For The Steps:
Albertus Swanepoel, 2008 Fashion Fund Winner, says"I actually believe she should wear a pillbox—the new era of Camelot!" We say: a tad literal, no?


Karl Lagerfeld's suit is way cuter than his gown. And there's something to be said for classic Chanel...


Doo-Ri Chung, 2006's Fashion Fund Winner, says, "The inauguration will be a historic occasion, so I wanted the dress to be something in her comfort zone. I stayed with the tailored, fitted silhouette that she prefers but used a print that I felt was celebratory." We say: srsly? We've seen rocks that felt more celebratory.



May We Suggest...?


Grace Kelly's look from High Society is both chic and whimsical!













For The Ball:


The Good:
How gorgeous is this ethereal Rodarte?


Loving Marc Jacobs' Poiret-esque drape.


Yeah, Peter Som's hitting us over the head with "Jackie O," but still...


This Diane von Furstenberg is lovely. Downside: we really don't want to see Whitney Port at the Inaugural Ball, and you know she'd "need" to be there.


Derek Lam's "nile green crepe" is one of our faves of the bunch: the simple lines and unconventional hue would feel fresh but classic, and he'd still be a fun and surprising choice.



The Bad:
Georgina Chapman and Keren Craig of Marchesa say, "For the ball Michelle should wear this ivory one-shoulder silk crepe column with draped overlay and crystal hand-embroidered bodice." We say: Dynasty much?


We know Barack loves Lincoln, but Zac Posen's Mary Todd is a bit much!


Alexander Wang says: "It's sexy but sophisticated…business in the front, party in the back. It is the inauguration ball!"
We say: Maybe that's why you might want to wear something slightly more fun than a friggin' LBD?!


We dig the drama of Monique Lhuillier's gown, but red? Really? It just feels so...First Lady!


The Not Happening:
The Vena Cava designers, Sophie Buhai and Lisa Mayock, would like to see Michelle rock "this floor-length gown made out of silk and polyester twill in one of our signature prints." We say: with all due respect, we don't think the country's ready for quite that much change.


All the Lacroix sketches are totally absurd, like he knows there's no way she's going to choose them. Still, imagine how impressed the French would be!


Maybe Betsey Johnson should just costume the whole capital, like it's a big George M. Cohan show!


May We Suggest:
If you want to channel 60s, it doesn't get better than Doris Day in Pillow Talk!


Hey, why not?

Michelle Obama: What Should She Wear? [WWD]
Runway to Change [Style.com]

• M.I.A. on playing the role of spokesmodel, DJ and popular celeb sighting during NY Fashion Week: "Last year I wasn't let into the Marc Jacobs party and this year I own it!" Ah, groundedness. [Fashion Week Daily]
  
• International Herald Tribune fashion critic and former MJ nemesis Suzy Menkes really liked this season's (punctual!) (we're still getting over that!!) Marc Jacobs show: "It was such a good show, I would've waited three hours for it." Tell that to Robin Givhan's dog, Suze. [Fashion Week Daily]
  
• On a darker note, is Marc's mom in rehab? [NY Daily News]
  
• Spain is encouraging apparel manufacturers to start making clothing sizes for three distinct different body types: hourglass, pear, and cylinder. [NYT]

• Join the Rachel Hunter-faced "Style Your Slim" Slimfast program and automatically become part of the American Express fashion rewards program. Because a woman who commits to a lifetime of shakes for breakfast, lunch and a sensible dinner is definitely committing to a lifetime of clothing sizes that change every two months. Yay, money! [FabSugar]
• Loulou de la Falaise, onetime muse to Yves Saint Laurent, to shill costume jewelry for Home Shopping Network. [WWD, sub req'd]
• Comme des Garcons designer Rei Kawakubo has partnered with Speedo to design "the fastest swimsuit ever." [WWD, sub req'd]
• Showing her Red Label line in London clearly isn't activist enough for Vivienne Westwood, who has made encouraging English designers to show in their home country into a full-out political cause. Says Red Label managing director/Westwood mouthpiece Carlo D'Amario, "London has become the global reference point for creativity and never like now there is a need for a permanent platform for the promotion of dynamic British and European talent... I call on John Galliano, Alexander McQueen and Burberry among others to show their younger distribution lines here in London and unite to make London Fashion Week and London not only a centre for creativity but also for business." Talk about a rebel without a cause. [Vogue UK]
• Jezebel girl crush Tilda Swinton on her plans for Oscar fashion: "My pajamas! I'll be watching them from home." [Fashion Week Daily]
• Hush Puppies: Still around! [The Street]
• Revlon is reissuing its Kiss Me Coral lipstick after London-based designer Roksanda Ilinicic pulled the color from their archives to use in tomorrow's London fashion week show. Our grandmother will be so, um, "tickled"! [Vogue UK]
• How did unsigned unknown Argentinian singer-songwriter Lights nab a gig to do the soundtrack for all Old Navy's latest look-how-hip-we-are ads? Turns out some folks still use MySpace! [AdAge]

• Isaac Mizrahi just inked a fur licensing deal. WTF, Isaac? Was all your money in collateralized debt obligations tied to the subprime mortgage market? Yeah, didn't think so. [WWD, sub req'd]
  
