Elle Macpherson loves Victoria Beckham's 'timeless' designs

Elle Macpherson loves Victoria Beckham’s fashion line because the clothes embody the way she likes to dress.

The supermodel is hugely impressed with how the former Spice Girl has reinvented herself as a respected fashion designer and says Victoria’s simple, elegant designs are “beautiful” and “timeless”.

She explained: “I think Victoria is one of the smartest businesswomen around. She has really taken that brand and followed her dreams when people said that she couldn’t do it and that’s what I really love about her.

“She’s always been fascinated and passionate about fashion and she found the best people she could to make dresses that fit like a glove.

“They’re really beautiful, they’re timeless and they come to the knee. For me, they make the body look amazing and they’re very simple. They really embody the way that I like to dress and she has really tapped into it and does it better than anybody.”

However, Elle admitted she tries not to wear to same dresses as Victoria because she believes she will never look as good.

She explained to Scotland’s Daily Record: “Unfortunately when you see her in a dress and then you in a dress, you think, ‘Oh gosh, better not pick that one!'”

David Beckham to be a delicate dad


David Beckham is learning to be more “delicate” with his newborn daughter.

The soccer star and fashion designer wife Victoria – who already have three sons, Brooklyn, 12, Romeo, eight and six-year-old Cruz together – welcomed little Harper Seven into the world on Sunday and he admits having a girl is different to having boys.

In a video on his Facebook page, he said: “To have another girl in the family is really incredible. We’ve got three beautiful, healthy boys already and we’re so lucky to have that and now to have a beautiful little girl, it’s amazing.

“Having a daughter is a whole new thing. Having pink in the house and lilac in the house. And you have to be a lot more delicate with girls than with boys and I’m not used to that so it’s a whole new experience but it’s an amazing experience. To have that little bundle of joy and your hands and her making her little noises and opening her eyes – it really is an incredible moment for us.”

The British athlete – who wore the number seven on the back of his shirt for many years – also spoke about the reasons behind Harper’s name.

He said: “A lot of thought goes into our children’s names and Harper was a name we’ve loved for a long time for a couple of reasons.

“One is them was because Harper is an old English name which we loved and one of the other reasons is because Victoria’s favourite book is ‘To Kill A Mockingbird’ and the author was Harper Lee. And it’s a very strong passionate book so that’s where Harper came from.

“And Seven is partly because of the shirt number I wore for many years because I had so much luck around wearing that number and it was such an influential number throughout my career and a lucky number but that wasn’t the main reason. The reason behind Seven is that it symbolises spiritual perfection and is a lucky number around the world. We love the name. We love Harper Seven and we’re very proud of having her in our family.”

Victoria Beckham gives birth to daughter

Victoria Beckham has given birth to a baby girl.

The fashion designer and her soccer star husband David – who already have three sons, Brooklyn, 12, Romeo, eight, and six-year-old Cruz, together – welcomed their daughter into the world this morning at Los Angeles’ Cedars Sinai hospital.

The tot weighed 7lbs 10oz although her name is yet to be revealed.

A spokesman for the couple – who have been married for 12 years – said: “David and Victoria Beckham are delighted to announce the birth of their daughter.

“Happy and healthy she arrived at 7.55 am this morning at Cedars Sinai hospital in Los Angeles.

“Brooklyn, Romeo and Cruz are excited to welcome their new baby sister to the family.”

Victoria – who has made no secret of her desire to have a daughter – recently said she felt “blessed” to be pregnant again even though it’s tough being a working mother.

The 37-year-old star said: “As any working mother out there knows, it really is like juggling glass balls when you’ve got the kids and a husband to look after, and you’re passionate about your career.

“But I wouldn’t have it any other way. I’m blessed.”

William and Kate Wow in Los Angeles

Prince William’s wishes for Beckhams

Prince William has wished David and Victoria Beckham “luck” with their new baby.

The soccer star was without his fashion designer wife- who is due to give birth to the couple’s fourth child this week – at an intimate reception held for the prince and wife Duchess Catherine at British Consul-General Barbara Hay’s Los Angeles residence on Friday, but the royal couple told him not to worry about her absence.

David – who along with Victoria was a guest at William and Catherine’s wedding in April – told them: “Victoria really wanted to come but she is just so tired at the moment. She sent you both lots of love.”

William replied: “Don’t be silly. Please send her all out love and tell her good luck with it all.”

The royal couple have already met with several celebrities since arriving in Los Angeles on Friday for their brief tour.

