If you are a fashionista foodie - is that an oxymoron ? - you are going to love anything that is groovy to cook with. So get into Target for the very clever imitation of the ‘Menu’ mezzaluna and cutting board originally seen in Funkis. It is a small square curved chopping board with a groove smoothed out for the mezzaluna to make easy chopping. Remember just because you cook doesn’t mean you have to eat.

$39 Elipse Mezzaluna from Target.

If Tom Ford was the guru of fashion then Christain Liagre is the guru of interior design. Who wouldn’t want to live on the Tahitian Island home he designed for François Nars and which we saw in December American Vogue? Who wouldn’t want to have a loft in Soho like the one he designed for Rupert Murdoch? So I was thrilled to find a version of his fabulous wooden stools in Empire. Cut from one solid block of wood they are so simple and chic and a lot less expensive than flying to his shop in Paris (but not as fun).
$350 wooden stools at Empire

If your skin needs a little pick me up and so does your wallet (and your accountant when he falls on the floor looking at you credit card bill) it’s time you applied the fabulously cheap but chic Neutrogena deep clean gentle scrub. “The microbeads gently exfoliate and the alpha-hydroxy cleans deep into the pores for soft smooth skin”. Maybe. But it does seem to clean your skin, it feels soft and it smells of oranges, like fanta. Is that good o bad?

$10.95 Neutrogena Deep Clean Gentle Scrub from major department stores.

On Broadway check out Billy Crudup and Jeff Goldblum in the Play straight from London called ‘The Pillow Man’.
Watch out for new movies: Mondovino, is a documentary about the wine industry – ‘the good ,the bad and the bubbly ‘ - critically acclaimed in France, it was made by the sommelier from New York restaurant Baltazar.
Also a new 6 hour movie ‘The best of Youth’ about four decades of Italian history and a new movie from France called ‘Look at me’ – a mix of Jane Austen and woody Allen.
Sandra Bullock is in a movie coming out called “ Every
word is True’ with Gwyneth and Sigourney weaver, about Truman Capote. She plays his childhood friend Harper Lee of ‘To Kill a mocking Bird’.
Aussie actress radha Mitchell of Finding Neverland and Chloe Sevigney will be in woody Allen’s new movie called Melinda and Melinda.
Going to the South of France? Villa Marie is the place to stay in St Tropez
Christian Lacroix has designed La petit Larouse, the French dictionary encyclopedia.
In New York check out the first major retrospective of Jean-Michel Basquiat at the Brooklyn Museum from March 11.
Isaac Mizrahi is pulling together costumes for his friend Mark Morris, the director-choreographer of “King Arthur,” which will be staged by the English National Orchestra in London next year.
COPENHAGEN is hot! Elvis Costello has been commissioned to compose his first opera, to be premiered in Copenhagen this fall. Chef Rene Redzepi, 28, formerly of El Bulli in Spain — often called the world’s best restaurant — is pioneering one of Europe’s most daring cuisines, using all Scandinavian products, at his recently opened Noma. And Plot, a young architectural firm that was honored last year at the Venice Biennale, is commanding serious attention here.
Donna Karan, in conjunction with the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, will present “Skin Tight: The Sensibility of the Flesh.” Skin Tight” will examine how art and fashion influence each other, showcasing the work of designers who challenge concepts of identity and aesthetics through clothes, photographs, installations and videos. Designers to be displayed include Viktor & Rolf, Hussein Chalayan, Martin Margiela, Boudicca, Walter Van Beirendonck, Raf Simons, AF Vandevorst, Bernhard Willhelm, Under Cover and Li Edelkoort. The exhibit was first staged at the MCA last summer.
The Milan and Paris fashion shows continue: “Like the unusually frigid weather in this fashion capital last week, the fall-winter collections here left many retailers cold — with a few exceptions. Buyers praised Prada, Burberry, Miu Miu, Marni and Missoni among the standouts after a week of runway shows that were often described as flat and lacking newness” wwd “ John Galliano, subdued? Surely not. But it’s true: A back-to-basics attitude is sweeping through the house of Dior. Abandoning the freaky makeup and vertiginous footwear of so many seasons past, Galliano turned his fall ready-to-wear show into an exhaustive commercial workout of his last couture collection—from the mod sixties vibe right through to the romantic Empire look.”

