Jiminy Cricket! I seem to be asking a lot of questions with these blog posts. In this case, "Who Will Buy?" from the musical "Oliver!" (thank goodness I was sitting next to a Broadway musical-loving queen who could name that tune in two notes) played throughout Marc Jacobs' stunning show last night. Whenever I depart for New York Fashion Week, the question I hear is "What show are you looking forward to most?" The answer is inevitably Marc Jacobs. The staging and clothes are the closest that the US gets to a couture show. For a runway presentation that literally lasts 10 minutes, this elaborate, Whoville-meets-Tim Burton-esque set was created in the New York Armory.

The clothes are an entirely different matter. As the fashion writer, I should have an immediate explanation for the giant fur hats and larger-than-life frocks. My immediate reaction of the concept was 'little girl raids mom's closet.' I'm still mulling this one over. Hey, no one ever said I was the sharpest hat pin in the jewelry box. What to make of Pilgrim shoes with crystal buckles and dresses with padded hips? Still digesting this.

And just in case you're not a fan of musical theater (join the club), here's the Nancy Sinatra version of "Who Will Buy?" (from her 1967 TV special "Movin' with Nancy," which, by the way, you should own.) Jacobs played this version, among many others.

This will be my most disjointed blog post ever (not possible, you're no doubt thinking). But I have so many random thoughts about tonight's Betsey Johnson show. The first is that I actually liked the show. I use 'actually' because although I love Betsey as a person, her style is a tad frilly for my tastes. However, this evening she went all Carnaby Street circa 1967. And it worked. First there were the clothes.

And then there was a giant screen behind the runway that showed images like these:

And finally, I ran into the group Karmin and took my picture with them. They're super sweet, super cute, and now I sound like a 13-year-old girl, so I'm going to bed.

If there's anything I like, it's a good fashion disaster. I see them all day. Models falling, people at Lincoln Center walking into walls because they're so busy texting that they just sat next to Tinsley Mortimer that they can't be bothered to look up, and so on. Who doesn't love a good laugh at someone else's expense? But today at 3.1 Phillip Lim, it was technical difficulties. The fog machine went haywire, and it looked like a foggy day in Maine. Poor Suzy Menkes from the International Herald Tribune was fanning herself like the countess dowager. Frustrated photographers who couldn't get a clear shot yelled for the fog to stop. On top of it all, the poor DJ was experience horrible feedback. On the bright side, I loved the clothes. At least the ones I could see.
(I have no idea why I used this photo, I just liked it).

And it's with Chloe

It's subtle, it hits F/W 2012's recurring strong women theme, and it's very prevalent this Fashion Week. Hints of military details are showing up everywhere, and in unlikely places. Even the normally lady-like designs of Victoria Beckham and Jason Wu are showing signs of strength.

Victoria Beckham

Tommy Hilfiger

Prabal Gurung

So far the most ingenious staging for a fashion show this week: A skating rink in Central Park. This was the Moncler Grenoble collection shown last night. And if you were brave enough to stand in the cold, you got models... on skates!

Naturally I loved it because it was inspired by (these are not my words): "The plastic revolution in visionary forms reference Joe Colombo; the graphic ductility of this new material in the furnishings envisioned by Vico Magistretti; experiments with the use of vinyl and plastic fabrics borrowed from French couture, which in the 1960s was inspired by the technical sporting world of skiing. All combined with a space-age style that pays homage to Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey. Design, fashion and cinema - the creative verve of the ’60s where everything was intertwined and any innovation seemed possible."

Meaning you wish you were running around in the cold and getting dirty looks because it appears that you slept two hours last night (true) and that you don't have a driver like everybody else and that you must take the subway (also true). Here's an easier way. A guide to shows this week that you can watch on your computer.

Jason Wu helped open fashion week with a gong a subtle trip to China. (Below)

Last night Zac Posen's elegant show traveled less-subtlely to Japan (above).

Now wondering which Asian country we'll be visiting today.

Because my New York wi-fi is moving about as quickly as an obese turtle after a few Xanax, how about a quick look at two very different interpretations of green?

Here's a look at Diane von Furstenberg's romantic and flowing interpretation of electric green. Her show was a lovely shock of color for Fall/Winter 2012

And this unfortunate model at yesterday's Custo Barcelona show appears to have crawled out of the bottom of a yarn-filled swamp. The first thing I wrote in my notebook when I saw this look was "Cheese and crackers! She looks like the creature from the green lagoon."

Well, she's supermodel delux Gisele Bundchen, and she came out of New York Fashion Week semi-retirement to walk Alexander Wang's show on Saturday in this leather trench coat. All of my hetero friends keep telling me she's married to some sports dude. Whatev. I'm not going to pretend I know. All I know is that Wang's show was both fun and polished.

