The West will bring freedom and Democracy to Iraq by uh opening up crappy fast fashion chains? Spanish chain Mango has plans to open a store Abril a city of one million people in Iraq's northern Kurdistan region. "We're going to open a shop in Iraq very soon," said Isak Halfon, Mango's president of expansion. "The people are starving for something like this." Huh, perhaps not the best choice of words. The clothing will be designed by Zuhair Murad, a Lebanese designer and thankfully will not include the typical array of skimpy goods, leading us to think this might actually be a pretty good store. This may answer the question what to wear on holiday to Dubai though if you spent all of your money on luxury accommodations naturally.

Derek Lam has sold a stake of his company to Labelux. The most exciting news involved with the new financing? A freestanding Derek Lam store is planned on Crosby street.

"Market conditions" are keeping Roberto Cavalli from putting his namesake company for sale. Low season for leopard print it would seem.

Anti-Pope fashion? Huh?

There are apparently compulsive folders that simply must redo anyone's poor clothing folding. This explains a few of our ex-boyfriends.

Luxury consumers are becoming more pragmatic in the recession. Of course, in this piece they say anyone making over 100K a year is a luxury consumer. Yeah the middle class in New York is cutting back for sure!

On the other end of th economic spectrum, Wal-Mart just doesn't know when its been beat by fashion.

Where would a Cavalli gent be without an ultra-tan, chiffon clad lady by his side? Well, he'd be with a lot of other boys and they'd be in their underwear. This Spring 09 in Milan Cavalli made sure to include women's looks as part of his menswear collection. We're wondering if there isn't something to be said about the importance of women's clothing in a menswear context. That is, perhaps there are some designers whose aesthetic pivots on heterosexual couples (whether or not they sleep together is another matter entirely) so much so that no gender-specific collection is without the opposite partner's perfectly merchandised outfits. It's like barbie and ken all over again, is it not? Fashion companies have always known to incorporate the notion of lifestyle into their branding and designing efforts. In this day and age, when everything from ceramic vases to dog collars is retailed to fulfill this purpose, perhaps it goes without saying that the ladies looks are a necessary part of showing a menswear design effort. After all, no one's going to sit at home alone if they're wearing Cavalli's animal print trousers. A man's going to get up and go find himself the appropriate context for those pants. In this case a gal wearing a jewel adorned maxi frock, a glamyacht, and a big bucket of alcohol.

We have never managed to get into watches despite our best efforts to incorporate the pricey accessories. But Shopping's My Cardio got us giggling with a post on how to wear gold watches without feeling like a crazy investment banker or a member of some over styled R&B crew. But then we realized that we might actually prefer it that way! From this Adidas Black and Gold Leather Strap Watch to this Roberto Cavalli Snake Gold Plated Round Case Watch you can explore your goofy ghetto inspirations. And if you want to channel the Upper East side investment banker WASP aesthetic we suggest this 18-Karat Gold Dress Watch from Brooks Brothers. Isn't it more fun to play dress up than try to incorporate something tricky (and honestly kinda ugly) into your personal wardrobe?

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The sexiest things we've ever seen. Something about the Fall 08 Cavalli shoes really gets us in the mood. They're pristine, virginal even, sort of Madonna like in the end. Pair those lace booties with some dark high-water trousers or, hell, long shorts and you'll forget all about makeup and blouses. It's just like Cavalli to give us footwear that's so vamped up, it feels like a drug. Nothing the man does is without a certain panache, which is how we like our designers. That is, full of personality and with the talent to make us imagine ourselves as sex goddesses.