Kate Spade turns 47 today. Hedge fund manager Jim Chanos is turning 52. Former Observer owner Arthur Carter is 78. Jonathan Benno, Per Se's outgoing chef who will soon be opening a restaurant of his own, is 40. Annette de la Renta, the wife of Oscar de la Renta and a charity gala fixture, is turning 70. Ryan Seacrest turns 35. Ricky Martin is celebrating his 38th. Author Mary Higgins Clark is turning 82. Heiress Marylou Whitney is 84. And actor Mekhi Phifer is 35. A few people with Christmas birthdays are listed below.

David Bowie walking in SoHo ... Jude Law playing soccer with his kids downtown ... Halle Berry arriving at her hotel in Midtown ... Helena Christensen shopping in the meatpacking district with boyfriend Paul Banks ... Natalie Portman going to lunch with a friend ... Rihanna walking downtown ... Sienna Miller arriving for a matinee performance of After Miss Julie ... Hugh Jackman playing with his kids at the park ... Carlos Leon and daughter Lourdes hanging out in SoHo ... Michelle Williams walking around ... Josh Brolin leaving his hotel ... model Kara Young walking with her son downtown ... Carrie Underwood walking in Midtown ... and Fergie catching a flight at LaGuardia.

Matthew McConaughey leaving the Mandarin Oriental Hotel to head to Central Park to go jogging ... Matt Damon and wife Luciana having lunch yesterday at Sant Ambroeus ... Helena Christensen walking in the West Village ... Dustin Hoffman talking on his cell phone ... Julianne Moore walking around in the Village ... ... Michelle Williams taking daughter Matilda to school in Brooklyn ... Mark Wahlberg hanging out on the set of The Other Guys downtown ... Sienna Miller walking her dog in SoHo and later getting iced coffee from Green Symphony on West 43rd Street ... and Kurt Russell walking uptown in his Yankee cap.

• Topshop is offering free bike rentals beginning this Saturday, strangely. [SF]
• Jimmy Choo is the latest brand to climb into bed with H&M. [WWD, SW]
• Helena Christensen is designing a linens line, apparently. [Cut]
• Sophia Kokosalaki is taking over Diesel's Black Gold line. [Vogue UK]
• Is Vera Wang really going to be on Dancing With the Stars? Maybe! [Cut]
• Simon Doonan on the state of things: "Fashion is currently going through a John the Baptist hair-shirt kind of period. Self-indulgence has been replaced by self-flagellation. All I can say is, 'Stop it, girls! Stop it before it's too late.'" [NYO]

Anne Hathaway and boyfriend Adam Shulman walking around ... Helena Christensen carrying shopping bags full of flowers in the West Village ... Tim Robbins playing hockey at a playground downtown ... ... Kate Hudson walking downtown with a friend ... Paris Hilton getting out of an SUV in front of her hotel ... Rachel McAdams arriving on the set of Morning Glory ... Robert Pattinson leaving JFK ... Nicole Kidman filming scenes for her new movie outside Sotheby's on the Upper East Side ... and Alessandra Ambrosio posing for photographers on the sidewalk.

Marc Jacobs having lunch with a friend at Da Silvano ... Helena Christensen walking with son Mingus in the West Village ... Hugh Jackman hailing a cab for his wife in Soho ... Jennifer Connelly and Paul Bettany picking up their kids from school ... Robin Williams arriving at his hotel ... Jennifer Aniston going for a walk ... Sarah Michelle Gellar holding a script on the set of her new cable series, The Wonderful Maladys, on the UWS ... Kelly Ripa leaving ABC's studios ... Jessica Biel walking alone in Soho ... Veronica Webb leaving a party at the Waverly Inn ... and Claire Danes stopping at Dean & Deluca en route to the gym.

• It wouldn't be fashion's biggest night without a bit of drama thrown in to spice things up. Naomi Campbell, Linda Evangelista, and Christy Turlington are reportedly skipping the Costume Institute gala this evening, possibly because Kate Moss was chosen to co-chair the event; meanwhile, Karl Lagerfeld, Azzedine Alaia, and Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana are all staying home, perhaps because Marc Jacobs has "commandeered the event" by buying two tables and dressing Moss, Madonna, and Kerry Washington. [P6]
• The Chelsea Clinton wedding rumors continue: The Boston Globe reports the former first daughter and Marc Mezvinsky may get hitched at Ted Danson and Mary Steenburgen's home on Martha's Vineyard in August, which is when the Obamas will be in town, too. [BG, NYDN]
• Kelly Killoren Bensimon says picking on her has become "the new recession vocation." Sounds about right. [R&M]

Stars and models and waitresses seek to salvage or repair their slutty reputations. Starring: John Mayer! Tina Brown! Lindsay Lohan! AND one lucky Waitress.

