Glitz on the Skids : Recession Is Forcing Many Orange County Socialites to Scale Back and Tone Down Their Party-Going
Are they down for the count, or just coasting?
Those are the questions Orange County’s glitterati have begun to ask about their recession-hit neighbors.
Several members of the High Social Wattage set, many of them developers and their wives, skipped last week’s $300-per-person Placido Domingo concert and gala.
Where were they? Home alone.
“We stayed home because my husband is working harder than he has in years and needs to rest,” says one wealthy developer’s wife, who requests anonymity.
“We’re not doing nearly as much of the social scene. It’s not just the cost of the gala. It’s the new dress you have to buy.
“My husband told me, ‘If you keep spending, you’re going to be eating your clothes!’ ”
So she’s shopping in her closet instead of boutiques. “It’s not that we’re the Trumps. But it is fun to have gorgeous clothes and be able to say: ‘ This is what I got for Christmas,’ ” she says, sighing.
Two Christmases ago, her rich girlfriend got a “honkin’ diamond,” she says. “Last Christmas she got a retaining wall.”
Intentionally or not, opera buffs epitomized toned-down glitz at the Domingo gala at the Westin South Coast Plaza hotel. Fashion pacesetter Renee Segerstrom--wife of South Coast Plaza developer Henry Segerstrom--wore an elegant Yves Saint Laurent gown she had worn before. And Willa Dean Lyon, wife of mega-developer William Lyon, was low key in a mildly glitzed pantsuit. Bespangled blockbusters by Bob Mackie have been her trademark.
“Developers are having most of the problems,” observes out-and-about Richard Engel, an opera philanthropist whose company overhauls power plants. “They’re not just recessed. They’re depressed. Eighty to ninety percent of the cash flow on Orange County’s social scene comes from developers or their direct descendants--bankers and advertising agencies.”
Says a Newport Beach developer’s wife: “We’re just trying to get through it. You can’t believe the piles of invitations we get. We’re just saying we’ll be out of town.”
One social luminary admits her husband has asked her to keep them out of the newspaper for a while.
“Otherwise, we’re besieged by charities wanting money,” she explains.
Some society types are disguising their wealth. They don’t want to offend. There’s the woman who is keeping her Ferrari parked and is firing up the Mercedes. “With a Mercedes, people are more apt to think it’s an old car,” she says. “During times like these, you don’t flaunt.”
And there’s the woman who has stored all of her fine jewelry in a safety-deposit box. “It doesn’t feel good to wear it; I wear mostly costume jewelry now,” says socialite Sue Perewozki of Newport Beach.
Another society type says she’s “sticking with her turquoise until this blows over.”
Tiffany & Co. Vice President Jo Ellen Qualls says that during a recession, women with taste are more selective about where and when they wear mega-jewels. On grand occasions, they’re fine, she says. On lesser occasions, it’s correct to sport less ornate accessories. “Pearls are always acceptable. So is gold. And really, so are diamonds; they bridge all manner of dress.”
These days, socialite Maria Crutcher of Newport Beach saves her important jewels for private parties. “If you can’t wear them there, where can you wear them?” she asks.
Speaking of the private party: The at-home get-together has become symptomatic of recessionary times. (It used to be the other way around. The private party, with Baccarat crystal, Dom Perignon and a drop-dead A-list was the hallmark of a bull market. Then, society became addicted to The Big Cause, and being seen at galas became de rigueur. )
“It seems we’re beginning to have those little dinner parties which we didn’t have for a long time,” says arts activist Ciel Woodman, chairwoman of the Performing Arts Center’s Candlelight Concert. “People haven’t been placing as much value on the home get-together. Now, it’s becoming a social coup to be invited to one.”
Pacific Symphony activist Janice Johnson, who loves giving at-home dinners, says the orchestra has decided not to have its annual ball this year. Instead, philanthropists Marvin and Pat Weiss are throwing a fund-raising bash in their home.
“Enough is enough,” Johnson says. “We decided we wanted to do something totally different and fun. People are getting tired of getting all dressed up and heading to a hotel for horrible food.”
