Giorgio Armani is just too good at getting celebrities to any show he does – whether it’s ready to wear in Milan, or Armani Prive’ couture in Paris. While John Galliano got out Jessica Alba and Blake Lively to Dior Couture, Armani pulled out a rather different crowd. Top worldwide fashion editors Anna Wintour (American Vogue) and Karine Roitfeld (French Vogue) were front and center – in wildly different looks (lady versus hipster); Claire Danes came with new husband Hugh Dancy – she in a pale lime satin dress with a pale pink midriff. And Brit actress Gemma Arterton looked chic in black and white Armani pieces, with a red bag to match her lipstick. A bit of an odd group, but impressive enough for couture in mid summer.

As we post this, the Metropolitan Museum Costume Institute Ball has begun in Manhattan, and we have some early shots of fashion arrivals to the exhibition: “American Woman: Fashioning a National Identity“. Of course, Anna Wintour is the chair – and we love her white silvery gown with a kind of long silver blazer over it. So simple and so chic. We’re guessing Carolina Herrera. Her daughter Bee Shaffer is in a pink Balenciaga that’s new, but based on Cristobal Balenciaga’s archives. White seems to be a big theme of the night, as Diane Kruger wore a very tight but sleeved Calvin Klein collection gown that is SO stark, particularly in comparison with her Oscar night ornate Chanel couture. Emma Watson is of course wearing a Burberry dress – in white. Claire Dane is donning a gunmetal strapless gown that looks very heavy. And Oprah Winfrey arrived in indigo blue silk with Oscar de la Renta as her date, so we can safely assume she’s wearing Oscar, right?
Meanwhile, Dolce & Gabbana sent out a VERY early press release that Eva Mendes and Naomi Campbell are both wearing black gowns of theirs. Let’s hope, for their sake, they’re corrent. The release went out about 5pm New York time – time enough for them to change their minds!!! – Merle Ginsberg

It’s rainy and chilly in New York right now, with the occasionally sunny day signaling the onset of real spring – with the temperature range somewhere between 40 degrees and 65. So what does a real NYC fashionista wear to signal the arrival of spring when it’s still dark and cloudy, but not as cold as February? Anna Wintour and designer Rachel Roy both turned out in shades of light grey and silver for the Museum of Modern Art premiere of the new fashion documentary, “Bill Cunningham New York.” Bill Cunningham, if you are not a regular reader of the New York Times, is the 81 year old photojournalist who takes all the street fashion photos for The Times “On the Street” section in Styles on Sunday, and the “Evening Hours” section. For decades, he’s ridden around New York in a blue jacket on a bicycle, shooting every quotidien look on any man or woman who inspires him. Anna Wintour of Vogue says in the film, “The fashion world gets dressed in the morning because of him.” Michael Kors, novelist Tom Wolfe, and Italian fashionista Anna Piaggi are also in the new doc, which opened the MOMA “New Directors/New Films” series. Turns out it took ten years for the doc to be made – the director, a friend of Cunningham’s from the New York Times, asked him to be in it for eight years – and he said no. Finally, after he agreed, they shot footage for two years. We’re not sure when the film will open nationwide, but we will let you know. This is possibly the best fashion documentary of 2010 – and it’s about real street style, not runway. But the streets of New York are their own kind of theatrical reality show runway. – Merle Ginsberg

In one corner – one of the world’s CHICEST women, the editor in chief of French Vogue, and former Tom Ford muse and stylist – Carine Roitfeld. Here she is at the current Paris couture shows. She’s known for rock n’ roll eye makeup, a lot of black clothing, tight boots, and streaked messy hair. In the other corner, Anna Wintour – another one of the world’s chicest women. She’s editor in chief of American Vogue, known for wearing color, prints, fur, Carolina Herrera, and her perennial tight blonde bob hairstyle and sunglasses and classic Manolo pumps. Who is chicer? It’s all a matter of taste, of course. Meanwhile, we just had to throw this out there – BOTH these women are in their mid fifties! Who says fashion is always agist? – Merle Ginsberg

