Nicole chooses '20/20' couture carefully

It's a good thing that Nicole Richie is getting her priorities straight.

After her sobering jail sentence last week, the "Simple Life" starlet decided to talk seriously to Diane Sawyer this week about her life, her bad choices and her drug use, and possibly even spill the beans about her unconfirmed but widely reported pregnancy.

And what's the first thing Nicole did after lining up the TV time? My Deep Throat fashion source says she had her people call to request some appropriately chic vintage couture from Decades on Melrose for her TV appearance.

Cameron Silver boxed up a carton of couture Monday and sent it to Nicole. Which dress will she choose? Gosh, I can hardly wait to see, can you? Let's just hope it has a loose or expandable waistline.

Photo Credits: Let's get serious. But first, where's my vintage couture????
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Question: What did some soldiers who guarded Caesar in ancient days wear as battle souvenirs?

Answer: Just the dessicated phalluses of their slaughtered enemies.

Talk about realism. One of these dried male organs is actually on display at the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising's 2nd annual Outstanding Art of Television Costume Design exhibition. It hangs around the neck on a leather strap,  part of a guard's costume from "Rome," HBO's critically hailed series that was nominated for six Emmys, including costume design.

So, um, whom did this belong to? "Oh, we don't know," said chuckling costume designer April Ferry, who won an Emmy for her "Rome" work last year and is nominated for it again this year.  "It was a common practice and the soldiers used to bring them home as souvenirs." Beats refrigerator magnets, I guess.

Ferry was at FIDM last Saturday talking about the gruesomely authentic accessory and how sad it was to have the their award-winning show canceled. Ferry and her fellow Emmy '07 nominees Catherine Adair ("Desperate Housewives") and Eduardo Castro ("Ugly Betty") were presented with congratulatory certificates for their Emmy nods. Castro missed picking up his award due to a last-minute photo shoot with the "Betty" cast. 

If you're a "Rome" fan, you're in and out of luck. Sadly, the series is still canceled. Don't get me started on that. But at least "Rome: The Second Season" is coming out on DVD. And in addition to the ongoing FIDM display, the windows at Barney's on Wilshire will be done up in Roman Emperor fashion this week for the DVD launch party set for Saturday evening. Lucius Vorenus, Mark Antony and Atia will be on hand to keep April company.

If you can't swing an invite to Saturday's event, you can always hit FIDM. There you can check out wardrobes from other 2007 Emmy costume nominees "The Tudors"  and "Jane Eyre," as well as fashion flashbacks from iconic shows such as  "I Dream of Jeannie," "Charlie's Angels" and "Bewitched"; current hits including "24" and "Entourage"; and last year's Emmy costume winner, "Elizabeth."

The TV costume collection will be open to the public at FIDM from July 31 through Sept. 29. Click here for more information.

But don't say I didn't warn you about the dried phallus.

Photo Credits: Alex Berliner/ Berliner Studio/BEImages

Michelle Pfeiffer was nothing short of spellbinding at the "Stardust" premiere Sunday in a midnight blue tiered chiffon cocktail dress with a beaded tulle neckline, designed by Lanvin's Alber Elbaz.

Whaaat, no Armani? First, she wore a Jenni Kayne frock to the "Hairspray" premiere in L.A. Now Lanvin? What's come over Michelle, a faithful Armani fashion fan for over two decades?

The actress wore Armani to her first Oscars in 1990: a long-sleeved navy jersey gown. The dress was hand-delivered by Armani's West Coast head Wanda McDaniel on Oscar morning. Because Michelle didn't have the right jewelry to complete the look, McDaniel quickly unclasped her own pearl necklace, pulled off her Bulgari diamond engagment ring and accessorized the actress. The result? Michelle got raves for her understated elegance.

Michelle is definitely ramping up her film career, and industry insiders say 2008 may be her awards year. She has two roles that could snag nominations; her singing/dancing supporting role in "Hairspray" and her equally comic turn in "Stardust," in which she plays an evil, aging crone who will stop at nothing to be young and beautiful again.

Will Michelle rely on Armani couture for the big awards' carpets? Or will she branch out -- and reach out -- to other designers such as Elbaz, John Galliano, Lagerfeld, Marc Jacobs? Maybe she'll even do vintage couture from Decades? Either way she'll be prime real estate for designers who would kill to dress a Globes, SAG or Oscar nominee and/or attendee. And she'll add some serious suspense to the season.

Don't be surprised if her "Stardust" costar Robert De Niro also gets a Globes or SAG nod for his swaggering Sky Pirate, who's secretly a little light in the penny loafers. And odds are De Niro will wear an Armani tux, no matter what. Although he shuns the limelight as if cameras carry the plague, he attended a cocktail party for his pal Giorgio's fashion retrospective at the Royal Academy of Arts in London back in 2003. Now that's friendship.

