Monday, May 03, 2004

Not the Gym Teacher Kind: Coach bags, whether on Ebay on the red carpet, are hot. Kate Beckinsale will carry a bag from the Spring/Summer collection to the Los Angeles premiere of "Van Helsing" tonight. Last night at the 2004 Movieline Young Hollywood Awards, "Best Breakthrough Performance" winner Ginnifer Goodwin carried a silver Soho Dusted Suede Clutch. Supermodel-turned-actress Molly Sims opted for a black straw top handle for her appearance at the Tribeca Film Festival¹s premiere of "Raising Helen."

Bustin' Out: "One Tree Hill's" Bethany Joy Lenz wore a Nicole Miller white linen bustier top over a blue-jean skirt to the the 2004 Movieline Young Hollywood Awards over the weekend.

Phish-Aw: Elektra/Atlantic recording group Phish -- who have always had a tremendous fan following -- announced details of their new album "UNDERMIND." The Burlington, Vermont-based band's 11th studio album - and first since 2002's acclaimed "ROUND ROOM" - will arrive in stores nationwide on June 15th. The album's first single, "The Connection," is set to impact at radio outlets nationwide on May 24th.

Jet-Setter Jessica: Jessica Simpson -- as fans of "Newlyweds" know -- loves her designer duds. This weekend she was promoting Philippine-American designer Monique Lhuillier. At the Kentucky Derby's Barnstable Brown party, Simpson wore a black Alencon lace bodice dress with ballerina-inspired tulle skirt from Lhuillier's Spring 2004 collection. Simpson and hubby then flew to Atlanta for the Music Midtown 2004 Festival where she performed in a floral metallic taffeta trench coat, also from the Spring 2004 collection.

Secret Spaces: On Saturday, June 12 at 10:00PM TLC presents TRADING SPACES: UNGLUED, a one-hour special of bloopers, outtakes, and never-before-seen moments from the much-copied home makeover series.

Heartwarming: If you can stand Alan Rickman's southern accent (just think 1998's horrific "Judas Kiss," in which his favorite co-star Emma Thompson -- also a brilliant Brit -- demonstrates Southern accents are not the Brits best), you might want to catch HBO's new SOMETHING THE LORD MADE, the story of two men - a white and a black carpenter turned lab technician - who, during the racial strictures of the Jim Crow south, pioneered the field of heart surgery. The film dramatizes the groundbreaking accomplishment of Dr. Alfred Blalock and Vivien Thomas at Baltimore's Johns Hopkins Hospital in 1944. Starring Alan Rickman, Mos Def, Kyra Sedgwick, Gabrielle Union, Charles S. Dutton and Mary Stuart Masterson. The film debuts SUNDAY, MAY 30 at 9:00 p.m.

Notes from Suburbia:

Brooke Shields couldn't have waved her baby Rowan Francis in the camera more at this weekend's 11th Annual Kids for Kids Celebrity Carnival to Benefit the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation in New York. The baby's a dead-ringer for husband, producer Chris Henchy.

Looking like glammed-up Skipper dolls, Mary-Kate and Ashley (see, we're not calling them the Olsen twins) pouted and posed for way too many pictures for the "green-carpet" premiere of their much-hyped film "New York Minute."

T-Shirts -- both long-sleeved and short, as well as tanks -- are most popular these days with something to say on them. The aforementioned Shields, for example, worn the over-exposed Teenage Millionaire shirt "Jesus is My Homeboy." At that same event, Molly Sims chose a long-sleeved red shirt with simply the words "Couture" across her dress (in case you were wondering what kind of fashion she is).

Clutch purses are still super hot. Maria Menunous carried a fancy one to the 2004 Movieline Young Hollywood Awards, Samaire Armstrong a whimsical one to the same event (and while we predict many will pick on Samaire's bold choice of dress -- best described as kimono oh-no -- we give her snaps for courage), as did Hilary Duff and Zoe Saldana. Liz Phair, who apparently was separated at birth with Alicia Silverstone, also chose a clutch (she took hers to the "Raising Helen" premiere). Both Olsen sisters (see? we didn't refer to them as twins, although it was tempting) chose elegant little clutches to bring to their film premiere.

Recently divorced Teri Hatcher looked particularly dominatrix diva-style at the 36th Annual Academy of Magical Arts Show and Banquet Saturday night.

Jessica Alba, who has convincingly played a South Seas maiden (if you haven't seen "Sleeping Dictionary," she's actually very good in it, as is co-star, hunky Hugh Dancy), has dyed her dark brown tresses blonde. We're not convinced it's the best look for her, but summer is fast approaching (and if you're in L.A. right now, it feels like it's here already).

We know how super hot it was in L.A. this weekend, so what possessed Euro-star Asia Argento to wear a fitted long sleeved black blazer, matching skirt and fishnets to the Movieline Awards? We were sweaty just looking at her.

Nicky Hilton chose to wear the everyone-in-Hollywood-has-them satin Gucci shoe/sandal to the "New York Minute" L.A. premiere. The distinctive shoes have already been worn out and about by Sarah Jessica Parker, among others. We believe the price on them was in the $700 range. Just your average casual matinee gear -- if you're a Hilton.