My roommate swears by FitFlops, those fugs sneakers/sandals that give you a workout while you walk, claiming she’s seen changes in her calves and rear. But I’m not convinced and would rather spend more time at the gym than wear those curved clunkers. Though I might be persuaded to try them now, as Anna Sui has designed a pair to look like warm, cozy moccasins, which are just in time for winter and conveniently hide the curvature. The boots, named Shakoha, come in three colors—brown, black, and blue—and are made with double-faced shearling, suede, metal studs, and hand stitching. When there are inches of snow on the ground, who doesn’t want to be bundled in perfect snow boots? What’ya think? [FitFlop]

It’s official. Jean Paul Gaultier has signed on as the newest Target Designer Collaborator, inciting gasps and breathless moments from fashion lovers all over. He’s the third designer to take part, following Alexander McQueen who drew inspiration from Liela Moss of The Duke Spirit, and Anna Sui, whose “Gossip Girl” pieces were a major fan obsession.

The day you’ve all been waiting for is imminent: Anna Sui‘s “Gossip Girl”-inspired line for Target is available to the public this Sunday. We weaseled our way into a sneak preview this week though, and we’ve got the lowdown on how the collection looks in real life. As is to be expected, there are a handful of hits and a few definite misses.

We loved a bunch of the Blair-esque pieces with their sweet but restrained detailing. While Vanessa’s clothing group was mostly far too ‘70s and polyester-y for us and Serena’s was rather cute, even if most of it didn’t look much like Serena’s style at all. (One Serena-inspired dress appeared to have teeth around the neck. We were scared.) Finally, the Jenny stuff ranged from adorable (like the dress at left) to tacky (check out the over-ripped, synthetic leggings after the jump and you’ll know what we’re talking about).

More images and info after the jump.

So apparently execs over at Target had an opportunity for The Blessed Ones—Serena and Blair, of course—to wear Anna Sui’s “Gossip Girl” inspired Target clothing line on the show, and they turned it down because the teen drama may be a little too racy for their tastes. In fact, they’re shying away from the “Gossip Girl” influences in Sui’s Fall ‘09 diffusion line entirely.

According to The Daily News, “One of Target’s top executives got nervous about being that closely associated with the show, given the [debauchery] its characters get into.” Sure, drugging your friends (yeah, we’re pointing at you, Georgina), and screwing anything that moves (we’re pointing at you, umm, entire G.G. cast), isn’t exactly model citizen kind of behavior, but if this show has taught us anything, it’s that bad behavior doesn’t necessarily go hand-in-hand with dressing badly. Or um, something like that. [Ed Note: Also, it’s just a freakin’ TV show, right? Sheesh!] But what do you think? Is Target making a mistake by steering clear of “Gossip Girl” associations (and missing some mage promotion), or is their concern justified? [Daily News]

Don’t bother denying it, you’ve been trying to dress like Blair and Serena for months now. Well, your days of attempting to make $50 dresses look like Chanel are over, courtesy of Anna Sui. The quirky chic designer has just released images of her Gossip Girl-inspired collection for Target and we’re definitely getting the appropriate level of Blair vibes from the dress all the way on the left.  Check out the whole collection here before it launches September 13. [The Cut]

Sort of Boho, no? [Backstage before Anna Sui, 9/10/2008]