Every editor in New York knows the refrain: “three’s a trend.” But how many trend pieces does it take to christen a new genre? We couldn’t help but notice that a "small but growing" group of stories in The New York Times’s Thursday Styles section reveal a curious editorial fascination with the intersection of fashion and education.

Last week the Times reported that the lines of parents who wait all of an afternoon for their pampered dumplings to emerge from Manhattan elementary schools had become a forum for see-and-be-seen ensembles as good as any gala. In "Curbside at School, a Red Carpet," Veronique Hyland wrote that moms who dress up to drop off, are becoming, "if not exactly the norm, far more common"—get this—"despite the faltering economy."

Ms. Hyland’s  story came only days after Ruth LaFerla’s hard-hitting investigative report, "The Campus as Runway," where we learned that fashion blogs like Style.com have democratized high fashion, giving rise to a “small but self-aware and increasingly vocal contingent of college women who dress to impress.”

Rather like the Times Style section itself, the Columbia clothes horses Ms. LaFerla trotted out as her examples are oblivious to the class implications of dressing up for the library while their classmates protest the exorbitant cost of higher education and wealth inequality downtown. Some happily confess to spending more than $1,000 a term on clothes.

Then there’s the Times school-and-style desk’s vilification of sweatpants, the ultimate signifier of slovenliness: “I’m not a sweats-and-T-shirt kind of person,” said a freshman at Columbia University.  “Even at the library, I’ll see people in heels. There’s a lot of energy in that.”

The couture moms, however, treat sweatpants as a wicked pleasure, a sort of mamma’s little helper for the post-Valium era. “I see a lot of moms that go ‘fancy’ to drop off and then they go change into sweatpants," an Upper East Side mom confided to the Times.

The school-age daughter of one drop-off maven acidly observed that her mother was the only mom in the Upper East Side school line without red bottoms on her shoes, the signature of $800-a-pair Christian Louboutins. According to mom, her daughter Sadie is “a hawk with all things fashion-y,” but it may be some time before the student becomes the master: that Sunday, Guy Trebay wrote that the ostentatious Louboutin heel is actually out, in favor of the recession-friendly design restraint (if not price point) of Manolo Blahniks.

No cause for worry! If the Times meta-trend holds true, Sadie will have plenty of opportunities to provide redemptive quotes: “Guidance Counselor as Stylist?” “Home Ec as Haute Couture Atelier?” “Picture Day as Fashion Photo Shoot?”

Scott Schuman, The Sartorialist

Fashion Week! It's here, so time to get rid of your summertime clothes and put together something more presentable. You could get your picture taken at any time. It's true! If you're on the street, you're fair game for the cameras.

Or as Anna Wintour put it in Bill Cunningham New York, "We all get dressed for Bill."

But the iconic Times shutterbug is far from the only cameraman with influence lurking around Lincoln Center. Our friends at The Cut have put together a lovely slideshow in which street-style mavens share their secrets and reveal what they look for in a picture. Want to catch a tastemaker's eye in the time it takes to cross the street? Pay attention, kids!

Scott Schuman, (The Sartorialist)

The people who want to play the game dress with more care, and the people who don’t – either because they don’t like the spotlight or just because they feel like it’s not their game to play – maybe tend to lay a little lower than they might usually.

Jason Jean (Citizen Couture)

There’s a list of editors/stylists/models that I look for, but to name a few: Kate Lanphear, Taylor Tomasi Hill, Joanna Hillman, Shala Monroque, and Frida Gustavsson.

Not them? Out of luck!

Garance Doré (French street-style blogger/photographer)

Attitude and personality. And I love a good hat.

And Phil Oh, of Streetpeeper, who do you want to shoot?

The new batch of young editors, stylists, and bloggers who show up for their first fashion weeks.

Well, we know some new and not-so-new "bloggers" who might interest you as they trot past the Lincoln Center fountain, Phil. What? Oh, no, we're not talking about ourselves. We're holding out for Bill.

Dasha Zhukova.

