For the first time ever, Vanity Fair is inviting civilians to nominate their favorite candidates for the International Best-Dressed List. Since its launch by fashion queen Eleanor Lambert in 1940, the List has been determined by an anonymous committee of tastemakers and a roster of influential voters (including yours truly for a few of the more recent years). Socialites and stars vie for a coveted position on the List.

Vanity Fair took over the list (and the voting process) in 2003 following Lambert's death. For 2009, the polling's going democratic in a "spirit of Obama-era transparency." You can vote for candidates for both best-dressed women and men on the magazine's website - Carla Bruni (right), Lydia Hearst, David Beckham and Kanye West among them - or write in your own choices. Winners will be announced in the mag's September issue.

David Beckham already has multiple fragrance lines and numerous endorsement deals but now he is also a designer. WWD reports that the soccer star has partnered with James Bond, the owner of the Undefeated sneaker-freak boutiques, to create a capsule fall-winter men's collection for Adidas Originals by Originals. Beckham already has a sneaker deal with Adidas but doesn't plan to cash in on his famous face and body to promote the new line.

If a new report out of Italy can be believed - and something may well have been lost in translation - David and Victoria Beckham have failed in a bid to buy part of Milan's famed Castello Sforzesco (above), a 15th century castle that now houses artworks by Michelangelo and Da Vinci. Apparently the mega-rich Beckhams have been house shopping in Milan as he expects to sign a soccer contract there. Victoria is said to have set her eye on the centrally located, historically significant and imposing edifice, but was firmly denied by the Milan City Council. There were also rumors that Victoria wanted to buy a whole floor of the Armani hotel which is being built in the city, though that scheme has also come to naught. Hey, anything's possible with those two.

One side effect of the implosion of Dubai's economy which my colleague Deidre Woollard reported on last month is the plummeting value of trophy properties owned by certain superstars. Celebs including David and Victoria Beckham (above), Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, and Michael Jackson are losing £80,000 or over $100,000 a week as the luxury real estate they purchased in the over-inflated Emirate plunges in value, the London Daily Mirror reports. Posh properties that were worth £3.2 million (or about $4.4 million) in October now on the market for £1.6 million (or about $2.2 million), i.e. only half as much.

"The Dubai market has fallen off a cliff," Jack Whisker of luxury agents Dream Property Dubai tells the paper. "The credit crunch hit us suddenly because all the foreign investors lost confidence. It has hit the higher-value properties the hardest." In January Deidre reported that the Beckhams, who have a luxury villa on the Palm Jumeirah complex, were considering purchasing a second property in the Burj Dubai tower, so they could be doubly exposed. Brad and Angelina reportedly own one of the artificial islands in the out-there development known as The World.

George Clooney is quite a pal. According to Hello magazine, the movie star just lent his lavish $6 million villa on Italy's famed Lake Como (above) to soccer superstar David Beckham and his wife Victoria. Beckham, whose taste for the finer things in life has been often noted here, is being fought over by two soccer teams, the LA Galaxy and Italy's AC Milan. The Beckhams will take some relaxing time out at the villa while waiting to see the if LA Galaxy will release him from his contract and allow a transfer to AC Milan, the magazine reports. "George has really taken David under his wing since the transfer trouble started," they note.

The luxurious villa, which has played host to many of Clooney's superstar pals, is just half an hour away from the Beckhams' base in Milan. Clooney, 47, and Beckham, 33, became friends after being introduced by Giorgio Armani, (whose underwear ads the Beckhams star in), at the Met Ball in New York last May. Luxe Lake Como, where scenes from the last two James Bond movies were shot, has long been a favorite retreat for Italy's rich and famous and the international jetset. As we mentioned last month, the contents of late designer Gianni Versace's villa there are being auctioned off by Sotheby's in March.

The latest resident in the Burj Dubai tower may just be soccer star and Armani model David Beckham. Beckham has reportedly been approached by representatives from the tower who would like to have an internationally known name in their Dubai masterpiece. The tower is currently the world's tallest building and there will be 144 Armani-designed units in the building. Beckham and his wife Victoria are currently in Dubai while Beckahm tours with the AC Milan team. The Beckhams have a luxury villa on the Palm Jumeirah complex.

David Beckham's ultra-luxe customized 2002 Bentley Arnage T (above) is up for sale in the UK. The soccer star outfitted the top-of-the-line $290,000 car with $120,000 worth of options and extras, bringing the total original cost to $410,000. The 450 h.p. twin turbo V12, which has only 25,000 miles on it, is being offered for $170,000, the UK Auto Trader reports. Beckham drove the Bentley to Buckingham Palace in 2003 when the Queen of England decorated him with an OBE, and it is said to be one of only two Arnages pictured on the walls of Bentley's head office in Crewe; the other belongs to the Queen herself.

