WARDROBE: Like navigating space, or the train station

We stopped by Pharrell Williams' new Billionaire Boys Club and Ice Cream store in SoHo this week. It's an eyepopper of a place with two levels (one for BBC, another for Ice Cream) and fun design elements like ice cream sandwich shaped lounge chairs, giant cereal boxes and a floor designed to look like the surface of the moon. It's the first US store, which will now be a cousin to the Tokyo and Hong Kong locations. "I look at each store like the entrance to the trains in a subway station. It's the same train, but when you get on in Brooklyn the station looks different from when you get on in the Village," he told us. While the shop doesn't have much for ladies, we actually wanted to snatch the sweater off his back (see the photo above), which is sold in the shop and online.

SOUNDS: On today's playlist

"She Loves Everybody," by Chester French (click song title to listen)
And who is Chester French you may ask? A pair of painfully preppy Harvard U. seniors who look like a cross between a Trovata fashion show and John Hughes movie. They also write, sing and produce their own indie rock music, just signed a deal with Star Trak, and count Kanye West, Pharrell Williams and Jermaine Dupri as fans.

SOUNDS: On today's playlist

"No One" Remix featuring Damian Marley, by Alicia Keys (click song title to listen)

WARDROBE: If you end up spending most of your holiday shopping budget on you: Sample Sales

The brand: Tracy Reese and Plenty
The details: November 26th, 4pm – 9pm, 145 West 18th street (between 6th and 7th), 212-388-0339

The brand: Costello Tagliapietra
The details: November 28 and 29, 11am-5pm, Hatch at 80 West 40th Street, Penthouse (between 5th and 6th Avenue)

The brand: Tse
The details: December 2-6, 2007, 9am - 7pm, 317 West 33rd Street (between 8th & 9th ), cash/mc/visa/amex - no checks

The brand: Tocca
The details: December 6-7th, 12pm-7pm, 542 West 22nd Street, 3rd Floor, (between 10th & 11th Ave.), 212.929.7122

WARDROBE: What's another word for "amazing"?

We first noticed Andre J, one of many eye-popping New York personalities you see on a semi-regular basis at certain parties, about a year ago because he seemed to like hot pants about as much as we do. He reminded us of some of the leggy children profiled in Paris Is Burning only he never seems to roll with a crew or “house.” And come to find out, he’s not trying to give up any “realness” either. Guy Trebay tells his whole backstory in a profile that ran in the Sunday Times, in which he reveals that he’s more performance artist than cross dresser. We also learn that his government name is Academy Spires, he’s 28, from Newark and was channeling Cher and the late model Donyale Luna when he bumped into the stylist who set him up with Bruce Weber who shot him for the cover of French Vogue. We also learned that “amazing” is the new word in gay land, replacing “fabulous” and “major,” which bums us out because we’ve been saying “amazing” for a good five years now.

SOUNDS: On today's playlist

"The Platypus Strut" and "Model Citizen" by Ohmega Watts (click song title to listen)

LIFE: Sounds: Home doing everything than what I should be/channel surfing

I haven't watched (and enjoyed) the American Music Awards since I was little and Michael Jackson was still the king of pop, but I happen to be surprisingly doing both. I wish I could blame the writer's strike, but I'm really just watching it out of curiosity and boredom. A few thoughts.

-A country band, whose name I didn't catch, is singing Beyonce's "Irreplaceable" and it doesn't sound half bad. It actually sounds like the song could have been a honkey tonk one from the get-go. The line "you must not know 'bout me" sounds equally as country as it does 'hood after all. Now Beyonce herself has joined them for the second verse. Best of both worlds.

-I love Alicia Keys' performance because 1) I'm addicted to her old school feel-good single "No One" 2) I'm addicted to the dancehall remix of said song 3) She sang both versions with the help of legit dancehall singers like Junior Reid and Beanie Man instead of enlisting someone corny like, say, Akon or an equally mainstream-friendly artist 4) She's doing the Butterfly, let alone dancing at all and 5) She finally stopped stuffing herself into those damned skinny jeans (the Studio 54-style bodysuit looks much sexier on her).

-Duran Duran should also pass on skinny jeans.

-Did Carrie Underwood really just thank her "entourage"? Wasn't she just a contestant on reality TV?

-Who is Daughtry?

-They are already giving Beyonce a lifetime achievement style award circa Michael Jackson 1989, complete with a video montage of performance footage and crying, screaming fans in Asia. It seems a bit early considering she's only 26.

-Mary J. Blige is also dancing. Hard. Her posturing is taking me back to her "What's the 411" days.

WARDROBE: And the winner is

The CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund award winner was announced last night and the outcome was a bit of a surprise. When we did a little informal reader poll, you told us you thought Erin Fetherston should win. Meanwhile, we were banking on Phillip Lim. The winner? Rogan Gregory, the designer behind the denim line Rogan. He scored a $200,000 prize meant to "encourage his design plans." Lim did receive a runner up nod, though, for $50,000, along with Phillip Crangi. Style.com has photos from the night.

