Cityfile: New York's Most Notable and Influential

Cheeky French Voguettes | When we unveiled our Anna Wintour ringtone the other day, we naturally didn't dare to dream of an endorsement from the hallowed dominion of Vogue itself. Alas, we still have no idea what Anna thought of it. But that didn't stop French Vogue, whose beloved editor Carine Roitfeld has been the subject of rumors that she'll replace Wintour in New York, from happily informing readers about the sonnerie de téléphone with "the invaluable recommendations of Madame Wintour herself!" Merci, Carine! [Vogue.fr]

Considering Barack Obama offered the job of Surgeon General to CNN's Sanjay Gupta, it's only to be expected that some equally surprising political appointments would get bandied about. Here's another one you can add to the list: Rumor has it that Obama is thinking about naming Anna Wintour as his ambassador to England or France, at least according to the "extremely insider rumors" picked up by Fashion Week Daily. Excellent choice! Not only will it go a long way to restoring America's reputation on the European continent, it will functions as the perfect exit strategy for Anna as Vogue continues its downward descent!

When you woke up this morning, you never imagined that today would be the day when you'd be able to get rid of that boring ringtone on your cell phone and replace it with the voice of Ms. Anna Wintour herself, did you? Well, you're in luck! We're pleased to announce that the Vogue editor is now available in ringtone format (click on her photo to download), which features Anna dispensing populist fashion advice that you shouldn't take to heart for a moment. To balance the scales a bit, though, we've also created a more sensible  André Leon Talley ringtone for you. Andre's wise advice and instructions on how to make these free ringtones work on your phone after the jump!More

It's been a rough few weeks for Vogue editor Anna Wintour. There were the rumors that Condé Nast chief Si Newhouse was thinking of replacing her with Carine Roitfeld, the editor of French Vogue. Then there was more concrete evidence of Vogue's fading relevance: The number of ad pages in the magazine tumbled by nearly 10 percent in 2008, a decline more substantial than most of Vogue's competitors. Yesterday, the Times' Cathy Horyn, one of the few fashion writers daring enough to take on the industry's most powerful figure, laid out some of the magazine's problems with a piece entitled "What's Wrong with Vogue?"More

• Both retailers and editors are scaling back plans for the couture shows in Paris in January. Anna Wintour, however, will not be deterred. [The Cut]
• A list of 2008's "ubiquitors." [WWD]
• Designer Ted Lapidus is dead at 79. [Guardian]
• The movie about the Bruni-Sarkozy love affair will only air in France, alas. [Style.com]
• A former YSL makeup artist has slapped the company with a discrimination lawsuit. [WWD]
• Tough times: the CEO of Liz Claiborne is forced to fly commercial. [WSJ]
• Did you miss The City? You didn't miss much, but Whitney Port has posted her very own recap, if you're interested. [Celebuzz]

• Anna Wintour has earned a spot on Time's "Top 10 Fashion Faux Pas" list. Congrats! [Time]
• Zac Posen is shelving his plan to launch a secondary line "in light of current economic conditions." [WWD]
• Add Betsey Johnson to the list of designers skipping Fashion Week in February. [WSJ]
• Vera Wang isn't cancelling her show; she's moving it from the tents to her Mercer Street store to "convey a more intimate mood." [WWD]
• Miu Miu has "quietly" shuttered its uptown boutique at 831 Madison Avenue. [FWD]
• A list of the top 10 clothing-related crises in history. [VF]
• More Americans say they're planning to make their own Christmas presents this year as opposed to purchase them. Bad news for retailers, good news for those of you hoping for a knitted cell-phone cover. [Reuters]

Anna Wintour and Ralph Lauren had lunch together today at Michael's, reports Mediabistro's Diane Clehane. And the two looked, like, totally bummed out: "The pair looked downright anguished. We watching in fascination as the pair leaned over the table with their foreheads practically touching as Ralph propped his head up with his hands and rubbed his eyes. Tough times for the titan? We can't imagine." Foreheads practically touching? That sounds serious! Or seriously romantic! Or something. [Mediabistro]

♦ Amusing bits from the profile of Marc Jacobs from Rolling Stone, which was reprinted in the Sunday Times: He's now up to 30 tattoos and he spends at least two hours a day at the David Barton Gym. As for his ex, Jason Preston, he has this to say: "I've had boyfriends who were media whores... I don't want to make the same mess again." [Times UK]
♦ If you've wondered why Victoria Beckham's collection of dresses looks like the work of Roland Mouret, there's good reason: Mouret served as Posh's "mentor." [Vogue UK]
♦ Inexplicably, Lindsay Lohan's legwear line is "selling like hotcakes." [NYDN]
♦ Anna Wintour really wants to reiterate that she has no plans to leave Vogue: "With so much uncertainty, one thing is certain: Vogue," read the mag's ad in yesterday's New York Times. [Fashionologie]More