Yesterday, Billy Zane, Rob Lowe, Joe Jonas, Jennifer Love Hewitt and Zoe Saldana were in attendance when William and Catherine arrived by helicopter to the

Santa Barbara Polo & Racquet Club, where the prince admitted he is “not a good loser” ahead of showcasing his skills on the polo field.

He said in a brief speech: “Catherine and I have had a busy few days so the prospect of being able to let loose this afternoon is wonderful for me.

“That depends on the result out there today – I’m not a good loser.”

Guests at the $4,000-a-ticket event watched the prince score four goals as his team won 5-2, before tucking into lunch cooked by celebrity chef Giada De Laurentiis.

Last night, the pair walked the red carpet at the BAFTA Brits to Watch event, to which Catherine wore a lilac Alexander McQueen gown and earrings borrowed from William’s grandmother, Queen Elizabeth.

On arrival at the Belasco theatre, the couple met a small group of well-wishers before being introduced to the 14 table hosts at the event.

Meanwhile, in the ballroom, Duncan Kenworthy, vice chairman of British Academy of Film and Television Arts, reassured the star-studded crowd – which included Jennifer Lopez, Barbra Streisand, Jack Black, and Tom Hanks – on their interactions with the royals.

He said: “They want to meet all of you. They will try and chat to all of you this evening. When you meet them, you don’t have to bow and curtsy. You can call them whatever you feel, ‘Your Royal Highness,’ ‘Sir,’ ‘Ma’am,’ ‘William’ and ‘Kate’ – just as the mood takes you.”

Speaking on the red carpet ahead of the evening, Nicole Kidman said: “I think they are lovely, they just make you smile.”

Brigitte Bardot Voted Most Stylish Woman Ever

– ALMOST A THIRD OF BRITS VOTED BRIGITTE BARDOT MOST STYLISH WOMAN OF ALL TIME – BEATING VICTORIA BECKHAM & CHERYL COLE TO TOP SPOT
– 62% POLLED ADMIT FRENCH WOMEN ARE MOST STYLISH OF ALL TIME
– PARIS VOTED WORLD’S MOST STYLISH CITY, CLOSELY FOLLOWED BY MILAN

French actress Brigitte Bardot has been voted the most stylish woman of all time in a new UK-wide poll.

The 1960’s film star outscored a bevy of beauties, including a number of dazzling British female style icons, to land the crown as the world’s most stylish woman.

She polled almost three out of every 10 votes cast (29.5%) in the nationwide poll of 3,000 Brits across the UK by iconic orange soft drink Orangina.

Legendary English rose and Hollywood icon, Elizabeth Taylor, who sadly died this year, came a very close second, with just a few percentage points between her and Bardot.

Bardot, the former fashion model, actress and singer, is now aged 76 and is a world-renowned animal rights activist. But in her 1960’s heyday she was lauded across the world as the epitome of glamorous French style, with her dress sense and iconic hairstyle copied in shops, fashion houses and hair salons in across the globe.

The poll results also illustrate that the English can’t help but admire the French for their cutting-edge style.

A massive 62% of those polled said that France was quite rightly renowned as the home of the most stylish women throughout history.

Famous French women such as fashion queen Coco Chanel, actresses such as Juliette Binoche, Catherine Deneuve and Emmanuelle Béart, and former model now president’s wife Carla Bruni, have helped establish French femmes as the leading lights in the global style stakes, according to those polled in the national study.

Paris also won the vote for the world’s most stylish city too, beating Milan into second place, New York into third and London into fourth.

Orangina spokesman, Steven Simpson, said: “The British and the French may have had their differences historically, but it is clear the French sense of style hasn’t been lost on the British.

“Brigitte Bardot is the epitome of classic French styling and despite being out of the limelight for all these years, she is still held up as a style icon.

“She was the pin-up girl for a golden age and has never been forgotten in France and, it seems, in Britain. The fact that she still ranks higher in style terms than some of Britain’s won modern style queens says it all.”

The top ten most stylish women of all time are-

Brigitte Bardot
Elizabeth Taylor
Victoria Beckham
Cheryl Cole
Joan Collins
Audrey Hepburn
Grace Kelly
Sophia Loren
Marilyn Monroe
Princess Diana

Kate Middleton & William Sidelined by Posh & Becks

After all the Royal Wedding fever has died down and with the patter of a little baby Posh on the way, it would seem that the royal couple have been sidelined…

A new survey by House Exchange, the mutual exchange website for social housing tenants, reveals that nearly twice as many Brits said they would rather swap homes and lives with David and Victoria Beckham (13%) than with Kate Middleton and Prince William (7%). The poll shows that it is in fact the glamorous jet-setting lifestyle of the Beckhams that us Brits really hanker after rather than the down to earth, low-key approach favoured by Kate and Wills.

