Elle is relaunching Elle Accessories, which originally debuted in 2005, but went on a hiatus in 2008. The new version will come packaged with the October issue and be available on newsstands September 18 for $4.95.

The updated title will include content from elle.com and its various social media platforms. To coincide with the launch, Elle’s website will include a “shopable accessories database.”

“Accessories are fundamental to how Elle covers fashion,” said Robbie Myers, editor-in-chief of Elle. “Elle Accessories will bring our accessory-obsessed audience the latest trends, shopping, and news through the varied lenses of our editors.”

Sounds great, but why, exactly, is Elle relaunching the magazine? According to its research, Americans spent about $36 billion on accessories last year. That’s a hell of a lot of scrunchies.

The media A-list has decided that winter is over (did it ever start?) and came out of hibernation in a major way at Michael’s today. Every square inch of the dining room was occupied by boldface names of every description from social swans (Amy Fine Collins) to talking heads (Star Jones, Andrew Ross Sorkin, Jeff Greenfield).  The joint was really jumping by the time Katie Couric arrived for a late lunch and stopped by our table to say hello. Since it’s Fashion Week, we just had to ask her about the killer shoes she was rocking. “I got them at the Manolo Blahnik sample sale,” she told me. “They had way too many shoes in size 6 1/2!” From the ‘I’ll have what she’s having’ department: We couldn’t help but notice that Katie, who was sporting a glowing tan and an LBD accessorized with just the right amount of gold bling, looks better than ever. What’s your secret?

I was joined today by a fascinating trio of women. Psychic medium Char Margolis, her literary agent Corinda Carfora (who just happens to sing backup for Bruce Springsteen – I’m not kidding) and my good friend, psychotherapist Dr. Robi Ludwig, who is the go-to therapist for the Today show and jewelry designer behind Gems en Vogue II, available on shopnbc.com. We got together to celebrate the publication of Char’s new book, Love Karma: Use Your Intuition to Find, Create, and Nurture Love in Your Life (Sterling Ethos). Char’s been busy taping segments on the book for The Doctors, Dr. Phil, Extra and Dr. Oz (whose segment will air during sweeps this month). She’s filming a segment for Dr. Steve tonight and then she’s off to more appearances in Amsterdam, where she had her own prime time television show for a decade, before going to South Africa for book signings and a speaking tour. (She’s also squeezing in a safari in her spare time). Char, who famously told Kelly Ripa she was pregnant during an appearance on Live with Reigs & Kelly, tells me that the most rewarding aspect of  her work is “connecting people with their loved ones in the spirit world” through private readings and small group sessions.  Not surprisingly, she said the hardest thing is working with someone who has lost a child.

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WWD has a piece on the trio of female Editor-in-Chiefs at Hearst today, and it comes off as pretty condescending. The idea behind the article is fine – how well Elle’s Robbie Myers, Harper’s Bazaar’s Glenda Bailey and Marie Claire’s Joanna Coles will work together – but the execution is all wrong.

The headline “The Three Graces of Hearst” is the first mistake. The Three Graces, in Greek Mythology, are goddesses of charm, beauty and creativity. Right away the article is undermining the three editors by comparing them to something that has nothing to do with their intelligence or talents.

Then the phrase “playing nice” is used twice, as if Myers, Bailey and Coles are little girls who need to learn to share. But the worst part of the article is actually in a chart, which discusses their clothes and hairstyles. Once again, that has absolutely nothing to do with their ability to run three of the most popular magazines in the world.

If it seems like we’re being picky, just think about it: Would an article about three men EICs discuss their hair? Would a piece about powerful men even bring up something as frivolous as attractiveness? We don’t think so.

There’s plenty to talk about with Myers, Bailey and Coles, but somehow WWD manages to cover all the wrong things.

— DIANE CLEHANE

I knew I was in for an interesting afternoon when I saw ’80s icon Joan Collins and former Yankee skipper Joe Torre arrive at Michael’s within minutes of each other. Where else would you possibly expect to run into two icons at the opposite ends of the pop cultural spectrum at lunch in Manhattan? The funny thing was barely anyone noticed. The  crowd was much too busy trying to figure out what all the media moguls were discussing at their tables. Sorry to disappoint, but I can’t read lips so I’m not much help on that front. However, I can report these captains of industry barely took a breath between bites and there were a lot of points being made with forks in the air.

Here’s the rundown on today’s crowd:

1. Discovery ID’s head honcho Henry Schleiff, holding court with four important-looking folks

2. Joan Collins, husband Percy Gibson and an unidentified preppie. The Dynasty star was in full diva mode as she sauntered to her table peering out at the crowd from beneath the brim of her gray cowboy hat. Alexis Carrington lives!

3.  For a minute we thought Bono might be stopping by when we heard manager Paul McGuinness had reserved the table, but it turned out his guests were two folks who definitely were not members of U2.

4. Mike Ovitz, talking a blue streak while his lunch date spent much of the time listening with his arms crossed. Whatever could that body language mean?

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In the final segment of her Media Beat interview Elle editor-in-chief Robbie Myers gives us a sneak peek at what the magazine has in store for its ‘early adopter’ readers with the launch of its iPad app (“That’s where we need to be”), which will coincide with the on-sale date of the October issue.

Turns out October is a big month for Elle as the magazine will also be celebrating its 25th anniversary. And what better way to do it than to deconstruct what it means to be 25 years old today? Myers and her team delve into the lives of twenty-five 25 year old women in the issue (and on-line) to learn about what makes them tick. At the top of the list: fashion, of course. But Myers insists there’s plenty of substance behind their style fixation.

