The paparazzi have been getting a bad rap for the last few weeks. Just recently a Splash News pap quit as he couldn’t stand the hounding of Britney and said it was dangerous, and Mary-Louise Parker complained on behalf of the Jolie-Pitts. I personally would be perfectly happy to never see another crotch shot, and think maybe the paparazzi should be confined to the Ivy and a few choice nightclubs around Los Angeles. Then when Katie Holmes has a new film to promote, or Mischa Barton wants to remind us all she still exists, they can just cruise through the area and be photographed. Like animals in a zoo.

However, it seems that for the residents of St John’s Wood, new neighbor Kate Moss and her paparazzi entourage have had some benefits.

Residents of St John’s Wood are thanking the supermodel’s star quality for heightened security in their area, located in the borough of Camden, as swarms of paparazzi and bodyguards, combined with a beefed-up police presence, help reassure residents following a spate of horrific crimes.

Insisting that Moss’s fame is helping to ward-off would-be criminals, locals are keen to come to the fashion icon’s defence. “There’s no question that the police presence is both bigger and more visible now that Kate’s a local,” said Alan Lydon, 55.

“People who have lived here for a long time are very conscious that we suddenly have a few uninvited guests. When she first moved it in proved a bit of a nuisance, because you could hardly walk down the streets without bumping into photographers. Now, though, we’re delighted they’re here. There are a lot of dimly lit, narrow streets around here, and it used to be very lonely and quiet by night.

“But now we’ve got clusters of paparazzi everywhere, and quite apart from the noise they make, all the flashing lights keep our streets well lit. Especially on the edges of small estates, that’s very welcome”.

The Independent

Well, I wasn’t aware that St John’s Wood was such a hot bed of crime and scum, but I’m glad the residents are benefiting from it. Think of all the downsides of having Kate live nearby. Instead of having to look at her picture in a magazine to feel fat, you can just look across the street. You’d have her undesirable mates coming around – Kelly Osbourne, anyone?

The best benefit of it all would be checking out what Kate is wearing. Even when she’s hanging upside down out of a window she looks great, and she seems to start trends. Think the vest, think gumboots, think Kate. High waisted pants I could forget about though, thanks for that one Kate. All the rest of us just look like we’re pregnant in them.

Picture note by Celebitchy: Kate Moss is shown at Heathrow airport on 2/7/08, thanks to WENN.

Kate Moss’ five-year-old daughter is apparently getting in the way of Moss’ crazy party lifestyle. So instead of cutting down on the drinking, partying, and (supposedly) sleeping with random men, Moss decided to move her mother Linda into her home. Apparently Kate is hoping that her mother’s presence will be a stable force in her daughter Lila Grace’s life. Because that’s so much easier than actually spending time with your kid and not acting like you’re still 22.

A source said: “Kate wants a more stable home life, and thinks Linda will give her that. She recently turned 34 and wants to tone down the partying lifestyle. She will no doubt find it tough though.

“Linda will be helping to look after Lila Grace, but she will also make sure the new home doesn’t turn into a 24-hour party house, which it is in danger of becoming. She wants to make it a nice home for her granddaughter. The house is being totally renovated at the moment, and Linda has been able to choose how her new room will look. It’s nothing fancy, but she has a massive luxury bathroom all to herself. She has moved all of her stuff into the house and the move will be as permanent as it has to be. Kate’s happy to have her there for as long as she wants.”

[From the Daily Mail]

Well of course Kate’s happy to have her mother there as long as she wants. The phrasing makes it sound like Kate is doing her mother a favor; I’m guessing it’s actually the other way around. I hope Kate is compensating her mother nicely. Or at least getting her some good drugs. That’s probably Kate Moss’ idea of nice compensation. According to the Daily Mail, Kate had several excessively loud late-night parties since moving into her home, and she’s on rather hostile terms with her neighbors, who’ve called the police on her several times. I’m sure the odd dynamic of an able-bodied parent living with her wealthy, partying daughter is unlikely to result in a taming of behavior. It’d be nice if Kate Moss would grow up and be a good influence on her daughter all on her own, but a grandmother is better than nothing.

