Our Paris ear tells us the French...
Our Paris ear tells us the French have really gotten into the Fourth of July spirit. Their own Statue of Liberty (a smaller version) has had a face lift and is shining once more from her island in the Seine. And another version of Miss Liberty has been gowned by the house of Christian Dior. Ear tells us that Dior designer Marc Bohan has created a star-spangled, red, white and blue toga dress for a 10-foot-high replica of Miss Liberty and that the couture-clad statue will be in a position of honor at the American ambassador’s garden party in Paris today.
If you like four-legged fashionables, you may want to stroll by Frette linens some day soon. That’s the Rodeo Drive Collection shop where sheets start at $650 and where some of the city’s most chic women shop for “clothing” for their beds. Listen hears from Frette spokeswoman Jeanne Longo that an architecturally interesting $3,000 doghouse has been shipped from New York to Beverly Hills, where it will be placed in the shop window and draped with coverlets, pillows and other Italian-made essentials suitable for top dogs in town. So far, no decision has been made on whether to put a pooch in the window to live in the house, Longo says.
Bidermann Industries--the French fashion powerhouse--scooped tonight’s Fourth of July celebration in New York when the firm invited friends to preview Lady Liberty’s new look via helicopter earlier this week. Listen noted from a chopper’s eye-view that the Lady’s gown looks freshly laundered, but it’s her torch that has really taken a new shine.
What should a woman wear to breakfast? Well, if it’s a power breakfast, those business powwows held just after the sun rises (the kind Newsweek magazine touted recently), she might want to take some advice from breakfaster extraordinaire Judith Price, publisher of Avenue magazine. “Everything has to be an octave lower than at 9 a.m., because people have just gotten up,” she explains. The light is also harsh at 7:30 or 8 a.m., she says, and in restaurants, the most powerful tables are closest to the windows. That means jewelry shouldn’t be overwhelmingly glittery, makeup should be toned down, hair and clothing should be simple, and if a woman wears perfume, she should apply “just a dot.” Price, who makes a practice of petite dejeuner (breakfast), held one recently at the Bel-Air Hotel to announce the launch of Avenue’s Los Angeles Diary and Directory and also to honor Giorgio’s Fred Hayman. Judging from what women in the crowd wore--pastel suits, simple pale cotton dresses with pearls and a noticeable lack of glitz or glitter--they are getting the hang of early-morning power dressing. “The women are dressed sensationally,” marveled guest Jacques Camus of the Westwood Marquis hotel. “It’s better than a cocktail party.”
Store of the Week Salute goes to Bullocks Wilshire, whose Art Deco landmark building is being maintained in the manner to which it was born. Store President Jerry Nemiro tells Listen that Bullocks Wilshire has started a five-year program to “preserve the character and intent of the original” 1929 structure. So far the fur salon has been restored to its original glamour, including gold-leaf ornamentation--cherubs and all--on the cornice around the room. The furniture has been restored and the original murals rejuvenated. We also happen to love the store’s tearoom, where the food and atmosphere continue to remind us of the best of the good old days.
You’re wondering about summer footwear? Would you believe inflatable shoes that look like huge bananas and that allow you to--no kidding--actually walk on water? They’re called Sjoffels (pronounced shuffles) and they’re “designed for an incredibly awesome and thrilling experience.” Unique Products’ Marva Lanier tells Listen that Sjoffels can be used “to walk, glide or ride over the waves, to explore islands or maintain boats without benefit of dinghies.” They’re also great for group sports, she says. We’ve seen them; they look adorable. They’re of PVC, come with poles, cost $95 a pair and are available only by writing to Unique Products, 4885 Alpha Road, Suite 155, Dallas, Tex. 75244.
