Bowie Unchanged

Fashion plate David Bowie’s in town this week with his tour BOWIECHANGES, but one thing he doesn’t change during this concert is his clothing. A few weeks before the tour began, Bowie decided to wear a black, single-button wool crepe suit by Giorgio Armani, and a tailored, white Armani shirt from his personal wardrobe, instead of the leopard prints, leathers, tulles and twinkling lights of his more flamboyant past. He had an assistant phone the designer’s boutique to round up several other identical suits, all from last fall’s men’s wear collection, says Wanda McDaniel of the Beverly Hills Armani boutique. He wears the suit with the classic white shirt or an Edwardian poet’s shirt and a vest throughout the show.

STALLONE STYLE: The Stallone brothers, Sylvester and Frank, are trying out a new style--sartorial splendor. Sly took a few days out of his hectic Cannes schedule to drop by Gianni Versace’s store in Milan for some fittings, sending the locals into a twitter. They consider the Italian-rooted Stallone a home-grown product. No doubt his little shopping spree also pleased Versace, an unabashed groupie who courts the patronage of rock and roll and movie stars. Meanwhile, back in the States, Frank can be seen sporting pieces from his vintage Italian wardrobe of ‘30s and ‘40s wear, on his new album cover, “Day In, Day Out.”

THE FASHION HOUSE OF USHER: If you have been out to the old ball game recently you may have noticed the ushers at Dodger Stadium are sporting new uniforms--well, new versions of an old style. Their new duds are modeled on usher uniforms of the 1890s. The Great Western Forum recently re-outfitted their ushers, too, in a great Western kind of way. All of their ticket takers, food vendors and ushers are wearing new Western-wear inspired uniforms.

BACK BY POPULAR DEMAND: Earlier this year Maybelline discontinued its original mascara, the cake form that came in the little flat red box. The company realized its mistake almost immediately when women, desperate for their favorite cosmetic, flooded the Maybelline headquarters in Memphis, Tenn., with inquiries. In September the cake mascara will be back on the Maybelline shelf. It’s the first time the company has ever re-introduced a discontinued product in its original form.

TALL, DARK AND SENSITIVE: Dr. Phillip R. N. Sutton of the University of Melbourne Dental School in Australia has found that people with the highest tolerance to pain have blue, green or hazel eyes. Reactions to pain intensify slightly in people with light and medium brown eyes, and the greatest sensitive to pain was noted in subjects with dark brown eyes.

NIP AND TUCK AT NM: It looks as if major surgery is on the agenda for Neiman Marcus in Beverly Hills. Starting next September, says store Vice President John Martens, NM will undergo a $14-million face lift, including “a total redo” of Floors 2 through 4. Starting at the top, all men’s items will be consolidated on the fourth floor, and all designer boutiques will reside on two. That means shoes are about to get a lift, to floor No. 3. All this to keep up with the Joneses--of Dallas. Martens says the Beverly Hills store has managed to outsell, out-stock, out-style the original Dallas store over the last year. He doesn’t intend to give up the lead.

NEW BABY: Esprit plans to introduce a new line of childrens clothes this fall, called Bambini. The clothing sized 2T, 3T and 4T is an extension of Esprit Mini (Sizes 3 to 6) with casual dresses, jumpers, rompers and overalls for toddlers.