The Beckhams have a knack for getting themselves into the spotlight, so it seems a little out of character that Victoria Beckham's
debut as fashion designer will be happening in a very quiet and private way. Instead of showing off her new upscale dress designs via the catwalk at New York Fashion Week she will instead be showing them by appointment only over a period of several days.

Why she's going with such a quiet launch isn't clear, although if the dresses are successful I'm sure we'll all get to see them soon enough. Expect price tags for the collection to be upwards of $1200.

Do you have a year end bonus burning a hole on your pocket? Well then you better get to spending it (you know, for your own safety...) and of course there are more than enough people willing to give you ideas and take your money. Want a new car? An exotic vacation? An expensive work of art? Year end bonuses for some (namely bankers and Wall Street execs) this year are calculated to be somewhere in the $49 billion range altogether, so recession or not there's sure to be some serious spending going on.

Unfortunately I'm not part of that $49 billion demographic, but some of these spending ideas sure look awesome, especially the private jet charter. Hmmm, where wouldn't I like to go?

How much would you spend on a wedding if money were no object? For most celebrities it isn't, and the result is wedding costs skyrocketing into the hundreds of thousands and even millions of dollars. Forbes recently compiled a list of the 20 most expensive celebrity weddings, going back as far as 20 years. Whether paying for 50,000 exotic flowers or renting an entire island to escape the paparazzi, celebrities spare no expense when it comes to having exactly what they want. The top 5 spenders, in order, are:

• Liza Minelli and David Gest: $3.5 million
• Paul McCartney and Heather MIlls: $3 million
  
• Elizabeth Hurley and Arun Nayar: $2.5 million
• Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes: $2 million
• Elizabeth Taylor and Larry Fortensky: $2 million

Others on the list of 20 include David and Victoria Beckham, Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston, and of course Donald Trump and Melania Knauss.

Sadly, 40% of the couples on the list are now divorced (including obviously Brad and Jennifer above), so feel free to check out this list of the most expensive celebrity divorces -- a few made both lists!

Although she wears a size zero herself, Victoria Beckham has come out against using models that are too skinny by refusing to use size zero models for her denim line. Although she notes that many of the models she has known are "just naturally thin girls," Posh doesn't want to send the message that only ultra-thin is beautiful in her promotions. She has hired Brazilian model Daniella Sarahyba to be the face of her brand, who will project a happy, healthy and beautiful image to consumers of any age.

What on Earth do you do when you are in Germany, trying to support your husband's soccer team at the 2006 FIFA World Cup, and you need to get your hair extensions redone? If you're Victoria Beckham, first you'll call your stylist at home in England, then you'll hop a $600 flight back and spend almost $3000 and 5 hours getting them put in. Apparently, Posh spends the $3K every three months getting her extensions redone, but she couldn't wait this time because some photographers noticed that she was developing a bald spot where the weave was pulling out her natural hair.

If only the solution to baldness was a plane flight and $3000 away for everyone.

[via popsugar]

I love a good ghost story. It's even better when it involves our favorite paragons of excess, the Beckhams. Apparently Posh and Becks are ditching their French country estate because it is haunted.  The Daily Mail reports that the Beckhams bought Domaine Saint-Vincent for£1.5 million for the property in 2003 but have never spent a night in the home. Rumor has it that the  ghost of Leslie Duck, a diplomat who took his own life in 2001, haunts the home. His ghost has been seen rambling around the area. The Beckhams didn't know about the ghost before they bought the house. The estate includes two separate buildings: a manor house with four bedrooms and a  four-bedroom barn conversion. No word yet on what the asking price is.

Victoria Beckham is hosting a huge auction at her pre-World Cup, "Full Length and Fabulous" party on May 21.   She has managed to get together over £2 million of luxury items for the sale, the profits from which will all be donated to Unicef. The items up for sale include a £1million diamond necklace from Asprey, his-and-her diamond-encrusted watches from Jacob & Co., valued at £600,000, and a £300,000 limited edition Bentley.

The bash will be hosted at the Beckhams home, dubbed Beckingham Palace. James Brown and Robbie Williams are performing for the 400 A-list guests, while top chef Gordon Ramsey will be doing the cooking. The guest list includes Prince Charles, Elton John, Liz Hurley, Tom Cruise and, of course, the rest of the English World Cup football team.

It turns out that Victoria Beckham didn't get that Bulgari necklace for her birthday after all. Instead the Mirror reports that David Beckham created a ring for her with a Spanish jeweler. Victoria is said to be touched by the simpler present since it came from the heart. She did still get the £100,000 11-course Japanese dinner with chefs flown in from Nobu in London but does this comparatively modest birthday mean that Posh and Becks are changing their epically extravagant ways?

According to the company Leadpile.com in a press release, more and more luxury car buying is going online. The company has an interest in the issue because they sell luxury cars via the internet, though they do make some strong points in their argument. Luxury car buyers are looking for stylish vehicles that offer comfort and convenience, and car dealerships could not be considered to be as convenient as shopping from your computer at home. The question is really whether the shoppers will miss the interaction and attention at upscale dealerships, which, in some locations, can rival the level of service received at posh salons.

With buyers who prize both comfort and convenience, it would make sense that they would put the comforts of being pampered at a high-class dealership above the convenience of shopping online. If convenience alone was the issue, they might not hold out for a luxury car in the first place.