>> Eric Wilson's article in The New York Times today about those mysterious items in fashion magazines listed as "price upon request" — turns out a lot of them never went into production and aren't available for purchase — is especially ironic, considering a conversation Elle editors Joe Zee and Anne Slowey had on last night's episode of Stylista.

In the clip below, the show's contestants are presenting the trend page they created for the magazine, full of product, but Anne notices that they forgot to add in the shopping credits: "What's that all about?"  One of the contestants tries to explain that she "didn't think it would be okay to make up prices" but Anne retorts that on a shopping page, the credits are "imperative . . . it's the only reason why we exist as a fashion magazine."  Joe backs her up — "Credits are key" — and then Anne ends the conversation with a sarcastic, "I want everything on this page, but I don't know where to buy it."

Funny she should say that . . . »

>> After the second episode of Elle's Stylista aired last night, I think it's safe to say that it's not going to get any better.  Fashion news editor Anne Slowey still can't walk on a pair of heels — never good when you're acting as omnipotent fashion editor on national TV — and her show has been relegated to the bargain basement with the label of "tremendously silly and kinda boring fashion magazine editor competition show."  Even with some of The Devil Wears Prada furniture on-set, the show remains a sad shell of the real thing; Anne Slowey is no Meryl Streep.

There are numbers to prove how unimpressed watchers are — the second episode lost 30 percent of its viewership from last week, and while it's lead-in show, America's Next Top Model, attracted 4.4 million in audience, Stylista "fumbled all but 2.4 million of the viewers, which is barely better than The CW was doing in the time period with repeats of the next generation of 90210."

The jury is still out on whether Stylista will drive up newsstand sales and ad pages, which is it's main purpose, but it's looking like Anne Slowey is no Nina Garcia, either.
*image: photo courtesy the cw

>> Between the reviews yesterday and the original preview clips, I wasn't expecting much from Stylista — except maybe the inane tasks and overblown drama that was readily served up.  Toward the end of the pilot episode, however, there was a nice cameo from Elle style director Kate Lanphear, who appeared to help with the judging.  She wore her trademark black and white, but even she couldn't escape the excessive makeup treatment before going on camera — it was strange to watch, since Kate is so striking in her usual minimal-to-no makeup.  It was just another symbol of how unreal this reality show is — Kate may have played along, but she barely talked, and my guess is, she would have rather been somewhere else.

>> Elle's first major foray into TV — aside from a long-running but now defunct Project Runway sponsorship — premieres tonight, and the reviews are in.  Fashion news director Anne Slowey has restyled herself from a reasonable person to someone more cold-hearted, working in an obviously staged Elle office.  For the so-called reality show Stylista is supposed to be, there are an awful lot of facades going on, but one thing is real — the critics have spoken, and while there are no caustic words, the general feeling seems to be apathy: "Oh, another reality show? Ho-hum."

The Washington Post:

Stylista is — what is the phrase? — like a little tick that you want to flick off, but it's no worse than other reality games that have come before and will come after. It celebrates and elevates life's most trivial drivel, but if that were a crime, reality television would quickly go the way of the crooked quiz shows of the '50s.

"It is exactly the same as every other gimme-a-job reality show . . ." »

>> INSIDER WIRE —Anne Slowey has been given grief for her diet and pitted against former co-worker Nina Garcia, but nothing seems to phase her; She's still got a show debuting Wednesday.  Besides, she doesn't seem to think much of Nina: "I think she certainly. . . . by comparing herself to me, lent it some credibility. I'm not even really conscious of the fact that, oh yeah, she used to work at Elle." But the real question is, why was Anne at her town dump before being interviewed? [LA Times]

»PETA isn't a fan of Gwyneth Paltrow's Tod's ads [The Cut]

»The winner of Stylista starts as Anne Slowey's new assistant editor at Elle tomorrow [FWD]

»Karl Lagerfeld: Now in pink gingham [Jezebel]

»Could Kate Moss make an appearance at Interview's fashion week party? [FWD]

»Emily Weiss, former Teen Vogue intern of The Hills fame, is now working for stylist Katie Mossman [Fashionista]

»Jourdan Dunn closes Cape Town Fashion Week [FabSugar UK]

»Rankin designed a limited-edition Coke bottle [Vogue UK]

»Shipley & Halmos launched a new website boasting the "Cursor is God." [Racked]

»Marc Jacobs's site has been overtaken by sequined, lip-synching drag queens [Chic Report]

»A "one season new" model has the Vogue Paris September 2008 cover; More dish about Vogue Italia August 2008 and the impact of the magazine's "Black Issue" [TI, TI]

»Ibiza: Still the fashion industry's vacation destination of choice [Style File]

»Alexander Wang has a "big secret surprise" planned for his fashion week afterparty [Fashionista]

»Hayden-Harnett for Target, rumored to be in the works for Spring 2009 [WWD]

»Elle may have a reality series, but it was still inspired by Anna Wintour [The Cut]

»Lily Cole is gracing the cover of November 2008 Playboy France [Page Six Magazine]

>> Tears, catfights, and body image issues: Stylista is shaping up to be everything a Tyra Banks-produced show should be.  Another extended clip has dropped of the Elle-backed reality show; Put that together with the first three clips, and the classiest thing they have going between them is the comment, "You suddenly have your own Jackson Pollock" — and that's in reference to dog excrement.  I'll let you see the rest of the mess for yourself.

Also, just as a sidenote: Maggie Rizer makes an appearance during the season — does she have a special agreement going with Joe Zee?  She attended a lot of the New York shows with him a couple of seasons ago to blog for Elle, and now she's appearing in their TV show . . .

>> INSIDER WIRE —You won't see Joe Zee in makeup anytime soon, and he won't be on TV much either.  "My participation with [Stylista] was minimal, I did it every Thursday for a couple of hours at night and it didn’t get in the way of my day-to-day life.  But the luckiest part of it all was that I’m a guy.  I didn’t have to sit through hair and makeup.  I show up, I film it and I’m gone.  In and out!" [Chic Report] 

>>  "Okay everybody, Anne's here," with her Yves Saint Laurent Star necklace, Besace flap bag, and pained shuffle walk.  The first three clips of Stylista have been uploaded, and the show looks to be just what is expected from a Tyra-produced series: over-the-top, affected, with plenty of whine to go around.