Chachet and Carry

We all have our baggage, but these days celebs on the go, including Cynthia Nixon, Minnie Driver and Lisa Kudrow, won't leave home without the big and roomy Hogan Pan Am bag. The tote, which ranges in price from $650-750, offers "a stylish way to carry your entire life around with you," says Manhattan stylist Danna Weiss. Available in leather, nylon and canvas versions, the bag "has a classic shape with a mix of really cool colors." Singer Mandy Moore, who chose one in leather, flipped when she first spied it last month. It's a functional item that looks "sophisticated without being too hoity-toity," she says. Fashioned after the Pan Am flight-crew carry-on from the '60s, the Italian-designed totes are "chic and practical," says Emanuele Delia Valle, COO of Hogan, adding that they're perfect for. "the woman who wants to be polished and comfortable at the same time." That doesn't mean men can't lug the bag as well. "If it's loosely slung on him, he can pull it off," Weiss says. "But guys have to be careful. They don't want to look like they have a purse."

with Tina L. Redwood in New York City

behind the seams

If you're on Sandra Bullock's Christmas list, chances are you'll find a cozy hand-knit item under your tree this season. My spies recently spotted Miss Congeniality stocking up at the L.A. needlework boutique Suss Design, where she bought 40 skeins of multicolored yarn and a pair of circular knitting needles. There was one hitch for the stitch-happy star: Bullock learned to knit from her late Nuremberg-born mother, Helga, and only knows the German terms for knitting maneuvers. So to help her practice distinguishing between purls and linke Masche, Bullock picked up a few Vogue needlework books as well....

How generous is Debra Messing? Ask her Will & Grace costar Eric McCormack—after the holidays. On the prowl for pleasing presents this yuletide, Messing bounced ideas for McCormack's gift off me during dinner at the Divine Design 2001 gala in Santa Monica last week. "I think Eric and I should give each other in-home massages," she bubbled. "Wait, I mean we should send someone over, not give each other massages!" Got it, Debra, got it....

From the hairdresser-withdrawal files: In London recently to promote her series, Sex and the City's Kim Cattrall found herself in need of a blowout before a round of interviews. Reps called in a local freelance stylist to do the deed but, unwilling to surrender her locks completely to an unknown coiffeur, Cattrall had the guy get her mane man, L.A.'s Nathan Sager, on the phone for instructions on how to straighten the star's tresses to her liking....

Seen: Penélope Cruz sporting sweatpants with (Yikes, call the fashion police!) high heels while sashaying into an L.A. yoga class....

Sarah Jessica Parker in bulky brown-and-pink cardigan, Levi's and green Wellingtons kissing hubby Matthew Broderick on Madison Avenue in New York City.

TRIPLE VISION
Actresses Carmen Electra, Jennifer Aspen and Rachel Hunter fluttered about in Dana Foley Butterfly blouses recently, to the delight of the designer. The silk-and-vintage-lace V neck with slit sleeves "shows a little skin, but it's not too over-the-top," says Electra, who wore hers to a premiere. Foley agrees. "When somebody sexy wears it," she says, "it's that much more amazing."

presto change-o
Taking a cue from her latest single, "A Little Bit," pop princess Jessica Simpson took a minibreak and made a pit stop at Manhattan's Oribe salon before performing at the Rockefeller Center tree-lighting ceremony. The result? A tress transformation from blonde to chocolate brown. "She always changes her hair, just for fun, depending on what she's doing," explains dye expert Rita Hazan. "New season, new color."

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Do you have questions about star style? E-mail Steven at seams@people.com