Picture note by Jaybird: Kate Moss and Kelly Osbourne at the Chanel After Party in Honor of Karl Largerfeld in London on December 5, 2007. Images thanks to PR Photos.

Uma Thurman’s breast were on full display last night in a gauzy draped black Valentino dress that did little more than shield her from the wind. She chose the daring outfit for the Swarovski Fashion Rocks event, which she co-hosted. When you’re 37 and the roles aren’t coming in you’ve got to kick it up a notch and I think she pulled it off.

Also on the red carpet were Kate Moss in a a Swarovski studded flapper dress she designed herself for Top Shop. It is estimated to be worth $80k and will be auctioned off on eBay for The Princes Trust if Courtney Love didn’t manage to ruin it.

Lily Allen wore a questionable navy blue Chanel gown with an empire waist that didn’t flatter her newly slender figure, but she looked presentable.

Donatella Versace and Iggy Pop personified rock and rock meets fashion with their weathered faces and kick ass style.

Claudia Schiffer was matronly in a gold pencil skirt and poofy black top accented by a big gold belt.

Naomi Watts showed off her amazing post-baby physique in a gorgeous baby blue strapless gown.

Joss Stone shows the self-determination that has ruined her music career by pairing a plain bright pink Calvin Klein dress with white ankle heels.

Heather Graham was lovely but looked like she was trying too hard in a white sleeveless dress that was just a little too low cut. She should have used Uma’s strategy and picked something see through instead.

Thanks to WENN for these photos and The Daily Mail for some help figuring out the dress designers. I included a blow up of Kate Moss’ face because she just looks so trashy to me. Uma may be showing nip but she does it with grace.

Pete Doherty must be quite a catch, it’s just I don’t see it. Perhaps it’s his ingenuity, making his cat its own little crack pipe? Perhaps it’s his bedroom abilities? I don’t think it’s his musical talent, since as far as I can tell he doesn’t spend a whole lot of time making any. Still, he must have something going for him, with his rumoured engagement to model Irina Lazareanu.

“I very recently got engaged,” the Romania-born, Canada-reared Lazareanu, 25, is quoted by the fashion-industry trade paper as saying at Tuesday’s fashion shows in Paris. No wedding date has been set, the paper adds.

Lazareanu and Doherty have reportedly known each other for 10 years and have long been linked through his band – she was a backup singer – as well as with fellow musician (and friend) Sean Lennon.

A rep for Lazareanu’s agency would not confirm or deny the engagement. But a friend who was with her backstage Tuesday told PEOPLE, “She had a huge rock on her finger and when I asked her about it, she said she was engaged.”

People

Irina is friends with Kate Moss, she was featured when Kate guest-edited Vogue, and was the face of her Top Shop collection.

Pete was given a chance to kick his drug habit before his next court hearing by judge Davinder Lachhar. This is a result of his negative drug test results over the last six weeks. Pete is appearing in court charged with – what else? – drug and motoring offences.

Kate Moss might be feeling like it just isn’t her week – her ex-fiance is now marrying her friend and she’s in trouble for wearing false eyelashes. While most of us think that a well placed false eyelash is the ultimate in flirt power, it seems wearing them in a mascara advertisement gets you in trouble with British television watchdogs.

Rimmel’s “Magnif’eyes mascara” adverts broke the rules by using images which may have exaggerated the product’s benefits, it added. And the television advert’s claim that the mascara gave “70 per cent more lash lift” could have misled viewers because it referred to a change in appearance, not actual lash length.

J Walter Thompson, the advertising agency behind Rimmel’s campaign, told the authority that Moss’s eyelashes were “cleaned up and enhanced” in post-production but did not explain the extent to which their appearance had been changed.

It insisted that Moss did not wear false lashes at the shoot but supplied no evidence to support its denial.

