And you were worried that Fashion Week would suck this year! New York's most famous hooker turned up in the front row of Yigal Azrouel's show this morning. Her publicist said Kelly Cutrone had invited her. Naturally. [WWD]

If you've ever watched The City and wondered whether Whitney Port and Olivia Palermo are actually sitting at their desks all day at Diane von Furstenberg and slaving away, well, it looks like The Daily may have finally put the matter to rest.

Take note, beleaguered Wall Streeters: Your girlfriend may have left you (now that you're unemployed) and your therapist may no longer be taking your calls (now that you're no longer paying your bills), but there's at least one person out there who wants to hear all about your troubles: Michael Moore! The filmmaker says he's currently looking for "a few brave people who work on Wall Street" to interview for his upcoming documentary on the financial meltdown. Hey, it's not like you have anything better to do, right? [NYT]

If your husband or boyfriend has to work late tonight, or has plans with a friend, or suddenly needs to attend to a sick relative, we hope you realize that what he's really doing is cheating on you—or so say florists and restaurateurs for whom business is just as brisk on February the 13th as the 14th, since men placate their mistresses by seeing them the night before Valentine's Day. "I guess probably in 10 years Hallmark will make a card for it," as the cynical manager of DUMBO's River Cafe puts it.

The voicemail message on "Real Housewife" Alex McCord's cell phone.

When you talk to people who lived through the Great Depression, you hear about how everybody pulled together, how crime rates were low, and how moral values were not only upheld but strengthened. When we're in our twilight years and we look back on this era—assuming of course that the planet lasts that long—we'll be able to say the exact opposite.

• New York Times public editor Byron Calame and his wife Kathryn have sold their three-bedroom, 16th-floor co-op at 670 West End Avenue for $2.4 million. The buyer is Bill Bermont, a vice president at Citigroup, and his wife Lynne. [Cityfile]
• Joseph Kohls, a Bank of America managing director, and his wife Christin paid $5.2 million for an apartment at the Tribeca Summit at 415 Greenwich Street. [Cityfile]
• Stanley Chais, the notorious money manager who helped collect millions for Bernie Madoff, has put his LA condo on the market for $4.7 million. Why? Because he's moved to New York. Welcome, Stanley! [WSJ]

Fashion Week officially kicks off today. So which designers are actually showing, which ones have cancelled their plans, and which ones are just putting on much more low-key affairs? The Cut has a list. [NYM]

Was Tinsley Mortimer's nearly two-month absence from the social scene because of her reported split with husband Topper, or because she took some time off for a touch up? We have no idea, but a tipster seems pretty convinced: "It's a classic move. The change in hair/skin is intended to distract you from the fact she had work done. Surprised you guys missed that." What can we say? Our in-house plastic surgeon has been on vacation this week. You can judge for yourself above. (The photo on the left is from November; the one on the right is from Wednesday night.) And naturally you can email us if you've know more, or you have particularly strong feelings on the subject.

State Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver turns 65 today. Rudy Giuliani's ex-wife, Donna Hanover, is 59. Real estate developer Francis Greenburger is 60. Peter Gabriel is turning 59. Robbie Williams is 35. Stockard Channing turns 65. Jerry Springer is 65. And Henry Rollins turns 48. People celebrating their birthdays this weekend—including Valentine's Day birthday boys like Michael Bloomberg and Steve Schwarzman—after the jump.

This isn't an easy time for anyone in the hotel business. It's especially rough if you happen to be Robert De Niro and the hotel you're involved with happens to be the Greenwich: De Niro's partners, Ira Drukier and Richard Born, admitted this week that the new, celeb-friendly hotel is running a 50 percent occupancy rate. [NYO]

• Have you heard? Our banks are insolvent. Happy Friday to you, too. [NYT]
• The markets are down this morning as the House and Senate prepare to vote on the $789 billion economic stimulus package. [CNN]
• It's still unclear whether Wall Street got the message that "that high living on the corporate tab is now unacceptable." That's comforting to hear. [Reuters]
• Leon Black's Apollo has tapped Henry Silverman as COO. [WSJ]
• AIG's financial products unit is now under investigation in Britain. [DB]
• Morgan Stanley has suspended its global head of real estate investing. [FT]
• Prosecutors have started interviewing employees of Bernie Madoff. [WSJ]
• Tim Geithner and Fed chairman Ben Bernanke are in Rome today and tomorrow to meet their G-7 counterparts to discuss the stimulus plan. [WSJ]
• Time's list of 25 people to blame for the economic crisis. [Time]

