• Did Nicole Richie rip off the idea of shilling crappy-looking headbands from Mischa Barton?! A "source" says yes! “Mischa is furious...She feels like Nicole completely copied her idea.” [PopCrunch]
• Kim Kardashian's shoe line takes celeb designing to a new level of annoying! "All you have to do is fill out a survey then her staff will continue sending you 5 cheap pairs of shoes each month until you beg for mercy. If you decide to keep a pair it’s $39 otherwise you just have to go through the trouble of reboxing them, going to the post office and mailing them back to Kim." [The.Life Files]
• Addressing the serious dearth of news about celebrity designers, Hayden Panettiere's design for Dooney and Bourke was "inspired by her astrological sign, Leo." [New York]

• Tom Ford takes a measured approach to cosmetic surgery: "I hope to have the eye to do it in such a way that I still look my age but maybe not have my neck swinging around when I go jogging." [New York Post]
• He could learn a thing or two from Diane Von Furstenberg: "I know that a lot of people look at me and think, 'Why doesn't she do something to that face?' But I made a decision. I do yoga and I hike, but I won't do Botox... know if I start doing things I will get insecure. You wear your own face. It is a little bit of your history, a little bit of who you are." [VogueUK]
• The fashion industry cuts back on the fab in an effort to retrench. Think smaller expense accounts. [WWD]
• For some reason, though, Miss J has sold a book: Follow the Model: Miss J's Guide to Unleashing Presence, Poise, and Power, which, is supposed to "boost self-esteem." Have these editors watched Top Model?! [New York Observer]
• "Chiconomic" recessionistas are boosting thrift stores and outlets. [Financial Times]
• Kate Moss flies to New York, learns her shoot is canceled, flies back to London, is pissed. [Mirror]
• Only the good die young! Holly Dunlap's very cute Hollywould shoe line is kaput. [New York Post]
• For the self-serious punner on your Xmas list: Kenneth Cole's new book, "Awearness: Inspiring Stories About How to Make a Difference" "It's a collection of essays from influential types intended to encourage readers to get involved in service and volunteerism in their communities." [CNN]
• If Anna Wintour's daughter is worried about finding work, where does that leave the rest of us? “I finish in May, and I’m really nervous about the fact nobody’s hiring right now...I think everyone’s going to have trouble finding a job. I know a lot of people graduating early, and they can’t get anything.” [New York]
• Ann Taylor's slump continues. [WSJ]
• An email hoax doesn't help! [WWD]
• In case we haven't mentioned it, the Australia costumes are going to be good. [Telegraph]
• Donatella Versace: "We sell a lifestyle, so to own one piece of Versace is like to own a whole outfit of expensive things. That's why we do many different things." Or like...owning one expensive thing? [CNN]
• Liz Hurley becomes the face of fur company Blackglama; guess who's none too pleased? "It’s shocking that she’s taking money to wear baby minks, who are skinned at six months old for Liz’s luxuries...Her wardrobe is now as dead as her film career." says a PETA rep. [Daily Mail]
• Is Hot Topic getting...chic? [BlackBook]
• Marc Jacobs lives in the moment, ink. “I really have a good attitude about tattooing. When I first got one, two years ago, I was like, ‘I’m not going to overthink this or what it means, or what it’s going to be like when I’m 80. I want to get tattooed today, and in five weeks, I’ll get a SpongeBob tattoo.’ Will I regret it someday? I don’t know, but I’m not going to deny myself this pleasure today because of what I don’t know in the future.” [Rolling Stone]
• Men are wearing slippers outdoors. [Financial Times]

Modern teens are into the all-black, skull-tastic "Goth" look more than ever. But now, the "outcast" style is rather inclusive: Ms. Wilson contacted 18-year-old Wendy Jenkins via Facebook, who says: "It doesn’t matter if you are tall, short, black, white, heavy, thin. Goth can fit everyone! I think it is a great way to bond with others who are different and who are just like you at the same time! Because we are wearing black most the time we are EZ to find!"

And yes, Goth is partly about fashion: the Times shows Rodarte shoes and Givenchy chains as examples. But isn't Goth also about attitude? About seeing beauty in darkness, about living through tragedy, about existential crisis, about pain? Do you even have to wear black to be Goth?

We all have phases. Hortense claims she dressed in black and listened to My Bloody Valentine and carried Gorey books ten years ago. Sadie swears Loveless is the best album in teen history. Megan says, "There was a phase of mine that involved a lot of black and corpse-colored lipsticks and a parentally-foiled attempt to either shave my head or die it black. Also, I had a spider-web mesh shirt. There are pictures." Maria concurs: "I wasn't a goth but I had a big emo/hardcore phase in high school (I'm from Orange County, hardcore phases are required). A lot of spiked dark hair, Hot Topic accoutrement, and shitty local bands."

But let's not belittle getting in touch with the "darker" side of ourselves. Perhaps you're meant to snicker at Wendy Jenkins, the teenage Goth who writes to Ms. Wilson: "I think vampires are freeking sweet because they have such true emotions that no mere mortals can express! I too at times think I am a vampire being with my hate of garlic and how my eyes r sensitive to light." But I can't. And not because it's later revealed that she is in a wheelchair. It's because I think we all have a little Goth in us. There is no knowing true joy without first knowing real pain. And it doesn't matter if you bought your bondage pants at Hot Topic or in New York on St. Marks Place 20 years ago: Don't we all feel like skipping work and staying in bed reading Baudelaire sometimes? Don't we all want to lie on the floor listening to The Smiths (or Siouxsie, or Dead Can Dance, or My Chemical Romance) now and then? Being a "Goth" or an Emo or whatever is just an external signal that says "Shit fucking sucks sometimes." So what if Goth will not die? Long live goth!

