What: A (Fake) Fur Jacket
Which: You want a fake fur vest or jacket this season. I have been seeing them everywhere in all the shops. Which is why they are they cheap but chic of the week. (Even though it is still warm and summery outside). Go for a dark colour like black, brown or grey. Go for the short fur jacket (Called a Chubby for obvious reasons.) Or try a sleeveless vest. You might like it with a zip. It could look like a bomber. It could have a rib knit trim. it could have no buttons at all. Look for faux fur or real fur but just make sure it doesn’t look cheap. Tip: don’t stand too close to the fire.
Why: Because Fur is always a little glamourous. Because (Fake and real) Fur was all over the runways in New York and Milan this week. This means the trend is at its tipping point so you can embrace it right now . Because In Australia we don’t really need big winter coats. Because anything at Marni is always worth coveting.
Wear: Over a simple long sleeve round neck tank or knit. Keep it looking chic. You are not going to Woodstock. You are not a hippy. Wear with a sexy pencil skirt a la Carine Roitfeld . Wear with a pretty skirt a la Marni and belt it in. Throw back with with skinny pants a la Gucci.
Where: Target For $39, Bardot for $89,  Cotton On for $49, Jeanswest for $59.99  Sportsgirl $149

• “The idea is this woman who lives in the country, but she loves pop music and has all these crazy fabrics around her from throughout the past, and she’s wearing and trying them all on,” makeup artist Pat McGrath talking about the concept behind the Prada show. Miuccia (above) was a gladiator in her last life…
  
• “It also struck me that the bigger deal that you think you are, the more disgruntled or bothered you must appear by having to show up. And as soon as the show is over, you must bolt out of the building. Not all of the fashion elite do this, but I did observe a rarefied group who practiced this “pout and pounce” technique.” - Stewart Bradley, ELLE magazines’ NFL-playing intern’ Fashion Week observation.
• “What’s your greatest strength? ‘My decisiveness.’ And weakness? ‘My children.’” Anna Wintour, in the Documentary The September Issue.(And pout and pouncing)
• “I am hating that jimble-jumble eighties look, it’s neither modern nor desirable, and those who have chosen to pick it up have been too literal—it’s a look for the lazy. When Marc Jacobs turns his mind to something he is able to twist it into something completely original, in his own brilliant way. It’s so attractive that everyone follows. Minimal—it’s a real challenge.” Uber stylist Charlotte stockdale on the fashion shows in New York and Milan
• “My legs? They’re not bad. They get me places.” Scarlet Johannsen. Even lying down
• “I think plastic surgery is fun if it makes you feel good. I love Botox, I absolutely love it. I get it minimally, so I can still move my face..” Jenny McCarthy: She can still move her mouth. What a pity.
• “I’m a realist, I know that if I eat nothing but burgers and chips, I’m not going to be hired for the parts I normally would. Jennifer Aniston. She can’t eat burgers because her mouth is paralyzed too.
• “I do NOT wear underwear under my kilt” Marc Jacobs. Just Burgers and chips .
• “I am being followed round all the shows, and they are doing lots of interviews. But you won’t be seeing me naked.” French Vogue Editor Carine Roitfeld on being filmed by CNN. Or eating a burger and chips.

What: Outrageous shoes! ( JakandJil.com)

Which: You want crazy, over the top shoes this season. The higher, the better. The kookier, the better. You want shoes that make a statement. You want shoes that are tough and dramatic. They could be in a bright colour, fringed, studded, metallic, in animal print or in amazing patchwork. This is not the time for sensible black pumps. Go for anything that makes you smile. If your shoes don’t hurt they are not cool.

Why: Because you can only buy so many IT bags. Because when you are over 30 you can’t be as adventurous in your clothes but you can let loose with your shoes. Because you can eat as much as you want and your shoes will always fit on a fat day. Because it’s fun. Because we love shoes.

