FASHION Magazine

We open in Paris! Lauren and Whitney get off the plane and meet their driver. "What do we want to do?" Whitney asks, foolishly assuming that they will have any free time. "You have your itinerary," the driver says. The girls consult it, see that they’re supposed to pick up shoes for two of the Crillon Ball’s debutantes… and decide to go to Alberta Ferretti and get their own gowns instead. Paris certainly hasn’t changed their ability to follow directions!

The Baroness: Sarah Slean (Warner)

It’s no secret that I’m a sucker for, well, two types of music: Disco-infused, electronic pop and the genre I like to call “Sad Girls Singing”.

By Sarah Casselman

Shown: Stella McCartney Fall 2008. Photography by Peter Stigter.

Started the day with Stella McCartney – big celeb draw (Kanye et fiancée, Twiggy looking very chic in her beret, Sir Paul), although judging from the mélange of oversize sunnies, there had definitely been some late-night revelry.

Expect to see funnyman Will Ferrell out and about in Toronto this week. The curly haired comedian is stopping by MuchMusic to promote his latest flick, Semi-Pro.

Gossip Girl‘s Leighton Meester and Chace Crawford were spotted at nightclub CiRCA with multi-billionaire Richard Branson, shilling one thing or another before the end of the writers’ strike.

Parc Avenue by Plants and Animals

These Montreal lads have been causing quite a bit of indie tongue-wagging since they signed to Secret City Records, the home of Polaris Prize-winner Patrick Watson.

Made in the Dark by Hot Chip

The third full-length release from these hipster club favourites, Made in the Dark takes Hot Chip’s poppy electro stylez to a new quirky level. Expectations were high after the success of their eminently danceable Mercury Prize-nominated album The Warning and it s single “Over and Over,” and the boys don’t disappoint.

By Tammy Eckenswiller

The buzz among the beautiful people today included Carla Bruni and French President Nicolas Sarkozy’s marriage, and Fabien Baron returning to Interview magazine as co-editorial director with Glenn O’Brien. Some people think it’s strange to have co-directors, but hey, if Mert and Marcus [fashion photography team] can do it, so can they! New crush: Canadian-N.Y.C. transplant and uber-stylist, Alex Slavycz, so pretty and follows a hard-core no-fur vegan mandate!

By Tammy Eckenswiller

Feeling sad (not really) for all of you poor Torontonians slogging through the slop and slush of that nasty snow storm on Friday while those of us in N.Y.C. click around happily in our new stilettoes and light winter coats… The weather is like the beginning of spring here, sunny and mild! Thank goodness because it’s difficult to be fabulous in slush-friendly gear!

The festival has officially wiped me out. I am a shell of the energetic festival-goer I once was, or at least fancied myself to be. Mid-week is here and the crowd, as predicted, is a great deal less than it was only a day ago. Those in town for the party are long gone and the bulk of business to be completed is for the most part done and done—movies bought, talent signed. Now the festival is at last—a film festival. Unfortunately I leave tomorrow, and will miss the final two days of Sundance.

Everybody on Main is sluggish today. The weekend has visibly drained many Sundancers of their energy, and, with a chunk of the celebs flying back home to Hollywood today, the festival of its momentum. I start the day slowly with a couple of back-to-back morning screenings, before moving on to the day’s big interviews.

Distortion by Magnetic Fields

One of my favourite groups since they stole my heart with 1999’s three-disc set, 69 Love Songs (Best. Breakup music.Ever), the Magnetic Fields are back with their latest offering, Distortion.

A local told me today that on this, the first Saturday of the festival, the city reaches its maximum capacity. I felt the sting of that truth while waiting 30 minutes to get a cup of coffee at Canada’s own Cow’s ice cream parlor/café—oddly, a festival hot spot.