[New York, November 2. Image via Pacific Coast News]

Ben Whishaw plays Keats. Yes. Verily. And yeah, I rejected working in Keats quotations in every caption. I accept your thanks from afar.


Abbie Cornish looks stunning. And I hope she appreciates the fact that I once wrote a really mediocre paper in college defending Fanny Brawne against the interpretation of some long-dead literary critic. I'm guessing she doesn't though.


Jennifer Missoni wears peacock. Not in the top hat-goggles-frosted-tips-Mystery sense.


Sofia Coppola demonstrates a look I like to call "Miami Frump" which is much easier to pull off when one is Marc Jacobs' muse.


Well. Damien Fahey and Grasie Mercedes look remarkably pleased with themselves for two people who are about to sit through a bodice-ripper about a poet with TB.


Lynn Collins' skirt reminds me of the awesome ballad "Raggle Taggle Gypsies," which is the only silver lining here. That song, by the way, is allegedly based upon the real story of Lady Jane Hamilton, wife of John Kennedy, 6th Earl of Cassilis, who ran off with an outlaw, and was imprisoned as a result.


Jessica Chastain makes a strong case for the enduring appeal of the LBD.


Roberta Armani, meanwhile, looks exactly as you'd expect one who bears that name to look.


Anika Noni Rose's top has apparently caught on a nail and the bottom half has unraveled. Bummer. I hate it when that happens.


If you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all. Fran Drescher is benefiting from this maxim right now.


Doesn't Jane Campion look exactly as you'd imagine? Okay, maybe I didn't imagine the peace sign. But I can work with it.

[Images via Getty]

[New York, September 13. Image via Bauer-Griffin]

• Twihards! Sparkle vamp Robert Pattinson says there will be a fourth Twilight movie; the plot of the book Breaking Dawn will come to the big screen. What does this mean?

To the uninitiated, (SPOILER) this creepy story involves young Bella being pregnant with a vampire baby that eats its way out of her uterus... Fun times! Vampires are dead, right? So how can they be born? Or have sperm to impregnate? Oh, that's right: SPARKLES. [The Hollywood Reporter]

