December 28, 2005 – 2005 was a big year for Jennifer Lopez. True, her marriage to Marc Anthony was in 2004, and they managed to stay rather quietly together, so you may have forgotten them a little. But while putting together our year-end wrap-ups, we quickly realized that J. Lo needed her own category.

Jenny from the block embraced her Nuyorican roots in a bigger way, co-opting the West Side Story logo for her own use. (We can just see the forthcoming remake with J. Lo as Maria, Colin Farrell as her Irish American lover Tony, and Marc Anthony as her brother Bernardo.)

La Lopez unveiled her luxe clothing line, Sweetface, with her first fashion show in New York in February. In front of that fire escape WSS-themed backdrop paraded skin-revealing clothing dripping with fur, cashmere and diamonds. Naomi Campbell brought the show to a stunning close modeling that ruffley jumpsuit in the photo at left. Clearly, J. Lo was born to design clothing. She and Marc Anthony stole the show at the multi-line Macy’s Passport fashion show benefit in September. Er, their celebrity drew lots of attention, anyway.

But fashion was just a blip on Jennifer’s 2005 schedule. She dropped a new album, Rebirth, and promoted it with concerts, TV appearances and in-store events. Lopez got all “around the way” at the Wango Tango concert in Anaheim in May, sporting a “F—k It!” t-shirt. Her wild, frizzy hairdo at that concert was perfect for her role of Puchi in El Cantante, a film she’s currently shooting.

J. Lo opened two movies in 2005, Monster-in-Law and An Unfinished Life. PETA protesters followed the fur-loving diva everywhere. They did some laid-back, California-style picketing at the Monster-in-Law premiere in Hollywood, and scared her off the red carpet at the Unfinished Life premiere.

J. Lo put on her businesswoman’s hat this year, producing the UPN TV show South Beach, which debuts January 11, and pitching it to advertisers at the Upfronts in May.

There’s a lot more, but we’re exhausted.

December 27, 2005 – Celebrities continued to unleash their sartorial visions on the world this year, and while they run the gamut from David Beckham’s soccer shoes to Jennifer Lopez’s line of “fashions”, we’ll highlight a few of the more unusual and unexpected for you.

Our hands down favorite for 2005, the one that left us slack jawed, if not drooling, was Carlos Santana’s line of ladies' footwear, “Carlos by Carlos Santana”. You may consider yourself a fashionista, but did you catch the collection’s runway show at Macy’s in June? We thought not. Cancel your subscription to Vogue, slob. Anyway, after more than 30 years in the music business and several Grammy awards, it’s natural that people would want to wear shoes by Carlos Santana.

After spending his youth singing with ‘NSYNC, a few years sopping up Britney Spears’ flawless fashion sense and making several movies, the world was panting for Justin Timberlake’s line of clothing. Justin finally made that dream come true in 2005, giving us William Rast.

Queen Latifah rapped her way into fuller figured women’s pants with her line of intimates, Curvation. Bono and his wife, Ali Hewson, profoundly named their eco-friendly, socially conscious line of clothing Edun – “nude” backward. We were touched at the launch at Saks Fifth Avenue, and really, who wouldn’t buy clothes recommended by a rock star wearing platform wingtip shoes?

After reaching near-Timberlake heights of pop music, we’re all dying to wear Victoria Beckham’s jeans, and those fab folks at Rock & Republic made that happen. Gwen Stefani had the prescience to bring us her L.A.M.B. line of clothing before becoming pregnant, so that we could emulate her svelte fashion sensibilities. Bonus: can Gwen’s maternity line be far behind?

New York, December 26, 2005 – Despite being routinely late, celebrities continued to want you to know what time it is during 2005, and, hopefully, to keep track while lining their pockets. Yes, those joining the master clockmakers in the workrooms of Switzerland this year included TV personality/billionaire Donald Trump and fellow TV personality/heiress Paris Hilton, whose limited edition watches go for $100,000. (Shopping tip: maybe you can get one marked down after the holidays.) So that your Audemars Piguet timepiece doesn’t get bored, Jay-Z developed a gift box that contains a solid steel iPod loaded with his music. How did Maria Sharapova find time to become a tennis pro while also apprenticing as a watch maker? Maria is only 18. Ah well, Tag Heuer bore the diamond-studded fruit.

New York, December 19, 2005 – OMG! Jim Carrey was arrested in New York on Monday! We don't have details, but Carrey entered the Hello Deli at 53rd and Broadway in Manhattan, and cops followed, handcuffed him, and dragged him out and threw him into a police car. Carrey yelled out the window as the car sped away, "I'm a celebrity! See, these people know me!"

No doubt this incident has been hushed up by publicists, more as the story unfolds.

Update: The arrest was a stunt for the David Letterman show, where Carrey was promoting his new movie, Fun With Dick and Jane. That would account for Carrey's sunny disposition during the embarrassing encounter.