With her first online boutique about to debut, Abaeté’s New York-based designer Laura Poretzky hands over her list of her Top 5 Favorite (offline) Places to Shop:

1. Rosa Cha store in Rio. Amazing! Like a candy store of bikinis. Every single color, shape and size (usually very small), you can imagine.

2. Hillary Rush in Los Angeles. It’s the perfect one stop shop for a fabulous evening dress, or the best pair of jeans and t-shirt. (Hillary also happens to be amazing and so much fun.)

3. The Herve Leroux store in saint Germain. The store is the most precious little store, with HeLeger’rve s custom made elastic dresses. You can spend a few bucks, but you’ll keep one of those dresses for years, and there happens to be nothing sexier.

4. The Assouline store in saint Germain. The best book store! I love their Proust questionaire, and their different book sets.

5. Todd Merill in New York for mid Century furniture. You can always find and amazing Parzinger chest, or a strangely beautiful Paul Evans side table.

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Loeffler Randall for Target, $19.99-49.99 will be in stores December 30th - March 23rd 2008

With her collection for Target about to hit stores (December 30th, FYI), Jessie Randall—the creative force behind Loeffler Randall—gives us her favorite goodies from the bull’s eye emporium. As her selects prove, Randall’s has good taste in everything, from her shoes and bags to toys for tots and dogs:

MY FAVORITE TARGET FINDS:

1. Target brand travel baby wipes (with the flip top lid)!!
2. Mossimo skinny jeans
3. White sunglasses
4. Amy Coe’s green polka-dot crib sheets
5. Men’s white undershirts
6. Dog toys for Romeo
7. White towels
8. Kazoos and party favors
9. Dolly Parton CDs
10. Portraits from the portrait studio of Casper, Liam (my twins), and Romeo

Images courtesy Loeffler Randall, bottom images from Target. 

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Nicole Miller’s 3rd Date Collection, as seen in WWD

Talk about being suggestive: Like an all-knowing Magic 8 ball, Nicole Miller’s new, coyly branded line of lingerie, “3rd Date,” hints at when to wear–and show off–your skivvies to someone special. Miller’s collection and corresponding ad campaign call to mind the days-of-the-week underwear Victoria’s Secret offered (briefly) years ago. VS’s pack of 7 (which is perhaps, the one thing not listed in the Google image archives) featured flirtatious script emblazoned on the bands which spelled out when to kiss, woo, and spend the night with a new suitor. Whether or not you choose to take dating advice from your underpinning, you have to admit that this sartorial moment meets social commentary is fashion at its bust best.

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Goodbye cobalt, hello green: Today’s WWD featured a piece on the influence of the fantastic ivy-hued gown Keira Knightley wore in Atonement. (Apparently some stores have sold out of similar-looking frocks although a few can still be found online.) That a star’s style—elegant and onscreen no less—is influencing buyers is always a welcome distraction, but while we’re thinking about such things, let’s remember that a very similar occurrence took place in the late ‘90s after Gwyneth Paltrow appeared in Great Expectations in Donna Karan’s many verdant designs. But back to the matter at hand: As Antonement’s Oscar-hopeful hype mounts—and with it, many photos flashed of the nubile Knightley in that green gown—don’t be surprised if designers start seeing—and showing—green next season.

Images: IMDB, and oddly enough, Cincinnati.com

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Forget about having a trendy wardrobe: Next year, it’s all about the stylish portfolio. It was announced today that Prada SpA will start the IPO process to join the Milan Stock exchange, which means instead of pledging allegiance to your favorite house via logo-laden totes, you can do so by snapping up a few fashion stocks. The Prada stock is slated to join the exchange in 2008, an IPO that could just make the It-bag obsolete.

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 Does Santa Claus work at WWD? Today, the daily—best known for delivering industry news, not beribboned presents—unveiled six goody-filled Christmas stockings created by top fashion houses. The one-of-a-kind creations were commissioned by the paper and will be up for auction starting tonight, with proceeds to benefit Citymeals-on-Wheels. In addition to looking disarmingly similar to the 6-foot tall, toy-filled stockings that were raffled off (and never won) during my youth, the items provide interesting insight into what exactly the fashion flock thinks of as being a good gift.

For instance inside the Badgley Mischka duo’s horn-of-plenty, there’s a Badgley Mischka Barbie as well as a gift certificate for a portrait session with Gilles Bensimon (they say worth $10,000, I say priceless. Tomato, tomahto). Always thinking of those jet-setters, Oscar de la Renta included a pair of sunglasses and a travel-ready cashmere stole while tucked in the Natori sock, there are 2 tickets to Carnegie Hall. And for those who prefer performance art over classic symphonies, the folks at Anthropologie made their stocking into a wearable, sculpture-like dress. To bid, go to www.ebay/wwdstockings.

Anthropologie stocking

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In honor of the season’s festivities, citizen of the world, Parisian turned New Yorker, Catherine Malandrino adds to our Listmaker series with her top 5 favorite places to have a holiday gathering:

In New York, I love to have dinner at the Rainbow Room; it has the best view of New York City and Central Park. In France, I love having holiday drinks at the Ritz Hotel in Paris. I love Megeve especially when it is cold and snowing outside. There, I go to this beautiful antique Chalet in La Ferme de Marie for the great food. I love sitting by the fire place that creates this sensual and warm atmosphere. Lastly, I love to be covered with orchids in Amanpuri, Thailand.

Images, clockwise from top: Bizbash, Studentlife, PlusMo, SmartTravel

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Cigarettes have long been a staple in the fashion world, even before Yves Saint Laurent unveiled his Le Smoking suit. Today, despite high-profile reformers like Christy Turlington, baby-looking models can still be found lighting up backstage while more than a few well-shod party-hoppers list a pack “here or there” among their remaining vices. So it should come as no surprise that even with the smoking bans sweeping Europe, designer cigarettes still have an audience.

YSL Cigarettes

Cartier Cigarettes

Through careful web-combing and voyages to Russia and the Ukraine, YSL smokes can be found as can Cartier cartons; both remnants of bygone license-crazy eras. Meanwhile, the cancer sticks found in ‘70s-looking Vogue brand boxes are, as one might expect, far thinner than all their peers.

Vogue Cigarettes

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