It's not typical of Fashion Week to have a magazine upstage the wonders on the runways, but that may be the case this year. Dasha Zhukova's explosive new art glossy Garage comes on the heels of her stewardship of Pop magazine, and when it drops in a few weeks you will hear chatter of it outside Lincoln Center. There might even be a launch party.

In The New York Times' Styles today, Eric Wilson takes a spin through the magazines pages. In case there wasn't enough hype, Mr. Wilson dubs Garage "one of the most intriguing magazines to come along in years."

And why is that? Perhaps it's the Alexander McQueen dress made of lettuce. Or the Prada dress that's strung-together citrus fruits, or the featured Moncler garment. That look is simply anchovies.

Though the main stir comes from one particular cover image. It is a photo by Hedi Slimane, whose stunning shots of Frances Bean Cobain recently blew up all over fashion blogs, of a crotch bare save for a tattoo. It's a butterfly designed by Damien Hirst, and to see it you have to peel off a sticker affixed to the cover, Velvet Underground & Nico-style (Warhol reference? Check).

And though there's no mention of her in the Times article, Page Six's item on Garage lists Tavi Gevinson, tween-aged fashionista extraordinaire, as one of the contributors. Your move, Jane Pratt.

There are two other covers that do not feature hardcore nudity, and one of them --starring model Lily Donaldson as a puppet in a dollhouse -- is below. It will probably the best magazine named Garage in history, and there have been plenty of them.

The magazine.

Garo Sparo (right)

The Observer stood in the middle of a first-floor studio tucked into what may be the last ratty stretch of Avenue B, eyes closed and arms held aloft, and ducked into a leather chrysalis.

We were being fitted for a “man-corset,” an anachronistic emblem of female oppression that once gripped only courtly ladies but now in New York can outfit any gender.

Our shit was about to get tight.

For lovers of corsetry, this small atelier is a sort of mecca: Amanda Lepore and Daphne Guinness are among the regular devotees. The exact address of the place is unlisted, but it isn’t to hard to find, as the window is washed in silver glitter. This is the domain of Garo Sparo.

Hadn’t you heard? The corset is back in style. Alexander McQueen’s medieval-themed masterpieces drew record numbers to the Met, the blogs are crawling with “steam punks,” and Spanx and competing shapewear have us locked in their formfitting grip.
In short, corsets are having a moment, and soon Mr. Sparo will be having one too. On Sept. 9, the Sundance Channel will premiere Unleashed by Garo, a couture-centric reality show that may turn the city’s go-to corsetier into a star. “This is where it all happens!” Mr. Sparo exclaimed, gesturing around the studio-cum-funhouse littered with gem-studded statues, enormous books of Victorian palacewear and newspaper clippings of women and men he had dressed.

The corset king glided though the room in tan sandals, his facial hair groomed into sideburns, all the while fondling a red string. At tables lined against the art-spangled walls young assistants cut fabric, or sat at sewing machines running garments under the needles. Mannequins in corsets peered out over us, and other examples of the designer’s rib-rattling pièce-de-résistance hung innocuously on racks. Brass band music played on a stereo, and Noah Klein, Mr. Sparo’s studio manager and on-screen sidekick, twirled his pencil-thin mustache in time with the tuba.

It’s no surprise the scene appealed to television producers.

“It looks beautiful on camera,” said Sarah Barnett, who runs Sundance Channel’s day-to-day as its executive vice president. “It’s this colorful treasure trove, an Aladdin’s cave of dream-making.”

The studio’s been in the neighborhood since the mid-’90s—when the area was a good deal seedier—but Mr. Sparo’s been designing since long before that. The corsetier grew up on Long Island, the son of immigrant parents, with four brothers and a house that never lacked a place to sew.

“I was the only child allowed in the sewing room, because it was my passion,” he said. “I was the only one who cared about clothes, etc. I started sewing at a very young age—5, 6 years old. It’s in my family. They are immigrants to this country, they worked in factories. They did lace-making, hand-beading, all sorts of things.”