Wear: Try outrageous heels in a bright colour to clash with your clothes. Wear seriously punk black heels with a pretty dress. You want to show off the shoes so don’t hide them. Wear with short crop peg leg pants. Wear with a short skirt. Wear with short shorts. And don’t be afraid to wear sandals and slingbacks with black opaque hosiery.

Where: Prada, Burberry, Louis Vuitton, Louboutin, Belinda. Mollini, Midas, Nine West, Wittner and Mimco

You need Oxygen therapy when:

• You start hyperventilating over the latest Prada bag.
• Your credit card explodes in Prada.
• You are lost in Ikea.
• There is no wine in the fridge after a day in Prada and Ikea.
• You clean the mirror (and your glasses) and see what you really look like.
• When your skin needs a rejuvenation and serious help. (And a facelift is out of the question)
• An Oxygen therapy facial will leave your skin looking dehydrated and feeling plumped. It works when a constant supply of oxygen is sent through to the skin after an application of an active vitamin serum. They say “it reduces wrinkles and lines, and accelerates skin growth with anti aging properties”. I say it feels amazing and my skin feels fabulous, soft, and as plumped as my hips. My skin feels as soft as Prada bag. And just as beautiful.

$95 (or buy 6 and get one free) Nailz @ Bondi, 81 Hall Street, Bondi Beach. Goodlookingbeauty.com.au

• Uber Model Natalia Vodianova Showcases High Fashion’s Version of Recession Chic in Vmagazine (So washing your hair and dying your roots are out?….says thecut) “The “V” on this cover actually glows in the dark, making it a perfect accessory to your next night out dancing”.See slideshow here
• In Paris for the shows? Check out the Collette store and the “Barbie and Ken” exhibition by Karl Lagerfeld.
• See the Marni Fall 09 runway show here ..The jewels! The fabrics! The shoes! DIVINE!
• And Drool over the video of the Prada Fall 09 Runway show here. I DIE! ( Love the over the knee boots and embellishments on the grey flannel wool and leather)
• You will kill for the gorgeous butter-soft sand-colored suede trench that opened the Burberry show…it’s trench coat heaven. It’s eccentricity with grace…Check out the Video here!
• ooh lala! Check out the Balmain show at Vogue UK: Apparently the front row was really squashed due the the big shoulder pads! Says Grazia twitter…Love it . (Do we need any more proof that shoulder are back ?)
• The Balenciaga show was all soft and romantic; Vogue UK reports: “HE might have taken us Star Trekking across the fashion universe with his spring/summer 2009 collection for Balenciaga but Nicolas Ghesquiere took us on an altogether more romantic journey. And, complete with lovely lilac and pale shades of pink, Forties styling and dainty polka dot tights, it’s one we wished would never end”.
• We love,love,love Garance Dore’s blog and her photos on the street of fashion pack . Read about her visit to the amazing apartment of Anna Dello Russo, the fashion director of Japanese Vogue. That’s her in the red jewelled Dolce Gabbana (She has two apartments: one for her and one for her shoes ).
• Read an hilarious interview with Fake Karl in Paper Mag! Funny.
• ‘Jil Sander’s fall collection, ripe with an erotic twist on minimalism, was the talk of Milan earlier this week — even the label’s notoriously press-shy designer Raf Simons has agreed to chime in. In a rare video interview, Simons talks with Suzy Menkes about his growing confidence designing for the Jil Sander” see it here
• In Milan? Check out the “Extreme Beauty in Vogue”, exhibition through May 10. Taken from American Vogue and showcasing legendary photographers from the 1930s until today, the aim is to display both the changes in perception of classic loveliness and the way that makeup, photographic manipulation and, more recently, surgery have all become part of the beauty scenario. In collaboration with Vogue and Dolce Gabbana, who have just introduced a makeup line.
• Scarlett Johansson says she dyed her hair because “I was bored one day. It was raining” Read the interview with Hillary Alexander here.
• Talk of the town: Alessandra Facchinetti (ex Valentino) already working on Tom Ford’s nascent women’s line.
• “Having a camera-toting entourage seems to be in vogue this season: Model Coco Rocha had an E! camera crew following her around in New York, Model Jessica Stam led MTV News around backstage at Anna Sui, Anna Wintour, who was joined by 60 Minutes and more recently, Dolce & Gabbana, is still filming for a video profile. Now Carine Roitfeld is being followed by a CNN crew in Milan and Paris for a Revealed show, to be aired after the Paris collections.. reports Fashionologie
• We LOVE India Hicks…So stylish! Check out the fabulous shoot in The New York Times and the collage of her life..
• “Katie Grand has never met a handbag she didn’t love. Grand, the putative stylist’s stylist, sounding board for the likes of Marc and Miuccia, and former editor of the achingly hip Pop, uses them on the runway and in fashion shoots as liberally as Georgia O’Keeffe sprinkled her paintings with cattle skulls. Read the interview here
• Dasha Zhukova, the cool Russian It girl and Roman Abramovich’s girlfriend, is to be the new editor-in-chief of Pop magazine. She has no previous magazine editing experience and the London fashion world are aghast !
• Love this behind scenes shoot by Ellen Von Unwerth at the Paris Couture

