loose threads

PPR’s Profits Dip; Audrina Patridge Wears Skimpy Outfit for PETA Ad

• Profits fell 2.6 percent for PPR. But Gucci’s sales are up 10 percent. [British Vogue]

• This article begins, “An epidemic of specialty store closings and consolidations is sweeping through the Los Angeles region as retailers succumb to the recession.” Oh, really?! [WWD]

• Dutch lingerie brand Marlies Dekkers — whose garments Britney Spears wears on her Circus tour — closed its first U.S. store, which was located in that underground mall in the Plaza that no one knows about or shops in. [WWD]

• Audrina Patridge is in a PETA ad. Already, we feel exasperated. [Just Jared]

• Rachel Bilson will be a fashion editor at In Style, where she’ll answer readers’ fashion questions in a monthly column. In her first installment in the May issue, she says her favorite spring items include scarves with pom-pom trim, “a cool alternative to fringe.” [WWD]

PPR’s Profits Dip; Audrina Patridge Wears Skimpy Outfit for PETA Ad