Anything Goes

Apparently the dress code for cocktail parties is in no danger of getting stale. Not when Ali MacGraw can wear blue jeans to the same party where Valeria Golino wears gray satin. They weren’t the only ones testing the fashion limits Wednesday when Matthew Rolston, just named photographer of the year, invited them to celebrate. Amanda Pays’ ivory-colored outfit could have passed for elegant pajamas.

Ring-a-Ding-Ding

Michael Dawkins, owner of the M Gallery on Sunset Boulevard in West Hollywood, tells us singer Janet Jackson dropped by to look for jewelry the other day. Her outfit was notable: “ripped jeans, a cropped T-shirt, dark glasses and a cellular phone,” Dawkins says. Jackson actually found time to select a Dawkins-designed silver bangle and earrings, despite spending about 30 minutes on her phone, which, according to Dawkins, “would not stop ringing.”

Scouting Out the New Looks

Be prepared for the Boy Scouts of America’s new uniforms to hit the streets this fall. It’s all part of a continued effort to make scouting appear more attractive to boys who might think it’s a tad too “geeky” for their tastes. Styled-up outfits will supplement, but not replace, the standard dress uniforms the boys now wear, says Don Rogers, who works in the organization’s council services division at its Irving, Tex., headquarters. The new look--a short-sleeved tan cotton dress shirt and matching shorts--is for casual occasions and active sports. There’s now a short-sleeve red dress shirt as well. As for changing the nerdy image, Lee Sneath, national spokesperson for the Boy Scouts of America, said the organization is gearing up to change it. “There will always be a faction of people who think scouting isn’t cool. We want to present the fun side.”

I Don’t Wanna Grow Up

We know at least one grown-up who still likes to shop with his mother. It’s twentysomething talk-show host Byron Allen, who took mother and executive producer, Carolyn Folks, along when he selected cool threads for his new Saturday night show on ABC. Sherman Oaks retailer Rick Pallack tells us Folks’ input was “more like a friend’s,” and viewers have already seen some of the clothes. For Allen’s first show, which included guests Whoopi Goldberg and Patti LaBelle, the music-minded comedian wore an oversized teal linen shirt, black-white-and-teal glen plaid jacket and black pleated, baggy trousers. Stay tuned, because Pallack says Allen, unlike others in his line of work, is not going to stick with just one look.

Think Pink

Zandra Rhodes has changed her hair--from Day-Glo pink to aubergine. The richer--dare we say more passionate--red color seems to complement her Queen of Hearts dresses, including one she created in pink silk chiffon, tulle and ribbons for the Duchess of York. The hearts on the fabric she used for the duchess were most discreet, Rhodes explained at Neiman Marcus, where she presented her new styles. “They have to be,” she said. “If you do something with hearts, it has to make a woman feel wonderful and not as if she’s in fancy dress for Valentine’s Day.”

The Height of Fashion

When actor Chris Lemmon flies, he travels in style--aviator style, that is. On a recent Alaska Airlines run from Burbank to Portland, the star of the new Fox-TV sitcom “Open House” sprawled out in first class, National Lampoon magazine in hand, wearing kick-back jeans and T-shirt. Then, during a stopover in Oakland, Lemmon pulled on his jacket: a ‘40s-look, distressed-leather bomber. Now that’s dressing for the occasion.

Model Citizens

Add Alexander Julian’s name to the list of fashion designers and retailers using “real” people (not models) in their ads. His national menswear promotion this fall features five Boston businessmen whose jobs range from bond salesman to software honcho to magazine marketing specialist. The men did not have to wear makeup or assume outrageous poses, but they did get free haircuts. Professional model shots, Julian said, “paled in comparison.”