Anne Valerie Hash tutu

Think that just rough cool makes the cut this season? If a biker chick can throw her Balmain or better yet old school vintage leather to the side and reveal a little ruffled mystery underneath, all the better! Some silver and black Gareth Pugh leggings (or try a pair by Michael Angel) under a tutu skirt, in shops right now by Balenciaga and Anne Valerie Hash (as seen above), the unthinkable girl can attract a following. Think Molly Ringwald in the film Pretty in Pink. (Hate to break it kids, but I’d bet the barn that her pal Duckie in that flick was gay. He just wanted to try on those frilly bits himself, in private.) If the real life lass is actually pretty to boot, she’d better bring a stick to keep the straight hounds at bay. Leggings may be getting the top write ups as must haves but the gal who can rock the tutu’s got the most confidence of all. Meow first. Then bite.

Tutu by French designer, Isabel Marant, snapped up from the Gossip Girl wardrobe closet

Beth Ditto Patterson of Gossip plays to a packed house at NYC’s Terminal 10

She’s a fat lesbian wonder. She’s part Janis Joplin. Part Big Mamma Cass. Part Humpty Dumpty with red lipstick. And Beth Ditto, lead singer of Gossip (formerly called “the Gossip”) flaunts every inch of skin (and some tattoos) across the stage wherever she performs. So many friends waited in frenzy for Gossip to perform in NYC last week and she held them at bay, going on later than expected. Once she pounced on stage, you could hear those lungs up and down the highway. “It was a big lesbian festival,” Said one who had to duck her way under swarms of girls locking arms and screaming lyrics. Ditto, originally from Arkansas, has copped to eating squirrel growing up and not shaving her armpits. “I’m a punk and I guess punks stink” she’s told various press outlets. It doesn’t hold her fans back, including designer Karl Lagerfeld, who once self loathing in his own chubby frame, notoriously lost several pounds to achieve the current gaunt Kaiser in slim jacket physique. Ironically, when asked about the preponderance of skinny underage models on the runway by a reporter for Prestige Magazine, Karl brought up the current obesity problem in France and said, “Let’s talk about the fat ones, shall we?” Yes…. let’s talk about them indeed. Better yet, let’s just let them sing! videos

Beth Ditto… up close and personal (*ALL PHOTOS BY GAVIN DOYLE)

Rose McGowan, the host of the Mad Paper Ball at the Museum of Arts and Design

All sorts of mad people came out for the first “paper” anniversary of the Museum of Arts and Design on Columbus Circle the other night. Rose McGowan, a host, dressed in a red vintage Bill Blass breezed in without paper accessories, as did notorious artist Terence Koh, who prefers to work with sugar and semen in his own sculptures.

Such a party for young things and old investors went down to fund the museum’s arts programs for children. Various creators, some of them fashion designers, made gowns and jackets only from paper, with the average asking price around $15,000 an item. The roll call on the fashion tip included Frank Tell, ThreeASFOUR, Matthew Williamson, Jen Kao, Kai Khune and Zaldy. Fine artists included Bliss Lau, Nina Basharova and one combo suit by Hugo Boss and James Rosenquist.

The kids hung on floors two for dancing with deejays Leo Fitzpatrick and Paul Sevigny, with dashes to the full bar on the seventh floor, while the adults — some octogenarians who also live in the East Eighties of Manhattan — dined on food upstairs by chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten. Still, the kids looked fabulous, including Gavin Doyle from Purple Mag, Leigh Lezark and Greg Krelenstein from the Misshapes; and social gals Genevieve Jones and Fabiola Beracasa, seen with paper flowers shrewn through her hair below.

Fabiola Beracasa orders some paper flowers on line and applies them!

Lanvin… Sublime!

