Prada's Pope

Well, we knew Pope B16 likes stray cats, but it turns out that he's also a fashion maven, sporting fancy red Prada shoes and high-end Gucci sunglasses. It seems he also may be ditching the Vatican tailor, Annibale Gammarelli, who has been preparing papal cassocks since the time of Paul VI, for his own designer of liturgical haute couture. Seems Papa Ratzi was irritated that he had to wear a high-water cassock right out of the conclave--none of the cassocks made for the new pope fit him at his election, so he had to wear something tea-length. All the rest of the cardinals snickered, I guess.

Add to the this way retro pallium (a liturgical garment worn by archbishops)--B16's is based on a design more than 1,000 years old--and that gives us one fashion-forward Holy Father.

Of course, he could really be fashion forward and ditch the whole medieval papal garb thing for a nice black Armani suit; I'm sure they could come up with a fetching French-cuffed clerical shirt to go underneath; Tiffany can provide cufflinks that would go with the pectoral cross and episcopal ring just so.

Papa Ratzi would be on the cover of GQ before you can say "The Lord be with you."