“I’m a bit tired of the Williamsburg electroclash shaggy-haired boy who has done one two many Es,” Groovy Stylist Andrew Richardson who is now fashion director of V man ( oh fashion is so tiring. Have more E’s!)
“But it’s totally karmic when the bag goes well with your outfit,” Actress Marley Shelton (Drugs and fashion are a religion to some)
“We’ve gotten so savvy with stylists that it’s like a kind of warfare of defensive dressing. Everyone had it down to such a perfect tee. You get bored. That’s when you have to say: ‘I will be worst dressed. I’m glad it was me they panned. I think I deserve it, and I can take it. I need a good panning every so often.” Uma Thurman on looking bad on purpose- her excue for the Oscars ( oh fashion: she dressed like she has too many E’s that night )
“A NYU freshman was arrested for selling drugs. What, do NYU’s parents want their kids to trudge the mean streets of Manhattan for their dope? Isn’t it better for everyone involved to have a friendly classmate making deliveries?” Gawker (and they dress better too).
“I need to rub them against my body to feel if they are soft enough. “Angelina Jolie to staff in an LA shop when she went into the fitting room with lots of towels ( eeeek)
“The trouble is the suit is so tight, it takes three people to squeeze Christian into it,” Christian Bale’s Batman suit is too tight (can’t wait to see that movie …Fatman?)
“My doctor told me I have fewer parasites than any patient he’d ever seen,” Billy Bob Thornton on why he has cayenne pepper laced water 3 times a day (Parasites? must be on drugs)
“I’ve got a lot of baggage now. I’m a famous actor. I’ve got two kids, and not that many women are interested, I’m becoming harder to date.” Ethan Hawke (at least you don’t have parasites)
“He’s going to come over tonight and we’re talking about it. We haven’t broken up - yet. I don’t have a problem with her. She’s great. Being seven months pregnant, I can’t afford to be stressed out.” actress Shar Jackson who has a two-year-old daughter and a son on the way with Britney’s new dancer boyfriend Kevin Federline ( don’t stress Doll. Ditch him.)
“Hey, Jude Law, I hear you’re the chair to the dance! Come on and dance,” Hugh Jackman yells from the stage at the Costume Ball not realizing that Law was not there (oops apparently he was in Africa on safari)
“Hip-hop is culture. This is somebody’s life and a way of thinking. Burberry is for everyone. That’s not white culture. There’s no culture attached to a raincoat. There’s culture attached to hip-hop and it runs deeper than just vacationing in St. Bart’s.” Jay Z (on being deeply cultured and wearing Burberry’s raincoat vacationing in St Barts)
“Brass is the new chrome” ceramics designer Jonathon Adler.Youheard it here first!

We all know if something is illegal it probably encourages you to do it even more. But now there is no excuse for driving and talking on the mobile at the same time. Sooo illegal. So outrageous. Please stop doing it and nick into Dick Smith where you can buy an earpiece for your mobile for an incredible amount of $12. And they work very well thank you very much. Then spend the other $580 on something much more important: Manolos! After an exclusive affair of 10 years a beautiful romance ends as Evelyn Miles bids farewell to Manolo Blahnik. (The shoes will now be selling at Myer so Evelyn Miles are not interested.) Time to zoom to their once off Manolo sale, all styles reduced to below cost, to a smashing $595! Starts today at Evelyn Miles at MLC and Toorak in Vic. (Ring your friends from the car when you can’t decide how many pairs to get…)

Memo to FiFi:
Must shop more.
Must drink more or less.
Must give diamond back to George C
Must find Black Amex.
Must rush to Evelyn Miles for Manolo sale.
Must buy the groovy stainless steel magnetic memo board for the kitchen. Perfect for scribbling reminders like ‘remember to forget to eat’ or ‘do dishes’ or for sticking up bills or love letters under the magnetic clips. It even has a snazzy note pad and pencil built in so you can write shopping lists for hours.
Memo board from House $59

Yes I know the ‘sexy tousled just got put of bed’ look is back for hair but I still like the idea of having straight, sleek hair even if the rest of me looks like it just got out of bed. At least my hair can be sleek even if my Pyjamas aren’t. So anything that can help (apart from a blow dry every day) to keep the frizz away should be tried at least once. So I tried this shampoo and it’s rather good at helping keep my hair straight and sleek (and that ’s just on my legs). And what’s great is that it seems to keep my hair straight without dragging my luscious locks down for that delightful drowned rat look.

