A Long Pre-Opening SaleThe official opening party...
A Long Pre-Opening Sale
The official opening party isn’t until Thursday, but already the client list at Bardelli menswear in Beverly Hills reads like a guide to the stars: Eddie Murphy, Chuck Norris, Barry Manilow, Mayor Tom Bradley, William (The Refrigerator) Perry, Mike Tyson, Walter Payton--they’ve all bought clothes there. “And that’s a very small accounting of our well-known patrons,” shop manager Robert Bruce told Listen, explaining that the shop has been “unofficially open” for four months. We asked what Mayor Bradley bought. “He’s the epitome of elegance,” Bruce said, “and his suits are conservative in cut and color. That’s all I can divulge.” We asked what Eddie Murphy bought. “Two silk Belvest suits that he wore on the David Letterman show,” Bruce replied. Listen can divulge that prices for suits in the shop range from $1,500 to $2,000. Leather jackets go from $2,000 to $10,000.
Turning Over a New Leaf
For her sexy pose in the Oct. 17 issue of US magazine, Kathleen Turner chose something nice but not all that sexy. It’s a Nino Cerruti pants outfit, notable for a black-and-white leaf-pattern jacket. Listen hears that Turner, a longtime Cerruti client, had the Paris-based designer send four or five outfits from his spring ’89 collection, and the leaf motif was her favorite. It probably made her think of Eve. She is, after all, considered by the magazine’s readers to be one of the 10 sexiest women in America, according to a recent poll.
Signature Boots
These boots are made for giving. They’re black with metal on the toe and heels. They come from Flash Feet and Let It Rock on Melrose Avenue and were purchased for British pop-soul singer George Michael, who will give them to radio contest winners as part of his appearances in Dallas, Houston, New Orleans and Atlanta. We hear from Michael’s spokesman, if the singer wears the boots, he’ll autograph them on the inside. If he doesn’t, he’ll put his George Michael on the sole.
The Other Murphy
We call this snippet Beverly Hills Shop III. Seems Raymond Murphy, brother of Eddie, paid three visits to Sami Dinar’s menswear store on Brighton Way before he finally decided to buy a very special leather jacket. Among the jacket’s persuasive features were its color (black), all its zippers and the shape. “It looks phenomenal on tall people,” Dinar tells Listen, adding that Murphy is definitely tall “and built like a football player.”
Boss Is a Trim 39
Shorn in the USA: Fans attending the recent L.A. show of the Human Rights Now! tour, featuring Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, Sting, Peter Gabriel, Youssou D’Nour and Tracy Chapman, glimpsed a Boss who looked more like the scruffy Springsteen of the ‘70s than the well-groomed, late-’80s version. Sporting below-collar-length hair, new stubble and studs (seven jewels in one ear, according to Listen’s backstage source), Springsteen’s look prompted members of the audience, which included a ponytailed Princess Stephanie, to wonder if the star was going retro as he approaches the Big Four-0. In fact, by the time Springsteen bounded on stage a couple of days later in Oakland to welcome guest-star opener Joan Baez, his long hair was blowing in the wind. But hours later, when he appeared with his band, his locks were back in trim. What happened? According to a spokesman for Bill Graham Presents, which helped organize the Oakland show, the Boss asked if he could get a quick cut, and a local hairdresser was spirited backstage. While the scissors flew, rock veteran Roy Orbison surprised Springsteen with a rendition of “Happy Birthday to You” in honor of the Boss turning 39.
The Road to Riches
We had heard of the road to Mandalay in the classic song, but the ruby from Mandalay? That sounded like news. Turns out it’s a perfect stone of the quarter-pounder variety (48.02 carats), destined for the block at Sotheby’s auction house in New York Oct. 18. But first, we heard, it would be on display here along with lots of other glitz. So we checked in with Ann Hyland at Sotheby’s L.A., who pointed out another item from the sale, a brooch of actress Paulette Goddard’s shaped like ruby-red lips with pearly white teeth. But we wanted to know more about Big Red. Well, Hyland wasn’t willing to say who owns it, but she did mention that Sotheby’s expects it to sell for about $15 million. And VPs there are so concerned for its safety they pulled it from a private, presale exhibition at the Riviera Country Club recently. “Too many windows in the room,” Hyland explained.
‘Hill Street’ Bargains
First day of the recent Fred Segal, Melrose Avenue, sale turned into a celebrity event. Menswear manager George Grimball tells Listen he spotted Ed Marinaro and Bruce Weitz of “Hill Street Blues” among the bargain hunters, “so we were well protected.” Other celebs sifting through the 50%-off merchandise included actor Ray Sharkey and “Dynasty” regular Jack Coleman. All the men seemed to have similar shopping lists: sport coats, slacks, shirts. But Sharkey added a little something extra: a Go Silk jumpsuit.
The Spoils of Christmas
Just in time for Christmas comes Spoiled Man, the newest Beverly Hills fragrance for men. It’s entrepreneur Herb Fink’s entry into the macho world of citrus top notes and woodsy undertones, which means it smells clean, fresh, tangy and a tiny bit sweet, he says. Fink doesn’t think small; he’ll offer his scent at Neiman Marcus, Bullock’s, the Broadway and Bloomingdale’s in New York. It’s $45 for 3 1/2 ounces.
