The other day I read an article in WWD.com that discussed how magazines are rethinking their strategies as even the big boys and girls of the publishing world (Vogue, Vanity Fair, Cosmo, and pals) were suffering huge decreases in print ad sales. Then there was the news that the Tribune company, owners of the L.A. Times and Chicago News Tribune, is considering filing for bankruptcy. These are not times to be fatally optimistic. Yet there are these old stalwarts who issue statements like this: “‘Print is more important than ever,’ said David Lauren, Polo Ralph Lauren Co.’s SVP of advertising, marketing and corporate communications, at Thursday’s [12/5/08] WWD Media Summit in New York, a sentiment expressed equally strongly by Hearst Magazines president Cathie Black. The current situation is hardly a total implosion of the magazine industry, executives and observers insist.”

Really? Honestly, our state of affairs is depressing enough much less hearing powerful fashion people sounding woefully desperate. Can we just get over the fact that The Last Magazine is already out, literally, and that the Internet is a powerful player? The whole thing sounds like the cassette versus CD debate all over again. Kids, kids, the world moves on and so should we.

Good news for fans of Grecian draping, petite designer Doo.Ri Chung will be launching a lower-priced line set to hit stores next year.–WWD.com

Brit denim brand Lee Cooper fresh off a Lou Doillon collaboration, will be team up with Url Pickens for its next special collection.– Vogue UK

The holiday parties will be sparser but after recently co-hosting one, I know they are still out there. With all the depressing news, isn’t it the best time to get together with friends (your real friends), drinking some tipply and getting away from the harshness of it all?  All of which means you still need a holiday dress.– NYmag.com

Speaking of celebrity products and celebrity endorsed products–the line is rather thin– The Row by Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen are delving into menswear. Leighton Meester is the new Reebok girl and replaces Scarlett Johansson, which we suspect never worked out anyways because she’s just naturally gorgeous. Taking the Quirky Prize is a candle cast in the mold of Pharrell Williams hands.

Leighton Meester for Reebok

For more news on the story see JustJared.

Pharrell Candle

Available at Colette

Fingers are crossed for the new design team behind Valentino. Creative Directors, Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pier Paolo Piccioli, have just released a highly limited edition 10-piece handbag line, called Couture Decalogue, dedicated to shopping totes. A bit of irony for the the wallet-pinching right now, but I’m still looking forward to seeing the Fall/Winter 2009 collection.– Vogue UK

Valentino, Couture Decalogue