Pantene Pro V Extra Straight Shampoo about $10 and Conditioner $10.

Jim Jarmusch’s new movie is called Coffee and Cigarettes and has a series of 11 vignettes of people sitting around a café. The movie has Tom Waits,Iggy Pop,Bill Murray and Cate Blanchett who apparently steals the show playing 2 girls who are cousins.
Quentin Tarantino will be the president of the jury of The Cannes Film festival.
More movie news… watch out for the new Robert Redford movie with Helen Mirren and Willem Dafoe,a thriller called The Clearing.
Solange Azugury Partridge the groovy jeweler in London is now the creative dirctor of Boucheron and has designed a perfume (bottle) called Trouble( sign of the times? Trouble.)
As part of a campaign by the UK National Army Museum to promote museums month, 30 black cabs will be “dressed” in military uniforms from different historical periods. They include a Gordon Highlander at Waterloo, and a Hussar from the Charge of the Light Brigade. The cabs’ exteriors will be covered, billboard-like, with a photo of the uniform,the flip-up seats inside the taxi will feature write-ups about the soldier whose uniform is printed on the cab.Kooky only the poms.From wwd
Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana teamed up with Kartell and picked 30 of their favorite pieces from the company’s archive museum — particularly those from the Fifties, Sixties and Seventies — and displayed them in their recently opened Dolce & Gabbana store
Yves Saint Laurent will award La Rosa d’Oro, or the Golden Rose, to artist David Hockney in a ceremony in Palermo, Italy, on May 25. Created in 1984, the prize was the brainchild of writer Jorge Luis Borges and has been passed on from one recipient to the next over the years. Henri-Cartier Bresson, Pierre Boulez and I.M. Pei are among those who have held the honor in recognition of their contributions to beauty, knowledge and learning.WWD
Selfridges will focus on Brasil as their annual promotion from May 5 to May 31, and will feature Brazilian fashion, food, drink, beauty, cinema, art, photography and furniture. During the month, Selfridges also will host two Brazilian icons: Pelé and Christ the Redeemer. Created by the scenery designer Abel Gomes, a 40-foot replica of the Jesus statue that stands on a mountain above Rio de Janeiro will be placed above the store’s entrance.Oh my god.
Tina Brown, the ex Vanity Fair editor turned talk-show host, has a deal to write a nonfiction book on money, power and the fall from grace of major
figures in American society. The book, titled “The Icarus Complex,” is expected out in 2006. “It’s about overachieving - the arc of rising and falling in American life that was accelerated by the tremendous accumulation of wealth in the 1990s, It’s how power and money affect behavior and create a culture of permission.” The book is not a memoir, according to her agent,( mmm guilt obviously a memoir.)
New York’s Metropolitan Museum was the setting for the annual Costume Institute gala that this year took the theme: ‘Dangerous Liaisons: Fashion and Furniture in the 18th Century’. US Vogue’s newly blonde Anna Wintour picked Jude Law and Renée Zellweger to host the event: Uk Vogue

http://www.artdaily.com
This is the “first art newspaper on the web” and is a fantastic website on what is happening all around the world in art. There are links to artists, galleries, architects, a photography section, and art fairs.Click on last week news and scroll through the archives to read about the Cecil Beaton exhibition at the National Portrait gallery or read how the groovy Italian furniture company Cappellini was sold to Poltrona Frau or check out what exhibitions are on anywhere in the globe. Arty.

