Given the utmost respect in which we hold writerly paragon of humility Plum Sykes, we would never characterize her as a creature capable of striking mortal fear into the heart of any man with the misfortune to behold her in the flesh. But as she herself volunteered at a Diane von Furstenberg cocktail party, being intimidating is a quality she's proud of: "If I want to use my femininity to get something from a man, I'll wear very high heels. Not to arouse him sexually. But I'm so tall—I'm 6ft 2in in heels—that it works a treat." Finally, the mystery of how she sells her writing: solved! [Times UK]

Take two deeply unfortunate but unrelated situations—the recession is making people spend less on cosmetic surgery and Dr. Drew Pinsky has a book to plug—and you have the basic ingredients for the Daily News' marginally convincing state-of-the-nation argument today: that America has abandoned its obsession with beauty, glamour, and celebrities in favor of "what's important."

Always on the phone... [DVF.com]

• Diane von Furstenberg had a really lovely Oscar weekend, thanks so much for asking. [DVF]
• Rachel Zoe is denying that clients Cameron Diaz and Debra Messing have abandoned her. "Styling is still her number one priority," a "source" says. [SW]
• Layoffs: Neiman Marcus is cutting 450, Valentino is downsizing its NY office, and there are rumors Coach is trimming staff, too. [WWD, WWD, Racked]
• Thakoon reflects on last week. [NYO]
• Chloe Sevigny's second collection for Opening Ceremony hit London on Sunday evening. [WWD]
• Reports from London Fashion Week as it winds down. [Vogue UK, NYT, AFP]
• The gloomy mood in Bryant Park last week appears to have made its way to Milan: Just Cavalli has cancelled its runway show for Thursday. [NYM]

• Jennifer Aniston and John Mayer made their first awards show appearance together at last night's Oscars, sitting just 12 seats away from Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt, although they managed to avoid a run-in by skipping the red carpet and showing up at different pre-show parties over the weekend. [People, NYDN]
• Uma Thurman, Darren Aronofsky, Rachel Weisz, Natalie Portman, and Daniel Craig all skipped out of the show early to head over to the Vanity Fair bash, where Graydon Carter invited Chesley Sullenberger and his wife Lori as surprise guests. [LAT, P6]
• Penelope Cruz and Tom Cruise had an awkward encounter at CAA head Bryan Lourd's house party on Friday night, while Oprah and Gayle King held court at Barry Diller and Diane von Furstenberg's pre-Oscars bash, and everyone "partied like it was 1999" at Harvey Weinstein's gathering. [P6, P6, Fox 411]
• At the Spirit Awards on Saturday, Mickey Rourke "playfully mauled" Rachel Weisz and "made a grab" at Jessica Alba's chest. [People, NYDN]
• A full list of Oscar winners, in case you missed the action last night. [People]

Fashion Week is finally coming to a close. Click through for a final recap of the shows, parties, and gossip from the past day or two.

If you've ever watched The City and wondered whether Whitney Port and Olivia Palermo are actually sitting at their desks all day at Diane von Furstenberg and slaving away, well, it looks like The Daily may have finally put the matter to rest.

As fashion designers struggle for survival in an economic environment that's seeing even the most profligate clothing whores balk at spending thousands on new outfits, a revolutionary idea has been proposed. Make sure you're sitting down, because you won't ever have heard the likes of this before: Believe it or not, it's being suggested that in order to stay in business, designers make clothes that people like. We know, this is so far from the dream that puts fire in the bellies of starry-eyed young Parsons students, but Diane von Furstenberg, nothing if not a fashion survivor herself, believes that runway shows ought to be unveiling "clothes that are real friends to women, so that 'friend' will make you feel good when you open your closet." As opposed to the usual enemies that make you feel bad! It's a risky proposition, but hey, with everything else we thought we understood about the world now turned upside down, it might just work.

• Natalia Vodianova is collaborating with Etam on a lingerie and swimwear line. [Racked]
• Following in the footsteps of Marc Jacobs, DKNY has decided to cut down its Fashion Week guest list from 1,000 people to 400. [Fashionista]
• Diane von Furstenberg appears in fishnets on the new cover of the new issue of Purple. [DVF]
• Profits were flat for LVMH in 2008. [WSJ]
• A long list of reasons why women love to hate Gwyneth Paltrow. [NYP]
• Sarah Jessica Parker wears Uggs, items from her Bitten line. [HB]
• Rachel Zoe has trademarked "Bananas" and "I die," believe it or not. [NYM]

