Those designers… As if they didn’t already have a major outlet to display their creativity… The grapevine is sweltering with the news that Donna Karan is The Huffington Post’s newest blogger. Maybe her international line of clothing wanted by nearly everyone is just not enough of a canvas to paint her thoughts.

Why should it be?

In her first set of blog posts she talks about something close to her heart other than designing, and why not? Health care and it’s dramatic state of disrepair can use an overhaul, it doesn’t take a fashion blogger like myself or designer-cum-blogger like Ms. Karan to say so. I actually went to the emergency room two months ago (I felt dizzy) and got a whopping $2700 bill. My insurance paid $2650 dollars of that. Come to find out it was just bad sushi.

Those in hospitals way longer are looking at bills way higher. So Ms. Karan’s posts on health care seem ever more appropriate. One of her posts entitled Making Health Care More Caring addresses the coldness (at times) of the health care system and whether the thoughts, wants, needs of those who are ill matter. I’ll Cliff’s Notes it for you, she believes it does, and I agree.

I’ll keep reading, maybe she’ll tell why she brought the bodysuit back for Fall.

Wanted: Legs that go further than a well timed compliment. Gams that cause a collective gasp. Stems that are the best in the bouquet. Time tocross that off your to-do list and get shopping. Life & Style Weekly Magazine  presents a top shelf list of the summer’s most sizzling sandals. These sexy shoes combine skyrocket wedge heels with a perfectly placed peep-toe or stellar slingback for a lengthy look that puts you in another height bracket. And we’re always looking to trade-up, right?

Some of the hautest hitters are coming from Aldo, Bakers, and Carlos by Carlos Santana. Aldo uses a springy cork to lift you up without letting uncomfortable styling bring you down. Bakers takes a feminine, floral approach with a slightly naughty patent leather trim. And to round out the trend list, Carlos by Carlos Santana uses Lucite and always-appealing metallics to make an of-the-moment statement.

At the risk of giving these celebutards more coverage in the digital sphere, I had to really point out how gut wrenchingly unbearable Lindsay Lohan and her ilk have become (or maybe they were there already?). She’s gone from young actress with so much promise (see Mean Girls), the anti-Paris Hilton as it were, to becoming… dare I say it, worse. It makes me long somewhat for the actresses and hollywood starlets of yesteryear. True they had the same problems with drugs, men, money and later on, suicide, they kept their business as private as it could it be (outside of the confines of Hollywood).

The truth is that in this age of cell phone cameras, photographers hanging in trees waiting for the next celebutard to get drunk and crash into something and websites showing vagina shots of (insert actress here); I can’t help but wonder whether Marilyn Monroe would end up hiding her face half-buzzed in an SUV. Or whether a young Audrey Hepburn with her many, many, many men would flash her wares to anyone caught looking? Would Ingrid Bergman be in a sex tape that would sell on the internet?

And what about the fashion?

Would any of these women be caught wearing sweats, flip-flops and sunglasses in public? Knowing that Nicole Richie has made it ok, would they still do it to be relevant? I guess I am asking impossible questions, but you can’t help but wonder what would really happen. It was definitely a different time and maybe I long for the extravagant Chanel evening gowns with the elaborate headwear. The long cigarette stalks, the graceful heels, the sparing use of makeup all coming together for Oscar night or a walk in the park.

My whole long-winded point is, the Hollywood of yesteryear was not without it’s flaws; but for some reason, those types of shortcomings seemed more bearable. And at the end of the day, the players were still glamorous.

This news broke over the weekend and had me somewhat upset. Michael Vollbracht, the cornerstone of the resurgent Bill Blass, decided to pack his bags and leave the company. He didn’t leave a forewarding note or anything. =(

According to WWD (who broke the news on Friday), Vollbracht might not necessarily come back into the fashion world he may just go back to designing and painting (he’s an artsy type). It’s a shame because the Bill Blass line was really coming into it’s own especially with the recent fall fashion week showing (see here). Though Vollbracht had what WWD describes as a stormy tenure at Bill Blass, his designs were universally admired. Laird Borelli at Style noted that:

“(Vollbracht) struck gold with (Angelina) Jolie’s red jersey, it isn’t surprising Vollbracht put out more knit dresses for autumn; one, a burgundy-and-camel color-block worn by Freja Beja Erichsen, had a timely eighties vibe”

Our own editor Michelle Bell stated that

The Blass collection seemed to be and “ode to fashion”. Taking a simplistic approach to and following the standards, of Halston, Norman Norell, and of course Bill Blass to recreate some of the past few decades trends and silhouettes.

Whatever is next for Vollbracht, I hope that he doesn’t stray too far from the fashion world.

Driving through McDonalds yesterday after my workout (I’m still on the Revival Diet), I noticed something about the cashier as I picked up my salad (see, I’m still on the diet). She was wearing an absolutely real as real can be pair of Dior sunglasses. I did a double take and thought to myself, I need to stop writing and join McDonald’s. That’s what I’ve been doing wrong all along. Fast food is the wave of the future.

I digress.

Something tempted me to start a conversation with the cashier about her Dior sunglasses, but I did not. I went straight home. Got online and looked for said glasses. They sell for about $320. See here at Eluxury. It left me wondering if the world is truly upside down? If a cashier from McDonald’s can afford to have the very best, why can’t an equally fabulous blog writer? Oh I know, because McDonald’s pays more. I’m definitely going into fast food.