VALLEY VOGUE / CINDY LaFAVRE YORKS : Tracking Trends for Style Mavens : The West Coast Pipeline, a pricey new ‘zine, helps the fashion and beauty industries stay abreast of how to look and where to be seen.
Attention hipsters: The latest in street fashion, sports, nightclubs, music and interior design are yours for the perusing inside West Coast Pipeline, a Woodland Hills-based trend ‘zine.
Information is compiled by a handful of reporters who cover the cutting-edge scenes “from the Bay to the border.” Because of the ad-free journalism and $100-a-year price, the magazine is geared primarily to buyers, manufacturers and retailers in the fashion and beauty industries. The first couple of issues look promising.
Among the haute spots in the San Fernando Valley mentioned in recent issues: Ground Zero, a Burbank coffeehouse (and groovy hangout for ‘zine staffers), and Spazz, a Reseda newsstand. While publisher Caroline Lettieri says she travels over the hill in search of information, she finds plenty to write about in the Valley. From Burbank’s funky resale areas to teen-packed Sherman Oaks Galleria, she and staffers track the trends.
“Melrose is groovy, but I get much more inspiration looking around the malls here,” said Lettieri, who believes that Woodland Hills is mounting a cultural renaissance. She is finding that a lot of young designers of surfing and snowboarding fashions are moving here to start out. In spite of the Jan. 17 earthquake, Lettieri is optimistic about the Valley’s continuing role as an au courant spot.
“I’m still very much in love with the Valley, and nothing’s going to change that,” she said.
OH MY, THIGHS: Who would have thought that the dreaded thigh would rise like a phoenix to become the season’s fashion focal point? Unbelievably, that is exactly what is happening. Thigh highs, also known as over-the-knee stockings, are pulled up just above the kneecap and made to slouch a bit to show off the thigh. Natch, only the truly toned need apply.
Designers such as Ralph Lauren, Betsey Johnson and Gianni Versace are not only showing thigh-high styles with their spring fashions, they are selling them in their signature boutiques. Closer to home in the Valley, pairs of thigh-high hose are “walking” out of Albert’s Hosiery in Media City Center in Burbank, says manager Joyce Abdulaziz.
“It’s not just teen-agers who are buying them, but younger women in their 20s too,” she said. Opaque thigh highs, the most popular of the new leg looks, are made to stay up by themselves. Sheer styles, available in a variety of colors, may be worn with garter belts for a racier evening look. Most are solids, but maverick designers like Johnson prefer a kind of Raggedy Ann-inspired striped thigh high, with vertical and even horizontal striped styles.
Textured and solid opaque styles in black are offered this spring by Hot Sox, a New York-based manufacturer whose leg wear is sold at Bullock’s and Nordstrom. The basic shade, says the company’s marketing director, Gayle Goodman, is an ideal complement to the season’s neutral-colored jumpers, hot pant-style shorts and the short skirts making a comeback.
CHILLING NEWS: The spring beauty forecast is calling for a frost. Fortunately, the metallic glitz isn’t as blinding as the chilling wave that blew through the ‘60s and ‘70s, says Mary Jo Price, owner of Mary Jo’s Beauty Boutique in Sherman Oaks. Price, who carries a variety of cosmetics from Clarins to Cover Girl, says shimmer is the accepted term for frost in the ‘90s. She welcomes the newer, subtler frosts in blush, lipstick, eye shadows and nail polishes over the preceding makeup trends.
“The darker, extreme colors popular in recent years are so difficult to wear, they really didn’t translate well to the street,” Price said. “These new looks are much more wearable, and not just for the younger girls but older women, too.” Shades that are light years away from the darker hues: OPI Nail Lacquer in Pompei purple for the hands and Cover Girl goldspun mauve for the lips.
Women who want a little shimmer on their faces might try Sebastian’s Naked Gilt, an opalescent gel designed to add a bit of shimmer to cheekbones or all over the face, even cleavage. Another alternative is Fuse, a cream designed to add a touch of shimmer to lips or under the brow. Both Gilt and Fuse are available at Sebastian Salons, where Trucco Cosmetics are carried, as well as at Profumeria, the company’s store in its Woodland Hills compound.
