Model and Lindsay Lohan playmate Calum Best

While many Manhattan hotels can boast of hosting any number of bold-faced names at any given time during the year, few garner quite as much attention as the swank Soho Grand.  

Giving new meaning to the expression “hotbed of activity,” the Soho Grand was notoriously the spot that scandal prone, tabloid beloved actress Lindsay Lohan chose to canoodle with her then main squeeze, Calum Best, before one of her stints in rehab back in May.

Unfortunately for Lohan, it was also the spot where the drop-dead gorgeous Best allegedly engaged a few models as well as a handsome male hotel employee referred to as a “Provider” in a game of strip truth or dare to relieve his boredom while La Lindsay was away. Certainly not quite the romantic getaway the beleagured Lind-ster had in mind, but it sure did make for good gossip.  

Kirsten Dunst is also apparently a fan of the hotel, having been spotted there just a couple of weeks ago to prepare for her role in the upcoming film How To Lose Friends and Alienate People. Ditto for celebrated Oprah pal and hunky gay interior designing demigod, Nate Berkus, who gave the Soho Grand high marks after reportedly staying in one of the hotel’s $10,000 a night penthouse suites. (It sure is good to be a friend of O’s is it not?)

Apparently a lot of celebs like the Soho Grand because in addition to its endless chi-chi amenities, both the hotel and its staff are very canine friendly, which is certainly a big deal for those members of the A-list who count their four-legged ‘best’ friends amongst their most prized accessories.  

On a personal note, I can say that while I’ve never been a guest of the Soho Grand, I have had drinks at the hotel and that alone was an impressive experience as much for the swell bar as for the glittering patrons.

My welcoming committee just outside the entrance of the hotel was a gaggle of ultra thin models buzzing about in flirty dresses, while chatting endlessly in between taking dainty puffs from the flickering cigarettes that each one of them held. Meanwhile, inside the bar a bevy of Wall Street types, fashionistas and a man I’m pretty sure was, Sex and the City’s 'Mr. Big' Chris Noth, commingled over cocktails. It was quintessential New York, just like the Soho Grand. No wonder the stars can’t stay away.  

Terri Hatcher gussies up in Badgley Mischka… Take That Eva! 

Since the first season of Desperate Housewives, diminutive television diva, Eva Longoria has pretty much established herself as the reigning fashionista of the cast. But that may all be about to change…  

This past week it was announced the luxury brand Badgley Mischka, a favorite of Joan Rivers, has tapped Teri Hatcher to appear in their sexy new fall marketing campaign, which is nothing short of a coup for comeback kid Hatcher who joins the couture big league as a result of her new gig. Not only have couturiers Mark Badgley and James Mischka dressed everyone from Madonna and, Jennifer Lopez to Sarah Jessica Parker and Catherine Zeta Jones, they have been hailed by Vogue as among the "Top 10 American Designers."

I guess there’ll be no need to ask Teri Hatcher who she’s wearing on the red carpet come awards season this year…  

The Beckham Update…  

What would a week be without a bit of Beckham, no?  

World class shopper and fashion icon,  Victoria Beckham, is ready to share her style secrets with the masses and she’ll be doing so in a new book entitled, That Extra Half an Inch: Hair, Heels and Everything in Between, set to be published by HarperCollins in November.   

According to HarperCollins, That Extra Half an Inch will offer guidance on everything from how to dress on special occasions to "how to feel confident and look great every time you leave the house."

But my question is… will the tome with the catchy title teach readers how to be a size zero and land a David Beckham type? Now that’s the book I’m most interested in reading!

In other Victoria Beckham news, upscale Beverly Hills retailer Neiman Marcus has reportedly offered the shop-a-holic Spice Girl a $5 million credit line. Astounding! That should get her through the end of the year I suppose.

I guess it’s almost as good to be Mrs. Beckham as it is to be a friend of Oprah’s. {Sigh}  

Paris Hilton Debuts Line of Drag…  

Speaking of shopping…  

Teflon socialite/adult star Paris Hilton debuted her new clothing line amidst much fanfare in Beverly Hills this past week at trendy celebrity shopping haunt, Kitson.  

The fashion line, which includes shoes, T-shirts and jeans, is the latest entrepreneurial enterprise from Hilton who may well need to make some bank now that her grandfather Conrad Hilton has reportedly cut her out of his will due to her bad behavior.  

However given the crowds that came out to catch a glimpse of the heiress at the launch of her newest venture and the reports that she and sister Nicky could soon be scoring appearance fees of as much as $500,000 in Las Vegas, finances are probably the least of Paris’ worries right about now.  

And so the Hilton juggernaut goes on…  

Farewell to a fashion icon…  

Unless you know your history, you might not know about Brooke Astor, the socialite, philanthropist and fashion icon who was the doyenne of New York society for decades.  

Mrs. Astor died last Monday at the age of 105 and was laid to rest on Friday in services at St. Thomas Church in Manhattan attended by hundreds of NYC’s social elite, notable celebrities and dignitaries including New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, former mayors David Dinkins and Ed Koch, Whoopi Goldberg, Jessye Norman and David Rockefeller. 

A fitting farewell for a legendary woman whose style and generosity shaped the face of the New York we have all come to know and love today. There will never be another like her…  

And on that sad note…  

Until next time… Cheers!