Putting On the Glitz

Kudos are coming L.A. costume designer Bill Travilla’s way this fall. He’ll receive a lifetime achievement award at the 5th Annual Hispanic Designers Gala Sept. 14 at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Washington. The Oscar- and Emmy-winning designer was selected by board members of Hispanic Designers Inc. and New York designers Paloma Picasso and Oscar de la Renta. He will show 17 of his designs and receive a crystal plaque, designed by the late fashion illustrator Antonio. He has created costumes for Ann-Margret and Jaclyn Smith, but some of the most celebrated are those he styled for Marilyn Monroe in “Seven Year Itch.” One is pictured here. About the fashion show, he says, “I’ll be showing strictly glamour, Hollywood style--the $1,200-and-up clothes for that woman who wears all the glitz. To keep our name out front you have to do that,” Travilla admits. “But I prefer my ladies simple and pretty.”

Faster Credit

Joan Van Ark, of “Knots Landing” fame, dashed into the Broadway department store at Fashion Square in Sherman Oaks recently,and went all but unrecognized despite her flashy, summer-print, short jumpsuit. Listen noticed she wasn’t carrying a handbag, just a wallet--easier access to the credit cards, we presume.

Permanent Alterations

It just might go down in history as Alteration Tuesday, when Saks settled out of court over its allegedly discriminatory alteration charges. (Until customer Muriel Mabry called her lawyer, Gloria Allred, women usually were charged for nips and tucks on their clothes, men usually were not.) Listen now hears from Patricia Fox, spokeswoman for the store, that Saks has started offering a few more “simple” changes for free, including hems in unlined skirts and dresses. Other stores around town seem to be taking a wait-and-see attitude about whether their policies need alterations. A spokesperson for I. Magnin/Bullocks Wilshire captured the spirit with a succinct: “We plan to review our policies and update them if necessary.” As for Mabry, she celebrated her victory with a $400 purchase at Saks. But no one seems to know if the suit needed alterations.

Her Loss Is a Winner

“L.A. Law” fans will see a slimmer Roxanne Melman in the new fall season. Actress Susan Ruttan, who plays the recently divorced legal secretary on the NBC drama, has lost, as she phrases it, “a ton.” Last year, Ruttan’s weight gain was so noticeable it was written into the show’s scripts. But she recently checked into the Oaks at Ojai health spa to tone up and accelerate a weight-loss program she designed for herself. She declined to say exactly how many pounds she’s dropped, but said she hopes to shed an additional 10 before Sept. 17, when the 41st annual nighttime Emmy Awards will be broadcast. She’s a nominee this year, but she’ll postpone a clothes-shopping trip in hopes of achieving her ideal weight before the show, which is slated for the day after her birthday.

Sidewalk Chatter

There’s yet another Post-Modern hot spot on Beverly Boulevard near La Brea Avenue. The new space, simply called Java, is a coffeehouse nestled right next door to Tyler-Trafficante, the shop that carries designer Richard Tyler’s styles. Michelle Trafficante and her sister, Lisa, were two of Java’s guests who kibitzed on the sidewalk to avoid the crush inside. Most interesting gossip heard from the sisters: Their in-store designer is providing some new duds for Ringo Starr’s tour. Add that to the pantsuits Tyler made for Paula Abdul to wear when she sang for her fans at the Forum Saturday.

Now Hair This

Actor Patrick Swayze--who sported a rock ‘n’ roll haircut in “Dirty Dancing,” artfully styled longer locks in “Road House” and a ponytail for “Next of Kin,” which opens in the fall--is undergoing yet another hair metamorphosis. According to haircutter Ronnie Romoff of the Santa Monica shop of the same name, Swayze recently came in for a “hip banker” style for his next film, “Ghosts.” The new look is “considerably shorter and much more squared off,” Romoff says. But is it still sexy? “It’s not hard to make him look sexy,” Romoff replies. “He looks Armani sexy now. It’s more of an international look. He liked it a lot.”

Marriage by the Numbers

We’ve heard of storybook romances but we must admit, this is our first encounter with a coloring-book wedding invitation. It comes from Leo Damian, last seen in “The Last Temptation of Christ,” and model Jane Destree, who will appear with Damian and Bo Derek in the October release “Ghosts Can’t Do It.” Their little 12-page book depicts the Damian-Destree romance in kiddie speak and stick figures. Destree’s wedding dress looks like a straw hut, but we hear it’s really “a provocative” white leather-and-lace gown by Michel Jacques for North Beach Leather. The bride and bridegroom might be the only well-dressed pair at the Aug. 19 event. The coloring-book dress code recommends “goggles and galoshes or formal attire,” and knowing Hollywood types, we’re betting on a lot of g & g.

Lugging It All Over Town

Madonna and Sammy Davis Jr. have a lot more in common than singing and dancing. They have luggage. Michael Cromer, owner and designer of the Munich-based company that makes the luggage, was in town recently to survey his Rodeo Drive store and tells us Davis bought his suitcases in Munich, while Madonna got hers in Beverly Hills. In addition to putting his initials all over the merchandise, Cromer names his handbags for women. The latest in the collection is the Suzy Wong, a little round shoulder bag with changeable colored tassels. The $390 status symbol commemorates the opening last week of MCM shops in Hong Kong, Tokyo and Osaka.

‘Annie Hall II’

Annie Hall recall? We spied Diane Keaton strolling solo through the courtyard of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art wearing a tailored man’s suit in shiny gray with a thin black tie and ecru-colored shirt. It brought back memories of that scene in “Annie Hall” where she and Woody Allen ponder the meaning of humankind, in New York’s Natural History museum. Keaton’s now wearing what looks like an update of her Annie look. Her suit jacket was that new, stylishly longer cut--the boyfriend jacket, as designers call it--and the pants were pegged. A modified black bowler was pulled down to her eyebrows. A black cloth flower was the only adornment on the suit.