Sentimental MysteryWhose dress is it anyway? We...

Sentimental Mystery

Whose dress is it anyway? We asked ourselves that when Nancy Reagan let it be known over national TV that the peach silk outfit she wore to this week’s Republican National Convention was 8 years old. She said she chose it for sentimental reasons--it’s the same dress she wore to the convention in 1980 when her husband was first nominated for president. But we had to ask about the label, so we checked with a few of her favorite designers. It wasn’t by David Hayes, we found out, and it wasn’t by James Galanos. It wasn’t even an Albert Nipon, though his wife and business partner, Pearl, thought the dress looked awfully familiar. The First Lady’s press secretary, Elaine Crispen, finally consulted her boss and set the record straight: “Mrs. Reagan had the dress made by a local dressmaker in Los Angeles 10 or 11 years ago, but she can’t remember who.”

Hair Now, Gone Tomorrow

The First Lady’s convention coif--combed forward instead of her usual swept-back style--was another touch of nostalgia. “She saw her hair styled that way in an old picture of herself, and wanted to try it again,” we hear from First Coiffeur Julius Bengtsson, who went to New Orleans with the Reagans. He says there were some beastly beauty problems on the trip. It was so humid he had to spray her hair like crazy or it would collapse completely, Julius reports from his home base in Los Angeles. Next for the itinerant tress-tender who doesn’t like to use his last name? A jaunt to Santa Barbara this weekend for Mrs. Reagan’s birthday party, he says. It sounds like a piece of cake. “She won’t need much; the party’s outside and casual, so I’m sure she’ll wear a hat,” Julius explains. “She doesn’t like the sun on her face.”

Getting a Cut Above

An epidemic of bangs has erupted in Manhattan’s fashion magazine set, an apparent homage to Anna Wintour, the new thirty-something chief at Vogue. Wintour’s signature haircut features a short bob and bangs straight across the forehead, Louise Brooks style. And dozens of young, editorial types in the New York Conde Nast building, which houses Vogue, Mademoiselle, Bride’s, Glamour, HG (House and Garden), Self, GQ and Vanity Fair, are emulating the look, we hear, no doubt hoping the Wintour cut will help them get the Wintour clout.

The Great Couple Does L.A.

It was blue jeans, blazers and sushi the other night for actress Janet Jones and hubby hockey hunk Wayne Gretzky. The similarly dressed couple were spotted in Sushi Ko, at the top of Beverly Glen Boulevard, a friend of Listen reports. Their dinner companion, Kings’ owner Bruce McNall, looked nautical and nice, we’re told, in his blue-and-white pullover.Democracy at Work

Presidential candidate Michael Dukakis may buy his suits downstairs in Filene’s bargain basement, but his wife, Kitty, has been shopping above stairs lately. Listen hears from designer David Hayes that he has seen her wearing a navy suit, carried by Filene’s upstairs, and a silk print dress available at Neiman-Marcus in Boston, both from recent Hayes collections. And in New York, at the Albert Nipon showroom, press liaison Roberta Wolfe says Kitty made more than one shopping stop there in recent months. “She buys day-into-evening things, usually red, with short sleeves,” says Wolfe, who adds that the governor’s wife is accompanied by a personal shopper.

New Control for Your Hair

The Wilshire Boulevard hair salon that used to be called Tovar is now called Char. What happened to the great Tovar we’re not sure. Hollywood moguls Jerry Weintraub (Weintraub Entertainment) and partner Tom Hulett (Concerts West, handling Earth, Wind & Fire, the Moody Blues and the Beach Boys) foot the bills for the palatial shop, which opened four years ago. Apparently the dynamic duo still likes the idea of hair styling as an entertainment form. They’re keeping the salon open, and Hulett’s wife, Char, has taken over. A representative phoned to say this is perhaps the first hair salon in Beverly Hills owned by someone who is not a hairdresser. That kind of trivia may come in helpful at your next party. More trivia: Diane Keaton, Molly Ringwald and Natalie Cole have all stopped by Char in recent days, and Olivia Newton-John and Jane Seymour are regular clients.

Trumping Democrats

Not to say he’s a party partisan, but Geoffrey Beene did put on a fashion show for the Republican National Convention womens’ committee in New Orleans Thursday. Maybe it was just to warm up for his own convention, of sorts. Sept. 20 he’ll be the keynote sparkler at “Geoffrey Beene: The First Twenty Five Years,” a retrospective show of his work, at New York’s National Academy of Design. It’s too soon to say which Beene constituents will be on hand that night. But Listen’s Cajun country correspondent tells us Barbara Bush, Betty Ford and that most democratic of shoppers, Ivana Trump, all gave their Beene invitations the nod in New Orleans.

A Healthy Stage Presence

Gloria Estefan put her best face forward for Miami Sound Machine’s last show at the Greek Theatre. Skin-care specialist Ole Henriksen says that before the final performance, Estefan came in for a light vegetable peel and a deep cleansing (accomplished with the aid of a goat’s-hair brush). We also now know that Estefan has healthy skin because she has great circulation. Henriksen says Estefan always takes an exercise bike with her when she’s on tour and, of course, does all that moving around on stage.