Independent

I thought everyone knew that false eyelashes were used in make up advertisements, particularly the recently panned Penelope Cruz ad where her lashes look like a couple of spiders are dancing on her eyelids. Truth in advertising, what next?

Note by Celebitchy: Kate Moss has been blabbing to friends that she’s engaged to her new boyfriend, musician Jamie Hince of The Hills, so it’s possible that Pete and Irina’s engagement was prompted by that news.

It looks like all it took to drive Kate Moss back into the needle-marked arms of Pete Doherty again was the news that her friend was dating him, because the two longterm lovers were said to be holed up in a hotel suite together for the past five days.

While Kate was on vacation in Spain she gave in when Pete kept calling her and they had a heart to heart over the phone. Then when she got back they are said to have reconciled:

The Daily Mail even reports that Kate is talking marriage and babies again. She kicked him out of her house and changed the locks, but she’s too weak to be without him for even a few weeks.

Kate Moss’s friends and family are devastated after learning she has run back into the arms of Pete Doherty. The supermodel has been secretly staying with the drug-addicted singer at Claridge’s.

The Daily Mail has learned that the pair have been living it up in a £1,500-a-night suite at the Mayfair hotel for the past five days.

On one night, friends had to be ejected by hotel security when their revelry became too rowdy and the number of guests allowed per room was exceeded…

A friend of Miss Moss told the Mail last night: “Linda, Kate’s mum, thought the time away from him would break the spell he has over her. She had been on a strict break. They had not even exchanged a word in weeks.

“She has been completely ignoring him. But what is worrying the family most is that Kate feels that the break from Pete has only made her love stronger. Linda is absolutely devastated.”

The friend went on: “During her holiday in Spain, Pete was calling her on the mobile incessantly. He could not get through and the line kept going dead.

“She eventually called him one evening and since that conversation they have been continually on the phone. Kate has been like a moth to the flame.

“When she got back to Britain, they met up at the hotel. He cried and she cried. She said to him she had been avoiding him because she had promised everyone from her managers to her mother that she would.

“She told him, ‘It’s not me. It’s just what they all made me do’.”

During a late-night heart-to-heart at Claridge’s, Miss Moss told Doherty she was “miserable without him and desperately happy with him”…

“Now she is talking about making a grand commitment to him - she wants the wedding over here that was put on hold, and she also wants his children.”

[Daily Mail]

Just when you thought Kate Moss got her shit together she goes and runs back to Doherty. Yesterday I was wondering what women see in this guy, and speculated that it must be some level of depth and sensitivity that women see in him that isn’t actually there. Commentor Carol chalked it up to women’s nurturing instinct and said “Women are always attracted to damaged men and he’s about as damaged as they get.”

Not only is Doherty lucky in love, he got a big break in yet another drug possession charge when he was let off on a technicality yesterday. Everyone was rooting for jail time for the junkie, but it wasn’t to be. Instead of a prison cell he got a $3,000 a night suite with a supermodel and a rowdy party with friends. Life sure is fair.

Header image is an older one of Kate and Pete at the airport on 9/25/06. I’ve used the “reunited” image below about four times now.

Kylie Minogue celebrated with a few friends the 20th anniversary of her hit single ‘Locomotion’.

Friday night’s bash was a small party for the close-knit group that has worked with her over the past two decades, said a spokeswoman for Terry Blamey Management.

Her creative director Will Baker once said of Minogue’s mates: “Her best friends you can count on one hand, and those people have known her for a long time.”

Minogue started working in television as an eight-year-old but became internationally known for her role as Charlene in Neighbours.

A chance performance of The Loco-Motion at a benefit concert for a Melbourne AFL club in 1987 launched her music career when she was snapped up by Mushroom Records, which released the song as a single, retitling it Locomotion.

It went to No.1 in the Australian charts and was the highest selling single in Australia in the 1980s.

Two decades and 65million record sales later, her public still adores her.

