Gucci

Gucci designer Tom Ford spends a lot of time in California these days. One week a month, he visits to absorb the look and feel of Los Angeles, which he says mirror Gucci's image."

A concert featuring the rapper Gucci Mane that was scheduled to occur Saturday at the Pikesville Armory has been canceled because promoters lacked the proper permit, according to officials at the state's Military Department, which owns the facility. "My understanding is that they didn't file the proper permits with the county, and we were directed that we should cancel it," said Lt. Col. Charles Kohler, a department spokesman. The concert was apparently scheduled to start at 9 p.m. Saturday, officials said.

NEW YORK -- All that was left by the time Arlene and Herb Kushner arrived was a heart-wrenching heap of smoldering rubble.The January 1995 fire destroyed the Germantown barn of Maryland horse trainer Nancy Heil and killed six thoroughbreds -- the successful veteran Fighting Notion and five promising offspring by the Kushners' stallion, Aaron's Concorde."

Separating an artist's work from his personal life comes with the territory of being a fan. As a pretty serious Gucci Mane supporter, I've sadly watched his rap sheet overshadow his rap talent with each new WTF-headline. Perpetually on probation and no stranger to jail, Gucci can't seem to stay out of trouble, and this past weekend brought his strangest, most depressing escapade to date. (No ice-cream face tattoo.) After visiting his probation officer, Gucci was arrested on a misdemeanor battery charge for PUSHING A WOMAN FROM A MOVING CAR . As if that wasn't hideous enough, the Hollywood Reporter spoke with DeKalb County Police on the details : Gucci picked the woman up at the mall, offered her $150 to go to a hotel and pushed her out of the car when she turned him down.

Romano Gucci is back.Once headed to the 1996 Triple Crown, Herbert Kushner's gelding officially rebounded from nine months of problems with a textbook victory in the $54,475 Hoover Stakes at Laurel Park yesterday."

A Maryland-bred racehorse roared into the Kentucky Derby picture yesterday, and his name isn't Roar.The Shug McGaughey-trained Roar won the $600,000 Jim Beam Stakes at Kentucky's Turfway Park, but the Maryland-bred Romano Gucci kept his perfect record intact by winning the $200,000 Gotham Stakes at Aqueduct in New York.A 3-year-old gelding owned by Herbert W. Kushner, Romano Gucci led the Grade II Gotham virtually wire-to-wire. His time of 1 minute, 34 2/5 seconds over the muddy, one-mile track was the sixth fastest in Gotham history.

Runway shows in five cities around the globe this spring sent outer-space tourists and fur flying, while French fillies in '50s skirts galloped with "garcons." But what did it all mean? Long gone are the days of one New Look, when the style powers handed down a trend each season and women followed, raising or lowering their hemlines accordingly. The looks on the runways for Fall 2004 were all over the place, though one of the more salient themes continues to be a throwback to postwar, pre-lib "ladies," seen in a dainty, beaded bolero sweater worn over a silver satin gown at Perry Ellis, crocodile pencil skirts and mink capes at Celine, and black crystal-edged satin coats with three-quarter sleeves at Prada.

What do you give the mom who has everything? GUCCI 5481-B Wisconsin Ave., Chevy Chase 301-986-8902 Wisconsin Avenue, the high-end highway in Chevy Chase, has just gotten swankier. Last month, Gucci opened a luxurious 4,390-square-foot store. Located within The Collection at Chevy Chase, the two-story, glass-and-travertine-metal-accented boutique carries a complete collection of women's ready-to-wear, men's and women's accessories, shoes and fine jewelry. The must-haves for spring?

Psssst, have you heard about the Gucci Goodwill store? I might be overstating it a bit - I didn't actually see anything from that particular Italian label when I dropped in last week at Goodwill's new "boutique," a fancier version of the familiar thrift stores that the nonprofit has been opening across the country. But in the couple of weeks that it's been open, everything from Dior to Coach to Oscar de la Renta has passed through the doors, so maybe a Gucci or two may turn up in the future.

You know a confident woman when you see one. There's something in her stride, in her lifted chin. Her complexion glows, her posture commands attention. Something about a confident woman makes you want to know her, or at least know more about her. Mary Kay Ash, the late founder of Mary Kay Cosmetics, once said, "While clothes may not make the woman, they certainly have a strong effect on her self-confidence - which, I believe, does make the woman." Which is exactly why we wanted to get to know the four fashionable women profiled below.

Psssst, have you heard about the Gucci Goodwill store? I might be overstating it a bit - I didn't actually see anything from that particular Italian label when I dropped in last week at Goodwill's new "boutique," a fancier version of the familiar thrift stores that the nonprofit has been opening across the country. But in the couple of weeks that it's been open, everything from Dior to Coach to Oscar de la Renta has passed through the doors, so maybe a Gucci or two may turn up in the future.

