Sheer Ecstasy
Baby, it's cold outside, but sizzling stars like Jenna Elfman, Jennifer Love Hewitt and Brandy are shedding their winter blahs along with their heavy clothing and donning sheer lace tops. "I love it because it's very sexy," says model Kimberly Stewart (Rod's daughter) of the slinky black camisole she wore to a recent L.A. party. Plus the versatile fabric, with its myriad patterns, allows the wearer to turn up the heat in varying degrees. For example, says Lulu Johnson, daughter of designer Betsey, who chose a neon-pink lace number for a Limp Bizkit concert, "Chantilly lace makes a top more feminine and traditional, as opposed to clubby, but with more of a rock and roll feel." On the other hand, tops like the blue-gray vintage French lace Jenna Elfman wore at an awards show are "very elegant because of their simplicity," says designer Libbie Lane, yet "not too revealing. You only see a silhouette of the body through it."
Not that there's anything wrong with showing a little skin. "It's 2001, women are working, returning phone calls, so what distinguishes us from men?" laments Leigh Bantivoglio, who designed Stewart's lace-and-ribbon stunner. "I think women still want to be feminine and sexy. And men probably like it too."
with Robyn Flans in Los Angeles
behind the seams
A firm believer in the oft-ignored commandment Thou shalt not traipse around in uncomfortable shoes, Steven Spielberg found salvation for his tortured tootsies while strolling with his wife, Kate Capshaw, on New York City's Madison Avenue. The couple darted into the tony Tod's shoe boutique, where Spielberg immediately slipped on a brand-new pair of $385 brown suede lace-up boots and left behind a nifty souvenir—the uncomfortable scuffed-up boots he limped in with....
If legally beleaguered Robert Downey Jr. had a glint in his eye while shopping for housewares at trendy L.A. emporium Fred Segal recently, it probably had little to do with the fancy wooden bowls he snapped up. The self-deprecating actor looked to be getting a charge out of bystanders' reactions to the sweatshirt he was wearing that was boldly emblazoned with the letters LAPD....
Ivana Trump's Aspen holiday vacation began with a glitch: Her luggage was lost en route to the fashionable winter wonderland. Luckily the forward-thinking glamorpuss was able to make do by picking up duds she had pre-ordered back in August from Dennis Basso—two $4,500-a-pop ski suits—one sable-trimmed and the other decorated with sheared red mink—until her wayward bags arrived....
Also making the Aspen scene was Diana Ross, sparkling in $1 million worth of blinding baubles borrowed from jewelry designer Christopher Walling. The pop diva welcomed the new year at the exclusive Caribou Club, where she hit the dance floor and boogied away while sporting a 108-carat diamond-and-sapphire earring set and a 10-carat emerald-cut diamond (or was it a disco ball?) wrapped around her finger....
Seen: American Beauty's Mena Suvari making an ultra-glam entrance in a chic floor-length brown Prada coat, cream turtleneck and wide-leg trousers at L.A.'s hip King's Road Cafe.
DOUBLE VISION
This sequin-trimmed tulle Prada had the white stuff for Lena Olin and Rita Wilson, who wore it to different movie premieres. Wilson added a mink stole, Olin a matching coat. "It's the white version of the little black dress," says L.A. stylist Penelope Francis.
Not for Men Only
If a whiff of Sharon Stone brings Shaquille O'Neal to mind, it's with good reason—they wear the same scent, Gendarme. Women are now sporting men's fragrances because they "speak without yelling," says Don Huffman, a manager at Barneys New York in Beverly Hills. Dawson's Creek star Brittany Daniel dabs on Gendarme "to smell natural," she says, and because it's hip. "Chanel No. 5 is what my grandma would wear."
winner's circle
Careful not to swipe her pal George Clooney's limelight at the O Brother, Where Art Thou? premiere, Julianna Margulies dazzled demurely in a crimson Martin Grant coat and, she says, "my favorite" Gucci pants. "It's an ode to simplicity," raves L.A. stylist Vincent Boucher. "She looks amazing."
Rainbow Network
Tired of ho-hum hose? Try the multihued fishnets now brightening the gams of stars such as Cameron Diaz and Courtney Love. Woven in shades from orange to magenta, the nets are "a great way to liven up an outfit," says L.A. stylist Ricci DeMartino. Adds Cynthia Hornig of Wolford hosiery: "They're so adaptable. You can layer one color with another." Just sport the attitude to match. Says DeMartino: "A person who wears colored fishnets wants to take risks."
presto change-o
Who says a tiger can't change his stripes? Tiger Woods turned up tressed to thrill, celebrating the holidays in the Bahamas with a new blond do. "It looks like he's having fun," says bicoastal colorist Louis Licari. "Is it his most handsome look? Probably not. But it's better than piercing or tattooing. The color grows out."
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