You Just Can’t Kill It [NY Times]

• Between expanding his "empire," hosting Mad Men parties, judging Project Runway, and, presumably, tanning, Michael Kors is guesting on Gossip Girl. "I love the clothes, everyone is good-looking, the plot line is a riot," Kors says. "I love the show. They called and said, 'You are very Gossip Girl.' I thought, 'Finally, I am a teenager.'" Question: When does this guy have time to actually design? [WWD]
• Perennial fashion critic Mr. Blackwell hospitalized! [AP]
• Just try and get rid of Heatherette! Rumors to the contrary, the glitzy design duo ain't going anywhere. [The Cut]
• NYC Boutique Opening Ceremony staying open for a marathon 72 hours. Cause that's what Olympic athletes would want them to do. [New York Times]

• July was a rough one for retailers; even Wal-Mart tanked. [WWD]
• Tyra/Michelle may have a lock on Bazaar, but Cindy McCain's got mag connections too, albeit crummy ones: "News of Tyra Banks' homage to Michelle Obama in the September issue of Harper's Bazaar broke Tuesday, but that didn't stop Cindy McCain from stopping by the Hearst Tower that afternoon to have lunch with Hearst Magazines president Cathie Black, Cosmopolitan's Kate White, Joanna Coles of Marie Claire and Rosemary Ellis of Good Housekeeping. During the lunch, McCain's daughter, Bridget, sent her mother a picture via BlackBerry of a new dress, seeking approval before leaving the house. The potential first lady approved." [WWD]
• The battle 0f the vibrating mascaras! [New York Times]
• The "work to flirt" dress: slutty for both day and evening! [Telegraph]
• Tara Subkoff capitalizes on the perennial power of faux lesbianism to sell clothes. Also, looks silly in today's GBU. [The Cut]
• The Nike equestrian boot is controversial. "One rider opined on a Web site that it looks like "the stripper boot of the horse world." U.S. Olympic rider Gina Miles wonders if wearing a swoosh might lead to lower scores in a sport that prides itself on centuries-old traditions. And Nike archrival Adidas, which is also creating new shoes for the Games, said no to riding boots. "We didn't feel we could come in with some meaningful innovation," says James Carnes, Adidas' creative director." [Business Week]
• More immediate, community-fostering webzines giving fashion mags a run for their big money. [New York Times]
• Behind-the-scenes vid of Nelly for Sean John undies. NSFW, obvs. [The Life Files]
• So that's why he looks like a shorn lamb: Justin Timberlake cuts his own hair. "I don’t require hair or nail appointments. I actually cut my own hair — that’s why it’s all the same length." [The Sun]
• Nine companies fined for non-disclosure of "inappropriate drawstrings" on children's clothing. [CNN]
• Is Wilhelmina modeling agency going public? [New YorkTimes]
• New fashion director appointed to Out mag. Grant Woolhead "is joining Out, recently acquired by Regent Media, as it publishes its September fashion issue. The issue, due to hit Aug. 12, features Neil Patrick Harris on the cover and has188 ad pages, up from 172 last year, according to Aaron Hicklin, Out's editor in chief." [WWD]
• Ancient lensman Bill Cunningham on summer scarves. [New York Times]
• File under: we should all have such troubles. The agony of care labels on expensive clothes. [The Cut]
• Teen retailers, including - if you can believe it - HotTopic - are feeling the pinch. [Wall Street Journal]
• Somehow grossly-named luxury retailer Aquascutum expanding. Prices are very reasonable. "The Aquascutum London line will feature blouses, wool skirts, and silk graphic dresses with pricing around $780. The vintage collection will include designs inspired by Aquascutum’s archives, such as a hot pink wool swing coat priced at $3,940." [Fabsugar]
• Yuck. Thanks to the Olsen Twins (and yeah yeah I know they don't wanna be called that), "glossy leggings" are a must for fall. [ElleUK]
• Paging summer '03! Band-Aids as "fashion accessories." [New York Times]
• Protect your investment: "A perk that comes with the purchase of a pricey status handbag is that most makers will fix broken straps and zippers, missing rivets and torn linings — often free of charge, if the fixes are simple." [Wall Street Journal]
• "Christian Francis Roth is back. A fashion darling of the early Nineties, Roth is trying to make his mark again with a contemporary spring collection called Francis by Christian Francis Roth, inspired by high school cliques." It's apparently the clique who wore really, really, really ugly clothes. [WWD]

It baffles me that Rabinowitz would criticize some of the women on The View for their supposed ignorance about current events, and then call them out for criticizing Sherri's ignorance (or intolerance) about gender-identity issues. (And shit, that's only the tip of the iceberg of stuff Sherri's confused or close-minded about.)

Furthermore, while The View might not be the sort of highbrow, serious news that someone like Rabinowitz is looking for, there's something to be said about the fact that a show about women discussing current events is not only highly rated, but at this point, a cultural touchstone. In short, how can The View be so trivial, if just one episode is worthy enough of 1,200 words in the Wall Street Journal?

Dizzy From The View [WSJ]