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.

If you’re reading this on your trusty Sony Vaio, better turn it over and look for the fine print. Then go to this Sony site, to find out if yours is one of 440,000 Vaios being recalled because of faulty wires and overheating problems. Nineteen models in the TZ series (made in 2007-2008) are potentially problematic. Apparently, wires were improperly placed, were wearing, then short circuiting, then overheating. Sony, which announced the recall Thursday, said it has gotten more than 200 reports of overheating, including seven people who were burned, according to the Associated Press. About 72,800 of those laptops are in the U.S., Reuters said. If your product code and serial number pops up on the Sony site as one of the troubled Vaios, Sony promises to come to you for on-site repair at your house or office (or you can send it to a service center). Sony, you may recall, was also the maker of defective batteries that forced the recall of many thousand notebooks (from Dell, Apple, Hitachi and others) in 2006.

Let the faithful cheer and the pundits critique. We are concerned with something that will not impact the economy, or taxes or war. It is not of national significance: it’s Sarah Palin’s hair, the likes of which have not been seen on the front lines of American politics. It dips below shoulder-length and is a auburn, with subtle highlights. Occasionally she wears it down, but mostly it’s in an updo: one casual, such as the half-updo we saw at last night’s Republican Convention (pictured). The other is a complete updo. She tries to tone it down with bookish glasses, but nobody’s fooled. Will Palin’s looks have an impact on the election? Who knows? Let’s just talk about hair. First, think Audrey Hepburn, with the quintessential Holly Golightly updo that set a modern standard (pictured). Palin’s half-updo may look casual - but it’s not: There was some precise teasing underneath the crown of last night’s look, and the back was very carefully coiffed. Her full updo isn’t tossed together either - it’s tightly smoothed and perfectly puffed and heavily sprayed, not loose and tousled like on the red carpet or catwalk. We have found many different updos for you to consider. Allure’s video of models backstage shows famed stylist Orlando Pita talking about loose updos, those with a messy, casual feel. “There’s absolutely no technique whatsoever,” he crows. Not true. Stylists say to put mousse in wet hair, let it air dry and then smooth it out as you tie it up. BellaSugar has another recipe for a do. Daily Makeover instructs one on the step by step with each of their celeb updo pictures. We’ve found a scary similarity between Palin and Drew Barrymore in 2006 (picture her with rimless glasses: yea, kinda freaky, see the picture?), and, thankfully, no similarity with Amy Winehouse. BellaSugar has a slide show of hot updos over the last few years, as does InStyle.com; Daily Makeover has a gallery of updos. Cynthia Nixon has worn a similar style, as have Halle Berry and Maria Menounos. Palin wears basic bangs with a side part for that conservative touch, but celebs’ bangs are longer and sideswept, or pulled back tightly. Besides product (mousse, hair texturizer, flat irons, hair spray), other tools to employ in an updo attempt can include a Twistie, a carefully placed pretty comb, regular hair pins (don’t let ‘em show), tiny barrettes, the perfect brush or bust out of the conservative mold with a flashy jeweled pin.

Nike athletic shoes are always popular, and they are always introducing new shoes into their lineup. The top seven new men’s athletic shoes sold by Nike are:

1. AJF12 Premier men’s basketall shoe: A hybrid of their Air Jordan shoe design and the Air Force One shoe, it’s $160.

2. Nike Air Pegasus+ 25 men’s running shoe: This variation is part of Nike’s nod to the 25th anniversary of this classic running shoe, with light mesh and full-length Air Sole unit. It’s $85.

3. LeBron Zoom Solider II men’s basketball shoe: Another variation on the popular LeBron series, this has a full grain leather upper portion with perforated areas for breathability, and a new herringbone pattern. It’s $110.

4. Nike Air Max 360 III men’s running shoe: This is Nike’s fully personalizable shoe: you pick the colors, and select a symbol or your own ID. It’s $165 (pictured).

5. Nike Air Zoom SPARQ TR elite men’s training shoe: Described as the “ultimate training shoe” this has a breathable mesh upper and a Zoom Air unit in the heel. It is on sale for $62.99

6. Dwane Wade team signature United We Rise men’s basketball shoe: This one must be hot. It’s limited to one pair per customer and is excluded from all promotional discounts. It carries an Olympic theme with red, white and blue colors and a Beijing-inspired tattoo print. Cost: $110.

7. Nike Air Zoom Vapor V men’s tennis shoe: Nike’s solid tennis shoe styling, with four colors of trim, for $115.

In the world of fabulous handbags, there are two must-have sizes: diminutive clutchs and huge, almost-like-luggage, carry-everything-you-can think-of, I-think-I’ve-hurt-my-back really big bags. Let us focus on the latter. High-end designers have many beautiful, but expensive, offerings. For example, Bottega Veneta has a lovely leopard print jumbo bag for $5,500. At Net-a-Porter, Jimmy Choo’s patent shoulder bag is wonderful, and it’s $2,495. Tod’s has a buttery gray leather bag at eluxury for $1,675 (pictured). Coming in a tad cheaper is a snazzy Sergio Rossi patent leather duffle for $1,550. For some perspective, Ralph Lauren’s pretty alligator Ricky bag is $16,995. And for a little more perspective, you can snatch a coveted Hermes Birkin bag on eBay for $42,500. Back to reality. Michael Kors has a lovely deep red patent Astor tote for $348, Cole Haan’s light tan tote is on sale for $237 at Bluefly and there’s also a succulent Prada lambskin tote on sale for $1,608 (yes, it’s expensive, but it was $2,010). There is a buttery soft equestrian Juicy Couture shoulder bag ($395), and a precious Kate Spade satin (white or purple) bag at ebags for $150. Tignanello has a multi-pocketed shopper in many shades for $139. Jessica Simpson has some cute patent satchels at a mere $98. But our favorite big bag deal of the day is Simply Vera’s Vera Wang hobo at Kohl’s for $62 (pictured, left).

Every cubicle dweller knows the dangers of leaving your chair and walking to the water fountain. People will try to chitchat, your boss may see you and ask you to come into her office for a second, or you might miss an important phone call. The solution is simple: a mini-water dispenser, perfectly desktop sized. The one getting lots of attention these days is available at multiple online retailers. We found it at ThinkGeek. It dispenses your minimum daily requirement of eight cups of water a day. It isn’t a cooler, but you can freeze the water (or whatever you want to fill it with) and let it thaw during the day. It’s only about 20 inches tall and is $15. There are a couple of other tiny water dispensers on the market that might interest you: The Hello Kitty pink one is about the same size (although it features Hello Kitty saying “Please Drink 8 Glasses of Water” on it) and is $17 at Toys ‘r’ Us. A “cute” desktop dispenser features a funny pig face where the water is dispensed. It also holds eight glasses of water, but is a little more expensive at $25 from DealExtreme.