DEAR HOT: While shopping at Fred Segal...
DEAR HOT: While shopping at Fred Segal Melrose the other day I found some used jeansI had never seen before. They’re called Montana Broke, and they’re supposedly previously worn by Montana ranch hands or something. Is this true or has seeing “Dances with Wolves” 13 times addled my brain?
DEAR HOT SHOPPER: We don’t know about the status of your brain cells, but we’re told that these jeans have actually been worn by gen-u-wine bronc riders, ropers, ranchers and farmhands who live in Montana. Judy McFarlane came up with the concept and she tells us that she first started to gather her jeans from “neighboring ranchers, later from the Northern Rodeo Assn. and now from around 200 ranches splattered all over the state.”
The jeans, which retail for about $60, come with a “Tracking Guide,” which explains the origin of each pair’s wear-and-tear markings. According to the guide, pants sometimes lack the tag in back: “Cowgirls make a sport of tearing the tag off of an unsuspecting guy’s pants. If she’s particularly amorous, she uses her teeth.”
Besides Fred Segal, the jeans are available at Hemisphere in Santa Monica and Wild Things in Manhattan Beach.
MISS KRIER ADMITS: I’ve always wanted to own a Coach handbag--if only for the outrageous Coach guarantee covering all repairs for the normal lifetime of the product. But Coach styles have always appeared too preppy, and too dowdy, for my taste. Now, however, the company’s come out with its new “marble bag” (pictured). It’s not a revolutionary design. You probably won’t find it on Melrose. But but it’s still a lot more fun-looking than those Coach styles that resemble schoolgirl book bags.
As for the guarantee, I’m a believer. A friend once walked into a Coach store and a saleswoman noticed that the leather on her Coach bag was starting to fade. The clerk asked, “How long have you had that bag?” On learning that it was only 1 year old, she volunteered to send the purse to the factory for replacement or repair. Two weeks later, a brand-new handbag--same style, same color--arrived in my friend’s mail.
The marble bag, which comes in black, blue, chamois, white or red leather, sells for about $108 at Coach stores (in the Century City Shopping Center and Costa Mesa’s South Coast Plaza) and department stores. The purse, as well as a free catalogue describing most items in the Coach line, can also be ordered by calling (800) 223-8647.
MISS STEIN BEGS TO DIFFER: I own a Coach bag and I constantly receive compliments on it from very stylish women. And the first person who calls me preppy or dowdy is going to find her little, bleached-blond head in a hammerlock.
WEARABLE HAPPY HOUR?--We’re still trying to find the connection here, but Blossom Hill, a wine marketed by the company that owns Almaden, has come out with a perfume designed for wine fanciers. While Blossom Hill Eau de Parfum contains no wine (who wants to smell like Bordeaux anyway?), the rose and jasmine fragrance is scheduled to be sold in wine shops nationwide. In the meantime, those interested in sampling a quarter-ounce bottle can send $14.95 to Blossom Hill Eau de Parfum, P.O. Box 290864, Wethersfield, Conn. 06129-0864.
