This week legendary Italian eyewear brand Persol, a bastion of Dolce Vita style, is debuting its iconic INCOGNITO design exhibition in the U.S. at the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York. The invitation-only opening night celebration will feature a performance by Lou Reed.

Running from June 24 - 28, INCOGNITO by Persol is an interactive exhibition that was designed to "bring to life the emotions and richness" of a heritage born nearly 90 years ago in Turin, Italy and which today remains an icon of Italian design and craftsmanship.

Persol made its big screen debut in 1961 worn by Marcello Mastroianni in Divorce Italian Style, and its U.S. film debut in 1968 worn by Steve McQueen in The Thomas Crown Affair (right). Two of the most stylish stars in the history of cinema, they catapulted the brand onto the international scene.

Other stars who have worn Persols over the years include Jack Nicholson, Richard Gere, Paul Newman, Roberto Rossellini, Cindy Crawford, Nicolas Cage, Pierce Brosnan, Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie, Christian Slater, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Heath Ledger, Al Pacino, George Clooney, Adrien Brody and Daniel Craig, who sported two different styles in Casino Royale.

The tradition, quality, style and design that drive Persol's brand philosophy are embodied in the INCOGNITO exhibition, which involves all the senses. Along a path of images, sounds, colors, and technology, visitors can experience the world of Persol: the quality of the workmanship and materials, the uniqueness of design in the products and collections, the technological evolution and Persol's exclusive patents, as well as the magic and allure of the silver screen idols who made them famous.

George Clooney has been in St. Louis, Missouri recently shooting of the feature film 'Up in the Air' and he delighted the locals by making an appearance at the vodka/sushi bar Sub Zero last weekend. Sub Zero Vodka bar offers nearly 260 vodkas and has a 28-foot ice bar as well as serving both burgers and sushi. The NY Daily News reports that Clooney may have been a "little overserved" at the bar. He was reportedly stumbling a bit on his way back to his hotel. Clooney has also been spotted at the Mandarin, a local nightclub.

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.

Luxe British outerwear company Belstaff, founded in 1924 and known for their distinctive motorcycle jackets, is teaming up with Audi to produce a one-off SUV to benefit the charity founded by Ocean's Eleven co-stars George Clooney and Brad Pitt. The stars' charity, Not On Our Watch (NOOW), which my colleague Laura Malesich reported on earlier this year, raises awareness about humanitarian crises around the world. Belstaff and Audi are co-designing a special edition Q7 luxury SUV which will be sold to benefit NOOW's efforts in Darfur, Vogue UK reports. Earlier this week, Clooney and Pitt hosted a fundraiser for NOOW at the Venice Film Festival.

For years, shots of George Clooney at play on the shores of Lake Como have sparked interest in the Italian vacation destination. Now the TImes Online reports that the Clooney effect has spread to nearby Lake Maggiore, which is the largest of the Italian lakes and is 20 minutes from Lake Como. Although Lake Como is the more prestigious address, villas there can be as much as 50 percent more, making Lake Maggiore seem like quite the deal for your Italian villa. Lake Maggiore has many beautiful homes, some built as summer houses by the French aristocracy.

Want in? For €1.5 million euros you can pick up a restored farmhouse with Lake Maggiore views. This home and other Lake Maggiore properties are listed through Knight Frank.

This group of guys don't just sizzle on the screen together, they are putting their star-power towards a very deserving cause. As co-founders of Not On Our Watch (NOOW), a non-profit which focuses on bringing global attention and resources to stop and prevent mass atrocities, they recently gave $500,000 to the United Nations World Food Program (WFP). In an effort to help stem hunger, the WFP uses helicopters to deliver support in manpower and food to the Sudan. These guys also donated $1 million to WFP in 2007. They make philanthropy look good -- really good.

[Thanks, Lana]

For more than 70 years, the International Rescue Committee has focused on humanitarian relief.They work in regions torn apart by violence and deprivation and also provide a fresh start in the U.S. for refugees. They've recently been in the news for their relief efforts in Darfur and have gotten a big boost from George Clooney and Don Cheadle, who have raised money on behalf of the organization. The dire situation continues in the troubled region where it is estimated that nearly 300,000 people have died at the hands of armed mercenaries and over two million people have been displaced.

One way to support the work of the International Rescue Committee is by buying something from the Rescue Tea Collection. When you purchase a product from the Rescue Tea Collection, 50 percent of the item's purchase price will be donated to the IRC. The collection includes tea selections and candles with names like Comfort and Strength, which sell for $40.

Very few celebrities have only one home -- owning multiple residences in locations around the world is key to keeping any sense of normalcy and routine in their lives. But although first homes are usually in cities like New York and LA to be close to work, where do celebrities like George Clooney, Johnny Depp, and Oprah choose to buy vacation homes? Where do they go when it's entirely up to them and they want to relax?

Well for Clooney it's a waterfront villa in Lake Como, Italy, for Depp it's a 50 acre farmhouse in France, and Oprah prefers her ocean-front ranch in Santa Monica. Where would you live? Check out this list of celebrity summer homes and see who's taste is closest to your own.

The fun thing about the Get Hands On Campaign of celebrity handprinted T-shirts from James Perse is seeing which celeb handprints are bringing in the most money on Charity Folks. The high-ticket item for the auction which benefits the Revlon/UCLA Women's Cancer Research Program is a shirt from George Clooney. Clooney's pink paw prints are currently trading at a brisk $1,000 easily outpacing the king of tiny T-shirts Simon Cowell who floats in at a distant second of $330 but is still far above Paula Abdul, Randy Johnson and Ryan Seacrest (who was going for $85 last time I checked). Bargain shopping? The T-shirts from actors in the cast of "Scrubs." NBC's Hoda Kotb and comedian Carlos Mencia are bidless thus far but we've still got over a week to save them the shame of making unwanted T-shirts.

