• The Obamas headed over to London today on their first trip overseas since Barack took office and the big topic of discussion is Michelle's wardrobe, of course: She was wearing Thakoon as she boarded the plane, but she emerged in a Jason Wu dress when she got off. But tomorrow she meets the Queen, so expect things to really get crazy. [NYM, SW, Style.com]
• Kate Moss will cut the ribbon at the Topshop opening on Thursday, naturally. [WWD]
• Tips on surviving the big opening from your pals across the pond. [Guardian]
• Richard Chai may be the new creative director at Bill Blass. [FWD]
• Agent Provocateur just launched its new swimwear collection. [Pipeline]

• Lauren Conrad isn't folding her clothing line. She's just taking a "couple of seasons" off, silly. [SW]
• Topshop gave away free stuff today. [Racked, NYM]
• Jason Wu has yet to meet Michelle Obama in person! Clearly, this outrage must be rectified at once. Get to work, Desirée. [Vogue UK]
• Thom Browne has accumulated so much debt that he may lose control of his own company. [NYP]
• Is Filene's Basement about to go bust? [WWD]
• A law under discussion in Texas and Florida would require minors to get a doctor's note before using a tanning bed. And the Florida provision would ban tanning for anyone under the age of 16. Bastards! [Style.com]

Marissa Mayer, Google's vice president of search products, experiences the unfamiliar at a recent visit with First Lady Michelle Obama at the White House. (Photo by AP)

• Today in silly celebrity brand extensions: Kim Kardashian has a "budget-friendly shoe club," Avril Lavigne's first scent debuts this summer, and Nicole Richie's new jewelry line sold out before it even arrived in stores. [SW, WWD, SW]
• Several racks of clothing have already materialized at Topshop! [Racked]
• Calvin Klein made a cameo on 30 Rock last night. [Fashionologie]
• Michelle Obama is the new Carrie Bradshaw, says Isaac Mizrahi. [MB]
• Have you ever wished that Joe Zee would finally document every food item he consumed over the course of the week? You're in luck. [NYM]
• Don't bother asking Michael Bloomberg about his fave footwear. Ask him about his shoes and he'll tell you they're "probably Paul Stuart," but he's "had them a long time," so he really has "no idea." [FN]

• Michelle Obama started digging up part of the South Lawn of the White House today to plant a vegetable garden. In case you ever have to prepare a salad for the president, be advised that Barack is not down beets. [NYT]
• It's official: Per Se is introducing an à la carte menu on Wednesday. [NYT]
• Pichet Ong is closing P'ong and Batch in the West Village. [Eater, GS]
• Trends Frank Bruni has noticed: trotters, little fried birds, cheap wine. [NYT]
• One trend Grub Street has seen all over the place: bone marrow. [GS]
• A few tips on how to handle a really bad waiter. [Bon Appétit]
• The world's oldest bottle of champagne was opened this week. [TimesUK]
• The Journal has a peek inside JGV's weekend home in Westchester. [WSJ]
• Good news: Antonio Banderas is now producing wine. [Decanter]

Well, well. Michelle Obama has some nice arms, and now all the ladies want some nice arms. Women of America: resist this arm fixation. Do you want to end up just as dumb as men?

• It's been a busy few days for Valentino. He's taped appearances for Oprah and Martha Stewart; Valentino: The Last Emperor, the new documentary about him, debuts in NYC tomorrow; and it's rumored that despite his very public retirement in early 2008, he remains in charge of his eponymous fashion house. [Fashionologie, WWD, P6]
• What will you find if you visit Valentino's apartment overlooking Central Park? Lots of zebra armchairs and porcelain statues. And air that's "thick with spicy, masculine cologne." Exactly what you pictured, basically. [NYM]

[Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and First Lady Michelle Obama at the International Women of Courage Award Ceremony in Washington today; image via AP]

• Pamela Anderson hit the catwalk at Vivienne Westwood's show in Paris today. Her boob popped out of her dress at the very end, which was totally an accident, you can rest assured. [SW, HP]
• Reports from various shows at Paris Fashion Week. [WSJ, NYM, T, Telegraph]
• You can credit/blame Barack Obama's inauguration in January for the recent resurgence in fur. [WSJ]
• Michelle Obama is wearing Michael Kors for her new O cover. [Fashionista]
• Ikram Goldman, Michelle's fashion guru, is in Paris for the shows. [FWD]
• Madonna is teaming up with Ed Hardy on a new clothing line. [Mirror]
• What's it like to be Bernard Arnault, France's richest man and "arguably the most influential tastemaker in the world of luxury"? Quite nice, actually. [WSJ]
• Try not to fall out of your chair—we'd hate you to get hurt—but Esquire has named Prince Charles the "best dressed man in the world." [Guardian]

Dan Lacey, our favorite fantastical pancake painter, has just completed this Josephine Baker-themed vision of Michelle Obama. Otherworldly. Now we're giving you a chance to come up with an idea for Dan to paint. Historic!