He moved down south for college, where he parlayed his involvement in the “rinky-dink” fashion scene at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro into a sponsorship from Absolut to design high-end looks for a charity benefit they were putting on in New York. That was 1995. Mr. Sparo got involved in the club world, spending long glorious nights at Limelight, Jackie 60 and Click+Drag.

“It was the budding rave scene, and what was really big then were hats: mad hatter hats, jughead hats, crowns,” he said. “So I would start wearing them to clubs, and then people would start wanting them. The clubs would let them put a little shop in there. And then I started making the clothes.”

The attention led to expansion in 33 cities and eventually boutiques on Avenue B and St. Marks Place. Mr. Sparo weathered 9/11 by branching into bridal wear—“People weren’t buying clothes, but they were still getting married!”—and once the market came back, he began attracting high-profile clients. Amanda Lepore gets all her corsetry from Garo, and Ms. Guinness named him one of her favorite designers, alongside Alexander McQueen and Gareth Pugh. Mr. Sparo refers to the beer heiress and mistress to Bernard Henri-Levy as “my muse of the moment.”

(A representative for Ms. Guinness informed us that the muse would not be able to respond to our request for comment.)

We asked about Mr. Sparo’s experience with perhaps fashion’s ultimate muse, Lady Gaga.

“I designed a dress for one of her music videos,” one of Mr. Sparo’s baby-faced assistants sighed. His hair was cut into a hacked-at Mohawk, and his T-shirt bore the anarchist circle-A symbol. “She returned it totally destroyed. And she didn’t pay for it.”

Despite that experience, Mr. Sparo said he considered the pop superstar an inspiration, along with Yoko Ono. He also has a wish list of those he’d like to dress, which includes Grace Jones, Kate Pierson of the B-52’s and Nicki Minaj.

If Unleashed by Garo proves to be a hit, those icons may be stomping down to Alphabet City any day. The show came about after an assistant became convinced that the combination of manic energy, fierce devotion to clients and mastery of corset-making would be irresistible on TV. Ms. Barnett agreed, calling the show a “special creative twist on fashion programming.”

The clips from the first few episodes, viewable online, are promising. Mr. Sparo has charisma in spades, not to mention the catchiness of that name. Amid a seeming glut of makeover reality shows, a refined specialist like Mr. Sparo may just manage to stand out. Sample episode title: “Can I Pull You a Little Tighter?”

Which brings us back to the designer’s original challenge—he had a male corset, and he wanted to get us into it.

“Just duck right in here,” Mr. Sparo said, holding up a black harness.

“You’re not really doing this correctly unless you break a rib, right?” we asked as the corset slid onto our torso.

“No, these corsets are comfortable!” Mr. Sparo said, lacing up the bottom rungs with a sudden tug. “In fact, when you take out the mutilation, the corset is empowering to women. It gives them more confidence.”

At the moment, we were confident that our abdomen was about to collapse, that the saddle-thick hide of the corset would wedge further into us with each fastening of the shoelacelike web on the back. Still, Mr. Sparo kept ratcheting up the snugness.

“You want it tighter?” he asked.

“Um, sure,” we responded.

He yanked the cord and the leather dug deeper.

“Tighter?”

“Sure.”

Yank!

“Tighter again?”

“Sure!” We exhaled.

Yaaaank!

And then, with the corset fully strapped on, we approached the studio’s giant mirror. Look at that—we couldn’t really move, but damn if we didn’t look a good five pounds slimmer!

“You see,” Mr. Sparo said, in a thrilling voice befitting a TV star. “The corset will never go out of style.”

After beginning her career as a hard-charging reporter in WWD's Paris bureau and rising to the rank of bureau chief, she was hired by Anna Wintour at Vogue, where she served as fashion news editor, creating the now indispensable Vogue Index. "Anna was always very generous and easy to work with," she says with a smile, "for me."

Ms. Betts left Conde Nast to edit Harpers Bazaar, stepping into the role formerly held by the beloved Liz Tilberis and becoming its youngest-ever editor at age 35. Two somewhat rocky years later, she was replaced by Glenda Bailey. She returned to magazine editing in 2004, running a fashion supplement for Time, but the project didn't survive the media bust.