http://www.allofmp3.com/index2.shtml
I haven’t used this site but it seems like it could be the go for cheap music downloads and is seemingly legal….“A Russian online service may well have figured out how to do digital music downloads right: make tracks cheap and available in any format customers care to select. The site was discovered by Sydney Morning Herald reporter Charles Wright who claims to have to have downloaded a DVD’s worth of tracks - 968 of them, to be precise, all from big-name artists - for just under $66 The Russian site charges by the megabyte, offering 1MB of downloads for just one cent. You bulk buy download capacity. Add $5 to your account and you can download 500MB worth of music. The site claims to be legal, having licensed its content from the Russian Multimedia and Internet Society “http://www.theregister.co.uk

Rebecca Loos was refused entry to a Harrods party by Mohamed al Fayed.
Beyonce has hired a small army of 15 sexy look-alikes so she can sunbake topless without attracting too much attention in the south of France: she sends out onto the water so she can continue sunbaking on her yacht undisturbed.
(not sure how that stops them taking photos?)
Anna Kournikova is being sued by her parents for the right to live in her $5 million Miami Beach mansion. ( doubles anyone?)
Guess has chosen socialite Paris Hilton for its winter ad campaign.
Beyonce has signed a deal with Ecko Unlimited to produce a line of women’s clothing under the ‘A Touch of Couture’ label.( a touch of tacky?)
Britney Spears narrowly escaped a shark attack at California’s Malibu Beach. ” the shark must have heard her latest song Toxic?
J.Lo showered ex-P Diddy with flowers to celebrate his Broadway debut of Raisin In The Sun.
Cate Blanchett has given birth to a baby boy Roman.
Paris Hilton’s sex video tape made with ex-boyfriend Rick Salomon will hit video stores this week. LA based porn production company Red Light District Video is releasing the 45-minute X-rated movie, called One Night In Paris, it claims its version will include never-before-seen scenes of the May 2001 romp and footage of the heiress partying in a nightclub. Never before seen footage? (reenactments?)( wow. partying in a nightclub.Raunchy.)
Halle Berry has finally filed for divorce from her husband, R&B singer Eric Benet,
“A naked David Beckham has been caught in bed again and it’s all on film. He has been filmed sleeping by artist Sam Taylor-Wood and the footage goes on show today at the National Portrait Gallery in London”.glamour ( sounds very Andy Warhol rip off to me).
Nicolas Cage is getting married again to a 19-year-old sushi waitress.
Scarlett Johansson has been spotted smooching Jared Leto ( wasn’t it Benicio Torros last week?)
Is Sarah O’Hare is pregnant? Sack the pilates trainer otherwise
Kathy Hilton will be doing her won reality TV show ( and video??) She will be life coach to 10 young women who aspire to be ladies-who-lunch set. “They’ll plunk down some trailer trash in their NYC apartment and make them classy… you know, classy, just like the Hilton family!” Gawker
Ivana Trump is about to announce the launch of her own reality show, called The Girl on Top.” (On top of who?)
Ellen Barkin and Ronald Perelman are on a trial separation.
Quentin Tarantino is supposed to be on with Sophia Coppola
Jay-Z said that no rappers were harmed in the making of his new video!

Maison: Christian Liagre
Can’t wait to get this book from Christian Liagre, the interior design guru everyone has been copying for years ”Liagre’s luxurious dark-wood minimalism and masculine palette of creams, browns and greys have done nothing less than redefine modernism This book documents a number of his recent and previously unpublished residential projects, including a modernist retreat on the Galician coast, and Rupert Murdoch’s capacious SoHo loft. His materials are luxuriously authentic - exotic African timbers such as wenge and ebony, linen, silk, wool, marble, natural stone, and his signature bronze hardware. At present, he is working on a vacation house for François Nars on the tropical island of Bora Bora. For his own retirement, he has bought a plot of land on St. Bart’s” WWD ( as you do!)

