Would you travel to Bentonville, Arkansas for the art? You might want to in 2010 after Crystal Bridges, the art museum being created by Wal-Mart heiress Alice Walton opens. Walton is creating a national art museum that is dedicated to American artists from the Colonial period to the present. In 2005 Walton outbid a couple of East Coast museums, paying a record price for the 1849 Asher B. Durand work "Kindred Spirits." While some have expressed a certain snobbery over a museum founded by Wal-Mart others applaud the project both for the impressive nature of Walton's collection and for her decision to install the art in an area that is underserved when it comes to major art museums.

The museum design by architect Moshe Safdie is one is glass and light wood and is arranged around two ponds at the center of the compound which are spanned by bridges. The building is set on around 100 acres of Ozarks forest, donated by the Walton family. Visitors will follow a lane through the woods to a knoll that overlooks the pavilions. From the knoll, glass elevators take visitors to a courtyard with a glass lobby that has a view of the water. The museum will offer 34,000 square feet of exhibition space as well as a cafe, performance hall, library and research center. Crystal Bridges is expected to bring in 250,000 visitors a year.

The Louis Vuitton group isn't the only one filing suit against Wal-Mart Inc. for allegedly selling counterfeit handbags. A doctor in Kentucky has also filed a suit against the company for selling him fake Prada bags and representing them as real.

After purchasing three bags, he sent one to his sister, living in Italy, as a gift. When the bag started to fall apart, she took it to the Prada factory for repairs and they informed her that it was a fake. A Wal-Mart spokesperson says that the company is prepared to show that their bags are real, while Prada says that Wal-Mart is not one of their clients.

[Thanks, Jordan]

Fendi has filed suit against Wal-Mart after accusing the retailer of selling counterfeit bags while representing them as the real thing. The bags in question were sold at the warehouse Sam's Club stores, which are owned by Wal-Mart. Fendi asserts that Wal-Mart never purchased products from them, nor did they inquire as to the authenticity of the goods they were buying from their suppliers. As the stores were selling the bags for 45% below retail, it  does seem quite possible that they "fell off the back of a truck" somewhere, though Wal-Mart declined to comment.

Somehow, the "don't ask, don't tell" acquisition strategy seems like it is most effective when purchasing a single bag in a back alley somewhere - though still not great from the designer's perspective - than when the world's largest retailer, already under a lot of scrutiny, starts buying them in bulk.

Wal-Mart, in its continuing quest to make its image more fashionable, is running ads in May's Vogue magazine. The ads were shot by photographer Patrick Demarchelier and the models worked with a stylist from the magazine. Because Wal-Mart's core audience is comprised of "real" people, they opted not to use professional models over real, everyday shoppers. And by "everyday shoppers," they meant women like Kristina Deignan, pictured, who was Mrs. Virginia in 2003 and first runner up at the Mrs. USA pageant.

Mrs. Deignan said that she shops for "basics such as T-shirts, tank tops and workout wear" at Wal-Mart, while the rest of her closet has designers including Kay Unger and Nanette Lepore. The skirt and bracelet in the photo are her own.

[Image Patrick Demarchelier]

Luxury items at Sears? We've seen luxury come to Costco and Wal-Mart and now Sears is trying to tempt buyers with items that skew toward the higher end. Because Kmart and Sears merged, Sears has the right to sell Martha Stewart goods in Sears Roebuck stores but they aren't taking that option since Martha recently announced to that she will be selling her higher-end wares at Macy's. Instead Sears has a new strategy to sell ready-to-assemble furniture, add more Lands' End mini-stores inside Sear's stores and create a private label line of bed and bath products called Everyday Luxe. The Everyday Luxe line is already for sale on the internet and features 400-thread-count duvets and 500-thread-count sheets. Sheet sets start at $99.99 for Queen.

We've been watching as super stores like Wal-Mart and Costco have inched their way toward the posh. Now  Wal-Mart has taken a big step opening up a palace of luxe in Plano, Texas. The new store will offer high-end electronics,  fine jewelry and gourmet food and wine. The Houston Chronicle quotes a study that says nearly half of American families shop at Wal-Mart at least once a week. With market saturation reaching its peak, the retail giant is hoping to court the upscale consumers. The store may also help Wal-Mart land vendors who have turned their up their noses at being associated with the brand. The new store is larger than the traditional Supercenter but the exterior is two-tone brick and inside their are wood floors and wide aisles with lower shelves. And no blue smocks! The first store is located in an area where there is also a SuperTarget and a Costco giving Wal-Mart a chance to try out the concept against their biggest competition.