Princess Diana will be getting a firsthand...

Princess Diana will be getting a firsthand look at the work of one of Los Angeles’ own couturiers during her upcoming visit to the United States. Designs by LaVetta will be worn at the Nov. 11 reception and dinner at the National Gallery of Art in Washington (celebrating the “Treasure Houses of Britain” exhibit) and at a polo match Nov. 12 in Palm Beach. Mrs. Franklin Murphy will be wearing one of LaVetta’s lavish, beaded gowns at the National Gallery, where she’ll be in the receiving line with the princess, LaVetta says. And the next day in Palm Springs, the designer reports, Mrs. Erich Koenig will be sitting in the box next to Princess Diana and wearing a white cotton lace suit with floral appliques.

While Azzedine Alaia picked up a pair of fashion “Oscars” at an awards ceremony in Paris last week (see View, Oct. 25), film folk Catherine Bach and Beverly D’Angelo were here in Tinsel Town picking up a few of Alaia’s “Oscar”-winning designs. Bach stepped into the Beverly Hills Alaia boutique and stepped out with a gold-and-black outfit to take with her on a trip to New York, Nadine Zanotti of the store tells Listen. D’Angelo bought red leather boots, a burgundy leather belt, a suede wrap skirt, a black-and-red bodysuit with matching stirrup pants and a pair of Alaia sunglasses. “Beverly has a new movie coming out,” Zanotti explains.

If Marcelle Baldo had a theme song, it could be “I’m gonna wash that man right out of my hair.” The trichologist who keeps a chair at the Aida Grey salon tells Listen she washes the hair, steams the scalp and conditions the coiffure of Sylvester Stallone (as well as John Travolta, who introduced her to Sly) every week. Baldo says she certainly did see Stallone’s picture on the cover of Vanity Fair magazine this month. In fact, “He brought the magazine people with him when he came in for a scalp treatment,” she says. “They asked him what he was doing here, and he joked: ‘I’m going bald, so I’m going to see Marcelle Baldo.’ ”

Just when we thought we’d die of curiosity about the latest comings and goings of New York designer Stephen Sprouse, whose ‘60s-inspired fashion business closed at the height of his success not long ago, we hear from his friend Gale Hayman that he’s alive and well and swimming in her pool three times a day while on vacation here. Hayman says her “younger brother” pal looks the same. His wardrobe consists of one pair of black, peg-leg jeans, one sleeveless jeans jacket with velvet collar, black T-shirts and a plethora of hairpieces to wear over his Mohawk haircut. And Hayman says he wears the same thing every day. She also says Sprouse has been painting in his free time, and his silk screens of “rock ‘n’ roll boys” are on exhibit at the Patrick Fox Gallery in New York. He’s going to Japan as a guest at an international fashion expo, and he’s taking along Sprouse women’s-wear designs from the personal collections of rock singer Deborah Harry (a k a Blondie), Hayman and Andy Warhol, no less, in lieu of his never-produced fall collection. As for his fashion-biz future, Hayman adds: “Stephen’s negotiating a new deal now, but until the papers are signed I can’t say any more.”

They’re having a run on peacocks at the Azar-Woods clothing boutique. Actress Tracey Ullman came into the store and bought a peacock-print blouse by store designer Wayne Woods. She was on her way to lunch at the time, Listen hears from Evonne Woods of the boutique. For Bette Midler, who was gearing up for a photo session, Woods says she helped select a turquoise and peacock-blue ensemble that includes a softly tailored shirt and long, full skirt by Wayne Woods and a batch of Aztec-inspired jewelry by L.A. designer Hillary Beane--all in peacock blue. “Bette liked everything so much she bought it all,” Woods reports, adding, “Peacock blue is her favorite color.”

For those of you who think Estee Lauder’s new book, “Estee,” is just about herself and her business scents, get a whiff of this. Listen came across a quote in the tome’s press kit on how to save your marriage--Estee style. To wit: “It is a responsibility to look as beautiful as you can. I think if every woman made up her face as if her lover or husband were 10 years younger than she, we’d be a nation less prone to marital discord.”

We don’t know yet if Kate Nelligan’s performance in the title role of the film “Eleni” is Oscar material, but Listen does know she’ll wear a gold lame, two-piece gown by Mary Ann Restivo to the premiere here on Nov. 15. Restivo tells us that Nelligan also dropped some gold on 10 other Restivo outfits for the tour to promote the film.

Prince protege Apollonia Kotero, currently appearing on “Falcon Crest,” gets Listen’s scene-stealer award for the outfit she wore to the taping of Ebony magazine’s Seventh Annual Black Achievement Awards last weekend in Hollywood. Kotero showed up in an opalescent pink sarong/tuxedo that was beaded, feathered and jeweled and also revealed her bellybutton as well as a few other strategic areas of her body. Asked who designed the, uh, gown, Kotero replied that she did and was “up until 4 in the morning” working on it. “I ran out of material,” she joked. “And I forgot my tan.” The awards show, which featured performances by Cab Calloway, B. B. King, Wynton Marsalis, Billy Eckstine and Gladys Knight and the Pips, celebrated the achievements of black Americans and the 40th anniversary of Ebony magazine. The show will appear in about 100 television markets around the country during the next three months.