Word on Seventh Avenue is...

I was so excited to see that Constance White made #7 on Fashion's 50 Most Powerful List in yesterday's New York Daily News. She so deserves it. White is presently the style director at eBay but has also completed stints at The New York Times, Elle and WWD. She is also the author of Style Noir. In addition, she provides her expertise to a gazillion of television shows and other media outlets on the whos and whats of fashion. And personally, I know that she truly cares about those on the come-up. In writing this post, I pulled out my copy of Style Noir and saw that she autographed it during a book signing at F.I.T. while I was a student there. Since then, I have come to know her as a mentor and even a colleague. Kinda crazy, right?

Number one on the list was Vogue's Anna Wintour. Like it or not, I think they were correct about that pick. Um, let's just say people take Anna's calls. Others I was excited to see make the cut include creative director of The Gap, Patrick Robinson (I interviewed him for the day job and he's a seriously talented designer), uber SATC stylist and boutique owner Patricia Field, what ya know about a wrap dress Diane von Furstenberg and Brandusa Niro, editor in chief of Daily Candy (Although they clog my in-box with emails, I so adore the witty and informative writing of this site). And the wildcard (but not really) on the list was billionaire mayor Michael Bloomberg. Surprised? The fashion biz is the second highest ranking industry (profit-wise) in NYC and basically, 'ole Mike runs this town.

(Have a look at the entire list here.)

Ev, a PPT reader, wanted to know who designed Michelle Obama's brooch that I mentioned in my last post. Well Ev, I did find out that the dress was by Michelle's trusted Maria Pinto (she turns to her designs quite often) but the brooch was apparently straight from her jewelry box. Yet another reason to love Michelle's style.