http://www.razzies.com/asp/directory/XcDirectory.asp
Enough of the Oscars already! Let’s talk about the razzies: “Commemorating a quarter century of carping about cinematic crap’. This is the home of the golden raspberry awards, for Hollywood’s worst of everything…
And the winners for this year are:..
* WORST ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE: George W. Bush / FAHRENHEIT 9/11. Bush also won for worst actor and worst screen couple, paired with either Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice or his pet goat!
* WORST SUPPORTING ACTOR: Donald Rumsfeld / FAHRENHEIT 9/11
* WORST ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLL: Halle Berry / CATWOMAN “”It was just what my career needed - I was at the top and now I’m at the bottom,” she said “I want to thank Warner Brothers for casting me in this piece of shit,”

http://tinyurl.com/4yx2z
Go to this link and laugh! Nuf said.

Sienna Miller and Jude Law are leaving London for a life in the countryside
Cynthia Nixon has moved in with her lesbian lover, Christine Marinoni.
Rumours are circulating in Hollywood that Orlando Bloom and Salma Hayek are something of an item. The were seen holding hands at a post-Oscar party.
Nip/Tuck actor Julian McMahon is on a shortlist to become the next James Bond.
Mark Philippoussis is to wed his teenage model girlfriend Alexis Barbara after a whirlwind five-month romance.
At the Vanity Fair party (from WWD ): Tom Cruise posed for pictures with former squeeze Penélope Cruz, who had changed out of her yellow Oscar de la Renta into a green de la Renta; Kirsten Dunst looked like she was back together with Jake Gyllenhaal, and while Natalie Portman got close with a handsome Israeli boy that a publicist called “just a friend,” Orlando Bloom casually greeted former flame Kate Bosworth. Vince Vaughn and Johnny Knoxville, separately on the prowl; Janet Jackson, who hid in a corner; “Desperate Housewives” Eva Longoria and Marcia Cross joined at their disparate hips all night (they will soon be featured on a Vanity Fair cover); Scarlett Johansson, who breezed in with a raven-haired Jared Leto and a posse of goths (“I feel like I can’t breathe,” she said of her tight Roland Mouret dress), and Melanie Griffith, who hobbled in, as she had done on the red carpet, on a cane perfectly accessorized to her Versace gown.
Forget The Ivy, The Chateau and Koi. The Oscar goes to Soho House for drawing in the most A-list names per square foot during Oscar Week in its second annual temporary Los Angeles outpost. The weeklong chic-fest, held in a notorious Mt. Olympus party house owned by a dot-com playboy, has attracted boldfaced names from around the globe.
University friends of Pete Doherty, kate Moss’ exs ay he “was a bit of a loner, stayed in his room, smoked a lot of pot, and was very keen on his room-mate’s didgerido.” Smoking it?
Hugh Grant and Jemima Goldsmith were spotted coming out of a Harley St Clinic together “looking particularly furtive” (furtive? Pregnant, botox).
Will Stella McCartney take a bow at the end of her Paris runway show on Thursday? The multitasking McCartney finished her fall collection hours before she went into labor and gave birth to a 7-pound, 7-ounce baby boy named Miller Alasdhair James Willis in the early hours Friday. In fact, she felt so good that she resumed work on Saturday and was even thinking about hopping on the Eurostar to Paris. The baby however, would need a passport.

Metropolis… A Novel by Elizabeth Gaffney
Everyone is talking about this new book and if you like historical novels and a great story t then this is one to run out and buy! “Elizabeth Gaffney’s magnificent, Dickensian Metropolis captures the splendor and violence of America’s greatest city in the years after the Civil War. Epic in sweep, Metropolis follows our hero from his arrival in New York harbor through his experiences in Barnum’s circus, the criminal underground, and the building of the Brooklyn Bridge, In a novel that is wonderfully written, rich in suspense, vivid historical detail, breathtakingly paced, Elizabeth Gaffney captures the wonder and magic of a rambunctious city in a time of change. Metropolis marks a superb fiction debut.
http://www.amazon.com - March 2005 | $24.95

The Christmas List:
Home Is Where the Heart Is by ILSE CRAWFORD and MARTYN THOMPSON (Photographer)
You know Ilse Crawford: she is the English style guru who started up UK Elle Décor and then went on to Donna Karan Home. She is currently head of the Department of Man and Well Being at the Design Academy in Holland. And you will know her from her previous book, the gorgeous ‘Sensual Home’ and that she also designed the groovy Soho house in New York http://www.sohohouseny.com/thehouse.php. Now she has this new book out; Home Is Where the Heart Is. “ With the premise that “the more virtual our world becomes, the more we need the physical,” Crawford investigates our basic human drives for survival, safety, love, respect, and self-fulfillment and pursues a philosophy of reclaiming and reintegrating the human element into our homes” fabulous !
http://www.amazon.com Publisher: Rizzoli (April 5, 2005) $35