As bruising as this parabolic ride must have been, Ms. Betts has retained her aura of corporate assurance. A tall, self-possessed blonde, still youthful at 46, she met with The Observer at Pecan in Tribeca determined to focus on the future--namely, the arrival of her first book, Everyday Icon: Michelle Obama and the Power of Style, a breezy riff on the First Lady's sartorial sensibilities published by Clarkson Potter. Sipping a latte, Ms. Betts described Ms. Obama's style as "retro and quirky"--an intuitive approach rather than a stylist's imposition. "She wears what she loves," she said.

Ms. Betts researched and wrote her book in just under ten months. It is a glossy little number--part coffee table book, part hagiography--loaded with photos and sketches of all of the dresses that have made it, and a few that didn't, into her subject's wardrobe. (Ms. Obama did not participate in the book.)

"There are so many precise expectations of the First Lady," Ms. Betts noted. "It's very, very traditional. She has to perform the hostess duties originally initiated by Dolly Madison. It is a very strange place for a woman as modern as Hillary or Michelle."

Has Ms. Obama made any fashion blunders? Ms. Betts paused for a moment. "I don't really care about the beige leggings she wears or the shorts coming off of Air Force One," she said. "But I am always a little disappointed when she wears a pantsuit, because that's the Washington uniform."

During the 2008 presidential campaign, Ms. Betts said, Ms. Obama "realized that she couldn't be a power broker in pinstriped suits. I think that she made a conscious decision to dress as the mom-in-chief. In many ways, she didn't have a choice. She's really a career woman, but she had to let that go and embrace the other side. They softened her image."

Ms. Betts, who famously began her Bazaar job while nine months pregnant with her first child (she is married to the writer Chip Brown), has done a lot of thinking about the famously knotty work-life balance. "When I was editing Bazaar, I thought we should do a story about it, saying that, actually, no, you can't have it all," she remembered. "Every woman stormed into my office and said, 'You can't say that, it's sacrilege!' So we didn't. Now, women talk very frankly about it. It's a shift in the culture. Michelle is part of the generation that's questioning those assumptions."
 
Ms. Betts' name still often comes up in connection with major vacancies in the magazine world. She was recently considered a possible successor to Pamela Fiori at Town & Country (a position assumed by Steven Drucker last April and now held by Jay Fielden). But for the moment, she seems to be happy to be home for her children, who are 11 and 6.  "You need to spend more time with them as they get older and help them with their homework," she said.

dprince@observer.com

[See Ten Guaranteed Man Repelling Must Haves >>]

As she prepped for this season's Fashion Week--otherwise known as the Man-Repelling Olympics--Medine spoke to The Observer about fan mail, Shabbat and going "full-out jeg." 

You've spent your whole life in New York. Ever think about living somewhere else?
I was abroad in Paris and I absolutely loved it. I had the best five months of my life. And I visited a ton of cities--I went to Stockholm, I went to Spain, I went all over. But the only place in Europe where I was, like, Wow, I could see myself living here and being happy, was London. I would move to London if I had to.

How do you compare Paris to New York through the lens of man repelling?
The entire concept manifested itself while I was in Paris--that's where I really realized I was a man repeller. Like, in the middle of Fashion Week, we're leaving one of the after parties and I'm with two of my friends and we're looking for a cab and it's impossible to find a cab late at night in Paris. And I look at myself and I'm like, "I'm wearing high-waisted denim cutoffs with ruffles on the bottom and a shoulder-padded shirt that would put Pierre Balmain to shame. What is wrong with me?" I think I took a lot more creative license with the way I dressed over there--I think anyone does that when they're not in their own hometown. I wasn't afraid to run into people that I knew.

Do you ever wake up and think, "I just want to be conventionally sexy for today?"
Not really. You know what the thing is? It's not that I necessarily want to man-repel, but I stray away from being generic. To me, adding layers and not looking like a mannequin turns out to repel men because it's not easily comprehensible.

