Your morning fashion and beauty report: Rain gear to help stay dry(ish), Stella McCartney to open in Vegas and another royal wedding in the offing!

Raining again. I love it. But I'd love it more if I could just watch from the window without ever going outside. Impossible. Fortunately, our Melissa Magsaysay has some tips on rain gear to help stay dry(ish) and look good at the same time -- kind of like Gene Kelly dancing and "Singing in the Rain."

Stella McCartney seems to be one of the busiest designers around. Now, on Thursday, she's opening her first Las Vegas store, just in time for the usual post-Christmas influx of visitors. It's a 2,900-square-foot space at the tony Crystals at CityCenter. [WWD] (Subscription required.)

There's another royal wedding on the horizon! This one isn't likely to get the buzz of THE royal wedding -- Prince William and Kate Middleton, in case you've been asleep --  but we're liking the trend. This time it's William's cousin, Zara Phillips, the daughter of his aunt Princess Anne, who announced her engagement to English rugby player Mike Tindall. The ring is described as a single solitaire diamond with pavé set diamonds on a split shank, set on a platinum band. No word yet on a date. [People] 

Usually we think of modeling as glamorous, but there is a downside. This is physical labor, after all, and labor in which the human being is decidedly secondary to the clothes on parade. A new alliance has formed aimed at offering protections to those in the trade. [WWD] (Subscription required.)  

Gisele Bundchen stars in Balenciaga's spring ad campaign, looking uncharacteristically androgynous, along with a very weirdly menacing male model, Yuri Pleskun, who wears ghoulish makeup and little else. [Telegraph]

Michelle Obama wore a Marc Jacobs sequined sheath from his fall 2010 runway collection at a recent White House function, marking a long-awaited (by some fashion observers) first matchup of the stylish first lady and the designer. [The Cut] 

Postscript to first item: While I've been writing this from my home office, my roof began to leak. Maybe staying inside on a rainy day isn't all it's cracked up to be. I'm about to give voice to my feelings ... and not exactly in the way Gene Kelly would!

-- Susan Denley

Photo: Gene Kelly at his finest in "Singing in the Rain."  Credit: American Cinematique 

Your morning fashion and beauty report: Amanda Seyfried strikes a deal. So does Rumer Willis. And Stella McCartney launches an iPad app.

It seems you can't be a young actress today without some fashion or beauty deals on the side. One of the newest arrangements: Amanda Seyfried will be the new face of Cle de Peau skin-care products. [WWD] (Subscription required.)

And Rumer Willis is going to star in Badgley Mischka's spring advertising campaign. [People StyleWatch]

Meanwhile, the somewhat more established Daisy Fuentes is adding a new scent, Mysterio, to her franchise, which will be available at Kohl's beginning in February. [WWD]

Designer Stella McCartney has launched an iPad app! Among other things, It allows users to see backstage footage of McCartney's latest spring/summer 2011 show and an exclusive performance by Pharrell Williams and N*E*R*D at the after party. The app also features the label's latest news and updates and something called Stella's Diary -- a collage of Polaroid pictures of the designer's spring 2011 collection, taken by artist Jeremy Kost. [Vogue UK]

French Vogue editor in chief Carine Roitfeld is leaving after 10 years at the magazine's helm. [Telegraph]

How often can you wear lamé -- or even want to wear lamé? Right about now is the time, what with holiday festivities plus New Year's Eve parties on the horizon. Club Monaco has a casually elegant shirt dress made from the shimmery fabric. FabSugar shows this and a gallery of other pieces that could add a little dazzle to any festive event.

Everlast, the fitness-wear brand, has signed deals that will make its apparel and shoes available only at Sears and Kmart starting next year. [WWD] (Subscription required.)

Loro Piana, whose name is synonymous with fine cashmere, is developing a new yarn made from the lotus flower. [WWD] (Subscription required.)

-- Susan Denley

Photo: Amanda Seyfried. Credit: Mark Ralston / AFP/Getty Images

Your morning fashion and beauty report: Kim Kardashian proud of fledgling model Kylie Jenner. A baby girl for Stella McCartney. Cyber Monday a hit.

She's only 13, but already Kylie Jenner --- shown here at a recent movie premiere -- has a couple of fashion shoots under her belt, including a new one by photographer Nick Saglimbeni. “I can’t get over how stunning Kylie looks in these shots from a recent fashion photo shoot she did with Nick Saglimbeni,” big sister Kim Kardashian wrote on her blog. Yes, there does seem to be an endless supply of Kardashian-Jenners coming up in this world. [People] 

Designer Stella McCartney and husband Alasdhair Willis welcomed their fourth child, daughter Reiley, on Nov. 23 in London. [People]

You already knew that Black Friday sales were good. Cyber Monday sales [LAT] were even better, with an  estimated 70 million online shoppers. [WWD] (Subscription required.) OK, now are we all done with our Christmas shopping?  

