“The fragrance is called Fame. It must be black. It must be enticing. You must want to lick and touch and feel it, but the look of it must terrify you.” Lady Gaga in September American Vogue. It’s biggest issue ever with 916 page. See the behind the scenes video here .

“I think it’s important to watch the end of the world happening.” Lisa Kudrow, on why she’s addicted to the Real Housewives show.

“For the first time in my life, I spend more time meditating and doing yoga than I do having sex. That’s only because I do a hell of a lot of yoga.”Russell Brand

“She totally ate my diamonds on purpose. She was pooping them out all morning!” Miley Cyrus, on her bulldog Ziggy.

“There is no secret: You just have to eat healthy, work out, and torture yourself!” Gwen Stefani, on how she maintains her six-pack abs, to Harper’s Bazaar.

“People changing their name just to get press. So lame. Incidentally, my new name is Zach Lion Metta World Peace Dirty Money Cher” Zach Braff, taking a jab at the artist formerly known as Snoop Dogg, who renamed himself Snoop Lion.

“Fashion stole my smile!” Victoria Beckham, on why she’s rarely seen smiling.

The Fishing Fleet: Husband-Hunting in the Raj …by Anne de Courcy.

One of my favourite books was Anne De Courcy’s The Viceroy’s Daughters: The Lives of the Curzon Sisters. Her new book gets all the ticks if you love escapism and reading about history and those mad English aristocratics from days gone by.
‘From the late 19th century, when the Raj was at its height, many of Britain’s best and brightest young men went out to India to work as administrators, soldiers and businessmen. With the advent of steam travel and the opening of the Suez Canal, countless young women, suffering at the lack of eligible men in Britain, followed in their wake. This amorphous band was composed of daughters returning after their English education, girls invited to stay with married sisters or friends, and yet others whose declared or undeclared goal was simply to find a husband. They were known as the Fishing Fleet, and this book is their story, hitherto untold.
For these young women, often away from home for the first time, one thing they could be sure of was a rollicking good time. By the early twentieth century, a hectic social scene was in place, with dances, parties, amateur theatricals, picnics, tennis tournaments, cinemas, gymkhanas with perhaps a tiger shoot and a glittering dinner at a raja’s palace thrown in. And, with men outnumbering women by roughly four to one, romances were conducted at alarming speed and marriages were frequent. But after the honeymoon life often changed dramatically: whisked off to a remote outpost with few other Europeans for company and where constant vigilance was required to guard against disease, they found it a far cry from the social whirlwind of their first arrival.
Anne de Courcy’s sparkling narrative is enriched by a wealth of first-hand sources - unpublished memoirs, letters and diaries rescued from attics - which bring this forgotten era vividly to life.”

£10.60  Publisher: W&N; Hardback edition (12 July 2012) Amazon.co.uk

DV: Diana Vreeland: The Books, the Documentary and the website.

She was famous for pronouncing “Pink is the Navy Blue of India”.  In the1960’s Diana Vreeland was the highly influential and powerful editor of Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar who mused that “too much good taste can be boring”. See the video, the books and her incredible photos go to FiFi’s Daily Blog.

There is a flood of bright colours, murky pastels and mad prints arriving in store. It makes all the shops look exciting. Not sure it will make you look exciting.
The trick with fashion is to pick and choose what works for you. I’m never wearing crazy prints or head to toe bright colours. Dot com. Ever. (I won’t even mention pastels. They are only ok if you are 12. Years old and kilos.). Of course it’s fashion so it’s the FiFI Report’s reponsibility to find it. It’s in the constitution. It’s my duty to run like a maniac in Manolos through the shops and find what’s hot. For you. But remember next season is all about the dark side, black and Gothic. In fact Style.com has just posted a story called Black is the new Black. read it here.

My advice this season? Don’t go crazy and waste your money. Grab a few tops in strong colours to toss back with black or your fav neutral basics.  Go for white, cream and taupe. Then invest in fabulous accessories in bright colours like belts. Yes, a pop of neon in a belt like this one at Country Road is just the thing to snazz it all up.

But dear FiFi Report readers tell me, what are your thoughts on colours and prints? Are you bedazzled when you get to the shops or paralized with fear? Love or hate them? Will you wear them? Do you want to see more of them in The FiFi Report? Please let me know. Hint: Leave a comment.

Now onto shopping and my top ten pieces to get you through the week ( and the rest of the year ).

3.1 Phillip Lim Clutch bag from ShopBop.
Love Philip Lim. Love a clutch bag. Love a Phillip Lim clutch bag. Love the black and red. And the way the bag opens up to stand full height. A clutch is cool. Especially when they are not too small. Darling, we need to get all our everyday vitals like vodka in there. Wear day time or night time: it’s always the right time ( there is a song in there). A great price for a designer bag. $450. It’s called the 31 minute bag but I also love the 31 hour bag which I’ve been drooling over for a season or deux. This new khaki colour is fabulous $785 buy here . And can we talk about the fabulous choc brown Lark Messenger bag? Divine. For you. To wear for years. Cost per wear will be $2…$914. Buy here at Shopbop.

