The best and worst from the Whitney Contemporaries Art Party and Auction last night at Skylight Studios, including appearances by Gretchen Mol, Tara Subkoff, Rachel Zoe, and Monet Mazur. [Paper, Jezebel]

• Sean Avery's Vogue internship is over. (That was quick!) But he's hoping Anna Wintour will invite him back next summer. [People]

• Protestors, counterprotestors, a wildly exaggerated connection to Bruce Willis: the East Village's Bowery Wine Company has it all. [Observer]

A year and a half after Tom Wolfe took to the Times Op-Ed page to mock Aby Rosen's tummy and assail his plan for a shiny Sir Norman Foster-designed skyscraper at 980 Madison, he's picking up the hatchet again. At a hearing of the Landmarks Preservation Commission last night, Wolfe lit into Rosen and Foster's five-story, 152,000-square-foot second draft for 980 Madison, a pared-down proposal that they'd hoped would silence people like Wolfe who were sinking the project the first time around. No luck!

Oh, Internet, you were supposed to be our faithful servant, but you keep throwing up new and dastardly ways to torment. Or to delight, if you're a naughty kid whose parents are too cheap or poor to afford a swimming pool! Resourceful Brits are using the aerial images from Google Maps to identify gardens with pools: A notice goes up on Facebook, everyone brings booze, and you've got yourself a partay!

With her singing career on hold and her mom as basically her only friend, Ashley Dupre should have no problem setting aside some time on July 21st to catch HBO's new documentary on Heidi Fleiss. Given the direction her life is headed, Ashley's story could very well turn into the sequel.

Contriving an aura of exclusivity is the oldest marketing trick in the book: From waiting lists for Hermes bags (like there's a scarcity of labor or materials) to "hidden" venues like Milk and Honey and La Esquina (like the real aim isn't to be packed out each night), apparently people, for some reason, enjoy feeling part of a select group while they're manipulated into emptying their wallets. The latest such exercise is "invite only" shopping sites such as Ideeli, a "red-rope online shopping community," where you have to be a member to buy discount designer accessories, and Gilt Groupe, which hosts sample sales. All you have to do to join is get a member to invite you—not such a rigorous selection process—although for the particularly gullible, Ideeli offers a "front row" paid membership that includes cellphone alerts and early access to sales. It's quite brilliant, really: Crap that stores didn't want is sold to an "elite" who think they're being granted a favor!

Not an ideal day to be the CEO of a major magazine publishing company. First Hachette Filipacchi, the parent of mags like Elle and Car & Driver, announced that Jack Kliger was stepping down as CEO and moving to the chairman position effective Sept. 1. (Alain Lemarchand of Hachette's Paris-based parent Lagardere will take over as CEO.) Hours later, Hearst CEO Victor Ganzi, an 18-year veteran of the company, announced he was stepping down after having "policy differences" with the company's board. (Ex-CEO Frank Bennack Jr. will step in as chief in the interim.) We're guessing Victor's mom won't be feeling too sorry for her son this afternoon. Ganzi has the rare distinction of having dragged his 84-year-old mom to court last year.

And you thought only idiotic New York restaurateurs tried to sell pizzas for $1,000 a pop. Turns out you can also find people munching on caviar-topped pies in London. They're cheaper, too. At today's exchange rate, London's version of the Nino Selimaj special is just $881.48. [Big Hospitality via Luxist]

Michelle Obama's team is desperately counteracting the "angry black woman" role Republican commentators have cast her in, with strategies like today's guest appearance on The View during which she demonstrated what a warm and chummy everywoman she really is. Republicans will continue to take their swipes at Mrs. O., of course. But she may not have to worry about her fashion judgement getting called into question, as she's getting one of the best weapons any high-profile woman could ask for: Andre Leon Talley wants to take control of her wardrobe! As the fashion industry's sole African-American superstar, the Vogue editor-at-large clearly considers it his duty—his right!—to decide how the hopeful First Lady should dress. He'll no doubt do a fine job, assuming he doesn't go all Jennifer Hudson on her. One small caveat, ALT, if we may: We know you're fond of turbans for yourself, but perhaps that sort of thing should be avoided for Michelle—it will only lead to all manner of silly misintepretation!

