madonna

Veuve Clicquot Polo Classic Returns to NYC

Filed under: Wine, Events, Charity, Sports

Famed French champagne house Veuve Clicquot will stage its third annual Polo Classic in New York City on June 27. The event will once again take place on Governors Island, where the tradition of playing polo was revived after a 70-year lull. At last year's match the UK's Prince Harry led his team to victory over the Ralph Lauren-sponsored Black Watch team to cheers from a VIP crowd that included Madonna, Kate Hudson, Marc Jacobs, Chloe Sevigny and Donna Karan. Spectators can attend for free but exclusive lawn picnic tickets to the event for $250 apiece will go on sale beginning May 17th at www.vcseason.com. Ticket holders get ringside seats, unlimited Veuve Clicquot, a custom Polo picnic blanket and a gourmet picnic lunch created by Michael Romano of Union Square Café. Ralph Lauren model and Black Watch player Nacho Figueras is co-chairing this year's event, and Veuve Clicquot will once again donate proceeds to American Friends of Sentebale, a charity supporting at-risk children in Lesotho, Africa, founded by Prince Harry and Lesotho's Prince Seeiso.

Tags: champagne, equestrian, Madonna, Manhattan, Marc Jacobs, Nacho Figueras, New York, New York City, Polo, Prince Harry, Ralph Lauren, Union Square Café, Veuve Clicquot

The Fashion Statement: More Celebrity Hookups Good or Bad?

by Kristin Young (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Big Givers, Celebrity Design, The Fashion Statement

Celebrities have no intention of staying away from fashion, even with all the bad press lately (see last season's disastrous Lohan/Ungaro mash up). Last week Madonna teamed up with Iconix Brand Group to produce a tween line inspired by her daughter Lourdes. Early this week, she struck another deal with Dolce & Gabbana to produce a line of eyewear called MDG. Amy Winehouse hooked up with Fred Perry for a line scheduled to hit stores in the fall. And then there is Sarah Jessica Parker and Halston and a myriad of Olympic stars lending their now recognizable names to brands.

Since the days of Jaclyn Smith for Kmart in the '80s and Kathy Lee Gifford for Wal-Mart in the 90s, celebrities have been ubiquitous in the fashion field. It's not hard to guess what their primary motivator is. A brand generally spends loads of money for the privilege of using a household name.

But does it do anything for a brand? Based on some marketing studies I found online, the jury is out on that one. One guy called it the lazy man's brand building. Another said it's very hard for the consumer to keep track of what celebrity is with whom and harder still to trust a brand just from a celebrity endorsement alone. And if a celeb is hooked up with lots of different brands, each individual brand could really suffer.

Tags: amy winehouse, AmyWinehouse, celebrity endorsement, celebrity endorsement deals, celebrity endorsements, Celebrity fashion designers, celebrity fashion lines, Lourdes, Madonna, Tiger Woods, TigerWoods

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Madonna Designs Sunglasses For Dolce & Gabbana

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Celebrity Design

madonna and dolce and gabbana sunglasses

After Madonna's sexy turn as an Italian housewife for Dolce & Gabbana, she has taken the her collaboration with the designers one step further, creating a sunglasses line. The collection isn't out yet but a few images have surfaced. The sexy shades are branded with both Madonna's name and Dolce & Gabbana. Some pieces feature the D&G logo appended with a star-bedazzled M. The glasses should sell for $248-$289.

Tags: designer sunglasses, dolce and gabbana, madonna, sunglasses

Like Madonna: Get in Touch with Your Masculinity in Montreal

by Alison Wellner (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Travel & Hotels

When I heard that Hotel le St.-James in Montreal was the preferred accommodation for celebrities like Madonna and Mick Jagger, I have to admit I pictured something slightly different than this gracious, historic hotel in Old Montreal. Although I knew the building dated back to 1870, and I had seen the photos of the white-gloved doormen, I think I was picturing an interior décor something along the Hard Rock Hotel in Las Vegas.

