There's been no shortage of Anna Wintour rumors the past couple of months. Back in November, the word circulated that the Vogue editrix was thinking about retiring; two weeks later, there was gossip that Condé Nast chief Si Newhouse was planning to replace her with French Vogue editor Carine Roitfeld. More recently, there have been outlandish suggestions that Barack Obama is considering Anna as a possible ambassador to France or England. What gives? Who's been spreading the rumors? It turns out that the juicy bits about Anna are all connected: They're related to tense behind-the-scenes negotiations between Wintour and Newhouse over her new contract and were disseminated to the media by both sides as part of a devious whisper campaign.

• Malia is totally into "pleats and pared-down things," but is not a "huge fan of sparkles." Sasha, on the other hand, totally adores "bright colors and sparkly things." Could America's first daughters be any cuter? [WSJ]
• IMG would really love it if Michelle Obama turned up for Fashion Week next month. [SF]
• The mood was not very cheery at Men's Fashion Week in Milan, reports Guy Trebay, who says designers appeared to be reacting to the downturn "by staging a mass memorial for themselves. [NYT]
• Rumor has it 60 Minutes is planning a story on Anna Wintour. [NYM]
• Is Barneys' parent company putting the retailer up for sale? [BN]
• A sneak peek at Scarlett Johansson's new ads for D&G makeup. [SW]
• Not surprisingly, Jason Wu's website has been flooded with traffic. [FWD]
• Christian Lacroix's fab Paris apartment is up for sale. [Fashionologie]
• Sad and very disturbing: Brazilian model Mariana Bridi had to have her hands and feet amputated due to a life-threatening blood infection. [NYDN]

We hear CBS' 60 Minutes is preparing a profile on Anna Wintour. Though takedowns are the news magazine's claim to fame, we're betting the Vogue editor will emerged puffed up.

Last year it looked like the baby Vogue editors outshined the top dog. Now it seems those stars are dimming, most recently with an absurd quote from atop Vogue Italia.

Anna Wintour said she wishes the new documentary about her had ventured beyond the offices of Vogue. And no wonder, because it is there that the editor made her ruthless reputation.

First the Vogue documentary, The September Issue, had its Sundance premiere in Salt Lake City. Now we learn that Anna Wintour had to fly coach to get there. When will the insults stop?

The documentary about Anna Wintour and Vogue, The September issue, which is showing at Sundance this weekend, sounds like it will be a nostalgic look at a golden era when advertisers had huge budgets, readers had disposable income, and print media still had a reasonably healthy pulse: Based on footage gathered during the months before the publication of the September '07 issue, Vogue's biggest-ever, the film goes behind the scenes at the fashion bible and exposes the creatives processes of its inner circle like Grace Coddington (who filmmaker R.J. Cutler said was "unhappy" about the presence of his cameras), as well as delves into Wintour's personal life.

Anna Wintour has given filmmaker R.J. Cutler an extraordinary gift: Not only did she allow his cameras into the Vogue offices and her family, the editor also revealed her (remaining) human side.

When we unveiled our Anna Wintour ringtone the other day, we naturally didn't dare to dream of an endorsement from the hallowed dominion of Vogue itself. Alas, we still have no idea what Anna thought of it. But that didn't stop French Vogue, whose beloved editor Carine Roitfeld has been the subject of rumors that she'll replace Wintour in New York, from happily informing readers about the sonnerie de téléphone with "the invaluable recommendations of Madame Wintour herself!" Merci, Carine! [Vogue.fr]

Anna Wintour to become ambassador to England or France?

Considering Barack Obama offered the job of Surgeon General to CNN's Sanjay Gupta, it's only to be expected that some equally surprising political appointments would get bandied about. Here's another one you can add to the list: Rumor has it that Obama is thinking about naming Anna Wintour as his ambassador to England or France, at least according to the "extremely insider rumors" picked up by Fashion Week Daily. Excellent choice! Not only will it go a long way to restoring America's reputation on the European continent, it will functions as the perfect exit strategy for Anna as Vogue continues its downward descent!

