She allegedly gave the world these pearls...

She allegedly gave the world these pearls of wisdom: “No woman can be too rich or too thin.” And now the late Duchess of Windsor’s other gems--the real ones--will be sold by Sotheby’s in Geneva to benefit the Institut Pasteur. Sale dates are April 2 and 3. But if you can’t make it to Geneva, perhaps you can get to New York March 17-22, when the entire collection of jewels belonging to Wallis, wife of the duke, will be on display at the Sotheby Galleries. The renowned auction house is billing the Geneva sale as the most important of its kind this century, thanks to the extraordinary taste level, history and romance linked to the jewels. Their total worth of $7 million doesn’t hurt either. Many of the pieces bear personal inscriptions like the one engraved on the ruby-and-diamond necklace the duke gave the duchess for her 40th birthday. It reads: “My Wallis from her David 19/6/36.” Or there is the charm bracelet hung with nine gold-and-jewel-studded crosses, each representing a special occasion. One cross is engraved with the message, “Our Marriage Cross Wallis 3-V-37 David.” The array of more than 200 items also features Cartier bracelets, clips shaped liked panthers and tigers as well as a flamingo brooch, said to be a particular favorite of the duchess, that is “ablaze” with rubies, sapphires, emeralds and diamonds.

That Bruce Willis is such a fashion plate. Not long ago the folks at Thedore Man in Beverly Hills told Listen he bought a silver zipper earring for his pierced ear. Now we hear he’s been skiing down the Aspen slopes wearing a coonskin cap. Jessica Vitti of the Aida Grey salon says she was in Aspen scouting for locations--beauty salons, not “Moonlighting” sets--when she spied Willis in the snow. But she says, Tom Cruise was there too, and: “He’s the one all the girls were buzzing about.”

We know Donna Mills’ New Year’s resolution. She’s going to get rid of the frizzles and let her hair grow long. Mills’ hair stylist, Allen Edwards, says they talked it over in great detail at the Mills’ Christmas party. (She was wearing a white knit dress at the time, he recalls.) Edwards says he plans to iron out her waves and curls and trade her chin-length, blunt bob for a shoulder-length or longer style. He’s also adding old-fashioned pomade to the finished product to make Mills the slipperiest star in “Knots Landing.” This major renovation should take about four months, he predicts. You may ask, why bother? “She’s had it short for a year and a half,” Edwards explains.

James Taylor made a surprise appearance in Beverly Hills the other day. But he didn’t do any singing. In fact, he hardly said a word, Listen hears from Joan Wills of the Fogal hosiery shop in the Rodeo Collection. Taylor accompanied a friend while she bought a batch of brightly colored opaque hosiery, Wills reports. “He was so quiet I didn’t even recognize him, but after he left, one of my salespeople told me who I’d missed.” Wills did recognize Farrah Fawcett, who showed up a little later with her mother. Fawcett bought opaque hosiery too, but she wanted only black.

Never a dull moment over at Century City, which has a fresh look thanks to eight new stores and five remodeled ones. Among the newcomers are some unusual retail entries, including a fashion venture by automotive entrepreneur John M. Steigler. You might recognize the name, or the voice, from his Mercedes-Benz commercials on radio. Now he has opened Steigler, a snazzy boutique where men can find the Hugo Boss collections and women can dip into, among other things, accessories and jewelry by Nina Ricci. From what we hear, you can’t miss the place. There’s a 1931 Mercedes parked inside the front window. Other recently opened shops include Wilke’s Sport, a division of San Francisco’s Wilkes Bashford; Splash & Flash, a store where the winning combination is swimwear and evening wear; Talbot’s, the Massachussetts-based specialty store that deals in “tasteful clothing for women,” and G.HQ. for Men, a division of Judy’s, offering designer menswear. For the pet brigade, there’s a new addition called Chien et Chat, which deals in such rarities as antique bird cages and diamond-studded animal collars. If you need the rare animals to go inside the cage or the collar, Chien et Chat reportedly has them too.

Galloping goats, what will they think of next? We have word from Santa Barbara’s Meyenberg Powdered Goat Milk, better known for their dried goat milk drink, that the same dehydrated chevre champagne makes no mean beauty treatment. They’re recommending a cupful of the stuff in your bath water. And for more advanced beauty buffs, they suggest a facial scrub. To concoct it, they say, add 1 1/2 tablespoons of the goat powder, a tablespoon of ground almonds and a tablespoon of warm water. Make a paste, massage it onto your face then rinse it off with warm water. We’ll say this much: The price is right. Two dollars buys four ounces--enough powder to keep you and your goat looking like Cleopatra for the next century. OK, OK, the next couple of months. Meyenberg powder is sold at major health food stores.