Sydney Morning Herald

Obviously Kylie got confused somewhere, and thought she was actually turning 20, and had some work done on her face. As Kylie herself says, beauty secrets are called just that for a reason, and I still luv ya Kyles. I remember that pair of overalls you wore in Neighbours, and begging my mom for a pair. Which I got, and thought I was so cool.

She’s also releasing a sequel to her Darling fragrance, called Sweet Darling. Which is strange – why not just put out a whole new scent? Kate Moss is also developing a new scent. I think that Kate should release a scent of Glastonbury, an earthy scent of beer, mud, seat and rain. Which might be even more effective than Darling for attracting men!

Here are some costume highlights from Kylie’s career, and for those of you who watch Neighbours, here’s a video of her wedding to Scott aka Jason Donovan.

Picture note by Celebitchy: Pictures of Kylie are of her about to go to the 20th Anniversary party for “Locomotion” at Fulham Palace Historic Residence of the Bishops of London, and of her going out to Modiva nightclub afterwards. I’m not digging that dress with the sparkly lip prints. Thanks to Splash News for the photos and description.

Kate Moss is finally cutting Pete Doherty out of her life for good. She stood by the floppy unwashed urchin through multiple drug possession arrests, half-assed rehab attempts, and public declarations of love that would have embarrassed the least self-conscious celebrity, but when he cheated on her that was the last straw. She changed that stupid lock, made him move his crap out of her house, and wasn’t swayed by a picture of their pet cat that he scrawled on and tried to wave at her. Now she’s taken the final step and has changed all her phone numbers too:

We can reveal that the supermodel has changed ALL her phone numbers - mobile and landline - to prevent Pete getting in touch.

Says our well-placed source: “Pete was still phoning up last weekend and in the end it was too much even for Kate.

“She thought she had made things clear - that he should never get in touch with her again, under any circumstances.

“But he failed to get the message so she’s taken drastic action. It’s a pain for her but she’s more adamant than ever about making a clean break.”

We revealed on Monday how 33-year-old Kate was footing the bill for Pete, 28, to have another anti-heroin implant. It seems to have been a last gesture of goodwill before her patience ran out.

Our spy adds: “Kate is determined to wipe the slate clean and that means never speaking to him again. Her friends are behind her decision and will support her every inch of the way.”

[From Mirror.co.uk]

The last we heard the cheating druggie Doherty was living in a trailer park bemoaning his existence. Things are about to get a lot harder for him now that Kate’s not bankrolling his dental work and drugs. He’s said to be working through the pain by concentrating on a second album with his band Babyshambles.

Here are the lyrics to a song by Babyshambles called “There She Goes” (not the one that gets stuck in your head immediately upon reading the title) that seem fitting for this occasionL

There she goes, a little heartache
Oh there she goes, a little pain
Make no mistake
She sheds her skin like a snake
On the dirty road to fame

Kate has shed her skin, and will hopefully leave it behind for good. It might not be as dirty for her now that Pete’s out of the picture.

Kate and Pete are shown in the header image in happier times in March, when Kate treated Pete to a helicopter ride for his 28th birthday. Photo via People.

Kate Moss has now landed an ad campaign she doesn’t want at all … instead of millions from Burberry or lovely signature smells from Cody …. she’s getting common sense advice straight from the agit-prop public. The Daily Mirror has the tales and candid pics:

… plastered on the walls outside Babyshambles’ most recent gig [the posters warned that] Kate Moss is already morphing into her junkie boyfriend Pete Doherty.

Moving the morphing Moss along is the ultimate rock band nightmare … the girlfriend who starts showing up on stage to do a singalong. I don’t know if Babyshambles is qualified to have their own Yoko Ono - they seem pretty close to imploding all by themselves and does anybody know who the rest of the band are – nonetheless MySpace Moss is becoming a regular feature at the Babyshambles performances:

Not only does she fancy herself as a bit of a rocker after joining him on stage (again) on Sunday night, but the supermodel’s washed-out, spotty complexion is something more often seen on her other half.

