Gymboree is one of the biggest names in quality clothing for children, so it should come as no surprise that they have a great catalog of school fashions (and Halloween costumes- yes, already).

Gymboree has fun and playful couture for kids that are fun and playful. Convenient, don't you think? Like many of the other popular retailers of kidwear they understand the value of the the classics, and as such build upon them. The result is a solid line of timeless clothing and clever accessories.

For example:

There's something really refreshing about seeing a celebrity rock a trend in a way that's 100% accessible to the rest of us. There's nothing over-the-top about Duffy's take on this season's nautical trend -- she's taken a number of simple pieces and put them together in a way that really makes a statement.

This look is something you could pull off for school, a date, or just out on the weekend because it's casual yet totally pulled together. Check out the gallery for tips on making Duffy's look your own!

The Children's Place is a one stop destination for the shopping parent of school-aged children. Hence the name.

They carry everything from shoes to underwear and everything in-between. Their clothing is cute and classic, sticking to seasonal influences more than those of pop culture. The result is a timeless quality that will look great on kids now and their younger siblings later.

See for yourself:

Urlesque just made our day. They took the time (and we're guessing they enjoyed it) to put together this collection of the "Top 5 SNL Skits About Jeans."

We couldn't help but noticing that all of the videos are fairly old. The Mom Jeans clip is already considered a classic at this point and everything else is from even older casts. Where's the love SNL? Aren't jeans still funny? Where's Andy Samberg's jean short about jean shorts? Laser Cats can't touch denim blue gold in a box!

At least we have these gems. SNL and Urlesque, we thank you from the bottom of our Bad Ideas.


The two we featured are our favorites, but they're all good. See them all at Urlesque!

Online shopping, we're all obsessed with it, so listen up:

Beginning this September, people who flip over Miss Sixty's sexy denim, flirty tops, and rock 'n' roll accessories can purchase the brand's goodies over at Yoox, the Italian e-commerce retailer who plays host to cool labels like Pierre Hardy and Alaia.

The Miss Sixty shop on Yoox will launch on the 7th of next month -- right after the brand presents its spring '09 collection under the tents at Bryant Park. In addition to all of the new designs that will be taking up Yoox's front page, there will be, "original content, including video and images from the show, celebrity sightings and product."

Not to mention an exclusive limited-edition t-shirt, oh my!

[via Fashion Week Daily]

Thanks to boring styles, plummeting consumer spending, and a tendency to leave their employees with Post Retail Folding Disorder, the Gap has finally been overtaken by as the world's largest clothing retailer. All hail the new #1: Spain's mega fashion retailer Zara, who we've really never even heard of. The chain, based in A Coruña, Spain, has apparently been a dominating force in Europe and Latin America -- but has only a handful of stores in the US.

Zara's parent company Inditex has managed to spread its successful chain of stores far and wide by some kind of weird business model that involves keeping up with the latest trends in fashion -- something that the Gap probably should have been focusing on. Zara's unique model includes in-house design teams and encourages staff members to point out any new trends to keep the designers up to date. Not only that, but Zara apparently spends very little on advertising. Instead, they use their stores as a means of drawing attention to their brands.

If you're looking to lose 10 pounds instantly, the easiest (and safest) way to do so is with your clothes. Regardless of what your problem area is, the right clothes can help you to look thinner, curvier, or more proportional -- whatever it is you need.

We have several tips, courtesy of Ladies Home Journal, that will help you look thinner instantly, so if you've got a big day coming up (special date, big presentation, first day back at school), use these tips to get a quick boost of confidence. You'll look fabulous, we promise!

Remember those smokin' pictures of Farrah Fawcett, perfectly coiffed in a belly baring shirt and tight jeans? She was most likely wearing MiH Denim as were many other bombshells of yore like Jane Birkin and Lauren Bacall.

Now the company, which was started in 1969 as the Jean Machine and later renamed Made in Heaven, has re-invented 70's style flares to accommodate today's skinny, slim, wide leg, and ankle cut jean trends to name a few. Today, new "it" girls like the ever cool Keira Knightley and the always classy Gwyneth Paltrow are eating up these heavenly duds.

And bonus! The company also makes comfortable, roomy tops that are floaty and sophisticated.

You can buy these cool as hell jeans at places like ShopBop and the MiH website.

Mango has previously had Penelope Cruz and Milla Jovovich pose for them, and now they've moved on to Alice Dellal. Not sure who she is? Let us fill you in:

We've seen several celebrity clothing lines fall recently, and often the retailer blames the celeb in question for not making appearances to promote their brand. It doesn't look like that's going to be a problem, however, for Rachel Bilson and her clothing line, Edie Rose for DKNY Jeans -- the petite fashionista didn't just help design the clothes; she's modeling them as well.

Here in the States, Wrangler's image can basically be summed up by cowboy hats and barbeque stains, or cornbread and chicken, or whatever two rural items you want to throw together. Septic tanks and incest -- see how that works?

In Europe, however, the dream of growing up to rope and ride has apparently lost its luster. So, in an attempt to make Wrangler jeans more relevant to the youth of Europe, but still not lose the brand's earthy past, Parisian ad agency has produced this obnoxiously European, avante garde, and confusingly non-macho Wrangler commercial.

Just what the fashion world needs, another quasi-boring, overpriced celebrity clothing line -- at least this one will be eco-friendly. Alt-rocker and breast cancer survivor Sheryl Crow has apparently decided to jump on the bandwagon of rock stars pretending to be fashion designers, teaming up with Western Glove Works (the same guys who manufacture Posh's dVb jeans) to bring us a new line of vintage inspired, eco-chic casual wear.

We know Sheryl as both a cancer and environmental activist, but not so much a fashionista. Her line will be called "Bootheel Trading Co. by Sheryl Crow," and will consist of mostly denim-based apparel: t-shirts, jeans, organic cotton this, fair trade that, etc. We're expecting the collection to be one part granola, and one part western wear -- judging by Sheryl's laid-back fashion sense. A friend told Star magazine that "She's heading to Australia in October to meet with her partners and start production." No telling when the line will actually hit stores though, or what stores it will hit.

[via CatwalkQueen]

real guy
Are you, or do you know, a real guy? If so, you most likely understand the frustration involved in finding stylish pants that fit. Even tougher is finding stylish pants that fit at an affordable price. It ain't easy.

Brian Spaly felt this pain, too. In fact, it bothered him so much that he decided to do something about it. He started making his own pants. He started making his own AWESOME pants.

Brian started to create pants for real guys. He developed a curved waist band to better accommodate the body, "a slight bootcut to flatter the figure, and less fabric in the thighs so they weren't so baggy and boxy."

Other real guys noticed. He started selling the pants out of his trunk to fellow college students and soon had professors investing in his promise. Bonobos was born.

Check it out! As if American Apparel wasn't affordable enough, now they're offering their Operation Freedom supermega blow out sale - $10 off $80, $20 off $100, and $30 off $150.

The offer is still good through July 10, 2008 in the US online store only. Log onto the American Apparel website to get the discount codes needed for purchase.

We'll see you there!

According to fashion experts like Us Magazine, denim shorts are a must have item for summer.

This particular clothing item has always sort of baffled us. Shorts are great for hot weather, cool and easy to get around in. However, most denim is heavy, hot and sweaty, making them sort of an odd choice for the heat. But, we don't set the fashions, we just judge them.

There is a pretty broad range of shorts out there, in terms of length, wash and pocket action. Also in terms of price, ranging from under $20 all the way to $350. For shorts!

Pick your favorite pair in the gallery.