Did we hear right? You think you’re finished with warm-weather clothes? We beg to differ. You did not spend all those hours in the gym to bail on summer now. Do not be ridiculous. You belong in this grape popsicle of a summer dress from Searle ($349), with its open back, ballerina neckline and banded hem (the better to highlight those Stairmastered legs), or this cherry-flavored matte jersey dress that skims all those hard-earned curves ($59). Take a whirl on the dance floor at a black-and-white wedding in this Alice + Olivia Goddess Dress ($385, pictured) at Bloomingdales, and just watch how quickly they worship at your, uh, feet. Not quite enough dress? Wet Seal has you covered, then, with its printed halter dress ($24.50), as does Travelsmith with its Perfect-Fit cami halter dress ($49). Swimsuit tan lines? Try on this pretty-in-hot-pink open-back tie dress at Neiman Marcus ($261), with its graceful diagonal lines and perfectly placed strap across the back, or this Adrianna Papell babydoll dress ($168), which is a bit more modest but still comes down far enough in the back to show off. We confess to flirting with Tommy Bahama’s Indonesian paisley sundress because of its beachy print and smocked back ($128). And we adore Levi’s 100 percent cotton white tea-length halter dress ($88), which shows just enough ruffle to be girly and just enough skin to be all grown up. Are you getting the picture? We want to see your trapezius, and we want to see it now.

There comes a point in every presidential campaign when the candidates are closely scrutinized by a curious country with a single question: What does your necktie say about you? Barack Obama has said he doesn’t like neckties and is frequently seen without them, even when wearing a suit. When he does wear a tie it’s usually muted, a solid pale gray or blue, or one with slim stripes. John McCain is more necktie-friendly. He wears all manner of striped ties (albeit subdued) and sometimes opts for bright colors such as yellow or orange. Since we’re going to be seeing a lot of them, we’ve rounded up some nice ties that might give the candidates a few style points. Starting at the higher end, Armani Collezioni’s navy tie with thin light blue stripes is natty for $140. A more conventional striped tie from Charvet can be had in red and white stripes on a blue background ($185). Salvatore Ferragamo’s red, white and blue striped necktie is a little more striking, and if you’re rich, snap up the Stefani Ricci silk striped tie with a dominant red tone for $210 (pictured, left). A pair of ties that don’t scream American but would work for either candidate are the Armani delicate striped red tie, or Ermenegildo Zegna’s lovely Italian silk blue tie with tiny white dots. A little more down-to-earth, pricewise, is the Calvin Klein deep red “digi square” tie for $69.50 at Dillard’s, or the blue “microbead” striped tie, also $69.50. Also very striking and a lot less costly is Target’s Merona houndstooth blue tie for $20. Some serious but excessively patriotic ties include Krisar’s American flag tie for $10, a stars and stripes look from Sterling Apparel for $18 or Jos. A. Bank’s boldly striped tie on sale for $30. A tad wackier is the waving American flag tie at Wild Ties for $15, their tie festooned with presidential portraits for $35, and Zazzle’s ties dotted with the presidential seal. We even found an Obama tie for $17 on Wild Ties, but try as we might, we could not find a John McCain tie, although there are lots of nice apparel options from his website (like a snappy navy windbreaker). We did stumble upon a tie that might tickle a gung-ho GOPer (pictured, above), and for the racier Republican, there’s one decorated with a picture of a young Sarah Palin for $30.

Hillary Clinton gave a stirring speech at the Democratic National Convention last night in one of her signature pantsuits, this one a very bright orange. Much has been made of Clinton’s pantsuits during the campaign, the sameness of their cut, their bright colors, their shapelessness. Designers have decried them. Try as we might we could not find a name of the designer of Clinton’s pantsuits, but in searching we did come across some pretty pantsuits to share. Macy’s has a striking black suit with a pleated jacket by Calvin Klein, on sale for $145. Sutton Studio has a basic suit with Hillary-esque longer jacket on sale for $190 at Bloomingdales. The Le Suit line of pantsuits from J.C. Penney are not high style, but they’re safe and solid, such as one with a long houndstooth coat and black pants, or a brown one (on sale for $100) with similar styling to Clinton’s suits (albeit a little more tailored around the waist). Moving up the price scale, the high-end designer Web site Yoox seems to have the market in expensive suits cornered: there’s a Costume National simple suit for $410, a similar but bright red suit for $478, a loosely cut pale pink one from Jil Sander for $314 (marked down from $1,250!) and a gorgeous black Armani with cropped jacket (Hillary’s are never with cropped jackets, which are more stylish and common currently) for $1,178. Nordstrom has plenty of mix and match jackets and pants, such as a $398 Elie Tahari or a black Kenneth Cole with a cropped jacket cinched at the waist with a stylish skinny belt. You can see all of Nordstrom’s suit offerings on this page. The creator of the women’s pantsuit, the late Yves St. Laurent, was proud that Hillary Clinton wore pantsuits (albeit not any of his). At Style.com, you can review a gallery of St. Laurent’s pantsuits over the years (the one pictured is from his fall 2001 couture collection) to see how many ways he interpreted the style.

When is a book a head scarf? When is a dish towel a souvenir? Not often, granted — but these cute textiles fit all the descriptions above and more. They’re humble but lovely cloths made in Japan, where you might find them worn in street festivals or hanging on the wall. In case their multi-functionality confuses Western shoppers, importers have folded them up and stitched them so the make a kind of book of fabric, each “page” highlighting a different part of the larger illustration. (To use them as originally intended, just snip the two threads that keep the sheet folded up.) While the fabric’s maker, Hamamonyo, offers a huge selection of patterns in Japan (see them at this foreign-language site), the American company Compact Impact is testing the market with only three styles, which it sells in this bundle for $15.50. More varieties featuring illustrations of pets are on their way in October, the retailer says.

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.