A night out on the town is always a good reason to get dressed up. Unless you're Dr. Michele Henley. She doesn't need an excuse to gussy up because she does it almost every day. Too bad many of her patients don't get their own glimpse of her style. Her outfits are usually covered by her white coat and stethoscope. Age: 33 Residence: Windsor Mills Job: Internist at Patient First, Johns Hopkins Bayview Hospital Self-described style: Modern The look: Calvin Klein faux leopard coat. Anne Klein green cardigan.

You know a confident woman when you see one. There's something in her stride, in her lifted chin. Her complexion glows, her posture commands attention. Something about a confident woman makes you want to know her, or at least know more about her. Mary Kay Ash, the late founder of Mary Kay Cosmetics, once said, "While clothes may not make the woman, they certainly have a strong effect on her self-confidence - which, I believe, does make the woman." Which is exactly why we wanted to get to know the four fashionable women profiled below.

What do you give the mom who has everything? GUCCI 5481-B Wisconsin Ave., Chevy Chase 301-986-8902 Wisconsin Avenue, the high-end highway in Chevy Chase, has just gotten swankier. Last month, Gucci opened a luxurious 4,390-square-foot store. Located within The Collection at Chevy Chase, the two-story, glass-and-travertine-metal-accented boutique carries a complete collection of women's ready-to-wear, men's and women's accessories, shoes and fine jewelry. The must-haves for spring?

Hundreds of shoppers lined up yesterday, starting before dawn, for a rare chance to snag deeply discounted high-end handbags at C-Mart in Joppatowne. Then the fighting began. The sale was halted and the doors locked for hours after the crowd exploded in anger over the store's attempt to manage the flow of nearly 1,000 customers through the quirky Harford County retailer. The sheriff's office was called in to restore order. The event had been promoted for months, and shoppers - mostly women - descended from across the region for a chance to save hundreds of dollars on purses from designers such as Prada, Chanel and Gucci.

You've just bid $255 on a black Chanel suit and $168 on a vintage Cartier ladies wristwatch, when you see it: a Judith Leiber purple rhinestone clutch "circa 2000s." The current bidding price for the tiny evening bag by the famous designer is $670, with 10 hours to go. You must have it. But can you afford it? If you have to ask, maybe you shouldn't be shopping on www.portero.com, a Web site that dubs itself "eBay for the affluent." "There has been an explosion in the online market, but luxury has not grown as quickly," says Michael Sheldon, founder and CEO of the company, which has offices in Manhattan, Scarsdale, N.Y., and Greenwich, Conn.

NEW YORK -- Dick Dutrow, a leading trainer in Maryland two decades ago, again is considering training horses in his home state. A native of Hagerstown, Dutrow left Maryland in 1984 for the "greener pastures" of New York.But yesterday at Aqueduct, the white-haired trainer said those pastures have turned brown. He also trains at New York's Belmont Park and Saratoga."I did very well here," he said before the Maryland-bred Romano Gucci, whom he trains, ran in the Wood Memorial. "I'd guess I probably won 600 races.

And a good time was had by all.The nine partners of Circled Horse Racing Stable, accompanied by smiling relatives and friends, celebrated yesterday in the winner's circle at Laurel Park after Manage a Buck defeated two of Maryland's top sprinters in the Northern Wolf Stakes, a six-furlong sprint worth $53,400."

Want a Prada or Louis Vuitton leather handbag but don't have $1,000 or more? Some people do the next best thing and buy a vinyl imitation for $30, maybe from a street vendor, that looks amazingly like the genuine item. Can you do the same thing with financial advice? Are there knock-off strategies for investing like the wealthy? Sure, dah-ling. The rich have access to a lot more opportunities because they can plunk down the $50,000 or $1 million minimum investment. But a growing number of investments seek to mimic the exclusive deals of the wealthy.

NEW YORK - When the Museum of Modern Art reopens today, admission will be free - for a day. Tomorrow the price goes up to $20. And some art lovers are already protesting. Filip Noterdaeme, a Belgian artist who founded the Homeless Museum, an online conceptual museum, is planning a peaceful protest outside the Modern's newly expanded home. "I'm all for celebrating MoMA's reopening," he said. "But I do object to the 63 percent increase." Before the Modern's home on 53rd Street closed for renovations in June 2002, adult admission was $12. J.P. Morgan Chase and Target are sponsoring the museum's free day. Dan Levenson, a 32-year- old painter from Park Slope, Brooklyn, has been standing outside the museum this week, wearing a sandwich board with a $20 bill on it, passing out leaflets about his Web site, Freemoma.