Ryan Seacrest is airing live

Rev up your shopping engines. Divine Design, the holiday bazaar where you can empty your wallets for a good cause -- Project Angel Food, which provides daily meals to people in Los Angeles County living with HIV/AIDS and other serious illnesses -- is back. The annual event is open at Barker Hangar in Santa Monica, with discounts of 50% or more off housewares and clothing items ranging from a $45,000 diamond and sapphire Maurice Lacroix watch to $2.50 Hello Kitty pink foam toe separators (used during the polish phase of a pedicure, in case you were wondering).

The bargains were bountiful at the kickoff gala Wednesday night, but the scene was curiously low-wattage. Last year's Man of Style honoree was Sean "P. Diddy" Combs; this year's was Ryan Seacrest, the DJ-turned Dick Clark heir apparent, turned ... fashion designer? Yes, Seacrest has his own T-shirt label, the R Line, and the graffiti-spattered and screen-printed designs were modeled for the dinner crowd during a runway show.

In the past, the gala has been held in a tent adjacent to the bonanza of boutiques, and cocktails and shopping occurred \o7before \f7the auction and the awards ceremony. But this year, guests sat inside the hangar sipping vodka martinis, nibbling on grilled salmon and listening to actor Eric McCormack beg for silent auction bids while the goods lay in wait around them. Kimberly Williams-Paisley of ABC's "According to Jim" arrived late, just as she was being called to the podium to complete her announcing duties. It was a far cry from the 2004 gala, when Gray Davis mixed it up with Arianna Huffington and Woman of Style honoree Jessica Lange.

It's true, the event was scaled back, said Project Angel Food Executive Director John Gile, partially for financial reasons. About 1,600 guests were invited last year compared to this year's 500. "Part of it is trying to properly convey the times we are living in, with floods, hurricanes and war," he said. As for the celebrity turnout, "This year we looked to people who really volunteer and have a connection to the organization."

It didn't help that the event followed a similar fashion fundraiser (last month's Seventh on Sale) in New York chaired by Vogue Editor in Chief Anna Wintour. Held for the first time in more than a decade, that event, which benefits the Council of Fashion Designers of America/Vogue AIDS Fund, made it difficult to get donations for the West Coast event, Gile said. (Some of those who did contribute to Divine Design include Trina Turk, Nicole Miller, Michael Stars, Chip and Pepper, Cynthia Vincent, L.A. Eyeworks and Ralph Lauren.)