sears

To celebrate the launch of UK Style — a collaboration between French Connection and Sears — celebs and models, including Agyness Deyn, attended a party in at the Lexington Social House in Hollywood. Our favorite moment occurred when Jaime King and Nicky Hilton showed up in the same sequin cheetah-print dress from the collection. It just so happens we drooled over this dress when we wrote about the best Spring collaborations. If you would like to get in on the sequin leopard fun, this dress is $99 and shoppable right this moment at Sears.

• Open letter to Tom Ford: your JonBenet Ramsey-inspired editorial is not cool — Stylelist
• Erin Kaplan is leaving Elle — The Cut
• The Kardashians seal fashion deal with Sears — People
• This week I want to look like: Lykke Li — Lucky
• Derek Blasberg: writer, jet-setter, and now Gryphon designer — Teen Vogue
• Eddie Borgo Spring 2011: the girl with the punk earring — Vogue Daily
• Ann-Sofie Back for Topshop Spring 2011 — FabSugar UK
• Rachel McAdams's thoughts on Oscar dressing — Vogue UK
• Hunter Original rubber tote: your Winter weapon — Bag Snob
• Snag a snood — the scarf, not the game — to keep yourself cozy — Racked

>> In late November, J.Crew announced it was going private with the help of private equity firms Leonard Green & Partners and TPG Capital. But before the deal can be finalized, J. Crew has to hold a go-shop period, which allows competing bids to be made for the company, through Jan. 15.

Now, Bloomberg is reporting that both Sears and Urban Outfitters are studying J.Crew books and weighing rival bids. However, neither company has indicated that it will actually counter TPG and Leonard Green's offer, and it's worth noting that sometimes rival companies who have no intention of bidding use the go-shop period to learn more about their competitor. Most go-shop periods don't result in a rival bid.

San Francisco-based analyst Christine Chen notes that buying J.Crew "would be great for Sears, but horrible for J. Crew. J. Crew is positioned as aspirational, and Sears is not. It would have a negative impact on the J. Crew brand.” An Urban Outfitters buy makes less sense because it has overlapping customers with J.Crew, and J.Crew's sales are growing more slowly.

So many designers have a collaboration in the works — we love the teamwork! — but some collabs get us particularly excited. We're highlighting six Spring 2011 collaborations that are simply brilliant for their uniqueness, originality, and beauty. With Spring just ahead of us, we're chomping at the bit to get our hands on these pieces.

To see the best designer collaborations for Spring, read more

Not looking forward to battling the mall crowds this holiday season? Don't worry, I'm a big advocate of shopping online, since it keeps you calm, saves you time, and you can do it anytime. Now, things just got a little easier if your gift recipients are fans of Sears or Kmart — both companies have launched eGifting on Facebook.

All you have to do to purchase an eGift card is head to one of the two Facebook fan pages (Sears or Kmart), click on the eGifting tab, and purchase your gift card for another lucky Facebook friend.

What happens next? Find out when you read more.

Just in time for the creepy Halloween festivities, Sears takes things to the next level by launching a zombie-friendly shopping site, where the walking dead can find all the latest fashions, gadgets, and accessories. It's like Zombieland up in here!

Clicking on a banner will take you to Sears' actual site, where humans and zombies alike can shop for home goods or comfy shoes, but this banner here will take you to the store's Halloween page so you can stock up on costumes and decorations before next weekend. You gotta give it up to Sears — this is pretty darn creative!

Sears and French Connection couldn't be any more different, but as the saying goes, opposites attract. The former is launching UK Style by French Connection, a clothing and accessories line that will be sold exclusively at Sears stores and online starting March 2011. "We really looked at what French Connection has represented for 40 years, and liked a lot of the styling and where the brand is headed . . . We want to start gaining some consideration among young people," said John Goodman, executive vice president of apparel and home.

As for the selection, here are two super cute sequin frocks. "Will they be edgy and over the top? No. But there will be some styles that are very fashion relevant." The best part? The price tags won't hurt your wallet. Sign me up.