Apparently, this recession is impacting everyone except the very, very, very, disgustingly rich. You know, the people who buy the clothes in Mary-Kate and Ashley’s fashion line, Elizabeth and James. The line is priced slightly below their other line, The Row — which features lambskin pants for $1700 — but it’s still not cheap, with prices ranging from $95 for a one-shoulder cotton tank to $775 for a leather jacket. Flirty dresses and fashion-forward slacks fall within the $225 to $475 range, while a fur coat runs a wee bit more. (A wee bit more? You mean like the life of an animal? Yes.)

“We try to keep everything under $1,000,” said a rep for the brand.

Well. THANK YOU. That’s refreshing. I’ve been SO TIRED for paying $1100 for a pair of pants. I can barely afford the $57 I’ve been paying for a stick of gum or the $275 for a box of tampons. Clothes for under $1000 is a nice change of pace.

On the success of Elizabeth and James, the Olsens are branching out into footwear with the help of Steve Madden and will launch a menswear collection in the fall.

Check out what the PETA peeps have done to Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen’s star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Personally, if I were going to vandalize this star, I would just write “WHY????” on it.

Also, I’ve mentioned it before on my Twitter, but it bears repeating: Mary-Kate and Ashley’s fashion line, The Row, sells a pair of lambskin motorcycle pants for $1700. YES WITH TWO ZEROS. Jesus Christ, for that kind of money, they should be made of Angelina Jolie’s skin.

Update: Image removed on request.

We haven’t seen much of them together lately, but Ashley Olsen and hottie boyfriend Justin Bartha were spotted leaving Barney’s in LA on Monday … in a Prius, no less!

Ashley may be PETA’s #1 public enemy, but at least her boyfriend is helping the environment!

Per usual, the PETA kids were on hand to protest the Olsen twins’ signing of their new book, Influence, in LA last night.

“The Olsen twins support an industry that forces animals to live in tiny wire cages their entire lives and electrocutes and kills them for vanity,” PETA rep Ashley Byrne said.

In addition to wearing fur and animal skins, says PETA, the twins also use both materials in their fashion line, The Row.

What do you guys think?

Do MK and Ash have a responsibility to go all vegan in their fashion line and in their personal style choices?

“Honestly, I’m a wreck. Every time I see a camera, I’m a wreck. I don’t tend to react as though ‘I have to do this, it’s my job.’ I am reacting as a woman who is 5-foot-1 whose space is being invaded by a bunch of men whose aggression I can literally feel. In L.A. it is even worse because they are running red lights behind you, and I worry all the time about something terrible happening, someone getting hurt because of me, how I could ever possibly live with that. I can’t imagine what it would be like to have kids in the back seat and have to go through this and pretend for their sake that you are not scared.”

Ashley Olsen discusses the paparazzi in a new interview with the New York Times.

Early copies of the Olsen twins’ book, Influence, are out, and the reviews?

Generally positive!

Says NY Mag:

Readers, we just got a copy of the Olsen twins’ new book, Influence. And it’s fantastic. We’re not even being sarcastic. We haven’t felt this way about a book since the one all about the costumes in the Sex and the City movie landed on our desk. Influence consists only of interviews conducted by the Olsens (with editor Derek Blasberg in tow) with the world’s most famous designers, photographers, artists, and tastemakers alongside pictures of them, their work, and the Olsens. We’re talking long, involved, revealing interviews that are, you know, entertaining. With people like John Galliano, Christian Louboutin, Terry Richardson, Richard Prince, and more. Yes, a coffee-table book that’s more than worth a read!

NY Mag also posted some snippets from the Olsens’ interview with Karl Lagerfeld, which is, admittedly, totally awesome.

I think I might have to buy this book.

While Mary-Kate was tanning it up in NYC, the other little Tanner was partying at JET in Vegas with her boyfriend, hottie Justin Bartha. Ashley was reportedly tossing back Grey Goose vodka, Red Bull and Patrón with her man, who’s there to film a movie.