“Is it wrong to mix a skirt that costs in the five figures…with a top that barely costs in the two figures? Is it a bipolar shopping disorder? Is there a pill to take for the condition? A support group? To quote Diana Ross, ‘I don’t need no cure.’ Isaac Mizrahi in wwd (Bipolar shopping disorder rocks!)
“I’m sure I’ll incorporate a fair amount of sex into whatever I do. But not gratuitous sex- only if it really makes sense” Tom Ford on always making perfect sense (You don’t need no cure)
“Women don’t need to go down on their knees “to get a roof over their head anymore. It’s a completely false sense of power. The girl thinks that she is controlling the situation, but she’s not.” Candace Bushnell ( Doll you made $$ from sexandthecity. They all spent alot of time on their knees)
“The sort of vague calm you get after vomiting”. Ben Affleck describing the feeling he got after hearing about J.Lo’s wedding (no cure)
“His hairy stomach was all over my couch and he has gross back hair and it’s clear that he thinks he’s the bomb” the flatmate of Enza Sambatoro Ben Afflecks new girlfriend ( Gross,Hairy.Bipolar)
“It’s not like I used to get high like… get high, get high, get high, get high. It wasn’t like I got high like that.” - Bobby Brown high with no cure in Popbitch
“It’s not like she’s Keith Richards. We’re not expecting any problems. Some people have had to take it twice.” The Washington Post (in wwd) on their new style editor and the drug test all new hires undergo at the paper.( Bi polar shopping disorder is high high high: requires drugs)
“ The key to a successful marriage is learning to apologise” Madonna on her acting career
“Brit craves more Madonna lip action; the carnal mother/daughter-esque duo will lock ‘em in Madison Square Garden” Gawker on Britney performing with Madonna ( she didn’t)
“It’s pretty bad. It’s just not me. It makes me look like Meryl Streep” Britney Spears on her the new Britney doll ( better than Ben Affleck)
“I’m a virgin. If Britney can say it, I can say it.” Nicole Ritchie ( but Britney looks like Meryl Streep)
“A Donald Rumsfeld scent could be dubbed “Conceal”; Sen. John McCain’s could be called “Decline,” and that President George Bush’s perfume would smell like “crude oil and virgin Alaskan wilderness.” Sigourney Weaver at this week’s FiFi Award ceremonies ( Fragrance awards!) Wwd

Yes! There are sales, sales, sales everywhere! And it’s vital you run right now to Castlereagh St to Gucci and YSL for some pieces that are 90% off. Hurry! But if you are not shopping for clothes (you are sick: need your head checked) mmm Let me rephrase that: If you are shopping NOT only for clothes then here’s a sale that’s worth checking out: Race off tomorrow to the groovy little shop ‘Cloth’ in Clovelly for cool, modern, hand made fabrics and textiles. Their “work is made in small batches, giving cloth its individual and irregular soul and character”. They are moving shop to around the corner so “all our old stock, samples, remnants and some interesting things we found in the back of the cupboard will be cheaper than you could imagine” !

19th - 27th June 10am - 5.30pm
Cloth 207 Clovelly Rd, Clovelly 02 96645570

Winter and cold weather and no rain can do weird things to you. You might give up alcohol and take up drinking tea. I know. So weird I haven’t done it. Giving up alcohol is never going to happen but I have started drinking tea if only just to use all the chic tea cups and saucers that keep catching my eye. Robert Burton has some gorgeous French animal print and gold tea cups and saucers by Sophie Villepique for around $250, there are some really cool modern orange ones with white inside from Villeroy & Boch’s new range just in store for $22 and don’t forget the absolutely divine Limoges collection of gold trimmed pretty pastel pink, lilac, or blue tea cups and saucers and teapots at T2.

I am always on the lookout for any thing that will give me the same flushed rosy cheeked glow I get from an incredible afternoon of sexy shopping and finding Gucci at 90% off. Impossible you might say? And you’re probably right because there is nothing that can make you feel as good as shopping. But you can at least look like you have THAT certain glow if you nick into Mecca Cosmetica for the new blush from Stila: it’s ‘revolutionary formula’ has made it air whipped and so it has the texture of mousse. And I say better to put mousse on your cheeks than to eat it! This rouge pot really glides on, is very sheer and very natural looking and I like the waterlily colour for a pinky glow. But one problem: people will take one look at you and know just what you’ve been doing…

Stila Rouge Pot $40 at Mecca Cosmetica (02) 9361 4488 or (03) 9827 8711.

Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec are the indie rock stars of the furniture world ( so says W magazine) and the LA museum of Contemporary Art is having an exhibition of their work with Vitra, Habitat, Magis and Cappellini.
Lord McAlpine has opened a bed and breakfast in Puglia Italy in an old convent called Santa Maria di Constantinpoli ( they don’t have website sorry but see June W).
Terence Conran is opening a Cuban restaurant in London called Floridita.
Sculptor Andy Goldworthy has an exhibition on the roof of the Met In New York.
Prada is launching its fragrance with boxes featuring the same woven-fabric Prada labels that are sewn into the designer’s ready-to-wear collections. The scent, is described as a “very addictive, sensual, ambery scent,” has topnotes of Italian bergamot, bitter orange, Sicilian mandarin and mimosa absolute; middle notes of rose absolute, schimus molle absolute, Indonesian patchouli and patchouli absolute, and a drydown of labdanum resinoide, tonka bean absolute, vanilla absolute, Indian sandalwood and Siamese benzoin resinoide.” (Yes but what does it smell like?) wwd
Katharine Hepburn’s Louis Vuitton wardrobe trunk sold for $14,000 at Sotheby’s.
Christie’s in Rome will auction “Souvenirs of a Life With the Dukes of Windsor”.
The Emporio Aramani campaign, shot in Paris by Vincent Peters will reunite the three actors who starred in Bernardo Bertolucci’s movie “The Dreamers”.
Australian author Anna Funder’s book ‘Stasiland’ won Britain’s richest award for non-fiction the Samuel Johnson Prize, worth £30,000 ($78,600).
Allegra Beck will soon inherit full control of the 50 percent stake in Versace that was bequeathed by uncle, Gianni Versace.
HINDUS in Uttar Pradesh have been burning Union Jacks and Italian flags in protest at Roberto Cavalli ‘s use of Hindu religious imagery on his latest swimwear line. “Cavalli is free to have an image of Queen Elizabeth on his bikinis, if he so desires,” says the Sena’s state unit chief, Uk Vogue.
Miramax Television’s “Project Runway,” is the latest reality show and will explore the behind-the-seams life of 12 aspiring designers who will be invited to New York to live and work together in a loft and compete in various challenges for five weeks. Heidi Klum, Michael Kors and Constance White are the first judges on board, and the finalists will show their collections at New York Fashion Week. One winner also will get a Gilles Bensimon spread in Elle.WWD

http://www.gourmetsafaris.com.au
If you love food, cooking and traveling and not in that order here’s the scoop; Gourmet Safaris run by Maeve O’Meara “In September every year we bask in the warmth of the Greek Islands, visiting 4 very different islands.Cooking classes with renowned Greek/Australian chef Peter Conistis are held in a huge private villa in the mountains surrounded by the sounds of church bells, visit olive groves, ouzo and honey makers, sail around Santorini and finish with dinner on the cliffs. Or try the trip to Italy from the 4th to 14th September to to Abruzzo and Reggio Calabria….

http://www.theonion.com
The Onion is a satirical weekly publication published each week and this is the online version. Laugh like you’ve never laughed before with today’s headlines :
’According to key members of the Bush Administration, the tragic proceedings of the 9/11 commission, which devastated the political lives of numerous government officials, could have been averted with preventive action in 2002 and 2003’.
“Michael Moore Kicking Self For Not Filming Last 600 Trips To McDonald’s”
“J.K Rowling gives up writing for boys: “She’s been experiencing a lot of changes lately. She still wants to keep in touch with her fans, but she doesn’t feel she can sit in a room at her computer all day while there are so many cute boys running around.” Know the feeling..