Hot buys for this week? The Mui Mui shoes half price at Fusion, a green Gucci bag, the Nine West velvet shoes, the Hugo by Hugo boss shearling coat , a Ferragamo or Loewe bag, an Esprit Trench, all the Strenesse in David Jones and the Milana print scarf for $20.
Economy:
Sportsgirl: Have a cool (mock) suede peasant skirt in a brown with embroidery $169, there’s a good buy for winter! and is that a Chloe copy denim jacket with velvet patchwork? Very Sergeant Pepper for the people who might have to ask who were the Beatles ( bless), $129 and there is a paisley rust chiffon top $129 and some nice Helmut Lang style chinos $79. Nike Women’s store ( WBJ) has lots of fab things for keeping fit so you can fit into your other clothes. There’s fab teal yoga pants $89, a light blue yoga wide neck top $99, and lots of great running track pants and cutaway tops plus how good are those bags? Very! In burgundy nylon, and with a rubber trim, they are very slouchy, and with a cool long strap with lots of great pockets to zip away wet bathers or goggles $169. Kookai: Go for the DVF wrap dress that is turning up everywhere. The one here is soft blue and green chiffon print one $219, and I like the fab khaki very marc Jacobs style military jacket $199, the cheap but very chic black rib cardigan with a velvet tie and chiffon frill edge for you $129. Esprit: have a YSL blue teal velvet jacket (think Demi Moore) $139 and don’t forget the lovely paisley floral floaty dress. Witchery: have a few new cool pieces in. Check out the camel cord belted trench $160, the choc brown suede belted coat, very nice $399, the silver sequin bolero $149,the teal V neck sweater $79, and there is another drop of the over sized Balenciaga bags in bronze or black $199 ish. Supre: well I never: they have done an exact copy of the Gucci small horsebit shoulder bag with a chain strap that is actually quite good in brown $30! At a distance you could carry it off. EDC: esprit has a rack of European designer samples in the WBJ stoe and check out a cool khaki jacket $49 and a lot of black pieces. Target: have a great fake fur black sleeveless vest $49. Funkis homewares is on sale (in the Strand) but check out the fashion: the Filippa K is 30% off, it’s great for simple T ‘s, also for a Mui Mui style graphic print skirt you’ll find a great selection here a la Marimekko. A must buy. Mollini: have some fab shoes in fabulous gold shot Chinese brocade! Sound a bit daggy but they are great: round toe heels with a button in pink/red colour $128. Esprit: have a done a good black pencil skirt without that awful suburban split up the back, but with 2 small ones $129. Also a black pencil skirt without any splits and with some overstitching, chic, good for work $119. Check out the Mui Mui esque op art skirt in burgundy and pink $89, and the good dark grey blazer, looks expensive for work $279, and the fab trenches are great in blue or camel $129. Also there is a cool chiffon vintage style blouse but it is in, surprise! dirty pink $119.Portmans; Have black wool flippy skirt with a white floral print: trust me it’s tasteful and more exciting than boring black $129.Nine West: I love the velvet pointy heels in velvet with an expensive looking jewel and ribbon across the front. So cheap at $169 and they come in green, black, soft pink and mustard. A must buy for evenings. Also the best buy here are the fabric shoes with round toe heels $139. Cue: are very good (not too much pink!) and check out for knits for work ; the dark purple, V neck sweaters $89 ( the piece of the season see Bottega Veneta and Louis Vuitton and wear with a thin belt) check out the full skirts in dark pinstripe ( with a flattering flat waist) $129 and the wide leg, side pocket, baggy pants $179. There is a leaf print in black and grey full skirt: wear with boots, wear with heels, wear with black $179. And yes there is a cherry pink/red fitted jacket that is quite stunning $249. David Jones: have 2 fab must haves! (ground floor) a graphic op art print “silk” scarf in pinks, reds oranges $20, and the fab wide stripe knit poncho in red/oranges/browns for $159. Cool. MYER: Have some really great leather slouch croissant bags in leather by Faith $99 in great colours to sling across the body (the green is good).