The British public, however, were quite happy to move into some rather Royal properties with Buckingham Palace (12%) and Warwick Castle (10%) coming top of the list of famous House Exchanges, closely followed by Monica’s flat in friends (9%) and Mum and Dad’s House (5%).

The survey results also show that many people are happy in their current homes, especially the over 55s, of which more than half (55%) said they wouldn’t want to swap homes. This is in direct contrast to the 16-24 age group, where only 19% were happy to stay were they were.

Kim Doran, House Exchange Manager, said: “Young people often struggle to find their ideal home due to high rents and difficult lending conditions. However, the situation is much bleaker for social housing tenants who are not on the property ladder. We estimate nearly 500,000 of the UK’s 3.9 million social housing tenants would like to move home but can’t.

“They end up stuck on transfer lists for years and this is why we have developed House Exchange, a mutual house exchange database for social housing tenants anywhere in the UK.”

The House Exchange website currently has around 70,000 properties listed around the UK and makes around 1,000 successful swaps per month. Over half the social housing tenants that sign up have been trying to move for more than two years, yet 80% of tenants using House Exchange find their perfect match within six months, and many move within only six weeks.

House Exchange boasts two exciting features to make it easier for tenants to find their perfect match.

Three way swap

If tenants can’t find a direct swap, they can find a third property to complete the house exchange. A three way home swap is a good way of completing more house exchanges. It also helps more people move into homes that are appropriate for their needs.

Real-time matching

House Exchange matches all properties instantly. This means that when a perfect property match is found, tenants are notified immediately by email.

Visit House Exchange at www.houseexchange.org.uk

Simon Cowell Joins Sunday Times Rich List. Who's Up and Down This Year.

SIMON COWELL JOINS RICH LIST
MUSIC TOP 10 WITH £200m FORTUNE

KATHERINE JENKINS WITH £13m FORTUNE PIPS CHERYL COLE, WITH £12m, TO HEAD YOUNG MUSIC MILLIONAIRES TOP 20

ADELE AT £6m, FLORENCE WELCH £5m, TAIO CRUZ £5m, ARE NEW ENTRIES IN YOUNG TOP 20

U2 HEAD IRISH MUSIC CHART WITH £455m

X-Factor judge Simon Cowell has amassed a personal fortune of £200m to place him at number six in the annual Music Millionaires Top 50, published in The Sunday Times Rich List 2011 this weekend.

The 23rdannual Sunday Times Rich List – the definitive guide to wealth in Britain and Ireland – is published as an extra 104-page magazine, free with the paper on Sunday.

The Music Millionaires Top 50 is headed by Clive Calder, with a £1,300m fortune made from the sale of Zomba Records in 2002. New entries include AC/DC’s lead singer Brian Johnson, born in Gateshead, who is worth £50m, and Moya Doherty and John McColgan, worth £70m, who own the Irish dance show Riverdance.

Katherine Jenkins, worth £13m – up £2m on 2010, tops the young music millionaires chart of people aged 30 and under ahead of Cheryl Cole, Leona Lewis and Katie Melua, who all have £12m fortunes. The top new entry in the young music millionaires chart is Adele at ninth equal with a £6m fortune. Two more new entries are Taio Cruz and Florence Welch, each worth £5m.

U2 with a combined fortune of £455m, up by £26m from last year – see table below, head the list of Irish music millionaires who appear among Ireland’s Richest 250 in The Sunday Times Rich List 2011.

THE SUNDAY TIMES RICH LIST 2011
TOP 50 MUSIC MILLIONAIRES

Music rank 2011

Music rank 2010

Name

2011 wealth

2010 wealth

Difference
(+/-)

