Can’t you just see it?

Admit it &#8212 you’re one of the 85,554 fans of Aretha Franklin’s Inauguration Day hat on Facebook. We are, and we’re proud. We just received one of the best press releases ever, informing us that, thanks to the outpouring of Hat fascination and press (People! The Tonight Show! WWD!), the Smithsonian has requested the “now iconic” Hat to display in the museum alongside Michelle Obama’s Isabel Toledo and Jason Wu ensembles. But Aretha doesn’t know if she’s ready to relinquish the Hat and go it alone. She says:

“I am considering it. It would be hard to part with my chapeau since it was such a crowning moment in history. I would like to smile every time I look back at it and remember what a great moment it was in American and African-American history. Ten cheers for President Obama.”

Okay, question: Should we start calling it the Chapeau instead of the Hat? Or have we gone too far to turn back? More from the Best Press Release Ever:

On the Internet, people have created dozens of sites devoted to the hat and, using software, it has been placed on mug shots of Dick Cheney, dogs, President George Washington and the heads of Mt. Rushmore , among many others.

The Hat’s website is here. In case you haven’t seen these sublime images of Cheney and dogs Photoshopped into the Hat, we found a whole page of Hat Photoshoppings, including cats in the Hat. What a Friday.

Earlier: So What Was UP With Aretha Franklin’s Hat?

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Filed Under: aretha franklin, mad hatter, the hat, the smithsonian

Angelina Jolie’s SAG dress by Max Azria didn’t look bad, but it did little to enhance her beauty or flatter her figure. Her stylist, Jen Rade, told Us Weekly that Angelina wore it backward, not because it was Opposite Day in the Pitt-Jolie household, but because she wanted to make the dress “more blouson.” At the Golden Globes before that, she wore a similarly blouson Versace dress. We didn’t even remember what it looked like until we revisited the photo, and we spent at least three hours watching Golden Globes–related programming that Sunday (couldn’t make it through the entire ceremony &#8212 Ryan Seacrest and Miley Cyrus wore us out). Angie can wear simple dresses and be memorable. She’s gorgeous &#8212 it’s not like she needs eight pounds of eyeliner and a second skin of Swarovskis (no judgment, Beyoncé &#8212 you do your thing), but we would like to see something slightly more interesting at the Oscars. She can make it easy on herself and wear that dress front-to-back. Recession chic! Because she purchases these gowns, clearly.

Angelina’s Red Carpet Reversal [Oscars Blog]

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Filed Under: angelina jolie, maz azria, oscars, sag awards

During Fashion Week, Sony will send models and dancers to the tents and cafés in hipster neighborhoods with little Vaio laptops. They’ll spend five to seven hours a day walking around New York, making robotic movements, and checking their Facebook pages in various locales, wearing spring 2009 designs by designers like Elise Overland and Cushnie et Ochs. Sony isn’t worried about them being cold, though. “They’re going to be inside” most of the time, a Sony rep noted. Sigh. [Heard on the Runway/WSJ]

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Filed Under: new york fashion week, sony, tentward bound

Mervyn King (left) and Sir John Gieve. Mervyn could use a lesson in tying his tie, too.

Well, this is appalling: Earlier this week, the Bank of England held “Dress for Success” day. On that day, they sent out a memo to female employees detailing just how they should dress for success, important now more than ever in These Economic Times, the worst financial crisis Britain’s dealt with since the Depression. WWD obtained a copy of the memo:

“Look professional, not fashionable; be careful with perfume; always wear a heel of some sort — maximum 2 inches; always wear some sort of makeup — even if it’s just lipstick.” Shoes and skirt must be the same color. No-no’s include ankle chains — “professional, but not the one you want to be associated with;” white high heels; overstuffed handbags; an overload of rings, and double-pierced ears.

On behalf of all women at the BOE, excuse us? A woman can dress almost exactly opposite to these rules &#8212 in black flats, with gray trousers, no makeup, and a giant handbag &#8212 and still look professional and chic. We understand the need to enforce a dress code, but mandating heels of a certain color, makeup, and degree of handbag-filling is ridiculous. What about rules for the men? It wouldn’t hurt BOE governor Mervyn King and deputy governor Sir John Gieve to wear ties that aren’t so loud &#8212 set an example if you’re so concerned about color-coordination, gentlemen. And while you’re forcing women to wear two-inch heels, you should, too. Sarko does it, after all.

MONEY HONEYS [WWD]

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Filed Under: bank of england, dress codes, mervyn king, sir john gieve