And for those “beautifully educated people” who might be thinking about applying for a job at Elle, Myers offers these sage words of advice: learn to report — and be enthusiastic while doing it.

Part 1: Robbie Myers Brings Fashion Week to Elle.com

Part 2: Elle‘s Robbie Myers: ‘Project Runway Raised Our Profile’

More from our Profit From Your Passion series:
So You Wanna Work in Fashion PR?
How To Pitch for PR: Fashionista.com

In part two of her Media Beat sit-down, Elle editrix Robbie Myers explains how television has heightened the magazine’s presence and catapulted it into the mainstream.

From scoring a pop cultural bull’s eye by signing on to the early days of Project Runway (“a gamechanger”) to playing a starring role on the low-rated Stylista, Myers says it’s all good for “the Elle brand.” And, in a industry filled with ready-for-their close-up divas, the telegenic EIC reveals why she’s content to let staffers like creative director Joe Zee, who is launching his own show on The Sundance Channel, and Erin Kaplan, the magazine’s PR honcho and star of The City, shine in the TV spotlight.

“I’m thrilled and delighted that we have so many interesting and smart people,” Myers said. “What I like to say about Elle is there is no house style; it’s an ethos or a spirit. I don’t need to be the only filter.”

Part 1: Robbie Myers Brings Fashion Week to Elle.com

Part 3: Elle‘s Robbie Myers: ‘Good Fashion Reporters are Gold To Me’

More from our Profit From Your Passion series:
So You Wanna Work in Fashion PR?
How To Pitch for PR: Fashionista.com

For the second week of mediabistro.com’s Profit From Your Passion series, we’re focusing on media careers and advice for The Fashionista. So, it’s only right that we sat down with Elle‘s editor in chief Robbie Myers before all the Fashion Week madness kicked off.

In this first installment of her three-part interview, Myers dished about the event’s major move uptown to its ultra glam new home at Lincoln Center. “Lincoln Center is one of the great cultural destinations in the world, and I think that it’s nice that fashion is being elevated really to the arts,” she said.

Elle is also throwing its first-ever design competition with RISD featuring a star-studded panel of judges (Tommy Hilfiger! Derek Lam!) and will allow civilian stylistas to weigh in on the show by casting their ‘People’s Choice’ vote online.

“It’s either the fourth or fifth year in a row that we’ve had more shows on Elle.com than on any competing website, said Myers. “My feeling is if you love fashion, you wanna be on Elle.com.”

Part 2: Elle‘s Robbie Myers: ‘Project Runway Raised Our Profile’

Part 3: Elle‘s Robbie Myers: ‘Good Fashion Reporters are Gold To Me’

More from our Profit From Your Passion series:
So You Wanna Work in Fashion PR?
How To Pitch for PR: Fashionista.com

— DIANE CLEHANE

We missed Evander Holyfield by a day, but there was plenty of action to keep our attention in Michael’s jam-packed dining room today. Between the surprise birthday party for Hearst Magazines president Cathie Black on Table One, a smattering of fashionistas, and the bumper crop of beauty industry bigwigs holding court here and there, I suspect there was a fair share of business being done between bites of Cobb Salad. I noticed another interesting trend from my usual perch at the bar: This crowd really likes their cocktails. “For some reason, we are doing a lot of different drinks today,” said my friend Melinda, the bartender. Besides serving up some Shirley Temples, Melinda poured Pernod, Bellinis and Danish Murrays (That’s Aquavit and Bloody Mary mix). One diner who sat down promptly at noon ordered a Johnnie Walker Black on the rocks straight away. It beats iced tea, I guess. Bottoms up!

Here’s the rundown on today’s crowd:

1. Hearst Magazines president Cathie Black celebrating with a table full of media mavens (and plenty of presents!), including Harper’s Bazaar publisher Valerie Salembier and power players Jeannette Chang (long time, no see!), Michael Clinton, Ellen Levine and Donna Lagani.

2. Peter Brown, Paige Peterson and a handsome young gent.

3. ‘Mayor’ Joe Armstrong and George Stevens. I was thrilled to see the mayor at his regular perch after his recent trip to Austin, where he’s joined the board of his alma mater, the University of Texas. (He got both his law and journalism degrees there.) Joe was staying with his good pal Lance Armstrong, who, he told me, will be competing in this year’s Tour de France and saddling up for the major ‘Tour’ race in Italy. Lance has completely “bounced back” from his shattered collarbone, reports Joe. Just thought you’d like to know…

4. Leonard Lauder and two well-dressed gals we didn’t recognize …

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Perhaps it was the nice weather. Or maybe a hangover from the Time 100 party last night. Today’s media lunch at 55th & Fifth was relatively full, but lacked the star power of lunches past (no heads of state nor Penelope Cruzes to report). There was, however, some excitement near our perch at the bar, as a bottle of Pellegrino spontaneously exploded, bloodying the bartender’s hand. After returning from a brief trip to the DL, a lawyer at the bar quipped, “Michael, say hello to your new owner.”

The lineup card:

Table 1. Peter Brown and four guests, including a stunner of a blonde.

2. John Tisch.

3. Webby Award chairman Gerry Byrne in a Webby-ready casual suit, and Katherine Oliver.

4. Allen & Co. fortune heit Terry Kramer and Margo McNabb. Stilettos!

5. Bob Friedman and Stanley Jaffe.

6. Steve Cohen and CBS weather dude Dave Price, who wore sunglasses (hopefully prescription) for the majority of the meal and dropped a purple pen that was quickly returned by Michael’s staff. Sitting at the adjacent table? Al Roker, Price’s nemesis.

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