Off the page:Harper's Bazaar

Published on September 26, 2007

With the Eiffel Tower as a backdrop, illustrator Julius Preite has depicted Marge Simpson (yes, Homer's wife) - along with smoky sisters Patty and Selma and others - on the Paris catwalk for this issue of Harper's.

And the cartoon ladies are all done up in Gap dresses and Cole Haan shoes and carrying Louis Vuitton bags.

Other photo spreads feature the creations of Versace, Chanel, Lanvin and Jean Paul Gaultier.

The magazine's in-house hairstylists Garren and John Barrett discuss new trends for all hair lengths. Cited as examples are Selma Blair (short), Naomi Watts (above the shoulder), Cate Blanchett (shoulder length) and Jennifer Aniston (long).

Moving on to the best-dressed celebrities we find the adorably gowned Maggie Q in a dress by Herve Leger, Jamie-Lynn Singler in Dolce & Gabbana and Maria Sharapova in black leather.

Then there's the living legend of fashion, Diane von Furstenberg, who's traced through a day in her fast-paced life from her Manhattan office to home with husband Barry Diller and friends.

Once best known for a red-carpet faux pas, actress Khemapsorn "Cherry" Sirisukkha is now blunder-free as the owner of a boutique that imports Cloud 9 gear from the US. See how she handles her mix-and-matches.

Metallic is still the magnetic look for autumn. The main photo spread has clanking great black-and-white dresses from Jil Sander, Dolce & Gabbana and Bottega Venetta and shoes from Marc Jacobs and Vuitton.

Health Plus

Pimples seem such little things, but if you don't get right at them with a remedy they'll be out of control in no time. Health Plus suggests five things to carefully monitor if you don't want to be the acne queen of your neighbourhood. Diet? Cosmetics? Time to find out the cause.

Cover girl Chollada "Kae" Mekrati is one busy lady, as a model, TV host and events organiser, but she's always slim and fit. She explains how it's done and poses in some terrific togs in the edition's main layout.

Find out how to stay forever young in a segment called "The Way to Wellbeing". It's not just about food and exercise, but mental and emotional makeup too.

Having problems with your joints and bones? There are always simple and natural ways to ease arthritis, including non-surgical approaches like acupuncture, aromatherapy and food supplements.

Then read about Suchada Som-asawachai, who's done almost everything there is to do in life. The one-time DJ blossomed into a corporate executive and launched her own advertising agency.

But one day Suchada fell into the trap of her own success and realised she was not only losing her husband, but also her mind and her self-esteem. This is a great motivational story.

Stuff

From the magazine that doesn't think we have enough gadgets, doohickies and outright clutter in our lives comes the Cocoon mobile, just one of many, many new things it says you really ought to buy.

The phone comes with 3G HSDPA, a 2MB digital camera, a stereo Bluetooth headphone and a massive two gigabytes of memory.

What else? A set of KEF speakers that cost Bt4.8 million, an F1 Tramontana that's worth Bt47 million and, for you cheapskates out there, a Charge Plug road bike for a mere Bt27,600.

And that's not even the "Luxury" column. The "Luxury" column, which is ideal for drooling purposes, flogs a Rodendahl Special Edition 777 wristwatch, a Mobiado Luminoso mobile phone and a Hi-Fi F80 Ferrari radio.

Speaking of Ferraris, check out the wacky transportation in "Gear". It's not really a motorcycle and not really a scooter, but a lot of research went into it.

The user reviews are always informative. In this issue you get a good look at four new laptops and five mobile phones. Let somebody else make up your mind for you.

compiled by worm boy