Piece of the Frock: ‘Chanel Look’ for Budget-Minded
“Straight from Paris--not even a stop in New York,” was how Roger Martin characterized the Chanel collection paraded pool-side recently at the Four Seasons Hotel in Newport Beach.
Without one mention of the R word ( recession is an impolite word in polite circles), Martin--manager of the Chanel boutique at South Coast Plaza--told 100 of Orange County’s wealthiest women how to keep the “Chanel look” without hocking their diamonds.
“The key is knowing you don’t have to be Chanel head to toe,” Martin told members of the Visionaries, the exclusive support group of the Newport Harbor Art Museum. ‘You can buy a piece of Chanel and complement your wardrobe.”
Used to be, if you weren’t Chanel stem to stern, you weren’t Chanel at all. But in these belt-tightening economic times the house of Chanel is making concessions.
“The word is options ,” Martin emphasized, “taking what you have, putting a piece of Chanel with it, and making it work for you.”
For a total Chanel ensemble--suit, bag, accessories--plan on kissing $2,000 good-by. Minimum. But with a single purchase--say, a pair of Chanel-logo emblazoned earrings--you can get away with spending less than $500.
Your first Chanel purchase should be a pair of earrings, Martin suggests. “Then a handbag, a belt, a suit.”
On view for the Visionaries after they had dined on grilled breast of chicken with baby veggies at tables topped with tulips and peonies: towering models in Chanel silhouettes that included waist-hugging tweed-and-leather jackets, black leather pegged pants with ankle zippers and full-cut long coats in jewel tones.
“We love previewing our clothing with the Visionaries,” Martin said afterward. “They are so responsive.” Move over, New York society.
In the black: With more than $100,000 in underwriting donations and attendance of more than 500 guests, the annual Orange Blossom Ball held at the Hyatt Regency Irvine on Saturday night proved that it was recession-proof.
Proceeds estimated at about $260,000 from the $300 per-person gala will benefit the Orangewood Children’s Foundation, an organization engaged in the $3.7-million expansion of the Orangewood Children’s Home for abused and abandoned children in Orange.
“The recession has increased the pressure on families,” noted William Steiner, the foundation’s executive director. “You combine unemployment with single parents and you’ve got frustrations that can be taken out on children.
“The good news is we are expanding our campus to accommodate 235 children per day. That’s what tonight’s fund-raiser is all about.”
Guests enjoyed a cocktail reception before entering a ballroom decorated with bigger-than-life crayons and toy soldiers. Clusters of balloons graced the walls.
“We cut our decor budget in half this year,” noted foundation vice chairwoman Kathryn Thompson, who wore an emerald necklace with her canary-yellow and emerald-green gown. “But it’s so beautiful, I think everyone will think we spent more.”
Each table was centered with a revolving carousel. Ballroom chairs wore black skirts tied with big bows in primary colors that matched the dinner napkins. Tiffany & Co. provided the perfume table favors.
As Barry Cole’s orchestra serenaded guests with hits from the ‘50s, party-goers dined on a Dungeness crab and avocado cocktail served up on a bed of mango-papaya salsa. A salad of baby field greens followed. The main course was roast veal with cognac and forest mushrooms.
In a nod to the Orange Blossom theme, water goblets floated with orange slices and dessert was an orange creme brulee served up with berries and a tiny chocolate Grand Marnier cake.
After dinner, the Gatlin Brothers entertained guests. And after the ball, the musicians gathered with Orangewood leaders in the hotel’s Imperial Room for a private reception.
“We couldn’t meet with them before the gala because they arrived today at 5 p.m. from Tennessee,” Thompson said. “So we thought it would be fun to chat with them in the wee hours.”
Among gala guests: ball chairman John Hagestad; Orangewood Foundation chairman William Lyon and his wife, Willa Dean; Gus Owen; Leo and Ruth Cook; Rick and Nancy Muth; Joe and Linda Martin; Orange County Supervisors Gaddi Vasquez and Thomas Riley; Glen and Dotti Stillwell; Candice and Roger Schnapp; Tom and Elizabeth Tierney; Roger and Janice Johnson; John and Donna Crean and Lois and Buzz Aldrin, who had returned the night before from New York where the former astronaut had presented Elizabeth Taylor with a perfume award from the Fragrance Foundation. “We shared that we’d been through the same recovery process,” said Aldrin, for 13 years a recovering alcoholic. After the ceremonies at the New York Hilton, the couple had schmoozed with celebrities such as Michael Jackson at the Tavern on the Green restaurant in Central Park. “Michael said he wanted to meet Buzz because they’d both done a moon walk,” Lois said.
A singular sensation: Standing before hundreds of fans in Segerstrom Hall on Friday night, composer Marvin Hamlisch jokingly dubbed his two-day engagement at the Orange County Performing Arts Center “the Mall Tour.”
He had spent the day popping in and out of stores at South Coast Plaza, he confessed.
After his performance, Hamlisch mingled briefly at the Center Club with members of the Pacific Symphony Orchestra’s Maestro Society.
Any luck shopping? “I bought this at Nordstrom,” Hamlisch said, snapping his black bow tie. “I forgot to bring mine.”
The symphony and Hamlisch--winner of a Tony (“A Chorus Line”) and three Academy Awards for his work on “The Sting” and “The Way We Were”--were making history during the engagement, noted Louis Spisto, the symphony’s executive director. “Mr. Hamlisch is our first repeat performer in the five years of our pop series.”
Also among guests were symphony buffs Gerry and Walter Schroeder, who donated $15,000 to help underwrite the performance. “It was almost a sellout tonight,” said Walter Schroeder, “and that really makes me feel great.”