• Poor Gwynnie will have to brave V-Day alone, since Chris Martin's on tour and she's not sure what continent he's on. [NYDN]
• Chris Brown left Las Vegas yesterday, where he'd been holed up at the Hard Rock. He also updated his Facebook page, changing his status to single and writing, "You'll begin to see her true colors. Believe it!" [NYP, E!]
• Jesus Luz, Madonna's 22-year-old "special friend," is now into Kabbalah. [P6]
• Joaquin Phoenix is still running around town acting crazy; it's still unclear if he's drugged out of his mind or if it's just a big hoax. [NYDN]

• Kelly Cutrone says normally at this time of year she'd be flying in a chef from India to cook for her. But this Fashion Week she's cutting back on account of the recession. Bring us a tissue! [WWD]
• Arnold Scaasi did not like Jason Wu's gown for Michelle Obama: "I don't think the inaugural gown was flattering in any way... She could have looked much better." Yeow. [NYT]
• Despite the rough economy, Justin Timberlake's William Rast label is holding up nicely. [NYM]
• Anna Sui has landed a book deal. [Fashionista]
• The plywood has been removed outside Topshop in Soho! [Racked]
• Marie Claire is giving away taxi rides to promote Running in Heels. [FWD]
• Istithmar may sell Barneys for less than half what they paid for it in '07. [BN]
• Rents are falling in the garment district, duh. [NYT]
• An alcoholic's guide to Fashion Week. [Pipeline]

• Momofuku Ssäm is opening a new private dining room. [GS]
• Add Le Gamin to the list of spots tacking service charges to the bill. [Eater]
• A report on Craftsteak's new recession-friendly menu. [Feedbag]
• One upside to a bad economy: free restaurant equipment! [Eater]
• A list of restaurants where you can still find peanut butter desserts. [GS]
• Daisy May's has the 5th best chili in America, according to Bon Appétit. [BA]
• It's the end of the world: Starbucks is introducing instant coffee. [AdAge]

The good news: Harrah's in Atlantic City is handing out 5,000 guest room keys tomorrow from 8-10am at the corner of 48th Street and Avenue of the Americas, and from 12-1pm outside the Jacques Torres Hudson Store at 350 Hudson Street. The bad news is pretty apparent: It's the Harrah's in Atlantic City. [AMNY]

It's been a brutal day in the legal world. More than a dozen firms announced sweeping layoffs today, according to Above the Law. To wit: As many as 200 people at DLA Piper may be out of jobs; Bryan Cave reportedly handed out pink slips to 58 attorneys today; Dechert confirmed that it dropped 19 attorneys across the U.S.; Goodwin Procter sacked 74 people; Epstein Becker and Green dismissed 23 attorneys and 30 staff members; Cadwalader dropped 16 people in London; Cozen O'Connor laid off 61; Faegre & Benson gave notice to 29 attorneys; and as many as 200-300 people could be out of a job at Holland & Knight this afternoon. And this is just since eleven o'clock this morning. (Tomorrow is Friday the 13th, so it may very well get worse.) If you notice lots of men in rumpled suits walking around Grand Central Station in a daze, now you know why.

She's ditched the icky boyfriend and now has an Oscar nomination under her belt for role in Rachel Getting Married. The next step for Anne Hathaway as she seals her Serious Actress rep? She's signed on to play Viola in the Public Theater's production of Twelfth Night as part of its Shakespeare in the Park series. You've come a long way, Mia Thermopolis. [Variety]

A second person to lose his life savings to Bernie Madoff's Ponzi scheme has committed suicide. [Times UK via Clusterstock]

Mort Zuckerman is in pretty good shape for a man his age; he even mixes with the ladies a fair amount, an impressive feat considering he's in his 70s. But Zuckerman has named a successor at the New York Daily News anyway. His 11-year-old daughter. (On the bright side, if she ended up taking over tomorrow, it's unlikely she could really do any more damage to an industry that's already on its last legs.) The clip from Zuckerman's appearance on Charlie Rose's show earlier this week is above.