Brooks Brothers Buh-Bye to Thom? (+ Preppy Updates from CFDA Party)

Much as The Princess loves successful business ventures, many readers know she hasn’t exactly been all rah-rah about the Thom Browne for Black Fleece Collection at Brooks Brothers. There is now scuttlebutt that the partnership may be near its end; the rumors come via New York magazine reporting what the New York Post is reporting. Of course it is in amongst their ever-so-naughty Page Six gossip items, so do consider the source. All of this is rather reminiscent of the original ‘Party Line’ phone services of the “olden days.” Stand by for more as it develops.

Mr. Browne by the way, is a 2006 winner of a CFDA (Council of Fashion Designers of America) Award, relevant to the rest of this post. The look above is from the designer’s Fall 2008 line. TP is presuming we won’t be seeing this one at Brooks.

One designer we always enjoy seeing more of is Tory Burch, a big winner at Monday’s Annual CFDA Awards, named as Accessory Designer of the Year, seen below in one of her own designs.

A huge favorite of prepsters everywhere this Spring is Cynthia Rowley’s Whim Collection for Target; Ms. Rowley was among those in attendance at the bash Monday evening, seen here in a gown of her design. Of course, another favorite is Ralph Lauren of Polo Ralph Lauren fame, seen here with his wife, Ricki Lauren.

Never known as a slave to fashion, NY Mayor Michael Bloomberg was honored for his longtime support of Fashion Week; long a favorite of The Princess, the Mayor has been ribbed on more than one occasion about this issue. In a lavender bow tie, the Mayor added some levity to the evening, joking that he would have worn something more stylish, but “my skinny jeans are at the cleaners, and my gladiator sandals are being resoled.” Exactly.

The Princess was most excited to learn the industry was honoring Carolina Herrera with its Lifetime Achievement Award. Perpetually elegant, always tasteful and forever a classic, Ms. Herrera is one of The Princess’s heroines. (And it’s not just because she puts pockets in garments, although we have long believed that to be a big plus!) Ms. Herrera was also a 2004 CFDA winner, named Womenswear Designer of the Year.

Other attendees at the Monday night gala included socialite Lauren Santo Domingo. Yes, that Lauren Santo Domingo; we are including her because, among other reasons, we don’t want the woman to be forever associated with That Dress as we now refer to it.

After waxing très pathétique about Yves Saint Laurent in Monday’s post, we thought the topic did warrant a follow-up of a more appropriate (read that ‘less emotional’) nature, not to mention the preceding CFDA coverage. The President of the industry group is Diane von Furstenberg, who made a last-minute wardrobe change, donning vintage YSL.

Also honoring YSL’s creation of the tuxedo for women, Ashley Olson in Calvin Klein eveningwear separates.

The Princess hopes everyone is enjoying a fantabulous Thursday and looking forward to splendid weekend plans.