Henri Bendel

The bipartisan windows of Henri Bendel currently feature a group of five mannequins standing near red and blue polling booths, each representing a political party. Today, each mannequin has a question mark above its head, but tomorrow, these will be removed and all the girls will be placed in front of the winning booth. [WWD] 

Anna Wintour waited in line to vote in Soho today. [NY Mag] 

Several prominent Hindu activists are calling for a public apology from model Heidi Klum for dressing as a crass representation of the Hindu Goddess Kali for Halloween. [Vogue UK] 

Due to the troubled economy, Madison Avenue has been plagued by vacant storefronts.  read more »

On a recent muggy Monday afternoon, Jill K. Davis, 26, a jewelry maker from Ohio, stepped into Fort Greene boutique Thistle & Clover and began laying out delicate earrings and necklaces on a pristine black-and-white table in the middle of the small space. With a wall of colorful silk dresses and dressy tops behind her, the boutique’s co-owner Camilla Gale, 24, picked up one of Ms. Davis’ rings adorned with a tiny, handmade sterling silver house featuring two windows and a teeny front door. “I had a couple who wanted that as an engagement ring because, they said, it was like they found a home in each other,” Ms.  read more »

Spotted—also, striped, plaid, and fringed: all said looks were spied Sunday night in a display window at the Henri Bendel flagship on Fifth Avenue. The mannequins, as much as mannequins can be, were less silently bored than articulately, deliberately insouciant: the one on the far left held in her bent left hand a petite Sony Handycam; it was noticeably turned off, and angled at five o'clock, as if the spectators gathered on the sidewalk were obvi(ously) nothing worth committing to tape. Two places to her left, a blond had conjured the year's most fraught sartorial heresy: turquoise thigh-length stockings with color-matched open-toed pumps.  read more »

Blake Lively isn’t the only one seeing an in increase in attention since Gossip Girl debuted this season. Just ask the staff at Henri Bendel on Fifth Avenue. It seems the ritzy retail store has seen a spike in curious visitors dropping by to inquire about the show, which has filmed scenes on the premises. Bendel’s Web site and general phone number have also been seeing an increase in usage. And because they have been keeping a record of the surge times, they’ve discovered that most of hits and calls happen after the CW show airs. According to WWD, even Gossip Girl stars Ms. Lively, who plays Serena van der Woodsen, and Taylor Momsen, who plays Jenny Humphrey, have popped in to pick up some pricey wares.