There’s been plenty of talk lately about bikini waxing, from your reasons it’s very popular, for the surprisingly young ages that women start performing it. Though the conversation got just a little louder-and more high brow.

The Atlantic just published a substantial article about Brazilian bikini waxes along with the story’s compounded about 300 comments and counting. And London hosted the Muff March last weekend, to protest the proliferation of vaginal cosmetic plastic surgery options. We’re obviously in the middle of Vaginageddon here.

There are several obvious historical points in pop culture that could indicate who’s to “blame” to the reason female crotch hair is certainly going extinct. The Atlantic traces the timeline nicely: The J. Sisters introduced the united states on the Brazilian within the late 80s; Carrie Bradshaw first got it all waxed off in an episode of SATC in 2000; Victoria Beckham declared in 2003 that all girls should go on it all off starting on the age of 15; and lastly, the porn industry probably started all this to start with. Playboy started showing much less bush, and porn movies followed suit. Teeny bikinis and super low-slung jeans (see: Tara Reid circa 2000-style) were a final nails in the pubic coffin. Which brings us to your current state of hairlessness.

No matter the reason women wax it all off-some believe it’s hygienic or makes sex better-the point is that it’s something else for us to become insecure about. And it’s increasingly younger women who're falling prey to the pressure to get a porn star pudenda. Essentially the most disturbing the main Atlantic article involves college students. The under-30 set provides the most Brazilians-they’ve adult with the notion that being hairless is the norm, and thus get their male peers. Which is how it gets gross.

The Atlantic recounted a narrative wherein a higher boy said “he had never installed using a girl who had crotch hair, and would frankly be disgusted to undress women and learn a veil of genital fur.” This apparently led a lot of girls to freak out and wax immediately. And there’s a lot of anecdotes about women refusing to enter social situations that might result in sex when they’re due to get a wax. With justified reason being worried, because guys are talking about your fuzzy cooch inside a not-so-nice way. Per the Atlantic: “It’s not uncommon for the college-aged man to ‘go out of his way’ to make fun of your girl’s pubic grooming habits regarding his buddies after he’s installed together with her.” Young guys are watching porn and assuming it’s reality. (Um, they must be fricking pleased to get any pussy in any way, whether it be fuzzy you aren't.)

Women are beginning to buck from the notion they desire a so-called “designer vagina” to be considered attractive. Even strippers have started questioning the practice-remember the vagina beauty pageant? The Muff March ladies started protesting the buzz of hairless ladyparts (with amazing slogans like “Get Your Mitts Off My Muff”), but expanded their march this coming year to incorporate the quickly proliferating plastic surgery options. “Lady gardens aren't just undergoing topiary, they’re having invasive re-landscaping,” like a flowery editorial within the Guardian puts it. The labia-prettifying plastic cosmetic surgery marketplace is booming on the tune of $6.8 million in the united states, based on the Guardian. Procedures vary from labiaplasty to vaginal tightening and beyond. So not only are younger ladies feeling insecure, but now older women (who may have had babies, etc.) thinks bad relating to vag sag.

It’s enough to help you desire to you should get some granny panties and call it a day.

That taste of Karlie’s gams around the cover of Vogue Italia we had been treated to a couple of days ago is mere child’s play compared to what’s been unleashed within the mag. Karlie earned herself an 18-page spread shot by Steven Meisel, also it flaunts her crazy-toned, long-limbed body-she looks amazing naked and now we suspect it’s hard to get photographers to help keep her clothes on. If you need some New Year’s fitness motivation, read on.

The photographs are actually fun, if a little random. She wears lots of hats (flowers! a sombrero!) and is shown along with her clothes scrunched down so it’s challenging to tell what exactly she’s wearing in some from the pics. But we don’t think the garments are necessarily the idea here.

*runs off to do a huge selection of crunches*

Mara Hoffman is selling swimwear at during Art Basel Miami Beach out of an old, beat-up Airstream trailer. This being Miami, though, that’s not as bohemian as it might sound. For one thing, she’s seeing lots of black cards. (Hoffman did about $7,000 of business the first day, with Santigold among the clientele.) For another, she’s got limited-edition pieces (15 each) created in collaboration with a handful of contemporary artists, ranging from Spencer Tunick to Brooklyn-based muralist Maya Hayuk. Those two came to Hoffman’s presentation of the pieces at the Mondrian yesterday around sunset, where she explained how the whole thing came about: “I’ve got a lot of artists in my life.” Hoffman’s husband, Javier Piñon, is one of them—he provided her with a print for a swimsuit, too.

