Show us a little girl and odds are good that at some point in her childhood, she will want to be a fairy for Halloween.

Enter Costumes Fairy, a small business in Ashland, Ore., where the most beautiful fairy costumes are hand-made by a couple (Richard and Robin Reno, who goes by the alias Earth Star). The costumes are made from sturdy but ethereal fabrics that are “non-itchy”

Recently, Town and Country magazine asked Earth Star to provide costumes for Brooke Shields’ daughters to wear during a photo shoot.  

Among their offerings are the fairy moon princess, (above left), which features two layers of soft tulle, trimmed in satin. Without wings, the costume is $65, and with wings it’s $95. The Cinderella fairy dress (above right) is another wonderous costume at $55 (without wings).

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We absolutely adore Project Runway’s torturous insistence on throwing kinks into the machinery just when the designers are about to die from creative exhaustion. Starting to despise one another? Even better: It ups the tears-and-snippy-comments-per-square-inch ratio.

But hello, if you are a finalist and you don’t expect last-minute anguish, you don’t come prepared with three ideas crib-noted on your hand just for emergencies, and you don’t automatically assume that when it’s bad, it’s going to get worse - Grow up! Watch more TV!

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We ask a lot of our pajamas. We must love sleeping in them, which means none of that silky, filmy, lacy stuff (cue audible sigh from significant other), but we have to love working in them. Yes, lots of us work at home, and we’ve taken casual Fridays to a whole new level. Our pajamas must be team players. Professionals. Bad jammies = distracted, squirmy, sub-par performance: inappropriate in the workplace.

To that end, we’ve gone out and found the eight cutest home-a-holic pajamas we could.  

1. These jammies would probably do your Power Point presentation for you. Natori Marisa pajama set at Saks Fifth Avenue, in black with long sleeves and a ruched top, ($160, above left).

2. Pajama Board member Victoria’s Secret, proving it can hang with the work-at-home crowd: Cotton Mayfair pajamas, with a button-front top, drawstring pants and prints you could wear to Kinko’s ($39, above right).

3. There are days when nothing but black will do. Nordstrom’s is on the job with Ralph Lauren’s Berkeley knit pajama set. It’s practically guarantees a good day at the laptop ($78, above left).

4. Oprah Magazine gave a nod to Sleepyheads’ Fresh ‘n’ Funky cherries lounger pajama, all bright in poplin cotton. Roll up your sleeves and go over tomorrow’s script ($55, above right).

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Target’s got a winning fashion trifecta lined up for the month.

Fashionistas looking for a budget-friendly fashion fix can score with designer Anya Hindmarch’s new handbag collection, Sigerson Morrison’s footwear collection and the new Jonathan Saunders clothing collection, all launching in mid-October. 

Saunders’ line hit Target’s shelves this past weekend. The Scottish-born designer offers a fresh take on color blocking, knitwear and clean-line silhouettes. Among our trendy favorites: the colorblock dress in white/ebony ($30, above right) and the ombre print skirt in blue whale ($27, above left).

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If you’re so star-struck you would pay good money to wear a piece of celebrity clothing (or if you’re just a sucker for a good cause), look no farther than Clothes Off Our Backs. Husband-and-wife actors Jane Kaczmarek (Malcolm in the Middle, Raising the Bar) and Bradley Whitford (The West Wing, Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip), founded the nonprofit in 2002, and it hosts charity auctions of celebrity attire, raising nearly $3 million for children’s charities.

Current auctions for clothing, accessories, and memorabilia from the 60^th Primetime Emmy Awards runs through Oct. 21 and will benefit Feeding America, The Art of Elysium, H.E.L.P. Malawi and Hope North. Among the items on the block:

1. E!’s Kristin Dos Santos’ Hugo Boss Black Collection Gown (size 6; above left, $1,000 opening bid)

2. Dancing With the Stars’ Julianne Hough’s BCBG Max Azria Gown (size 0; above center, $1,000 opening bid)

3. How I Met Your Mother’s Neil Patrick Harris’ Paul Smith tie (left, $75 opening bid)

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Oh, we’ll chatter about who bested whom, Joe Biden or Sarah Palin, during tonight’s vice presidential debate. Let’s leave it to others to ponder the political ramifications.

Let’s talk about how she looked.

Flattering black semi-satin skirted suit, hem modestly to the knee, jacket tied at the waist and then flared. A touch of shoulder padding and relatively narrow lapels, with a solid black skimmed top underneath. Oh, and a very large sparkling American flag pin on the lapel, but we’ve already talked about that kind of thing.

Yea, a little heavy on the cheek color (Hey, you’re gonna be on TV!). And those much-discussed frameless glasses.  (more…)

Even before the 2009 spring ready-to-wear shows in Europe have ended, a few trends are popping up: layered colors, sumptuous prints, gorgeous whites and short-to-long hemlines. Add a shoulder pad here and draped fabric there, and you’ve got the look. It seems like nearly every designer has at least one teeny tiny dress on the runway. Oh-so-short and wildly sexy, they dare your legs to look longer:

Stella McCartney, Paris. A little bit of a black dress with a big silhouette.

Balmain, Paris: A mermaid without her tail, with shimmer and shine for miles.

Peter Jensen, London: Check the blazer and portfolio; are we to interview in this?

Dolce & Gabbana, Milan: Be your own botanical garden!

Christian Lacroix, Paris: The man does know how to create a party dress (picture, right, New York Magazine).

Jean Paul Gaultier, Paris: A pretty thing, but a bit too dependent on the illusion.

Jenny Packham, London: Spring brings ruffles, color and a bright orange belt.

Missoni, Milan: A breath of fresh air in teal and gold.

Dior, Paris: If you’re brave enough, it’s certainly an attention getter!

The sass! The pout! The tears! And that was just Kenley, biting and clawing her way through the last elimination challenge before Project Runway’s season-ending finale in two weeks. The reality TV show that can turn designer wanna-be’s into fashion stars is getting dramatic.

Turns out, Kenley could have kept her composure. Runway judges said the competition was too close, so they didn’t kick anyone off last night. The challenge of the evening, for the designers to create evening gowns inspired by nature, left Jerell, Leanne, Korto and Kenley still in the running. Top prizes on Runway  include the chance to show a collection at Fashion Week, a car and $100,000 to start their business.

Here are some sneak peeks from Korto, Kenley, Leanne (above, from left) and Jerell’s runway shows. You’ll see their complete collections on the finale Oct. 15.