Hey guys! Here are a few more new articles on Britney, this time from the latest issue of
In Touch Weekly - one on Brit and Columbus in Rome for Brit's Pepsi commercial w/ Pink and Beyonce (includes a very cute new photo of Brit flying a paper airplane off the balcony of their hotel), one on Brit, the shopaholic, and another on the 10 Coolest Cliques in Hollywood, w/ Brit being a member of Madonna's clique. 3 great articles, 3 great reads.
As always, enjoy!
UP CLOSE Britney's a high flier
Britney Spears must have been bored. The pop princess passed the time during a stay in Rome by making paper airplanes.
She was hanging out with Columbus Short - again! Britney has become friendly with the 21-year-old dancer, sparking rumors that he could be her new squeeze. After throwing him a birthday party in New York and kissing him at the MTV VMA rehearsals, she hired him to choreograph her next video. But Brit insists she and the married man are just friends. Wearing a shirt saying, "Miss B. Haven," Britney made her guy laugh as they fired planes at a crowd of fans while visiting the Italian capital to shoot a Pepsi commercial co-starring Beyonce and Pink.
After Rome, they jetted back to New York. The pair went out to dinner together, and stayed at the same hotel!
CLOSER LOOK Addicted To Shopping?
Britney reacts to crises by hitting the stores
Some women like to eat when they're depressed. Not Britney Spears - she goes shopping! The pop princess, who's suffered a series of heartbreaks in the past 20 months, says shopping makes her feel better. "I can be in the dumps of dumpsters and go buy a pair of shoes, and then it's OK," she says. "Even if it's just for the time being, for that moment it's what I need."
Athough it sounds like a harmless hobby, onlookers say Britney goes shopping so often, it could turn into a problem. "Britney may be going out on exorbitant buying binges as a quick fix to cure her emotional pain," says psychotherapist Cindy Grant.
When the singer broke up with Justin Timberlake in February of last year, she admitted: "It took a lot out of me." But she managed to put him behind her with the help of a little spending spree. Britney and her pals immediately hit the shops on both coasts. Soon after, she was all smiles again and acting like, "Justin who?"
And she doesn't just splurge on clothes. Britney also dished out $945,000 for a three-bedroom condo at the plush Regeancy Towers in Destin, Fla. In April, after being stalked by a Japanese tourist, she recovered by hitting Victoria's Secret in Manhattan.
Only a month later, in May 2002, when her parents, Jamie and Lynne, separated after 30 years of marriage, Britney went out shopping to ease her pain. She set her sights on a $20,000 bed from Domaine, and to make her mom feel good, she bought her a $4.5 million estated in Kentwood, La.
In fact, it seems like whenever anything painful happens in Britney's life, she reaches for her credit card and heads out shopping. Of course, with an estimated $100 million in the bank, Britney will probably never have to worry about the financial consequences of her spending splurges. But she may want to rethink the way she deals with emotional problems before her shopping obession becomes an addiction.
"Young women like Britney often use shopping to fill their inner void," adds Grant. "But in the long term, like any addiction, only emptiness prevails."
Can you shop too much?
Scientists have recently gave the phenomenon of shopaholism a medical name: Compusive Shopping Disorder, or CSD. This condition is estimated to affect between two and eight percent of the population. The symptoms inclued a preoccupation with shopping for unneeded items, leaving those affected with closets full of unwanted purchases and large financial bills to pay. Recently, a study at the Stanford University Medical Center in California concluded that citalopram, an antidepressent, can help curb these uncontrollable shopping urges.
Britney even impulse buys at Heathrow Airports gift shop!
August 4th, 2003
While shopping in Beverly Hills, Britney spent hours at BCBG and Kitson, and walked out with bags full of clothes and accessories.
March 2002
Britney, looking sad, hits the shops just days after her split with Justin.
THE SPLIT
FEBRUARY 2002 February 14th, 2003
Britney shops at the mall after Fred Durst talked about their night together.
KISS AND TELL
FEBRUARY 2003 May 22nd, 2003
After pictures of Justin and Cameron together were published, she went on a binge, buying six diamond rings at Fred Segal in Santa Monica.
JUSTIN WITH CAMERON
APRIL 2003 August 12th, 2003
Britney drowned her heartbreak over parting ways with bodyguard Big Rob at the shops.
BIG ROB LEAVES
JUNE 2003 PARENTS DIVORCE
MAY 2002
When Britney's parents split, she didn't just buy clothes, she also dropped $150,000 on a Mercedes - a white SL600 convertible.
Do not disturb!
On a recent shopping spree at Nordstrom in Santa Monica, Britney was asked for an autograph and curtly replied, "No, I'm busy shopping!"
The List The 10 Coolest Celebrity Cliques
Find out who's in, who's out and who's the leaded of which pack in the exclusive world of Hollywood friendships
Madonna's Girls
IN LA AND LONDON Madonna is so cool that she has two sets of friends on different continents - a gang in London and a gang in LA.
The Material Girl, 45, who divides her time between the two cities, has formed her British clique with Gwyneth Paltrow, 31; model Kate Moss, 29; fashion designer Stella McCartney, 31; rock star Sting, 52, and his wife, Trudie Styler, 48, who introduced Madonna to her husband, Guy Ritchie, 35. Madonna, Gwyneth and Kate all attended Stella's wedding to publisher Alasdhair Willis in August on Scotland's Isle of Bute.
"We're friends because she's a fantastically interesting woman, very powerful within," says Gwyneth, who dates Brit rocker Chris Martin. "We are on similar paths in our lives - what we eat, our yoga, and stuff like that. Anything I've been through, she's been through 10 times worse, 10 times more and 10 times longer. She gives me great advice about taking care of myself."
In LA, the pop queen is pals with more A-listers, like Demi Moore and Sandra Bernhard - whom she meets at the Kabbalah Centre in Hollywood - as well as with new friends Jennifer Lopez and
Britney Spears. J.Lo, who once enraged the superstar by attacking her acting ability, even dropped by Madonna's Beverly Hills mansion on her 45th birthday in August to wish her well. Britney also popped in for an hour.
"I've listened to Madonna since was a kid," gushes Britney, who's been known to wear 'Madonna' T-shirts. "So one day, I'm looking through this magazine and I see Madonna wearing a T-shirt with my name on it and I go 'What?' I was proud and honored." CRUCIAL CLIQUE FACTS Number of members: 10
Why they're cool: They're the A-list in fashion, music and movies.
Courtesy of
In Touch Weekly