Pinning Down Paris
For about $5 you, too, can achieve the height of Parisian chic; just buy an enameled lapel pin--or maybe a dozen. The French have flipped for what they call Pin’s. Their English punctuation leaves something to be desired, but not their imagination. Pins run the gamut, from images of Marilyn Monroe to brand-name logos, especially Coca-Cola, Harley-Davidson, Marlboro and Levi’s. And Pin’s Up, a new French magazine devoted to collecting them, already has more than 40,000 subscribers.
* IT’S THE ACT THAT COUNTS: It’s not the typical gift with purchase, but it could be among the most valuable. With every purchase of Hanes, Donna Karan or DKNY hosiery this month at Nordstrom stores, shoppers receive a shower hangtag demonstrating self-examination techniques for detecting breast cancer. Hanes, which also manufactures Donna Karan hosiery, proposed the idea to Nordstrom as part of national breast cancer awareness month. A listing of local accredited mammography centers is also available at Nordstrom hosiery counters. No purchase necessary.
* NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK: Melinda and Olivier Besnoin, the husband-and-wife team behind the fashionable Melivier label, are challenging the big guns on Rodeo Drive. At the beginning of this month, the Los Angeles-based duo took over the old Bernard Perris space in the Rodeo Collection. In their new shop they stock only their own line and provide a custom design service. Olivier reports that within days of opening, two of Hollywood’s most rabid fashionettes had sniffed them out--Jean Kasem and Barbara Davis.
* FASHION ON WHEELS: Recent interest in ‘70s fashion and music is igniting the revival of another 20-year-old pastime--roller disco skating. Rusty Updegraff, a former sportswear sales rep, and longtime friend Vicky Brinkord, have turned the Los Angeles-based World on Wheels roller-skating rink into a happening attraction every other Friday. The club plays disco music and provides free beer with a $15 cover charge. Recent roller enthusiasts have included French designer Thierry Mugler and the Madonna backup dancers.
* NEW DAY JOBS: Those eye-catching windows at the Sy Devore shop in Sherman Oaks were designed by a troika of television’s fashion designers. Longtime patrons of the store and wardrobers for some of televisions dearly departed series--Patrick Norris for “thirtysomething,” Darryl Levine for “China Beach” and Jay Kaplan for “Dynasty” and now “Homicide”--supervised the new mannequin displays.
* FASHION DISSONANCE: People sipping cappu c cino and munching scones at Santa Monica’s trendy Odeon bakery on Montana Avenue couldn’t help but notice the woman wearing the Save the Wildlife T-shirt. It wasn’t the cute black-and-white panda face on the T that caught their attention. It was the Chanel alligator handbag slung on her shoulder. The bag sells for $7,455. Now that is ironic fashion.
* CAN YOU BEAT IT? Now that Liz’s yellow wedding gown has been duly noted, here is the bead-by-bead description of Michael Jackson’s attire for the Taylor-Fortensky nuptials. He walked her down the aisle in a period-piece outfit by Dennis Tompkins and Michael Bush that began with a high-neck, waist-length, silk-velvet, latticework black jacket--decorated with beads, rhinestones, ribbons and hand-crocheted cords. The host with the most glitz also wore a black chest belt set with beads and rhinestones, two antique brooches and sterling silver (we kid you not) ankle boots. Jackson completed his “elaborately crafted costume” (as columnist Liz Smith kindly observed) with a pair of black jeans and matching black gloves.