John Newsom’s parrot print, with bursting with tropical pinks and reds (above left), is perhaps the most eye-catching of the bunch. It’s also the one Hoffman relates to most. “The Spencer Tunick piece is a ton of nudes (above right)—it’s awesome, but I would never do that,” she explained. Newsom’s, on the other hand, “resonates with me as far as color, and richness, and kind of fun clothes…that’s sort of what I do normally.”

Wearable collector’s items, the suits are individually numbered and signed by the artist. Doing the breaststroke in one of them won’t necessarily lower its value, either. “We used a permanent pen,” Hoffman said.

This week, the buzz has been about Liz Taylor, whose collection of couture, jewels, and accessories has just hit Christie’s. But on the pre-fall rounds, it’s another Taylor being name-dropped: Colorado socialite Ann Bonfoey Taylor. Taylor’s been in the news as well of late, thanks to a recent Phoenix Art Museum retrospective of her enviable collection of Balenciaga, Charles James, Madame Grès, and Hermès. We spotlighted Taylor as a Beauty Icon earlier this year, and for his pre-fall collection, Michael Kors chose her as his inspiration—”Nan Kempner on the range,” he said. That influence worked itself out in Mongolian lamb and cold-weather chic, especially coats. Above and below, Taylor herself, alongside a few of Kors’ creations in homage.

New York is starting to look a little like Paris. The French label Sandro, launched in the City of Light in 1984 by Didier and Evelyn Chetrite, opened its first U.S. Stores this month, the his-and-hers Sandro and Sandro Homme on Bleecker Street. (The block is something of a family affiar; Evelyn’s sister Judith Milgrom opened a U.S. boutique for her own label, Maje, right down the block, and fellow Frenchman Francois Nars has a store nearby, too). The sleekly minimal spaces feature the brand’s apparel and accessory for men and women, in the low-key chic mold that made the label a favorite among fashion editors visiting Europe for the shows. Style.com’s Celia Ellenberg returned from Paris fashion week this past season with a new coat in tow, one that she reports has earned nothing but compliments. “Everywhere I go, people ask me where I got it,” she says of the fur-lined parka. “Up until last week, I had the pleasure of responding with a coy, ‘Oh, this? I got it at this store I love in Paris that doesn’t exist in New York.” To her dismay (and the rest of NYC’s delight), it’s now available in the Big Apple, too; similar pieces are avaialble at Sandro’s newly-launched e-commerce site, sandro-paris.com.

Gucci has been named the most searched for fashion brand on Microsoft’s Search Engine, Bing, in 2011, marking its second year at the top.

Similarly to Google’s Zeitgeist list, which will soon be announced, Bing.com compiles an annual search trends list to capture key American movements of the year.

Italian luxury brand Gucci, which also offers more affordable mass market items such as keychains and wallets, has beaten the likes of Louis Vuitton and Burberry to the top spot in the most searched for brands category.

French fashion house Chanel was last year’s number two in the compilation, although it has dropped to fifth position for 2011. Ralph Lauren now occupies the second most searched spot, having notably made the headlines this month after Vogue magazine published a spread on the brand’s heir David Lauren’s wedding to model and designer Lauren Bush.

Other appearances clearly linked to media reports include that of John Galliano at number nine; the creator made news for all the wrong reasons in 2011 after being found guilty of racist and anti-Semitic abuse following his arrest at a Paris bar in February.

Notably absent from the top ten are Versace and Missoni, who have both enjoyed mainstream success in 2011 with affordable lines at H&M and US department store Target respectively.

Meanwhile, Chanel’s founder and namesake Coco Chanel made number eight, despite the label’s ubiquitous creative director Karl Lagerfeld not making an appearance.

Other brands featuring in the top ten include sportswear label Y-3 and casualwear retailer J. Crew.

Top Searched Fashion Brands On Bing.com in 2011 (via The Wall Street Journal):

1. Gucci
2. Ralph Lauren
3. Y-3
4. Louis Vuitton
5. Chanel
6. Guess
7. J. Crew
8. Coco Chanel
9. John Galliano
10. Burberry

H&M has announced its next designer collaboration will be with Italian fashion house Marni.

The Swedish high street retailer caused global hysteria earlier this month when the Versace for H&M line went on sale, and its earlier collaborations with high-end brands such as Lanvin and Sonia Rykiel have been similarly successful.

Rumors had been suggesting the next H&M collaboration could be with Tom Ford, after H&M's creative adviser Margareta van den Bosch described him as "a very interesting name."

However, the brand revealed in a press release Tuesday, November 29 that its Spring 2012 designer partnership will be with Marni.

The label's founder and creative director Consuelo Castiglioni has created the clothing and accessories line inspired by Marni's original prints, which is for both men and women.

It will be available in 260 stores worldwide and online as of March 8, 2012.