WWWWWD….Wordwide Women’s Digest
‘Toward the end of New York Fashion Week, a mysterious message was emailed to numerous editors, presenting the newly launched publication Worldwide Womenswear Digest (aka WWWWD), a brilliant parody of the famous industry source Women’s Wear Daily (aka WWD).
The spoof site has hilarious industry news, made up fashion fashion gossip and cheeky runway coverage. The stories are often twisted or, usually, completely invented.
The cover story proclaims that shoes are back: “From Givenchy and Chanel to Dior and Armani, shoes were all over the runways at last month’s Haute Couture collections.” Other articles include a story on Carolina Herrera’s new tattoo, and Marc Jacobs diffusion line called Marc by Marc by Marc by Marc Jacobs. Outlandish “news” includes the revelation that Candy Pratts Price ate one of her interns (!) due to a lack of lunchtime take-out in her neighborhood and that the true identity of the Gossip Girl narrator is, in fact, Donatella Versace’ ….LOVE It ..Download it here Reports jcreport.com.

• Jonah Hill, Paul Rudd, Seth Rogen, and Jason Segel are photographed in the latest Vanity Fair spoofing an earlier Vanity Fair cover with Tom Ford. See slideshow here.
• Paris Hilton is dropping over $280 grand on a diamond-encrusted dash for her pink Bentley.” You know what I love about this story? There’s only one probable way for it to end: “Paris Hilton Crushed by Diamonds in Head-On Collision”saysthesuperficial
• Motherhood Has Made Katie Holmes Wiser: Oh, She must have been dumb before.
• “Celebrity reality show star, Jade Goody, has had a surgical operation to remove a publicist from her bowel in an effort to relieve the headlines, photoshoots, tv interviews, exclusives and sensationalist photographs. “The operation to remove Jade Goody’s publicist took all of seven hours and required a team of twelve surgeons. The publicist was lodged firmly in her bowel area and we think we got most of him out but there may be some residual headlines and sensational money making headlines still left.” Say thedailysquib
• Gisele Bündchen and Tom Brady kept their wedding Top Secret . Which is why you are reading about it here about it
• Lindsay Lohan wants to convert to Judaism for Samantha Ronson. Her dad thinks it’s “just another phase.” Just like dating girls.
• Sharon Osbourne is sued for attacking Rock of Love Contestant. She allegedly grabbed Megan Hauserman by the hair and scratched her. Tell me something I don’t know
• Madonna is still playing Cougar to her young Boyfriend.
• A topless café has opened in Maine, USA. Bringing a new definition to nipping out for a bite. Says Vanity Fair