Well, there's no rock n' roll memorabilia on the walls and certainly no Love Jones room service available here. This 60-room hotel started its life as a bank, and in the late 19th century, banks were basically palaces erected to the gods of commerce, with intricate wood paneling, shiny marble floors, elaborate ceilings, creamy paintings in heavy gilt frames -- all of which was impeccably preserved when the building was renovated into a hotel, and echoed in the floors that were added to the original structure.

The feel of Hotel le St.-James is sumptuous masculinity -- the palette is a subdued, tan, deep blues, browns, a faint hunting print pattern on the window treatment, even the curving posts of the four-poster beds seem to thrust towards the ceiling with great confidence. It flirts with severity, but pulls back from it by a few soft and whimsical touches: the pure white linens, the stuffed lion (which is the hotel's mascot) which sits on the mini-bar on each room.

Gallery: Hotel le St.-James Montreal

Tags: hard rock hotel, HardRockHotel, hotel review, hotel st james, HotelReview, hotels, hotels to stay in montreal, HotelStJames, HotelsToStayInMontreal, jake gyllenhaal, JakeGyllenhaal, las vegas, LasVegas, love jones, LoveJones, madonna, mick jagger, MickJagger, montreal, montreal travel, montreal travel review, MontrealTravel, MontrealTravelReview

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Sunday Real Estate Round-Up, 02/14/10

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Estates, Celebrity Shopping

From the LA Times Hot Properties:
--A Hollywood Hills home owned by TV dance show judge and producer Nigel Lythgoe has been listed for $2.649 million.

Gallery: Nigel Lythgoe in the Hollywood Hills

--Eyeworks television production company founder Reinout Oerlemans has sold his Beverly Hills contemporary for $12.5 million.

Gallery: Shadow Hill Way

--Walton Goggins, who starred in the crime drama "The Shield" from 2002 to 2008, is putting his remodeled Hollywood Hills home on the market for $1.175 million.
-- A Beverly Hills house designed by architect Wallace Neff in 1956 for Groucho Marx has sold for $8.8 million. It was listed at $12.9 million when we covered it as an estate of the day.

Gallery: Groucho Marx Estate

From the NY Post:
4Kids Entertainment CEO Al Kahn has picked up Bernie Madoff's old penthouse and listed his apartment at the Time Warner Center for $33.6 million. The listing is here.

Gallery: Al Kahn at Time Warner Center

--Interior designer Jamie Drake is close to closing on the sale of his home in East Hampton. He is reportedly selling for $2.75 million.

Gallery: Jamie Drake in East Hampton

--Alec Baldwin seems to have been spotted everywhere in New York looking for an apartment. He was most recently spotted in SoHo last week, where he checked out the $13.75 million penthouse duplex at 34 Greene St.
--Joseph Plumeri, the CEO of Willis Group Holdings, has reportedly gone into contract to buy a 15th- floor apartment at 995 Fifth Avenue which had been listed most recently for $23.5 million.

From the Real Estalker:
--Actress Kate Walsh listed her home in the Los Feliz area of Los Angeles with an asking price of $3,995,000.
--Deion Sanders has listed a three-bedroom penthouse at the Azure building in Dallas, Texas for $7.5 million. His mansion in Prosper, Texas is still on the market for $21 million.

Gallery: Deion Sanders in Dallas, Texas

Gallery: Deion Sanders in Texas

Tags: alec baldwin, AlecBaldwin, benjamin bratt, BenjaminBratt, bernie madoff, BernieMadoff, celebrity real estate, CelebrityRealEstate, jamie drake, JamieDrake, jimmie johnson, JimmieJohnson, kate walsh, KateWalsh, los angeles, LosAngeles, madonna, nigel lythgoe, NigelLythgoe, wallace neff, WallaceNeff

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Anna Hu, Custom Jeweler to the Lucky

by Annie Scott (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Jewelry, Celebrity Shopping

"In the Chinese folktale, we have this god, the god of the moon. He's quite old, he's like Zeus in mythology. He ties red strings around babies before they are born, and then they are destined to be together. So, it's very symbolic."

