standalone catalog. [WWD]
• Estée Lauder's profits fell 70% in the third quarter, so now they're touting the brand as a good option for bargain-hunters. There'll be more free services at the cosmetics counter, and smaller-size products that'll be priced to scale. But probably still expensive. [WSJ]
• Kathy Ireland thinks the media obsession with women's bodies is ridiculous, and that the focus on how we look, as opposed to our health, is misdirected. Because bodies are for living in, not looking at. "Beautiful people come in all shapes and sizes, ages and colors," Ireland told Larry King. "With my weight gain, people wanted to know, Well, when is she going to squeeze back into a bikini? No. That is not what it's about. But what people weren't asking me [was], What's the triglyceride level? What is the C reactive protein?...Heart disease is the number one killer of women in America." [CNN]

• Good morning! Obama is president, did you hear? The hat Aretha Franklin wore to sing "My Country, Tis Of Thee" was hand-molded and embellished with Swarovski crystals by Detroit milliner Luke Song. [WWD]

• Sasha and Malia's colorful ensembles were all from J. Crew kid's line Crewcuts. When consumers figured this out yesterday, traffic crashed J. Crew's site. [NY Daily News]
• Michelle Obama's gown of choice for her 10+ inaugural balls last night was by Jason Wu. The 26-year-old designer had thought he was a long shot. Says US magazine of Michelle's one-shouldered cream gown, "She's bringing sexy back." Really. Her husband wore a tux by his favorite suit maker, Hart Schaffner Marx. [US]
• The New Yorker's Judith Thurman, who profiled Isabel and Ruben Toledo last March, spoke to the designer and her husband about the First Lady's choice to wear one of her designs at her husband's swearing-in. Says Ruben, “To be woven into the thread of this historical moment is a major blessing." Making the outfit was a family affair: "Vitelio Toledo, Ruben’s father and the couple’s pattern cutter, was particularly proud to have worked on it. The seamstresses, almost all immigrant women, also took particular pride in participating in a historic moment. Ruben told me that they added a very fine inter-layer of pashmina to help keep Michelle warm on the dais." How touching. Maybe someone can please hire Isabel Toledo again now? [New Yorker]
• Regardless of whether or not that happens, Toledo's sales are sure to see a boost. Barney's Simon Doonan reports scrambling to get her wares into his windows yesterday. "It’s going to be an Isabel Toledo homage," he said, before adding, "I’m sort of annoyed that Michelle Obama has spring merchandise before us!" [WWD]
• Here is a 735-word story about Michelle Obama's eyebrows. [Chicago Tribune]
• And why not let her hairstylist in on the action? [Allure]
• Lois Cassanos has been make-up artist to every president since Nixon. Cassanos claims she never uses anything more than foundation, concealer, and powder on her charges, since the leader of the free world has got to look manly, and reveals there was nothing on George H. W. Bush's lips when he said "read my lips." Good to know! [Allure]
• Can everyone please stop with the tacky Obama tie-ins? It's opportunistic and the thought of wearing something called "Obalma" on my lips makes my toes curl. [BrandFreak]
• Kim Kardashian is thinking of forswearing fur — because when her sister Khloe agreed to do so, PETA put her in her very own naked ad. Could it be that vain entertainment personalities are more interested by the thought of appearing nude and hot on a billboard somewhere than the actual plight of farmed animals worldwide? [E Online]
• PETA nonetheless salutes Payless's decision to produce its first-ever totally non-leather shoe line. In fact the animal rights group gave the company some kind of an award they call a "proggy." [PETA]
• Audrina Patridge vamps it up in her unique Real Girl way in the campaign for her Arden B. jeans line. Jonathan Rhys Meyers and celebspawn Alexandra Richards and Ben Taylor (Carly Simon and James Taylor's son) also scored spots in the deluge of spring denim ads. [NY Mag]
• New York designer Valdemar Iodice has an approach virtually guaranteed to get editors and buyers to make it to his scaled-back Fall/Winter show, even though a showroom presentation is a little less sexy than seeing designs on the catwalk. Upping the stakes for free gifts henceforth, he's offering attendees free dresses. Funny, that's normally how they make sure the models show up. The worm turns, etc. [WSJ]
• Goldman Sachs downgraded Polo Ralph Lauren to a "sell"; shares slid 7% in the remainder of the day's trading. [WSJ]
• Another groan-inducing Kenneth Cole billboard: "In tough times, some land on their feet (others on the Hudson). — Kenneth Cole. Thank you to the pilots, crew, and N.Y.ers for all that you did, and all that you do." How is it that Cole is only able to express even totally respectable notions in the voice of your corny old uncle-to-be-avoided at the annual reunion? [WWD]