Christmas List:
Grace and Power: The Private World of the Kennedy White House by Sally Bedell Smith
The latest Vanity Fair has run fantastic excerpts from this book and it is just engrossing reading. Who doesn’t want to read about how Jackie O lived? What did she really do in The White House all day? (paint, nick out in the station wagon disguised in a head scarf, play tennis, play hookey on official lunches.) How she dieted? (watched her weight like a diamond merchant counts carats) How she redid the interior of the white House, what she wore. It’s all here in this book from J.F.K’s affairs to the doctor friend Jackie confided in about her sex life “ He goes too fast and then falls asleep” (and we thought JFK was different from other guys). She must be turning in her grave, how could they blab like that? The International Herald Tribune said “The reader is placed right there in the salons of Georgetown and upstairs at the White House, reveling in a dinner-party society that has largely disappeared. (Cheaper brandy now, and no cigars.)” Engrossing must read.

Economy:
Did a huge Reconnaissance at the New Myer in Bondi Juntion….
Myer: Check out the bag department for Cacharel brown cord bag with leather trim, a great price at $210 or a square black one $300. Myer’s own brand, Basque has copied Coach in a big way and have some great slouch bags in choc brown suede bags with brown leather straps $189 and a smaller version $229. Charlie Brown has got some amazing diamante chandelier earrings. Head to the shoe dept for Pierre Fontaine pearlized red heels ( Louboutin copy as seen everywhere) $49. You want the Robert Robert khaki green suede 40’s open toe heels with a lace on the toe $175, some black satin pointy heels with lacing at toe $179, and some black satin boots with lacing up the side which look fab are only $219 ( can’t be right? Soo cheap!). In DKNY Jeans check out the khaki knit sweater with ruffles along the bottom $229 and a white singlet with a satin frill at bottom $119. Buy the CK jeans tiny cord pewter shrunken jacket $499, or the Miss Shop cute cheap but chic black and white tweed coat $149
Supre: Bless them! They have done a Chanel style tweed jacket with frayed edge ( does that mean I’m over tweed jackets?) $49, a cool skull and cross bones singlet in lots of different colours $20 and checkout the black top with the glomesh insert a bargain at $20.
Blockout: have a shrunken tweed jacket $79
Sass and Bide: have a cool T – shirt in David Jones that says “brief shining moment’ $89 ( hope not) and a funky bronze jersey heavily sequin top $495, and a cool 70’s trench coat in brown cord $380.
Mollini: Have the best shoes at cheap but chic prices! From all the 40’s round toe to great Gucci and Prada rip offs with studs.
Zu: have some fab 40’s heels in pink with flowers on the toe $90.
DL Jeans have a lots of Sloane Ranger zip through vests for all you Sloane rangers out there who need them for those weekends away from $99.
Cue: Have some cute pencil skirts with a bit of a fishtail back $149 and the red marc jacobs style tweed coat as previously reported is a great buy though a bit rich at $429 but the shrunken herringbone jacket looks like a great cut $299.
Guess: have the same as everyone else with too much casual looks and not enogh fashion edgey pieces but you might want the leather zip jacket with stitching $689 and matching leather mini $349.

Business:
Myer:Check out the fabulous Jaclin Chouchana range even though alot is in black (but beautiful) the best piece is the A line leather skirt $449 and her groovy black tops. Also great is the Kate Sylvestre collection, her fabrics are gorgeous.Check out the white skirt with a big old fashion blue rose print $379 and a matching zip thro bomber $396 and dress $529.You want the best work skirt I’ve seen : it’s in a fab black fabric with double breasted button front and a tiny white hem $315 and has a divine matching peacoat jacket $745. Tara Jaman is here but have not heard of it,sorry but it looks OK. Best pieces are the black satin top with beaded brooch $279.Blazer has a fab black cotton belted trench with white stitching $299,Feathers have copied the YSL velvet blazer a la Demi Moore in choc brown with a red ribbon $449 (also in dark green velvet). Nicole Fahri is here and the best pieces are the pretty pink floral chiffon wrap top $449 and dress $999, and pleated cream 50’s skirt $499.
Now head to A/X Armani Exchange : they have a fab black knit top with a gorgeous crochet front on the halter $149 so cheap, a mini cropped cream cotton peacoat $199, a fab mint or black singlet with tiny stud detail $99, and check out the soft barely pink top with sequins on either side and cute cap sleeves $119.( (Must get photos soon these descriptions are driving me crazy!)
Karen Millen: has opened in Westfields Bondi Junction.She is an English label known for knocking off the trends very well and at great prices and her shop looks fab. The eveningwear section is great and is heavily influenced by Lanvin with lots of jewel and pearl encrusted tops $250 and dresses $435 in pink or black chiffon. There is a very well cut black satin tuxedo jacket $605 and pants $350.Check out the beaded black flapper dress $415, pink chiffon top $295 and dress $435 and a one shoulder black top for $275, and is that a Gucci inspired Chinois top I spy $280? And there are some shoes and bags that are very inspired by Rene Caovilla in red satin with serious diamente detail $245 and $340 and the nicest black satin cami I’ve seen with black embroidery $270.
Zimmerman: have their final winter drop in store: Check out the satin brown trench $614, the pink or blue ruffle chiffon bandeau dress $760, rose print bandeau top $300 and a fab jersey dress with panelling a la Balenciaga $286 in green, black, red, coral, and cream.There is a chiffon ruffle dress $596 and top $405 and why not buy the chiffon top with silver sequins in pink or black $429 or the must have batwing jersey top with drawstring bottom $89 in every colour? Why not I say!