Anna Hu (right) sat across the table from me at her shop beneath the legendary Plaza Hotel, presiding over a collection of flawless stones worth millions, arranged neatly by color like baubles in a bead shop. On my wrist I wore the bracelet version of this knot ring (below) -- probably the only one in existence. The highest volume of any item Hu has ever produced, with the exception of the linked items at Kabiri at Selfridges, is three.

"The technique is to really feel like a red string. At first, I was going to make it as a bangle, and then I thought, 'But people could copy that.' So, I converted it. The shape of the heart is stable, but [the rest] is flexible."

"Would you give it to someone who was getting married?" I asked.

"It's more of a romance-related item. I created the item because a lot of couples are so deeply in love with each other, but if the timing's not right ... before marriage, why don't we have a pre-bridal collection? We could call it 'Romance.'"

Ruby Knot Bracelet

Anna Hu is a jewelry designer who came to America from Taiwan as a cello prodigy when she was 14 years old to attend Walnut Hill, a prestigious arts boarding school. She went on to The New England Conservatory of Music, but hurt her shoulder. It was then that she decided to join the family business; her father is a gems dealer. "I went to my father. It was all meant to be," she said humbly. The pain of losing her first love to an injury was palpable as she talked about the switch:

"Well, I hurt my shoulder, so what could I do?"

Apparently, a lot. Hu went on to obtain a masters degree in Art History from Parsons School of Design and a second in Arts Administration at Columbia University, as well as a Graduate Gemologist Degree from the Gemological Institute of America. She started her jewelry brand at age 29.

Hu's music background is more than evident in her work. She is inspired by music and musicians she meets, such as Madonna, for whom she has created several pieces. She listens to music while she designs, and can remember exactly what she was listening to when she looks at her completed works.

"I have to listen to music," says Hu. "Rachmaninoff, Bach, sometimes I can only listen to Pacanini ... I feel all the technical challenge, and like, convert it into jewelry." ... "I have this sense of illusion of movement. If a jewelry piece cannot move, I have to make it look as though it's moving."

Gallery: Anna Hu - One of a Kind Designer

Tags: Anna Hu, AnnaHu, designer interview, DesignerInterview, haute joaillerie, HauteJoaillerie, interview, jewelry, jewelry designers, JewelryDesigners, Madonna, the plaza, ThePlaza

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Sunday Real Estate Round-Up, 12/20/09

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Estates, Celebrity Shopping

From Cityfile's Buyers and Sellers:
--Arlene Farkas, the ex-wife of real estate/retail heir Bruce Farkas, has cut the price of her 14-room duplex at the River House, shown above. The five-bedroom apartment was first listed for $15 million in 2008 but is now listed for $11 million.
--Judith Sheindlin, better known as "Judge Judy," has paid $6.75 million for a two-bedroom co-op at the Sherry Netherland on Fifth Avenue. The apartment had been listed for $7.999 million.
--via NY Daily News, Brooke Astor's Westchester estate, Holly Hill, first went on the market for $12.9 million but the property, which has now been emptied of Astor's furniture is listed at $10.5 million.