Cartier celebrated its 100th anniversary in New York last night with a big bash inside its Fifth Avenue store. The celeb-heavy crowd included Elton John, Kate Hudson, Jessica Biel and Justin Timberlake, Anne Hathaway, Rachel Weisz, Demi Moore, Eva Mendez, Ashley Olsen, Zac Posen, Martha Stewart, Graydon Carter, Jeff Zucker, Robbie Myers, Patti Smith, Russell Simmons and Julie Henderson, Tory Burch, Thakoon Panichgul, Erin Fetherston, Nanette Lepore, Phillip Lim, Coco Rocha, Hilary Rhoda, Daniel Boulud, Eli Weisel, Bruce Weber, Henrik Lundqvist, Ingrid Sischy, Beth Rudin DeWoody, Cornelia Guest, Susan Fales-Hill, Marjorie Gubelmann, Thora Birch, Chiara Clemente, Alexis Bryan, Dylan Lauren, Kelly Klein, and Cartier chief Frederic De Narp. [PMc, Wireimage, WWD]

Graydon Carter, Robert De Niro, and Ron Perelman hosted a Vanity Fair-sponsored dinner at the State Supreme Court House last night to celebrate the opening of the Tribeca Film Festival. They were joined by Carter and De Niro's wives (Anna Scott Carter and Grace Hightower) and Tribeca Film Fest co-founders Craig Hatkoff and Jane Rosenthal, as well as a long list of guests, including Bono and Ali Hewson, Kanye West, Diane von Furstenberg, Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump, Tory Burch and Lyor Cohen, André Leon Talley, Fran Lebowitz, Spike Lee ... (continued)

Saks CEO Steve Sadove was honored at a fundraising gala for the Fashion Institute of Technology last night at Cipriani 42nd Street. Sadove was presented with an award from Michael Bloomberg ("This is an evening I like to call Saks and the City!") and guests including FIT president Joyce Brown, Olivia Chantecaille, Jason Wu (left), Carolina Herrera, Tom Florio, Fern Mallis, Robbie Myers, Joe Zee, Amy Astley, Peter Som, Stacey Bendet Eisner, Susan Fales-Hill, Dan Peres, Bill Cunningham, Scott Harrison, Steven Kolb, Saks President Ronald Frasch and his wife Georgia, former State Comptroller Carl McCall, and actress Sarah Wynter. [PMc, Wireimage, NYO, FWD]

Michelle Williams and Spike Jonze taking a walk in Brooklyn ... Justin Timberlake playing basketball on a public court downtown ... Howard Stern and Beth Ostrosky sitting courtside at a Knicks game at Madison Square Garden ... Julia Roberts leaving her hotel in Midtown ... Helena Christensen walking in the Village ... Beyonce shooting a video in Tribeca ... Meryl Streep reading the Times on the set of her new movie in Brooklyn ... Madonna and Jesus Luz leaving the Kabbalah Center ... Ru Paul walking in the meatpacking district ... Ice-T and Coco leaving a show at Caroline's in Times Square ... Maggie Gyllenhaal and Peter Sarsgaard arriving at the Classic Stage Company on East 13th Street ... Nelly leaving the Trump International Hotel ... Tim Robbins playing hockey in the Village ... Kiefer Sutherland leaving Kingswood in the West Village with his girlfriend, Siobhan Bonnouvrier ... Naomi Watts carrying her new baby in the meatpacking district ... and Tyra Banks leaving the Waverly Inn.

amfAR kicked off Fashion Week with a gala at Cipriani last night, where the long list of attendees included Donna Karan, Mary J. Blige (left), Anna Wintour, Calvin Klein, Rachel Zoe, Julia Restoin Roitfeld, Liza Minnelli, Candy Pratts Price, Robbie Myers, Jessica Stam, Lily Donaldson, Kenneth Cole, Stefano Tonchi, John Demsey, Stacy Bendet, Andrew Saffir and Daniel Benedict, Lisa Dennison, Terence Koh, Vito Schnabel, Noemi Lenoire, Harry Belafonte, Mary Alice Stephenson, Jennifer Creel, Natasha Richardson, Stanley Tucci, Taylor Momsen, Maggie Rizer, Doutzen Kroes, Robert Verdi, Mario Cantone, Eliza Dushku, Kipton Cronkite, Derek Blasberg, and Howard and Cindy Rachofsky. [PMc, Wireimage, WWD, NYO]

Andrew Saffir's Cinema Society hosted a screening of He's Just Not That Into You at the Tribeca Grand on Wednesday night. Guests at the screening and after-party, hosted by Stardoll and Philosophy di Alberta Ferretti, included Lindsay Price (left), Olivia Palermo and Johannes Huebl, Michael Kors, Amy Sacco, Anne Hearst and Jay McInerney, Rachel Roy, America Ferrera, Helena Christensen, Eva Amurri, Mamie Gummer, Cuba Gooding Jr., Maggie Rizer, Annelise Peterson, Zoe Kravitz, Lisa Bonet, Lorenzo Martone, Marina Rust Connor, Chris Benz, Christian Siriano, Reed Krakoff, Dori Cooperman, Taylor Momsen, Carson Kressley, Poppy Delevigne, Jane Seymour, Genevieve Jones, Patricia Clarkson, Shoshanna Lonstein Gruss, Irina Pantaeva, Dylan Lauren, Jeff Gordon, Kiera Chaplin, Liam McMullan, Derek Blasberg, and one of the stars of the film, Ginnifer Goodwin. [PMc, Wireimage, VF, Style.com, NYO, FWD]

