The annual online auction with a first prize of lunching with the investment billionaire has seen bids top the $200,000 mark.

The auction, to dine out on steak with celebrity high-roller Warren Buffett, will see the winning bid joined at the dining table by up to seven additional guests at the New York steakhouse run by Smith & Wollensky.

Proceeds from the benefit lunch will go towards the Glide Foundation, a San Francisco non-profit organisation that operates in the Tenderloin district, offering meals, child care, health care and vocational training for the city’s homeless and poor.

The charity lunch was first begun in 2000 after Buffett’s late wife Susan, who passed away in 2004, introduced the billionaire to Glide and founder Reverend Cecil Williams. The past 10 lunches have generated over $5.9 million for the charity.

This year’s auction is being run by EBay Inc’s website, and has so far seen 31 separate bids for the Buffett luncheon, although usual process means that the last couple of hours of bidding will see the most frenzied action. Last year’s winning bid was $1,680,300 from Toronto-based Salida Capital Corp, while the all-time record bid was made in 2008 by the Hong Kong investor Zhao Danyang, worth $2,110,100.

Buffett, 79, is reportedly worth around $47 billion according to figures published by Forbes magazine. His investment and insurance company, Berkshire Hathaway Inc, has been the main source of his wealth, much of which has already been pledged to charity.

Ask any UK celebrity or musician where the biggest market lies and they will usually tell you its across the water in the United States.

Now the British retail industry is looking west in an effort to battle its way back from the recession, with the US fashion market providing a valuable outlet for many retailers.

High street chain All Saints this week announced that their flagship shop on Broadway in New York raked in over $1 million (£680,000) in its first week of opening. Elsewhere, the trendy street-wear brand Superdry and modernist outfitter Jack Wills have both experienced recent US success, with customers keen for a new look that move away from the stale home-grown American clothing brands.

With so many British retailers still reeling from the economic downturn and slow pace of recovery, the US is now looming as a crucial battleground for UK fashion success. The popularity of upstart British clothing labels has been widespread, as they do not follow catwalk trends blindly. Jack Wills, which features a range of grown-up school-like clothing and university wear, is one such label that stands out for its individuality. The group has launched two stores already, including one in the well-heeled holiday destination of Martha’s Vineyard, and is anticipating a 2010 full year turnover in excess of £60 million.

Likened to a British version of Abercrombie & Fitch, fashion analysts are watching developments keenly. The world’s largest consumer market has always attracted UK retailers but few have historically had any success. In 1988, leading British company Marks & Spencer sought to enter the US market with clothing store Brooks Brothers. However, this was later sold at a loss in 2001.

The annual Dressed to Kilt charity catwalk show has once again seen stateside go mad for all things, and all people, Scottish.

The Big Apple was invaded by a tartan army made up of Hollywood heavyweights, showbiz celebrities, war veterans and sporting greats who came together to celebrate the fashion talent of bonny Scotland.

The charity event was hosted by iconic Scotsman Sir Sean Connery and Lady Connery, along with a veritable clan of kilt-wearers. The hosts were joined by such luminaries as Mike Myers, rock legend Joan Jett and actor Kyle MacLachlan. Justin and Colin, interior design gurus, became catwalk models for the evening, as did Carol Smillie and daughter Christie from Glasgow. Scottish sports were represented by rugby player Thom Evans and curling champion Eve Muirhead. The sold-out event saw the part-time runway stars strut their stuff as onlookers supped on whiskey cocktails at the £200 per ticket show.

Austin Powers creator Myers was first to sashay down the catwalk in a lion emblazoned superman t-shirt, complemented by a kilt that paid testament to Canadian forces fighting in Afghanistan. The crowd erupted at the appearance of rock-icon Joan Jett, resplendent in bra-top, mustard kilt and feathered Mohican.

Justin and Colin, sporting bright yellow and pink tartans, drew astonished gasps from the more conservative crowd members after a passionate lip-lock directly in front of the cameras, but the biggest cheer of the evening was for the four Afghanistan war veterans who all had lost limbs in the conflict as they took to the stage in their kilts.

This was the eighth instalment of Dressed to Kilt, an event that has quickly grown to be recognised as the premier Scottish fashion show.