Not the most summery of bags, but Versace's New Madonna Small Boston Bag is more of an "all year goes with everything" bag. Croc-stamped patent leather with a beautiful ombré effect is accented by darker contrasting leather trim and polished silver hardware. A very structured shape with lots of accents like zippers, metal rings, and silver stud details, with the interior featuring a satin lining, zip pocket, patch pocket, and cell phone pocket. It also has a flat base with metal feet and a zip top with a locking Versace pull tab. $1,775

Italian design house Gianfranco Ferre has signed multi-billion dollar deal to develop real estate projects with a fashionable flair. Ferre is partnering with Mideast-based GIO Developments on the deal, and the first project, called "Gianfranco Ferre Stresa," will be a mixed-use highrise in Dubai. The $1.2 billion tower will combine residential, commercial and hospitality spaces, and the partnership has dubbed it the first example of "concrete couture." Other similar projects are planned around the globe. Mr. Ferre himself, who was fittingly known as the "architect of fashion," died last year. The company bearing his name already has a strong presence in the region with existing stores in Dubai, Beirut and Istanbul and new openings planned for Bahrain, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait within the year. Other design houses currently collaborating on Dubai developments include Versace, Christian Lacroix and Elie Saab.

The limited-edition Lamborghini by Versace which we first wrote about plans for in 2006 is finally going into production for fall. The car, which will be a convertible in contrast to the coupe originally developed, will be a bright pastel white with a black-and-white leather interior. The price of the special-order Murciélago LP 640 Roadster Versace has yet to be named, but expect to pay a healthy premium above the model's already hefty base price of $358,000. The V12 roadster, designed by Donatella Versace and just unveiled in Milan during Men's Fashion Week, will feature a see-through engine bay cover and the fashion house's signature Greek key motif on the doors, front fascia and nappa leather seats. Versace has also designed an accompanying line of black calfskin accessories including luggage, wallet, gloves, driving shoes, hat and even a pair of leather jeans all bearing an engraved metal Lamborghini Versace tag.

[via Kempt & Autoblog]

Versace bags are always ornate and loud, if you like to stand out among a sea of Louis Vuitton clones, just add some Versace to your handbag collection! The newest addition to the line is the large studded tote. The gold leather and gold hardware detailing is pretty but what makes this bag a bit "off" are the two top flaps that open...to an unsightly extent. Not my cup of tea, it looks so... exposed. However I do like the bag when it's closed! If you feel the need to let it all hang out, the Versace Large Studded Tote is available at Neiman Marcus, for $2,875!

I like this Versace Stamped Croc Darling Tote because it's neutral, it's generously sized, it has a nice relaxed shape, and (perhaps best of all) it has straps that convert it for backpack wear and side ruching that can be unbuckled to increase capacity. A very real and useful convertible bag. It also has a healthy dose of style from slightly iridescent crocodile leather, gold metal hardware, and a satin lining. It also features metal feet, loads of pockets (most of them with zipper closures), and padded leather handles. $4,335.

On the heels of Versace's newest palazzo project, fellow Italian fashion house Missoni is getting into the hotel act as well. The company, famed for its signature zigzag-striped knitwear (as modeled here by Kate Moss), is partnering with the Rezidor Hotel Group, owners of the Park Inn, Regent and Radisson SAS brands, on the project.

According to Rezidor, the 5-star Hotel Missoni will embody "a strong interest in design, an appreciation of detail, an understanding of food and wine, a belief in authenticity, a cognizance of culture from a contemporary point of view, and a strong and equitable set of social values." The first two branches are planned for Edinburgh in Scotland and Kuwait City, slated for opening in 2009.

Missoni creative director Rosita Missoni will spearhead the project in conjunction with fashionable Milan-based designers Matteo Thun & Partners. Thun has spec'd out a black, white and silver color scheme for the 129-room Edinburgh hotel, which is more business oriented, and "saturated" colors for the Kuwait City branch, which will be more leisure oriented. See the renderings below.

The over-the-top Palazzo Versace Dubai development, plans for which we first told you about back in 2005, is getting a dress rehearsal of sorts in London. Over the next six weeks, famed British department store Harrods in Knightsbridge will feature model rooms from the Palazzo, furnished with marble and gold accents and exclusive designs from Versace's home collection.