"I wanted to create a true Marni wardrobe by revisiting all our favorite pieces in signature fabrics and prints. As always, I love juxtaposing prints and colors, mixing modern tribal with Bauhaus graphic adding sporty utilitarian elements," explained Castiglioni.

2012 will also see the release of a second round of designs from Versace creative director Donatella, whose Fall 2012 sold out in just half an hour in some stores.

Last week a spokesperson for H&M confirmed Donatella's Spring pre-collection will be available January 19, although only in countries where H&M has an e-commerce site such as the UK, Germany, the Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden and Norway.

Princess Diana's back-up wedding dress and shoes were auctioned at London's Kerry Taylor auction house.

When you’re getting married in front of millions, you ought to have a back up plan.

Or a back-up dress, to be more precise. Exact replicas of Princess Diana’s wedding dress and slippers were auctioned off in London this week for approximately $132,000. The David Emanuel gown and Clive Shilton shoes were made for the princess in case anything went wrong with her original outfit prior to the ceremony.

A fashion museum in Chile bought the dress; a private buyer took home the shoes (which, according to the Daily Mail, have the initials C and D joined together with a heart on the soles).

Wonder if Duchess Catherine had her own replicas waiting in the wings?

Heavy rolls of silk printed with a tiny stirrup motif line up on a factory floor near Lyon, waiting to be rolled, beaten and brushed to perfection, before they are cut into Hermes neckties.

Based outside the eastern French city, silk "finisher" Proverbio is one of a handful of survivors of a once-flourishing industry, which from farm to weaver to trader employed many thousands at its height in the 19th century.

Today the thread comes from China or Brazil, but Lyon still counts a core of about 30 silk companies focused on the very top end of the luxury market.

When Laura Bush wanted to spruce up the curtains in the yellow room of the White House, she naturally turned to the people who made the originals for Jackie Kennedy: Lyon's oldest silk weaver Tassinari et Chatel.

France's whole textile sector took a knock following the banking crisis of 2008, but silk has bounced back in the past two years thanks to robust demand in the luxury sector.

"There aren't many silk firms left, but those that remain are doing well," said Pierric Chalvin, head of the regional textile federation, Unitex.

Tassinari was one of a dozen firms showcasing its skills this week at the Lyon Silk Bazaar, held in the city's old stock exchange, where bolts and offcuts are sold direct to the public packing out the venue.

Founded in 1680, the firm supplies sumptuous 17th- and 18th-century patterned silks to the Chateau de Versailles, to royal households and luxury hotels the world over, turning over four millions euros last year.

"We have hand-made items that can take two, three or four years to weave -- at a pace of a few centimetres a day," said Tassinari's industrial director Bertrand Dessailly.

"Technically, what we do could be done elsewhere. But our fabrics carry within them a little bit of French history. And the people who can afford them do not want to buy them in China."

Haute Couture designer Alexis Mabille, who is originally from Lyon, sources most of his silk there and partnered with the fair to promote local know-how.

"Each house here has its specialities," said the 33-year-old designer, known for his signature bow-tie motif. "For couture or luxury ready-to-wear there are the classics like radzimir, which you can have reissued, or gazar which is back in fashion, or others who do chiffon with silk velvet."

He says a willingness to work closely with designers is key to survival.

"It means you can obtain things that are exclusive, or semi-exclusive. If you want a particular motif, a change of colour, something psychedelic instead of classical, you can have it," he said.

One of Mabille's suppliers is the weaver Sfate et Combier, which exports fabrics like silk chiffon and organza to more than 50 countries -- and creates some 1,000 novelty weaves and patterns each year.

"In France it has become impossible to produce cheap fabrics. We have been pushed upmarket. But that is an asset, because the further up we go, the fewer limits there are on our creativity," said its chief executive Philippe de Montgrand.

From modern weavers like Sfate et Combier, to heritage firms, to luxury fashion brands from Chanel to Louis Vuitton or Hermes, Proverbio counts most of France's big silk players among its 50-odd clients.

It business, called finishing, is what makes silk feel like silk.

Step one is to scour or boil-off the fabric, to remove a sticky gum called secretin, the glue in the silkworm's cocoon.

Rolls of raw white silk, starchy and thick-feeling, are wound by hand onto spools and plunged into frothy vats of water with pure olive oil Marseille soap, emerging slippery and supple.

Proverbio then uses a string of chemical and mechanical processes to fine-tune the silk's feel and aspect -- mat, shiny, grainy, smooth -- or add special properties.

"We can make a soft silk even softer for a piece of lingerie, or make a tie water-resistant," he said. "The possibilities are infinite."

Founded 90 years ago and still family-owned today, his firm last year expanded its workforce from 34 to 45 people and invests 15 percent of annual turnover into research and development.

"Silk is inseparable from its history," said the firm's head Bruno Proverbio. "Up to us to ensure that history is not just left gathering dust."

