In a world of manufactured pop stars and even politicians getting better looking it is hard to believe that sometime not too long ago there were actors, singers, and celebrities, who, how should I say this, were a bit on the ugly side. Simon Doonan is someone who knows both beauty and ugly. As the creative director of Barneys he is day in and day out surrounded by beauty: models, fashion folks, fabulous people. Yet his personal style is quirky and at times, dare I say, ugly. His decorating tastes, prints, color, garish items, could also be described by the U.

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Turns out that Palin’s personal shopper is none other than the Rove protegee and robo-caller Jeff Larson! [thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com] If I you were at Barneys a few weekend ago in the scarf section, you probably overheard something like this:

LARSON: Ooo, I love this!

BARNEY’S SALESWOMAN: Yes, that is a favorite among our customers. Fox on the outside, rabbit on the inside.

LARSON: Ohmigod! Sarah would go nuts for this. It’s just perfect for those winters in Alaska. You know it gets cold up there.

BARNEY’S SALESWOMAN: Yes. I was aware. I have to warn you, that while no one has protests purchases at our store, PETA has been sending angry letters to us for carrying this item.

LARSON: Of course. Damnit. The last thing we need is a photo of Sarah wearing this circulating on the blogs.

BARNEY’S SALESWOMAN: Can I show you some other items that might be of interest?

LARSON: Please!

BARNEY’S SALESWOMAN: Here we have our cashmere collection. This red would really look incredible on the governor.

LARSON: Cashmere comes from animals, right?

BARNEY’S SALESWOMAN: Yes.

LARSON: Let’s steer clear of anything that used to have four legs attached to it.

BARNEY’S SALESWOMAN: Surely.

LARSON: What are all these items over here?

BARNEY’S SALESWOMAN: Oh, that’s the clearance section.

LARSON: Well on principle I tend not to look at anything on sale, but this is just stunning!

BARNEY’S SALESWOMAN: Yes, it’s part of our Patriot Collection.

LARSON: Patriot? Perfect. Sold.

BARNEY’S SALESWOMAN: Yes, you have the red, white and blue, of course, but also the words, “vote” and of course the traditional symbol for the…

LARSON: I’ll take it!

BARNEY’S SALESWOMAN: Okay! Great, I’ll ring that up with the jackets, skirts, and the, (clears her throat)…undergarment.

LARSON: Oh yes, you can put that undergarment in a separate bag.

BARNEY’S SALESWOMAN: Yes Sir.

A few weeks later in Reno…

PALIN: Oh, how adorable! This scarf has horses with special needs on it! It will go perfectly with the speech.

AIDE: Um, Governor, I think those are donkeys.

PALIN: You’re just a city girl, what the heck do you know about animals? I don’t have time for this, I have a rally to get to.

A few minutes later…

–Jamie Wong

Recently, Sundance Channel filmed parties that celebrated the Loomstate for Barneys Green t-shirt recycling initiative. Sundance Channel was an integral partner on this program as was Lexus, whose hybrid vehicles embody the importance of sustainability. You can read more about the initiative in this blog post [www.sundancechannel.com].

The two parties were great successes and included performances by She & Him, a band comprised of the talented Zooey Deschanel and M. Ward, and also the mesmerizing Kate Nash.

Check out this clip that contains a brief segment of Kate Nash’s performance and a brief ecological message from the artist.

Here is a clip that contains a snippet of the She & Him performance. Make sure to catch a special environmental message from Zooey Deschanel and M. Ward towards the end of the clip.