• One of Robert Pattinson's bodyguards pushed a paparazzo into a trash can at Cannes. [Gatecrasher]
• Kate Hudson and Alex Rodriguez had dinner and drinks in Manhattan Friday night. It's so on. [People]
• Rihanna and rapper Drake: Really, really on. [Page Six]
• Sarah Jessica Parker is concerned for the safety and well-being of the surrogate carrying her twins: "She's had friends threatened and family threatened and she's had family of friends threatened," SJP says. Plus, the woman's phone and computer have been tapped/hacked. [USA Today]
• Gay bashing alert: A young woman was attacked at a party where Samantha Ronson DJ'd, and Sam says it was "simply for being gay." She writes: "NO ONE should have to suffer any sort of attack, verbal or physical, for any reason." Warning: She links to a picture of the victim's face, and the damage is terrible. [MySpace, Twitpic]
• The documentary about Amy Winehouse — Saving Amy — may reveal that the singer is struggling with anorexia, alcohol, and her parents. [Daily Mail]
• If you want to see what Michael Jackson looks like these days — without a face mask — go ahead and click. [Daily Mail]
• Property improvements! Brad Pitt is building a new pool cabana and deck on his Malibu estate, which is up for sale. If you have $18 million, you can get a lovely home, pool, tennis courts, and neighbors like Cindy Crawford and Leo DiCaprio. Any takers? [LA Times]
• Here's a first review of Brad Pitt's latest, Inglorious Basterds. Derek Malcolm calls it "absurd, overlong and mostly cardboard version of World War II." The script "places its actors in the unenviable position of appearing either melodramatic, farcical or just plain dull." And "there are some decent moments but they are few and far between." [This Is London]
• Ellen had No Doubt come to her show and overbooked the studio by 500 people — leaving hundreds in the heat and sun for hours, even though they had tickets. Feeling hella bad. [Perez]
• Shawn Johnson says Dancing With The Stars changed her life, and that her dancing partner brought out her personality. "And I've loved every second of it." [E!]
• A neighbor says Jon and Kate of Plus 8 fame are only together for the TLC paychecks. "A lot of people around town say that's what their relationship has been about for a while." [MSNBC Scoop]
• Paula Abdul was asked if all four judges would be returning to American Idol next season, and replied, "Tune in!" [LA Times]
• A reporter to Hugh Hefner: "Would you let Lindsay Lohan play for Playboy?" Hef: "Who?" Reporter: "Lindsay Lohan." Hef cluelessly looks to his young girlfriend, who says, "Lindsay Lohan?" Hef, still looking confused, says, "Sure." Its on video. [Radar Online]
• In this video, Katy Perry talks about her religious parents: "They're very much cool." And: "My mom's isn't the rock-n-roller pot-smoking debutant that she was, and my dad's not the acid dealer with long hair anymore." Plus, she says doing a second record will be good, because "It'll show that either I got lucky or that I was meant to do this." [Rolling Stone]
• Years before Jay Leno nabbed a primetime spot, NBC was asking Oprah and Letterman to try it. [Variety]
• George Clooney will star in a flick called A Very Private Gentleman, playing an assassin who who protects his cover by hiding out in an Italian town. Is it even fiction? Can't you picture Cloons having a secret identity? [Yahoo News via E!]
• Looks like Chace Crawford from Gossip Girl will definitely be in Footloose; and now he may be joined by Miley Cyrus. The world is a strange and mysterious place. [E!, The Hollywood Reporter]
• Paris Hilton has been trying to get paid to appear at nightclubs in Cannes; a source says: "They aren't about to pay her. It's not 2002." [Page Six]
• Seven words you didn't want to hear this morning: "Jennifer Love Hewitt to relaunch singing career." [NME]
• Jesus, there is still major drama going on in Gossip Girl star Kelly Rutherford's divorce and custody battle. Rutherford has filed legal papers asking the judge to bar her ex from taking their 2-year-old son Hermes home — until the dad kid-proofs the pool and play areas. [TMZ]
• In this video, Charlotte Gainsbourg, who stars in Lars von Trier's Antichrist — the one with the genital mutilation — defends the film and Von Trier against the charge that he hates and exploits women. [Guardian]
• Another day, another Slumdog Millionaire child star's home destroyed. This time it was the living quarters of little Rubina Ali. [Yahoo News via AP]
• Sienna Miller wants a rose named after her, so somebody had better get on that. [Daily Express]
• Do you care if Vanessa Minnillo is still with Nick Lachey or not? This report says she was seen "acting single." Because she was drinking and dancing in a club. [Page Six]
• Colin Firth says he was well-versed in Noel Coward's work long before he signed on to star in Easy Virtue, a film based on a Coward play. [UPI]
• Does Ryan Phillippe have a wandering eye? [Page Six]
• File under: Moms re-entering the workplace. Liz Hurley has been away from movies for five years — due to the birth of her son — but would like to come back: "I decided I couldn't do movies for a while, which was a huge decision for me because I actually love making movies more than anything," she says. If she could do a film that could work around her son's school holidays, she would "take it like a shot." [Telegraph]
• T-Mobile is bringing Catherine Zeta-Jones back to its ads. [Business Insider via WSJ]
• Interesting: Chris Pontius of Jackass fame will appear in the new Sofia Coppola film, Somewhere. [The Hollywood Reporter]
• It's hard to read this story about actor Rip Torn's probation for DUI, because his 2006 mug shot is so LOL. [Yahoo News via AP]
• Blind item! "Which wanna-be rocker had to take a trip to the emergency room because he went to sleep with his contacts in?" [Gatecrasher]
• "It is all going well and I know I am very happy right now. I want the happy ever after ending. I've definitely changed. I'm just letting things happen and seeing what does. In so many ways I am behind the mark for my age. I'm not married and I don't have children but my attitude now is that things may happen or they may not but just be happy." — Kylie Minogue, who has been dating this sweet piece of man candy for seven months. [Daily Mail]
• "I'm doing a speech about the situation with AIDS in America basically, and how we need to address what's going on. We seem to be falling a little behind in America. I find this disease very cyclical. Every 10 years or so, after we spend a lot of money trying to educate people — a new generation of people — and we tell them to have safe sex and to abstain sometimes but have safe sex, wear condoms, we find that after 10 years another whole group of people come along. And we have to start all over again, which is really, really frustrating because it takes money for education. And we find that if we could get into the schools at a grass-roots levels, which we do in places like Africa where we get to kids at a young age and we tell them about preventive measures for not getting HIV, we find the success rate is tremendous." — Elton John. [CNN]
• "I just hope it will go away, after a little bit of time. I hope I'm not naïve in thinking that's possible. I don't want to be a part of it. I can't seem to navigate a way of doing that, of actually telling the truth of events that happened without feeling I'm encouraging the whole gossip notion." — Christian Bale on his rant. [USA Today]
• "I don't want us to split up. I love my husband, but I can't sit around crying. This is a new story and a new chapter in my life. Pete is the love of my life and I am so sad and upset by his decision to separate and divorce me as I married him for life. This is not what I want, but the decision was taken out of my hands." — Katie "Jordan" Price. [Telegraph]
• "'Hot' has become a euphemism for all things positive, making it generally acceptable to use to describe everything from a jalapeño to a drum solo. It's sort of a useful word. We don't have to think of appropriate adjectives for people, places, performances, tacos, or objects anymore as they all fit snugly under the glorious umbrella of 'hotness.' So I don't know how hot I am but I'm honored to be considered as warmer than the average taco." — Olivia Wilde, who is number one on Maxim's Hot List. She also says, "Michelle [Obama] will always be No. 1 on MY list." [The Daily Beast]

[New York, March 11. Image via Flynet]

• Lindsay Lohan is reportedly pissed that Katie Holmes is on Glamour's April cover; LL was under the impression that her Madonna shot would get the cover. Insiders say that was never gonna happen. [MSNBC Scoop]