Egon Von Furstenberg died in Rome at age 57.He married Diane von Furstenberg but the marriage lasted only four years “the only way for a relationship to survive, I think, is to have no sex at all, You just live once, and I am getting the most out of it. After a while, passion ,you know, cools. So a little here, a little there at three in the afternoon. What harm?” Were he to meet an attractive man, he said, he wouldn’t mind experimenting,and in later interviews, declared himself bisexual.Oops! He divorced Diane months later wwd
Phoebe Philo the designer of Chloe is pregnant .
Kate Moss has an open relationship with Jefferson Hack so she’s been kissing Daniel Craig.
Renée Zellweger is allowed to lose weight now that there is a final cut to Bridget Jones and no reshoots of any of Renée’s fat scenes.She is now filming “The Cinderella Man” with Russell Crowe. That alone should make her lose a few ounces .wwd ( Supersize me?)
Cameron Diaz is in Australia to scout out locations for the new MTV travel show “Trippin’” that she will host with her buddy, Drew Barrymore.
Madonna wants to be knownnow as Esther not Madge ( Super name me?)
Minnie Driver has a record contract and will release her debut album this year.
Alanis Morissette is set to marry her actor boyfriend Ryan Reynolds.
Angelina Jolie is hoping to adopt a Russian baby.
Is J-Lo on husband #4? Insiders say she hushed-up a teenage marriage.
Cherie Blair bought a pair of pink strappy Aurora shoes on eBay for just £15. and a Winnie the Pooh alarm clock for 99p. ( no cure. she is a dag)
Chris Heinz and Diane Kruger are secretly seeing each other (so secret) “She’s the married German actress who plays Helen of Troy in the “My Big Fat Greek Wedding” prequel,” NYDN
Penelope Cruz and Matthew McConaughey are really smitten and couldn’t keep their hands off each other n a London restaurant
Expect an announcement later this month from Brad and Jennifer…(he’s doing an Egon? No,a baby)
Madonna’s flacks have been denying that tickets to Her Madgeosity’s “Older Women Do It Better” Tour have been going for less than face value.GAWKER (‘went to Madonna’s opening show last night. First of all, she looked great and kicked ass. I don’t know any other 45 year-olds who can kick and dance that well; heck, I don’t know any 45 year-olds. Gawker)

Truth and Beauty by Ann Patchett
In the latest US Vogue Ann Patchett writes about fellow writer Lucy Grealy who was her best friend for almost 20 years. ”When Grealy died Patchett began writing. Only through her memoir Truth and beauty was she able to put her loss into words” Ann Patchett is a great writer (read ‘Bel Canto’ see FiFi report #11) and reading this story made me sob more than when they sold out of the Gucci Horsebit bag. Grealy had cancer as a child and went through many operations for facial disfigurement before she died at the age of 39 in 2002.”Truth & Beauty is a portrait of unwavering friendship and commitment that spans 20 years, from the long, cold winters of the Midwest, to surgical wards, to book parties in New York. Through love, fame, drugs, and despair, this tender, brutal book is about loving a person we cannot save”
A must read for a rainy Sunday with lots of tissues…

The Christmas List:
A Guide to Elegance by Genevieve Antoine Dariaux
The sub title of this book is “For Every Woman Who Wants to Be Well and Properly Dressed on All Occasions” Yes,we all want to be well and properly dressed but whether we do or not is the question. So why not at least read about how to to? This is a cute book, a reissue of the style bible from the 1960s. By French fashion guru Genevieve Antoine Dariaux, it’s an “early version of “What Not to Wear”, the book states that “Being beautiful is no guarantee of happiness in this world. Strive instead for elegance, grace and style.” (Yes but I’m beautiful and I’m very happy about it!) “Madame Dariaux imparts her pearls of wisdom on all things fashion-related and offers advice on other crucial areas in life from shopping with girlfriends (don’t) to marriage and sex” ( do) Amazon $24

