The fragrance,Giorgio, Beverly Hills, is going to...
The fragrance,Giorgio, Beverly Hills, is going to Paris. The scent that’s setting sales records all over America--with a sales volume of $60 million last year alone--is scheduled to arrive in the world’s perfume capital in October. It will be for sale exclusively at Galleries Lafayette. Knowing that most perfumes travel in the reverse direction, from France to the United States, it’s something of a triumphant trek from the Rodeo Drive boutique. Giorgio will be celebrating the trip with a gala launch Oct. 20 at the American Embassy. The event is timed to coincide with the spring pret-a-porter showings. The invited guests will be composed of “a VIP list of international dignitaries,” including social leaders and designers, says Giorgio’s Katy Sweet. Giorgio president Fred Hayman arrives in Paris today to confer with the embassy staff, see the facilities and finalize plans. In his confirmation letter to Sweet, E. William Tatge, commercial counselor to the American Embassy, said: “We have long felt it was time for Americans to strengthen our competitive position in this market that has been the capital of fashion and fragrance.” It should be added that Hayman, with his customary zeal, predicts that Giorgio will become Paris’ No. 1 fragrance. Tout de suite, we expect.
One of Sarah Purcell’s “hobbies,” her publicist Mack Newberry says, is cross-country shopping. She developed this interest when she was on the road shooting “Real People.” Now that she’s co-host of the new TV series, “America,” which premieres Sept. 16, she’s back on the coast-to-coast shopping trail. Here’s how it works: During a 30-minute limousine stop in Bal Harbour, Fla., she dashed into the Martha boutique and bought a Jean-Louis Scherrer white silk crepe cocktail dress. During a break in Scottsdale, Ariz., she dashed over to Hattie’s and picked up a sequined football jersey and cotton knit pullover. In New York . . . well, you get the idea.
Usually Mary Crosby wants to keep the wardrobe she wears in her acting roles. But this time, “she never wants to see the clothes again,” says Deborah Kelman, who is working with Crosby on “Welcome to Our Night,” a new TV movie. Crosby’s wardrobe consists of four versions of the same dress, Kelman says. It’s a floral-print design by Regina Kravitz bought off the rack at Mr. Frank. Kelman says the story takes place one night in Chicago when two vacationers go out the town. Crosby and her co-star, Richard Thomas, meet up with nothing but trouble. “By the end of the show,” Kelman says, “the dress is a wipeout.”
Christine,Phyllis and Dorothy--otherwise known as the McGuire Sisters--have been working out for a year to get their bodies in shape for their comeback tour this summer. Their regimen combined aerobics, gymnastics, dancing, bicycle riding and brisk walking. To show off the results, they ordered an array of flashy new costumes. Bob Mackie designed off-white chiffon gowns beaded in stripes of crystal and silver bugle beads. Ret Turner embroidered their names on sweat shirts with rhinestones. And Ray Aghayan says he had 20 workers stitching overtime for four days to produce peach chiffon blouses and wrap-around skirts beaded in vermicelli crystals, bugle beads and lockrosens, which are diamond-like crystal beads from Czechoslovakia.
Wait till the sociologists get their hands on this one: Women are wearing the suits in their families nowadays . . . and men are wearing heaven knows what. That’s the result of a new apparel-trend survey that just reached our desk. The study, by MRCA Information Services of Stamford, Conn., reports that women bought 8 million more suits last year than they did in 1980, while men bought 9 million fewer suits. And women spent $600 million more on suits last year than they did five years ago, while men spent nearly $400 million less. Now it’s easy to figure that more women are buying suits because more women work in offices these days. But we can’t for the life of us figure out why men are buying fewer suits because the male work force hasn’t shrunk. And it looks just a wee bit peculiar to us that, according to the survey, men are buying more swimwear than ever before. Are men lolling around in their trunks, watching TV, while their wives wear the figurative pants? Listen wants to know.