Photo Credits: WireImage

Is she pregnant? Is she nervous about going to jail for her second DUI? Is she engaged?

Set your Tivo, folks. These and more important questions may be answered when Nicole Richie opens up to Diane Sawyer later this week on "20/20" and "Good Morning America." 

The interview is skedded to be aired Thursday and Friday morning. But she's already opened up to David Letterman. Appearing on his show recently, the scandalous "Simple LIfe" starlet said, "I really try and take everything that I go through as a life lesson and I try not to make the same mistake twice."

OK. Then why is this is her second DUI arrest?

Boy, I'll bet Diane is really looking forward to this interview. During her 20 year career, she's sat down with President Bush, the late Saddam Hussein, Fidel Castro; Robert MacNamara (for his public apology on Vietnam), Sammy "The Bull" Gravano, mob boss John Gotti, Ellen DeGeneres (she announced her homosexuality), ousted Panamanian leader Manuel Noriega, former first lady Nancy Reagan, and the Clintons after the 1992 presidential election.

From that to a celebutante starlet famous for her drug use, DUIs, foul mouth, stylist-manufactured fashion sense and emaciated frame. Talk about interviewing down ....

Photo Credits: Nicole made another mistake, reuniting with her partner-in-crime Paris Hilton at the Victoria's Secret fashion show and showing off for the photographers. Live and don't learn.
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Everyone's wondering what effect Lindsay Lohan's latest legal mess will have on her acting career. Suffice to say, it can't be good. But far more frightening: What will it do to her designer wardrobe? Will any A-list designers deign to dress her for the 2007-08 award season carpets?

In 2006, she was Karl Lagerfeld's arm candy at the prestigious Council of Fashion Designers of America gala, often referred to as the Oscars of the fashion world. They even sat at the head table with Vogue editrix Anna Wintour.

Earlier this year, Herr Karl invited the troubled starlet to see his Chanel cruise-collection show staged in a Santa Monica airport hangar. After the show, Lindsay slipped backstage and picked out scads of Chanel swag (bracelets, jewelry, gloves).

But not every designer liked Lindsay, even before she severely tarnished her image. In a 2005 New Yorker profile of Valentino, written by Michael Specter, the Italian designer was openly relieved that she would not be at his Paris show.  When Valentino heard from his longtime spokesman Carlos de Souza that Lindsay's stylist had called to say the actress was declining the invitation, Valentino whispered, "Thank God. She makes me so uncomfortable."

And Big V isn't crazy about that jailbird Paris Hilton either.

Scientologists and activists sounding the alarm about global warming -- the result of damage to the earth's ozone layer -- now admit that there may be previously unknown factors contributing to the "greenhouse effect."

They've now traced the path of some questionable chemical emissions to Hollywood and the surrounding areas of Brentwood, Bel-Air, Beverly Hills and Malibu.

There's no need to panic at this stage. But informed experts advise maintaining a safe distance from all known and potentially toxic chemical spill sites. That in mind, please stay at least 20 feet back from Nicollette Sheridan at all times. Hazmat suits are recommended for closer contact.

If one of these encapsulated babies blows ... well, let's just say it wouldn't be pretty. 

To proceed safely to a Paris/Britney/Nicole/Lindsay Free Zone, click here.

Photo Credits: WireImage

This just in: Oscar-winning actress Charlize Theron and actors Owen Wilson and Sam Elliot will be among the celebrities accepting some pretty hefty checks on behalf of various  nonprofit groups and  charities at the Hollywood Foreign Press Association's annual installation luncheon Aug. 9 at the Beverly Hills Hotel.

Theron is a big favorite among the HFPA  folks. She won one Globe for her role in  "Monster" and was nominated for her work in "North Country" and "The Life and Death of Peter Sellers." Her new film, "In the Valley of Elah," which opens Sept. 28 (coincidentally, the very day Nicole Richie will go to jail), is already getting awards buzz.

And this year, HFPA's grants to nonprofit organizations is a record-breaking high: almost $1.2 million!

Photo credit:  WireImage

The countdown begins: Just 63 more days until Nicole Richie has to report to authorities to begin serving her court-ordered jail sentence. And how long did she get?

Not long enough to make much of a difference: just four days. They gave her credit for "time served," the five hours she was in jail after being arrested for a DUI and driving the wrong way on a freeway. 

Look on the bright side. She'll get three meals a day, starting Sept. 28. And that's gotta be good news for her baby, probably due to pop out in January.

Photo Credits: She has fans? Who are these people?
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