Lauren Conrad had the cutest style during her two week book tour in June. On June 19th, when she did a signing at the Barnes & Noble in New York for her book L.A. Candy, she donned the Elizabeth and James Bubble shorts. They perfectly blend summer casual with more formal flair for perfect daytime event wear.

You can get the same shorts as Lauren for $245 from Chick Downtown. You can dress them up with a loose top and heels, like Lauren, or down with sandals and a flowy tunic.

If you don’t have a best selling book like Lauren and want to save some cash, a cheaper alternative are the cuffed shorts at Forever 21. They’re much easier on the wallet for only $14.80.

Images: Newscom | Chick Downtown

Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen sat down with WhoWhatWearDaily to talk about their Elizabeth & James shoe line, some of which is available to preorder at Nordstrom. Other styles will be available from ShopBop on June 2nd.

WhoWhatWearDaily picked their favorite styles from the line and Mary-Kate and Ashley explained why they’re the perfect addition to anyone’s wardrobe.

My favorite new look is the Jean bootie, which is one of the styles coming to ShopBop. Mary-Kate loves it too, saying “The suede and ostrich bootie is great with denim cutoffs. I love these shoes!”

To see what else Mary-Kate and Ashley had to say about the line, head over to WhoWhatWearDaily. To preorder any of the shoes in the photo above, head to Nordstrom.

People.com got an exclusive look at the Fall 2009 line for Elizabeth & James!

The look book is inspired by Peter Pan’s the Lost Boys. Their models start off in London and end up in Neverland. This story line is reflected in the clothes, as there are lots of raw edges, Victorian detailing and foliage prints. The look book also showcases the first ever menswear line for Elizabeth & James and let’s just say it’s how. You can easily see this line on the hipper, more fashion forward men of young Hollywood.

I also love how they have a plus-sized model in their look book. It shows they are thinking about real women and imagine everyone - not just models and starlets with size 0 bodies - in their clothes. See the sneak peek here! FabSugar has two additional photos from the look book - see those here.

What do you think? I’m really excited for more!

Image: Newscom

Another day, another Elizabeth & James contest. This time, the fashion site Stiletto Effect is giving away a deconstructed Elizabeth & James tee! To enter, all you have to do is comment on this post.

Image: Chick Downtown

The winner must have a mailing address in the USA to be eligible to win. The 150th comment will be the winner! The contest ends next Tuesday April 21st at midnight, so be sure to enter.

If you’re not eligible or just want one for yourself, you can get your own for $90.00 from Chick Downtown.

Only days after unveiling their menswear collection for the Row, Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen gave Women’s Wear Daily a sneak peek of their upcoming Elizabeth & James shoe collection, which will be launched as part of a lisencing deal with Steve Madden.

The line will feature lots of Olsen-infused styles, including strappy stilettos, metallic leather, pony hair moccasins and Victorian button detailing. Many of the shoes will add almost 5 inches to your height, the heels are high!

If you’re a WWD subscriber, they have photographs of two different pairs to tease you with. The first pair is a brown, strappy gladiator-inspired heel with large buckle detailing above the ankle. The second pair is a pair of sexy brown stilettos with pleating detail and Victorian buttons down the back of the heel. Both pairs are pairs you can completely see on MK and Ashley, they would seamlessly fit into either girl’s wardrobe!

The line will range from $195-$500 and will be available at high-end department stores like Bergdorf Goodman, Saks Fifth Avenue and Neiman Marcus in March! I’m so excited!

Image: Bauer Griffin

Mary-Kate wasn’t the only Olsen who had a great year, Ashley Olsen’s 2008 turned out pretty well too! Ashley’s year was a bit more subdued and behind-the-scenes as she turned her professional focus to Dualstar, the Row, Elizabeth & James and the expansion of each respective line. If anything, 2008 was the year Ashley emerged as a smart, savvy, dedicated and hard-working businesswoman.

Here’s Ashley’s best moments of 2008. Do you agree? Disagree? Did I miss one? Let me know in the comments!

5) Her relationship with Justin Bartha

2008 has been a good year for Mary-Kate and Ashley personally. Both seemed to have found stable, happy relationships. Ashley and Justin Bartha are doing their best to stay out of the public eye. However, the types of rumors swirling about their relationship this year (marriage and moving in together) seems to say that Ashley’s in this for the long haul. It’s been a long time since Ashley found a man she could trust and have a solid relationship with, so I’m happy for her.

