Inaugural Gowns

The next Administration in Washington could do for Victor Costa--the Dallas-based designer known for reasonably priced cocktail and evening gowns--what the last one did for Galanos and Adolfo. Marilyn Quayle, wife of the next vice president, recently ordered three ensembles from Costa’s New York showroom. Costa told Listen she will wear a jade-green silk satin ball gown--very covered up with long sleeves and a portrait neckline--to the Inaugural Ball Jan. 20. President-elect George Bush’s daughter, Dorothy LeBlond, will wear a Costa also (“I’m not sure which one,” Costa says), as will his daughter-in-law Laura (wife of George Bush Jr.), who chose a “regal” purple tulle and satin gown. And that’s not all. Penne Korth, co-chair of the Inauguration festivities, is also going the Costa route, as are Susan Baker, wife of James, the next secretary of state, and Texas socialites Margaret Crow and Nancy Brinker. Costa says: “The sobriety, the sanity of the Bush Era are sending them all to my door. There aren’t any $10,000 dresses in this Administration that I know of.”Come Out Fighting . . .

It is possible that the next L.A. fitness craze will be boxing. Don’t laugh. We talked with 5-foot-2 amateur bantamweight Ruth Kramer Ziony, who says she runs in Griffith Park with boxers every morning, spars with them at a professional gym every noon and has lived and breathed boxing for the past two years because it is “a wonderful mental sport, a physical form of chess.” Ziony is not talking war games here, folks, but fine technique and physical grit: “I have a background in ballet, and I assure you that you don’t just hit the bag. You have to learn to throw a jab the way you learn to plie. Boxing is a metaphor for life. I train every day, build up my strength, avoid osteoporosis and burn lots of calories. That means I can eat.” Ziony, who hopes to write a book about it all, says even the boxing fashions are great. She wears silver-touched shoes made by a Spanish zapatero and sold at Margo’s, a downtown Los Angeles store that offers authentic, Mexican-made boxing gear, Ziony says. And her collection of T-shirts is “one of the most interesting in town,” she adds, because every top fighter puts his picture on shirts before a big fight, and she’s been collecting them all. We plan to meet her in a well-lit place one day soon, to get the rest of the story.

Much Ado About Brides

The February/March issue of Bride’s magazine has hit the newsstands, weighing in at almost four pounds. There are 948 pages (official count) dedicated to gowns, veils, tuxedos, linens, china, crystal and good-old etiquette. Associate editor Milli Martini Bratten tells us “many people get engaged around Christmas and the holidays. The majority of weddings will take place May through October, and people need time to plan.” Bratten says bridal etiquette today often surrounds “blended families. We get questions about where to sit parents who are divorced and don’t speak to each other. Women who are marrying men with children have asked: ‘Do they come on the honeymoon with us?’ ” We don’t know about you, but Listen votes no on that one.