After skillfully maneuvering the girlfriend away from the rom-com aisles at the big box stores for many months, the inevitable finally happened when we stopped by an independent DVD shop in the neighborhood: the pink and white case for Sex and the City: The Movie was displayed on the front shelf right at eye-level as soon as we walked in. I received a primer that evening on labels and love and the glamorous lives of middle-aged girls in New York. Now, I need to figure out how to make as much money as Carrie does writing for a magazine.

Last week, Boston.com ran a feature on Jeannie Suk (pictured), a Guggenheim fellow at Harvard Law School, who is helping Senator Chuck Schumer of New York draft legislation that would give American fashion designers copyright protection.  It's an interesting read that describes the "collaborative" nature of the fashion industry and breaks down the difficulties of writing and enacting any such law.

Potential losers:  Forever 21, the popular Korean-American-owned chain of cheap-chic clothes, is a common target of knock-off complaints and may experience a serious blow to its business if it needs to depend on original designs. Also many a striving young fashionista not yet able to live the SATC lifestyle, but they'll be okay - a quick Google search turns up clothes-rental websites galore. Just like the movie!