Mr Toppit ………by Charles Elton

And out of the Darkwood Mr Toppit comes, and he comes not for you, or for me, but for all of us. When The Hayseed Chronicles, an obscure series of children’s books, become world-famous millions of readers debate the significance of that enigmatic last line and the shadowy figure of Mr Toppit who dominates the books. The author, Arthur Hayman, an unsuccessful screenwriter mown down by a concrete truck in Soho, never reaps the benefits of the books’ success. The legacy passes to his widow, Martha, and her children - the fragile Rachel, and Luke, reluctantly immortalised as Luke Hayseed, the central character of his father’s books. But others want their share, particularly Laurie, the overweight stranger from California, who comforts Arthur as he lies dying, and has a mysterious aganda of her own that changes all their lives. For buried deep in the books lie secrets which threaten to be revealed as the family begins to crumble under the heavy burden of their inheritance. Spanning several decades, from the heyday of the British film industry after the war to the cut-throat world of show business in Los Angeles, Mr Toppit is a riveting tale of the unexpected effects of sudden fame and fortune. Not since Jonathan Coe’s What a Carve Up! has a novel managed to capture a family and a society to such wonderfully funny and painful effect.

£7.79 Amazon.co.UK Publisher: Viking (5 Feb 2009)

The Christmas List
Hats: An Anthology…. by Stephen Jones,  Cullen Oriole

Using radical materials and designs that range from refined to whimsical, Stephen Jones’s exquisitely crafted hats ignited a revival of British millinery in the early 1980s and reclaimed the hat’s place as an essential article for fashionable people everywhere. Today Jones’s edgy, compelling designs continue to attract stylish celebrities, including Gwen Stefani, Boy George, Kylie Minogue, Dita von Teese, and Madonna. Jones has also collaborated with a who’s-who of legendary designers, including Vivienne Westwood, Jean Paul Gaultier, John Galliano for Dior, and Marc Jacobs. Published to accompany an innovative exhibition at the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, Hats offers an unprecedented view of the world of millinery from ancient Egypt to a Tudor knitted beret and a 1950s Balenciaga hat to Jones’s own creations. Drawing on Jones’s own archive and the V&A’s extensive collection, along with iconic headgear from around the world, this vividly illustrated book celebrates the universal appeal and delight of hat wearing.

$26 www.Amazon.com Publisher: Victoria & Albert Museum (March 1, 2009)

Lime and Lemongrass cordial…..
Of course you can make cordial ! It’s as easy as boiling water.
A perfect little refreshing drink to take as a present to lunch. So delicious.

You need for 2 cups of cordial

2 cups (440g) white sugar
1 cup (250ml) water
1 stalk organic lemongrass, roughly chopped
1 lime, zested
¾ cup (185ml) fresh lime juice
2 sliced limes,
to serve Ice cubes,
to serve Soda water

* Put the wine back in the fridge: it’s too early.
* Find a saucepan
* Chop up the lemongrass in rough little pieces. Mind the manicure
* Get the zester and attack the pretty little lime.
* Now juice the limes, then put the juice aside to rest (*you will pour it in at the end)
* Toss the lemongrass bits in saucepan with the sugar and water.
* Bring to the boil and give it a stir to dissolve the sugar.
* Now reduce the heat and let it simmer for about 2-3 minutes
* Turn off the heat and let it cool completely.
* This is where you get the latest Vanity Fair and pour a vodka.
* When the cordial has cooled you can stir in the lime juice.
* Now you need to pass the cordial through a sieve so you remove the big bits of lemongrass and lime zest. TIP:* Pour into a jug
* Voila! You have now made your very own cordial.
* To serve, fill a glass with ice and add 1 part cordial to 3 parts soda water.
* Garnish with fresh lime slices and gulp it down!
* For alcoholic drink you can mix in 3 teaspoons of tequila to every 2 tablespoons (40ml) cordial and 2/3 cup (160ml) water.
* Sensational!