But even the rarified worlds of fashion and luxury are linked to the broader economy—and marketing lavish, often ephemeral goods is brutally challenging in the best of times. With banks tanking, bonuses vanishing, and retailer bankruptcies on the rise, peddling luxury in 2008 is no enviable task. Here's a quick survival guide for how the American fashion industry will ride out these distinctly un-fabulous times.

Accessories will be everywhere. Like jewelry, for example.

In a paper detailing predictions for the 2008 luxury market, consumer-trends analyst Pam Danziger of Unity Marketing deemed jewelry purchases less susceptible to market fluctuations. "Jewelry is unique among luxury goods because it offers the customer some perceived inherent value," she said. Retailers and editors are keeping their fingers crossed that Danziger is right. "We've shot more and more with jewelry," says Sally Singer, fashion news and features director at Vogue. "Jewelry can upgrade any outfit, and jewelry purchase values don't change as quickly as clothes, especially gold."

Other accessories—especially shoes and handbags—will continue to be big business for designers and retailers. Consumers might be skittish about investing in expensive, trendy apparel but will still give themselves a smaller designer fix with these products. And designers—many of whom already make more money from accessories than ready-to-wear—will be looking for ways to further expand these lower-price-point lines of their brands.

A Christian group out of San Diego has found grounds for outrage over the new retro-style logo for Starbucks Coffee. The Resistance says the new image "has a naked woman on it with her legs spread like a prostitute," Mark Dice, founder of the group, said in a news release. "Need I say more? It's extremely poor taste, and the company might as well call themselves Slutbucks." The group, which claims more than 3,000 members nationwide and has found a place advancing various conspiracy theories, is calling for a national boycott of the coffee-selling giant.

The logo will run on Starbucks cups for "several more weeks," said company spokeswoman Bridget Baker, and will live on as the logo for Pike Place bags of coffee. The image is a less-revealing throw-back version of what the chain used for many years starting when it first opened in Seattle in 1971. That original logo was resurrected in its Pacific Northwest outlets for a time in 2006 to mark the chain's 35th anniversary.

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The explanation for that initial logo design is explained in the book "Pour Your Heart into It : How Starbucks Built a Company One Cup at a Time," written by company founder Howard Schultz: "[Creative partner Terry Heckler] poured [sic] over old marine books until he came up with a logo based on an old sixteenth-century Norse woodcut: a two-tailed mermaid, or siren, encircled by the store's original name, Starbucks Coffee, Tea, and Spice. That early siren, bare-breasted and Rubenesque, was supposed to be as seductive as coffee itself."

While both Hachette Filipacchi and Hearst remain mum on the fate of Nina Garcia, Fashion Week Daily has confirmed exclusively with a source involved in the negotiations that the former Elle fashion director has accepted an offer from Marie Claire and will join the title as fashion director in September. This confirms the initial reports by Fashion Week Daily on May 8 that Garcia was joining Marie Claire editor-in-chief Joanna Cole's senior staff.

Garcia will replace Tracy Taylor, who has left the magazine. Garcia will attend the upcoming round of fashion weeks with the Marie Claire team. An official announcement on Garcia's hire could come as soon as the end of the week.

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As for the rumors that Marie Claire will replace Elle as a partner on Project Runway, they remain hearsay. "There has been no update," a spokesman for The Weinstein Company confirmed. At this point, Elle is confirmed for season five of Project Runway with season six undecided. "Negotiations are just starting, if even that," said a source. Garcia's hire at Marie Claire is "completely separate from Marie Claire's possible interest in Project Runway," the source added.

A CNN/Opinion Research Corp. poll found that 94% of respondents expect they will have to pay $4 a gallon sometime this year - and 78% said they figure it will hit $5. The national average for gasoline was $3.61 on Monday, according to motorist group AAA. Consumers' fears that they will have to pay more have intensified. A year ago, 79% thought gas would cost $4 by the end of 2007 and only 28% feared $5 gas.

At the same time, high prices seem to be easier to swallow now than it has been for most consumers in the past. Of the more than 1,000 American adults surveyed in the poll, conducted April 28-30, 60% said high fuel prices have caused hardship for them or their household. That's down from 72% in March and 66% during the same time last year.

But if Americans feel better able to absorb the rising price of gas, it might be because they are driving less. In fact, demand for gas is far below the average for this time of year. "It takes a big jump in prices to alter commuters' behavior, but it appears we have now approached that level," said Stephen Schork, editor of energy industry newsletter The Schork Report.

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In addition to cutting back on driving, consumers are also buying more fuel-efficient vehicles. U.S. automakers reported a continued drop in SUV and truck sales in April, but smaller cars and hybrid vehicles have increased dramatically. Sales of Toyota's hybrid Prius rose 67% in April.