First Class
Myer: Check out the shoe department for the divine Givenchy dark green with silver buckle and kitten heel $700 or the tweed ankle strap heels $640. Check out the pink Emilio Pucci print pointy shoes with wedge heel $700 and the Pucci print ballet pumps $500, the Chloe pony skin stilletoes ( no price!) and the Anteprima T-bar black heels $700, Marc by Marc Jacobs pointy toe jewel enrusted flats $550, black satin heels with jewels $550 and the scary eighties with cone heels with green ribbon along the side $489. In the imports section there is Penny Black : the collection is pretty classic the best piece is the camel, black or red belted cotton safari jacket $589,The Cacharel collection here is a bit bigger than other stores and it is fabuous and well priced for the quality and groove edge: You want a pretty chiffon pastel floral skirt $629, a pretty floral dress with appliqué that’s cutaway $499, a fab cotton Peacoat $699 and the cute appliqué shirt in pink floral for $479, a light blue cotton trench coat $949, a pretty floral pastel print chiffon dress with knit trim $999. And there is a fab black chiffon top with twisted straps $329 and a gorgeous black ruffle top edged with a tiny leather trim Divine: $599. See by Chloe is all a bit zippered and last season ( gasp. Shock. Horror.) I’m not really crazy about it and it’s very expensive for a secondary line of casual zipped combat biker looks though there is a white T-shirt with lips and ‘see by Chloe’ on the front $429 and the best piece is the white lipstick print dress $749.
Bally:It’s the end of the season now but Bally have a few pieces coming in from the Cruise collection such as the spunky white perforated leather loafers with a brass buckle $495 and the White Birkenstock style sandles $450. And check out the fab dark brown suede slouch bags with drawstring and brass buckles $1395, a square choc suede bag $850 and the divine T bar shoes with a white stripe on toe $850 and for a cheap but chic edge why not invest in the Bally signature stripe belts (in nylon canvas) in red and white or black and white $295?
Collette Dinigan; has some fab pieces in David Jones. Check out the Black halter dress with amazing blue and gold encrusted front $1990, blue chiffon beaded top $1290, black dress with white lace and front gathering $820 and the prettiest black lace dresses $1090.There is a gorgeous soft print dress with cream lace trim $580, and you must buy the satin pink with black flower print camisole $260.
Escada Sport: seems to have a couple more things since I was last in: such as a gorgepus simple dark blue tuedo jacket $980, a groovy little pucci style pink print bikini $400, and don’t forget the fab sheer pink chiffon peasant top $625.There is 25% off a snazzy blue trench $1185 and divine brown suede bag with a big buckle $725.Also new is a divine red punched suede bag with leather trim $700 and a cute bag with red, orange and purple edging $675.

Tomato and Basil pasta with Philadelphia Cheese.