UNICEF's 5th annual Snowflake Gala took place on Wednesday night at Cipriani 42nd Street. Bryant Gumbel entertained the crowd of 500 and Lucy Liu was honored with the Danny Kaye Humanitarian award. Attendees included Michael Bloomberg, Jenna and Barbara Bush, Maggie Betts, Roland Betts, Lauren Bush and David Lauren (left), Marcus Samuelsson, Charlie Trotter, Charlotte Moss, Pamela Fiori, Gillian Miniter, Douglas Hannant and Frederick Anderson, Elyse Newhouse, Donny Deutsch, Alexandra Lebenthal, Jessica Joffe, Tea Leoni, Matt Lauer, Meredith Melling Burke, Cynthia Lufkin, and CNN's Sanjay Gupta. [PMc, Wireimage, Style.com, The Daily] More

♦ Mimosa yellow is the color of 2009. [Vogue]
♦ Massive discounts helped lead to a 15 percent boost in sales on Cyber Monday. [WSJ]
♦ Retailers are pulling out all the stops to lure customers to stores this holiday season. [NYT]
♦ Anna on the recession: "I see a lot of people in my industry who are over-reacting. Stores that are over-discounting, designers who are creating collections for the price and what sells rather than to reflect who they are." [Jezebel]
♦ Topshop is "definitely" opening in NYC by the end of March. Ha. [Glamour]
♦ Happy accidents: Lumigan, a drug used to treat glaucoma, makes your eyelashes longer and prettier, too. [MSNBC]More

♦ Anna Wintour has responded to rumors she's leaving Condé Nast: "I have no plans to leave American Vogue now or in the foreseeable future." [NYO]
♦ Chris Matthews could be seriously considering quitting MSNBC to run for Senate. Or he could be using it as a negotiating tactic. [Politico]
♦ The Grammy noms were announced last night, in case you missed it. [AP]
♦ NBC has halted production of Knight Rider. [THR]
♦ More on the changes afoot at Random House. [NYO]
♦ ABC will air Homeland Security USA, a reality show produced in cooperation with the Department of Homeland Security, in January. Really. [NYT]

♦ Condé Nast is denying rumors that Si Newhouse plans to replace Anna Wintour at Vogue. "The silliest rumor I ever heard," says a rep. [NYO, WSJ, WWD]
♦ Julia Restoin Roitfeld's response to the suggestion her mom might be taking over for Anna: "She loves Paris too much—she'd never leave." [The Cut]
♦ Zac Posen is working on a new diffusion line. [FWD]
♦ Londoners will get their first taste of Posh Spice's new fashion line tomorrow. [Times UK]
♦ Love Saves the Day, the iconic store in the East Village, is closing. [Racked]
♦ Will fashion shows survive the recession? Some may not. [WSJ]
♦ Bridal designer Gabriella Risatti is making copies of Carrie's Vivienne Westwood wedding dress from the Sex and the City for $15,000. [NYP]

♦ No official confirmation yet, but media insiders say David Gregory has been tapped to take over as host of Meet the Press. [Politico]
♦ It's rumored Carine Roitfeld is replacing Anna Wintour at Vogue. [Gawker]
♦ A former employee of Charles Kushner is accusing him of funneling cash from his real estate empire to prop up Jared Kushner's Observer. [Daily Intel]
♦ Harvey Weinstein owes Cindy Adams $10,000. [NYP]
♦ Condé Nast has shuttered its social networking site Flip.com. [Gawker]
♦ CBS is producing a new hidden camera show with Ashton Kutcher. [NYT]
♦ Katie Couric has a new haircut, in case you haven't noticed. [HuffPo]
♦ Arianna Huffington's how-to book for aspiring bloggers. [Jossip]
♦ Ever fantasized about having lunch with Nation editor Katrina vanden Heuvel? You can—for $2,500. [NYO]

♦  Christian Siriano plans to make it work with Payless: The Project Runway winner is teaming up with the company on a  line of footwear and handbags that will launch next fall. [NYP]
♦  Today was Cyber Monday, the day when online retailers kick off the holiday season with super-steep discounts. It didn't turn out to be a great day for Bloomingdale's and J. Crew: both watched their websites crash this morning. [Crain's, USA Today]
♦  In case you forgot to issue your congratulations, Anna Wintour headed off to Buckingham Palace last week to pick up whatever is it you are given when you're named an Officer of the Order of the British Empire. [Vogue UK] More

♦  Going shopping on Friday? Expect bargains galore. "This could be the most heavily promotional Black Friday in history," says National Retail Federation president Tracy Mullin. [WWD, WSJ]
♦  At last night's British Fashion Awards, Luella Bartley was "thrilled" to be named British Designer of the Year, while Model of the Year, 19-year-old Jourdan Dunn, stole the evening with a tearful acceptance speech. [WWD]
♦  Last year a documentary team followed Anna Wintour, André Leon Talley, and the rest of the Vogue team around as they put together their biggest-ever September issue. Does the fact that the film is "creating heat" as a potential Sundance entry mean that the rest of us might get to see it one day? [Reuters]More