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Have you ever stopped to think how difficult it is for the billionaire boys and Hollywood celebs to find Christmas presents for each other and for their dear ones? At Fashionlines we worried about this problem and decided to research in depth what the rich and famous really want. Result? They're all over the map. Brad and Jenn want to travel to the Mideast to establish peace in that region. An excellent idea, though Jenn's costar in "Along Came Polly," Alec Baldwin, does not approve. "They should scrap their plans for now," he says. "The people who brought down the Twin towers - I'm sure some of them wouldn't have any hesitation about killing the twin towers of Hollywood." A sad thought but possibly true. Fortunately Brad wants something else for Christmas: a maple floor lamp from Dialogica.
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Jude Law wants a new Road Warrior cycle, and Alec Baldwin probably does, too. People are so vehicular, and yet pedestrians abound as well, preferably toting the Magellan RoadMate 500 GPS Receiver. It's Palm Pilot meets Maps.com, a hand-held mapper.
But let's go back to vehicles for a moment. If you're shopping for a Saudi royal, just order another 747, but if your budget demands a slightly less expensive plane, a Gulf Stream III or Fokker 28 will do, provided the interior is decorated by Ann Getty, Lady Churchill, or Victoria Stoddard.
Yachts are fine, provided they're made at Buckie Shipyard in Banffshire, England or anywhere in Italy.
Some people think large, and right now they're building their own special golf courses in their (extensive) back yards. If you want to give one to a friend as a surprise, call Wolverine Golf Contractors in Canton, Michigan, and the good people there will construct a Shangri- La and one that functions well. We don't need to tell you that a desirable golf course should not be built in the badlands. Think a Hawaiian Island, Vero Beach in Florida, maybe Barbados. In other words, somewhere nice.
What else can you get in the million dollar range? Well, in Tokyo, there's ruby slippers fashioned after Dorothy's in the Wizard of Ox, though these are studded with 690 top quality rubies.
Oprah Winfrey just sticks to houses. She has a condo on Chicago's Michigan Avenue, a house in Elwood Park, Ill., a 40-acre estate in Montecito, California with a 20,000 square foot house and 3,000 square foot guest cottage. She has a house in Franklin, Tennessee and bought her father a house in Merrillville, Indiana, a condo in LaPorte County, Indiana, plus property in Hawaii. Nice daughter. We don't know what Oprah requested in her letter to Santa, but shall we guess?
Some will give anything, provided it comes from a catalogue. Catalogue junkies read every one that comes, flirt with endless temptations, and devote countless hours to the selection process. Courtney Cox is one of these. In fact she admits to being a "catalogue junkie."
For those who emphasize entertaining during the holidays, a well-stocked wine cellar's a good start. May we suggest a 1787 Chateau Lafite? The standard gift is always something people use up because sooner or later they'll need more. For example, ALMAS caviar, a Belugia made in Russia, the finest in the world, and, though you may well already know this, "almas" means "diamond" in Russian. This caviar comes from one hundred-year-old sturgeons, the older the better, and is white in color, the paler the better. Almas caviar is usually packed in 24K solid gold tins. Though we do not plan to list prices on most gifts, after all, if you have to ask . . . But we will mention that a thirty-five ounce gold tin of Almas caviar costs $23,308.00
Then there's the after dinner coffee. Do you know about Kopi Luwak coffee from the Malayan peninsula? The world's finest and most expensive coffee? Good to the last drop, we're told. If you don't want to hunt down these rarities, you can always do what Julie Andrews does: make mulled wine for her family at Christmas. Jane Seymour keeps it even more simple. She sprinkles cinnamon on a cookie sheet and bake it to give the house an instant festive scent. She also places bowls of lemons pierced with cloves in bowls for scent. Caution: do not pack the cloves too close together, or you'll diminish the lemon scent, and it's the combination that works so well as aromatherapy your guests won't need any Almas or Chateau Lafite.
For Whoopie Goldberg, the smell of a slow-roasted turkey in the house is her favorite Christmas treat, and Cindy Crawford likes thoughtful home made gifts. She makes little potpourri sachets for her friends, and Jacklyn Smith makes buttermilk kiss cookies for hers. Delicious, says tout le monde, though some don't feel happy unless they have some of Michelle Phillips homemade peach jam.
Giving of oneself is desirable, though perhaps in some cases more than others. Van Cliburn plays the piano in his house for intimates. He uses a Steinway concert grand. The most expensive one available in the world today is the Alma- TYadema Steinway, in case you want to pick it up for someone.. OK, we'll break down and tell you this price, too: $1.3 million.
Since this is a fashion magazine, shall we discuss what these high-flying girls are wearing? Chandelier earrings. They're everywhere. Kristin Davis, for example, wears Fred Leighton's diamond numbers. Visit any top jeweler, and you will find the diamond chandeliers. Beyonce Knowles has a truly glam circle version in diamonds by Lorraine Schwartz, and they're just under $100,000.
Maybe you want to gift Sarah Jessica Parker with another Oscar de la Renta gown, since in real time she loves him even better than Manolo. Or for Uma Thurman, a winter white Luisa Beccaria. White is the color of choice right now for the glitz girls. Further example: Selma Hayeck in Chanel. If you prefer red, you're fine; so does Brittnay Murphy. She has a nice little red Carolina Herrera number that others might enjoy.
Susan Lucci, the "All My Children star, thinks the right maquillage helps make the holidays special. She likes sparkly holiday eyes dusted with gold and taupe shadows. Then she adds black mascara and eyeliner, bright red lipstick. You go, girl!
Of course all the gold and red in the world won't help if your face is not all that it could be. Those who want to achieve their best make the effort to see Jean-Louis Sebagh, French cosmetic surgeon and cosmetic specialist. As the demand for his services is so great, the only way you can get an appointment these days is by having one of his existing clients call him and beg him. You might try Cindy Crawford, Meg Ryan, Madonna, Naomi Campbell, Elle MacPhearson - whichever one you know best.
If you're feeling the pinch, why not try sending your celeb/billionaire friends him a warm-hearted Christmas note? We can recommend the cards: the Snowmen set by Roger la Barde, who asked stylists to the stars to dress each snowman in the box.
You who read E-magazines are tech hip, so you will want to know what's around gadget wise. The rich of Silicon Valley are pretty hard to shop for, as they like to make their own gadgets, but for your average billionaires, handheld tech stocking stuffers might work. Boring, bulky cell phones and oversized organizers with clunky interfaces have given way to small and sleek camera phones and PDAs, compact music players like miniature boom boxes, credit card-sized digital cameras, and digital camcorders that can do all sorts of extra tricks. A few specific ideas: Garmin's IQue 3600 GPS-ready PDA, TDK's DA-9000 CD-RW Jukebox, Gateway's huge 46-inch P46M103 Plasma TV, NEC's Showcase HT1000 projector, and LG Appliances' Internet Refrigerator. (Not a joke).
Some readers might wonder what a person who researches and writes a column like this would like for Christmas, aside from spiritual blessings for all the creatures of the world and the universe beyond. Would I pick the Chanel rabbit fur mittens J. Lo likes? Or the Chanel snowboard? Yes, the gurus at the firm have decided it's an accessory, or Ralph Lauren sherling boots like Kate Moss wears? Stuart Weitzman shoes woven from platinum thread with 464 diamonds set in platinum? Or a Rolex watch (yes, still in style), Mont Blanc pen, or Elegance handmade wine corkscrew by Cruset? No, I'll go with the Hermes Birkin bag, though presently the waiting list for these is closed.
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