The magazine is launching an application that looks like a fun shopping and styling tool but is actually a savvy way to connect the magazine and its advertisers directly with readers' wallets.

It's part of the all-out rush in the fashion industry to embrace technology—most notably with blogging and tweeting—and to make it possible to shop and gaze at fashion not only in stores and from home computers but also while commuting on trains and buses. Numerous designers are live-streaming their Fall 2010 runway shows this month from New York and Europe. Norma Kamali is allowing customers to shop and view her designs on iPhones and Blackberries (she even designs on her iPhone), and Dolce & Gabbana is making their shows in Milan this week available on iPhones.

Vogue's entry is called "Vogue Stylist"—and it marks yet another blow to Blackberry users. The application, available only on the iPhone for now, allows users to click on an electronic Vogue ad (or even use the smartphone's camera to snap a photo and then upload a print Vogue ad). The app brings users to a retail Web site, where they can buy all or some of the pieces in the look.

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