Clive Calder

£1,300m

£1,300m

No change

Lord Lloyd-Webber

£680m

£700m

-£20m

Sir Cameron Mackintosh

£675m

£635m

+ £40m

Sir Paul McCartney

£495m

£475m

+ £20m

Simon Fuller

£375m

£350m

+ £25m

Simon Cowell

£200m

£165m

+ £35m

Sir Elton John

£195m

£185m

+ £10m

Sir Mick Jagger

£190m

£190m

No change

Sting

£180m

£180m

No change

Keith Richards

£175m

£175m

No change

Olivia and Dhani Harrison

£170m

£160m

+ £10m

David and Victoria Beckham

£165m

£145m

+ £20m
13=

Jamie Palumbo

£150m

£150m

No change
13=

15=

Ringo Starr

£150m

£140m

+ £10m
15

15=

Sir Tim Rice

£143m

£140m

+ £3m

Sir Tom Jones

£140m

£135m

+ £5m

Eric Clapton

£125m

£125m

No change

Roger Ames

£120m

£120m

No change
19=

Phil Colins

£115m

£108m

+ £7m
19=

Rod Stewart

£115m

£105m

+ £10m

Barry and Robin Gibb

£110m

£110m

No change

26=

Roger Waters

£105m

£85m

+ £20m

David Bowie

£100m

£100m

No change

Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne

£95m

£95m

No change
25=

George Michael

£90m

£90m

No change
25=

26=

Robbie Williams

£90m

£85m

+ £5m
27=

David Gilmour

£85m

£78m

+ £7m
27=

33=

Brian May

£85m

£75m

+ £10m
27=

26=

Charlie Watts

£85m

£85m

No change
30=

29=

Chris Blackwell

£80m

£80m

No change
30=

29=

Robert Plant

£80m

£80m

No change
30=

Roger Taylor

£80m

£70m

+£10m

33=

Jimmy Page

£75m

£75m

No change
34=

Moya Doherty and John McGolgan

£70m

_

_
34=

36

Chris Wright

£70m

£64m

+ £6m

38=

John Deacon

£65m

£60m

+ £5m

Noel and Liam Gallagher

£63m

£55m

+ £8m
38=

29=

Judy Craymer

£62m

£80m

– £18m
38=

Mark Knopfler

£62m

£62m

No change

38=

Engelbert Humperdinck

£60m

£60m

No change

41=

Nick Mason

£50m

£50m

No change
42=

Brian Johnson

£50m


42=

41=

Van Morrison

£50m

£50m

No change
42=

41=

Sir Cliff Richard

£50m

£50m

No change

44=

Chris Martin and Gwyneth Paltrow

£48m

£45m

+ £3m

44=

John Paul Jones

£45m

£45m

No change
47=

50=

Mick Hucknall

£40m

£35m

+ £5m
47=

50=

Kylie Minogue

£40m

£35m

+ £5m
47=

46=

Bernie Taupin

£40m

£40m

No change
47=

46=

Pete Townshend

£40m

£40m

No change

THE SUNDAY TIMES RICH LIST 2011
TOP 20 YOUNG MUSIC MILLIONAIRES (aged 30 and under)

Young
Music rank
2011

YoungMusic
rank
2010

Name

2011 wealth

2010 wealth

Difference
(+/-)

1=

Katherine Jenkins

£13m

£11m

+£2m

Cheryl Cole

£12m

£10m

+£2m
2=

1=

Leona Lewis

£12m

£11m

+£1m
2=

4=

Katie Melua

£12m

£10m

+£2m

Joss Stone

£9m

£9m

No change
6=

1=

Charlotte Church

£8m

£11m

-£3m
6=

Craig David

£8m

£8m

No change

9=

Paolo Nutini

£7m

£5m

+£2m
9=

New entry

Adele

£6m

_
9=

9=

Lily Allen

£6m

£5m

+£1m
9=

Natasha Bedingfield

£6m

£6m

No change
9=

9=

Duffy

£6m

£5m

+£1m
9=

9=

Amy Winehouse

£6m

£5m

+£1m
14=

9=

Nadine Coyle

£5m

£5m

No change
14=

New entry

Taio Cruz

£5m

_
14=

9=

Sarah Harding

£5m

£5m

No change
14=

9=

James Morrison

£5m

£5m

No change
14=

9=

Nicola Roberts

£5m

£5m

No change
14=

9=

Kimberley Walsh

£5m

£5m

No change
14=

New entry

Florence Welch

£5m

THE SUNDAY TIMES RICH LIST 2011
THE MUSIC MILLIONAIRES IN IRELAND’S RICHEST 250

Irish
Music rank
2011

Irish
Music
rank
2010

Name

2011 wealth

2010 wealth

Difference
(+/-)

U2

£455m

£429m

+£26m

Michael Flatley

£214m

£241m

-£27m

Denis and Caroline Desmond

£185m

£186m

-£1m

Enya

£85m

£85m

No change

Moya Doherty and John McColgan (Riverdance)

£70m

£72m

-£2m

Van Morrison

£350m

£50m

No change
7=

7=

Chris de Burgh

£32m

£31m

£1m
7=

New entry

Bob Geldof

£32m

_
7=

7=

Westlife

£32m

£31m

+£1

The 23rd annual Sunday Times Rich List – the definitive guide to wealth in Britain and Ireland – is published in a special 104-page supplement, which profiles the 1,000 richest people and families in the UK and the 250 richest across Ireland. The list is based on identifiable wealth (land, property, other assets such as art and racehorses, or significant shares in publicly quoted companies), and excludes bank accounts (to which the paper has no access).