• Evidence in the Chris Brown case includes Rihanna's blood-stained Gucci gown, which she wore to Clive Davis's pre-Grammy party the night of the incident. [E!]
• And now the DA has received the case from the LAPD. [TMZ]
• Attorneys for Chris Brown are in talks with the DA's office, hoping to cop a plea deal. They're pushing for probation instead of jail time. [E!]
• Reportedly, the night of the beating, Rihanna told cops that Chris Brown had been violent toward her in the past and things were getting "more violent" as time went on. Also, there are more photos — taken the next day — where the bruising and swelling on Rihanna's face is more severe. [TMZ]
• Did Rihanna recently tell cops she won't testify? [NY Post]
• Chris Brown may be in court today. [NY Post]
• How did the paparazzi know that Chris Brown was jet skiing in Miami? Did he call the photo agency? [Page Six]
• Breaking: Mercury-poisoned Jeremy Piven seen eating tuna tartare and calamari salad. Fishy! [MSNBC]
• Reese Witherspoon is on the cover of Elle magazine, and says of beau Jake Gyllenhaal: "He's fabulous. He really is a fantastic guy. Unfortunately, he's not in the movie, so we can't really talk about him." She also talks about being a young mom: "When I first had Ava, I couldn't afford [help]. And it was so hard. I was out in Los Angeles, living [away from my family]. I really didn't have any friends. And I had a baby. No one else who was 22 had a baby. I couldn't go out." [Just Jared]
• Katherine Heigl is being a diva on the set of her latest movie, Five Killers. An insider says: "She reportedly refused to film any scenes until her pregnant assistant ran around and got her a Coke Zero. She refused to eat lunch next to anyone or have anyone speak to her once the cameras stopped rolling." [NY Daily News]
• James Franco, actor and MFA candidate, who attends NYU and Columbia simultaneously, has sold a collection of short stories to Simon & Schuster. [The Daily Beast]
• Matt Damon is preparing for his role in a film about Nelson Mandela by doing rugby training. But he plays a rugby champ, so it's okay. [Telegraph]
• Hmm, Dakota Fanning is in negotiations to play lead singer Cheri Currie in The Runaways, the biopic of the '70s all-girl band. Can you see Dakota like this? Oh, and you know Kristen Stewart is playing Joan Jett, right? [Variety]
• Benicio Del Toro met with Venezuelan prez Hugo Chavez and said he "had a good time." "He's nice," Del Toro told journalists. [Mirror]
• Chris Martin says he's given Natalie Imbruglia "the best Coldplay song of all time." This should be interesting. [The Sun]
• Russell Brand has been seen "snogging a new girl." [The Sun]
• What's this? Ivana Trump's marriage to 36-year-old "Italian stallion" Rossano Rubicondi was a contract to get publicity for both of them? You don't say. [Gatecrasher]
• An episode of the Osbournes' reality show will air on March 31 after American Idol. The network is running it as a "special" and not a series, but we may see all six episodes, eventually. Yay? [Variety]
• Robert DeNiro and Al Pacino are suing a film distributor and watch company for ads tied to their film Righteous Kill. Endorsements without consent? [Reuters]
• Liz Smith talks to Sharon Stone about her upcoming projects; apparently Stone has two flicks coming out — one with Christopher Walken; the other with Va; Kilmer and 50 Cent. Of Fiddy, Stone says: "He is smoking hot, brilliant!" [Variety]
• Nia Vardalos of My Big Fat Greek Wedding has a new flick set in Greece. Her character, Georgia, "moves on a whim to Greece, and [tour guide] is the only job she could get," she explains. "She is a history professor who is all about facts and figures," which only bores the tourists. "All they want is a T-shirt of the Parthenon." [USA Today]
• Michael Jackson lawsuit of the day: He's suing an auction house which is selling off his personal possessions. [AP]
• By the by, Michael Jackson's first show at London's O2 arena is July 9. [Fox 411]
• Sofia Coppola and John Waters were both spotted at the Armory Art Show in New York. Why they were there on a "press preview" day is questionable. [Mediabistro]
• Chris Isaak's has a show on the BIO channel, and his cohost is a dog named Rodney. "Rodney is not 'my' dog, because you can't own a living thing, OK," he says. "We're friends" — then Isaak breaks into song. [CNN]
• Jerry Hall, 52, plays an older lady toying with a younger man in her new Chanel ads, but says she wouldn't date a dude in his twenties: "They listen to such horrible music. They haven't the same references… And I find it a bit creepy if you're having sex with people the same age as your children." The ads are hot, though. [Daily Mail]
• People paid money to see a Toni Braxton show, and got a "Toni Braxton" show — the lady on stage was an impersonator. [TMZ]
• Kirk Douglas, 92, stars in a one man show. [AP]
• Johnny Depp's half-brother, Daniel Depp, a screenwriter, has just released his first book, a thriller/detective novel set in L.A. [USA Today]
• Great piece on the legendary Blake Edwards — responsible for flicks like Breakfast At Tiffany's and the original Pink Panther movie. He says: "I enjoy laughter. And I really, truly feel that if there were some way to distill it, that you could go to your local pharmacy and ask for 16 ounces of Pure Pratfall, I'd probably make it to 110. I think it's the best medicine in the world." [WSJ]
• Contrary to reports, Ed McMahon is not dead. [Perez]
• RIP Horton Foote, screenwriter of Tender Mercies and To Kill A Mockingbird. [USA Today]
• Blind item: "Which closeted jack-of-all-trades just became secretly engaged to her girlfriend? Word is, the two will wed soon in N.J." [Gatecrasher]
• "I've since found out Rihanna's got the same thing, so it's not really – I mean she's very cool – but I thought I was being original." — Lily Allen, sort of regretting her "shh" tattoo. [News.com.au]
• "I did not enter into motherhood with any sense of equanimity or grace," she adds with a laugh. "I'm surrounded by women who are much better mothers than I am, and they come to it much more naturally." — Felicity Huffman. [LA Times]
• "Meryl is really amazing and she has done some interesting stuff, but it's just she doesn't leave a lot of roles for the rest of us. It's an ongoing problem getting parts for older women." — the amazing Miranda Richardson, who is in The Young Victoria and whom you may have seen in The Phantom Of The Opera, The Hours, Harry Potter and the Goblet Of Fire or Sleepy Hollow. [Telegraph]
• "I don't think I'm a control freak. I think I'm just fearful. I operate from a lot of fear, like, of things being lost or forgotten or neglected. Losing the spiritual rather than the physical. It's so funny to me that somehow I've been portrayed as a very, like, closed-off or uptight person. I'm very open." — Reese Witherspoon, in Elle. [Just Jared]
• "It was very cool. He called and said, 'Would you mind getting on the phone with my son?' I felt like Yoda to young Skywalker." — Ralph Macchio, on speaking to Will Smith and son Jaden about their Karate Kid remake. [E!]
• "When I started Home [collection] they thought, 'who is this "Charlie's Angel" telling us about furniture and antiques?' But once you really know what you are talking about, it does not take long for people to recognize that. It is all about backing it up with knowledge. But in the business world, as a woman, you really do have to represent yourself in the proper way otherwise you won't be taken seriously." — Jaclyn Smith, on her KMart line, which is doing extremely well.
  [Reuters]
• "I'll be totally honest: That was his idea. He just sort of said, 'Hey, I'm gonna do this - I hope you're cool with it.' And I thought, 'OK, well, I mean, he's good and he's a talented guy and it wouldn't hurt having him in the movie. I suppose yeah, OK, sure.'" — Colin Hanks, on his father, Tom, playing his dad in new flick The Great Buck Howard. [WWD]