Balenciaga Lace up shoes.
I am sorry to do this to you. But I am not sure where you can actually buy these Balenciaga shoes online. whaaat?! Outrageous. I know. Let me tell you, honey, I have looked. But here’s the thing. They are THE shoe of the season. So I have to show you. So you know what’s going on in the crazy world of fashion. So you know what’s hot, what to look for and what to cry over. You must know these things so your dag days are over. Bless. It’s such a lovely pleasure just looking at them non?. Hint: Maybe put white laces in the Wittner shoes from last week.
By the way you can buy Balenciaga in Australia at Parlourx, Miss Louise , Cosmo shoes and Cultstatus. You can also spend hours at Barneys.com and checking out more fabulous shoes on the street at jakandjil.com

JacandJack print top.
You can wear a print top. You can. I suggest in black and white. Unless you are already dressed head to toe in signature bright print Marni and Prada. Then you are forgiven. How chic is this lovely top from Jac and Jack? I think there is a dress version as well. It’s an “Original design screen printed top”. Me thinks this would look fab with skinny red/blue/cobalt jeans and a taupe trench. Or with a blazer/leather jacket and slouchy red chinos. $299.

Burberry short navy Trench.
I love shopbop for bags and shoes.(Free shipping!) and it’s great for diffusion brands like Marc by Marc Jacobs and T by Alexander Wang. My other favourite designer site is Burberry . Oh la la !  I have a trench addiction. But there are also tops, jeans, and knits. Everything. You don’t have to buy. You can just look. And sigh. And dream. The prices are great considering the amazing quality especially with the Brit label. So how much do I LOVE, adore and want to marry this jacket above? Mwah Mwah and double kiss it is what I want to do when I get my hands on it. Love the peplum style pleating at the back. The front is just as nice. It’s in navy. It’s $850. It’s gorgeous. Wear with everything including your Prada pyjamas.

Equip two tone tote bag.
The Celine style tote bag is the hot look . It’s actually practical too. And chic. What will they think of next? The FiFi cheap but chic of the week has to be the Equip version. It’s in pleather. Which is a nice way of calling it not leather. I like the colour blocking. It’s also in pink and orange but this colour combo looks more expensive. A great day weekend bag. Especially for $29. Shut up!

Witchery orange patent wedges.
It’s about the statement shoe this summer. Just one? Actually you better have two. Easier to walk. Statement shoes. They love a good chat. They can start a conversation. They will add vava voom to daggy pieces in a daggy wardrobe. Love orange. Love a small wedge. Love an ankle strap. Cankles be damned. I prefer these with pants. Not sure why. Might be to do with my legs. $169.95

Country Road Washed Silk Pocket Shirt.
The silk shirt made a comeback a couple of seasons ago thanks to the chic de la chic Carine Roitfeld. Her husband is the man behind the Equipment brand. Anyway now the silk shirt is a classic. A must buy. Easy to wear.  Skims over the bits. It has a very low key, nonchalant look of insouciance. Mais oui. Perfect tucked into jeans or skirts. Or shorts if you rock them. Go for orange, cream or black. Love with the neutral grey jeans above. That’s the way to wear brights. Tone it down dude. $149.

Zara black and white print pants.
I was in Zara this week. You can’t beat it for the prices and the groove factor. Bright colours. Fabulous prints. Everywhere. I was whipped into a frenzy. It made me think I could almost go there. For a second. But here’s the thing with prints: when one is older than 35 a print top will make you look old. There. I’ve said it. Print pants are the go. For the one hit wonder you can’t go past the fabulous black and white silk paisley print pants . They are glorious. I can see myself lounging in these at the Villa in Como. You want to wear with flats and a simple black or cream top. A grey tee would send it into raptures. I think they even have an elastic waist band. My, oh my. Don’t we just love that? For you about $89 . By the way you can’t buy Zara online yet so put down that croissant, get out of bed and hit the shops. Sorry.

Marni figurine earrings
I am having an earrings moment. Not sure why. It just came over me. Maybe it’s the wrinkles. I need to distract the action away from the face. And these earrings are so much more pleasing than botox. Opulence and jewellery are huge trends for winter. Being a minimalist I will take just a little of this trend. I saw these adorable earrings in Marni.  You’ve got to have a sense of humour in fashion.  I do think you could wear these earring with print pants and a simple grey tee. Add cute orange T bar flat sandals and you will be da bomb. No need to get out of bed to buy these for £183.33 from Net a Porter

Zara pelum top with fantasy collar and beading.
There is a lot to peruse in Zara.  One of the pieces I loved was this black peplum jewelled top. It’s very Prada esque with that blingy detailing on the neckline. I am not suggesting you wear this with those earrings or those pants. Oh no. But you could : it’s not wrong. No one will run in fright screaming if they saw you strutting down the street. What I would like to see this top with? Baggy boyfriend jeans and pointy heels. I do. It’s a pants season so take your pick which.  Stick with the concept of contrast dressing ie. Loose with tight, uptown with downtown and bling and plain and you will look impossibly cool. Bless. $89 From Zara.

ITALIAN APPLE FLAN …adulterated from Luke mangan.

I was looking for a cake recipe that was big enough for 12 or more . A big family dinner calls for a major cake.  This was delicious.

You need for 12 fashionistas, 8 hungry teenagers or 45 models:  For the recipe and more click here on FiFi’s Daily Blog!