Is Gap getting – gasp! – edgier?

Well Stylephilers, my opinion of the Gap may soon be shifting. The retailer, purveyor of all things turtleneck, corduroy, and pleated, has again snagged my favorite shutterbug, Annie Leibovitz, to shoot their fall ad campaign: "Classics Redefined."

A taste:

There's Selma Blair with her bedroom eyes. John Mayer with his mussed-just-right hair. Forest Whitaker with his winning smile. (The alliteration could go on and on. Seriously. Don't tempt me.) Sarah Silverman looks a little scary with her vacant eyes and awkward pose. Discuss.

You can see the whole ad campaign here -- I'm a little obsessed with these portraits.

The clothes? I do like the sweater dress and wide-leg trousers, but the rest of the collection is, well, pretty basic and yawn-inducing. However, I may just be swayed by Liev Schreiber's intense gaze to pick up a few pieces for the boyfriend...

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Suited up

A show of hands from those thinking of visiting the beach this weekend? Thank you. A show of hands from those brave enough to wear one of these monokinis to the beach this weekend?

That's what I thought.

This is the monokini from Rosa Cha, perhaps the sexiest one-piece I've ever seen. These little numbers sell for between $350 and $400. And if you're looking for more information about purchasing one to wear to Revere Beach this weekend, check here.

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Summertime, and the shopping is easy

Summer clothing sales are definitely past peak, however, this seems to be a good time to catch seasonal sales for home goods. Diseño in the South End starts a summer sale tomorrow on furniture floor models, plus rugs, textiles, gift items and home accessories.

And as part of First Fridays, there will be live jazz and wines from Chile and Argentina in the store this Friday night. I've always said that drinking and shopping is a dangerous combination.

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And the winners are...

Vanity Fair's September issue contains its annual best-dressed list. There's no sign of the Olsen twins, but I'm quite happy that my favorite chanteuse, Charlotte Gainsboug, made the list. If you haven't bought her allbum "5:55," you're missing out on some fine, fashionable, French pop. Here are Vanity Fair's most stylish

Women

Charlotte Gainsbourg
Princess Alexandra of Greece
Marjorie Gubelmann
Princess Mafalda of Hesse
Fran Lebowitz
Michelle Obama
Bee Shaffer
Tilda Swinton
Ivanka Trump
Renée Zellweger

Men

Tiki Barber
Jonathan Becker
Count Manfredi Della Gherardesca
Lapo Elkann
Richard E. Grant
Lenny Kravitz
Luis and Rafael Medina
Hidetoshi Nakata
Nicolas Sarkozy
Gay Talese

Couples

David and Victoria Beckham
The Earl and Countess of Cawdor
Damon Dash and Rachel Roy
Frédéric Fekkai and Shirin von Wulffen
Mitch Glazer and Kelly Lynch
Ashton Kutcher and Demi Moore
David Lauren and Lauren Bush
Viscount and Viscountess Linley
Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie
Ruben and Isabel Toledo

Hall of Fame
Alba Clemente
George Clooney
Marina Rust Connor
Anderson Cooper
Sofia Coppola
Jemima Khan
Anna Piaggi

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Saving face, on-the-go

Sephora's selection of pint-sized travel products -- usually and conveniently located near the check-out -- is oh-so-tempting. I obviously need 4-5 new tiny lipglosses, concealers, lotions, and tints on my way out of the beauty candyland.

However, I have found a new travel line that everyone can use: Sephora now stocks Smashbox's Photo Finish skin primers in on-the-go sizes.

Ever wish you could Photoshop your picture -- à la models on magazine covers -- to even out your skin tone and hide blemishes and blotchiness? Well, think of these mini-primers as daily color correction for your face -- apply the green "Adjust" formula under foundation to minimize redness or sweep the apricot "Blend" primer across your cheeks pre-makeup to help conceal under-eye circles and sunspots.

Just pop these lil' fixer-uppers in your purse on your way to the morning photoshoot... er, meeting. Strike a pose!

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My so-called glamour

Claire Danes is looking incredibly glamorous at the opening of "Stardust" yesterday in Hollywood. The movie looks terrible, but she looks fab. This backless dress is quite sexy.

And speaking of sexy, can we take a moment to soak in the amazing perfection of Michelle Pfeiffer? I thought she reached her peak as Catwoman, but I saw her in "Hairspray" over the weekend, and it's like she's invented a time machine that has taken her face back to 1994. Incredible. She's working a perfect little Valentino dress at the "Stardust" opening.

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The smell of summer

The humidity has me (and my hair) wishing I was summering elsewhere... or that I was in a position to be summering at all. I envy people who can toss around the word summering without getting a raised eyebrow.

To help indulge my fantasy of being able to use summer as a verb, posh French candle maker Diptyque is releasing three new scents in August. The scents are based on the 1960's travel journals of Diptyque founder Desmond Knox-Leet, who was captivated by Mediterranean scents. So I'll be traveling via fragrance.

The three are Maquis (a shrub that grew near Knox-Leet's childhood home in the South of France), wild fennel, and coriander. These scents are not at all perfumey, so get those visions of Yankee Candle out of your head. They'll sell at for $55 each at Diptyque on Newbury Street.

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The college buying season is upon us

I was just in Bed, Bath & Beyond in Braintree.

The place was packed! On a Monday.

Everywhere, there were college students loading up their carts for the annual trip back to campus.

I saw one girl with six -- yes, six -- carriages filled with stuff. She used one carriage to push another. Then her mother was pushing one and three other women (maybe her aunts) were pushing three more.

Gone are the days when kids threw everything they owned in a big trunk and headed for campus.

No, these days you need lamps, fancy storage boxes, iPod speakers.

The list goes on. I will write more on this later.

One thing I was suprised to see her buy -- an ironing board.

Now that's old school.

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