SOUNDS: On today's playlist

"Funky Nassau," by Orgone (click song title to listen)
Stax meets Afro-Beat meets Fania All-Stars type music.

"Asmarina," by Ethiopiques

WARDROBE: While we're on the subject of "pock-a-books"

Viktor & Rolf just launched a capsule collection of purses, totes and clutches. And they actually look like a luxe version of the "pockabooks" (we just had to sneak that in one last time) our grandmothers carried on their arms in old photographs from the '60s.

LIFE: Random source of laughter: Where's my "pock-a-book"?

Yesterday, on the train, we overheard a woman talking about her new, “$400 Coach pocketbook.” And it struck us, because “pocketbook” is not really a term we hear that often in the city; it’s commonly used in the South, though. And then, randomly, a friend and loyal Muse reader emailed us this hilarious little anecdote:

"One of my friends has a two-year-
old who spends A LOT of time with her grandma in Charles County,
 Virginia and when she was in town visiting a little over a week ago, the 
little girl was carrying around a little purse. Every time we asked her
 about her "purse," Chloe (her name) would frown and look confused. Finally, 
my friend (her mother) came over and corrected us. What Chloe was carrying 
around was a "Pock-a-book", not a purse. The moment she heard “Pock-a-book
” she smiled and repeated "pock-a-book", "pock-a-book" . . . not purse, not
 handbag, not clutch, or tote. "Pock-a-book." HA!!!!"

Just for the record, Wikipedia has this entry for "pocketbook": A pocketbook is similar to a purse (in the British English sense), but allows the carrying of sheets of paper as well.

And Merriam-Webster Online has this:

pocket book : a small especially paperback book that can be carried in the pocket
2: a flat typically leather folding case for money or personal papers that can be carried in a pocket or handbag

And when we did a Google Image search for the term, the photo we got is the one above.

WARDROBE: When organic became cute

In the past, "green" fashion has always been terribly boring or painfully earthy, crunchy looking (think organic knit tops that basically look like thermals or clunky, earth-friendly shoes that would make Crocs look hot). Then the Stella McCartneys of the world made it cool to invest time , money and resources into creating "green" fashiony clothing that people would actually want to wear. And voila! The eco-friendly category is currently booming in fashion land. She-Bible is one of the cuter brands in the sustainable group. Created by San Francisco buddies Deirdre O'Boyle and Stacy Rodgers, the line features the kind of clothing we live in during the weekends when the weather gets cold: easy, low-maintenance sweatshirts, tops and jackets.

LIFE: More fuel for your Obama obsession

The presidential candidate did a series of 21 short video interviews with MTV. [Starworks]

We were like "eh" about Roberto Cavalli's über hyped H&M collabo. Apparently, we were the only ones feeling lukewarm about it. [Gawker]

SOUNDS: Truer words...

“Music kind of sucks. Nobody’s into being a musician. Everybody’s getting their mogul on. You’ve been so infiltrated by this corporate mentality that all the time you’d spend getting great songs together, you’re busy doing nine other things that have nothing to do with art. You know how shitty Stevie Wonder’s songs would have been if he had to run a fuckin’ clothing company and a cologne line? … Rap sucks, for the most part. Not all rap, but as an art form it’s just not at its best moment. Sammy the Bull would have made a shitty album. And I don’t really have a desire to hear Warren Buffett’s album - or the new CD by Paul Allen. That’s what everybody’s aspiring to be.” - Chris Rock in the new issue of "Rolling Stone"

SOUNDS: On today's playlist

"Valley of Love," by J*Davey (click song title to listen)
"Ever Fallen in Love," by Betty Black

SOUNDS: On today's playlist

"Na Oil," by Seun Anikulapo Kuti (click song title to listen)

LIFE: A behind the scenes look at life behind the camera

As if we need anything else to fuel our VH1 reality addiction, our contributing photographer, Piper Carter, is on the new series, "The Shot." The show (airing Sundays at 10pm) follows a group of lens guys and ladies as they compete for "their dream job in photography." Think "America's Next Top Model" for photogs only you won't see Tyra repeating "You are still in the running to become..." over and over again. Piper is great, so we're psyched that the rest of the world will get to see how talented she is (see her latest batch of photos for us here). In other reality news, we also know one of the girls on the upcoming season of "Project Runway." So we'll be watching way too much television this winter.

WARDROBE: Put that G into a mutual fund instead

Months ago, we questioned the relevance of the It bag. Now, the New York Times is proclaiming it basically dead. That's not a bad thing, considering how most satchels in that category can set you back at least $1,000 (we hit rock bottom when we bought a Spy bag.) So not cool. Le Sportsac creative director Elizabeth Kiester sums the whole situation up best in the article: “The luxury market is so over the top now that it is demented. I call them limo bags. I don’t have a limo.”