Your morning fashion and beauty report: Short heels and the recession. Tracy Reese's Plenty to do shoes. Jason Wu and iconic women

Can we blame the return of the kitten heel on the economy? [WSJ]

A sneak peak at Target's latest plus-size line, as modeled by "America's Next Top Model" winner Whitney Thompson. [FabSugar]

Long-strap bags are taking the world by storm? [Financial Times]

Designers for Swarovski's fall 2010 Crystallized collection include Jean Paul Gaultier and Catherine Malandrino. [Elle]

Teaser: Jil Sander's Navy collection. [Vogue UK]

Silly Bandz bracelets all the rage with kids? [Huffington Post]

Cosmetic Executive Women choose the best beauty products for 2010. [BellaSugar]

Naomi Campbell had one heck of a 40th birthday soiree. [Styleite]

Tracy Reese will add shoes to her Plenty collection. [WWD]

Halston unveils men's lines based on the late designer's own style. [WWD]

Elizabeth Arden launches spa collection at Bed Bath & Beyond. [StyleList]

Velvet will launch mini collection for Uniqlo. [The Cut]

Jason Wu's latest eyewear collection takes its inspiration from iconic women like "Amelia Earhart, singer Joan Jett, actress Mia Farrow, and Jane of 'Jane Eyre.'"[WWD, subscription required]

Coach sues the city of Chicago, claiming vendors at a city-controlled street market have been selling counterfeit goods. [WWD, subscription required]

-- Whitney Friedlander

Photo: A kitten heel pump from Brazilian shoe boutique Lua Cheia. Credit: Jacquelyn Martin / Associated Press

Fashion Diary: Revealing portrait in 'Ultrasuede: In search of Halston'

One of the most striking moments in the new film "Ultrasuede: In Search of Halston" is a news clip of Dan Rather eulogizing the designer who died of AIDS-related cancer in 1990 as the creator of the pillbox hat.

While the Kennedy-era headwear was historic, it was only the tip of the iceberg for Roy Halston, the milliner from small-town Indiana who became America's first celebrity designer.

Although the film doesn't connect the dots completely, viewers will see that Halston was ahead of his time, paving the way for the shape of fashion to come. It's debatable whether we would be watching designers on "Project Runway" and "The Oprah Winfrey Show," or shopping for affordable versions of their clothes at Target and H&M if it weren't for Halston, a TV natural who once appeared on "The Love Boat."

While Halston certainly was fueled by the spectacular excesses of the 1970s, he was also eclipsed by them, and the genius of his simple Ultrasuede shirtwaist dresses, six-ply cashmere turtleneck sweaters and slinky jersey halter gowns is too often lost amid stories of coke binges at Studio 54.

He was the first American designer to try licensing on a large scale to the mass market, an exercise in fashion democracy that failed miserably then, but is the norm now. And he was an early victim of the corporate mergers and acquisitions that are business as usual in the apparel industry today, unable to adapt as his brand changed hands from Norton Simon Industries to Beatrice Foods, to Playtex, Revlon and more.

Your morning fashion and beauty report: Founding Fathers' facelifts. The plight of the fashion blogger

In honor of the new $100 bill, a look at our Founding Fathers' airbrushing through the years. [Newsweek, via Allure]

This fall's Fashion's Night Out will have the largest runway in New York history. [Huffington Post]

Apparently it is cheaper to shop online. [Daily Mail]

Online fashion critics might have changed the industry, but what's going to happen now that they're getting so much free stuff? [The Daily Beast]

Seven For All Mankind partners with Jonathan Adler. [WWD]

Will men get their own New York Fashion Week? [WWD, subscription required]

Anthropologie launches limited-edition artists line. [StyleList]

L'Oreal buys Essie. [Fashionista]

New Christian Louboutin campaign retails classic fairy tales with shoes. [The Frisky]

Sarah Jessica Parker gives Halston her due diligence, reads the designer's biography. [New York Post]

Will the all-natural celebrity trend ever end? [Huffington Post]

Alessandra Ambrosio is Moschino's girl for fall 2010. [Vogue UK]

-- Whitney Friedlander

Photo: New design of the $100 bill. Credit: Treasury Department

Weekend Update: $1 designer goods at theOutnet.com, Ron Artest at WSS, Banana Republic and Gap outlet deals

Sales

What can you get for a buck these days? A $4,123 Christian Lacroix? A $2,559 Halston bag? Or a pair of $595 Marc Jacobs shoes? You have a chance to get these coveted items and more on April 16 at theOutnet.com, provided you RSVP here by April 11. Net-A-Porter’s online outlet celebrates its one-year anniversary with a $1 Pop-up Sale featuring more than 2,000 goodies, including women's ready-to-wear items, bags, shoes and accessories.

Banana Republic Factory Store and Gap Outlet are celebrating spring with two hefty sales: Banana Republic Factory Store is taking 40% off all in-store fashions through April 6. Gap Outlet is offering 70% off plus new swim styles for $15 through April 15.

For locations, go to gap.com and bananarepublic.com

Events

On Saturday, Warehouse Shoe Sale is celebrating 25 years in business with a party featuring the Lakers' Ron Artest, meeting and signing. WSS is also taking up to 60% off footwear as part of its spring clearance sale.

3102 Century Blvd., Inglewood. (310) 677-8247. Noon to 3 p.m.

Kiki De Montparnasse is having a sexy sample sale Saturday and Sunday, taking up to 75% off past-season lingerie, vintage garments, apothecary and home goods. Current spring styles are 20% off.

8280 Melrose Ave, Los Angeles. 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.

-- Max Padilla

Photo: A Christian Lacroix dress, Halston bag and Marc Jacobs shoes will go for $1 during theOutnet.com's one-day anniversary sale. Credit: theOutnet.com

Events: Halston’s spring collection trunk show this week at Elyse Walker

Elyse Walker hosts a Halston trunk show Tuesday and Wednesday, featuring designer Mario Schwab’s take on the American ready-to-wear pioneer designs. Expect to see flowy strapless dresses in Roy Halston’s signature red shade.

15306 Antioch St., Pacific Palisades. (310) 230-8882. Noon to 6 p.m.

-- Max Padilla

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New York Fashion Week: Halston is revived. But is there room in the market for it?

It was one of the most newsworthy events of the season. Marios Schwab presented his debut collection for Halston, the house that movie mogul Harvey Weinstein has been trying to revive for several seasons without much traction.

The Greek-born designer put his native goddess dressing skills to good use on a draped petrol blue satin one shoulder gown, a sculpted taupe neoprene mini-dress, and a gray jersey day dress with a draped shawl collar. 

The simplicity of many of the designs is in step with what we are seeing this season. But are they really that different from what has been tried at Halston before?

Perhaps the bigger question is this--is there really room in the marketplace for another designer revival? Or a customer for it beyond Weinstein's stable of starlets?

More notable than Schwab's clothes was Sarah Jessica Parker's appearance at the presentation, where she was followed by a phalanx of cameras as she circled the set, inspired by the 1978 film, "Eyes of Laura Mars."

Parker was recently appointed creative director of Halston Heritage, a more affordable offshoot. And one gets the feeling that the onus is on her to make us care about any of it.

--Booth Moore in New York

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Photo: Halston's fall 2010 collection in New York. Credit: David Goldman / Associated Press