Gallery: Holly Hill

--via Curbed, architect Frank Gehry's former duplex at 55 Crosby Street has hit the market for $5.8 million. The listing is here.
--Jason Rabin, the apparel mogul who sold his company less than two months ago for $401 million, has now unloaded his duplex at 850 Park Avenue. Ten months after listing the five-bedroom apartment for $9.9 million, Rabin and his wife Nicole have sold it to Martha Stewart Weddings editorial director Darcy Nussbaum and her husband, attorney Andrew Nussbaum for $6.225 million.
--via Curbed, John McColgan and Moya Doherty, the husband-and-wife team behind "Riverdance," have sold their duplex penthouse at 1080 Madison Avenue. It was first for $10.5 million in July 2008 but sold for $5.85 million.
--via the NY Post, Jay McInerney has paid $1.4 million for a two-bedroom Sag Harbor cottage, which he plans to use as a writing space and children's playhouse.
--Michael Kasbar, the Miami, Florida-based chief executive of World Fuel Services, and his wife Mary, have paid $4.275 million for a two-bedroom apartment at 15 Madison Square North.
--via Curbed, a three-bedroom apartment at 15 Union Square West has sold for $7.128 million.
--Susan Berresford, the president of the $11 billion Ford Foundation up until 2008 and one of the nation's foremost experts on philanthropy, has paid $1.855 million for a two-bedroom co-op at 530 East 86th Street. The apartment first went on the market in August 2008 for $2.325 million.
--Nicolas Sayegh, a co-founder of International Delights, a company that supplies baked goods to New York hotels and gourmet stores, has paid $3.65 million for a 26th-floor apartment at the Miraval Living building at 515 East 72nd Street.
--Steven Lax, an executive vice president at the real estate financing firm Duscany Financial Group, has paid $5.25 million for a three-bedroom condo at the Heritage at Trump Place on the Upper West Side.
--The former Dakota residence of the late model/actress Ruth Ford is now on the market for $7.5 million. The listing is here.
--via Curbed, an unidentified couple has reportedly gone into contract to buy two duplex penthouses at 166 Perry Street. The apartments had been listed together for a combined $24 million.
--via New York Daily News, Brooklyn borough president Marty Markowitz and his wife, Jamie, have paid $1.45 million for a two-story home in Windsor Terrace.
--via the Real Deal, Billy Macklowe, the president of Macklowe Properties (and son of Harry), has sold a home he owned in Long Island's Northwest Harbor for $1.95 million. He bought the place for $1.89 million in 2002.

From the Real Estalker:
--Conservative commentator Glenn Beck has listed a six-bedroom home in New Canaan, Connecticut for $3.99 million, lower than the price he paid for it. The listing is here.
--via Curbed LA, the estate of Julius Shulman has listed his home on Woodrow Wilson Drive in Los Angeles for $2.495 million.

From the NY Observer's Manhattan Transfers:
--Art consultant Allan Schwartzman has closed on the purchase of a 12th-floor apartment at the Jean Nouvel-designed 100 11th Avenue. He paid $3.78 million for the three-bedroom spread.
--Former Vassar College president Frances Daly Fergusson has sold her two-bedroom apartment at 61 Jane Street for $1.6 million.
--Broadway producer Hal Prince and his wife, Judy, have paid $12.5 million for a seven-story townhouse at 48 East 74th Street.

From ShelterPop:

Ellen Pompeo splurges on a new house for baby

Tiger Woods's Real Estate Portfolio: What's Up for Grabs in a Divorce
Best and Worst Celebrity Real Estate Deals 2009

From the NY Post:
--Madonna is buying Kelly Klein's horse farm in the Hamptons along with an adjacent horse farm but she is also looking at a nearby house which on the market for $4.4 million. The listing is here.
--Natalie Portman wanted to rent a unit at The River Lofts, a two-building condo conversion at 416 Washington St. and 92 Laight St., but the owner of the 1,103-square-foot unit is only interested in selling.
--One of the highest-priced duplexes in architect Jean Nouvel's 23-story building at 100 11th Ave. went into contract and closed on the same day for $22 million.
--Michael Hirtenstein is renting his his 25 Bond St. bachelor pad for $50,000 a month.

From Newsday's Real LI:
--Documentary filmmaker Rory Kennedy has sold her Shelter Island home for $2.967 million.
--Former Mets infielder Edgardo Alfonzo has closed on the sale of his house in Little Neck, NY. The home, which had been one-and-off the market for three years, sold for $3.65 million.

Gallery: Edgardo Alfonzo in Little Neck, New York

From the Chicago Tribune's Elite Street:
--Former Blackhawks goalie Nikolai Khabibulin has rented out his three-bedroom condo in River North for $5,150 per month.
--The faux church Lake Bluff which we profiled when it was priced at $12.5 million has had a price cut down to $10.9 million.