If you simply must have Clooney, you can also donate $45 to the Entertainment Industry Foundation and pick up a limited edition version of handprints done by George Clooney, Samuel L. Jackson or Keira Knightley.

[via The Stylephile]

Enjoy a taste of the Clooney life on Lake Como in Italy. Villa Passalacqua is a gorgeous villa located not far from Gorgeous George's home, Villa Oleandra.  Villa Passalacqua is perched in upper Moltrasio and  its property runs from high up in the village all the way down to the lake’s shore.  The home was built in the 1700s and was designed by Felice Soave. This amazing estate has play host to many famous and infamous people including Napoleon Buonaparte, Vincenzo Bellini and Winston Churchill.  The Villa Passalacqua has a pizzeria, luxury suites, billiards room, theater, This luxury villa on Lake Como is available for rent for 42,000 euros a week. If you don't need something quite so posh you can also rent the Villa Bellini for 11,025 euros during the summer months. More shots of this beautiful estate after the jump.

I could spend my entire day tracking Brad Pitt real estate rumors. Let's take a look at the latest places the globe-trotting dad has been spotted:

--The wine world is buzzing this morning about Pitt's quiet visit to some wine estates in the Italian countryside. The Daily Telegraph reports that on a recent visit to the Turin area, Pitt stayed at the Fontanafredda estate at Serralunga an area that makes some of Italy's most famous wines including Barolo and Dolcetta D'Alba, and the classic white, Gavi. Pitt was interested in checking out the entire process of winemaking and checked out two working vineyards near Fontanafredda which are for sale. The two vineyards are the Cascina Cucco at Serralunga and the Poderi Aldo Conterno at nearby Monforte both are about 90 minutes from George Clooney's Lake Como home.

--Pitt was also spotting taking a helicopter tour in the Dominican Republic checking out the Samana peninsula and the towns of Miches and Punta Cana with art dealer and promoter George Nader. He was photographed on Friday meeting with German architects Lars Kruckeberg and Wolfram Putz.

--Las Ramblas may be toast but Pitt may still have the hotel-building bug. The latest rumor is that Pitt wants to build a futuristic hotel resort in Palm Springs, California. This relates to his meeting with the architects in the Dominican Republic this weekend. The plan is for a $60 million resort with two restaurants, a spa and an outdoor cinema.

[more pictures of Pitt's latest adventures at JustJared]

From the NY Post's Gimme Shelter:
--Braden Keil reports that Las Ramblas, George Clooney and Rande Gerber's Las Vegas project is no more. Rumor has it that the land could be sold to a W Hotel partnership.
--A new price has been sent for a Hamptons rental. Anna Anisimova, a Russian socialite is renting a house in Water Mill for  $635,000 over the summer. The home has six bedrooms, a media room, wine cellar, gym, pool with pool house, a tennis court and a two-bedroom guesthouse. Apparently the young Russian was swayed by all the flatscreen televisions in the house (ooo, shiny).
--Tommy Mottola and wife, Thalia Soto spent  $9 million for a two-bedroom condop at 110 Central Park South but also have a contract on a three-bedroom duplex at the Peter Turino-designed 170 East End Ave., which has a price tag of over $6 million. As we've mentioned before the Turino building is designed for upscale families.
--James Nederlander has paid $13.5 million for a three-bedroom home at  838 Fifth Ave. Nederlander has done what is virtually impossible in New York, he paid about $200,000 less than what the previous owner paid. The apartment was originally listed at $17.9 million way back in December 2003.
--Equinox fitness center founder Danny Errico is hoping for a big score for his Amagansett estate. The home is listed at $35 million, an ambitious price for the home which is on 8 acres and next door to Howard Stern's former home, which just sold for more than $15 million.

From the NY Observer:
--Billy Joel has sold a 2,681-square-foot condo at the Hubert for $4.25 million. He bought the unit in 2004 for $3.9 million and moved out last July when he bought a three-story townhouse on Perry Street for $5.9 million.
 --Us Weekly editor Janice Min and her husband, Peter Sheehy have sold their Porter House condo to Robert K. Futterman for $3.15 million.

From Forbes Movers and Shakers:
--As predicted the Hull, Massachusetts house that once belonged to Kennedy grandfather  "Honey Fitz" Fitzgerald, did not come close to absolving the $2.3 million bank debt owed on the home. It sold for  $950,000 on Tuesday to Ernesto Caparrotta, a developer of luxury condominiums.

Ah, Clooney, could we love you anymore? Gorgeous George, who won the Academy Award for best supporting actor for "Syriana"  will donate the swag bag he received for being an Oscar presenter to the United Way. The auction will benefit the United Way Hurricane Response and Relief Recovery Fund. The bag includes a BlackBerry 8700c, a Kay Unger kimono and a cultured Tahitian-pearl necklace but more importantly, the winner gets a handwritten thank-you note from Clooney himself.  More details on the bag contents can be found here and the total worth is estimated to be around $100,000. The auction begins March 21. Of course if Clooney wanted to make some serious donation money, he should auction himself off…

[picture via Oscar.com]

We first started hearing rumblings about the over ambitious condo plans in Las Vegas back in September now it seems that the fallout has begun. First we heard rumors of Ivana Trump’s condo troubles, now it seems that the George-Clooney-backed Las Ramblas could be in peril. The NY Post’s Braden Keil reports that the project may not happen due to the Vegas condo glut. So much for those handsome black-and-white ads of Clooney and Rande Gerber smiling over a few cocktails.