The massive 1.4-million sq.-ft. project, slated to open in 2009, is modeled on the Palazzo Versace Gold Coast in Australia. It's comprised of 213 five-star hotel suites and 169 private residences, over 50% of which have reportedly been sold. Amenites include a scuba lagoon, pool bar, rooftop labyrinth gardens, day spa, ballroom, marina, and of course a Versace boutique. Christian Lacroix had better get a move on with his own fashionable Dubai development if he doesn't want to be left in the dust.

At the start of Milan's Furniture Salon fair, Versace returned to home turf showing their new furniture collection at the the Italian designer's show apartment in a 15th century palazzo. Reuters reports that the apartment was divided into theme rooms devoted to cities such as Tokyo, Rome and Los Angeles. They've even stretched away from the classic Versace black and white with silver or gold accents by adding other colors to the collections. The Versace Medusa's head logo is still integrated into many of the designs. The new Versace Home boutique opened in Milan on Wednesday. The gallery below features a couple pictures from the Gianni Versace Cocktail and Boutique Opening including what just might be my favorite picture of Donatella Versace ever.

From Berg Properties Big Time Listings:
--Eddie Van Halen and his brother, Alex Van Halen, have sold a home in the gated Summit neighborhood (where Britney Spears lives) in Beverly Hills for an undisclosed price expected to be in the $2 million and $3 million range (it had been on the market for $2,200,000). The house was the home of their mother who died in 2005.
--A vacant, 2.08-acre lot in Pacific Palisades area that was once was owned by Michael Keaton sold for $7.8 million.
--Actor Jesse Metcalfe has sold his home in the Hollywood Hills which was listed at $1.495 million for an undisclosed price.
--via the NY Times, Musician Duncan Sheik's Tribeca loft, shown above, is on the market for $2,850,000, down from $2,925,000 (he bought in 1999 for a little over $850,000). The loft is currently configured as a one-bedroom, one and a half bath unit with a soundproof recording studio. He is selling the unit, because he would like his home to be solely his home, and not also the place where he also works. The listing is here.
--Purchase price revealed, Tobey Maguire paid an even $10 million for nearly an acre in Brentwood.

From the Wall Street Journal's Private Properties:
--Julio Iglesias, who recently tore down his home in Indian Creek Village, Florida to build a new Spanish-style hacienda has picked up a place to hole up while he's waiting for his new home to be completed. He purchased a four-bedroom home for $7 million in the same community.
--A Greenwich, Connecticut house that once belonged to cosmetics queen Helena Rubenstein and was most recently renovated by Sheryl Leach, the creator of Barney the purple dinosaur, has been sold. It was most recently listed at $4 million.
--A private island compound in the Florida Keys built by late Alcoa Chairman Arthur Vining Davis is for sale for $20 million. The estate is 63 acres, has a helicopter pad and runs partly on solar power.

From the International Herald Tribune's Raising the Roof blog:
--via the Palm Beach Post, Donald Trump has lowered the price of his 6.5-acre Palm Beach estate from $125 million to $100 million.
--via the Telegraph, David and Victoria Beckham put their house in Madrid's La Moraleja neighborhood on the market last year for £6.5 million but are having trouble selling and may reduce the prie.
--via the London Times, A Russian businessman known as the "blini baron of Moscow" has paid $51.5 million for the former home of Gianni Versace.

From the Real Estalker:
--LeAnn Rimes and Dean Sheremet are reportedly putting their Nasvhille home on the market for around $2.3 million.
--The Real Estalker Mama takes a look at the monumental La Reve estate in Georgia, it's our estate of the day later today.
--Actor Harold Perrineau, who plays Michael on Lost has listed his West Hollywood home for $2.399 million.

From the New York Observer's Manhattan Transfers:
--Former hotel CEO Edward Scheetz has bought a SoHo penthouse for $10 million. it turns out that Scheetz is the owner of the apartment at 76 Crosby that we recently featured as an estate of the day.
--Bonnie Pfeiffer Evans, the widow of producer Robert Evans's brother Charles, had listed her t 895 Park Avenue place for $29.5 million. The apartment went to contract but the board-approved buyers a hedge-fund man and his wife, are getting divorced and quibbling over the sale. He wants to surrender their $2.95 million deposit and cancel the deal, she wants to continue with the purchase (perhaps because in the divorce she'd get half the value of the place.
--Luxury watch executive Benny Shabtai's contemporary townhouse at 870 Park Avenue which was listed in February 2004 for $23 million and has been through a rasher of price changes is now on the market for $33 million. The listing is here.
--Real estate developer Gary Sherman has put a vacant lot at 24-26 Downing Street. for sale at $20.25 million, for $45.4 million he'll sell you the lot with three fully built townhouses. The future townhouse have been listed individually for about $15 million. The listings are here.