• Prince William's girlfriend Kate Middleton has taken a job working for famed fashion photographer Mario Testino, starting in a month. How long before she's on the other side of his camera? [Fashion Week Daily]
  
• Once the Paris Hilton footwear line launches next month...uh, we're having trouble finishing this thought. [Sassybella]
  
• Gifts we wish we had received: Krazy Karl designed matching his-and-hers iPods for Nicolas Sarkozy and Carla Bruni. [WWD, 6th item]

• Supermodel Helena Christensen on Heath Ledger's death yesterday: "I am just beyond sad at this point, and shocked. I was on my way over to pay him a visit when I found out. I had just left him a message and heard his voice on the machine. He was such a special and genuine person, so extraordinarily talented because he was so raw and honest with his feelings. He was so full of life, so electric...This is immensely sad." [Vogue UK]
• Balenciaga designer Nicolas Ghesquiere will receive a medal of merit from the French government on Tuesday night. French actresses Isabelle Huppert and Charlotte Gainsbourg will be on hand as his cheering section. [WWD, 3rd item]
• More unexpected self-deprecation from Ellen Pompeo! On her anticipated look for the Screen Actors Guild Awards: "Watch me show up in McQueen — with a headdress." On her Grey's Anatomy role: she's "a well-paid slave, tied down to ABC." [WWD, 5th item]
• Olympic snowboarder Shaun White: The latest celeb to "design" for Target. [Fashion Week Daily]
• Awesome English fashion line Preen is now designing a "younger, edgier" line called, um, Preen Line. [Vogue UK]
• As the Jezebel who can't hold her alcohol, I'm glad that I'll at least get to tote a Lacroix-designed Evian bottle around Fashion Week (which starts a week from Friday). [Chic Report]
• We just don't know what to think about the rumored Spice Girls-for-L'Oreal commercials. [BellaSugar]
• Coach: Doing badly here, doing well in Japan. [Reuters]

• In his latest adventure as Liz Clairborne Chief Creative Officer/media love object, Tim Gunn is going on a 6-city tour sponsored by Glamour to showcase Claiborne's new denim line and help women try on jeans and find the "perfect" ones. (Denim: novel, right?) We've always believed all this talk about "perfect" denim is a lie but we'd give that all up just to have Tim Gunn pat our ass. [WWD, sub req'd]
  
• Marc Jacobs's show for Louis Vuitton — which he also designs; it's so hard to find talent these days! — is Sunday evening and the waiting masses have learned that there is some sort of trashy romance novel theme to the show. We smell literary product placement! [WWD, 3rd item]
  
• David Lynch has tips for wearing those Louboutins he shot so tortuously for an upcoming advertising campaign? Meditation. Because, like, if you just sit Indian style and rub your temples all day you won't notice the pain in your feet. [WWD, 3rd item]
  
• The latest round of Gap's Product (Red) campaign will include images featuring Anne Hathaway. Because nothing screams "impoverished African children" like Anne Hathaway! [MediaPost]

• Deciding it isn't enough to be irrelevant once a month in a disposable medium, Harper's Bazaar has decided to publish a book of style rules. Precisely zero people are waiting in earnest! [WWD, last item]
• Name-checking them in her breakout single "Lip Gloss" paid off! Lil' Mama is doing in-store performances for L'Oreal. [WWD, 2nd item]
• Who are the London fashion thieves? Following break-ins at the Luella, Marc Jacobs, Roger Vivier stores and Christopher Kane's studio, the brand spankin' new FrostFrench flagship store (helmed by Jude Law's ex, Sadie Frost) was also burglarized last night. Hey wait a second, isn't Jude Law in that new jewel thief movie Sleuth? Hmmm.... [Vogue UK]
• We still get kinda sad when legends sell out: Lacroix for Evian. Sigh. [Fashion Week Daily]
• Karl Lagerfeld quote of the day: "All my contracts are for life, so I am like a death row inmate." [Fashion Week Daily]
• Gisele: Likes animals! [Sassybella]

• The long-anticipated sale of luxury department store Barneys New York finally went down this weekend, going to a Dubai-based investment firm for $832 million and making for what was probably the smoothest Middle Eastern negotiation in modern history. [WWD, sub req'd]
  
• Now that Barneys is owned by Arabs, however, does this mean Jews will take their luxury shopping elsewhere? [Portfolio]
  
• The European couture shows start July 2, and three design houses (Dior, Lacroix, Valentino) are duking it out for "fashion party to end all fashion parties" status. [WWD, sub req'd]
  
• Sinead O'Connor "gives a crap" about fashion. Way to pick a profile subject, WWD! [WWD, sub req'd]

• Limited Brands to lay off 10% of its corporate employees. [WWD, sub req'd]
• Fashion industry enfant terrible Jean-Paul Gaultier will be recognized for his bad boy ways as the honoree at this year's Fashion Group International's Night of Stars, whose theme this year is "The Rule Breakers." Metaphysical question of the day: If you're being honored as a rule breaker, does that mean you are no longer a rule breaker? [Vogue UK]
• Metaphysical question of the day, II: What came first, the pretty shoes or the ugly feet? Victoria Beckham has some bad-looking feet, which may or may not be the result of the pretty shoes she likes to wear. [AHN]