• Sofia Coppola debuts her line of "sure, why not?" accessories for Louis Vuitton in Tokyo. The luxe line is made up of "slouchy duffle bags, discreet clutches and retro wedge sandals." [WWD]
• Speaking of qualified designers, Posh's dress line is a hit in London! "The presence of her name on the shop floor alongside such greats as Alexander McQueen, Vivienne Westwood and John Galliano was quite an achievement for a designer who unveiled her first collection of dresses just three months ago. More impressive still was the fact that by 3pm on its first day on sale only three dresses were left unsold." [Guardian]
• Tim Gunn is not sanguine! Quoth the silver fox, "We have this horrible, nasty court case. We have an angry Bravo/NBC. We have an angry Lifetime. We have, I'm sure, an angry Weinstein Company. We have Heidi and I despondent about the whole thing. We worry that season six will never be seen by anyone." [Washington Blade]
• Addressing the severe shortage of celebrity perfumes, Faith Hill is in talks with Coty. [WWD]

• Ivanka Trump confirms our suspicions that she's rich, by premiering a jewelry line that ranges from $4,000 to $45,000. [WSJ]
• Whether the Wintour rumors are founded or not, "Save Anna" gear is big for Christmas! [Racked]
• Courteney Love's "shopping secrets" are disappointingly obvious. [ElleUK]
• Liz Claiborne takes steps to retain executives. [WSJ]
• Women keep clothes longer than their husbands - and sometimes longer than their marriages! [Telegraph]
• Eileen Ford can't sell her mansion. [WSJ]
• Courteney Cox is Avon's latest celeb spokesperson. [WWD]
• Versace expands its glitzy empire to Vietnam. [New York]
• The economy's loss is TJ Maxx's gain! “With department stores canceling orders, we’re getting additional brands. They have excess product. They know we pay our bills on time and we can’t return the product.” Have I mentioned how smart I find that 'how we get our cheap stuff' ad campaign is? [Fashionista]
• Wait, Whitney Port doesn't really work in fashion? “Well, she just goes into the office to shoot scenes like she works there, like what they did on The Hills. Actually, it’s kind of sad. When they film her spots, they make the girls that actually work there move from their desks and into some cubicles in another part of the floor, because they’re actually working, but the camera people want Whitney and her on-screen work friend to look like they have real desks.” [Fashionista]

Few and far between, it seems. Check these out:

St. Pauli Girl beer features a buxom bar maid on the label. Actually, looking at this visual "history" of the model, she's changed a lot. In 1982, she wasn't so busty; in 1989 she was (gasp!) brunette; in 2004 her apron disappeared, her top shrank and her skirt became alarmingly short. Progress!


Frida Kahlo tequila, launched in 2005, features the famed painter's visage on its bottles. Frida's niece, Isolda P. Kahlo, is involved with the brand. Unfortunately, art critic and author Raquel Tibol, who befriended Kahlo at the end of the artist’s life, is outraged, saying, "This is a dirty shame!" Blogger and artist Mark Vallens writes: "The idea of the artist’s alcoholism being somehow romantic could not be further from the truth. It was not a sense of romanticism that led Kahlo to drink a bottle of tequila a day, but the debilitating pain she endured from the accident suffered in her youth."