It can't be fun to have your birthday fall on Christmas, although if you're Jewish—like youthful financier/media mogul Bruce Wasserstein who will be celebrating his 61st birthday tomorrow—we're not sure it matters much. Others who can proudly proclaim they were born the same day as Jesus: Republican sorcerer Karl Rove is turning 58. Helena Christensen will be 40. Annie Lennox is turning 54. Dido is turning 37. Jimmy Buffett will be 62. Literary agent Esther Newberg will be 67. And artist Louise Bourgeois will be celebrating her 97th birthday.

A crowd of nearly 400 made their annual trip to the Bronx last Friday night for the New York Botanical Garden's 10th annual Winter Wonderland Ball. The black-and-white dinner, sponsored by Chanel, featured appearances by the likes of Cristina and Chris Cuomo, Nina Garcia, Marjorie Gubelmann, Byrdie Bell, Poppy Delevingne, Minnie Mortimer Gaghan, Steve and Christine Schwarzman, Dalia Oberlander, Gillian Hearst Simonds, Alex Kramer, Alexandra Lebenthal, Molly Sims, Holly Dunlap, Erin Fetherston, Margherita Missoni, Zani Gugelmann, Coco Rocha, Gillian and Sylvester Miniter, Bronson Van Wyck, Patrick McDonald, Stephen Knoll, Jessica Joffe, Jill Kargman, Lauren Remington Platt, Coralie Charriol Paul, Joe and Nazee Moinian, Kate Schelter, James and Whitney Fairchild, Lydia Fenet, Maggie Betts, Meredith Melling Burke, and Pamela Fiori. [PMc, Style.com, NYSD, The Daily]

At last night's opening night party for the New York City Ballet's David H. Koch Theater, guest of honor David Koch and wife Julia mingled with Candace Bushnell, Sarah Jessica Parker, Alicia Keys, Al Roker, Debbie Bancroft, Lisa Falcone, Mary Alice Stephenson, Alexandra Lebenthal, Zani Gugelmann, Annie Churchill, Peter Martins, Veronica Webb, Mark Indelicato, Blythe Danner, Valentino, Rachel Roy, Derek Lam, Peter Som, and Vanessa Williams, who all ate, drank, and danced to inaugurate the new Lincoln Center venue. [Wireimage, PMc, Style.com]

Gucci celebrated the launch of its Tattoo Heart Collection on Wednesday, a line of products that benefits UNICEF. Rihanna, who is the new face of the campaign, was joined Gucci creative director Frida Giannini at a snowflake lighting ceremony at the Grand Army Plaza, which was followed by an event at Gucci's flagship and dinner at the Plaza's Oak Room. Guests included Madonna, Penn Badgley, Blake Lively, Adrian Grenier, Monet Mazur, Timbaland, Mary J. Blige, Erin Wasson, Becki Newton and Chris Diamantopoulos, Kelly Rutherford, Patricia Field, Charlotte Ronson, Shoshanna Lonstein Gruss, Jessica Joffe, Julia Restoin Roitfeld, Mamie Gummer, Eleanor Ylvisaker, Bethenny Frankel, Anja Rubik, Hal Rubenstein, Magnus Berger, Joe Zee, Kelly Killoren Bensimon, Lizzie and Jonathan Tisch, and Maggie Betts. [Style.com, NYO, PMc, Wireimage]

♦ It's a horrifying mystery that will weigh heavily on all of our minds until it's solved: Where on earth is Karolina Kurkova's belly button? [Telegraph, Daily Mail]
♦ Diane von Furstenberg confirmed last night that she has submitted sketches for Michelle Obama's inaugural ball gown: "Well, they asked me to. Of course, everybody has." [The Cut]
♦ Best outfit worn to the CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund Awards last night: Agyness Deyn's tux-style black suit with Marc Jacobs hat and red platforms. Absolute worst: Blake Lively's hideous Vena Cava dress, which we can only imagine was chosen to fulfill a contractual obligation to expose her boobs at all times. [stylefile, Teen Vogue]

♦ One of the recession's teeny silver linings: In an unprecedented move, luxury brands like Chanel and Louis Vuitton are cutting prices for US customers. [WSJ]
♦ Supermodels—they're just like us! Helena Christensen braved the crowds in London yesterday to grab a polka-dot Comme des Garçons cardigan from H&M, and proudly wore it out that night. [Grazia]
♦ Does Agyness Deyn care about the fate of fluffy animals or not? On Wednesday, she DJed at the Humane Society's Cool vs. Cruel ceremony with boyfriend Albert Hammond Jr. But she's apparently not averse to wearing fur on the runway or to non-animal rights events. [Fashionologie]