Gallery: This Is Not A Church

From the LA Times Hot Properties:
Dancing With The Stars host Samantha Harris has sold her Westwood home for $1.64 million It was listed at $1.595 million when we checked it out as an estate of the day.

Gallery: Samantha Harris In Westwood

--Celebrity stylist Andrea Lieberman has sold her home in the Hollywood Hills for $1,800,625.
--Salsa singer-actor-politician Rubén Blades has sold his home in the Windsor Square neighborhood of Los Angeles for $2.415 million.

From the Wall Street Journal's Private Properties:
--Cher is auctioning off a property she never used at the Four Seasons' Hualalai resort in Hawaii. Concerige Auctions which is running the January 18 sale anticipates bids between $8 million and $12 million. Cher bought the 0.76-acre property in December 2004 for $2.9 million and began building the house last year.
--Also at the Hualalai resort, Kenneth Griffin, a major figure in the hedge-fund world, has paid $11.38 million for two adjacent lots overlooking the ocean.
--Palazzo Tornabuoni, a 15th-century palazzo in Florence that was home to a pope and other members of the Medici family has been converted into 38 apartments now offered for sale. Prices range from €1.06 million ($1.53 million) for a 530-square-foot one-bedroom to €5.1 million for a 1,987-square-foot two-bedroom apartment with a large terrace.

From Berg Properties Big Time Listings:
--Nicolas Cage has sold a 3,480-square-foot house in Los Angeles' Hollywood Hills for $1,375,000.

--Once listed at $12.9 million, the Llenroc estate in Rexford, New York recently sold for $1.87 million.

Gallery: Llenroc Estate

Tags: brooke astor, BrookeAstor, cher, glenn beck, GlennBeck, hal prince, HalPrince, jay mcinerney, JayMcinerney, judge judy, JudgeJudy, madonna, natalie portman, NataliePortman, nicolas cage, NicolasCage, rory kennedy, RoryKennedy, samantha harris, SamanthaHarris

Lara Stone Replaces Madonna as the Face of Louis Vuitton

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Apparel

Louis Vuitton is bidding adieu to aging pop chameleon Madonna and replacing her with model-of-the-moment Lara Stone, nearly 30 years her junior, in its upcoming ad campaigns. The Dutch stunner, who appears on the cover of the new British Vogue and has starred in numerous other high-profile ad campaigns, will bring a breath of fresh air to the famed French brand. Stone poses on a bed of moss and ferns surrounded by doves in the new ads, photographed by Steven Meisel, which will debut in Februrary fashion mags. "Because the collection loosely took its cues from the idea of the New Age traveler, we decided to create a green, outdoorsy set that would evoke a spirit of peace and love," Vuitton designer Marc Jacobs tells Vogue UK. "To model the clothes, we wanted a modern, iconic, sexy beauty... It had to be Lara Stone."

Tags: ad campaign, AdCampaign, fashion, Lara Stone, LaraStone, Louis Vuitton, LouisVuitton, Madonna, Marc Jacobs, MarcJacobs, model, Steven Meisel, StevenMeisel

"Just Don't Call it Wolf's Lair," Estate of the Day

by Ann Brenoff (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Estates

What's not to love about a castle that sits under the Hollywood sign? Especially if the price has been chopped from $7.5 million (the price the house was listed for in June 2008) to $4.7 million?

TV personality Debbie Matenopoulos and her soon-to-be-ex-husband Lionsgate Entertainment music executive Jay Faires have re-listed their Norman-style castle, once known as Wolf's Lair. The couple reportedly bought in 2002 for $2.9 million. Because of the association with Hitler's bunker of the same name, plans are to change the name to something, well, more castle-y.