In the meantime, since the silk rolls need to travel back and forth between weaver and finisher, Proverbio believes it is unlikely to lose out to faraway competitors -- as long as there are looms still whirring in Lyon.

A Mondrian dress by iconic French designer Yves Saint Laurent was snapped up on Thursday, star lot of a vintage sale held half a century after his fashion house was founded.

Sold for 30,000 pounds (35,000 euros, 47,000 dollars) the dress was part of a capsule collection of nine Saint Laurent pieces, dating from 1962 to 1970, at a Christie's clothing sale stretching from the 18th century to the 1980s.

Patricia Frost, director of Christie's textile department, described the dress, inspired by the work of Dutch abstract artist Piet Mondrian, as "a magic carpet piece, it takes you right back to 1966."

The London sale came just ahead of the 50-year anniversary of the founding of Saint Laurent's fashion house, on December 4, 1961. The couture house closed in 2002 when the designer stood down.

Since his death in 2008, the mystique of Saint Laurent's name has sent prices flying at a string of record-smashing auctions of art and belongings accumulated by the designer and his partner Pierre Berge over the decades.

Christie's intended the sale in part as a retrospective of Saint Laurent's early career, at Dior from 1957 then striking out on his own aged 25.

"Saint Laurent lives on everywhere you look," said Berge, now 81, who co-founded his fashion house and helped run it for 40 years. "The most important are perhaps those you notice less," he told AFP.

"Saint Laurent completely defined his era. Everyone has a Saint Laurent -- although they often don't realise it," said Berge, who today runs a foundation created in Saint Laurent's memory.

"He invented an entire masculine world that he fitted to women's bodies: tuxedos, sahara jackets, the sailor's jacket."

Berge's foundation has also sent travelling exhibitions of his work around the world, from Paris last year, to Madrid at the moment, and Denver, Colorado a few weeks from now.

From theatre to dance and cinema, Saint Laurent cultivated close ties with the arts, creating tribute collections from Matisse to Cocteau, Van Gogh or Picasso, as well as his Mondrian and pop art dresses.

Other pieces in the Christie's sale included an Indian-inspired green brocade coat, from Saint Laurent's first own-name catwalk show in January 1962, that was snapped on the cover of Elle magazine that year, and sold for 2,000 pounds.

"Saint Laurent's clothes happen to make people look wonderful but they also have more depth to them," Frost said. "They should be looked at more as works of art. They are not really for wearing, they are more for museums."

The legendary jewelry and fashion collections of Elizabeth Taylor, the so-called "Crown Jewels of Hollywood," went on glittering display Thursday in New York ahead of a hotly anticipated auction.

The actress, who died in March at the age of 79, had seven husbands during her glamorous life, countless admirers and a passion for jewelry.

The exhibition at Christie's auction house in Manhattan is the last stop on a world tour highlighting Taylor's treasures -- and the first and last time that the entire collection will be gathered in one place.

Thousands of people have already bought tickets to the 10-day public viewing, which only starts Saturday.

The auction will then run from December 13-16, offering pieces like the 33.19 carat "Elizabeth Taylor Diamond" given to her by husband Richard Burton in 1968, and estimated to sell for between $2.5-3.5 million.

Running concurrently with the live auction at Christie's will be an Internet-only sale of nearly 1,000 items such as jewelry and accessories like designer handbags. Christie's estimates total sales of between $30 million and $50 million.

Another gift from Burton, who was twice married to Taylor, was the famous "La Peregrina" pearl from the 16th century, once worn by several queens of Austria, England and Spain. It is estimated at $2-3 million.

Hundreds of haute couture dresses from Chanel, Christian Dior, Givenchy, Valentino, Versace or Yves Saint Laurent, jackets, caftans, handbags and other accessories are on sale and they tell both the story of the star and also the changes in fashion during her eventful career.

The dress Taylor wore to her first marriage is predicted to go for between $40,000 and $60,000.

"It is by far the greatest jewelry collection to be offered in a century," said Marc Porter, chairman of Christie's Americas. "There is such a depth of quality."

Additional showstoppers include the Prince of Wales diamond brooch, estimated at between $400,000 and half a million dollars, and a ruby and diamond ring by Van Cleef & Arpels and an emerald and diamond Bulgari necklace both estimated at between $1 million and $1.5 million.

There's even a tiara, also encrusted with diamonds, and estimated to go for between $60,000-$80,000.

The scale of the auction is itself unusual. Meredith Etherington-Smith, curator for the fashion side, said she had "never seen so many clothes racks in my life and nothing was in order."

She described the dresses and other pieces representing "60 years of fashion and it is the very best of the best."

"I would have loved to have met her. She was so glamorous," Etherington-Smith said.