Anna Wintour

Grace Coddington, Hamish Bowles, and Andre Leon Talley have all penned a book or two — but their boss, Anna Wintour, says she never will.

Much to our chagrin, the Vogue editor in chief says she won't follow the footsteps of flame-haired Coddington, who's just released her own memoirs. Wintour doesn't keep a diary, "Nor will I ever write a book," she told The Telegraph.

"It's a big thing," Wintour said of Coddington's book. "She's given so much to this magazine — she's one of the great unsung heroines of our business."

But she says while Coddington deserves the recognition, Wintour's not interested in celebrity for herself as much as she is in "trying to show a world to my readers that they will be as excited about as we are." Read on for more of Wintour's thoughts on Vogue and the future of fashion.

On her hiring practices: "I look for strong people. I don't like people who'll say yes to everything I might bring up. I want people who can argue, and disagree, and have a point of view that's reflected in the magazine. My dad believed in the cult of personality. He brought great writers and columnists to the Standard. I try to do that here, too."

On who should helm Balenciaga and Schiaparelli: "It is important always to have really original talent. There are lots of good designers that make attractive clothes and make women look beautiful. But at the same time one doesn't want to lose the idea that there is someone out there who can change the way you look at fashion. The way, going back, that Armani did, that Galliano did, that Alexander [McQueen] did."

On how Michelle Obama has also impacted fashion: "Look back at the history of first ladies and you'll see they wore a good suit or a ball gown. Now we have someone who wears J.Crew or Thakoon or Azzedine Alaïa: a gamut of different designers. She has changed the way American women see fashion."

Two very powerful women have made a very public showing of support for Tory Burch, whose ex-husband Chris Burch sued her last month over disputes between their businesses.

"The person who has been at every single appointment over the years is Tory," says Anna Wintour in the December issue of Vanity Fair. "Tory is the one who has always talked to us about her aspirations, and her ideas for growth, how she saw the brand, asked advice on people she might want to bring in — it's always been, as far as we're concerned, 100 percent Tory's business, and we've never had anything to do with Chris."

In his suit, Chris accuses Tory and her management team of interfering with the development of Chris's year-old retail concept, C. Wonder. It also tries to guarantee that Chris will be able to sell his shares in Tory's company and asks that Tory be removed from her own board of directors.

Rumors circulated for months that Tory would sue Chris because of similarities between C. Wonder and her designer label, which they founded together in 2004. Chris beat Tory to it when he filed his suit in October. But Diane von Furstenberg says his attempt to sabotage Tory's business won't prove successful.

"What I find bizarre and nasty, and can't possibly finish well for him, is that he is . . . hurting [her business] by sabotaging it, by copying it," the designer said. "I don't understand."

Anna Wintour's townhouse in the West Village lost power during Hurricane Sandy, so she — and a number of other industry types who live in lower Manhattan — headed uptown for safety at one of two upscale hotels.

Wintour reportedly ended up at The Mark, a five-star hotel on 77th Street at Madison Avenue. Carine Roitfeld and her son Vladimir Restoin-Roitfeld are also there, as are Marc Jacobs and Helena Christensen. Hotelier André Balazs was spotted dining at the hotel's restaurant.

The Carlyle hotel, just a block away at 76th and Madison, is the temporary home of Grace Coddington, Mary-Kate Olsen, and Olsen's boyfriend Olivier Sarkozy. According to Derek Blasberg, he's also holed up at The Carlyle with Karlie Kloss, Lily Donaldson, and Poppy Delevingne.

While the close proximity of some of the most influential people in the industry might simply be a matter of coincidence, the hotels they're staying in do have places in fashion history. Vera Wang's first boutique, opened in 1990, is located on the ground floor of The Carlyle. Meanwhile, The Mark is a popular place for celebrities to get ready for the Met Gala, as it's conveniently located not far from the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Other industry names who are staying at uptown hotels include Prabal Gurung — who's been tweeting from the Andaz — Georgina Chapman at The Lowell, and Sarah Jessica Parker at the Plaza Athenee.

And what of those who didn't head to hotels? Mickey Boardman is staying with his friend Marjorie Gubelmann and Garance Doré headed to an unspecified "uptown camp" so she could keep her site running. Nicola Formichetti bucked the trend and traveled south to Williamsburg, where he found "power, lights, food and Internet!"

If you're still on the hunt for a Halloween costume and need something quick and effortless, why not go as legendary Vogue editrix Anna Wintour? For a truly Wintour-inspired Halloween look, you'll need only a few basics (all of which we're sure you can wear again). Before we get to the clothes, keep in mind that you'll need to channel Anna's signature brown bob for instant Wintour. For your outfit, start with a slim-fitting, sleeveless sheath dress (we encourage buying a great LBD that you can wear again and again throughout the season), and classic nude heels. While we're more than OK with you splurging on a pair similar to Anna's Manolo Blahnik slingbacks, we're offering up a more affordable pair for the night. Accessorize with a jeweled collar necklace and oversize black sunglasses so nobody will see your icy stares. For good measure, consider carrying along a copy of Vogue, for all those fashion neophytes that don't understand your awesome costume. Lastly — and we can't stress this enough — don't forget the ultimate Anna Wintour trademark: an unruffled, stoic expression.

Clockwise, from left: Spiegel Ponte Knit Sheath Dress ($89, originally $129), Barbara Ann Bob Wig ($25), ASOS Ombre Jeweled Collar Necklace ($86), Jessica Simpson Adeni Heels ($64), Forever 21 Round Sunglasses ($4)

Those stories and more in our daily news roundup.

• "Are you kidding? If you have a social conscience, you have to vote Obama," declared Tom Ford at a fundraiser for the president's campaign in London, which he cohosted with Anna Wintour. [WWD]
  

• Tommy Hilfiger will partner with hotelier Vikram Chatwal when Chatwal acquires 30 percent of the historic Plaza Hotel in New York City, according to reports. Should Hilfiger ever have to deal with the hotel's business directly, it'll be an easy commute to the office: he and his wife Dee already live there. [Page Six]
  

• Calvin Klein tapped blogger Greta Larkins of FashGif to create moving images of the brand's Spring 2013 collection for its Tumblr. Our favorite so far is a black dress whose breast panels move up and down its shoulder straps. [Styleite]
  

• The apple never falls that far from the tree. Betsey Johnson's daughter Lulu is staring her own fashion line, called Lulu and Allison, for "women who still want to be hip, sexy, and cool." [Racked]
  

• For a fashion person, Erin Wasson doesn't shop much for garments. "I shop a lot more for furniture than I do for clothes," she says. "I much prefer going to an antique shop full of obscurities." [Elle.com]

Photo: President Obama and the first lady, wearing Tom Ford, at a dinner at Buckingham Palace in May 2011.