EXHIBIT 31.1
 Certification of Chief Executive Officer
  1.
    
    I have reviewed this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q of Bernard Chaus, Inc.
(the Company) for the three months ended December 31, 2008 (this Report);2.
    
    Based on my knowledge, this Report does not contain any untrue statement
of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary in order to make
the statements made, in light of the circumstances under which such statements
were made, not misleading with respect to the period covered by this Report;3.
    
    Based on my knowledge, the consolidated financial statements, and other
financial information included in this Report, fairly present in all material
respects the financial condition, results of operations and cash flows of the
Company as of, and for, the periods presented in this Report;4.
    
    The Companys other certifying officers and I are responsible for
establishing and maintaining disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in
Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e)) and internal control over financial
reporting (as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f)) for the
Company and we have:
 (a)
    
    designed such disclosure controls and procedures, or caused
such disclosure controls and procedures to be designed under our
supervision, to ensure that material information relating to the Company,
including its consolidated subsidiaries, is made known to us by others
within those entities, particularly during the period in which this Report
is being prepared;(b)
    
    designed such internal control over financial reporting, or
caused such internal control over financial reporting to be designed under
our supervision, to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability
of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for
external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting
principles;(c)
    
    evaluated the effectiveness of the Companys disclosure
controls and procedures and presented in this Report our conclusions about
the effectiveness of the disclosure controls and procedures, as of the end
of the period covered by this Report based on such evaluation; and(d)
    
    disclosed in this Report any change in the Companys
internal control over financial reporting that occurred during the
Companys most recent fiscal quarter that has materially affected, or is
reasonably likely to materially affect, the Companys internal control
over financial reporting; and;
 5.
    
    The Companys other certifying officers and I have disclosed, based on our
most recent evaluation of internal control over financial reporting, to the
Companys auditors and the audit committee of the Companys board of directors
(or persons performing the equivalent functions):
 (a)
    
    all significant deficiencies and material weaknesses in the
design or operation of internal control over financial reporting which are
reasonably likely to adversely affect the Companys ability to record,
process, summarize, and report financial information; and(b)
    
    any fraud, whether or not material, that involves management or other
employees who
have a significant role in the Companys internal control over financial reporting.
  /s/ Josephine ChausJosephine ChausChairwoman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer 22