Got 10 people dropping over for dinner or lunch and there is nothing much in the fridge or in the bank account? (you can’t eat those Manolos; which is probably why all those women wearing them are so skinny!) Ne panickez pas here’s a quick, delicious pasta you can throw together and is perfecto for the winter months.

Basil Tomato sauce.
The trick here is to let this cook for about an hour so it just about melts and becomes very caramelized (almost).
You need:
6 Garlics and why not?
olive oil
about 10 Roma tomatoes
Bunch of basil
1 can of tomatoes

·Fry up the garlic in some olive oil till it’s soft don’t burn.
·Cut up the tomatoes into chunky bits and throw them in.
·Pour in a can of tomatoes with the juice.
·Then toss in the bunch of basil leaves whole but leave about 10 leaves for snazzy garnishing and accessorizing at the end!
·Pour in a couple big glugs of olive oil and then a bit more.
·Turn it down and put the lid on and let it get all juicy and moist and simmer for a while maybe 15 mins.
·Take off the lid and give it a little tiny stir so you at least feel like you’re cooking and you look busy.
·because the trick is Not to stir this. Just let it simmer away so why don’t you
·Put the philli cheese in the freezer?
·Go and try on all those Manolos you bought at the sale? Divine.
·Let the tomato sauce simmer away and watch it go a dark red and pour in some more Olive oil so it doesn’t get too dry.
·It’s ready when it has shrunk like this season’s tweed jacket and is quite thick and rich. It might take an hour so go and straighten your hair and tidy up please.
·Just before you serve it cut the philli cheese up into bite size squares.
·Then cook up some rigatoni,
·To serve pour the rigatoni into a bowl, throw on the tomato sauce, toss on the philli cheese and scatter some basil leaves on top.
·Well isn’t that the prettiest thing you’ve ever seen? All that red white and green looks like the Italian flag….delicioso!

Tais Toi ( shut up!) A French farce
This movie got me at hello or should I say bonjour? A French comedy Tais Toi stars a slimmed down Gerard Depardieu and the cool Jean Reno both with mesmerizingly big noses and both playing criminals who join up after escaping from jail. Gerard Depardieu seems to be like a French Tom Hanks, the kind of funny looking actor who can play anybody so it seems only right that in this movie Depardieu is playing a kind of French Forest Gump: A petty criminal called Quentin who is really dumb, simple, infuriatingly innocent and of course kind. He joins up with Ruby (Jean Reno) when they become cell mates when they escape jail together and the film follows the bad guys (them) and the really bad guys ( evil and rich murderers) and bumbling cops all chasing one another around Paris. It sounds so cliché but the movie pulls it off and it’s very funny and cleverly written (Oh no! The Americans are bound to do a remake) Depardieu steals the show and there are lots of funny quips (so you have to read the subtitles quickly) but laugh did we laugh and so did everyone else in the cinema. And you’d be laughing too if you saw the beautiful streets of Paris and those eyes of Depardieu twinkling at you too. Formidable!

Vanity Fair May: Must report in that this is a great buy.Read the amazing story about the guy who was eaten by a bear in Alaska, see the shots of the remake of The Stepford wives with Nicole Kidman, Bette Midler and Glen Close and the biggest piece ever in VF called The path to war and of course the Jackie O article is fab.
US Vogue May:Nicole Kidman is on the cover again.Full report next week
Donna Hay Kids: Yes it has been out for a couple of weeks but it’s fantastic with great ideas and worth buying just to look at the beautiful pictures.
Vogue Living May/June: This is worth getting just to see the amazing house in Kangaroo Valley of Alexander Micheal and the Parisian florist Christian Tortu’s house in zee zouth of France.

“Fanbloodytastic!”
“Love the FiFi Report and I can’t wait for myhit each week”
“Can’t tell you how much I love the shopping fashion section….makes me want to go out and shop as soon as I get it”
“Thanks for the fantastic gossip but I love love love is having all the globetrotter section in point form. Brilliant”
“Those recipes are so much fun to read and I’ve been chuckling away every time I start to make something”
“Thanks for making my last day of the week worth while! look forward to getting my Fifi hit every friday”