CPAC kicks off on Thursday, with hundreds of conservatives flooding Washington D.C.’s Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center for the occasion. But, according to one CPAC ticketholder, the matter of what to wear to CPAC has troubled many a first-time attendee. It’s an issue that 31-year-old conservative blogger and digital media professional Adrienne Royer struggled with at her initial conference. So in an effort to help 2013’s newbies dress for success, Royer created an infographic titled ‘What to Wear at CPAC,” and uploaded it on to her Pinterest page. 

Though completely unaffiliated with CPAC’s official organizing committee, Royer still felt that the conference’s college-aged attendees needed some fashion schooling. “I remember thinking that the college girls [at the conference] who were only a couple of years younger than me didn’t know how to dress professionally,” she told The Daily Beast when reached by phone on Wednesday.

FLOTUS to wear Reed Krakoff in Vogue: It seems that the rumor of Michelle Obama’s Vogue cover has come true. Washington Post contributor Robin Givhan told the paper’s The Reliable Source blog that Annie Leibovitz shot Obama in a Reed Krakoff ensemble for the issue—the same label that designed Obama’s inauguration-day boots. The issue will reportedly hit newsstands next week. [WP]

Michelle Williams’s Cover Controversy: Girl next door Michelle Williams has sparked controversy with the release of her cover for AnOther magazine. The image features the blonde pixie-cut actress styled in stereotypical Native American garb, wearing long black hair extensions tied into two Pocahontas braids, with feathers tacked in. Feminist site Jezebel has described the look as ‘redface’. The outrage follows a similar controversy from November, when Victoria’s Secret dressed Karlie Kloss in Native American-inspired lingerie for their annual fashion show. The look was edited out of the show’s national broadcast. [Jezebel]

Anna Wintour’s long been considered a multi-talented, one-woman show. Now, her employer Condé Nast has added to her duties as editor of Vogue and editorial director of Teen Vogue with a new role: artistic director of the entire publishing house.

Wintour has helmed Vogue for the last 25 years. Now 63 years old, she’ll assume some of the duties of Condé Nast’s S.I. Newhouse Jr, who last year at 85 began quietly rolling back his duties as editorial manager of his family-owned business, says the New York Times. The paper speculates that Wintour’s new role will “be to look for new talent and reinforce aesthetics,” and will have her taking on “broader creative duties throughout the company.” But Wintour herself felt it too soon to narrowly define her new duties.

When most people suffer from a serious hip ailment, they ring their insurance provider to request a standard-issue wheelchair or pair of crutches. But not Lady Gaga. The pop star, who recently received surgery for an inflammatory joint infection in her hip called synovitis (which forced her to cancel the remainder of her Born This Way tour), commissioned a 24-karat-gold-plated wheelchair to wheel around in style. 

Her stylist contacted jewelry designer Ken Borochov, of the label Mordekai, to design the chair with only a week's notice. “It was a huge undertaking,” Borochov told The Daily Beast of Gaga’s commission. He created the chair using manufacturers around the country, finishing the gold and tufted leather masterpiece (complete with a removable canopy) only on Sunday evening. “It was made all over the United States. My assistant had to run around everywhere,” Borochov explained. “I make all of my things here in the US.” In fact 1.5 ounces of gold were plated onto the chair “in Dallas at a customizing car factory that does hot rods and stuff. I wanted [the wheelchair] to look like a throne.” (In fact, the designer's publicist says, the wheelchair was gold-plated in Dallas but actually assembled in Madison, Wisconsin, at Regal Roadsters.)

Taylor Swift Magazines Tank: It seems like Taylor Swift’s gold does not carry over to the magazine industry. The singer covered nearly every major fashion magazine in the past year, including Vogue, Glamour, Elle, in addition to more general titles Cosmopolitan and Vanity Fair. But her covers reortedly bombed at newsstands (both print and digital) -- and she was outsold by lesser stars including Lauren Conrad and Zooey Deschanel. [WWD]

Tom Ford Changes Diapers: Tom Ford sat down with Andre Leon Talley in London before his label’s runway debut. In their interview, Ford admits to changing his new baby Jack’s diapers, saying that he did not have a child so someone else could do the dirty work. When Talley inquires when Ford’s fans can expect his next film (his debut production A Single Man came out in 2009) Ford responds, “My production this year was Jack Ford.” [Vogue]

The word prodigy is thrown around Hollywood like a screen door in a hurricane, used as an encomium for acting’s “next big thing(s).”