I'm back at New York Fashion Week and ready to complain! As much as I j'adore new technology, the latest problem at Fashion Week is the iPad. It's bad enough when the hoi polloi crammed into the rafters at Lincoln Center have to strain their necks to get a glimpse of the runway. Making matters worse are folks who hoist their iPads into the air to take pictures and video of the catwalk. If you have the misfortune of sitting behind these people, all you can see is a grainy image of the proceedings on the tablet, because it's directly in your line of vision. Not that I'm bitter about this, but I'm bitter. I propose they be banned during showtime. Ok, back to our regularly scheduled programming.

This is the kind of behavior we expect from Hugh Grant in a delightfully daft Brit-American comedy but French Vogue's newest editor-in-chief, Emmanuelle Alt? Not so much. Alt rocks out in a white cotton and denim outfit (complete with a backup dancer team lousy with some of the biggest names in the modeling industry) while lipsycing to Wham!'s "Wake Me Up Before You Go" (go) to celebrate the relaunch of Vogue.fr in the video above. We can't believe it either.

Alt caused a bit of a quiet stir when she succeeded longtime fixture Carine Roitfeld for the coveted Vogue Paris position (perhaps so modestly because Roiteld's exit took center stage), but we think this may be her way of snagging the spotlight.

Thoughts?

I'm not speaking of the Richard Simmons-esque tight rope walker, Cee Lo Green's sparkling robe, or the cheerleaders (sorry to disappoint) seen during Madge's epic halftime show. I'm talking about the dudes in the track suit adorned with musical notes. Thoes track suits are Adidas Originals Jeremy Scott Music Notes track tops and pants from the Spring/Summer 2012 collection. They can be had for $200 (the jacket) or $180 (the pant). No word yet on who's selling the Richard Simmons toga.

As Muther mentioned earlier last month, the Boston Symphony Orchestra put forth their fourth annual Project Debussy challenge to local fashion designers, asking the eleven students to create an evening wear look.

They came, they designed, they walked... and The School of Fashion Design student, Kowoon Jeon, won this year's competition with the design pictured below:

Jeon will be featured in a full page spread in April's issue of Boston Magazine.

Fisher College student Teresa Calabro was named the "People Choice" winner via an online tally on BSO's Facebook and Twitter pages.

[Image via Stu Rosner for BSO]

Fashion designer Tory Burch took center stage at the Raytheon Theater at Northeastern University earlier this afternoon to chat with a room brimming with budding entrepreneurs. The Philadelphia native was invited to serve on the board of Startup America Partnership, with much credit to her efforts through her namesake foundation, The Tory Burch Foundation, and fashion and accessories label, Tory Burch LLC, for which she currently serves at CEO and CCO.

Since Burch's foundation and the theme of the day is to share the tools of knowledge and financial support with the next generation of business-savvy savants, we asked for a few words of advice for our readers.

So Startup America seems to be an ideal fit for you and your foundation.
It's a great fit, and it wasn't much of a decision for me after just seeing what exciting things they were doing.

Is there anything you wish you knew going into the business?
Just how hard it would be. I think that it is hard and I often talk to entrepreneurs about that. I tell them to know that it's going to be fulfilling and exciting but also know that it's going to be a tremendous amount of work. You need to be super passionate and super focused. Also, you need to have a unique idea.

As someone with a strong brand, what advice do you have for these young entrepreneurs when it comes to developing what their brand will be and stand for?
I don't think mine was started from the very moment from what I started about it. I think it's a lot of trial and error and being flexible enough to move on for when it's not working.

What are the next steps for the Tory Burch Foundation?
I think we're just starting, just like a company. We still have so much to do. The more women we can help in business the better.

Are there any great young start-up ideas that you're very excited about?
I just met with eight here [at the event] today that sound like they all have legs. These girls are bright, tenacious and sound like they really want to build great companies.

Since you've arrived in Boston, do you think you have a good sense of the city?
Well I've been to Boston many times. I love Boston.

But do you think we're stylish?
I think Boston has its own style, it reminds me of Philadelphia in a way. It's slanted a bit more conservative but it has other elements as well. It's such a great young college town.

What rule do you think all businesses -- start-up or not -- should follow?
Always be transparent.

In terms of being transparent, you have a very socially and social media active business. Do you think any young businesses run into any pitfalls when pursuing these fields?
Probably all the time! [Laughs] I think social media is something everyone is always learning and we're learning as we go as well. We're very interested in being in the forefront of social media in general. Moving into China, for instance, Sina Weibo (China's microblogging answer to Twitter and Facebook) is something we're interested in. Twitter is something I personally do myself, but Facebook is something our team works on. It's a fine balance of what you can say on Twitter but I think authenticity is really what it's all about in social media.

