A Good Cause to Wear Art

T-SHIRT COLLECTORS’ ALERT: The last time it was possible to even think about buying something for $18 designed by artist Peter Shire was back in the mid-’70s. That’s when then-undiscovered Shire was selling ceramic mugs, soap dishes and teapots from his funky Echo Park studio.

Today, one of Shire’s outrageous teapots will set you back some equally outrageous bucks: $2,000 to $6,000 at one of the trendier galleries throughout the world. You can similarly spend that much--or more--on one of his celebrated coffee tables.

Recently, though, Shire agreed to donate one of his designs to be reproduced on a T-shirt to benefit the Make-A-Wish Foundation. The shirt (pictured on Shire) sells for $18 at Sy Devore Menswear (14006 Riverside Drive, Sherman Oaks). Like everything else the artist does, it’s an exercise in whimsy.

Shire describes the design as a cityscape. “It’s L.A., more or less, from my house, on a hill in Elysian Park. It has little dolphins, suits of clothes and a wishbone all flying around L.A. The dolphins represented one kid’s wishes to swim with the dolphins. And the clothes are there because Sy Devore does clothes.”

Shire fans will also be pleased to note that Rizzoli recently published an art book ($27.50) on Shire’s teapots. It’s called, appropriately, “Tempest in a Teapot.”

COLOR ME TOO BUSY TO BUY MY MAKEUP IN PERSON--It’s fairly tough to find high-quality, custom-blended makeup these days--and it’s been virtually impossible to purchase it by mail. But now, makeup artist Marilyn Young (who counts among her clients singer Paula Abdul, actors George Hamilton and Shelley Long and models Linda Evangelista, Christy Turlington and Naomi Campbell) has figured out a way to whip up her custom colors without seeing a client in person.

To blend her precise shades of concealer, foundation, loose powder and highlighter to individual specifications, Young works from an extensive written questionnaire. It covers everything from iris color to hair highlights to skin undertones.

Mail-order customers also receive a pamphlet of tips that Young typically dispenses during makeup lessons. For more information, call (800) 543-1288.

For those with enough energy to visit Young’s studio (in the Ole Henriksen of Denmark Skin Care Center at 8601 W. Sunset Blvd. in Los Angeles), she’s still offering an amazing deal. It’s her standard, $65 makeup lesson priced at $38.50, with a cosmetics case thrown in.

Young originally offered the discount to stir up sales toward the end of 1990, but it brought in so much new business that she decided to continue it through 1991.