Cityfile: New York's Most Notable and Influential

One of the nastiest and longest-running feuds in fashion history has been revived. Since the mid-1980s, Ralph Lauren has been doing his damndest to prevent the U.S. Polo Association from marketing products bearing a horse-and-rider logo. It's a case that has taken the two sides to court on numerous occasions over the past 25 years, with Lauren suffering a stinging defeat in 2005 when a federal jury decided that the USPA had the right to produce a own clothing line since its logo featured two horsemen with mallets, as opposed to the solo player depicted in Lauren's version. Now the two sides are squaring off once again. More

Happy Birthday | It's a big day for Jewish fashion designers from the outer boroughs, clearly: Brooklyn native Isaac Mizrahi turns 48 today; meanwhile, the Bronx's very own Ralph Lauren is turning 70. Others celebrating today: Usher is turning 31. Yankees manager Joe Girardi turns 45. Actor Roger Moore is 82. Marc Jacobs' longtime business partner, Robert Duffy, is turning 55. Natalie Maines of the Dixie Chicks is 35. Czech model Daniela Pestova is 39. Sports radio host Jim Rome is turning 45. Writer Katha Pollitt turns 60. Wrestler/actress Stacy Keibler is 30. And Madonna's daughter, Lourdes Leon, who looks like she's turning 21, is actually turning 13 today.

• Remember how Sean Penn and Robin Wright Penn said they were divorcing a few months ago, but then changed their minds and announced they were getting back together? Yea, well, they're divorcing again. [P6, People]
• ESPN's Erin Andrews, the reporter who was filmed in the nude without her consent a few weeks back, can be seen in a new set of "dirty" photos. This time it was intentional, though. [NYDN]
• Celine Dion and the man she calls her husband (but who we always confuse with her grandfather for some reason) are expecting their second child. [OK]
• Leighton Meester was shouting and carrying on with her friends at Philippe in East Hampton last weekend, much to the annoyance of other diners present like NBC chief Jeff Zucker and billionaire Steve Schwarzman. [P6]More

Scenes From Wimbledon | Plenty of familiar faces were in the stands at Wimbledon over the weekend, including Justin Timberlake, Ben Stiller, Kate Winslet, Scarlett Johansson, and even Henry Kissinger, who "appeared to have trouble staying awake" at yesterday's men's final pitting Andy Roddick against Roger Federer. The most awkward juxtaposition in the crowd: Ralph Lauren, who was seated next to Woody Allen and his wife Soon-Yi, and directly in front of Russell Crowe. According to British press accounts, Allen looked "grumpy" sitting in the stands wearing a "flowerpot hat." Lauren and Crowe didn't look all too happy either, although that may have been because they were forced to sit next to a man wearing a "flowerpot hat." [The First Post, AP]

The Friday Party Report | The Four Seasons celebrated its 50th anniversary last night and a predictably large crowd of media personalities, politicos, and powerbrokers turned out for the occasion. Just a few of the people on hand to celebrate the event with co-owners Julian Niccolini and Alex von Bidder (left,  Erin Fetherston): Barry Diller, Nicole Miller, Ralph Lauren, Mort Zuckerman, Ray and Veronica Kelly, Arthur Sulzberger Jr., David and Joyce Dinkins, Henry Kissinger, Aby and Samantha Rosen, Dolly Lenz, Tim and Nina Zagat, Steve Schwarzman, Fern Mallis, Jay McInerney, Jeffrey and Linda Chodorow, Steve Newhouse and Gina Sanders, Albert Maysles, Ruth Reichl, Robert Burke, Linda Fargo, Star Jones and Herb Wilson, Thom Browne, Don Marron, Drew Nieporent, John Gutfreund, Chuck Scarborough, Cindi Leive and Howard Bernstein, Terry Allen Kramer, Marjorie Gubelmann, Marina Rust Connor, and Salman Rushdie and girlfriend Pia Glenn. [PMc, Wireimage, NYO, Paper]

Ron Perelman already has a hand in the restaurant business: He's an investor in Graydon Carter's Monkey Bar and he also happens to own the building that houses Carter's Waverly Inn. But he has a new venture in the works! He's reopening the Blue Parrot, the margarita bar/restaurant in East Hampton that's been closed since 2006. Ralph Lauren had originally planned to take over the space; when his plans fell through, Perelman swooped in. And he's assembled quite the team to give the venue another lease on life. More

Ralph Lauren's Less Than Notorious Life | Ralph Lauren's has released a new perfume called "Notorious." And just the name alone has Chandler Burr, the New York Times's resident "scent expert," up in arms. From his latest column:More

• Gwyneth Paltrow is planning to give up her contract with Estée Lauder so she can focus on her website Goop.com, per the ever-reliable Daily Mail. More troubling: The paper says her plan is to "become an Oprah Winfrey-like lifestyle guru." [DM]
• Michelle Obama returned to NYC today. She attended the reopening of a wing at the Met (where she wore a coat by Isaac Mizrahi coat and sat next to Ralph Lauren, Iman, and Anna Wintour). Then it was over to opening night at the American Ballet Theater. [WWD, NYT]
• An excerpt from Lauren Conrad's debut novel has been posted online, in case you feel up to tackling some heavy literature. [Teen Vogue]
• Valentino, diplomat of fashion: "I saw the pictures of the Metropolitan gala evening last week and I never saw something more ugly." [Guardian]
• Speaking of Valentino, Time Out's current issue tests out self-tanners. [TONY]More

