....Jennifer Hudson, did win big - but lost big, too, because of the much ridiculed metallic bolero Andre Leon Talley made her put on. (Post fashion editor Serena French said it made her look "lost in space.") "Jennifer was kind of sponsored by Talley and Vogue," said one fashionista. "Andre insisted she wear that hideous Oscar de la Renta dress with the awful, awful gold python bolero.

"Jennifer really didn't want to, and so [noted stylist] Jessica Paster got her a beautiful gold Roberto Cavalli custom-made. But when Andre found out, he went ballistic. Moments before she left for the show, there was a power struggle and Jennifer ended up putting his outfit on."

Set the Stage - Pick your favorite Oscar-nominated film and use it as the theme for your gathering. For example, if you like "The Queen," you could provide guests with tiaras or crowns; spray gold paint on the inside of glass vases and fill them with white flowers; and, if your budget allows, have a royal guard greet guests at the door!

Dress the Part - Invite guests to dress the part to help set the mood. While black tie may be too much, encouraging friends and family members to come "dressed to impress" will help put your Oscar soiree over the top!

Wine and Dine - No festivity is complete without a great selection of wine and food pairings. An easy way to please most palates is to choose a wine that is not overly oaked, such as Mirassou, from the Central Coast of California. Its wine style is fruit-forward, food- friendly and affordable at about $10 a bottle -- and its Pinot is currently America's favorite California Pinot Noir. From cheese plates with a crisp Chardonnay, to rich chocolate desserts with a luscious Pinot Noir, wine is a classic and classy way to throw a soiree with style!

Create Some Fun - Tie Oscar trivia questions onto wine bottles, using thick white cardstock and gold ribbon to get your guests talking. Or print ballot sheets for your guests and award the guests with the most winners an "Oscar" -- the chocolate version, of course.

By the glow of candlelight, the Oscar nominee Mark Wahlberg and 10 friends dined on foie gras and New York strip steak this week as they looked out over the lights of Los Angeles. The meal was gratis, and so was the Champagne, elegantly poured by silent, liveried servers at Soho House, a British-style private club practically created overnight in an empty mansion for the week leading up to Sunday’s Academy Awards ceremony. It caters to the whims of Hollywood celebrities while marketing an upscale lifestyle to discerning consumers on its guest list.

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"I think goodie bags are a bit last year, aren't they?" asked Nick Jones, the propietor and marketing talent behind Soho House, a chain of hotels and private clubs in London and New York. He hopes to open a permanent space in Los Angeles in the next couple of years. "It's not like giving someone a motor car or a diamond ring," he added. "It's a more subtle connection. We're entertaining."

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At least four mansions in Hollywood and Beverly Hills have been commandeered by promoters in the days leading up to Sunday's awards ceremony, with companies like Cadillac, Delta Air Lines and Mulberry handbags among the dozens of sponsors.

Some retreats are giving away free jewelry, clothing and other products, but this year the focus is on the experience: there are concerts, parties and everything from performance art dessert-making (a human taffy pull!) to a private show by Cirque du Soleil. A suite at the Roosevelt Hotel will feature, in addition to its eco-friendly products, "acceptance speech consultations" by a well-known publicist. All free of course.

On Leslie Lane in Beverly Hills on Tuesday workers were busy raising brightly colored Moroccan tents on a stone terrace to create Haven, a three-day retreat at a multilevel house, opening the next day. (The couple living in the house moved out for the week.) "I didn't want a hotel," explained Jimmy Floyd, a New York event producer who dreamed up the concept with Jacob Gitzis, his partner. "We wanted daytime elements together with the food, the gifting, the performances. Other houses are just about gifting. That's just a part of what we do."

But the gifts, as usual, are varied and sometimes outrageous. Along with the jeans and lingerie, one company is giving away several million dollars worth of diamonds, while the toilet company Toto is handing out $5,000 commodes. Those who enter Haven will have to sign waivers promising to pay the taxes on any gifts they accept, since the I.R.S. has made clear they will be treated as income.

Movie stars appearing at the Academy Awards will no longer receive the lavish goody baskets they have come to expect -- worth as much as $100,000 each and including freebies such as iPods, resort vacations, coupons for laser eye surgery, jewelry and high-priced lingerie -- because of a crackdown by the federal tax collector.

The Internal Revenue Service and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences yesterday announced they have reached a settlement on undisclosed taxes owed to the government on the "gifts" received at the Oscars in the last several years, through 2005. The academy also announced it will no longer give out the bags, saying the board quietly voted last April to end the practice. In recent years, the academy has given the bags -- also known as gift bags or swag -- to as many as 200 hosts, performers and winners on Oscar night. "There's no special red-carpet tax loophole for the stars," IRS Commissioner Mark W. Everson said in a prepared statement. "Whether you're popping the popcorn, sitting in the audience or starring on the big screen, you need to respect the law and pay your taxes."

Typically, if the IRS finds someone has failed to pay taxes but no fraud is involved, it assesses back taxes, interest and penalties for only the preceding three years. In this instance, if 200 people received $100,000 baskets in each of the three years through 2005, the taxable non-cash income would be $60 million. Neither IRS spokesmen nor Academy spokeswoman Leslie Unger would confirm or deny that number. Nor would they say whether, under the terms of the settlement, the IRS forgave back payment, interest and penalties. Nor would they say whether the Academy has paid a lump sum on behalf of past recipients.

If the agency forgave the debt, that means U.S. taxpayers are footing the bill. If the academy paid back taxes on behalf of past Oscar participants, these celebrities would have to count that as additional taxable income. Albert Lauber, director of Georgetown law school's tax program, said he thinks it would be hard to collect money from the celebrities for past years. He said the IRS most likely agreed to settle the matter if the Motion Picture Academy paid a penalty for failure to file forms with the IRS.