What with all the Ugly Bettification of fashion, it's tempting to see it all as one big, campy caricature. But for those in flyover states with big Prada dreams, Friday's Red Dress Collection show at the Tents oozed reassuring familiarity, proving that style doesn't always come with a side of Miranda Priestly inflected frostiness.

If you stumbled upon the scene you would be forgiven for thinking you had accidentally landed at an afternoon matinee of Mamma Mia. Celine Dion blared from the speakers, and in the rows of folding chairs, out-of-towners (including a wide-eyed Laura Bush) rallied for some emotive standing ovations as stars in a parade of womanly Americana strutted their stuff on the runway. There was healthy American Idol runner-up Katharine McPhee, chat-queen Kelly Ripa, a hard-bodied Paula Zahn, and Everygirl Rachael Ray, who patted her stomach apologetically at the end of the catwalk as is if to say, "Sorry, one too many 30 Minute Meals!" Even Claire Huxtable showed up! Phylicia Rashad gathered a rousing wave of applause as she glided down the runway.

It was a veritable Potemkin village of kinder, gentler fashion that was erected today for the beaming First Lady, who made her Bryant Park appearance to support the Heart Truth campaign, a heart disease awareness initiative. Mrs. Bush surely will have walked away imagining that Fashion Week is full of warm fuzzies, life-affirming anthems, and "real women." And the fashion world winked back knowingly as Mrs. Bush made her exit, security detail in tow. You could almost hear the collective sigh of relief: "Now, we can finally get on with the business of being skinny and superficial!"

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