From the LA Times Hot Property:
--New York socialite Alex Hitz has listed his Sunset Strip area home for $7.5 million. The property website for the gorgeous contemporary is here.
--Baseball paitcher Jaret Wright has put his Newport Beach home on the market for $1.795 million. The virtual tour is here.
--The longtime L.A. residence of jazz violinist Jean-Luc Ponty, 65, has been put on the market at $2 million, completely furnished. The gated 2,800-square-foot house has been designed as the perfect retreat for artists, musicians and actors who want on-site facilities. The property website is here.

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The rising euro and the falling dollar have had a wide variety of effects in the world of luxury goods. For the holiday shopping season, Europeans headed to the U.S. to take advantage of the lower prices. An AP article brings up the fact that the prized "Made in Italy" label on luxury goods may cost us even more in the coming year. Italian brands such as Gucci, Armani, Fendi and Versace are finding that it is becoming more expensive to produce goods in their native land. In the article Diego Della Valle, founder of Tods leather goods, says that those who produce in Italy are at a disadvantage because it will cost them more to produce the same goods. Currently, most designers are absorbing the increased production costs, especially since consumers in the U.S. seem to be cutting back on their consumption of many luxury goods.

The question for the long run is whether or not consumers will be willing to pay more for something that is made in certain place. Currently makers of goods created in both the U.S. and Europe are at a disadvantage compared to those who produce their items in China and other places where costs are lower. But the recent recalls of toys and other products made in China has made some consumers more aware. For the last few years, the designer name has been enough of a reassurance of quality for consumers no matter where the products is made. I think, however, that we are at the start of a trend where all consumers and particularly those at the higher end of the spending spectrum will be paying more attention to where products are produced. If not, that "made in Italy" label might end up becoming a bit of a rarity as costs force designers to chose economy over tradition.

Patrick Dempsey is having a great year. Not only does he play a sexy doctor on a top TV show, star as a romantic lead in a box office smash but now he has received an honor that has been generally reserved for gorgeous women such as Halle Berry, Madonna and Demi Moore, a Versace photo shoot with Mario Testino. Dempsey will be the face of the Versace Men's spring campaign which will begin appearing in magazines in February 2008. Does this mean that Halle Berry's boyfriend, Versace model Gabriel Aubry, is out of a job?

The Versace safety-pin dress that first brought Elizabeth Hurley fame when she wore it to the 1994 premiere of Four Weddings and a Funeral is now on sale at Harrods. The dress is part of the Harrods Timeless Luxury promotion focusing on the little black dress. The dress costs s £10,690 and will be delivered two months from the date of order. Quite a deal when you consider that another famous little black dress, the one worn by Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffanys, went for over $800,000.

Those black and white and fashionable all over Versace residences at the Plaza have joined the other residences that have snapped up in the revamped New York icon. New York magazine reports that the two apartments, a 1,212-square-foot one bedroom and a 2,656-square-foot two bedroom, have sold for $6.9 million and $12.5 million respectively. The purchasers didn't opt for Versace furnishings. I wonder where they will go, perhaps on to other apartments.

During the summer months, sometimes it feels like the goal in getting dressed in the morning is to wear as little as possible just to stay cool. Of course you still want to be fashionable (and look respectable) without sweating like a pig. One of the things I hate most are sweaty feet – what an uncomfortable feeling! These Versace Scarf Thong Sandals may give your feet the breathing room they need. A modern and sophisticated alternative to the very popular ballet flats, they are made of white leather and elegantly decorated with a gold & orange abstract logo-print scarf. Price: $307.

The ruby color of this bag might be better suited for next season, but that doesn't detract from its beauty. The large logo medallion and silver-tone hardware look gorgeous against the deep red and the tonal leather trim has a bit of a metallic shine. It zips at the top and the interior features a black logo jacquard lining with a large zip pocket as well as a cell phone pocket. Why wait until autumn when you can have it now? $2,576.