• Kanye West's girlfriend, Amber Rose, shows some skin (and crack) in the the new ad campaign for his Louis Vuitton line of sneakers. [NYM]
• Those empty storefronts in the far West Village? Some people seem to think it's all Marc Jacobs and Ralph Lauren's fault. [Villager]
• Speaking of Marc, the new Jacobs by Marc Jacobs collection features the work of artists with disabilities and benefits the arts. [Teen Vogue]
• Filene's Basement is now for sale, if you're interested. [Crain's]
• 7 For All Mankind opens its third NYC outpost tomorrow. [Denimology]
• The fashion business may be suffering here, but that's the case in North Korea: Retail outlets in Pyongyang have never been busier, or at least that's what the country's official news agency is reporting today. [Reuters]

• Ralph Lauren closed out Fashion Week with a predictably opulent show. Anna Wintour turned up with Morley Safer in tow since 60 Minutes is filming a segment on the Vogue editrix. Blake Lively, however, did not appear all that interested in the conversation. [NYT, WWD, FWD, Racked]
• David Lauren appeared at Ralph's show with his leg in a cast. "He just sort of stepped off an uneven sidewalk wrong," explained Lauren Bush. [NYM]
• In the end, good design won out this week, says Cathy Horyn. [NYT]
• Hamish Bowles says Marc Jacobs' and Alexander Wang's shows were "two bright spots in his week." Also: He could really use a nap. [NYO]
• Did you feel the depression this week? "Serotonin levels are down." [NYT]
• A bit of advice from Barneys' Julie Gilhart: "Bet on leggings." [NYM]
• Isaac Mizrahi and Kelly Rowland will handle the hosting duties on the new Bravo series, The Fashion Show. Fern Mallis will serve as judge. Yay. [Variety]
• Karl Lagerfeld knows what people want: Behold the Chanel Segway. [Pipeline]
• London Fashion Week started today. Enjoy! [Vogue UK]

We should start off by saying that Lauren Bush is our favorite member of the Bush family. In fact, sometimes we forget that her uncle is the President, and what could be a greater compliment than that? She even deserves credit for dating David Lauren. Hooking up with a billionaire heir is rarely a commendable act, but since her relationship with Ralph's son is clearly a source of angst for the rest of the Bush clan—possibly because he's a decade older, Jewish, leans Democratic, or all three—it works in her favor. So it's with love and respect that we share the one thing about Lauren that we're decidedly less impressed with: Those burlap FEED bags she's been shlepping to every event she's attended for more than a year now. More

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]

A crowd of nearly 400 made their annual trip to the Bronx last Friday night for the New York Botanical Garden's 10th annual Winter Wonderland Ball. The black-and-white dinner, sponsored by Chanel, featured appearances by the likes of Cristina and Chris Cuomo, Nina Garcia, Marjorie Gubelmann, Byrdie Bell, Poppy Delevingne, Minnie Mortimer Gaghan, Steve and Christine Schwarzman, Dalia Oberlander, Gillian Hearst Simonds, Alex Kramer, Alexandra Lebenthal, Molly Sims, Holly Dunlap, Erin Fetherston, Margherita Missoni, Zani Gugelmann, Coco Rocha, Gillian and Sylvester Miniter, Bronson Van Wyck, Patrick McDonald, Stephen Knoll, Jessica Joffe, Jill Kargman, Lauren Remington Platt, Coralie Charriol Paul, Joe and Nazee Moinian, Kate Schelter, James and Whitney Fairchild, Lydia Fenet, Maggie Betts, Meredith Melling Burke, and Pamela Fiori. [PMc, Style.com, NYSD, The Daily] More

Hope you didn't try and cheat on your taxes last year or pull some sort of shady maneuver that you were hoping no one would notice. With the state now facing an unprecedented budget shortfall, tax authorities are now pushing people who haven't paid their outstanding tax bills to pay up in a hurry. Ralph Lauren had to hand over $4.18 million in back taxes recently, a debt related to taxes on his Gulfstream jet (photo here), although the fashion mogul says he plans to fight the ruling. Secretive billionaire Ira Rennert has been battling the state over a tax bill imposed on his holding company, the Renco Group, although he's since settled the case by coughing up $1.77 million. And Shelby Bryan, Anna Wintour's boyfriend (and the father of Alexis Bryan), also had to write a hefty check to New York State recently. In August, he handed over $976,222, although the IRS also hit him with a $1.6 million lien for outstanding federal taxes. Looks like Anna may not be able to retire so soon after all!

There you were thinking that seeing celebrities with ten-piece sets of Louis Vuitton luggage, or people with more money than style attired in outfits emblazoned with Versace medusa heads, was merely an assault on one's fashion sensibilities. But it turns out that fashion emblems may be worming their way into our consciousness and influencing our behavior without us even knowing about it. Rob Walker reports on a study in which subjects were more likely to choose a certain brand of bottled water after being shown photos of people drinking it, even though they weren't aware of having noticed the brand.   More