The U.S. Departments of Justice and Homeland Security seized 82 website domains for selling fake luxury goods, the two agencies announced Monday. [WWD] Meanwhile, the U.S. Supreme Court denied a petition from Tiffany & Co. asking that EBay be held liable for trademark infringement for counterfeit Tiffany products sold on its site. [WWD] (Subscription required.)

Sotheby's plans to sell 20 pieces of jewelry once owned by the late Duchess of Windsor, Wallis Simpson, at auction Nov. 30. [The Telegraph] 

The sheer dress princess-to-be Kate Middleton wore on a charity fashion runway several years ago -- famously catching the eye of now-fiancé Prince William -- could fetch more than $15,000 if it were for sale. Which it isn't, according to its designer, Charlotte Todd. Todd says she has no plans to part with the dress, though she could be persuaded to give it to Middleton -- in exchange for a wedding invite. [StyleList]

Designer Jonathan Saunders is to do a capsule collection for Escada Sport for resort 2012. The collection will likely include about 20 pieces. [The Cut]

Fashion designer John Paul Gaultier has designed a 50th-anniversary collection for upscale Paris-based furniture company Roche Bobois. [WWD] (Subscription required.)

-- Susan Denley

Photo: Kylie Jenner at the premiere of "Easy A" on Sept. 13, 2010. Credit: David Livingston / Getty Images

Paris Fashion Week: At Celine, Stella and Chloe, the mothers of modern minimalism

One look at the sea of black- and camel-clad fashion editors at the shows this season, and it's clear that a new minimalist aesthetic is taking root.

The female designers at the helm of the Celine, Stella McCartney and Chloe brands have all espoused a streamlined look, although Celine designer Pheobe Philo's monumental fall collection was certainly the game changer.

Which is why everyone was so eager to see how she would follow it up for spring. Smartly, Philo continued in the same vein, while adding a bit of color and craftsy detail.

First, the basics: an impeccable white cotton square-neck tunic, a beautifully-cut jacket with cape sleeves, trousers that hang on the hips just so, and a khaki skirt that wraps in back.   

  Adding texture were slick leather tops, nubby blue linen trousers, and marled knits resembling indigenous craft.

Some trousers came with a narrow band of color at the waistband, which was a chic touch. But the vivid stripes and tiny geometric patterns splashed across boxy silk tops and pants were more of a puzzle. Still, this collection was solid enough to keep the cult of Celine going.

Celine spring-summer 2011 runway collection photo gallery

Stella McCartney's collection, on the other hand, was a bit wobbly. She borrowed her best pieces from the boys and offered them in pastel colors, including straight-line, shawl- collar blazers (one sleeveless with a racerback), paired with cropped flat-front trousers and knit polo shirts.

But when she dabbled in denim, things went awry. An oversized denim tunic dress with dropped shoulders, chambray culottes and a boxy denim jacket lacked designer polish. As did the citrus print on split-front skirts and dresses, which brought to mind vintage dish towels.

Still, the wicker bags and low-heeled cork sandals that had half the front row swooning are proof plenty of McCartney's down-to-earth appeal.

Stella McCartney spring-summer 2011 runway collection photo gallery

Hannah MacGibbon's Chloe collection may actually have been the strongest of the three. She looked to ballet for inspiration, pairing open-back leotards and long pleated chiffon or tulle skirts in pale makeup shades, with soft-sole ballet shoes. (Come spring, it looks like we won't be raiding the Army Navy store for inexpensive fashion finds any more, but we might be hitting Capezio.)

The graceful mood continued with draped silk jersey dresses, white cotton poplin shirtdresses with bow-tied sashes, and a white daisy-dotted dress.

Meanwhile, precision-cut tailored crepe coats and dresses were complemented by slick metal accents, such as a silver bow belt, and sandals with thick leather ankle straps and gold block-heels.

It was MacGibbon's best Chloe collection yet. And together, these three female designers are on their way to changing the way women dress.

Chloe spring-summer 2011 runway collection photo gallery

-- Booth Moore in Paris

Photo top, from left to right: Looks from the spring-summer 2011 Celine, Stella McCartney and Chloe runway collections. Credit: Jonas Gustavsson & Peter Stigter / For The Times. Photo left and right: looks from Celine. Credit: Jonas Gustavsson & Peter Stigter / For The Times. Photo middle: Looks from the Stella McCartney runway show. Credit: Jonas Gustavsson & Peter Stigter / For The Times. Photo bottom left and right: Looks from the Chloe runway show. Credit: Jonas Gustavsson & Peter Stigter / For The Times.