• The Dow lost about another 450 points today even though the federal government has decided to buy out (read: nationalize) anything they need to to keep out economy from collapsing. [Washington Post]
• Speaking of, Morgan Stanley might merge with Wachovia, which would make Goldman Sachs the only remaining stand-alone investment bank in the United States. Seriously. [NY Times]
• But it's all going to be okay because the Bush Administration might use the end of its term in office to create a whole new agency dedicated to buying up all the bad debt and defunct financial institutions that its policies created in the last 7.5 years. Hey, did I mention the word "nationalization" already? Good. [NY Times]
• Hey, look! Something shiny! Don't watch the end of capitalism! Lori Drew is moving her family to an undisclosed location. [St. Charles Journal]

• Hillary Clinton canceled an appearance at an anti-Iran rally because the organizers thought it would be a supercoolfun idea to put her on the dais with Sarah Palin less than two months before the election and didn't think it necessary to inform her. Um, obviously. [Associated Press]
• The polls show McCain and Obama pretty damn tight in too damn many battleground states. [Marc Ambinder]
• Known elitist Lady Lynn Forester de Rothschild and former major Democratic figure says all kinds of unbelievable crap about why she's now supporting McCain, but the funniest part is when she says it's about voter disenfranchisement and didn't know that the Republicans are actively seeking to disenfranchise legal voters in the general election to help he new best buddy. Ok, here's a woman you can hate on. Please, enjoy. [Huffington Post]
• McCain and Palin will be doing their deathly tango on Larry King tonight (and feel free to use this as an open thread if you're not watching Project Runway), but before that Swampland's Ana Marie Cox and I will be liveblogging her own torture: sitting through a McCain townhall meeting. Join us back here at 7! [Think Progress]

Reply to: pers-513328535@craigslist.org
Date: 2007-12-18, 3:10PM EST

the holidays suck. i never thought that i'd ever say that but this is the first time in my life as an adult that i don't have a girlfriend to share in the experience with and it sucks. bad. 3 weeks ago i came home from a night out for steaks and cigars with some of the guys from my office to find that she had cleaned out her drawer in my custom made oak dresser and left a note on my viking stove that simply said "i'm done." i've been texting her like 10 times a day but i haven't heard from her since.

what sucks even more about it is that i just got word from my boss at GS this morning about how much my bonus is going to be this year. wanna guess?

772k.

and you'd think i'd be happy, right? WRONG! i mean with so many people out there whose lives are so less meaningful because they only make 60 or 70k a year, how could i not be happy? well, think about that for a minute. what use is three quarters of a million dollars per year in income if you've got nobody to share it with, nobody to lavish with flowers and designer bags and shoes and dinners at places like per se, nobu and babbo? what good is the new condo on the west side when i've got nobody to sit out on the balcony to look out over the river and drink egg nog with during the holidays.

most importantly, what use is a 15 foot fraser fir christmas tree if i've got nobody to put presents underneath it for?

so what am i looking for, you ask? someone to share all of this with at christmas, that's what. i'm out of the office all of next week and i'm going to go crazy all by myself in my huge, shiny new condo. all i ask is that you're reasonably cute and willing to reciprocate my kindness and generosity by keeping me warm on these cold winter nights. i don't even care if you're jewish or some other religion that doesn't celebrate christmas because my parents will be in france and will never find out. together we'll go out for amazing dinners, we'll go shopping together, we'll drink great wines and at the end of the day we'll get each other off fabulously.

finally, you need not worry about not being attracted to me. i'm 28 years old and i've still got the same looks/physique that i had when i wrestled in college and have had a certain part of my anatomy compared to a baby's arm. i am also quite charming.

so what are you waiting for?

• Our frozen-faced, nipped and tucked friends deserve our sympathy and support! Lift Me Up Cards has created a greeting-card line of congratulatory, plastic-surgery themed cards with subjects like "liposuction" "Botox" and "breast augmentation". [WWD]
• Architect Rem Koolhaas is designing "colorful and playful" $160 T-shirts for Prada. One depicts "an Eskimo and polar bears on sand dunes". Sounds a lot more "global-warming" than "colorful and playful", but that's just us. [WWD]
• A Goldman Sachs survey finds that there's a growing demand for luxury watches from brands like Cartier and Rolex. Wonder if this has anything to do with that $16.5 billion bonus pool enjoyed by Goldman bankers last year! [WWD]
• Makeup artist Gucci Westman and Rag & Bone designer David Neville had a baby boy on Tuesday. [FashionWeekDaily]
• An ad agency is publishing a portrait-book of celebs who have appeared in campaigns for The Gap. Somehow we doubt this will boost the retailer's flagging fortunes, but... yeah. [AdAge]

• A sneak peek at Kylie Minogue's H&M Loves Kylie collection. [Sassybella]
• Old Navy to discontinue offering plus-size versions of its apparel? [BudgetFashionista]
• Polo Ralph Lauren wants to expand in the Japanese luxury-goods market, give Japanese that oh-so-lovely WASP aesthetic! [WSJ, subscription req'd]