Gaultier's Boudoir

Table for one at the Moulin Rouge in 1940, please.

Back in March, Marc Jacobs celebrated Louis Vuitton's 1950's-inspired bustier dresses with curvaceous creatures, including Bar Rafaeli and Cover Girl Laetitia Casta proving, more is more.

During Paris Fashion Week, which is taking place now, Jean Paul Gaultier used sexual siren Dita Von Teese in a strip tease to prove...well...less is more. Her blushed cheeks (top and bottom), painted red lips and porcelain hourglass bod, vaporized the runway leaving it way too hot for the next model to step on to. But, he successfully wooed and corrupted the crowd with the launch of his anxiously-awaited, limited-edition lingerie collection, a collaboration with renowned label La Perla.

What wows me even more than how much flesh was revealed with these Madonna-inspired pieces was the price range. Very affordable for the meticulous craftsmanship that obviously went into these gorgeous works of art. Therefore, almost anyone who has a fetish for "going to bed" in something a bit more extravagant than a birthday suit can afford the line and become a high-end dominatrix for a night. Corsets, modern cone bras and bustiers due out in November will start at approximately 400 Euros.

He did, if you can believe it, also send clothes down the runway, but with amazing accessories including 1940's cigarette holders, stoles, black fishnets and Parisian head wraps. All I have to say is, "va va voom!" Don't even think about painting your nails anything but jungle red this fall--Vamp is so last year--it's all about opulence...and booby tassles.

But, any act of seduction just shouldn't be executed without a romantic dinner for two. Therefore, I'd like to share a very sacred recipe that any and every woman should know how to make, Coq Au Vin, a timeless French dish that uses braising techniques for an almost stew-like result. This particular recipe below happens to be from the New York Times Cookbook, which my grandmother recently passed down to me. Now officially an heirloom, the book was given to her by her mother (my great grandmother) in 1975 as a birthday present. Lots more recipes to come from this family bible.

Caution! Minor nudity below.










COQ AU VIN (6 servings)

1 five-pound roasting chicken, cut into serving pieces
Flour for dredging
1/2 C butter
1 slice raw ham, chopped
10 small white onions, peeled and left whole
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1/4 tsp thyme
1 sprig parsley
1 bay leaf
8 whole mushrooms
salt and pepper to taste
2 ounces (1/4 C) warmed cognac
1 C dry red wine

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.

Dredge the chicken with flour. In a skillet heat the butter, add the chicken and brown on all sides. Transfer the chicken to an earthenware casserole and add the ham, onions, garlic, thyme, parsley, bay leaf, mushrooms, salt and pepper.

Pour the cognac over the chicken and ignite. When the flame dies, add the wine.

Cover and bake until the chicken is tender (about 2.5 hours).