Your morning fashion and beauty report: Lady Gaga gets political, and dresses the part, as she rallies against 'don't ask, don't tell'

Lady Gaga got serious Monday and dressed for political success at a rally in Maine. No "meat" dresses, lobster-claw shoes or cockscomb of feathers towering from her head. Instead, she wore a conservative suit and polka-dot tie with large smart-girl glasses perched on her nose. She argued before a crowd estimated at 2,000 that the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy should be struck down, to allow gay servicemen and women to be open about their sexuality. She has long been a supporter of gay rights and went to Maine because the state's two senators might prove key in a vote on a bill pending in Congress that could repeal the policy. [Los Angeles Times] 

"L'Amour Fou," the documentary love story about the relationship between couturier Yves Saint Laurent and businessman Pierre Berge that won accolades at the Toronto Film Festival, premiered in Paris and will open in French cinemas on Wednesday. [WWD]

Marc Jacobs launched a playful e-commerce website. [WWD] (Subscription required.)

Vivienne Westwood's packed show at London Fashion Week revealed fun, young clothes for spring, while Sienna Miller's collection drew from the 1950s. [Wall Street Journal]

Graffiti artist Claw Money has designed a line of tees, sweats and leggings called Clawmingdale's, a lighthearted spoof of Bloomingdale's (think of its iconic brown bag made into sweat pants.) [FabSugar]

Stella McCartney, prepping to design gear for the 2012 Olympics, launched her first menswear collection, with Adidas. [Vogue UK]

-- Susan Denley

Photo: Lady Gaga addresses the Maine rally.  Credit: Joel Page / Reuters

Trend: Crazy for camel

Feeling Switzerland-neutral in your style these days? You're in luck. One of fashion's most famous muted hues — camel — is fall's hottest color.

We spotted the shy brown tone on the runways earlier this year — notably at Chloe, Michael Kors and Stella McCartney — but now it's official; retailers and fashion editors are pushing the color like crazy, offering, respectively, camel-themed fashion spreads and racks of merchandise in the classic color.

Lauded as a universally flattering hue, "camel" first popped up as a color name in fashion in 1916, according to the ISCC-NBS Dictionary of Color Names. We love it because it melds seamlessly into a black-heavy wardrobe and, when coloring classic silhouettes, adds 1960s-"Mad Men" panache to ensembles.

Here are a few camels we'd love to have on our backs:

Stella McCartney's wool-blend cape, $1,445 at Net-a-Porter, rolls two of fall's most charming trends — capes and camel — into one dreamy piece of outerwear.

Jil Sander's cashmere scarf, $525 at Barneys New York, works beautifully with trenches, winter coats and cool cardigans, and it's so basic, it will never go out of style.

J.Crew's wool-cashmere station coat, $149.99 at J.Crew, is elegant but understated, boasting retro military styling.

 

This Dior silk-wool dress at Bergdorf Goodman is a pipe dream because of the $3,600 price tag, but we love the way it hearkens back to the slinky, curve-loving "Mad Men" era without looking like a costume. 

-- Emili Vesilind

Photos, from top: Stella McCartney cape. Credit: Net-a-Porter. Jil Sander scarf. Credit: Barneys New York. J. Crew coat. Credit: J. Crew. Dior dress. Credit: Bergdorf Goodman

Slouchy Chic: The boyfriend cardigan rears its grunge-y head

When it came to cardigans, a new silhouette reigned on fall's runways — a roomy deep V-neck grandpa sweater we're coining the "boyfriend" cardigan.

The oversize cover-up, which boasts a slouchy fit and a hem that hits well below the hip, takes a page from both 1920s flappers and the grunge-y 1990s (remember Kurt Cobain's addiction to thrift-store cardigans?) 

Brands including Stella McCartney, Clements Ribeiro and Maison Martin Margiela rolled out louche boyfriend cardis that were alternately dressy and dressed-down.

Bejeweled pockets made the slinky versions at Clements Ribeiro feel decidedly noir, while Margiela showed a roomy black cardigan belted at the waist that one could imagine wearing with, oh, just about everything.

But Stella McCartney designed what's becoming the prototype for the look — a camel-colored cable-knit number that was worn pants-less by a model, no doubt to punctuate its distinctiveness (see Natalia Vodianova wearing it sans any distractions, above.)

Fortunately, the greatest thing about this trend is that it doesn't necessitate a heavy investment — just a bit of shopping know-how.