4) Announcing Steve Madden Shoe line

You know a brand is successful when it announces expansion into other areas of fashion. Elizabeth & James, Mary-Kate and Ashley’s contemporary sportswear line, has been a hit with both fans and critics. Shoes are risky and different, which shows that Ashley and co. are confident about their brand and their line. Partnering with Steve Madden will ensure that the brand have credibility and will also connect with their core audience.

3) Being honored at the Institute of Contemporary Art

In December, Ashley attended an exclusive event in Boston at the the Institute of Contemporary Art for up-an-coming American fashion designers. Being invited to this event proved that Mary-Kate, Ashley and their brands are more than a celebrity-driven line. They are becoming go-to people to see what’s new and exciting in the world of American fashion.

2) Launching Robert Lee Morris for Elizabeth & James

Robert Lee Morris for Elizabeth & James was the perfect marriage between Mary-Kate and Ashley’s personal style, the androgynous aesthetic of Elizabeth & James, and the talent of a world-renowned jewelry designer. Robert Lee Morris is known the world over for his designs and getting him to agree to work with Elizabeth & James showed the world Ashley is serious about fashion and serious about brand-building. It doesn’t hurt that the line is quirky, unique and stunning!

1) Launching Influence

Influence is a project Mary-Kate and Ashley worked on together and is possibly their most personal and revealing project ever. (It’s #3 on Mary-Kate’s Best Moments list). It’s #1 for Ashley because it’s the most public encapsulation of the 2008 success of the Olsen fashion empire.

I don’t doubt Mary-Kate was, and is, involved with all their fashion projects. However, it’s becoming increasingly clear that it’s Ashley who spearheads the operation. She’s been focusing solely on fashion for the past couple years, whereas Mary-Kate is experimenting with both fashion and acting. That’s why it seemed appropriate to give Ashley greater kudos for their fashion successes.

The Boston Globe ran a short interview with Ashley Olsen yesterday. They chatted about her first fashion week (she was seventeen), a Full House reunion (don’t bet on it!), her fashion lines and new book, Influence.

I love this quote about how being an “Olsen twin” has affected her career, both positively and negatively. She seems to have such a mature and refreshing perspective on fame and how celebrity functions.

It opened a lot of doors in the beginning, because people are curious, so that helped. But automatically people will write what they want to write. It was hard at first. When we started the Row I said, ‘I don’t want anyone to know I’m behind it,’ but you can’t lie to the people you’re selling to.

The interview itself isn’t very long, but it’s interesting. Read it for yourself here.

The Examiner listed their top five celebrity fashion lines of 2008. Sister acts cleaned up this year with Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen’s couture line The Row taking third spot and their contemporary sportswear line Elizabeth and James taking fifth. Sienna and Savannah Miller’s sister line Twenty8Twelve also made the list, coming in at #2.

The Examiner applauded MK and Ashley’s sleek and sophisticated look that’s becoming the Row’s signature and the youthful, hip vibe from Elizabeth & James.

Rounding out the top five were Kate Moss for TopShop (#4) and Chloe Sevigny for Opening Ceremony (#1).

Kudos to MK and Ashley for making such a splash in the fashion world this year. I’m confident the girls have a long and successful future ahead of them in fashion.

Famed jewelry designer Robert Lee Morris is responsible for the new Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen jewelry line Robert Lee Morris for Elizabeth & James. The line is currently on sale at Intermix features lots of cool cuffs, crosses and snakes. It’s very reflective of Mary-Kate’s and Ashley’s personal style and is true to Morris as a designer.

Morris chatted briefly with the National Jeweler Network about the collaboration. It’s a project he really enjoyed working on. He also appreciated the new lifeblood this collaobration will inject into his business, as he is now being exposed to a whole new generation of clients through MK and Ashley.

“I am very happy about the collaboration because it introduces my name to a whole new generation of hip kids, as well as savvy young dressers in their 20s and 30s,” Robert says. “The association simply highlights the genius of collaboration of brand names in a time of questionable economic times.”

The Morris/Olsen pairing is a brilliant one. It exposes Morris to a whole new legion of customers and it gives the Olsens credibility in the jewelry industry. And the final product is fantastic–I love this line!

Mary-Kate Olsen is sharing what every girl should have in her fall wardrobe this season at mary-kateandashley.com. Her choice? The Elizabeth & James Boudoir shrug. MK was been spotted wearing the shrug herself during NYC Fashion Week. It’s a quirky but elegant fashion statement to make!

The shrug is available for $585 at Intermix. While this is a bit pricey, it’s a piece you’ll be wearing for years to come!

What do you think of the Boudioir shrug? Is it a yay or nay?