Business:
Coach: Have a few new things in. There is a cream square bag with overstitching in textured leather in lots of different shapes which are cool around $680 and a cute fringed bag in lots of bright colours $1000. Country Road: are just getting better and better. Check out the groovy trilby in red, or black and white tweed $79, a lovely dark navy belted DB trench $490, a grey check cotton canvas belted trench $298, the chic SB princess black and white tweed fitted coat $499, and scarves in every colour. The green suede pointy toe kitten heels are good $199, and don’t forget the stone grey chinos $199 and the satin, teal, pleated skirt $199 very Jil Sander, and the seersucker blazer in brown $249. David Lawrence: have an amazing dark brown chiffon and sequin skirt $299.David Jones: Found the Marc by Marc Jacobs (moved near Saba on the first floor) but Oh dear, It looks much better on the runway on style.com. Some of it is incredibly awful. Obviously designed by his London stylists but who cares! this is so bad it’s almost subversive. Be amused by the cream woven knit jackets $? But the best pieces are the orange stripe wrap top $349, the burgundy cord shrunken jacket $749,( seen everywhere else for $100) the denim belted coat $$ ( ditto) .Blue Lurex shirt $429 and very nice dark teal side pocket pant $629 and some fab wide leg pants with a self black belt ( the buckle has an owl on it: don’t ask) $650. Oh and the black pinstripe jacket with hook and eye fastening is cool $ 999. But for the best value for money and chic-ness go to the Strenesse label on the 2nd floor. It’s quite delicious. It is quite black but not boring, just a more interesting cut. Check out the black jersey drape to $379, and you want the black and white tweed wrap skirt, a black pencil skirt cut like a jean with back pockets $499, a black tweed belted coat $1295 and a black cashmere shell tank top $599. I like the black jersey drape top with a sparkle of quiet black sequins lurking under $349 and I want the black zip through hoodie with a red and white stripe up the front $459, Yum. If you keep going you will walk into the sale section of imports (Burberry, Paul smith etc). And don’t forge the range of DVF dresses is quite big here from $600. Myer; They have a lot of bags on sale: DKNY ones are all reduced and also check out the ones by Desmo ( some reduced from $1000 to $350) and the label Via Spiga has a big Jimmy Choos style black one on $500. Zambelli Donna: has a lovely print chiffon dress in red/pink print $299 and a very nice knit polo tops with an open neck $99. Morrissey: has some cool pieces in for winter: A DVF esque wrap jersey dress in a swirly red/cream/pink print $199 and also a skirt $159 and top in same fabric . I like the purple knit vest with the sequins on the trim $129 and the cream cotton peacoat $399,and there are a great pair of chic narrow black shorts $179. Saba: has a new black and white tweed princess coat with a cute black leather belt $695 and don’t forget the grey deep V neck sweater with the gold sequins along the V (just enough Bling) and the cap sleeve V neck grey knit T $75.

First.
Gucci: Poor old Alessandra Faccinetti, the Gucci bubble has burst since Tom Ford left the building. There are still fabulous things though the accessories don’t make you want to sing anymore. But your baby might like to be sitting in the Gucci logo sling/babyholder/kaboose( what are they called?) with matching logo baby bottle holder $$ or have the logo teddy bear and baby shoes. Checkout the conservative green suede, lovely horsebit bag with studs $1400, the classic Jackie O shoulder bag is all sorts of colours $1100, the gold 40’s sandles $700, beautiful cream heels sandles $645, and the fab logo waxed nylon shopper with blue trim $500 ( true) .The ‘cruise’ fashion collection is in: check out the hot pink peasant shirt $1855, (hot pink is different in Gucci). Also I love the rust and cream canvas bags with plaited straps $$ and the plain slouch bags with a big G about $1400. And Floral limited edition watches are in (same as the bags) but I am not so keen they look like a swatch. Oh my god. Heresy. DFS in the rocks: Used to be great in here with GAP and Banana Republic ( all available at retail) but it is not so exciting, even the Prada store has gone. But check out fab paisley Etro scarves $430, gorgeous, and the divine Loewe bags: a choc brown structured bag with a pink and red stripe at top $2000,or the caramel slouch bag ( with 40% off some make up bags and shoes). The Dior boutique has too much pastel pink and baby blue logos, but The Burberry store has some good trench coats and lots of bags but it’s obviously for the Japanese. There is a fab ostrich bag with silver buckles in Ferragamo $$$ and also the Ralph Lauren store has the kids range in with Polo tops $54. Fusion in the rocks: They are having a huge 50% off sale and I am wondering if they are closing down …not much left but check out the Mui Mui shoes all now $260, the Dolce & Gabbana small stripe knit top now $500, the print shirt now $400, the DG animal print tops $600, and one small caramel leather Mui Mui bag about $400, worth getting down there foe a rummage. MYER: In the shoe department I like the marc by marc Jacobs teal boots $1300, the black round toe flats $520, the pink boots $1300 and the red suede flats with pointy toe and patent strips $520. Also check out the Pucci shoes including the gumboots!! Fabulous for the gardening at the farm $120.Plus of course the Manolos are here: you want the blue teal round toe ankle strap heels $1350 and red heels suede $1000. Check out the Chloe brown 40’s heels with brass studs $850 and the gold/bronze T bar heels $800 .And I was so excited to see shoes by Kors by Michael Kors but he was obviously in rehab designing these; Blue suede clogs and wedge suede loafers in mustard. David Jones; have An Armani Jeans black leather blazer, gorgeous $1195, perfect cut.

