>> In late November, J.Crew announced it was going private with the help of private equity firms Leonard Green & Partners and TPG Capital. But before the deal can be finalized, J. Crew has to hold a go-shop period, which allows competing bids to be made for the company, through Jan. 15.

Now, Bloomberg is reporting that both Sears and Urban Outfitters are studying J.Crew books and weighing rival bids. However, neither company has indicated that it will actually counter TPG and Leonard Green's offer, and it's worth noting that sometimes rival companies who have no intention of bidding use the go-shop period to learn more about their competitor. Most go-shop periods don't result in a rival bid.

San Francisco-based analyst Christine Chen notes that buying J.Crew "would be great for Sears, but horrible for J. Crew. J. Crew is positioned as aspirational, and Sears is not. It would have a negative impact on the J. Crew brand.” An Urban Outfitters buy makes less sense because it has overlapping customers with J.Crew, and J.Crew's sales are growing more slowly.

>> Andrea Linett, who resigned from her position as Lucky creative director in September after the magazine's editor Kim France was replaced, began a new position this week — as creative director of eBay Fashion. Linett has long been an eBay fan — during her Lucky days, when asked about her favorite online stores, she listed eBay among them: "I spend hours on ebay.com!" In her new position, she plans to enliven the shopping experience of the site with more upscale imagery reminiscent of a magazine: “It is the same kind of shopping experience, except that it’s a marketplace instead of a magazine.” [NY Times]

>> The newly-engaged Anja Rubik, while speaking with Frockwriter on Jan. 1, revealed that her appearance in Karl Lagerfeld's 2011 Pirelli calendar wasn't the first opportunity she'd had to take part in a Pirelli calendar. She turned Terry Richardson down the year before because she wasn't comfortable with what he might ask of her: "Doing the Pirelli was also incredible, because it was always my dream to take part in this calendar. It’s like the most famous calendar in the world; it’s such a huge honor. And the best people shot for it, and the best girls were in it . . . I was actually supposed to do the Terry Richardson one, but I was a little bit afraid, because I never undressed, I was never shot actually nude before. Although I love Terry and I worked with him a lot for French Vogue and other editorials, but I was a little bit afraid of his Pirelli."

Rubik said that she turned the opportunity down through her agent because she "didn't feel comfortable" doing "full-on nude," something she'd "never done" before — she'd only previously done topless. "I knew [Richardson] would, like, push the borders," she added, "and you know, I was just afraid of how far they were going to be pushed and if I’m going to feel comfortable."

Furthermore, she elaborated: "I know he would push it a little bit more, in a way that would be very naked, and I know that I wouldn’t go there probably. So that’s why it was stupid to accept the challenge because I thought I wouldn’t be capable. And you think . . . how it’s going to come out, because he has a different kind of take of that, a little bit more on the edge of, you know; I don’t want to say vulgar but on the very, very slight edge of it. There were supposed to be a lot of girls, and he likes to shoot a lot of girls with girls, and I just didn’t think I’d feel comfortable, that’s why."

So, she said no. "I just knew it would be uncomfortable for me and maybe for [Richardson], because I wouldn’t feel right in the moment . . . The worst thing is to go somewhere to a shoot and be there and feel uncomfortable. Because first of all, it’s bad for me; it’s bad for him; it just creates a really bad atmosphere."

But again, she says, she's never had issues with Richardson's comportment — which has been questioned by other models. "To be honest I know him," she told Frockwriter. "I’ve shot with him many times. And I think he’s great. I never felt uncomfortable, I never thought he pushed me into anything. I think if a girl, like, leaves her green light that she’s open to doing different things, he maybe pushes the boundaries. And if he knows how the girl is. Like I don’t get all these allegations. I mean I worked with him over, I don’t know, 15 times and I never felt awkward . . . that I felt I had to do something."

>> One more Lauren family member is throwing his hat into the designing ring: Greg Lauren, Ralph Lauren's nephew, is reportedly planning to launch a high-end men's and women's collection in the Spring. His designs, which are described as "high-concept" and which Lauren hand-sews, have already been picked up by Barneys New York and a select group of other top specialty retailers. [WWD]

>> When Victoria Beckham showed her first dress collection back in 2008, many noted the striking similarities to her friend Roland Mouret's work. Style.com proclaimed at the time: "If the collection owes a debt to anyone, it's Roland Mouret, whose Galaxy dress gave curves to even the most skeletal of celebrities." But when Mouret was asked again recently whether he helped Beckham design the collection, he replied: "Oh my God, that question! Politicians, movie stars, it's always the first things they want to know and I'm like, why? Why would I want to design a collection for Victoria Beckham? Yes, she is a friend, and yes, she asks for advice, and yes, I told her the name of a pattern cutter, but she has lots of friends she asks for advice — Marc Jacobs. I like to help people that's all." [Telegraph UK]

>> Elle creative director Joe Zee has a new show coming to the Sundance Channel in the Spring, and the first video teaser has been posted — watch it here. In each episode of All on the Line, Zee meets with a struggling designer and helps them "take it to the next level." To the designer shown in this first preview, for instance, Zee warns against the use of "slutty fabric." And in response to the inevitable Project Runway show comparisons, Zee says: "This show is no-nonsense, it's not a game. It isn't about elimination of contestants, and you get to see an insider's view of how the design process works, and how concept goes to reality." [@mrjoezee]

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>> Blake Lively may not be the best at selling issues of Vogue, but hopefully she can sell a handbag or two: Chanel has confirmed that, as rumored, Lively will be the face of the new Mademoiselle handbag line. The ads were shot by Karl Lagerfeld at Chanel's Rue Cambon headquarters and will break in April magazines.

Anna Wintour introduced Lively and Lagerfeld last July when the three dined together. Lagerfeld said of working with Lively since: “It was an easy job because everyone fell in love with her . . . She’s a kind of American dream girl. I think she will become a great actress.”

Lively, for her part, says of the opportunity: “How did Cinderella feel when she slipped on the glass slipper? How did Snow White feel when she met her Prince Charming? A dream come true is an understatement. I can say that I feel like the happiest, luckiest girl around." She continued: "Though I am the face of [the Mademoiselle bag], I will carry it like every girl. I will always feel it’s more than just a purse. It’s a quilted case full of lipstick, love letters and the dreams and possibilities that I have always felt every time I see that beautiful ‘CC.’ ”