Fashion : It’s Three Times the Charm on Hot ‘Teen Scene
Aset of 16-year-old Minnesota triplets won ‘Teen magazine’s annual Great Model Search in Santa Monica on Tuesday night. Since the Dahm sisters are identical, they counted as a single entry--one of 20,000 received by the L.A.-based magazine.
“My sister just sent in our pictures without even telling us,” Erica Dahm said by phone from a suite at the Hotel Nikko. Nearby, sisters Nicole and Jaclyn were having their hair pulled into French twists and “tons” of makeup applied for the big event later that evening.
We asked Erica to describe what she/they look like. “Well, we have long, straight blond hair and we’re not tan.” This last part elicited disagreement from her siblings, but Erica stood fast. “And we have blue eyes.” No argument there.
Previous winners of the 13-year-old ‘Teen model search, we learned, include “Saved By the Bell’s” Tiffani-Amber Theissen and Ford Agency model Paige Tiffany Hall. (If only Faith Ford, co-star of “Murphy Brown,” had stuck a Tiffany in her name somewhere, she might have been spared the humiliation of finishing as a mere finalist.)
Merging their beings into a single beauty contestant doesn’t strike the sisters as odd. “We do everything together--go shopping, play softball, regular teen-age things.” But around fifth grade, the sisters did decide to quit dressing in matching outfits. Now, they wear the same styles--but in different colors.
Heads turned when the Dahms cavorted at the beach the other day. One was asked to play volleyball, which, of course, is the ultimate gesture of acceptance in L.A., we explained. But what people most often blurt out to the triplets is, “ ‘Are you related?’ ” Erica said, bursting into giggles. “ ‘No,’ I tell them, ‘we just look alike.’ ”
Nobody’s Perfect: The preview of Donna Karan’s fall collection at Neiman Marcus next week comes on the heels of considerable travails at the designer’s New York-based company.
David Golden, the former chief financial officer, has sued the fashion firm for $60 million, charging he was fired because he refused to lie about corporate finances. The company is suing Golden for gross negligence, and company officials claim that he was lewd in his interactions with female employees. The New York Times this week detailed how, in recent years, company expenses have outstripped profits, partly because of lagging fragrance sales and tardy shipments.
Meanwhile, at I. Magnin this week, we noticed workers moving the contents of the Donna Karan boutique into a smaller space that previously housed the Sonja Rykiel collection. Rykiel was bumped up to Karan’s larger space.
But before Karan’s critics crow, they’d best consider her passionate and loyal fans. Women’s Wear Daily reported Monday that customers in New York ordered $650,000 worth of the designer’s fall collection during a recent two-day trunk show at Bergdorf Goodman. And when the collection stops in Beverly Hills next week, look for a standing-room-only crowd.
Red Hot Chili Baron: Jones is the latest groovy restaurant to be opened by Sean MacPherson and Jon Sidel--who, as you know, already count the Olive, Small and Swingers among their cool eateries. On Saturday night, Anthony Kiedis arrived at the place looking pretty cool himself. The Red Hot Chili Peppers’ little lead singer dashed in wearing a ‘20s-style aviator cap, its chin straps all aquiver. We imagined him bopping from one hot spot to another behind the wheel of a vintage, uh, airplane. Has he been trading beauty secrets with Diane Keaton again?
Bad Behavior: What are the most frequently shoplifted beauty products? No, it’s not some $400-an-ounce perfume or tiny, $100 jars of wrinkle cream. Surprisingly enough, the five beauty items real-life shoplifters covet most, according to Real Beauty magazine, cost less than $25: Oil of Olay (the 4-ounce size); Jovan Musk Oil Spray Mist (2-ounce size); Lee Sculptured Nails, Active Length (any longer’s just too gaudy); L’Oreal Voluminous Mascara, and L’Oreal Preference Hair Color Kit (as Cybill Shepherd says, “I deserve it!”).
In the article, several experts attempt to explain what motivates these small-time criminals. They’re poor. They’re rich. They’re spoiled. They’re thrill-seekers. They’re depressed. They’re sad. They’re mad. They’re divorced. They’re . . . describing some of our best friends.
Enemies List: People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals aren’t content to merely bask in their recent victories, such as persuading Calvin Klein to abandon his fur collection after 17 years. Dan Mathews, PETA’s international campaigns director, says the group is setting its sights on two very well-known unrepentant fashioners of fur: Karl Lagerfeld and Oscar de la Renta. And Claudia Schiffer, “the only supermodel who walks runways in fur.” Meow.
* Inside Out is published Thursdays.