Sadly not adding an eyecandy ambience, but a rather more Drugstore Cowboy feel … and apparently it’s a Drugstore that’s run out of Clearasil. Still maybe she rocked out? Is La Moss as surprising new rock voice. Is she gonna break that Naomi Campbell curse and turn out to be the model with the golden chords?

t had been a typically chaotic performance as the band were forced to halt the Shockwaves NME Awards show for 10 minutes because of crowd problems, but the real low-point was a stiff-looking Kate on stage for her customary duet with Pete.

So not Yoko Ono for band destruction. Not Marianne Faithful for talented tottie with full on future career as smoky voiced chanteuse. But still kind of skinny.

Putting the Cooties back into their brand name - Coty announced that part time model and full time Pete Doherty-enabler Kate Moss will be joining up with them to put out her own line of signature fragrances.

According to Coty, the first fragrance for Moss will capture her unique style and deepen her universal appeal. “As a one-of-a-kind modern beauty icon, Kate Moss carries clout and credibility among photographers, fashion designers and the beauty industry. This has made her a leading beauty face of the new millennium, said Bernd Beetz, CEO, Coty Inc. “There is no one better to embody a new fragrance than Kate, who epitomizes the look and feel of today’s fashionistas. We are very excited about this fragrance collaboration and look forward to a long and fruitful partnership.”

via Oh No They Didnt

Poor Bernd Beetz …named after an overcooked winter vegetable and also unable to recognize the difference between the last millennium and this one. Clout and credibility are clearly the new fading charm and unconvincing saleability.

It turns out deluded views of reality and a complete inability to sense which way the wind is blowing make Coty McCooties Inc. and Burnt Parsnips the perfect match for ol’ Mossy:

“For me, Coty is the ideal partner to create my own scent,” commented Moss. “I’ve been delighted to work with Coty over the years and am pleased to collaborate with them on my first fragrance.”

The yet-to-be named fragrance is set for launch in autumn 2007 throughout Europe, the Middle East and Australia with subsequent plans to extend to the United States, Canada and Latin America. The line will include eau de toilette, eau de perfume and ancillary products.

The anticipation fairly burns as the imagination fairly boggles:

A grotty fragrance that opens with fresh and mouth-watering notes of dirty weekend dishes, hypodermics and unwashed hair. The very Mossy heart note is composed of flip flops, ferret teeth and bad judgement, followed with a woody and sweet end note of shambles, babies and libertines.

Suggestions for the Fragrance’s name should keep the Internet busy for days.

And now for a bulletin from the world of high culture … in an era when the high is interested in getting as way down as it can. The National Portrait Gallery in London is no exception: here trouncing over the old high/low divide with that easiest and most often of cheap curator stunts - the Fashion Photography Show … and with the extra cojones of announcing this moldy old museum move as new and cutting edge. If it was a knife it couldnt get through soup. And we quote:

Face of Fashion focuses on the portraits of five outstanding fashion photographers from Europe and America: Mert Alas & Marcus Piggott, Corinne Day, Steven Klein, Paolo Roversi and Mario Sorrenti. It is the first exhibition of its kind, celebrating the innovation and diversity of current fashion portraiture.

Cheap curatorial maneuvering to imply. “Don’t worry folks … its just like a Vanity Fair meets People spread with pricier admission … nothing to be bored by here … you can stroll around then go for drinks.”

The National Gallery is adding to the extra thrilling kick of guarunteed non-boring art with a healthy helping of popular wish fulfilment. Photographer Steven Klein kicks in a picture of Kevin Federline (K-Fed, Fedex, K. Fiddy, Kuff Faddy, etc. etc. etc.) with his throat slit. The NPG continues in heinous prose:

In the contemporary fashion world, models, actors, musicians and designers frequently swap places. The exhibition highlights the relationship between fashion and celebrity and illustrates the extraordinary intimacy that often develops between photographer and subject.

K. Fiddy is none of those but here’s betting the free PR from the photo more than makes up for breaking the paper thin logic of this paper thin concept of a show. And its gotta give Britney a bright moment in an otherwise so far bleak 2007.