Open Doors
Michael DePerno, owner of Ren antiques store
“When I’m neat, I’m neat, and when I’m a slob, I’m known for letting things lie on the floor. You can’t be too obsessive about it. It’s just stuff. If you’re a borderline clothing addict like me and you have a small closet, you have to have a system. Mine is to hang things in the same direction and color coordinate everything. I have a thing for shirts. There were more than 100 blue ones at last count, and sweaters--don’t ask how many, I’m embarrassed--and I buy in a pretty monochromatic way to keep them organized. Getting dressed is a cinch. I just grab some slacks, a shirt and a pair of shoes, and I’m out the door in five minutes.”
Pearl Harbour, rock singer/comedic actress
Hundreds of pairs of seasoned shoes and boots pepper the floor of rock singer Pearl Harbour’s closet, which was a spare bedroom in her 1917 Hollywood home until its conversion a year ago. The singer, whose mother is from the Philippines, says friends teasingly call her the “Imelda Marcos of L.A.” Although the closet is chockablock with her extensive collection of costumes and vintage clothing, Harbour defends it as “extremely organized.” Four commercial clothing racks on rollers hug the walls. Each is filled with different categories of apparel: costumes and event clothes; evening wear; skirts, suits and daytime dresses; jackets and coats. A three-tiered rotating rack she bought from a shoe store going out of business sports her 30 favorite pairs of ‘50s high-heeled evening shoes. Others are grouped in rows by decade and sit under the racks. A free-standing commercial belt rack holds 12 dozen belts divided by color and category: blacks, browns, reds, studded cowboy, rock ‘n’ roll and evening rhinestone. Nearby, cashmere and beaded sweaters are arranged dark to light on satin hangers with cedar blocks hung around their necks. Harbour’s hanger preference runs to the “multicolored thick plastic ones you buy at the drugstore, 10 for $1,” which she says are kinder to the clothes. Heavy coats get real wood hangers; wire hangers are verboten. “If I don’t wear something for a whole season, the wire can discolor the outfit.”
Given the size of her collection, she is surprisingly self-disciplined about limiting it to one room. “I’ve kept the same amount of clothing for years,” says the singer. “When I start getting too many things, I grab the ones that don’t thrill me anymore and sell them to Palace Costume on Fairfax. I really do try to keep it under control. I’m pretty good about not going overboard.”
Lenore Kayne, member of board of directors, Kayne/Eras School for emotionally and physically challenged children
“I told my architect, Robert Earl, the closet needed to be spacious and airy and I needed to be able to see all my clothes, otherwise I don’t know what I have. I also wanted a central island where I could pack and lay out my clothes, as well as have storage drawers. I took an approximate count of my lingerie, belts, gloves, scarves, bathing suits and T-shirts, and two ladies lined the drawers and made Lucite cubbyhole compartments to keep everything in order. All the closets are open except for the clear glass ones holding my formal evening wear. Before the main closet was completed, we extended the room by six feet so we could add a small cedar closet to keep my heavy winter things, shoes and handbags.”
Katie McGloin, interior designer
“The walk-in closet with built-in shelves and a center island was here when my husband, Tommy, and I bought the house. I added the vintage chandelier and painted the interior Chinese red to make it more theatrical. We share the closet. He keeps his things (socks, underwear, shirts, workout gear, jewelry and watches) in the 10-drawer island and is extremely neat. I have a tendency to throw things on the floor. He’s also more of a clotheshorse and comes to my side to borrow things. He can be quite a flamboyant dresser. Sometimes he wears one of my vintage scarves as an ascot, which makes him look like ‘The Godfather.’ Occasionally he gets into my Indian jewelry collection and puts on the bracelets and big rings. We often hang out here and talk.”