The turreted 5,485-square-foot castle that sits on 3.3 acres was built in the 1920s and includes a two-bedroom guest house designed by architect John Lautner. The main house was built by and named after L. Milton Wolf, the developer of Hollywoodland. In fact, the Hollywood sign that sits behind the home was put there by Wolf to advertise Hollywoodland. ( The original sign bore that name and was covered with 4,000 flashing electric light bulbs.) There is a heart-shaped black-bottom pool and eight bedrooms total on the property, which sits high above Los Angeles' Beachwood Canyon.

Lure about this property is legendary. Wolf, something of a ladies' man, reportedly installed a secret apartment under the gatehouse where he entertained, ahem, privately.

Bugsy Siegal's former castle -- the one Madonna owned subsequently -- is right up the road a piece. Castillo del Lago is listed at $9.95 million, making the former Wolf's Lair a relative bargain.

Ernie Carswell of Teles Properties, Beverly Hills, has the listing.

Gallery: Just Don't Call It 'Wolf's Lair'

Tags: bugsy siegel, BugsySiegel, castillo del lago, CastilloDelLago, celebrity real estate, CelebrityRealEstate, debbie matenopoulos, DebbieMatenopoulos, estate of the day, EstateOfTheDay, hollywood, john lautner, JohnLautner, madonna

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The Fashion Statement: Why is How People Dress Such a Big Deal?

by Kristin Young (RSS feed) —

Filed under: The Fashion Statement

The chatter about Michelle Obama's shorts last week was deafening. Google the subject and 9 million entries pop up. Well, make that 9 million and one, including this post. It blew away President Obama's mom jeans episode last month documented by only 1 million entries.

People care deeply about the way people dress. But it's a mystery why. Why the hell do we care? I mean, it's kind of embarrassing that we paid so much attention to a lousy pair of shorts. And modest ones at that.

Something in our primitive dinosaur brains kicked in when we saw Michelle Obama step off Air Force One. We weren't sure if it was okay. Eventually, the media asked us to weigh in and, after thinking about it with our evolved brains, 80 percent of us said it was fine.

Catch Madonna in a pair of shorts and even our dinosaur brains would be nonplussed. Style and cut would be debated, sure, but impropriety would never come up.

Why? Because clothes are inextricably linked to identity. Rationally, how can we whine that Michelle Obama wears shorts when most of us wear shorts? But, deep down, we don't want her to be like us. We want to see an aspirational image of the First Lady descending from the most exclusive airplane in the world. We want Jackie O. Or at least a business-like version...which Michelle Obama is most of the time.

Maybe not in a skinny pair True Religions, but we'd kinda like to see President Obama in a slimmer pair of jeans, say from Lucky Brand Jeans. That dovetails with our image of him as a hip, modern guy. Mom jeans don't fit, both figuratively and literally.

Tags: Barack Obama, BarackObama, Duckie Brown, DuckieBrown, Gen Buy, GenBuy, Jayne ODonnell, JayneOdonnell, Kit Yarrow, KitYarrow, Madonna, Michelle Obama, MichelleObama, Trade-Off by Kevin Maney, Trade-offByKevinManey

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Rhinestone Fringe and More From Winifred Grace

by Annie Scott (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Jewelry

Winifred Grace may sound like a stodgy name, but designs look like they're straight out of Desperately Seeking Susan.

Winifred Grace Gundeck was born in Miami, and though she now operates out of Chicago, you can see the influence of the ocean in her designs. She started Winifred Grace in 2003 -- but she's been designing with flowers, feathers, ribbons, and beads since age 8.

We especially love the fringed rhinestones, as seen on the Pink Rhinestone and Pearl Fringe Necklace at right. This 17" treasure of clear crystal clusters, pink alabaster Swarovski crystals and rhinestones on an oxidized sterling silver chain with freshwater pearls and 14k gold filled accents is $405, and we're pretty sure that with an 80s tutu and messy hair, you'd look just like Madonna wearing it.

This foxy stuff cleans up nice, too, though. Picture this with a pearl-white dress or the matching bracelet with a couture gown. Check out the gallery for more sophisticated looks such as "draping," and visit Winifred Grace to shop the whole collection!