In the curious case of Elle Fanning, however, the appellative is entirely deserved.

There’s a new Baldwin in town. Ireland Baldwin, the 17-year-old daughter of Oscar-winning actress Kim Basinger and ex-husband Alec Baldwin, has landed her very first modeling deal.

Baldwin has signed on with two different agencies, Two Management in Los Angeles and IMG in New York, where she will join the ranks of legendary models like Kate Moss, Karlie Kloss and Chanel Iman. The young talent shared the news with her 20,000+ Twitter followers last week. “Officially working for @TwoManagement and @IMGModels ! I’m blessed, happy, and ready to WEEEEERK,” she wrote.

A new pope will soon be on his way--reports say that an announcement could come as soon as Thursday. But since the papal selection process is cloaked in secrecy, companies that service the Vatican are currently over-preparing for the church’s new appointment. The new pope will need to appear in all his finery just minutes after the announcement, delivering one of the office's famous balcony speeches.

According to the New York Times, fashion is not exempt from unknowing equation, since the papal garments are what visually separates a pope from his cardinals. Those layers of white and red robes need to be ready to go before the appointment is even announced. But there's one problem: most papal robes aren't one-size-fits-all. Writes the paper's fashion reporter, Guy Trebay: “For a select group of Catholics, the news most eagerly awaited from the conclave of cardinals gathering in Rome to elect the new pope is less about who that man is than how big.”

Rihanna's Givency Couture Wardrobe: Rihanna is bringing high-end fashion to her Diamonds World Tour. Givenchy designer Riccardo Tisci has been tapped to custom-design the singer’s stage wardrobe, which includes couture items such as a ruffled silk cape, a printed parka with gold detailing and Swarovski Elements and a leather bra with gold buckles. “Rihanna represents what young and amazing means today,” Tisci said. “She is punk and talented. She offers intelligence, energy and pure beauty. She is the face of her generation.” [WWD]

Will Kate Uptown Cover Vogue?: Kate Upton already nabbed the cover of Sports Illustrated’s swimsuit issue, but a more fashion-forward cover could be on the way. A “reliable source” told Fashionista that the supermodel may cover Vogue’s June issue. This would mark the first time Upton covers an American Vogue issue. She’s previously covered the magazine’s British and Italian editions.. [Fashionista]

Each Fashion Week, the modeling industry recruits a crop of fresh, new faces from around the globe to walk in shows by some of the world’s most renowned designers. Their stories epitomize glamour: in a matter of months, the new talent, plucked from obscurity, can suddenly find themselves in the company of celebrities, attending high-profile parties, and being given loads of incredibly expensive clothes.

On the surface, free luxury merchandise sounds like a pretty sweet deal. But it’s not that simple. The clothes have often been the only way models are paid for their professional services. Insiders call this form of payment “trade,” and it’s leading some models down a path of debt, forcing some to hawk the clothes on eBay and in consignment shops to recover the cash.

Karen Kilimnik’s work is difficult to define. Entering her world is akin to being transported to a magical fantasyland that fuses pop culture and history, real and imaginary, dream and nightmare. 

The Philadelphia-born artist gained recognition in the late 1980s for her “scatter art” installations, whereby different objects are randomly strewn throughout a gallery space, creating multi-dimensional compositions centered around certain themes. Her 1989 piece “The Hellfire Club Episode of the Avengers,” inspired by an episode from the now-defunct British television series, is an amalgamation of mirror frames, swords, drawings, and blown-up photographs of the show’s stars, Emma Peel and John Steed. The mixed-media collection evokes nostalgia for halcyon days through fragmented images of the past.

Society’s growing interest in the fashion industry has not only spawned dozens of style blogs and television shows, but also a slew off-kilter businesses that produce snarky spoofs on luxury labels. Brands like Conflict of Interest hawk shirts that say “Ill Slander” (rather than Jil Sander) and “Brawlmain” (instead of Balmain), and stores like Reason, in Manhattan’s East Village, also sell fashion parody merchandise.