You must occasionally find yourself in a situation where you have to dress conventionally.
Well, I mean, this past Saturday night I had a wedding at the Plaza, so I wore a silk Peter Som skirt and a plain white tank, an open-backed tank. A ton of girls I didn't know rushed over to me and they were like, "You're not man repelling! Oh my god! Is that a man next to you? What's going on?" I'm like, "Relax, that's my brother, number one. Number two, we're at The Plaza."

Is there anything that you see girls wearing all the time that you just wish would go away?
I mean, a lot of fashion I wish would just go away, although I don't take it so offensively. Like, I don't have clogs, I've never bought clogs, I never really gave into the clogs. But I never hated it so much that I wanted it to go away. I don't know, I try to see the positive motive behind every trend. I think Crocs are insulting. I think it's offensive when people wear Crocs and Snuggies, but those aren't really trends.

What's your position on jeggings?
I like the name. I own a few pairs, but I think they suck. I think they're so stupid. Just buy a jean with a little spandex in them, you don't need to go full-out jeg.

And leggings as pants?
I guess that's a trend that I wish would go away. You know, it was cool for a minute in, like, 2008, but then it became--it looks like you forgot to get dressed on the bottom. It's like going out unfinished. I do hate that trend, actually. I hate it so much, especially now, because tailored trousers are so in. Leggings are just so off from what chic could be, or is.

Turning the tables a little bit, what lady-repelling looks have men adopted?
People keep telling me that I should start a Woman Repeller, but dissecting men's fashion is just not as interesting. There aren't very many men's fashion blogs, and there's a reason for that. But I would say that that I hate sneakers with formal wear, square-toed shoes, athletic socks with dress shoes, ill-fitting jeans, boxy jean jackets. I don't like cowboy boots on men, I hate short-sleeved button-ups.

What celebrity is most your type?
Ryan Gosling.

He's so cute.
He's adorable.

Do you ever get any creepy e-mails from guys who've seen your site?
Yes! Yes, I do. I actually just got a funny one from this guy in Canada. He was like, "I think you're super beautiful and even though you're a man repeller, I wanna date you." I answer all my e-mails, so I just replied, "That's really flattering." And so he wrote back, "It seems like you're interested, so let me tell you about myself. I'm a 29-year old aspiring teacher living at home with my parents in Toronto." I was like, all right!

You're like, "I'm moving out there immediately."
Yeah, right. And sometimes I get e-mails from men saying, "How could you do this to my girlfriend?" That's also funny. One guy even proposed to me via Twitter.

So are you dating anyone?
I don't comment on my relationship status vis à vis the blog.

Do you think of Man Repeller in political terms at all? 
I didn't neccesarily aim for the blog to make any sort of feministic statement, but I did want it to serve as an open forum for women to draw their own conclusions, whether it be something as simple as "This is what I want to wear tomorrow" or a more complex millennial statement about women, fashion, men and feminism.

What's the garment that you think men hate the most?
I think that the harem pant is particularly offensive. That has to be the worst, because pants are usually a really good way to show a woman's silhouette. If she has really nice legs, you can see them in her pants. That alone annoys a man, because he'd rather see her in a short skirt, and so for the pants to be harem-style--with a crotch so low that, from the back it looks like she's wearing a dirty diaper and from the front you're like, "Is she wearing a long skirt or is she wearing pants?"—it kind of confuses them. And it makes her look 15 pounds heavier.

On the other hand, is there anything that seems man repelling that you think they secretly like?
I thought that red lipstick was a definite man repeller, and though men say that it gives off this bitchy, unkissable vibe, it's really sexy to see. So that was interesting for me.

You're 22. What's your typical weekend like?
I don't go out that much. My family's Jewish, so I do Shabbat dinner with my family on Friday nights. Saturday night I'll go out--I'm a big fan of the Jane. I'm not a club-goer, although I do like to dance. But definitely more of a go-to-the-bar, have-a-drink, go-home type of girl. I haven't lived with my parents all this time. I had an apartment the first two years of college, and my friends used to make fun of me. They were like, "Why do you have this self-inflicted two a.m. curfew? No one is telling you to be home by two." And I'd be like, "Guys it's getting late, I have to go home, I have to go home." Because nothing is worse than a hungover Sunday when you have so much stuff to do.