Gallery: Winifred Grace

DRAPED RHINESTONE, SILVER & GOLD NECKLACE 17

PLUNGING RHINESTONE, GOLD & PEARL FRINGE NECKLACE 24

TRIPLE STRAND NECKLACE WTIH RHINESTONE FRINGE 17

Tags: jewelry, jewelry designers, JewelryDesigners, madonna

Prince Harry Triumphs in NYC Polo Match

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Spirits, Events, Sports

A couple weeks back we wrote that Prince Harry would be competing in in the second annual Veuve Clicquot Manhattan Polo Classic during his first official visit to the U.S. In the match, which took place this past weekend on Governor's Island, the Prince's Sentebale polo team triumphed over Ralph Lauren's Black Watch, captained by Polo model Nacho Figueras, five goals to four. VIP spectators at the historic event who enjoyed afternoon tea prepared by Sandro Micheli, executive pastry chef at Adour Alain Ducasse at The St. Regis New York, included Madonna and her male model pal Jesus Luz, Kate Hudson, Louis Vuitton designer Marc Jacobs, Donna Karan, Chloe Sevigny and LL Cool J.

Tags: Madonna, New York, NewYork, polo, Prince Harry, PrinceHarry, Ralph Lauren, RalphLauren, St. Regis, St.Regis, Veuve Clicquot, VeuveClicquot

Nude Madonna Painting Up For Auction

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Auctions, Art

Nudes of Madonna have made their way to the auction block before but none as unflattering as this rendition of Madonna with her ex-husband Guy Ritchie painted by Peter Howson. The oil painting shows Madonna with a large belly, no neck and meaty arms being pawed by monstrous version of Ritchie set against a cityscape. The painting is owned by a private collector and is estimated to sell for £15,000 - 22,000 at McTear's auctioneers in Glasgow, Scotland on Saturday May 30. Madonna owns several of Howson's paintings but she probably won't be bidding on this one.

Source

Tags: guy ritchie, GuyRitchie, madonna, peter howson, PeterHowson

Castillo Del Lago, Estate of the Day

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Estates, Celebrity Shopping

Today's home, Castillo del Lago is one of the legendary homes tucked up into the Hollywood Hills. It was originally built for oil explorer Patrick Longdon but more famously was later the home to mobster Bugsy Siegel who may have turned the castle into a speakeasy. The story gets interesting again when Madonna picks up the home in 1993 for around $5 million and her brother sets to work decorating it for another $3 million. Those rather interesting stripes on the outside? Blame Madonna's brother who says in his memoir that he got the idea from a little church in Portofino. The home has nine bedrooms and the property roams approximately three acres on a hilltop with views of the Hollywood reservoir.

The interior has tall beamed ceilings, cool tile floors, and has a huge spiral staircase for ascending the home's many levels (there is also an elevator). The bright white kitchen includes a vintage O'Keefe and Merrit stove and twin SubZero refrigerator/freezers. For those who prefer a little less light there are also a few rooms that look cool and dark including a long library, paneled billiard room and some sort of cozy space draped in multicolored fabrics. As you might imagine, the tower provides full views as far as the eye can see (or the smog will allow).

Outside there is a courtyard,, a long lap pool, fountains, rose gardens and a small mazelike formal garden. Madonna sold the home to commercial director Joe Pytka for $5.3 million and he has now listed the home for $14.95 million.

UPDATE: As of November 2009, this home has been relisted at $9.95 million.

Experience more lush living in luxury homes and mansions or see the stars living large with celebrity homes galleries at AOL Real Estate.

Gallery: Castillo del Lago

Source

Tags: bugsy siegel, BugsySiegel, castillo del lago, CastilloDelLago, hollywood hills, HollywoodHills, joe pytka, JoePytka, madonna

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Sunday Real Estate Round-Up, 04/26/09

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

From Berg Properties Big Time Listings:
--A home in the Hollywood Hills, shown above, that once belonged to Bette Davis has been listed for $2.295 million. The listing is here
--Libertarian radio and TV talk show host Larry Elder has put Hollywood Hills home on the market for $4.175 million.

