Model Lara Stone, Karl Lagerfeld and Chanel pretty boy Baptiste Giacobini may join millions of Weekend Warriors across the land with their new motorcycle gang. [Paris, 7/17/09]

Certain areas of NYC, like Canal Street and any street corner where a sheet can be unfurled and then snatched up quickly , are dedicated to selling knockoff designer wares. But there’s an even cheaper way to get a “designer” purse—all you need is a steady hand, a brown paper bag, a Sharpee, and a thin link chain. That’s how the above Chanel-inspired handbag was created. What makes this tongue-in-cheek knockoff even better is that the Double Cs logo isn’t perfect—so there, Karl Lagerfeld! Now if only someone would tell me how to create a DIY Hermes Birkin and my accessories closet could be complete. [Jak & Jil via Fashion Copious]

Chanel just launched a new beauty ambassador program featuring five “It” girl representatives (Five was Mademoiselle’s favorite number, FYI.): Leigh Lezark, Jen Brill, Poppy Delevigne, Vanessa Traina, and Caroline Sieber. So, who are these ladies? Find out after the jump… [Style.com]

Yves Saint Laurent just released its Spring 2010 men’s video and the star is not so much an Adonis-like fellow complete with lovely face and six pack abs as it is, well, an 11 year old boy. But after you get over the initial shock and displeasure about the fact that you were turned on in advance and the grade schooler’s appearance made you feel kind of dirty, you’ll start to like the quirky little video. The kid is son of the director, Samuel Benchetrit, and the good ‘ol fashioned hijinks he gets up to at The Bristol Hotel after finding a key on the street are worth a brief at-work giggle. From writing on mirrors with ketchup to watching a bit of hotel TV porn and convincing Melinde, apparently the lover of the rightful renter of the hotel room, to fly to Paris, the little one gets stuff done. [The Cut]

Check out some more fashion videos after the jump, but keep in mind that they aren’t all this endearing…

I love nail polish that’s a little different from the usual pinks and reds, and last fall, I tried to make green nail polish happen. I painted my nails a lovely toad color and hoped others would follow suit—or at least appreciate the color. Our Emily was the only person who was fond enough of the color to paint her own nails with it. And most of my friends said it looked like I had some sort of fungus.

Well, it seems I was a little ahead of the nail polish curve (but slightly off on the exact shade), because Chanel has a jade green polish coming in October. The brand always sets color trends, so I have little doubt we’ll all be sporting minty nails very soon. And I couldn’t be happier.

Want pale green nails right this instant? A few delightful shades, after the jump…

Most of us gave up our prima ballerina dreams right around plié. We’re starting to think we should have stuck with things, because apparently the payoff can include dancing your heart out in Chanel’s couture atélier. The lucky ballerina who got to do it was Elena Glurdjidze, a member of the English National Ballet, who wore a Karl Lagerfeld-designed tutu for the dance of “Dying Swan,” which will be performed in London’s Sadler Wells Theatre this month. With over 100 hours of work, the exquisite skirt was comprised of 2,500 feathers. In this video, Lagerfeld films Glurdijdze in the costume, dancing around the Chanel logo in his Paris studio.

Amid rumors that Karl is leaving Chanel, this film seems to only reinforce his connection with the label; Coco Chanel was a dance lover and designed costumes for a number of ballets. If Chanel made some affordable ballet flats, we’d be all up in those now, ready to show the Kaiser our fancy footwork.

Watch the video at Chanel.com.

Fashion is addictive, and oftentimes insatiable. For those who need to satisfy their hunger, there are these fashion-inspired cupcakes created by photographer Therese Aldgard and food stylist Lisa Edsalv. Working with colors and themes from high-end designers, the team created sweets to suit the brands: Chanel features black frosting and white pearl adornments, Louis Vuitton is chocolate frosting with red roses, and Louboutin, is an appropriate red cake to mirror the soles of the shoes. The Frisky’s favorite is naturally the Agent Provocateur-style, with vanilla frosting adorned with a pink tip to resemble nipples. You may not be able to find these treats for purchase, but looking at them is enough eye candy.  [High Snobiety]

Apparently Topshop, Chanel, Louis Vuitton, and Forever 21 aren’t doing too badly in the recession, even as their peers are experiencing millions of dollars in losses. A WWD survey of a 100 luxury industry experts came up with those four brands as the most likely to succeed in this economy and, as you can see, there’s quite a disparity in price points. We understand why Topshop and Forever 21 will do well—they’re on trend, fun and dirt cheap—but Chanel and Louis Vuitton need a little further explanation. Why Chanel and LV, not Prada and Dior? What is it about these particular $3,000 bags that makes them relatively recession-proof?