The labels on a Belgian beer called Rubbel Sexy Lager picture women wearing swimsuits, but the swimsuits can be scratched off, leaving naked models behind. Classy! This brew was pulled from shelves in the UK last year.

Sofia sparkling wine is manufactured by Francis Ford Coppola's winery, and named after his director daughter. Each can comes with a little bitty straw, because chicks like their booze to be cute! (Disclaimer: I've imbibed quite a few Sofias in my day and actually think mini champagne is a good idea.)




Inspired by the Hollywood icon, Marilyn wine exists, but, as Sadie says, "I wouldn't drink it."

Sailor Jerry rum is named after a man (the legendary tattoo artist) but has a pin-up girl on the bottle, does that count?

Damiana herbal-based liqueur from Mexico comes in a bottle shaped like an Incan goddess. Except, uh, the Incans were from Peru, right? So she should be Mayan, or Aztec? Well the website lists an address in Texas, so maybe someone is confused.


Batuque cachaça from Brazil is made from sugar cane and aged in mahogany barrels. The bottle is shaped like a woman wearing a Brazilian bikini (read: thong.) I had it in a caipirinha once, and never got around to figuring out why the poor woman has an awesome booty but no head. (Here's another view of her physique.)

Veuve Clicquot was, at some point, run by Madame Clicquot, hence the term "grande dame." If you look at her portrait you'll see Madame was pretty serious about her booze.

Did I miss any? Let me know.

The Men Behind Your Favorite Liquors [Mental Floss]
Earlier: The Top 10 Female Product Advertising Icons & The Actresses Who Could Replace Them

• Newly-minted Louis Vuitton designer Sofia Coppola's road was not an easy one. "At the age when Marie-Antoinette was facing the rigid etiquette of the court of Versailles, the 15-year-old Coppola was working as an intern at Chanel in Paris, a city that her parents had always loved." No wonder, then, that "Coppola drew on a well of personal experience for the accessories. A gilded wedge ankle-strap sandal (€500) was stirred by the memory of her mother's Yves Saint Laurent shoes in the 1970s." We love a rags to riches story. [IHT]
• What Not To Wear good cop Clinton Kelly has thrown his hat into the competitive fabulosity ring. "In Freakin’ Fabulous: How to Dress, Speak, Behave, Eat, Drink, Entertain, Decorate, and Generally Be Better Than Everyone Else, Kelly begins by taking the reader through his long journey toward “fabulousness,” which started prepuberty. 'While other kids on the elementary school playground were trading baseball cards and playing kickball, I was silently debating whether to spend my first paycheck on Italian suede driving shoes or on a cashmere coat,' he writes." [WWD]
• Designers won't loan gowns to Mad Men's resident bombshell Christina Hendricks! Too "curvy!" [Ephemerist]

• Presses stopped. Chanel, Moschino, Louis Vuitton, Sonia Rykiel, Stella McCartney and Christian Lacroix are all designing DOLLS for Unicef! [VogueUK]
• Which should please foppish hockey player cum novelty intern Sean Avery, who liked playing with dolls as a kid. Us too! [New York Magazine]
• As his trial progresses, creepy designer Anand Jon is looking more perv than rapist. [Radar]
• Travis Barker's fashion line (?) makes tee shirts to benefit families of the two victims of his plane crash. [UPI]
• Here's a pic. [People]
• Who whoa whoa. Sheryl Crow's alleged clothing line? "The first line is made up of about two dozen pieces developed by Crow's stylist and inspired by clothes from the singer's wardrobe." [IHT]
• Twiggy puts clothing swaps on TV in some kind of bid to beat the recession. [Daily Mail]
• Party girl Alice Dellal may be disinherited. Which will put her on a level with the rest of us. Oh, wait, she's a famous moddle. [Daily Mail]
• Meanwhile, male model Donald Carmichael robbed and shot in New York. Well, grazed. He's okay. [UPI]
• Almost all the cosmetics you use are poison. Wah-wah. [LA Times]
• The tone of international Fashion Week? Strictly Let Them Eat Cake. [Washington Post]
• Lucky editors claim their new style guide is actually really perfect for the recession. [The Budget Fashionista]
• Diesel plans unique stores worldwide. [WWD]
• Apparently literally every celeb in the world was at one of Diesel's 17 30th birthday parties. [ElleUK]
• Zahara Jolie-Pitt wears organic denim. It's $128. [Fashion Week Daily]
• The Glamouresque Wig Party is where celebrities design wigs. For charity, obvs. [Daily Mail]
• Relive your high school years — or mine, anyway! — with Screaming Mimi's online vintage. [FabSugar]
• Why choose between cognac and sneakers when you can wear the $300 Hennessy Celebration Hi-Top? [BlackBook]
• Want to read a list of Kate Moss's debaucheries? Yeah, set aside some time. [Daily Mail]
• Cosmetics are up. Well, we all need to cover dark circles these days. [Washington Post]
• Please let this be our last mention of male pantyhose. [News.com.au]
• The recession may speed consolidation in the fashion world. [WWD]
• So, want to wear a fake school uniform? No? Here are some options anyway. [Sassybella]

