The Lobe Theater
They may not be bionic, but they’re big. That’s the general description of earrings selected for Lindsay Wagner recently at the New Stone Age gallery in Los Angeles. We hear that a stylist, working on a new Ford commercial, took two pairs for Wagner’s consideration. The winner was a sterling silver, Southwestern-influenced design by Los Angeles artist Donna Darrow.
The Silky Way
Chinese fashion is not all Mao coats and Mandarin collars. In fact, the first professional models from the People’s Republic of China will strut their stuff in Los Angeles on Nov. 6, offering a historical look at their country’s silk garments, along with contemporary silk styles manufactured for the Mainland and for export. Barbara Trister of the mayor’s fashion advisory office tells us the models are exquisite, the clothes fascinating, and the tickets are $45 for lunch, $65 for dinner at the Stouffer Concourse Hotel. For reservations, (213) 452-6637.
Penny for Your Thoughts
A $5,000 book? You betcha. It’s neither old nor rare, though it might be very “precious,” if you catch our drift. Each page has an aphorism of a single line, there are only 26 copies extant (“one copy for every letter of the alphabet,” author Robert Grayson says). The book is sold with a pair of kid gloves at Torie Steele, the Rodeo Drive high fashion shop. Why is the book $5,000? “Thought has become a luxury item. My thoughts are valuable. They are priced accordingly,” Grayson says. Why are they sold at a clothing store? Because of the gloves. The book is printed on very delicate kozo fiber, and must be read with kid gloves. What kind of thoughts are written? “Until I got to know myself, I never knew what narcissism meant.” That’s a direct quote from the volume, titled “From Left To Right.” We didn’t ask why.
Boxed Affairs
Taos artist Jim Wagner’s collection of love-letter boxes went on display last week at Tops in Malibu, and early buyers included Jennifer Jones Simon and Larry Hagman. We’re told by Karen Lagana at the gallery (owned by Judy and Robert Walker) that Simon purchased eight of the folk-art boxes (“She’s keeping one for herself”), and Hagman bought four. Drummer Mick Fleetwood passed on the boxes and bought some of Wagner’s silver animal pins, Lagana tells us.
“It was a fashion emergency,” says Marti Devore about a 10 p.m. phone call concerning Dodger Orel Hershiser’s personal wardrobe. It seems the champ had nothing but Dodger blues to wear for a talk show tour he’s taking, along with a stop at the White House. So personal shoppers from the Best Dressed company made a late-night stop at the Sy Devore store in Sherman Oaks. Among the traveling togs they chose were a double-breasted gray suit, a black herringbone jacket and a cobalt blue pullover. Hershiser didn’t accompany the shoppers, Devore explains.
Finding Material She Likes
Shoppers at Wilder Place on Melrose Avenue got more than they bargained for when Madonna stopped by to do some shopping. Wearing high-tops, leggings, a short skirt and leather jacket, all in black, the material girl browsed around for about an hour and found two bracelets she liked, store owner Jo Wilder says. One is made of semiprecious stones in watery colors. The other is beaded in a traditional Indian design taken from an old, symbolic pattern. “The design means ‘first woman,’ ” Wilder explained.
Not Bowing to Tradition
Pee Wee Herman, a.k.a. Paul Reubens, went shopping at Rick Pallack’s in Sherman Oaks recently. But “nobody realized it was Pee Wee until just about the time he was ready to leave,” Pallack tells Listen. “He doesn’t look like his character in person, and he talks very normal. Although he did slip into a high-pitched voice when he got excited about a suit.” Reubens bought “conservative gray suits, shirts and ties,” which were the long-standard variety. “ Not bow ties,” Pallack notes.
