Andy Warhol once declared, “I love plastic. I want to be plastic.”  Apparently Warhol isn’t the only one with synthetic exuberance syndrome. In the fashion world, the spring collections are having a decidedly celluloid moment.  From dresses to tunics to short shorts, this season’s garments are gleaming with acrylic, vinyl and cellophane. Warhol would have been positively giddy.  A front page feature.

Note to Tippi Hedren, star of Hitchcock’s 1963 thriller “The Birds”: You might want to run for the hills this spring.  The fashion world appears to be experiencing nothing short of an all-out avian invasion: Finches at Marc Jacobs, swans at Giles Deacon, sparrows at Carolina Herrera, and more.  A front page feature.

This ‘90s leading man and director didn’t vanish; he just got quietly busy.  And now Ed Burns is debuting a handful of new independent films and will star in HBO’s new series ‘40.’  Read Ms. Blume’s cover story profiling this endlessly prolific director, actor, and screenwriter.

Over the last few years, classic cocktails have surged in popularity: Sidecars, Ward 8s, and Old Fashioneds once again grace bar menus from coast to coast. Also due for a comeback: the once-popular Gin Fizz – a perfectly ebullient, now-largely-forgotten libation. Enjoy five recipes from Ms. Blume’s upcoming book about vintage cocktails (Chronicle Books, 2012).

Meet Martine and Prosper Assouline, the husband-and-wife team behind luxury publishing house Assouline. Taking inspiration from their globetrotting life and glamorous friends, the couple has a new goal: To turn Assouline into a lifestyle brand. (Also appeared in Slate magazine, under title The World of Assouline: How a Luxury Book Publisher Has Thrived in an Anemic Market.)

According to the fashion oracles, you don’t have to be ashamed of your high-school grunge phase anymore.  Premillennial looks are no longer passé; they fall into the category of hallowed design history, and are ready to be donned again - including plaid shirts and combat boots.  A front page feature.

Animal prints and imagery have long been a badge of unfettered—even feral—sensuality in fashion. Considered staples of ‘60s, ‘70s and ‘80s wardrobes, animal-kingdom-inspired clothing has clawed its way back into collections across the globe this fall - and this time, it is teeming with playful, even absurd, references.  A front page feature.

Serge Lutens is more than an iconic perfumer, make-up artist, and photographer: he’s a poet who seeks to intrigue all of our senses.  In this interview, Mr. Lutens tells me about working with the “terrifying” Vogue editor Diana Vreeland, the most evocative scents in the world, and what makes a woman truly alluring.

Today, ‘calling cards’ are enjoying something of a revival.  And with modern versions of the card, the only rule is that there aren’t any—except that they should be emblems of your persona; therefore, size matters, and font choice can be as revealing as a Rorschach blot.

Everyone has to start somewhere.  For example, Barneys New York founder Barney Pressman funded his first store in 1923 with the $500 he raised by pawning his wife’s engagement ring.  In this amusing interview, I speak with wunderkind designer Olivier Theyskens about how he got his start in the fashion industry.

Photographer William Klein was one of the earliest photojournalists, and is often credited with pioneering the concept of the backstage fashion photo.  In this interview, Klein talks about his early years as a painter, how fashion shows resemble riot scenes, and more.

There’s no reason why we can’t have cultivated, old-timey holiday rituals and flourishes today as well.  What follows is a short list of such pleasures, just in time for Christmas and New Year’s festivities. After all, if you can’t be nostalgic during the holidays, when can you?

This week, Let’s Bring Back made its official debut as a book—and in honor of its release, I’ve compiled some of the most popular items mentioned in the column over the years.  From zeppelins to sealing wax, from turbans to typewriters, from Auntie Mame to the Ziegfeld Follies: we’ve covered a lot of ground. 

Today Ms. Blume’s new book, Let’s Bring Back, makes its debut.  To honor its release, we present our tenth and final ICONS OF STYLE subject: DIANA VREELAND, history’s most joyous fashion editor, queen of the bon mot, and ultimate Let’s Bring Back muse.

70s film icon Ali MacGraw—who donned scarves as turbans and tablecloths as skirts—launched a hundred trends and influenced millions of women who wanted to emulate her breezy, irreverent style.  The ninth subject of our ICONS OF STYLE series, honoring the release of Ms. Blume’s new book, Let’s Bring Back.