In Her Own Fashion
Tracey Ullman fans might find it hard to believe, but in her two-plus decades on TV, the master impersonator has rarely ventured into the world of celebrities. That changes March 30, when “Tracey Ullman’s State of the Union” premieres on Showtime. On the new weekly series, the 48-year-old British-born comedian is fearless with her portrayals of the famous, moving breezily from Laurie David to David Beckham.
To help perfect her Arianna Huffington impression, Ullman listens to “Left, Right & Center” on KCRW. And Renee Zellweger? “I just decided to put on enormous eyelashes,” she says, “and base it on Shari Lewis’ Lamb Chop.”
We knew Ullman was funny, but who knew she was something of a style maven? “I was in ‘Pret-a-Porter’ years ago,” she points out. “I was in loads of famous people’s movies, but I’m always in the worst one they’ve ever done.”
We caught up with her on a rainy Thursday at Mameg, the boutique tucked behind Maison Martin Margiela on South Santa Monica Boulevard in Beverly Hills. Ullman has been a Mameg fan since the early ‘90s, when she used to shop at its former Brentwood location not too far from her home in the Palisades.
She looks smart in a gray-and-black geometric jacket worn over a black T-shirt and jodhpurs from India, the outfit set off by silver pumps from the Japanese line Cosmic Wonder. Her latest find in the shop? “A Balenciaga collarless peacoat. A classic I can wear when I’m 90.” She goes through the racks of Hussein Chalayan, Jil Sander and Bernhard Wilhelm, and a slinky Cosmic Wonder cardigan catches her eye. “I love this color--tomato,” she says, slipping into it.
Chatting over a glass of Persian tea offered by Mameg’s owner, Sonia Eram, the seven-time Emmy winner says she has never hired a stylist, nor does she plan to. “I look ridiculous sometimes,” she says, “but at least they’re my mistakes.” Case in point: a Thierry Mugler wedding gown she wore to the 1988 Golden Globes, with red-and-white polka-dot shoes she painted herself. “I looked fantastic, kind of like Snow White on crack!”
A woman with a mass of curly gray hair and funky spectacles strolls by, trying out a pair of handmade shoes by Munoz Vrandecic.
“They’re fantastic, I like the blue,” Ullman calls after her.
The woman stares at Ullman, then says to no one in particular, “Has she been in lots of . . . ?”
“I do the weather,” Ullman says. “Channel 9?”
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Ullman’s Style Spree
Ullman’s Style Spree
Tracey Ullman says people who complain about Los Angeles should “Shut their Jacuzzi lids and go home!” Here are some of her go-to spots around town:
FASHION
Decades It’s her haven for vintage couture. Her find: a blue suede
Hermes coat with dragon buttons.
8214 1/2 Melrose Ave., (323) 655-0223
Maxfield She loves the Gaultier menswear in small sizes, and dresses and coats by an “amazing girl” named J. Mary. 8825 Melrose Ave., (310) 274-8800
Mameg “It’s the epicenter of L.A. fashion for me.” 9970 S. Santa Monica Blvd., (310) 826-4142
Maison Martin Margiela Great score: silver sandals. 9970 S. Santa Monica Blvd., (310) 284-8093
James Perse Ullman fancies the T-shirts and cotton items.
8914 Melrose Ave., (310) 276-7277
BEAUTY
George Michael Beverly Hills Salon The long-hair specialist came to her rescue after she permed her hair so much that “it began to look like old carpet.” 9845 Little Santa Monica Blvd., (310) 282-0997
CULTURE
Dutton’s Brentwood “If we lose this bookshop we will be losing a Los Angeles landmark. If the bulldozers arrive, I will lie in their path in my Balenciaga peacoat.” 11975 San Vicente Blvd., (310) 476-6263
KCRW (89.9 FM) She’s addicted to “Morning Becomes Eclectic” and “This American Life.”
FOOD
Takao She loves the seasonal mushroom soup, tuna tacos and ginkgo nuts. 11656 San Vicente Blvd.,
(310) 207-8636
Toscana The Brentwood trattoria is “like our canteen.” 11633 San Vicente Blvd., (310) 820-2448
