>> A couple of weeks ago, Anna Wintour had no interest in commenting on the rumors of her leaving Vogue, but since the rumors reached fever pitch earlier this week, Si Newhouse, Carine Roitfeld, and Conde Nast insiders have all spoken out against them — and this morning, Anna finally decided to say her piece.

She participated in a New Yorker-sponsored panel discussion with New Yorker editor David Remnick and Vanity Fair editor Graydon Carter, during which the moderator asked all three editors what would be next for them.  Anna's response? "I think — my father always said to me that when you get too angry that's the time to stop. The day I get too angry is the day I take up gardening."

It's pretty clear that she doesn't plan on willingly leaving Vogue anytime soon — reiterated by her comment to The New York Observer as she left the panel: "I have no plans to leave American Vogue now or in the foreseeable future."  But, as The Observer pointed out, "if we want to get really precise about it there is a difference between leaving Vogue and leaving the editor's chair."

Rather than focus on the future of her career, she pointed out during the panel that she's adjusting to the state of the economy just like the rest of us:

Recently, a sequined mini-dress "not much bigger than your shirt, Graydon" came through the Vogue offices, on request for a photo shoot. When she found out the garment retailed at $50,000, Wintour said she told everyone, "I'm sorry, but we're not putting that in the magazine, no matter how magical Steven Meisel thinks it is."

Take that, Steven Meisel.
*image: source