Rose Rage

Summer may be long gone, but for the perennially stylish, including Gloria Estefan, Patricia Arquette and Heather Mills, Paul McCartney's gal pal, late-blooming roses are brightening the season's fashion landscape. The blushing beauties "have always been popular," says Philippe Soussand, president of the Kenzo clothing line. "They're fresh, colorful and fun." And appropriately girly. Roses are "very feminine," says actress Denise Richards, who recently donned a bud-bedecked Dolce & Gabbana dress. Country singer Patty Loveless, also in D&G for the Country Music Awards, raves, "the roses made it even more sexy. I felt like Patsy Cline would've picked that dress."

L.A. stylist Maggie Barry thinks so too. "The retro thing, especially the '40s look," is very in, she explains. Plus, with so many designers working in pinks and reds, "it's natural for roses to show up," she says.

But don't plant those posies indiscriminately. "Watch where the pattern lies on your body," warns Loveless. "You don't want a flower in the middle of your butt!" And avoid going rosy on the bottom, says Barry, if "you have a hip situation going on." Otherwise, enjoy the blooms. As Loveless points out, wearing roses "is easier than sending them to yourself!"

with N.F. Mendoza in Los Angeles

behind the seams

In the movie Bounce, Ben Affleck cuts a dashing figure in such natty Giorgio Armani garb as a $5,000 leather jacket and $1,000 cashmere T-shirt. But it's a sharp, three-button wool suit that gets put to the test in a scene where a rottweiler attacks the actor. Thanks to a bit of movie magic, the cranky canine ripped into trick tear-away panels, leaving the $2,000 jacket and trousers intact for Affleck—who eschewed a stunt double and wrangled with the dog himself—to take home later....

If you hear Whoopi Goldberg grumbling these days, there's a good reason. The die-hard casual dresser is spending most of her time wrapped in a micromini purple leather skirt and tiptoeing around on painfully high spike heels. The getup—nothing less than torture for Goldberg, I hear—is for the madcap comedy Rat Race, due in theaters next summer. She plays a fortune hunter who's stuck in the same outfit for the entire flick....

Pleased as punch with a pair of cozy cotton Cherry Pie pj's she received as a gift recently, Charlize Theron wasted no time in contacting the L.A.-based sleepwear company and ordering several dozen more, including a cutesy $80 sheep-print pair. The star plans to give them out as holiday gifts....

Don't think the rich and famous are above hand-me-downs. Certainly not actress Jessica Capshaw, who boasted to pals at an L.A. party that she was wearing mom Kate Capshaw's fitted black Gucci cocktail suit....

Seen: Arnold Schwarzenegger in a dark pullover, jeans and gleaming black cowboy boots, chatting with black-clad wife Maria Shriver on the valet-parking line at a Beverly Hills store.... Sharon Stone, wheeling 6-month-old son Roan in a stroller at an L.A. boutique, snapping up powder, foundation and a flirty purplish M.A.C lipstick called Miss Dish.

DOUBLE VISION
Betsey Johnson's flowered and faux-fur velvet coat proved an equal-opportunity curve-hugger for Britney Spears, knocking about London in October, and for actress Kelly Preston at a premiere last month. The fact that the topper suited a teen queen as well as a mother of two didn't surprise Johnson spokeswoman Ali Taek-man. "It's flattering to all shapes," she says. "They can both pull it off."

presto change-o
Showing confidence in her own star power, You Can Count on Me's Laura Linney recently delved into the brunette world. "She loves it," says L.A. stylist Jonathan Antin, who oversaw the dye job. "It's like stepping up and saying, 'I don't have to rely on my blonde locks anymore.' "

winners' circle
Jim Carrey ditched his grinchy green fur and met the Queen in London last week in a sleek Armani tux while Renée Zellweger held court in a duchesse silk Richard Tyler gown. Says a Tyler director: "They look great because they look so comfortable together."

Ring Around the Collar
Want to jump on the fur craze but can't afford a whole coat? Take a cue from Jennifer Jason Leigh, Amanda Peet and The Street's Jennifer Connelly, who are tying on detachable fur collars by Prada, Express and Bebe. "Women are loving it," says Express spokeswoman Pamela Seidman. "You can wear it with a jacket or a gown." The best part, adds L.A. stylist Jeanne Yang: "You'll be in season this year, and next year you can toss it away."

Babes in Toyland
Barbie, beware! You too, G.I. Joe! Drew Barrymore, Lucy Liu and Cameron Diaz are serving up tough competition for Christmas with their Charlie's Angels action figures. They even pitched in to design them, including the dolls' thong undies. "Lucy said, 'Don't give me highlights,' and Drew insisted her doll have a tattoo," says Stephen Sumner, who created them. Happy with the results, each star got multiple sets. Barrymore was especially taken with her likeness's shapeliness. Says Sumner: "Drew said, 'I'm keeping this so when I get old, I'll remember [when] gravity was my friend.' "

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