Economy:
Sportsgirl on sale: Check out the fitted Green tweed jacket $189, a cute retro print faded skirt with leaf print $69, the side pocket jeans now $59, the black tweed ¾ coat is a great buy now $149, sequin bracelets are cute at $7.95, there are cute little cloche hats in black or THAT dusky pink $19.95 and raw silk faded 50’d retro print skirt $79. Esprit: is looking good if you go past the THAT pink and brown . They’ve hit the mark with the black and white and the edc line.There is a cool silver jersey knit V neck singlet with soft hardly there silver sequins (not too flashy) $119, a black knit top with black jet beading $99, a halter jersey top with black sequins $119, there is a classic Long sleeve gathered neck jersey T $69, and there is a Gucci esque ‘horse bit’ patent clutch, if you so desire, in green or black or ouch hot pink! $39. And for a great investment for those weekends away in summer or winter you need a classic cable knit cream sweater $59,( & red).Witchery: where are all your new accessories? Still hanging in there are the clutch (looking like Kel’s manbag!) with a buckle in lots of colours $59. You will love the cotton beige or Khaki brown belted Trench with epaulettes at $229, there is a chic ¾ black coat with hidden buttons $399, On sale are the cool cotton shirt waister dresses, a good transeasonal buy $79. Cue: is on sale with up to 50% off and its worth coming in for good black or grey knit shell tops $90ish but there is a lot of black which we all have wardrobes full. Seduce are on sale. I like their jersey big flower print top now $110, and the bronze. silver black long wrap cardigan like a dress is now $99, kookai: is pretty out there in early 80’s land! Check out their stripe long starskyhutch cardigans $170 and there are black jersey tops galore. Checkout the tie dye wrap jersey dress in pink and dark grey $169,and a very low cut green top $119. Events have a great black pencil skirt without a hideous back split ( a no no) now $59 and the best buy not on sale are their fitted velour blazers in black, choc and cream $189. And look out for some great (classic) things coming from Sportscraft next season now that Jodie Boffa is on board.

Business:
Saba; have up to 50% off like the black velvet print skirt now $179, a Japanese b&w print wrap top now $145, and other pieces are worth trying on like the suiting. Saray in QVB has a cool zip front leather jacket $650 ( I shot it last season but it’s still good) $650. CK Jeans is on sale and you must have the velvet corduroy blazer jacket in soft pink now $299,and the white or black double cuffed shirts $79. Jigsaw has 30 % off, Check out the grey knit singlets $31, the grey and black stripe French knit with buttons along the shoulder now $139, the white double cuff wrap shirt now $134. David Lawrence is on sale: Check out the belted fur trim brown 40’s coat now $449 and the cool herringbone trench is a great buy now $229, the green chunky polo neck sweater now $99 and new is the bleu cotton trench $279.
David Jones; The Collete Dinnigan is on sale you want the black and white print slip now $300, the outrageous green sequin dress now $995, the pretty peach dress $227, the gorgeous black dress with velvet bodice now $690, Paul Smith is 50% off and it is gorgeous ,so right for next season.You want the Sonia Delaunay style print wrap skirt now $645, and the shirts in the same print and satin dress now $1000 and the leaf print top is $45. And the new collection is in like the button print T $220. The Boss by Hugo Boss is ½ price and worth looking at : its great quality and their suiting is fab. You want the dark grey trousersuit now $995. The John Smedley are on sale and there is a great selection like the stripe cotton knits (long sleeves) now $160. Scanlan & Theodore on sale : you want the cropped leather bolero now $835 the miniest mini in camel leather $385, the black ruched jersey dress $279, a caramel leather jacket now $745 and classic black pants $139. Easton Pearson is on 30% off. Check out the black top now $309, the Rose print skirt now $500, the beautiful black or green chiffon dress with slashed hem is now ½ price $785, the pretty green chiffon skirt now $1225, and the grey flannel skirt with black beading is now $500, Karen Walker : There is a green horseprint silk shirt now $299, the same fabric skirt $289, a divine empire black dress is now $579 and there is a black classic side pocket skirt $359.The marc by marc Jacobs is reduced but it doesn’t tickle my fancy but check out the 40% off Theory ( great for pants).and check out the rack of Hugo by Hugo Boss is you need some work wear!

