Deal Unmasked : Sibella will create a Halloween style for you, whether you weigh in at 90 or 300. Her offerings are of theatrical quality.
Several women have called me recently, wanting to look gorgeous for a Halloween party. They were lukewarm to the usual costume rentals, yearned for an outfit that would make them feel somewhat ethereal and wanted something that could be worn again for a special occasion. One Venus-sized caller was in search of “a Renaissance look.”
Sibella, in the Century City Shopping Center, is the place for them, and others. I stopped there recently on a shopping expedition with my daughter, a choreographer always on the lookout for costumes. She flipped over the designs, and I flipped over the hats and masks. We both loved the prices.
Sibella--after several husbands she uses only her given name--is the shop’s owner and the designer of the dramatic and glamorous styles in the store. “I will train you to be divine,” says Sibella, who will create a style for you, whether you weigh in at 90 or 300. Many of her offerings are of theatrical quality. Sibella, a former actress, says she recently sold 50 of her diaphanous caftans to Dolly Parton.
The caftans come hand-painted, with rhinestones or fringe--or all three if you like--and are meant to be worn over a leotard, a cat suit or a straight-line gown. Prices range from $125 to $550, and it’s hard to compare prices here because I’ve never seen anything like these outfits. You may want to top it off with a 24-inch boa of turkey feathers or burnt ostrich for $35; if you’re tall and want to swirl it around a couple of times, try the 48-inch model for $70. You can match it with a headband--they come in almost anything you want for $10 to $20.
If you want to spend less, any one of Sibella’s hats is a costume all by itself. Anything from a gangster hat for $19 to a Napoleon chapeau trimmed with a veil, feathers and chains for $95 can top off a simple outfit with a flair.
Probably the most outstanding deals in this compact shop are the masks. For a mere $10 you can get a stunning one-color sequined mask crowned with matching feathers. For $45 there’s a sultry multicolored earth-tone feather mask. If you want to go all out, try on the 36-inch semicircle of black plumes for $110. A real head-turner--and after the ball, I’d hang it on the wall.
The inventory here is anything but traditional, unlike the Century City mall. Sibella would seem more at home in Hollywood where it was housed for six years, but after several robberies, she sought the security of a mall environment.
Where and When
Location: Sibella, 10250 Century City Shopping Center, Century City.
Hours: 10 a.m.-9 p.m. Monday-Saturday, noon-6 p.m. Sunday.
Credit cards: MasterCard, Visa, American Express.
Call: (310) 785-9310.
