• 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]

• Prince William's girlfriend Kate Middleton has quit her job as a buyer for British chain Jigsaw. The Brits think this means there's an engagement on the horizon! We think, uh, Middleton probably realized that, um, once you have dated Prince William your connections can probably land you a job in an industry slightly less ridiculous and soul-deadening than fashion? [Vogue UK]
  
• Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour went to meet with NYC mayor Michael Bloomberg yesterday. When asked by the press what they met about his staffers answered, "to convince the mayor to wear Brooks Brothers suits." Clever!
  So you mean it wasn't because she has some radical new plan for fixing the ailing public school system? [New York Daily News]
  
• And speaking of our public schools, manufacturing a $62,000 Guerlain lipstick = not gonna help things! [Sassybella]
  
• Model Helena Christensen is a DJ, or anyway she's "done it like 10 times" and "justs sit[s] with all [her] CDs and thinks about what [she] want[s] to listen to." Yup, that pretty much makes you a DJ these days! But is she as pretty as Leigh Lezark? [Fashion Week Daily]

• Estee Lauder is ousting their own: William Lauder, Estee's grandson, will be "stepping down" within next two years and some Proctor & Gamble exec who oversees their snack foods division is taking the gig. Which, um, seems like a perfectly natural fit to us? [WSJ]
• Le barf: W hotels has partnered with Puma allowing its guests to create their own custom-designed pair of sneaks from their room. The in-room "design center" is supposed to look like a Mongolian barbeque. [SO. DUMB. SRSLY.-Moe] [Fashion Week Daily]
• Juicy Couture has set up shop on Rodeo Drive. Which maybe would have been a shrewd business decision when 1. People were still shopping on Rodeo Drive and 2. People in L.A. still wore Juicy, including while shopping on Rodeo Drive, but now it just seems like some investor gave them too much money and they have to spend it somehow. [Fashion Week Daily]
• Isaac Mizrahi goes on Martha Stewart's show Dec. 21. [WWD, 2nd item]
• Says designer Donna Karan of her new fragrance Delicious Night: "We're out at night, being naughty, having fun, enjoying the city tonight. This is a fragrance that can carry you from the day into the evening, like someone you want to cuddle up to." Did we mention Donna is dating a male model? [WWD, sub req'd]
• What makes Zac Posen's Japanese food-loving mama Susan so proud? That her son can "recall what he wore to every event, everything he's put on in the last 27 years." Gifted! [NYP]
• Pointy-toed shoes: Apparently back? [FabSugar]
• The prodigiously talented Anya Hindmarch has been nominated for two British Fashion Awards. And by "prodigiously talented" we mean... you know what we mean. [Vogue UK]
• Elle magazine's International Creative Director Gilles Bensimon: Really loves handbags! [Fashion Week Daily]

As we gawked, a saleswoman sailed past, one corner of her mouth slightly turned up. Two upturned mouth corners make a smile, of course, but a single upturned corner amounts to the way the homecoming queen regards the president of the math club, according to Mr. Hill, who whispered, "She just gave us a contempt expression."

The best part here is that our favorite fashion blogger Lauren Goldstein Crowe weighs in on Portfolio to wonder why it is that sales clerks at fancy stores remain so snooty "in this day of mass luxury."

I'm not sure it will ever be eradicated. Because when your livelihood depends on selling expensive things to people who have much more money than you, it must feel nice to be able to look down on somebody else once and a while.

On Style [Wall Street Journal]