We love Vera Wang, she of the quiet, beautiful wedding dresses, the lavender ribbons, the chic clothes that are actually - OMG - wearable. She who knows that pretty is not a sin. She who peeks almost hesitantly from behind the scenes of yet another gorgeous runway show, and then designs an affordable line for Kohl’s that embodies the same philosophies.

We’re about to nominate her, however, for our 2009 Bigger Than Martha Award, given to a celebrity becoming ubiquitous enough to risk overexposure.

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You have probably seen The Sartorialist, a highly regarded fashion blog that consists of beautiful photographs of people on the streets of New York and occasionally other international cities. (The photo above is a recent one from the site.)

Once you admire the fascinating portraits and interesting fashion choices of the Sartorialist’s subjects, you can click around an ever-growing list of street-style sites from metropolitan areas around the world. Some have barely a word to say about their photo subjects, others offer tantalizing little bits of information, and then there are those that talk at length about what and who they’ve photographed.

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A smidgen of Style News: According to the Wall Street Journal, by way of New York Magazine’s lively The Cut blog. Despite the worst economic times this nation has seen since the Great Depression, all of those mall-bound Abercrombie & Fitch stores refuse to discount their products. Yes, despite the fact that every other retailer in the world is cutting prices, A&F will NOT cave in because the brand might seem like “something cheap,” said head honcho Michael Jeffries.

Perhaps totally unrelated, Abercrombie’s stock has tumbled 80 percent since January.

What will all those half-nude male models do for a living now?

Jupiter must be aligning with Mars, or some other celestial event is taking place, because there are more celebrities than ever coming out with their own fashion lines, or stepping up to become spokespeople for fashion houses. Here are just a few of the latest:

Heroes star Hayden Panettiere is designing a second handbag for Dooney & Bourke. Not only is the actress their spokesmodel, but now she’s created the “Hayden Clutch”  (with a little help from Peter Dooney) that will be sold starting in December for $295, say the enterprising Off the Rack bloggers at People.com. The clutch (pictured above with Panettiere) features a lion’s head gold clasp because that’s Hayden’s astrological sign.

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Who’s the hottest designer going? Thakoon Panchigul - his dresses adorn celebrities such as Sarah Jessica Parker, and helped glam up Michelle Obama on election night.

Where will he reveal his next collection? Target, on Christmas Day.

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We all know times are tough for retailers. Big stores like Saks, Neiman Marcus - even Target - are losing money. Even the promise of holiday shopping isn’t making anybody feel too comfortable.

So if the big boys are having trouble, what about that wonderful, independent, chic, beautiful boutique you love? It’s probably in real trouble.

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Yes, the economy is in trouble, and people are refusing to shop, thus making high-end retailers across the nation quake in their Prada booties. But here’s a little bit of happier retail news.

The city of Dubai has just opened the world’s largest mall. We’re not sure if the worldwide economic slowdown has even tickled the richest city in the world’s richest country (the United Arab Emirates), but if so, that didn’t stop the grand opening last week.

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