It's been three days since the Feds concluded that hedge fund scam artist Sam Israel did not, in fact, kill himself, but just staged his suicide the day he was expected to turn himself in and begin serving a 20-year sentence. Where he is at the moment no one knows (we've had some theories). One idea we didn't consider: That Sam managed to travel to a different dimension:

Isabella Rossellini turns 56 today. And she has all those Lancôme products to thank for that timeless beauty of hers, we're sure. Also celebrating today: Embattled Portfolio editor Joanne Lipman turns 47. Literary agent David Vigliano is 49. NY1 political reporter Dominic Carter is 44. Social scenester Kate Schelter is turning 32. Attorney Barry Slotnick is 69. And Britain's newest bachelor Paul McCartney turns 66.

Fashion publicist Kelly Cutrone, the founder of People's Revolution and the black-swathed bitch on The Hills, isn't known for being particularly lovable. She bans from shows people who dare to bad-mouth her clients and will have you escorted to the door in a heartbeat if you dare approach Anna Wintour to try and ask a question without first clearing it with her. And she's never been afraid to take her claws out. ("I would never rep Versace, I can’t stand her, I think she makes disgusting clothes.") But who knew she had such a sweet romantic life! The former assistant to Susan Blond and erstwhile Warhol scenester has much to keep her busy at her Soho loft.

D-list Internet gossip Perez Hilton will deliver you his "dirt" on your mobile device beginning today. For $4.99 a month. "We'll be breaking exclusives and big stories on Gossip On The Go before they hit PerezHilton.com, so you'll definitely wanna sign up." So now you'll actually pay to hear that Fidel Castro died and you'll get to be the first one to misinform your friends!

Ivanka Trump stays at Quality Inns when she travels! And she eats at Little Caesars! She's just like you. Well, supposing you lived in Wichita or Chico. The daughter of The Donald tells the Post today that after her flight to Aspen got laid over in Salt Lake City because of storms, she had no choice but to stay at the downmarket Quality Inn and then used an $18 stipend from the airline to have dinner at Little Caesars. Poor thing! (Guess the Hilton was all full?) Naturally, this sort of silliness is nothing new for the heiress whose Madison Avenue diamond boutique offers monster earrings at $35K a pop. Just a few of the slightly less-than-credible claims our little princess has made over the years about her tragic circumstances:

Bill Hemmer makes an appearance in this month's Hamptons magazine and explains his cherished tradition of the Hemmer Backyard Olympics: "There's a game back home called Corn Hole," he starts too. For future reference, when your recreational activities could lead to any confusion, best to stick to tennis or golf. [Hamptons]

Tribeca colonist Robert De Niro testified before the Landmarks Preservation Commission yesterday in a bid to save the penthouse of his Greenwich Hotel—which has come under fire for being bigger, more unwieldy, and all-around less Tribeca-like than the one he'd said he would build—from the wrecking ball. "If there are any minor little mistakes, my apologies for it," Bobby told the Commission at a public hearing as he sought retroactive approval for the amped-up penthouse. De Niro & Co. also enlisted a few boldfaced supporters to testify on his behalf, like fellow Tribeca resident Ed Burns, who spoke as though the 88-room lodging (with rooms starting at $525 a night) were an aesthetic achievement on the scale Bruneschelli's Dome: "The building is beautiful and, for me as a layperson, architecturally beautiful." If the Landmarks Commission ultimately rules in De Niro's favor, maybe he'll treat its members to a free dinner at the hotel's restaurant, Ago—although that might be more of a punishment than a reward, come to think of it.

• Anne Hathaway dumped her scandal-plagued boyfriend Raffaello Follieri for all the obvious reasons: his legal troubles, the potential damage to her image, etc. Plus her parents despised him and her dad hired a PI to follow them around. [NY Post]

Remember Lapo Elkann, the grandson of the Italian industrialist Gianni Agnelli and the man at the center of one of Europe's most spectactular tabloid stories in 2005? The Fiat heir decamped to New York to escape the limelight after he became a gossip fixture, which is generally what happens to the sons and daughters of the powerful and wealthy when they're picked up at the home of transsexual prostitutes and then taken to the hospital for cocaine and heroin overdoses. Lapo spent some time in rehab in Arizona before moving to New York (where his "aunt" lives, Diane von Furstenberg!) and resuming his business career, which now consists of designing things like pairs of sunglasses that sell for $1,400. The Observer's Spencer Morgan checks in with him today and skirts the drug and not-so-hot tranny mess and focuses on his love for—what else?—Israel!

• Morgan Stanley reported a 60% drop in second-quarter net income [WSJ]