Doppelgangers of the Stella McCartney cardigan can be successfully foraged for at local thrift stores (or in gramps' closet). And while mass retailers have yet to spin out a bazillion versions of the boyfriend cardi, we recommend shopping in the guys' section of stores such as H&M, Forever 21 and Urban Outfitters to achieve an authentic garçon look.

--Emili Vesilind

Photo: Stella McCartney's sexy boyfriend cardigan. Credit: Stella McCartney

Your morning fashion and beauty report: Jenna Lyons gets a new title, Stella McCartney gets a new gig, Penelope Cruz gets a new dress

Jenna Lyons, above, executive creative director at J. Crew, has been named president as well. [WWD] (Subscription required)

Celebrities keep turning up in dresses from Victoria Beckham's 2010 spring/summer collection. [Telegraph]

The Tobe Report, a trend forecasting firm, is back among the trendy, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Another model has a few things to say about her image ... and being sidelined for being a size ... four! [Huffington Post] ... And Jean Paul Gaultier has cast plus-size model Crystal Renn as the face of a new advertising campaign. [Vogue UK]

Adidas has selected Stella McCartney to be creative director for the uniforms that British athletes will wear at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. [Vogue UK]

Stylelist reports that Penelope Cruz has wed Javier Bardem in a dress by Christian Dior designer John Galliano.

And, finally, guess who looks good in sailor pants? January Jones, that's who! Of course, she'd look good in anything. [Fab Sugar]

-- Alice Short

Photo credit: Perry Hagopian

 

Your Morning Fashion and Beauty Report: Jennifer Aniston's new fragrance. Ralph Lauren honored in Paris. Estee Lauder goes global. Celebs bare all for Allure

It's official: Jennifer Aniston is launching a new fragrance, Lolavie. Lovely! [People]

Rodarte's Mulleavy sisters visit Hong Kong to launch a special limited-edition line with actress Maggie Cheung Man-yuk to benefit UNICEF. [Wall Street Journal]

Estee Lauder goes global: the brand's new faces are runway models Liu Wen of China and Constance Jablonski of France. [StyleList]

Celebrities including Jessica Capshaw ("Grey's Anatomy"), Regina Hall ("Death at a Funeral") and Kara DioGuardi ("American Idol") bare all (in a wholesome way) in Allure magazine's annual nude issue, on newsstands April 20. [Allure]

An American in Paris: Ralph Lauren has had a busy week, opening a gigantic store on the Boulevard St. Germaine one day, and being named a Chevalier de la d'Honneur the next. French President Nicholas Sarkozy bestowed the honor in recognition of Lauren's 30-years-plus of fashion achievement. [Telegraph]

Designer Erdem gets a financial boost as first recipient of the British Fashion Council/Vogue Designer Fashion Fund award. [Telegraph]

See some of Spring 2011 Bridal Week's decadent offerings. [FabSugar]

Discovery of gene may mean we're a step closer to a cure for baldness. [StyleList]

Take a peek inside Stella McCartney's new store in Milan. [tmagazine]

Saks plans to close 20 stores. [WWD, subscription required]

-- Susan Denley

Top photo: Jennifer Aniston. Credit: Morris Mac Matzen / Associated Press. Bottom photo: Ralph Lauren. Credit: Peter Foley / EPA 

Top fashion designers donate merch and 'dream' experiences to Earth Day auction

Charitybuzz.com, an auction site specializing in philanthropic campaigns, is hosting an auction that includes merchandise and experiences courtesy of some of the fashion industry's most illustrious players.

The auction, which kicked off on Thursday and ends May 6, is a companion event to biggie art auctioneer Christie's "Earth Day -- Green Auction: A Bid to Save the Earth."

The collection of more than 200 items, many of which are "dream" experiences, includes a personal fitting for "his and hers" bespoke suits made of sustainable fabric by eco-friendly designer Stella McCartney; a chance to dine with Vera Wang and a $10,000 credit at her flagship store; two front-row tickets to a Missoni fashion show, plus lunch and a fitting with designer Angela Missoni; and -- perhaps the mother of all fashion offers -- an outfit chosen and styled personally by Giorgio Armani to attend the Vanity Fair Oscar After-Party in 2011.

The auction also includes experiences and merchandise from Nina Ricci, Gucci, Ermenegildo Zegna, Marni, Proenza Schouler, Harry Winston, Irene Neuwirth and Sharon Khazzam.

The funds raised will benefit the campaign’s partners: Oceana, Natural Resources Defense Council, Central Park Conservancy and Conservation International.

-- Emili Vesilind

Follow All the Rage on Facebook and Twitter.

Photo: A customized Bottega Veneta handbag, up for auction as part of the Earth Day lot on Charitybuzz.com (estimated value: $20,000). Credit: Charitybuzz.com