First:
David Jones: The new summer Burberry collection is in. I didn’t see any classic trench coats but there is a short blue one $2450 and a crazy print floral plastic patent one $2750.The Burberry is also on sale, not a lot there but a black knit/nylon cardigan is now $435. Moschino is ½ price and there is a cool animal leopard print coat now $895.The new Sergio Rossi here are gorgeous. You want the chunky sole suede heels $799, the pointy camel flats $850,the stilettos with green trim $850 and lots more.
Gucci: The sale has been on for about a week and there are some fab buys.You want the brown or black doctors style bag with bamboo trim now $1000, the green suede and logo bag now $1145, the big black slouch bag $1300, the black logo bucket tote with leather trim $990 and the brown leather with GG reins now $1000.There is tiny little logo canvas bags with pink trim now $380 (buy for your daughter!).Checkout the shoes: the black stud slingbacks now $555, the stud flats now $400, and the black slingbacks with studs $495, and the mules are $630 and red sandals now $330.The clothes are a mixture of last season and the latest season with some 50% and more off: There is a grey pencil skirt now $800, a L/S jersey top now $435, the stud singlets now $500, the divine leaf print jersey tops now $700 and you want the cool big sunglasses now $350. Hurry in there..Last year they reduced some pieces by 90% and I bought some trousers for $150!
YSL: Wow talk about bargains.Some pieces in here are 90% off too. Such as a black jersey knit singlet now $220!, a black V neck dress now $595, a chiffon deep V dress now $600. For 50% to 70% off check out the red zip top now $1150, a ruffle front black jacket now $1100, some Chloe style jeans with the plaited waist now $725, a black denim skirt is now $345,and a cherry red cotton jacket is now $1800 and a pink jersey ruched top is now $400.The shoes are on sale too with black sling backs with ankle strps now $500 and some brown buckle mules now $200 and check out the bags too from around $900. Coach: They have great bags here and their european summer stock is now on sale with 30% off their stylish Canvas Beach Bags, the groovy suede stripe clutches, the item du jour, the turn lock satchel in hot pink or blue or cream is now $483. Check out the lightweight, colourful Hampton Weekend Totes around $400 and the chic Hampton Leather Bags. And in July the next winter collection is arriving with some Ready to wear pieces for men and women….can’t wait!

Pear, Pistachio and chocolate cake (From 2001 Vogue Entertaining)

The name says it all….ooh la la ! It’s the delightful mixture of the pears and pistachios and the oozing chunks of melting chocolate that makes this THE most delicious cake to warm up a chilly Sunday afternoon …..

You need:
150g plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
150g caster sugar
1 pear peeled and diced into bite size pieces
zest of an orange
150g unsalted butter
3 eggs
200 g dark chocolate chopped into little chunks
¾ cup pistachios roughly chopped

·Preheat the oven 180
·Mix the flour baking powder, sugar, eggs, butter and whiz till combined in a whizzer it takes a minute…not to much you want to keep it chunky
·Throw it all in a bowl and stir in the pear, chocolate, zest and nuts
·Ok you can nick a bit of the chocolate (Scientific fact: there are no calories when it’s in the cooking mixture)
·Pour into a moisturized baking tin ..a loaf one could be the go
·Lick the bowl
·Bake for about 60 mins or when it ‘s bouncy and brown on the top
·So slimming and so good for you with all those endorphins from the chocolate
·it’s a taste sensation!

Supersize me: A documentary on McDonalds

After all the hype going on for months I had to see this documentary by Morgan Spurlock now famous for deciding to eat nothing but McDonalds for one entire month. But he has some rules which he can’t break:
1) No options: he can only eat what was available over the counter
2) No supersizing unless offered ( offered a lot)
3) No excuses: he has to eat every item on the menu at least once
A funny movie, he is a bit like the new Mike Moore and interviews experts from the “Surgeon Generals to gym teachers, cooks to kids, lawmakers to legislators” who all share their research, opinions and “gut feelings” on big fat America. The best bits are his trips to his 3 doctors and nutritionist (some over weight ) who keep track of his liver function, Cholesterol and calorie intake :so high they think he should be admitted to hospital. The fact that his girlfriend is a vegan just makes it funnier and I did feel extrordinarily slim compared to all the fattie boombahs in the film which was a great big plus. But it’s not all funny and by the end I was overwhelmed with statistics and (bad) figures and depressed by all the tragic people in the world. And I thought just adding up all my own calories every day was hard enough.

US Vogue June: Is a must buy.It’s just pages of all the most glamourous people in the world on holidays: Read about Ashley and Allegra Hicks in England, Marina Rust in Maine, and buy this issue just to read about Christain Louboutins amazing boat on the Nile and Carlos de Souza’s farm above Rio. The piece on kate Hudson is boring but then again she was in Raising Helen….
US Elle Deco June: The cover says ‘beach house chic’ and it does have some great houses and not so great ones too. There is a chic one in upstate New York on the Hudson and how can you not love a house in Provence and a groovy beach house in the Hamptons full of modern art? Plus there is a great insiders guide to Dublin.
Town and Country June: Anything with ‘Summer Home issue’ on the cover pulls me in for more but this issue has a special on Southern California Style ( is that an oxymoron?) and it’s not so exciting. See Lyndsey Buckingham from Fleetwood Mac’s house in LA (not as bad as you would think) but a groovy Palm Springs house full of mid-century furniture is great..