• Sofia Coppola for some reason to design shoes and bags for Louis Vuitton. "It is understood the products will be sold worldwide and launched in Japan." Will she distract us from the crappy-looking shoes with a cool soundtrack? [WWD]
• Kate Moss: The Movie. Maybe. [Graziavia The Cut]
• Usher launches lingerie line. “Comfort and intimacy is very important.” [Just Jared]
• "Alessandra Ambrosio's 4 pound Maltese named Buddha got out and is lost. He is tie dyed blue and green and is lost please help in anyway possible. She loves her dog so much and there is a large reward if someone returns him." [Perez Hilton]

• Vivienne Westwood's recession tips: "In these hard times, dress up," with towel capes and safety pin jewelry! [Daily Mail]
• No wonder her retrospective attracted 40,000 visitors. [The Star]
• In their futile attempt to sabotage the fur-lovin' Armani, PETA approaches fames bunny-boiler Glenn Close. [E]
• Post Jovovich-Hawk, Milla thinks big. “Now I’m here in Paris meeting with bigger houses about doing designing for them...Unfortunately, Carmen’s not working with me anymore–she’s taking pictures–but I am definitely going to keep designing.” [FashionWeekDaily]
• Um...what? Naomi Campbell on air travel: "I think after 9/11 you can't say anything anymore on a plane. I've flown British Airways for years, since I was a child...The stewardesses will tell you that I would get on a plane, put on the blanket and go to sleep. I'll never fly that airline again, but nothing's really lost. I did get my luggage. I was reunited with my YSL, and everything was cool." [Stereohyped]
• Lily Cole's French Playboy cover is out. [Fashionologie]
• If it's not broke: Dior reups Galliano's contract. [WWD]
• Wal-Mart bans cotton from Uzbekistan in an effort to end child labor there. [NY Times]
• Model bad-girl Alice Dellal kinda grosses out some people. 'Another fashion journalist, who also wanted to remain anonymous - because to be heard slagging off the fashionistas' favourite is hardly the done thing - told me that she found it all "baffling. She looks like she needs a good scrub. It's as if she's walked out of a 1990s Nirvana video".' [Telegraph]
• More on H&M's trials. [NY Times]
• Tennis ace Rafael Nadal to be spokesman for Lanvin fragrances. Cause sweaty athletes is exactly who I want to smell like! [WWD]
• New York Jets quarterback Brett Favre and racing icon Dale Earnhardt Jr. for Wrangler makes somewhat more sense. [AdWeek]
• Karl Lagerfeld and Tom Ford's mutual admiration interview. Given the players, disappointingly un-absurd. "For me, American fashion and the look of American elegance with an updated image is Tom. There may be others, but I don't wear those." [Time]
• Jay-Z's Rocawear sued for trademark infringement. [The Cut]
• Whether Target likes it or not, Anya Hindmarch is selling her cheapo line on her own site four days early. [Fashionista]
• Miss Sixty stores bite it. [Times of London]
• Wait, what? Gemma Ward decides she's going to be an actor, promptly nets Australian Oscar-like nom. [WWD]
• British women's breast size a whole cup larger than a generation ago; breast enlargement surgery likely culprit. [Telegraph]

[New York September 15. Image via Flynet]

• Because their last cinematic collaboration went so well: "Sofia Coppola and dad, Francis Ford Coppola in Louis Vuitton’s new ad campaign." [Sassybella]
• Chanel makes fishing-rod. [Guardian]
• "In celebration of all things bling, today sees the debut of Coutts London Jewellery Week." [Daily Mail]
• Chilean guy turns parents' house into fashion museum! [Telegraph]
• " Beginnings and endings are easy; they are always good and exciting and filled with promise or resolve. But a good middle is difficult to have." Menswear design duo Duckie Brown interviewed! [The Fashion Informer]

• Counterculture: for those who can afford it. [Telegraph]
• After Gone With the Wind-scale search, Juicy Couture finds new prez. [WWD]
• "Beauty Industry feels raw materials pinch." [Cosmetic News]
• "For the third annual celebration of Love Day — this year it's June 19 — [Cartier] has partnered with eight musically gifted celebrities, including Janet Jackson, the members of band Good Charlotte and Emmy Rossum."[WWD]
• Body Shop gets new marketing plan. [Cosmetic News]
• Everyone loves (?) Agyness! [ET]
• "At a lavish celebration of his work, the artist Takashi Murakami and Louis Vuitton fired a witty broadside in the fashion industry's battle against the knock-off merchants." Basically, they set up a bunch of fake vendors' stalls outside the Brooklyn museum. 'Witty' indeed, fellas. [Telegraph]

