THE STRUGGLE for control of Gucci, the Italian luxury goods group, is set to move to the courtroom today with French rival Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton (LVMH) determined to use all means to pursue its pounds 3.1bn hostile bid.

John Lichfield on a French fight for the Italian fashion house

THE STRUGGLE for control of luxury goods maker Gucci is expected to reach fever pitch later today as the company's supervisory board meets in Amsterdam to discuss whether it should accept LVMH's $5bn (pounds 3bn) takeover bid.

BERNARD ARNAULT makes a strange convert to the game of cricket, but all of a sudden he's decided to play the game and make a proper offer to Gucci shareholders. For the best part of the past year, the urbane boss of LVMH, the champagne-to-suitcases group, has been trying to get his hands on Gucci by building a stake in the Italian fashion house and pressing for seats on its board. In Anglo Saxon markets this is regarded as trying to obtain control without having to pay for it, and it is just not done. Last night, Mr Arnault did what he should have done months ago and announced his intention to launch a full takeover bid for Gucci.

THE BATTLE for control of Gucci took a dramatic turn yesterday when the Italian fashion house announced plans to sell a 40 per cent shareholding to Francois Pinault, the billionaire French businessman, in an attempt to fight off LVMH, the luxury goods group controlled by Bernard Arnault.

Why does fashion have to look backwards to move forwards? This season we've had medieval heroines, Victorian nymphs, Seventies glamour girls and Eighties disco dollies. Trend-watching is more like a history lesson than ever

THE ITALIAN contingent put on a united front at the Gucci Show in Milan last night. The designer Donatella Versace and her brother, Santo, made a rare appearance in the front row, beside Domenico De Sole, Gucci's much-beleaguered chief executive officer.

The catwalks have been blinded by all things white for the season ahead. Very pretty, says Susannah Frankel, but no need to wear it like a big girl. Styling by Sophia Neophitou. Photographs by Kent Baker

She may wear leather, cashmere, gold and diamonds, but she's not quite ready for life as a lady who lunches. Styling by Lucy Ewing. Photographs by Robert Wyatt

QUESTION. Which country has the most heavily regulated financial markets in the world? To believe the scare stories and comment in some of our rivals, you might think it is the UK with its new Financial Services Authority - depicted by some as a bureaucratic monster destined to sink the City under a mountain of red tape and oppressive rulemaking.

MY FAVOURITE bedtime story is the one where all my children have a bath without argument, brush their teeth - with toothpaste - then, smelling and looking like fresh, rosy apples, put their pyjamas on, get into bed, we talk and read, and they go to sleep. The reality is very different. Persuading children that there is a time for bed is a challenge when supermarkets and the television ignore the idea that days have a beginning and end. What they should wear in bed is another cause of disharmony.

Adapt the bohemian look for winter by piling on layers of clashing colours and fabrics: try lime with burgundy, satin with boiled wool. The happiest dressers this season will be those who can revert to childhood and, like 10-year-old girls plundering their mothers' wardrobes, pull vests over jumpers, high heels over long socks. Just be playful, a little silly, and have fun

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Luxury has hit the high street - even M&S are selling cashmere. With diamante hair grips for pounds 4, Pashmina scarf look-alikes making their debut at Accessorize and cashmere mix socks for pounds 15, you can pamper yourself from head to toe without breaking the bank. Here's how to combine warmth and glamour as November sets in