Sophia’s Choice
IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE: Sophia Loren was doing an interview for Vanity Fair magazine recently at the Beverly Hills Hotel when she happened to spy a red cashmere pullover in the display window at the Amir boutique just off the lobby. The only problem was Amir is a men’s store. But Loren bought herself the sweater anyway. Earlier this week, she was in New York christening the newest “Love Boat,” the Crown Princess. For the inaugural dinner on the cruise ship she called on the talents of Nolan Miller, whose gold lame Empire waist gown with plunging decolette showed off her own famed prow to best advantage, says Loren’s longtime publicist, Bebe Kline. As for her reaction to the ship, the actress reported to Kline, “This looks like a movie set.”
NEIGHBORHOOD GIRLS: Sonia Braga and Susan Sarandon stopped into Studio, the shop on Montana Avenue in Santa Monica, on separate occasions recently. Braga bought a men’s chambray work shirt for herself, while Sarandon picked out a pair of Robert Lee Morris earrings as well as shirts and shorts by Clacton and Frinton as gifts for boyfriend/actor Tim Robbins. Both scooped up skin care products from Molton Brown , an English toiletries firm.
AQUA FLORALS: Hong Kong fashion queen Diane Freis is launching a new swimwear line. Her company’s limited collection of tanks and strapless suits in beaded Hawaiian Island prints ($140), coordinated cover-ups ($560-$800) and broad-brimmed fabric hats ($100-$220) is already in short supply, having sold out to retailers across the country, according to a spokesperson for the company. After a recent fashion show, Freis fans placed their orders in a frenzy. Those who want to float in floral splendor can expect the collection to hit department stores, as well as Freis’ Beverly Hills boutique, by late November.
AVOIDING BEAUTY MELTDOWN: Beverley Willey the official image and fashion consultant to the Ladies Professional Golf Assn., has spent five years tackling the sun-induced beauty hazards that sports-minded women face. “Skin and hair are the main problems,” she told us while on tour in Orange County. “Makeup has to last a good five hours, so matte is the key word.” (It doesn’t melt as easily.) “I use matte foundation, matte shadows and liquid liner rather than pencil, which tends to run in the heat. I tint lashes so that no mascara is needed and we live with liquid brow control.” As for reviving sun-faded hair color, she recommends L’Oreal’s new Colorvive shampoo and conditioner.
CANINE COVER-UP: Comic strip buffs are used to seeing Snoopy sans clothing, but visitors of the L.A. Natural History Museum will soon be able to see designer originals created for 294 plush recreations of the couture-minded canine and his sister, Belle. The collection includes works by Giorgio Armani, Bill Blass and Christian Lacroix. Tickets to the exhibit, entitled “Snoopy: Good Grief, he’s 40” are available now at Ticketmaster locations. The exhibit opens Oct. and continues through Feb. 18, 1991.