Here's a photo of Cameron Diaz from the 2003 Oscar Ceremony. Lovely dress! Completely normal pose! She looks darling. I could not find one photo of a woman posed with her arm in teapot territory.
Now it's 2004. Sofia Coppola: nary a bent arm in sight. I think I found a single woman who was in the dreaded pose, but she wasn't even famous.
2005: in this year, early adopters began embracing this unnatural looking position.
But as you'll see in this next photo of Cate Blanchett from '05, not all celebrities had jumped on the teapot bandwagon.
Oh lord. In this photo from 2006, Felicity Huffman looks about as natural as a Stepford Wife exhibiting the increasingly popular teapot position. Looking through all the photos, about 60% of starlets have embraced it by this point.
Of course, O.G. bitches like Dame Judi Dench will never submit to the tyranny of the teapot.
Crikey! Cate Blanchett has finally fallen prey to the teapot's allure in this photo from 2007. Noooooo.
Why, Marion Cotillard…whyyyyyyyyyy?!?!? Right before she won the Oscar for Best Actress, Maid Marion is seen here, looking like she's full of Earl Grey. So sad, but by 2008, a good 95% of actresses have teapotitis.
This is probably why Julie Christie lost the Oscar to Cotillard. She refused to fall in line with the rest of the tea service. I smell a conspiracy!!!

[All images via The Official Oscar Website]

[New York, May 5. Image via Flynet]

• More rumored changes for The Greatest Show On Earth, Project Runway: Season 6 of the show, the first to be broadcast on Lifetime, may feature "More Than A Pretty Face" magazine Marie Claire in lieu of Elle as the affiliated fashion magazine sponsor. [WWD, 1st item]
  
• Whoah: Are New York Times fashion critic Cathy Horyn and Skeletor/stylist Rachel Zoe more similar than we could have ever imagined? Possibly, if it's true that Cathy Horyn was also mysteriously not invited to the dinner and dancing portion of tonight's Costume Institute festivities. [Fashion Week Daily]
  
• And what does legendary costume designer Bob Mackie not like about the fashion industry? "Doing a fashion show that's on for 20 minutes and then it's over and everybody runs to the next one. Nobody sings, nobody dances, nobody tells jokes. I found it quite unsatisfying." I second that emotion. [WWD, sub req'd]

• It's so hard to be Gossip Girl's Penn Badgley: "I wear a lot of Burberry at events and the brand's been really supportive of me since the beginning. On the show, we wear H&M suits." [Fashion Week Daily]
• Sex and the City costume designer/fun drunk lesbian Pat Field: Now designing Diet Coke bottles. [FabSugar]
• More pearls of wisdom from Tim Gunn: "Always keep your tux jacket closed in photos." [Page Six]
• Starring in the latest Gap ads are actors Ginnifer Goodwin, Liv Tyler, Hugh Dancy, Fabcon Clemence Poesy, Catalina Moreno, Edgar Ramirez, photographers Scott Schuman (The Sartorialist) and Ryan McGinley, and also Marchesa designer Georgina Chapman, model Chanel Iman, Visioniare's Cecilia Dean, and Princess Coldstare herself, Leigh Lezark. [FabSugar]
• Leona Lewis: The latest celeb to believe she can be a fashion designer. A vegan fashion designer, that is. Watch your back, Portman and McCartney. [Fashionista]
• Lord & Taylor is launching a new "reality" advertising campaign, with TV and radio spots featuring real customers "ambushed' in their stores by "celebrity stylist" Robert Verdi and quizzed on their shopping experiences. Oh Lord. [WWD, sub req'd]
• WWD asks: "Tax Rebate Checks: Will They Spend Or Will They Save?" [WWD, sub req'd]
• More stars coming to tonight's Vogue and Armani-sponsored Costume Institute gala: Kate Bosworth, Thandie Newton, Audrey Tatou, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Jourdan Dunn, Elettra Rossellini Wiedemann, and Roberto Bolle will all be there. In other words: Lots of good photos for us to dish on tomorrow. [WWD, 1st item]
• Also: Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen, Gisele Bündchen and Tom Brady, Scarlett Johansson, Iman and David Bowie, Sofia Coppola, Karen Elson and Helena Christensen. [Vogue UK]
• Mary Alice Stephenson (formerly the fashion director at Harper's Bazaar and the co-host of America's Most Smartest Model on Vh1) is shooting a special for E! on tonight's festivities, set to air May 8th for the viewing pleasure of us plebs. [Fashion Week Daily]
• Elle editors might have put Kelly Clarkson on the cover of the mag, but that doesn't mean they think she's very fashionable. [Page Six]
• Marc Jacobs: Now in Moscow. [WWD, sub req'd]
• Former model Josie Maran may have fake breasts tits. [Awful Plastic Surgery]
• The fashion on Gossip Girl? Kinda crazy. But that's why we love it so. [EW]
• The rock stars today? The just don't dress like they used to. [LATimes]

• Europeans are always more progressive than Americans. Rumor is, Italian Vogue may be producing a cover featuring only black models. [Fashionista]
  
• Oh. My. God. High School Musical and Hannah Montana-inspired Crocs, soon available at a store near you. [Yahoo]
  
• Francis Ford Coppola and Sofia Coppola will be the next faces of Louis Vuitton's "core values" campaign (the very same campaign in which Keith Richards agreed to participate in exchange for a LV monogrammed guitar case.) What do you think the Coppolas get out of this? An LV director's chair? An LV vinyard? [WWD, 1st item]
  
• "Boyfriend" jackets are big for spring. But Peter Som says the ones he designed for Bill Blass are inspired by Hillary Clinton and Michelle Obama. [WSJ]