What's your go-to drink?
Always a tequila with lime juice. Gets you drunk really fast.

So you live on the Upper East Side—not exactly a hotbed of man-repelling outfits. What neighborhoods do you frequent for inspiration?
I was at The Smile yesterday for brunch and I was like, "This is where man repeller meets hipster meets 'I shouldn't hang out anywhere else.'" So I would say, that exact spot. I think it's on Bond between Lafayette and Mulberry? Something like that. Because of that restaurant, The Smile--and it's right next door to Oak--I feel like that neighborhood has a really high concentration of super stylish, unique-personal-style girls. It's beautiful.

What about Bedford Ave. in Williamsburg?
I guess I'm not that familiar with it, because I don't venture to Brooklyn that often, even though every time I go I'm like, I have to hang out here more often. But from what I've gathered, it's not that different from Lower East Side fashion, which is sort of what I try to incorporate into my look. Because even though I live uptown, it always annoys me when people are like, "Oh, you're not a hipster, you're not supposed to be dressing like that." I'm like, "It's my life, I can dress however I want, 'k?"

You've got one semester left at the New School. Has it been hard to keep up with classes?
Yeah, last semester, especially toward the end, I felt like I was hanging on by such a loose thread. I literally did enough to get by, and that's it, you know? I'm so nervous that I'm not going to graduate on time, and I only have one semester left, so it's totally outrageous if I can't. I just have to finish my senior thesis and then I'm done, but I do have to remind myself that my education comes before the blog.

What are your plans for Fashion Week?
I was invited to be on this Teen Vogue blogger panel in Vegas that's smack in the middle of Fashion Week. And I spoke to a few of my friends who are immersed in the industry, and every single one of them was like, "You cannot go to Vegas for this panel. This is a huge Fashion Week for you." I've already been receiving some Save the Dates and such, so I'm going to stay. But I mean, I've realized Fashion Weeks are like the two weeks out of every year when Style.com gets a million page views and my blog has like, no hits. Last year, I was like, "Oh my god, no! People are sick of the Man Repeller!"

They'll come back.
Hope so. Also, I forgot to mention--I'm styling a friend of mine's Fashion Week presentation. So that's probably going to be the highlight of my week. 

[See Ten Guaranteed Man Repelling Must Haves >>]

Hi from Couture in Paris. I'm Mitzi and I'm 10, and fashion crazed, and that Style Rookie Tavi blogger girl who poses in weird outfits, then gets big show invitations, free clothes from Miu Miu and press for being so weird is officially on my nerves. She's 14 now, which is old. I think the fashion world should discard her like they do hot new designers every year. But never mind. I have to tell you about my week.

First, Anna was on our Air France Flight 007 to Charles de Gaulle. My mother is important and cuts lines, but I never saw anything like this. In a big fur coat (made of gerbils?), she was taken right past the most elitest status lines and security. Who is she, Kim Kardashian? When we left with our Louis V's at the baggage claim, she was still waiting for hers, looking bored. The moral is even a priority has to wait sometimes. 

Sunday night the Ritz was busy. We had a bath in emollients and then Mom took me as usual to the bar downstairs. When I went to use the bathroom, guess who was in there with a scrawny man? Kate Moss! "Shh," she said as she let me in. "Don't tell anyone." I was too in shock to do my business, not just because she had a man but because they were smoking. In school we are taught to nag adults to stop it, but she seemed so nice and simple (I don't mean stupid) in a striped T-shirt and jeans that I couldn't. My mother told me that the scrawny man is a Jamie Hince, who Kate will marry to compete with the other Kate this summer. As she was leaving, I asked if she would be in any couture shows. "No, I'm just here to watch," she said. 

Maybe she'll get some fresher ideas for her Topshop collections?