When you woke up this morning, you never imagined that today would be the day when you'd be able to get rid of that boring ringtone on your cell phone and replace it with the voice of Ms. Anna Wintour herself, did you? Well, you're in luck! We're pleased to announce that the Vogue editor is now available in ringtone format (click on her photo to download), which features Anna dispensing populist fashion advice that you shouldn't take to heart for a moment. To balance the scales a bit, though, we've also created a more sensible André Leon Talley ringtone for you. Andre's wise advice and instructions on how to make these free ringtones work on your phone after the jump!

It's been a rough few weeks for Vogue editor Anna Wintour. There were the rumors that Condé Nast chief Si Newhouse was thinking of replacing her with Carine Roitfeld, the editor of French Vogue. Then there was more concrete evidence of Vogue's fading relevance: The number of ad pages in the magazine tumbled by nearly 10 percent in 2008, a decline more substantial than most of Vogue's competitors. Yesterday, the Times' Cathy Horyn, one of the few fashion writers daring enough to take on the industry's most powerful figure, laid out some of the magazine's problems with a piece entitled "What's Wrong with Vogue?"

• Both retailers and editors are scaling back plans for the couture shows in Paris in January. Anna Wintour, however, will not be deterred. [The Cut]
• A list of 2008's "ubiquitors." [WWD]
• Designer Ted Lapidus is dead at 79. [Guardian]
• The movie about the Bruni-Sarkozy love affair will only air in France, alas. [Style.com]
• A former YSL makeup artist has slapped the company with a discrimination lawsuit. [WWD]
• Tough times: the CEO of Liz Claiborne is forced to fly commercial. [WSJ]
• Did you miss The City? You didn't miss much, but Whitney Port has posted her very own recap, if you're interested. [Celebuzz]

Aliona Doletskaya has been hailed as potential successor to Anna Wintour atop U.S. Vogue. But there's a side of the Russian editor's life you didn't read about in the Times.

• Anna Wintour has earned a spot on Time's "Top 10 Fashion Faux Pas" list. Congrats! [Time]
• Zac Posen is shelving his plan to launch a secondary line "in light of current economic conditions." [WWD]
• Add Betsey Johnson to the list of designers skipping Fashion Week in February. [WSJ]
• Vera Wang isn't cancelling her show; she's moving it from the tents to her Mercer Street store to "convey a more intimate mood." [WWD]
• Miu Miu has "quietly" shuttered its uptown boutique at 831 Madison Avenue. [FWD]
• A list of the top 10 clothing-related crises in history. [VF]
• More Americans say they're planning to make their own Christmas presents this year as opposed to purchase them. Bad news for retailers, good news for those of you hoping for a knitted cell-phone cover. [Reuters]

Anna Wintour's sequined, seahorse-looking Karl Lagerfeld dress was controversial back when the Vogue ruler wore it to the Costume Institute gala in May. Time's final verdict is another slap to the embattled editor.

For weeks, the Anna Wintour rumors coming out of Condé Nast concerned the Vogue queen's failures and purportedly impending departure. Now someone is spreading word about the Dear Editor's glorious success. Hmm.

Anna Wintour and Ralph Lauren had lunch together today at Michael's, reports Mediabistro's Diane Clehane. And the two looked, like, totally bummed out: "The pair looked downright anguished. We watching in fascination as the pair leaned over the table with their foreheads practically touching as Ralph propped his head up with his hands and rubbed his eyes. Tough times for the titan? We can't imagine." Foreheads practically touching? That sounds serious! Or seriously romantic! Or something. [Mediabistro]

• Someone in Toronto has Tom Cruise's BlackBerry. The Church of Scientology will disavow any knowledge of the actions needed to get it back in the event an agent is caught or killed. [P6]