Jennifer Lopez, Jessica Simpson and more stars are rocking in over the hip jeans!

Don't still belief the "Saturday Night Live" sketch that high-waisted jeans are just for moms. Because they are officially back in fashion!

Jennifer Lopez, Jessica Simpson and now Mischa Barton have all been spotted over the past few weeks rocking jeans that button sky-high above the hips.

A new high-performance elastic fiber for use in denim fabrics and garments that need exceptional comfort stretch and recovery has been introduced by Dow Fiber Solutions.

This "next-generation" XLA for denim is said to be inherently resistant to high heat and harsh chemicals, enabling a luxurious hand and exceptional fit, yet maintains the authentic look and feel of cotton denim. It has been especially engineered for shape retentive garments, and because it resists harsh chemical treatments can be used in garments with a variety of denim finishes.

"Denim has become a wardrobe staple and with the combination of supreme durability, easy comfort and effortless style, we feel that we are approaching the denim market in a revolutionary way," says Akiko Inui, global brand marketing manager of Dow Fiber Solutions.

Jeans labels are reporting a spike in denim sales, as boys are buying female styles of tight-fitting, stove-pipe jeans.

"We're finding lots of blokes buying and wearing our skinny, stove-pipe style as they've found it hard to find jeans that tight and that comfy on the men's racks," says Sarah-Jane Clarke, of leading Australian denim label, sass & bide. "The blokes tend to be super skinny guys who like the comfort factor, probably because there is extra Lycra used in female styles.

"Most of our male customers end up wearing our larger female sizes" And Ms Clarke says their new higher-waisted style is being snapped up by blokes, too.

"They're buying them oversized and wearing them quite low," she adds. The fad isn't just an underground move by gay boys and fashion victims.

Mariah Carey will be the new face for Italian fashion house Pinko's London fashion brand, joining past super models such as Naomi Campbell, Elle Macpherson, and Eva Herzigova. According to Monsters and Critics, Pinko's president and founder, Pietro Negra Pinko, stated that for this campaign he wanted a musical artist as well as a beautiful woman, saying, "music is the greatest channel of communication, it reaches across the generations, perfectly reflecting the Pinko brand's goal: to design clothes for women of all ages."

Mariah Carey, the 36-year-old, who flew in from New Mexico where she is filming the independent movie Tennessee, also waded into the size zero debate which has dominated London Fashion Week.
Five-time Grammy winner, Mariah Carey, is the top female artist in history, with record sales exceeding 165 million. In 2005, her song "We Belong Together," was the longest running #1 song of that year, keeping its spot for fourteen weeks. Carey's 17 #1 billboard hits are matched only by the king himself, Elvis Presley, and her 9x platinum album, "The Emancipation of Mimi," has sold over 9 million copies.

United States Patent and Trademark No. 1,139,254 is not much to look at: a pentagon surrounding a childlike drawing of a seagull in flight.

But the design for a Levi's pocket, first used 133 years ago, has become the biggest legal battleground in American fashion.

Levi Strauss claims that legions of competitors have stolen its signature denim stitches - two intersecting arcs and a cloth label - for their own pockets, slapping them on the seats of high-priced, hip-hugging jeans that have soared in popularity.

So Levi's is becoming a leader in a new arena: lawsuits.

The Fall/Winter 2007/2008 season concentrates on fresh perspectives as concepts borrow from the delicate nature of change. Recognizing consumers ability to adapt to various conditions will be realized in dynamic fabrics, pairing form and function like never before. Peering in on the unprocessed aspect of living, we see color and fabric derived from a genuine place.

In both the landscape and within ourselves, the idea of renewal inspires. The shade range anticipates a grooving consumer interest in introspection and tranquility with versatile blue tones that soothe and evoke self-actualization. Warm tones will fluctuate between saturation and softness, articulating beauty in uncommon, unexpected ways homage to the ordered chaos of nature.

Six dominant themes of this season are Revival, Humble Arts, Haphazard Beauty, Still Life, Raw and Refined, and Epic.

There's nothing like a little anticipation to make life interesting. And this year, while some of the coming fashion trends feel a little conservative, much of the fashion technology feels very fresh.

It's been in the works for years, but now featherweight, "5-ounce" denim is coming to lines such as Rock and Republic and American Eagle. Current denim trousers are mostly made of 13 to 15 ounce denim fabric.

Made with engineered Tencel and natural cotton, the lightweight denim is half the weight of the stuff we're wearing now, making it much more comfortable year round.

Levi's was ready for the return to skinny and straight leg jeans in 2006. It promoted its 501 as the original straight leg for men. The new 504 is skinny and straight for women. "For years we took our eye off of innovation," Levis CEO said. "We weren't putting out the most stylish jeans lines.

There's hope for women everywhere as Levi's introduces their Perfectly Slimming 512 Jean.

The new slimming jeans designed to flatten the stomach to create a more flattering silhouette will be coming to the retail market.

The slimming boot cut is designed with a mix of cotton and spandex for comfort and shaping that ensures a sleek, flattering silhouette and will be available in select stores for the holiday season, and we probably see the first trousers around Spring 2007.

The jean features a natural cut waist and lean silhouette creating a "perfectly" modern style.

One in ten of children's clothes in southern China contain a harmful cancer-causing dye, according to a report by Chinese state media.

And almost half the clothes examined by the Chinese Administration of Industry and Commerce in a three-month spot check fell below safety standards.

High levels of the carcinogen aromatic amine were discovered in 10 percent of the 91 clothing batches taken from 22 shops and supermarkets in six cities.

Mexico's textile and apparel manufactures are caught in a bitter row over the benefits that the country's possible entry into the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA-DR) may bring to their respective trades.

Mexico is currently reviewing CAFTA-DR membership for all its industries as a way to expand trade ties with its Central American neighbors. The country has begun negotiations and hopes to reach a deal in the coming months.