What started out as a foreboding sign for fashion — poor lil’ LIndsay Lohan — making an arse of Ungaro as creative director with cheap neon mini looks, could almost be forgotten by the time the fashion circus got to Lanvin. “The year of the cocktail dress. Ruffles galore. Feminine allure. Kick up your heels hot.” Even girls getting down and dirty at club Le Montana — partially owned by Purple Mag editor Olivier Zahm — seemed to be in love with Lanvin. Never could a girl scream FELINE louder than in this latest collection by Alber Elbaz. If Zahm is the pornographer of Paris, shooting all the hot ladies in some form of undress for his website www.purple-diary.com then Elbaz represents the King of dress. It’s a funny dichotomy that give the French the distinction of sexy secret quickies and then dressing up really nicely while sneaking out the side alley. They even know how to add a class to the bloody walk of shame.

Honorary distinction and one to watch goes to Haider Ackermann, who created architectural towers of layers fitted to the body. Got to be intelligent or at least ready to go skin (in the Akermann looks), to pull them off.

Haider Ackermann, comfortable in your own skin… and his

Georgia-May Jagger featured in INTERVIEW.

(1) Mark Palmen (far left) sticks out his tongue at Gossip Girl stylist Lisa Tobias (far right); BIRTHDAY GIRL, Sue Stemp to the right of Mark…. newly blonder! (2) (L-R) Mark, Sue Stemp, and Fay Cantor Stevens

Just as Andre Balazs –owner of the Standard Hotel — needs to legally change the name of his rooftop club from the Boom Boom Room, further downtown expat Brit “it girl,” designer Sue Stemp was feting her birthday in a much “woolier” place. Found via a secret entrance to the Woolworth building, “The Wooly,” a privately owned speakeasy styled joint with paisley wallpaper, mismatched art, and images of humping wooly mammoths opened its doors to a few of the fabulous folk a couple nights back. Prince Peter, who just designed a line of cool tees with photographer Mick Rock, deejayed in a floppy black hat with silver studs that the actual Prince once tried to steal from him. Not too far off from the tunes table on the stage, social denizen Genevieve Jones was ripping up the dance floor. And  Marc Palmen, the former right hand man to designer Vivienne Westwood “Queen of Punk,” could be seen grinding to Led Zeppelin and Michael Jackson in equal measure. To cap off his casual chic look, he donned a pair of groovy almost Pierre Cardin glasses from Lens Crafters. Didn’t seem to help the blur as we stumbled out the door in the wee hours. But Sue, who has designed dresses for her pal Kate Moss and Sonic Youth’s Kim Gordon, was still dancing out into the street. Once a party girl, always a party girl. Rock it, Ms. Stemp! www.suestemp.com

Smoldering…SWAT girl stare

NAME: Amber Dee Ahlquist

AGE: 23

HOMETOWN: Appleton, Wisconsin

DA LOOK: Bargain tank, jeans, period.

DA JEANS: I like the Hudson jeans. They’re comfortable, durable. They withstand a couple of washes. I’ll wear them at least three times and wash them if I’m dirty, sweating. I would play sports in jeans. I am not a big fan of boyfriend cut jeans. They do nothing for the shape of a woman. It’s either skinny jeans or straight with a flare.

DA STYLE, CLOTHES: Whenever I’m in the mood: cutesy or rugged. For shoes I like Michael Kors. The quality of Kors is really good. I’d walk around in the city all day in those. Flats: flip flops, ballet flats in gold and black, Converse low tops in purple. The low Converse are less manly than the high tops. And I love purple. If it looks cute, I don’t care who designed it.

DA STYLE, LIFE: I like playing baseball, volleyball, tennis. I played basketball when I was younger. If I were at a family picnic, I’d play in jeans. If I’d play in sand, I’d play in sweats. Also, I come from a family of five, so second hand is second nature.

Swat Girl No. 4…. Pretty in Pink

NAME: Mila Filatova

AGE: 27

HOMETOWN: Siberia, Russia

DA LOOK: Non label Vneck pink sweater. Today is a conservative day!