• Elle editor-in-chief Roberta Myers has decided not to assume the role of president of the American Society of Magazine Editors, most likely because she is too hell-bent on becoming a reality TV star. [WWD, 1st item]
• Rumer Willis, Kristin Cavallari, Christina Milian, Josie Maran, Pete Wentz, Corbin Bleu and Wilmer Valderrama have all apparently gotten desperate and all collectively facing Wal-Mart's Op line's latest ad campaign. [Just Jared]
• If you are dying to know what's in Kimora Lee Simmons' makeup bag, well, here's an itemized list. [Marie Claire]
• The rumors are true: Linda Evangelista will be the face of Prada's Fall 2008 ad campaign. [FabSugar]
• Tory Burch refers to her employees as her "family". [WWD, sub req'd]
• Kanye West-endorsed, Damien Hirst-designed t-shirts to benefit Bono's Product (RED)? Oh my. [Chic Report]
• Uber fashion publicist Kelly Cutrone likes chopping vegetables and washing dishes. [WSJ]
• Moby: Wants you to design a t-shirt for him. [USA Today]

[New York, December 18. Image via INF.]

• Ooh, progress! Britney Spears hired a chauffeur! This is what they call "baby steps." [Extra]
  
• Hmm, and is Britney dating a waiter? Rumor has it she's "fallen for" Michael Marchand, who waits tables at L.A.'s Mirabelle restaurant. We like it when guys bring us food, too. [TMZ]
  
• Nicole Richie spent her Thanksgiving at a homeless shelter in Hollywood. Hopefully, she didn't just give food away — but ate some, as well. [Just Jared]
  
• A singer named Peter Pepper claims that Amy Winehouse killed his hamster. "I don't know what she did to it — it was probably crack!" [Mirror]
  
• Lindsay Lohan will probably guest-star on Ugly Betty. There's no deal yet, but LL had been in talks before the writers' strike. We're imagining an episode in which Betty gets extensions, wears leggings and blames the black kid. [NY Post]

• Brad Pitt quit a film — the American remake of the British thriller State Of Play — over "concerns about the script." The writer's strike means there's no way to change or rewrite material. Costars Edward Norton, Helen Mirren and Rachel McAdams are hanging in there. [Guardian]
• A DJ claims that Kate Moss was "a total nightmare" and it was "obvious that she was on drugs" when he was working a party in London. He also says she snorted from a bottle of alkyl nitrate (known as "poppers") and asked the him for cocaine. But we're sure none of this happened, because she's sober now, right? [Mirror]
• Sean "Diddy" Combs had a foot operation last week. Maybe the marathon he ran a few years back ruined his arch? [Page Six]
• Singer Vanessa Carlton performed in New York on Tuesday and was "all over the place" "babbling incoherently". She blamed her behavior on antibiotics. [Page Six]
• Kimora Lee Simmons was asked what's on her Christmas list; she responded, "A baby!" Is Djimon Hounsou listening? [Page Six]
• Headline News host Nancy Grace, who gave birth to twins on November 4, has taken her son home. Her daughter remains hospitalized. [People]
• Perez Hilton accused x17 Online of mistreating its workers, but a judge in L.A. dismissed his lawsuit against the photo agency, ruling that Hilton has no standing to intervene on behalf of the photographers who work for the company. Meanwhile, x17 is suing Hilton for copyright infringement. Messy messy business! [E!]
• Producers are suing Francis Ford Coppola Inc. and American Zoetrope over Sofia Coppola's 2000 film The Virgin Suicides, claiming they're owed $500,000 in profits. [The Hollywood Reporter]
• Alicia Keys has released four albums over the course of her career, and all four have debuted at #1 on the Billboard top 200, including As I Am, which dropped last week. [MTV News]

• Remember how, before Sofia Coppola was a fashion icon and Marc Jacobs muse and celebrity spokesmodel for numerous fashion labels, she actually worked in fashion and had her own clothing line? Yeah, well the clothing line actually still exists, in Japan. [Sassybella]
  
• Also, Marc Jacobs' new fragrance Daisy has its own film. Sigh. [Sassybella]
  
• The new face of lingerie line Agent Provocateur is Catherine Bailey. Who is 46 years old. We think this is pretty awesome, but we fear the dreaded Photoshop of Horrors. [Sassybella]
  
• Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour celebrated a birthday on Saturday! Maybe you want to send your belated birthday wishes to the Conde Nast building? [Fashion Week Daily]

• Tai-chi inspired lounge wear is the new yoga-inspired lounge wear! And Celine spokeswoman/actress Emmanuelle Seigner is teaming up with the Celine design team to create a line of it. (Actual model Karen Elson will take over.) [WWD, 1st item]
• See these Ferragamo flats? They cost $395. I got identical flats at Dolce Vita on sale for $30. [FabSugar]
• Yves Saint Laurent designer Stefano Pilati on being a child of divorce: "I was always the kid - I had to be careful how to express things, I could never be aggressive. Then my sexuality developed into homosexuality. And I think that this helped me, in the sense that I finally had the chance to understand a man's world, from the inside....I never liked [my father]. I went through so many things in my life by myself, I didn't need him, but I needed a man, I needed a father. So I got used to the idea, and grew up making my own decisions." [Vogue UK]