Andrew Saffir's Cinema Society hosted a screening of He's Just Not That Into You at the Tribeca Grand on Wednesday night. Guests at the screening and after-party, hosted by Stardoll and Philosophy di Alberta Ferretti, included Lindsay Price (left), Olivia Palermo and Johannes Huebl, Michael Kors, Amy Sacco, Anne Hearst and Jay McInerney, Rachel Roy, America Ferrera, Helena Christensen, Eva Amurri, Mamie Gummer, Cuba Gooding Jr., Maggie Rizer, Annelise Peterson, Zoe Kravitz, Lisa Bonet, Lorenzo Martone, Marina Rust Connor, Chris Benz, Christian Siriano, Reed Krakoff, Dori Cooperman, Taylor Momsen, Carson Kressley, Poppy Delevigne, Jane Seymour, Genevieve Jones, Patricia Clarkson, Shoshanna Lonstein Gruss, Irina Pantaeva, Dylan Lauren, Jeff Gordon, Kiera Chaplin, Liam McMullan, Derek Blasberg, and one of the stars of the film, Ginnifer Goodwin. [PMc, Wireimage, VF, Style.com, NYO, FWD]

Diane von Furstenberg is branching out yet again. In an interview with the Florida's Centre Daily Times, DVF let it drop she's been dabbling in interior design, and now plans to design a few rooms at Claridge's, her fave London hotel. We're going to chalk this up to a little payback considering Andre Balazs' new Standard Hotel in the meatpacking district now shadows over DVF's "diamond-shaped glass bedroom." [Centre Daily Times via HC]

Despite the fact it's a subject that is undoubtedly very close to his heart, we regret to inform you that Barry Diller will no longer be providing the public with advice on where to park their RVs or pitch their tents: Diller's IAC announced today that it's selling off its campground information site ReserveAmerica. Makes sense to us: We can't imagine Diane was ever any good at hunting down deer and finding sources of fresh drinking water. [Crain's]

Diane von Furstenberg was in Washington yesterday for the inauguration (who wasn't?) and says the experience gave her the "feeling that something major is happening." You think? Diane wasn't there alone, though. André Leon Talley served as her "chaperone," and she reports that ALT happens to be "a big star" with Obama fans. "People are constantly stopping him to pose for pictures... he complains a lot, but I am sure deep down he is happy." Just imagine how unhappy he'd have been if no one had noticed him at all! [DVF]

What has Diane von Furstenberg been up to since she arrived in Washington over the weekend to attend the inauguration? Allow her to fill you in. [DVF]

Next week's inauguration has spawned a flood of Barack Obama-themed items, a collection of merchandise that the Times reports runs from the cheap and crappy ("I ♥ Obama classic thong undies" for $8.99) to the indescribable in a family newspaper ("Obama sex toys"). But there are plenty of overpriced and relatively stylish items to be had, too, like the official Runway to Change $70 tote bags by Diane von Furstenberg and Tory Burch, and T-shirts by Zac Posen, Rachel Roy, and Donna Karan, who tells WWD that her "Inspire Change" shirt was meant to function as "a communication tool that would connect people to inspire change," whatever that means. Alas, the one thing inauguration-goers could really use—Obama-themed earmuffs—don't seem to exist. We'll exercise faith in the capitalist system and assume that there's an entrepreneur somewhere waiting for a shipment to arrive from China any minute.

• Despite the rumors in recent weeks, Olivier Theyskens says he's staying at Nina Ricci. [WWD]
• Alexander Wang's new mentor is Diane von Furstenberg. [Vogue UK]
• More designers are looking to hold their Fashion Week shows off-site to save cash. [WWD]
• A gallery of celeb hairdos and don'ts. [Guardian]
• Pixie Geldof is following in her big sister's footsteps: She'll be modeling for Agent Provocateur. [Fashionista]
• Yet another depressing article about the state of retail. [NYT]
• Here's a tragic byproduct of the tough economic times in which we now find ourselves: It's getting harder to get approved for boob-job loans! [NYM]

Have you noticed how Diane von Furstenberg is mentioned every five seconds on The City? Of course you have: That's where Whitney Port and Olivia Palermo spend their days "working"! But in case you've been ogling DVF's clothes on the show and you've been disappointed to find out that most of the items are no longer available, DVF comes to the rescue with possible alternatives:

Diane von Furstenberg turns 62 today. Donald Trump Jr. is 31. Actress Bebe Neuwirth is 50. Anthony Hopkins is celebrating his 71st. Val Kilmer is 49. Legendary attorney Joe Flom is 85. Real estate mega-developer Ed Minskoff is turning 68. Donna Summers is 60. Author Nicholas Sparks is 43. Ben Kingsley is turning 65. Gong Li is 43. Aerosmith bassist Tom Hamilton is 57. And New Kids on the Block alum Joey McIntyre is turning 36.

Incredible resources were deployed to figure out if Tom Brady is marrying Gisele Bundchen and to get Condé Nast's Chuck Townsend wherever the hell he wants to go, in style.

The week between Christmas and New Year's, that fallow time when nothing much happens, will this year sparkle with a cultural event certain to unite us all. Yes, December 29th is the launch of MTV's The City, Whitney Port's Hills spinoff in which she works at Diane von Furstenberg, hangs out with Olivia Palermo, and dates some fame-hungry singer dude whose Australian accent may or may not be interfering with everyone's gaydar.