Present, Tense.

There was a somewhat surreal quality to the European collections for spring. It didn't come from the designswhich were as gorgeous, colorful, surprising, and eclectic as everbut from the context. Every day during the Paris shows, news came of yet more banks and financial institutions teetering on the brink of collapse; my editors and I sat there as citizens of the world and as journalists, trying to make sense of two unfolding and very different stories. And we came back more determined than ever to find a way forward for fashion and beauty in changing and, yes, fraught times.

In truth, we had discussed how to address the new economic realities for our readers before Europe and the headline-making financial failures, and had resolved prior to our trip to be sensitive to price and investment strategies going ahead; the 59 exclusive $500-or-less designer offerings in Index are the culmination of a project that began last summer. It has been great fun for us and surprisingly instructive for the participants, who include Oscar de la Renta, Christian Louboutin, and Nicolas GhesquiA[umlaut]re for Balenciaga. We had also planned a terrific story for David Sims and Fashion Director Tonne Goodman about gilded style that features glamorous golden looks with a range of price tagsthere's a long skirt from Dries Van Noten that is a perfect buy-now-wear-forever piece at $535. What that skirt has, and indeed what the right buys have now, is warmth and charmqualities that make the business of getting dressed fun and inspiring.

Inspiring doesn't begin to explain the magic of Annie Leibovitz and Creative Director Grace Coddington's photographic interpretation of Romeo and Juliet. Top designers spent months ...