[Image courtesy of Mary Knox Merrill/Northeastern University]

This is a tease for the H&M ad for David Beckham's new line of manties which will air during the Superbowl. Yes please.

Because everyone and their grandmother's cat seems to have a fashion reality show these days -- there's something debuting next month called "Jersey Couture" (!!!) -- it only seems appropriate that Vogue magazine should jump on this stylishly covered wagon. You can now watch episodes of "The Fashion Fund," which follows the 10 finalists for CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund. Over the years, the fund has helped Alexander Wang, Proenza Schouler, and Rodarte launch their labels.

Eleven local fashion design students face off in a bitter power struggle over who can design the fiercest dress based off of the music of Claude Debussy in a competition sponsored by the Boston Symphony Orchestra. We predict a fashion blood bath. Perhaps we're overdramatizing a smidge, but the design students will show their designs on Feb. 2. If you're attending the show that night, you can view the clothes at 7 p.m. before the 8 p.m. concert. The winner will be chosen by a panel of local luminaries (Sadly, we were not asked. Again. Not that we're bitter about this). You can find more and buy tickets at www.bso.org. You can pick your favorites here. Continue along the post to see them all.

Here's that tall drink of Manischewitz Adrien Brody strutting about Milan last night in a sharp Roberto Cavalli ensemble. But wait, there's something wrong here. The fit of those pants make the tall Brody look like he's just over 5 feet tall. Here's a lesson gents. Get your pants tailored properly, or you'll risk looking like Adrien Brody! Bad example. You'll look shorter than you actually are.

Fashion isn't the only subject on center stage when starlets walk the red carpet during awards season. I'm a strong believer that hair and beauty can make or break a look -- or, in my opinion, save a particularly bad dress -- especially when it's applied to withstand multiple step-and-repeats, a live show, and, if you please, a series of after-parties. Here are my top picks for the stars that showed best face (and hair) at this year's Golden Globes.

I was not won over by Sarah Michelle Gellar's tie-dye Monique L'huillier gown, but I did love her royal blue smokey eye and the sublime ethereal glow that was so perfectly dusted on her shoulders and decolletage.

Makeup artist Jake Bailey (who has personally given me a killer pink pout and softly smoked-out eyes during a fashion week of yore, and so I can attest to his greatness) created Gellar's smoldering look and shimmery skin for the occasion. He "mixed equal parts AHAVA mineral body lotion and M.A.C. strobe cream to add a healthy sheen" to her exposed upper body. Her eyes were emphasized with L'Oreal's new Infallible eyeshadows in "Midnight Blue" and "Sultry Smoke" (a shimmering royal blue and dusty dove gray, respectively) applied with his fingertips -- a budget-friendly tip, and we'll certainly be taking note.

I was also psyched that "Mission: Impossible -- Ghost Protocol" actress Paula Patton led the marigold yellow trend that was dominate at the GGs, but so much could have gone wrong if she opted for a bold hued lip. Luckily, makeup artist Fiona Stiles gave Patton a sheer sparkling peach lip color (COVERGIRL Queen Collection lip gloss in "Starlet Sand") and opted for rosy cheeks to bring warmth to her face. Stiles layered COVERGIRL's Simply Ageless Sculpting Blush in "Lush Berry" under Patton's face powder and a layer of powder blush to set the look for a lasting flush.

[Patton image via Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images]

Oribe's Richard Marin (part of the team that is also responsible for Taylor Swift's Vogue-worthy bangs) gave funny gal Tina Fey her stylized bedhead for the show. (Fey wore a berry-colored Oscar de la Renta that I felt pretty "meh" about.) Marin added serious volume and movement to Fey's layered bob by layering on three of the brand's signature products (Creme for Style, Royal Blowout styling spray, and Impermeable Anti-Humidity spray) and using a flat iron to bend the edges into soft waves. The final product was spritzed onto the underside of Fey's hair while her head was flipped upside down for extra "omph" factor.

I was really (really) not a fan of Zooey Deschanel's lime green "one-of-a-kind" Prada, however, I was struck by her "doe-ier than usual" eyes. Jorjee Douglass (who also handled the beauty for "500 Days of Summer") used Rimmel products on the brand's spokes-gal (of course) to create the look and said she was inspired by Emma Peel from the '60s show, "The Avengers." Several coats of Rimmel's Lash Accelerator mascara were applied to Deschanel's lashes and a "feathered line of liquid liner was added to her bottom lash line to emphasize and thicken the shape. And what about the "New Girl" starlet's "tuxedo" manicure? Definitely deserves an honorable mention of the night.

[Fey & Deschanel images via Frazer Harrison/Getty Images]