Just when you thought excess was winding down, Chanel decided to release its tricked-out Segway, complete with signature quilted bag and logo wheels. This, we thought, must be an anomaly. As it turns out, not so much. Quite a few design houses have decided to take classic modes of transport—from bikes to surf boards to helicopters-—logo them up, and charge more than your mortgage for the goods.

Chanel is the main offender in the logo war, but they’re not the only ones stamping their insignia on everything that moves. The $12,000 Chanel bike, designer surf boards, and Segways are no more silly than Gucci’s (admittedly adorable) red bike or Prada’s super sleek and insanely expensive skis.

But the top honors have got to go to Hermès for their $6 million upholstered helicopter. The copter was purchased by Abu Dhabi-based Falcon Aviation. If I wanted to blow a few million on a designer helicopter, I would have gone with the black-and-white Versace chopper. It’s much more my color scheme.

African-American women may spend almost eight billion dollars a year on beauty products and cosmetics but they still can’t get no satisfaction. That’s what a new study by Essence magazine revealed. During a breakfast conference at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in New York this week, a panel, which included Essence’s beauty editor Mikki Taylor and legendary makeup artist Same Fine, discussed the findings.

Meet Arnaud Maillard, Karl Lagerfeld’s former assistant. He wanted to quit to take a different job, Karl fired him first (!), and poor Arnaud said he’s been “jobless” ever since.

So like legions of disgruntled assistants before him who read The Devil Wears Prada, Arnaud wrote Merci Karl! (in French and German only) about life with his allegedly high-maintenance ex-boss. Karl tried to block portions of Merci Karl! from being published, but unforch for Karl, Arnaud’s publisher is the bigger dog.

We thought we were over the tell alls, but Karl Lagerfeld is such a weirdo that Merci Karl has got to be good. Here’s five kooky tidbits we gleaned already…

If you love you high-fashion kicks, you’re gonna go bananas for the “Canal Street” sneaker. Designed by Sole Food, it features designer logos in spades. If Vuitton is your label of choice, it has the Sprouse and the Daimler. If you’re a Gucci girl, the sole features the legendary Gucci red-and-green color combo. If nothing but Chanel will do, the ankle has the classic interlocking C’s in black and white.

Not only is Audrey Tautou playing Coco Chanel in the new biopic “Coco Avant Chanel,” but she’s also the face of the Chanel No. 5 perfume. The luxury brand has released a short film commercial starring Audrey and directed by the man behind “Amélie,” Jean-Pierre Jeunet. The film has a similar feeling to “Amélie,” with its saturated colors and subtle quirkiness, but it’s a little cheesy. Plus, isn’t it some kind of conflict of interest to have Audrey representing the brand and playing the fashion house’s matriarch in a film around the same time?

Chanel certainly does like to do movie tie-ins with its No. 5 ads. Before Audrey, Nicole Kidman was the face of the classic perfume. Her commercial for the infamous perfume bore a striking resemblance to the famous woman/poor man story line in “Moulin Rouge” and was directed by that film’s Baz Luhrmann. But the film had been out for a few years by the time the commercial aired, so it seemed like less of a conflict than Audrey’s. At least Audrey’s new Chanel No. 5 ad isn’t directed by the same person who did “Coco Avant Chanel.” Then, we’d really have issues.

• We love clear accessories, but this Chanel bag is ridiculous. [My Fashion Life]
• Lindsay Lohan’s self-tanner, Sevin Nyne, debuts next month and counts caramel, sugar, coconut, Chardonnay and goji berries amongst the ingredients.  So if it doesn’t turn you Lilo Orange, at the very least you can expect to smell like one very weird bag of groceries. [Daily Mail]
• Rumor has it, Vogue‘s editor-in-chief, Anna Wintour, actually shook hands with the vice president of PETA, who has lobbed red paint and eggs at her and her fur-wearing ways for years. Is the end of the Israel-Palestine conflict next? [NY Post]

Even though markets around the world aren’t at their best right now, the Paris haute couture shows will go on! Today was the start of the super high-end fashion event began today, and Karl Lagerfeld’s monochrome designs for Chanel Haute Couture came down the runway. The models wore paper flower hats—there must be a way to DIY this look, right? Take another look after the jump…

Before today, I thought Ring Pops were the height of glamour in food that you can wear; I was very wrong. Designer Nancy Wu took sheets of beef jerky and sewed them together to create what appear to be a classic Chanel quilted handbag and a Louis Vuitton wallet. Doesn’t the bag look like a vintage purse that was handed down from Grandma? [via Designboom]

With thousands of perfumes currently on the market and countless more constantly launching, how’s a girl to choose? As much as we’re intrigued by the latest in fresh scents and fruity notes, we think there’s no harm in dousing yourself in a classic, timeless fragrance every once and a while. Give old faithful a go; these six scents have been around for decades, and we’re willing to bet they’ll be around for many, many, many, many more.