One of our favorite trends from Fall 08 is the body con/exaggerated silhouette trend that we've titled 'Shape Up' for today's shoot. Shape Up is by far the most notable trend from the Fall 08 shows. Designers articulated this trend by skimming the body with razor-like precision or by exaggerating the silhouette to comment on the landscape of the body. Whichever direction they went, the physical form was at the forefront of their minds. From Yves Saint Laurent, Louis Vuitton, Calvin Klein, Jonathan Saunders, Miu Miu, and of course, Balenciaga, Fall 08 saw the female form (and not florals nor lace--though there was plenty of that, wasn't there?) take center stage. For our purposes we created two looks which articulate the trend.

The modern look called up a pair of Marc by Marc Trousers we'd written about in a while back in an immaterial post. Though there are options galore when it comes to parachute trousers, we thought these appropriately priced and nicely tailored. On top a Harlan Bel blouse tucked everything in to a tailored point (we first discovered Harlan Bel back when we shot our La Belle Dame sans Merci editorial). On the vintage side of things we couldn't really go wrong with a vintage Dior jacket from Zachary's Smile. The cuffed bell sleeve on this jacket inspired many a Fall 08 daydream in our mind. So nicely does it display the Shape Up vantage point.

Below, check out a spread of our favorite pieces from this trend and, below that, a trend gallery from the Fall 08 shows with every sort of Shape Up frock and trouser you can imagine.

This 38 dollar Urban Outfitters slip kind of looks like a Jonathan Saunders dress. Now, we're shopping online here so we can't say for sure but hear us out. You buy this 38 dollar slip in a size larger than normal (our new favorite non-trick) and you pair it with opaque black tights, black ankle boots, a lean blazer, and a men's watch and you might just have a totally killer outfit on your hands. Wearing a slip as a dress brings us back to our undergraduate days (oh, the shame) and we can't say that doesn't, for many reasons, make us nervous, but it just might work. Either that or you put it on and the fabrication is lousy and you look like you're going to a Madonna concert circa the Blonde Ambition tour but in a bad way and you decide 'body-con' is one trend you might actually invest in because, you know, there's a fine line between looking like a modern body-con warrior and a tootsie roll. We like the first idea better so we're going to pretend that that's how these kind of things roll out in the world of e-commerce. Hey, at least it's an adventure and one that, thankfully, won't leave you walking around with a slightly shaming Urban Outfitters bag on your wrist.

It would seem that being nominated for a CFDA award just isn't enough anymore. Nominees are being given a book featuring Raquel Zimmermann in their various designs. Styled by Karl Templer and shot by Mikael Jansson, the keepsake came together under creative director Trey Laird. The book contains essays written by David Colman on all the honorees and abstract flower shots by Kenji Toma. This explains why the tables are so expensive at the benefit we imagine.

Russian oligarchs aren't being hit by the recession. Chanel is opening up its second Moscow boutique.

Cruise is so popular because of global warming. Every time a fashion writer pens this piece Al Gore sheds a tear and nobody gets their wings.

The Scottish Fashion Awards have released their list of nominees. We are gunning for Jonathan Saunders for designer personally and not just because he has a hot new collaboration in the works for Target's Go International. But our favorite award is for best use of Tartan by an international designer.

We love that it is news when a designer decides to go back to a traditional two show a year fashion schedule.

The house of Blass is under pressure as NexCen looks to sell. Potential buyers being floated are Designer Licensing Holdings, Windsong Brands, Tharanco Group, headed by Haresh Tharani, and Iconix Brand Group. And what of poor Peter Som? It looks like he can keep his own line just fine. Richard Baker, ceo of NRDC Equity Partners, isn't interested in buying the Blass business, said a spokeswoman for Baker. NRDC owns Lord & Taylor and Creative Design Studio, and also has invested in numerous designers, including Peter Som, who designs Blass' women's line as well as his own.

Lutz and Patmos collaborate with a train conductor? No it isn't a joke or a publicity stunt. Amtrak conductor Chris Waugh became friends with Lutz as she rode the train to her Rhode Island home and the Shoreliner sweater was born. Named after the East Coast train, the $495 hoodie sweater, which has five buttons on the side and raglan sleeves is being sold to benefit Parkinson's Disease Foundation