Among the many extras Beckham had installed are a custom cream leather interior, a refrigerator and TV screens in the rear compartment, "Le Mans"-style wing vents, and a matching cream leather child seat embroidered with his son's name, Brooklyn. He also had his wife's name, Victoria (aka Posh), embroidered into the rear center leather console. Nowadays, Beckham, who is living in Los Angeles and playing for the L.A. Galaxy, drives a customized $500,000+ Rolls-Royce Drophead Coupe, as we reported last month.

Flamboyant soccer star David Beckham has a five-year deal with the L.A. Galaxy worth $250 million, so it makes sense that he travels in style even when picking up the kids from school. Still, he caused quite a scene the other day by showing up there in a $500,000 Rolls-Royce Phantom Drophead Coupe (above) with a phalanx of bodyguards trailing behind in two big black SUVs, the London Daily Mail reports. Beckham, the world's second highest paid athlete after Tiger Woods, had the top down for his trip to the school so everyone could recognize him, but put it up to foil paparazzi after retrieving his boys, the paper reports.

Golf legend Tiger Woods is on track to become the world's first billionaire athlete, a goal he should reach in a few short years at his current rate of income. Woods' career earnings will hit the $1 billion mark by 2010, Forbes reports, but given the taxes and management fees he has to pay, it will take another year for his net worth to catch up.

In 2007 alone, the mag estimates Woods earned $115 million, $65 million more than the second highest paid athlete, David Beckham. While several billionaires over the years have been world-class athletes, none has ever earned their fortune solely from a career playing sports before Woods. Of course, most of his wealth comes from endorsement deals as prize money accounts for only one-tenth of his earnings.

David and Victoria Beckham are notoriously generous with each other on their birthdays, splashing out on jewels, watches, cars and lavish vacations. Now The Sun reports that David Beckham bought Victoria her own winery in Napa and the pair will be making their own wine. Last month, the paparazzi spotted the pair along with celebrity pals, Tom Cruise, Katie Holmes, Seal, Heidi Klum, Kate Beckinsale and Len Wiseman, touring a winery. It was assumed they were just going wine tasting but apparently while winetasting, David presented Victoria with a bottle with her name on it. The couple isn't planning to go into the wine business, they will just be making their vintage for family and friends.

Charityfolks.com is auctioning off a chance to meet David Beckham at an LA Galaxy Game! Additional prize loot includes hotel and airfare, a meet-and-greet and photo op with David Beckham, a David Beckham autographed jersey, 2 VIP field seats to the game and a pregame tour of the stadium! The money earned from the auction benefits the Hattie B. Cooper Community Center. Located in one of Boston's poorest neighborhoods, the Cooper Community Center provides high-quality early education programs that encourage self-esteem, confidence, leadership and learning to at risk youth. Bidding is currently at $10,000 and is open until June 4th. What an amazing opportunity to help kids and attend a game in VIP style, I wonder if Posh will be there?

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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You'd think, with a five-year soccer contract worth over $250 million, David Beckham wouldn't need any additional money. But he has just signed another big advertising deal, this time for Sharpie pens. Yes, the man who poses for Armani and has his own fragrance deal is now the face of the marker you use to mark cardboard markers. Becks is quoted as saying "I love to use Sharpie markers, so it's a natural choice for me to partner with them." I would have guessed that Beckham would be a Montblanc man. Perhaps they wouldn't pay him enough.

Soccer star David Beckham may have a side gig as an Armani model but that isn't the only thing he has going on. He also has lent his name to a line of soccer training facilities. The third David Beckham soccer academy, the Beckham World of Sport in Brazil will be located in a soon-to-be-built luxury resort, the Cabo Sao Roque resort near the city of Natal. Beckham is a partner in the resort and will oversee the academy. His other academies are in London and in Carson, California where he currently plays for the Los Angeles Galaxy.

A few weeks ago, we learned that Victoria Beckham had bought her kids a Neiman Marcus treehouse for Christmas, now The Sun reports that David Beckham has bought his wife a book for Christmas. Now a book may not sound like much of a present, especially for Victoria, who, although she has authored a couple of books, famously claimed in 2005 never to have read one, but this is no ordinary book. David bought Victoria Una Grande Storia Italiana - Valentino Garavani, a fabulous new book from Taschen which celebrates the designer. The book comes in a silk-covered clamshell box that is tinted in Valentino red. Inside, the 738-page book includes drawings, magazine shoots, advertisements, portraits of Valentino, and documentary photographs. The text includes Vanity Fair writer Matt Tyrnauer's interviews with twenty of Valentino's collaborators and friends and a tribute to Valentino by fashion writer Suzy Menkes. The Collector's Edition is limited to 2,000 individually numbered copies, each signed by Valentino and sells for $1,000. At least if Victoria doesn't read it she can check out the pretty pictures.