It’s the gifts that count
You’d think that being nominated would be honor enough.
But when Tuesday’s Oscar nominees were announced, it quickly became clear that friends, acquaintances and -- especially -- those whose businesses benefit from the conferred status of celebrity patronage, felt a need, well, to kiss up.
So, in addition to the coveted nod from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, nominees were instantly deluged with congratulatory gifts. A gold-monogrammed journal from Harry Winston. A $3,000 makeup-filled vanity case. Designer stilettos. Platinum and 24-karat gold sunglasses. Flowers, cookies, chocolates and gushing notes from just about everyone.
Still, even in the more-is-more world of Hollywood, simple gestures are best. At least, that’s what one etiquette expert says.
“The best thing to send is a note of loving congratulations,” says decorum diva Letitia Baldrige on the phone from Washington, D.C., minutes after the nominations were announced. “Of course it’s nice to address all the whoopee about being nominated in the note and send some sort of gift like a leather-bound scrapbook for news clippings because, while there are five nominees in each category, there will ultimately be one winner. So it’s important to give the nominees praise now.”
Mark Held, owner of Mark’s Garden, a popular Sherman Oaks flower shop, knows that nominees like the sweet smell of success: a little bit of flora with that Oscar nod. For more than a decade, Held and his staff have filled orders on the morning of the nominations, and they haven’t always been just for the final five. Held also delivers flowers to those left in the cold.
“The flowers will come from a close associate or friend that just wants to help make that actor that didn’t get nominated feel a bit better,” says Held, who was at L.A.’s downtown flower market before dawn Tuesday, selecting blossoms for at least eight orders from producers, studios and loved ones of nominees whose names he keeps as secret as the ballots on Oscar night.
“In this town, the Oscar is the highest award for excellence, and that makes our work extremely important,” says Held. “Creatively, this is one of the most beautiful things we get to do every year even though it comes days before Valentine’s Day. But we’re glad to be a part of the Hollywood culture.”
So are fashion, shoe and jewelry designers who are hoping to dress nominees -- and work the phones like investigators trying to find out how to get notes and gifts to their targets.
Customized caring
Ronald Winston, son of Harry and chairman of the House of Harry Winston, sent the acting category nominees monogrammed leather journals with notes that read, in part: “Knowing the weeks preceding March 23 will be filled with memorable moments, we wanted you to have something special in which you could record them. While you may associate the House of Harry Winston with precious jewels, know that we consider precious memories just as valuable.”
The note ended with an invitation to borrow Winston gems: “You may look upon the House of Harry Winston as your personal jewel box. Please call me.... “
Shoe designer Stuart Weitzman also sent handwritten congratulatory notes along with a basket of shoe-shaped, iced butter cookies. Weitzman and his staff worked the phones Tuesday, finding shoe sizes of nominated actresses in order to send them a pair from his current collection too, with the cookies.
Jimmy Choo designer Tamara Mellon invited nominees to have their Oscar night shoes customized.
Steven Vaughan, New York-based sunglass designer, is sending nominees his handmade Italian frames. The payoff would come, he says, “if a nominee wears them on the red carpet.” Dress designers Matthew Williamson, Collette Dinnigan and Elie Saab, who put his name on the map with Halle Berry in his creation last year, also sent notes and “look books.”
Ernest Renzulli, publisher of the Robb Report, a luxury lifestyle magazine, says diamonds and watches are appropriate gifts. “But for the nominees, you get something small at Harry Winston.” For the unnominated, “anything would be appropriate. They’re probably feeling bad.”
Dom Perignon is an appropriate gift for a nominee, says Howard Bragman, chairman of the public relations firm Bragman, Nyman, Cafarelli. “It has such a ring to it. I tend not to send consolation gifts. I’m a PR guy. I like to dwell on the positive.”
Kinara Spa in West Hollywood sent nominees gift certificates for facials, body treatments, a massage and lunch at the spa’s cafe. Even after Oscar night, it’s not over for the gifted. The day after, winners and losers alike are invited to de-stress with what the spa has dubbed the “Red Carpet Detox,” an organic meal followed by a facial, a detox wrap and deep tissue massage.
Ways to give back
Phillip Bloch, Berry’s stylist, says balloons, a potted plant instead of fresh cut flowers and a funny message on an answering machine are a great ways to congratulate a nominee. “But a day at the spa is a perfect and chic present to send.”
“It’s important for that person to know that you love her or him and that you are proud of her or his work,” Bloch says. “But when you have a client that is nominated or wins and they get you a present to thank you, well, that’s good breeding; that’s real class.” After Berry won her best actress Oscar for “Monster’s Ball” last year, she sent Bloch a jeweled dog tag by bling-bling jeweler Chris Aires.
Baldrige approves.
“The person who is mostly responsible for the comfort and well-being of that star should get a little recognition too,” says Baldrige. “He or she should get a congratulatory note or a flower because they are rarely properly thanked or rewarded for their very important role. They cheer up the star and take care of the frenzy, the fans, the nasty relative. They’re a sounding board and a protector. To give them a little something is to give etiquette a good name.”
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Times staff writer Louise Roug contributed to this report.