Lots of magazines and websites are always telling us how to emulate celebrities’ red carpet style choices. They show us inexpensive options on how to get the look for less, at various price points. Lucky, Marie Claire, People, Us – they all tell us how to do it. But until now, NO ONE has ever assumed you could get Anna Wintour’s look for less! That’s because the ultra chic Vogue editor has her hair done every single day, barely eats (salads with no dressing and steaks are her staples), and wears only Carolina Herrera, Prada, Dior, Chanel, Oscar de la Renta – amazingly chic and expensive clothes, which often have been tailored just for her.
No one can try to emulate her look – you have to be a size 2, have incredibly thick hair, and have a 200,000 dollar a year clothing budget! But now with the release of “The September Issue,” Wintour’s chic working-woman look will become better known to more people. She does love tailored suits, fitted shift dresses, and “power print” dresses. To both the premiere of “The September Issue” and on her appearance on David Letterman, she wore print dresses that were very fitted and chic. Now, the website OneStopPlus.com, which is a discount retailer that reaches many plus size women (30 million women in America are plus sized), is running a feature on Anna Wintour, with a “splurge versus steal” section. Some of Anna’s “looks for less”

are from fashion brands such as AVENUE, Chadwicks, Jessica London and others.
For both those looks, both “look for less” options are under forty dollars! Check them out at OneStopPlus.com. Even if you’re not plus sized, it’s interesting to see how powerful Wintour has become as a style icon, and that the women who watch “Oprah” and “The VIew” are not emulating her style!!

As if you didn’t know Fashion’s Night Out on September 10th was serious – seeing Anna Wintour speak about it on Letterman on Monday night – and the coordination of events in NY at Bergdorf Goodman (which Fashionrules is a big part of!), Barneys, Juicy Couture (Vogue’s Hamish Bowles will sing Noel Coward songs!), the Carolina Herrera Boutique in NY (fashion photog Larry Fink will meet crowds), at Judith Leiber in NY, etc – Anna Wintour has gotten together with a few of her fashionable friends: Sarah Jessica Parker, Ashley Olsen, Donna Karan, Vera Wang, P. Diddy, Isaac Mizrahi, and DVF herself – to make this cute PSA (fashionsnightout.com) to get people to come out and shop. We love the t shirt they’re all wearing, and intend to buy one, and Anna’s is very awesome, because it goes with her skirt, and it looks like she’s wearing a Fashion’s Night Out dress! We don’t often see fashion people doing PSA’s and commercials, so this is very fun – more fun than Project Runway, actually!!!!!! Check it out here:

That line, for those who aren’t familiar with it, was the ad campaign copy for Blackgama fur coats in the sixties and seventies – and all kinds of famous women posed under that heading. And it begs the question, what DO you wear for a major occasion in your life? Anna Wintour, hosting the Manhattan star-studded premier of the new documentary about Vogue’s September issue called “The September Issue” – that had Donna Karan, Oscar de la Renta, Sienna Miller and countless other biggies show up to wax on and on about the legendary editor – wore Prada. Funny, since everyone assumes the movie and book “The Devil Wears Prada” is about her. She isn’t doing much to live that rumour down, we’d say. The dress is a chiffon patterned dress from Prada resort 2010, which doesn’t hit the stores till November at least – as usual. Ms. Wintour’s way ahead of the curve. The movie will be released in L.A. in early September – but the September issue of Vogue IS on the newsstands now.

We were quite impressed with the Anna Wintour interview on last night’s “60 Minutes” with Morley Safer – but more with her cool composed conduct and who she pulled in to speak about her – than what the editor in chief of Vogue actually said. She revealed very little, as we expected. Looked great, as we expected. Kept a sunny demeanor - not what we expected. When tough guy interview Safer asked her how she feels about having young girls nipping at her heels, trying to get her job, her response was beyond chill: “Yes, there probably are a few,” she tossed off.

But the access! Nicholas Ghesquiere of Balenciaga, John Galliano of Dior, and Karl Lagerfeld were all interviewed about her great worth to the fashion industry – these are NOT designers who speak on camera often – particularly the reclusive Galliano. It was obvious Wintour asked them to participate. There were also shots of her going to showrooms in Paris (in March 09), so this piece has clearly been in the works for a long time – which shows that an outlet as prestigious as “60 MInutes” thinks Ms. Wintour is worth it. You can bet a lot of fashion people all
over the country were tuned in. – Merle Ginsberg

Anna Wintour – British-born and New York-based editor in chief of Vogue for over 20 years– and arguably the most important fashion person in America – will do a rare interview on CBS’s iconic “60 Minutes” Sunday night. At age 59, she just hosted the “Model as Muse” Met Ball event in NY, and is the apparent Model for the Meryl Streep character in “The Devil Wears Prada” – but no amount of “haughty” accusations seem to affect her hauture. Even her NY nickname, “Nuclear Wintour” doesn’t affect her studied cool. And her style is beyond reproach.
She is also the star of a new documentary on the making of Vogue’s iconic September issue, called “The September Issue,” which got a ton of press off Sundance. We can’t wait to see the movie – but also the interview this Sunday night. Set your tivos! – Merle Ginsberg