The little black dress is just a Pandora’s Box, isn’t it? We only need one, but there is no guarantee that one is actually the one. The next LBD we see looks even better. It could be the best ever. It could be the most Breakfast at Tiffany’s, the perfect Sex in the City. And we are looking for it all the time. Little-black-dress radar is never turned off.  Designers understand this, because they must constantly reinvent the little troublemaker. This fall, Abaete (Saks, $270, pictured) adds a sweetheart neckline and barely-there curves; Lanvin hits a bit of a harder edge with a sharp silhouette and a no-nonsense shoulder line. Michael Kors takes the hem up to here and the sleeves down to there, and ends up with a bit of a ’70s babydoll ($150). Fendi adds buckles, buttons and a skinny little ruffle around the hem; Vera Wang ends in ruffles as well, but goes sleek and sophisticated before she gets there. Thakoon adds short little sleeves and a square neckline to a dress with a lot of shape; Dries Van Noten adds colorful embellishment to his elbow-length bell sleeves, but otherwise comes up with a fairly shapeless dress. Baby Phat owns the literal interpretation of the word “little,” in a dress small enough that it could roll up and fit into a nice Marc Jacobs bag. We give Bottega Veneta’s simple black off-the-shoulder sheath this year’s Hepburn nod, for the dress most likely to get us down a Parisian street with confidence. Well, maybe except for Chanel, of course, and their hoodie-inspired leather dress. We’re just not sure we have the, uh, je ne sais quoi needed to pull it off.

There has been a pitched battle for Olympic gold going on 1,222 miles from Beijing this week, but it’s likely only aficionados or little girls have watched. The equestrian competition ended in Hong Kong with Germany coming out on top with three gold medals (the U.S. won two, including a gold). Anyone who watched the events marveled at the sheer strength, skill and hutzpah of horse and rider, but in case Michael Phelps and Nastia Liukin distracted you, there are lots of little girls who live and breathe horses. One person even attempts to decipher the riddle of why girls love horses on Yahoo!Answers. Now all these girls are going to need a horsey fix: If she’s around 6 to 8 years old, get her the “Fashion Angels” equestrian sketchbook ($15) from Toys’r'Us, or the Equestrian Challenge for PC for $20. If Barbie is her thing, the omnipresent doll has a complete equestrian outfit for $50 from etoys (if you want the horse and tack, that’s extra). There’s even a lovely book from the American Girls library, Girls and their Horses for $9. Mom, do you remember how much you loved horses? Maybe it was because of the classic movie National Velvet. Lest we forget that Jackie Kennedy made equestrian style chic, England’s Equestrianism.net maintains the standard. More recently, the O’Halloran Co. turned it into couture styling. (If you pay attention to fashion, you’ve noticed the riding boots that designers are churning out, such as Burberry’s $995 pair.) If the grown-ups have become enamored of dressage, this classy coffee table book shows you how to put the horsey into your home décor ($41). Finally, to make sure the holiday’s are just right, grab a Little Girl Riding Horse ornament from Bronner’s Christmas Wonderland for $6.

Anyone who pretends not to look at tabloid magazine covers knows that America is very, very interested in babies of celebrities. To feed that insatiable hunger, most every celebrity of childbearing years has had a baby of late. People Magazine’s Web site has found the perfect mixture of star-obsession and shopping with their Celebrity Baby Blog. The Blog features a section on what gear celebs buy for their babies. Because we know there is an instinctive maternal urge to buy your baby something that Nicole Richie’s baby has, we’ve rounded up a few recent items. Laila Ali, of boxing and Dancing With the Stars fame, is expecting a son and has a Mutsy 4 Rider Light stroller ($699) waiting, as well as a Luca Glider for $895, baby shoes by Pediped and a $50 Jelly Baby changing mat by Kuster. Julianna Margulies wheels son Kieran Lindsay in a Bugaboo Cameleon ($900) and uses an $80 Skip Hop Via messenger diaper bag ($79). Actress Gretchen Mol has an 11-month-old son named Ptolemy and he sucks a Gerber soft center pacifier (2 for $3) and rides in a Bugaboo Frog ($759). Singer Sheryl Crow and son Wyatt Steven cruise in Kolcraft Countours Lite stroller ($70, pictured) and the baby wears an eco-T from Tiny Revolution, $25. Celeb-dad Matthew McConaughey strolls tiny Levi in an Orbit Baby’s Orbit infant system ($900) with bassinet ($240). In an amazing double-celebrity, double-baby sighting - Madonna and Gwyneth Paltrow, with Apple and David -  were seen walking both with Paltrow’s green Phil and Ted’s Sport double stroller, which costs $510. And, short of Brangelina’s twins, the most ogled child in America has to be Suri Cruise. On a recent outing, she carried Jellycat’s My Little Friend Bunny ($12). Must you have more? The Baby Chic 101 blog keeps tabs on every celeb and their baby buys. (Lisa Marie Presley, expecting twins, just spent more than $18,000 at chic Petit Tresor).