DA JEANS: These Hudson jeans are very soft. You don’t have to break them in and they keep in shape. I was a Diesel fan but it takes a year to break them in. Not with these! I got my first pair of Hudson jeans three years ago. I worked for a competing brand — J Brand — and I walked across to the Hudson booth and made an order.

DA STYLE, CLOTHES: I love Zac Posen. It’s very feminine, all the purples, greens. I also like Jill Stuart and I can afford her. Love Cesare Paciotti shoes. They are more comfortable than Christian Louboutin: they are not wearable at all! I’m between a European trash vibe, like a neon yellow tank with straight jeans or conservative with Vneck tops. I’ve got a motorcycle jacket from Zara that is black and cropped with a high collar. With jeans, I do prefer a pocket that is as simple and smooth as possible. No girl, no matter how skinny needs a busy pocket. You don’t want to add to your butt!

DA STYLE, LIFE: There’s not much in Siberia. They don’t have these kinds of jeans in Siberia.

Swat Girl No. 3…. Up Close and personal

NAME: Jeanette Thevenin

AGE: 24

HOMETOWN: Cleveland, Ohio

DA LOOK: H&M top, Steve Madden shoes, Michael Kors watch, charm bracelet with baby shoes on them.

DA JEANS: I am definitely a jeans girl! I have about ten pairs. The Hudson jeans are very comfortable and versatile. You can wear them with a wedge boot, stilettos, a black, gray or blue, shirt. This style is kind of fun because I cuff them. Love the skinny leg style but not the flared thing on the bottom, the boot cut. Like boyfriend jeans cause you can have a fat day with those.

DA STYLE, CLOTHES: Love Betsey Johnson. I wore one of her dresses for my birthday; looked like a blue cupcake! All Steve Madden shoes. I can’t wear stilettos during the day, they hurt too much. Just got a pair of Frye boots. NEVER flip flops. I wore them during fashion week and I was disgusted. Six delicate rings including a claddagh ring an Irish guy friend gave her hoping she was Irish (she’s not). I feel naked when I don’t have jewelry on! Two charity rubber bands – Charity Water and “CHANGE, UNITY, HOPE,” from  Obama fundraiser. Four tattoos, her signatures. Each tattoo was inscribed with a “best friend” present, a girl who got a corresponding tat, like a rite of passage/loyalty between them.

DA STYLE, LIFE: I don’t drink because I have little sisters who look up to me. I love New York. I am definitely an East Villager. There’s always something new. Only in the Village would you see a man painted all white, with dreads, on a white bike with a cane and a top hat. He asks for my number all the time. I give him a different name every time!

Swat Girl Files…Girl No. 2

NAME: Kanami Kawaguchi

AGE: 24

HOMETOWN: Osaka, Japan

DA LOOK: Wearing a vintage jacket a stylist friend refurbished with 29 pink (breast cancer awareness) ribbons on the side and one sewn in the back. Diesel shirt. Japanese boots, Essex brand with “Onsuka Tiger” signed on side.

DA JEANS: Hudson…SOFT! Usually it takes a long time to search for the right fit. Most important thing is that they are serrated. Especially at the knee, jeans usually get loose. But I’ve been wearing them for three weeks. They are perfect. I like the back pocket, the stitches. I wear them to castings. Jeans are my new home.

DA STYLE, CLOTHES: I like men’s stuff. Wired watches. Raf Simons. Dries Van Noten. Comme des Garcons. I love vintage belts. I have a navy belt that goes with everything. I always wear crazy socks. Patterns, Disney characters. When I go out to dinner, I will bring my heels, but I don’t wear them. My Christian Louboutin heels, I put them on my desk as interior design. My size is a nine but I wear an eleven, especially in Converse. I want to mix and match. It’s funny.

DA STYLE, LIFE: So many girls look the same in Tokyo, all copying the same magazine trends. In New York I go to the deli to get a Krispy Kreme doughnut. In Tokyo, people wait in line for two hours to get one. They wait four hours at Forever 21 to get in! I always play with clothing. I don’t want the same costume as other persons.