The Sunday Times Rich List 2011 is compiled by Philip Beresford, the leading authority on British wealth, and edited by Ian Coxon. Ireland’s richest 250 is compiled by Colm Murphy.

Royal Wedding Attracts Over 1 Million Facebook Updates.

The Royal Wedding gathered world attention and a massive amount of Facebook updates. Read on for who was popular….

The Big Numbers

· Over a million people in the UK used Facebook statuses to discuss the Royal Wedding in the past 24 hours.

· During this morning alone some 684,399 status updates referencing the wedding were posted in just 4 hours in the UK – equating to an average of 47 mentions every second.

· Many people in the UK were so excited they couldn’t sleep, with just under 500 people updating about the pending nuptials per hour ahead of 8am

· Much has been said about the US obsession with today’s wedding – and this was reflected in our numbers – with greater numbers of American Facebook users posting updates than those from the UK – 1.953 million to the UK’s 1.004 million.

So who were people talking about?

· David Beckham’s arrival led to a surge in discussion – with 9,000 mentions of his name in just 20 minutes!

· Just under double the number of people were talking about David Beckham than Victoria Beckham

· The Queen and Prince Philip didn’t even feature in the top list of discussed people – and Prince Andrew was nowhere to be seen.

· Instead, we saw Harry’s position at number three and fledgling Royal celebrity Pippa Middleton at number 8

· Kate’s rebrand into ‘Princess Catherine’ has begun in earnest, with nearly 2,000 people mentioning her new name for the first time after the ceremony

· Prince Beatrice’s hat became the subject of a Facebook fan page – ‘Princess Beatrice’s Ridiculous Royal Wedding Hat’ (4000 fans) http://on.fb.me/lGyn7z

US versus UK

· Despite not featuring in the top ten list in the UK, in the US the Queen was the 14th most discussed topic – with a position in the list similar to that of Victoria Beckham in the UK.

Here’s the list for the UK:

1

Kate Middleton

131,385 mentions

2

Prince William

104,747 mentions

3

Prince Harry

64,107 mentions

4

David Beckham

22,421 mentions

5

Victoria Beckham

12,346 mentions

6

Elton John

12,283 mentions

7

Princess Diana

11,103 mentions

8

Pippa Middleton

8,619 mentions

9

Prince Charles

6,791 mentions

10

Princess Beatrice

4,439 mentions

11

Princess Catherine

1,928 mentions

12

Princess Eugenie

1,385 mentions

13

Guy Ritchie

290 mentions

And what got people chatting?

The dress…

· Speculation grew throughout the morning as to the designer of Kate’s dress; with references to Sarah Burton of Alexander McQueen, and Diana’s dress designer, David Emanuel.

o 13,120 mentions of Sarah Burton

o 7,863 mentions of Alexander McQueen

o 4,264 mentions of Emanuel

The hat…

· Samantha Cameron’s lack of a hat attracted a lot of attention – as she arrived at Westminster Abbey there was some 600 mentions of her total lack of hat…

…and the nose…!

· Tara Palmer-Tompkinson’s nose attracted a lot of discussion – with 2046 mentions in just 20 minutes!

Elton

· National treasure Elton John featured prominently in pictures from the Abbey – leading to over 12,000 mentions of him within status updates.

Where were people talking about the wedding?

· Thousands of people crowded the streets of London in order to see the event – and lots of them got closer to it by checking in to the key locations along the route using Facebook Places.

· Buckingham Palace and Westminster Abbey were most popular – with XXX and XXX people checking in.

New ways to interact with a Royal Wedding….

· ITN’s live stream was available on its Facebook Page with live comments: www.facebook.com/itn – It saw 3.5million streams + peaked at 110,000 viewers online.

· ITN used Facebook Questions to ask “who is the best dressed” and “where should they go on their honeymoon?” https://www.facebook.com/eonline#!/ITN?sk=questions

· CNN live streamed the event on its website with live comments: http://edition.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2011/royal.wedding/live/

· ABC live streamed the wedding on its Page: https://www.facebook.com/abcnews as well as creating royal wedding polls: https://www.facebook.com/abcnews?sk=app_20678178440

· ITN, CNN and ABC incorporated live Facebook statistics into their TV broadcasts.

Facebook Stories

· Facebook Stories, an app that enables people to share their thoughts and views, saw thousands of submissions from more than 30 countries, in more than 20 languages