The Art of Being State’s First Lady
At the inaugural celebration in Sacramento on Monday, California’s new first lady, Gayle Wilson, will be wearing crystal jewelry made for her by Los Angeles artist Faith Porter. She has a new sunburst brooch in black and gold crystal, with matching earrings, to wear with a turquoise and black daytime dress. And, with her pink satin inaugural ball gown she will wear silver and crystal earrings shaped like a sunrise, says Porter whose collections are sold at Neiman Marcus and Amen Wardy.
* THE YEAR OF THE FLAMBOYANT MALE: Men’s fashions were the talk of a New Year’s Eve party hosted by Mario Tamayo at his Atlas Grill in Hollywood. They wore tuxedos with antique jeweled pins instead of predictable bow ties, or jackets in wild shades of pink or orange, instead of black. One daredevil donned a veiled and jeweled red hat. Women wore short dresses (jewelry designer Deanna Hamro) or short, bare dresses (A.M. Los Angeles segment producer Hayley Moss). But long lengths created the most conversation. Costume designer Mary Kay Stolz (“Great Balls of Fire”) turned heads with her ankle-length, stretch velvet sheath by Vivienne Westwood. And gossip columnist Janet Charleton’s brown corset dress by Jean Paul Gaultier featured fringe from the hips to the floor.
* DUTCH TREAT: Walking into Oilily’s, the Netherlands-based shop for children’s and women’s wear with a new storefront in Beverly Hills, is like walking into a field of Dutch tulips. The clothes are a collision of color and pattern, seen often on Keshia Knight Pulliam who plays Bill Cosby’s youngest daughter on “The Cosby Show.” Over the holidays, several grown-up stars got the Oilily idea. Danny DeVito, Carrie Fisher and Belinda Carlisle all stopped in to do some shopping.
* BEST-DRESSED MEMORABILIA: Eleanor Lambert’s Best Dressed ’90 list reads like a trip down memory lane. The New York publicist’s annual decree is 50 years old this year. To celebrate, she listed her picks from the past five decades. The Duke and Duchess of Windsor still top Lambert’s list. The late Babe Paley, Millicent Rogers, and Diana Vreeland rate high, but only two contemporary women, Margaret Thatcher and Nancy Reagan, made it to front of the lineup. James Dean, Fred Astaire and Cary Grant are Lambert’s top choices for best-dressed men, while newer names are limited to O. J. Simpson, Tom Wolfe and David Hockney. Younger style makers aren’t likely to feel hurt, since the potency of In and Out lists is a thing of the past.
* BEYOND FASHION: Patricia Wettig (Nancy Weston on “thirtysomething”) has worn a wig on recent episodes of the show. Not to keep up with the trends, but because her character has undergone chemotherapy. At a recent seminar held by hairpiece expert Linda Secher of Special Treatment, a Westlake Village company that assists cancer patients in improving their appearance, Secher presented partial hairpieces, called integrators, for people like Wettig’s character, who are experiencing partial hair loss. They are custom-made to match the wearer’s existing hair, and they cost between $500 to $1,300. As for the best full wigs, Secher commended those assembled on a cotton cap, because they are the coolest to wear. And she said women don’t need to limit themselves to wigs that match their natural color. “If you lose your hair, you might as well have fun with a wig,” she said.