Ray
I am so glad Jamie Foxx won best actor for this movie because he always gives such fabulous speeches. Sure he might say “thank you for allowing me on my journey” but then he also always goes on to talk about his grandma in the south. In his Oscar speech he said his Grandma beat him up so good and proper she should have won an Oscar for it. Bless. But there is no one else who could have been better than him for this Oscar because he is unbelievable. You keep pondering: Can it really be him and not Ray Charles? It’s as if he is one of those crazy channellers and Ray Charles actually inhabits his body. Spooky. They say that during shooting, Jamie Foxx wore special eye gear that literally made him blind. But whatever he does, it is incredible. You’ll laugh, cry, sing, dance and laugh and cry some more. This movie explodes with every kind of emotion. So what if the story is not the whole truth: who cares if he actually fathered 12 kids, but only three or four are mentioned in the film? Who cares that he and his wife divorced bitterly in 1976, and that although he never touched heroin again, he loved the gin and hooch until the end of his days? It’s all about the music, and the film is filled with so many songs, some I never even knew he wrote. The New York Times Times said while it was not a great movie, it was a good movie about greatness. How he overcomes the obstacles of disability and racism is beyond belief. Greatness is good I say!

US Vogue March:
With the Sandra Bullock on the cover and the story inside. Asked about romantic comedies” I’d rather go watch one than be in one because I wouldn’t buy it if I was doing it now” or “I tried to have a one night stand and then I dated the guy for a year and half” But that is a bad hairdo in that shoot. Read Andre Leon Talley on the golden Globes “ the fashion was as exciting as dissecting earthworms in Biology 1 and every star should sack their entire team “! This is a bumper issue, the ‘power’ issue. What other magazines would you find a fantastic writer like Alexandra Fuller writing about the African Noble prize winner wangari Maathai ? And find a story on Dali’s crazy wife? Then read about Bono and his new range of clothes called edun : ( nude backwards: the name of their organic food chain ) and the new trend of “ conscious commerce”. Read about ‘Spamalot’, the kooky musical by the Monty Python guys and then about Alber Elbaz, the hot designer of Lanvin. Then there’s the fashion: wear 2 bags instead of one ( yes please! ) A must read.
US Elle March
Another bumper issue: with Eva Mendes on the cover and t the story inside too. Read that ‘ intimacy is the new luxury” ( no more does over the top launches, now it’s about a quiet dinner ). I adore the E Jean problem page ( Q: help, I have a cellulite on my bum! A: go and work as a volunteer at a hospital). Read about Mathew McConaghy and Penelope Cruz, the story on what’s hot in Dublin ( Bono?) and be amazed at Manuela Pavesi’s shoot with rings ! red nails! Brocches ! jewels! bangles ! (she styled it too). Then read the story on how to raise a baby without really crying… just be French.
Time magazine:
wwd says ” The latest issue of Time Style & Design, is polybagged with Time, and read the in-depth look at the Asian luxury markets. Kate Betts says “I think it’s the right moment to look at the Asian market because it’s the only thing anyone in the fashion industry is talking about right now.” Betts opted to miss the European collections this season to stay at home with new daughter India Josephine. In her stead, she sent London-based writer Marion Hume to the shows in Milan”