Notes from shows:

At the Alexis Mabille show in the Musée Bourdelle on Monday, there's a 4-year-old girl in a tiara, an Agnelli, two princesses and one lady in a leopard coat with a little dog that pees on the marble floor. The lady looks down, yawns, and throws one teeny tissue on the puddle as if that's enough to make it go away. I ask if her coat is real leopard. She looks bored by my question. "Of course," she says. "I hate fake." 

Me too, and the Chanel show next to the original store on Rue Cambon is the real thing, except maybe for some lips and faces. Pastel colors! Bugle beads! Mini-tutus over skinny jeans! Plus I see the greatest actress of all time, Kirsten Dunst. Have you seen her work in Bring It On? I eavesdrop and hear her talking to the man next to her about quitting smoking. He is Pedro Almodóvar. My mother says he makes movies about women and nervous breakdowns. And that's what I almost have when I see Charlotte Gainsbourg on the street nearby. I am so excited. She looks so bored.

Maybe giving off too much energy is bad for your skin?

Valentino is in a mansion of a Rothschild, whatever that means. We sit under chandeliers with three princesses, a Schwartzman and two Santo Domingos. (I steal name tags from chairs for my socialite trading card collection.) The pale-faced models walk like zombies in airy ruffles and pleats, looking so dazed and bored I want to trip them.

Backstage after the show, when everyone is drinking bubbles, talking Italian and pretending to kiss each other, I see a little girl with her father, who is an investor or something. She's pouting and pulling on his hand. How can she be bored after a fashion show in a mansion in Paris? Maybe if you're bored, people will think you're picky and important? Does it make them want to give you attention, invitations and free clothes?

Uh oh. It's late and even though I'm wide awake over here with jet lag and gummy bears (the M&Ms of fashion people), my mother says I have to stop now.     

When I get home, I'm going to practice a bored face every day. I want to try to reflect like the moon, not give off like the sun. It's like Anna and Charlotte and Kirsten being so bored as Sofia's C's Marie Antoinette. But it's also very me, Mitzi.

I hate fake.

editorial@observer.com

Who stunned? Who flopped? Let's run down the line:

• Nicole Kidman: "Wearing elegant white sequin Prada."
• Olivia Wilde: "Bustier bombast of tulle and sparkle and perfectly combed hair."
• Natalie Portman: "Comfortable, modern elegance. Loved it."
• Tina Fey: "Gorgeous midnight-in-Paris blue L'Wren Scott velvet column."
• Sandra Bullock: "Super sixties cool."
• January Jones: "In a league of some of the best dresses ever seen on the red carpet."
• Michelle Williams: "In a nude daisy-chain appliqué Valentino—such an original choice."
• Tilda Swinton: "Impeccable glide and beautiful posture."
• Angelina Jolie: "A bit of a matronly choice, and the slightly extended shoulders didn’t help. Why would arguably the sexiest star in Hollywood go for something that looked as if it had been recycled from the back lots where Adrians or Orry-Kellys might have been discovered at the last minute?"

One of these things is not like the others! In the middle of an almost overdone outpouring of praise, André throws Angelina under the bus, offering some pretty damning critique in the middle of a softball fashion summary.

André saved the only other damning criticism for Helena Bonham Carter: "Her Vivienne Westwood lamé and a haze of tulle and point d’esprit and James Dean-style sunglasses, was the evening’s train wreck."

Hey, there's always next year!

SLIDESHOW: Check Out The Best Looks From This Year's Golden Globe Awards

nfreeman [at] observer.com | @nfreeman1234

Naturally, the man has a stunning library. The Cut wrote a piece about photographer Todd Selby's website, where he's posted each of the immaculate shots included in his new collection, The Selby is in Your Place. The book seems like a perfect addition to all discerning coffee tables, and the high-resolution pictures online are a nice gesture.

We'd like to direct your attention to one shot in particular: a stunning floor-to-ceiling bookshelf that holds within its confines the reading materials responsible for the persona known as Karl Lagerfeld.

Ladies and gentlemen, this is what stacks of books should look like:

Paging Blake Lively, the new face of Chanel: you better get reading.

nfreeman at observer.com |@nfreeman1234

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