• It was clear that Michael Wolff was a bad husband and a bad boss. But now it looks like he's a lousy son, too. Wolff is being sued by his poor 85-year-old mother-in-law for trying to evict her from her one-bedroom apartment so he could sell it and collect a profit. [P6]
• Chris Brown appeared in court yesterday and was charged with assault and making criminal threats. He faces four years in state prison if convicted. [NYP, Us]
• Marc Anthony touched the leg of a woman other than JLo, which means he was either "flirting with danger" or just being nice to a "longtime friend." [Star]
• Just another typical Friday: Amy Winehouse has been charged with assault for punching a fan last year. [Reuters]

• No one seems to know why, but a model at the Jill Sander show in Milan appeared on the runway with tears streaming down her cheeks. A new trend? An allergic reaction of some sort? A reaction to the stress and anxiety hanging over the industry? You decide. [WSJ]
• Reviews and recaps of the recent runway shows in Milan. [NYT, IHT, Times UK]
• Barneys' makeup department seems to be holding up despite the recession. [NYT]
• The appointment of Dasha Zhukova as editor-in-chief of Pop is ruffling some feathers, not surprisingly. [Fashionologie]
• Michelle Obama went with Michael Kors for her official portrait. [WWD]
• A roundup of 10 trends from London Fashion Week. [Pipeline]
• The French magazine Femmes is relaunching and the new issue is devoted exclusively to Lydia Hearst, you'll be thrilled to hear. [Fashionista]

Given the impact she's had on the fashion industry—"Our shining hope for the future!" says Isaac Mizrahi—you won't be surprised to hear a Michelle Obama style guide is coming out in a few weeks. Glamour has a few pages from Michelle Style: Celebrating the First Lady of Fashion, which comes out on May 5 and features "designer sketches, interviews, and style tips" by the likes of Carolina Herrera, Sonia Rykiel, Jason Wu, Catherine Malandrino, Tommy Hilfiger, Behnaz Sarafpour, Isabel Toledo, and Tory Burch. "Michelle Obama is a true independent. She isn't locked into wearing couture or super expensive clothes," explains Nicole Miller. (She is, however, locked into wearing whatever happens to be carried by Ikram Goldman's store in Chicago, but that's another story.) A few sample pages are below.

• A preview of what's planned for Milan Fashion Week. [Vogue UK]
• Roberto Cavalli isn't the only designer in Milan grappling with the gloomy economy: The parent of Gianfranco Ferré is now bankrupt, and some Italian designers are hoping for a government bailout. [NYT, NYM, Telegraph]
• You won't find too many Americans shopping in Milan these days thanks to the economy and dollar. Ukrainians, however, are everywhere. [IHT]
• What recession? The champagne flowed in London this week. [Fashionista]
• Michelle Obama debuted a new hairdo last night! [NYM]
• Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen have a new men's line in the works. [WWD]
• Fashion's "10 most controversial obsessions." [Pipeline]

• Moises de la Renta—son of Oscar/ex-Phat Farm intern—is launching a clothing line. It's called MDLR; no points for figuring out what that stands for. [SF]
• Kevin Federline is launching a children's clothing line. He's currently attending a trade show in Las Vegas "in the interest of research," in case you happen to be looking for him. [WWD]
• Jenna Jameson is launching a fragrance. [NYDN]
• Michelle picked Narciso Rodriguez for Barack's speech before Congress. [SF]
• Roberto Cavalli isn't skipping Milan Fashion Week completely. And Victoria Beckham's headed to town, so the week is shaping up nicely. [FWD, WWD]
• A roundup of the worst fashion choices from The City! [Pipeline]

The Obamas picked a dog! And they had Robert Gibbs deliver a press release to the assembled White House press corps announcing that... no, wait, the First Lady just talked to People.

People has a cheery interview with Michelle Obama planned for the next issue. What great insights can you look forward to? We summarized the weighty piece of political journalism so you can focus on the stories that really matter, like that Octo-mom lady or whatever:

• Winners and losers at the Oscars, including the boring (Angelina), controversial (Tilda), and just plain bad (Beyoncé). [NYT, Telegraph, W, FWD]
• It wasn't the Oscars, but Michelle Obama sparkled last night in a sequined number for the National Governor's Association dinner. [NYM]
• A roundup of 15 top looks from New York Fashion Week. [Pipeline]
• There appear to be some fresh signs of trouble at Barneys. [Racked]
• More on what you can expect to see when Running in Heels debuts. [WSJ]
• Not surprisingly, the fashion job market isn't exactly thriving. [NYP]
• A roundup of what you've been missing at London Fashion Week. [Vogue UK]

• David Burke's Fishtail and the Oak Room come up short in this week's New York: Adam Platt calls the former "decent," while the latter goes away with no stars and is described as "overpriced," "outdated" and "oppressive." [NYM]
• There's a new chef at the meatpacking district's 5 Ninth. [TFB]
• Karen and David Waltuck's Chanterelle is offering an à la carte menu. [TONY]
• Balthazar's bathroom attendants are back, thank goodness. [GS]
• A report from Above Allen, the new lounge at the Thompson LES. [DBTH]
• Mark Birnbaum and Eugene Remm have tapped former Sheridan Square chef Franklin Becker to run the kitchen at Abe and Arthur's. [TFB]
• A tour of the White House kitchen, courtesy of Michelle Obama. [NYT]
• Tom Colicchio starred in a Coke commercial during last night's Oscars. [GS]

• 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]