From the LA Times Hot Property:
--David LaChapelle has listed his Sunset Strip home for $1.65 million. We looked at this one on Friday.
The 1928 Spanish-style home of "Gossip Girl" producer Josh Schwartz and his wife, Jill in the Los Feliz area of Los Angeles on the market for $2.395 million. The listing is here.
--Nicole Murphy, ex-wife of Eddie Murphy, has put her Calabasas home back on the market. We took a closer look on Saturday.
--Phoenix Pictures chairman and cofounder Mike Medavoy has taken his Beverly Park mansion off the market. It was most recently listed at $19.995 million but it was at $23.5 million when we checked it out as an estate of the day.

From Cityfile's Buyers and Sellers:
--Disney heiress Abigail Disney and her husband, Pierre Hauser, are paying $12.16 million for a 16th-floor apartment at 15 Madison Square North.
--Writer/director John Ridley paid $6.65 million for a condo at 15 Central Park West in July 2008, relisted it a few days later for $13 million and has cut the prices several times since then. It is currently listed for $8.5 million.
--via the NY Times, London-based investment manager Franck Ruimy has picked up five apartments since March through limited liability corporations, including four units at 400 East 67th Street, purchased for a combined $11.5 million.
--Hedge fund exec Apostolos Peristeris and his wife Alicia have sold their two-bedroom condo at 207 East 57th Street for $1.65 million.
--As we mentioned earlier this week, Leona Helmsley's former estate in Greenwich is now available for just $75 million. It was still listed at $125 million when it was our estate of the day last June.
--John Legend has reduced the price on his New York City apartment. We checked this one out earlier in the week.
--New York Observer publisher and Ivanka Trump snuggle buddy Jared Kushner has paid $3.225 million for a two-bedroom, seventh-floor condo at 21 Astor Place.
--New York Mortgage Trust founder Steven Schnall and his wife Sherri have put their townhouse at 2 North Moore Streeton the market for $33 million. Check out a video from The Real Deal here.
--Tina Fey has picked up a new apartment for $3.4 million, we checked it out earlier this week.
--Lily Lee Lee Wong has cut $4.6 million off the price of her 115-year-old townhouse at 21 East 84th Street. She bought the home for $12.1 million in June 2007 and re-listed for $24.5 million just a month later. The 22-foot wide home is now on the market for $19.9 million.
--Real estate agent Raphael De Niro, the son of Robert De Niro, and his wife Claudine paid $2.9 million for a three-bedroom condo at 497 Greenwich Street.

From the Real Estalker:
--One of our former estate of the day properties, 40 Beverly Park in Beverly Hills has been sold. It was last listed at $31.5 million but was at $39.9 million when we checked it out last November. The buyer is said to be Oksana Borzina, a real estate investor/flipper who owns several other properties in the area.
--Usher has been spotted checking out real estate on the Sunset Strip. His Atlanta home remains on the market.
--Nicolas Cage has another home in New Orleans on the market, we checked it out earlier this week.
--Producer Brad Grey has picked up a Bel Air home for a reported $22 million.
A Los Angeles home that once belonged to Dermot Mulroney and Catherine Keener is back on the market. Mulroney and Keener sold to an entity linked to a charitable organization in North Carolina that belongs to Dave Matthews (it may have belonged to Dave Matthews Band saxophonist the late LeRoi Moore). The home is now listed at $3.199 million. The listing is here.
--Serial house flipper Jeff Lewis hasn't been having great luck lately. He listed a house on Valley Oak Drive with an asking price of $3.195 million last May, it was reduced to $2.595 million and then went into contact but it has popped back up on the market for $2.695 million.

Tags: jared kushner, JaredKushner, madonna, rue mcclanahan, RueMcclanahan, tim gunn, TimGunn, usher

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