Ever heard of Zara? Good, then you heard it here first. If you haven’t heard of it, you’re probably not much of a world traveler. Zara is a hot brand that has just become the world’s largest clothing retailer. That honor was given to Gap until this week. A slumping U.S. consumer sales market has dropped Gap’s revenues by 10 percent in the first quarter of their fiscal year. For your edification: Zara clothing is trendy , chic, inexpensive, you can’t buy it online and there are 3,900 Zara stores in the world, compared to 3,100 Gap outlets. There are five Zara stores in New York City and surrounding areas. The retail giant was born in Spain (in the bedroom of 72-year-old founder and chairman Amancio Ortega, who made bathrobes) and the first store opened in 1975. Now you can shop in Zara stores in Bahrain, Croatia and Iceland. British Vogue says the Zara philosophy is fast fashion: they quickly take designer runway looks and turn them into mass audience items, like the one pictured. They aren’t interested in any celebrity designers coming into their fold. Owned by Inditex, they proudly state it takes only two weeks to get an item from drawing board to store shelf. But guess what? You can buy online from their home and bedding line, although you’ll have to translate Euros to dollars. That’s not so hard: here, use this to do it. Gap, on the other hand, has an aging and eroding customer base, according to The Guardian of Britain, and they’ve not been successful enough at appealing to younger customers. The Zara brand does have 24 U.S. stores, in big cities (Atlanta, Boston, Dallas, Miami and more) and some small (Canoga Park, Garden City, Wayne). You can find all their U.S. locations on their Web site.

After the overwhelming spectacle of the opening ceremonies at the Beijing Olympics came the time-honored tradition of critiquing our nation’s style statement. The U.S. team marched into the stadium looking dandy, clad in head to toe Ralph Lauren classic preppy attire. Toss in the white shirt, white pants and red, white and blue ties and scarves and, well, it was an ”off to the yacht club for a toddy” look.  According to USA Today, the athletes were even given pamphlets to tell them how to tie their ties and otherwise make the outfits look spit-spot. The iconic piece was the blue blazer with Olympic rings logo (and a none-too-subtle Polo pony). Do you want one? Too late. Lauren’s online store had 200 for sale at $695 each, but they sold out in the blink of an eye (quick, there’s one for sale at eBay). If you are now sartorially smitten with the blue-blazer look, Lauren has others, like a mesh fleece one ($165), a snappy wool 3-button that you can wear atop your shorts for $1,095 or a classy Savile Row cashmere blazer on sale for $1,350. Or be a rebel and get yours from Brooks Brothers. Now that you’re thinking preppy is your next style statement, jump into the deep end. Go for the Polo plaid tartan vest ($170) atop bright red knee-length logo-swathed shorts. Or grab a “vintage” wool cardigan ($265) and dream of Dartmouth. If you have simpler tastes, and just want something that says “Olympic,” check out the entire collection at Ralph Lauren, or shop the NBC Universal Olympic store and the official U.S. Olympic store.

Teens and tweens went wild for Miley Cyrus’ new release Breakout, sending it to the top of the Billboard charts last week. Then, of course, there’s Disney’s wildly popular Hannah Montana TV series. We’re willing to bet Cyrus gear just might be at the top of, oh, we don’t know, just about every young girl’s back-to-school shopping list. Kids can snuggle up in a Hannah Montana comforter after a long night of homework ($30) or facilitate sweet dreams of Cyrus with the “Secret Pop Star” reversible pillowcase ($4.50). Musical talent or not, your tween can rock out with the Hananh Montana guitar-shaped bag ($20) or play it a little safer with the floral guitar backpack ($12). The Hannah Montana four-piece school set contains a pencil, eraser, ruler and organizational pouch — perfect for keeping your elementary school student’s gear organized ($3.50). Jumbo ballpoint pens with Cyrus’ mug are another nice addition to the school backpack ($7). HM/Miley Cyrus clothing is available on just about any mainstream superstore Web site, but Wal-mart features a range of online-only apparel. The Disney Hannah Montana cinched top with chains (pictured) is an online exclusive with a bargain price ($11). The Hannah Montana metallic stripe branded T-shirt looks cute with black skinny jeans or shorts and is equally easy on the wallet ($10). Good news: You can get the Cyrus style without wearing gear emblazoned with “Hannah Montana.” Sears’ Hannah Montana line features a cute sequined top with matching shrug ($17) and plaid Bermuda shorts ($19) — no Hannah Montana signature in sight.