It’s Makeover Time for Pageant

Ever wondered why the contestants in the Miss America pageant look like well-preserved 40-year-olds? So has Jeff Margolis.

“Not that there’s anything wrong with a 40-year-old woman,” says the producer-director hired to give the pageant an overdue face lift. It’s just that a parade of them doesn’t garner the kind of ratings a parade of bubbly 19-year-olds might. And Miss America’s Nielsens haven’t measured up lately.

To make sure Atlantic City-bound contestants look their age for the Sept. 18 pageant, Hollywood costume designer Pete Menefee sent all state pageant directors a sort-of fashion Do’s and Don’ts. Starting from the top: Goodby matronly helmet heads: “Hair must fit within a normal door frame,” writes Menefee. Ditto oversized rhinestone danglers: “Earrings should be smaller than a purse.” As for the legs, “shiny support hose make (them) look nice and fat.” So much for the stock in trade of those Texas beauty pageant mavens who’ve turned winning into a science.

And so much for the pageant’s lack of “warmth and heart,” which Margolis intends to remedy by giving each contestant a video camera and asking her to shoot a three-to-five-minute autobiography. He’ll edit these very personal video disclosures down to 30 seconds each. How very ‘90s.

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Retail Proposal: We thought the dress in the window at Nicole Miller this week looked familiar. Black, with major strap action--very bondage-y. A dead ringer, in fact, for the Thierry Mugler number Robert Redford buys for Demi Moore in “Indecent Proposal.” And, of course, we were right. “Yep, it’s the ‘Indecent Proposal’ dress,” confirmed a saleswoman at the Sunset Boulevard boutique. But at a better price--$355 for long (as in the film), $305 for short--and in Miller’s signature moss crepe. Apparently, we weren’t the only ones who spotted the look-alike. “A lot of people came in to try it on; it has a wonderful fit. But you can’t have too big of a (bust),” the saleswoman said. “The holes are right where the cleavage is. Unfortunately,” she added, “that’s not a problem for me.”

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Dynasty du Jour: The fur was flying at costume whiz Nolan Miller’s fashion show Wednesday at Tatou (the Beverly Hills after-hours stomping grounds of the “90210” set). Fox stoles, fox-edged capes, fox-trimmed coats, and on and on and on, were dragged along the runway by models who looked as if they’d stepped out of a Sidney Sheldon mini-series. Longtime Miller fan Ann-Margret--hidden behind hat, scarf and dark glasses--tried to slip in quietly with husband Roger Smith, but a crowd of celeb-starved photographers surged across the room to the shy actress’s booth. The show was a sort of coming-out party for Princess Di hairdresser-turned-L.A.-based-Clairol-consultant Richard Dalton, who created dozens of hair-piece-enhanced do’s for the occasion. “We really think alike,” said Miller of his collaborator for the day. “It’s glamour, glamour, glamour.” At the grand finale, Miller’s bride appeared on stage wearing a to-die-for jewel-and-pearl-encrusted gown. By contrast, at Monday night’s Armani Exchange show at Chasen’s (the Beverly Hills stomping grounds of mature Hollywood), the model brides wore white, oversized A/X T-shirts. Give us glamour, glamour, glamour.

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Hey, Hey, We’re Not Monkees: Giorgio Armani was lauded in the fashion press recently for his trail-blazing new menswear silhouette--a sort of hourglass-shaped, single-breasted jacket that is cut higher and fitted at the waist. But L.A. designer William Beranek (William B.) has been doing a similar shape for more than a year. We stumbled onto his $450 jacket at Traffic in the Beverly Center the other day while patiently waiting for Mr. Inside Out to decide on a pair of pants. (“Should I get the baggy ones, or the really baggy ones?”) It came as no surprise to Beranek that muscle-bound Arnold Schwarzenegger, who wore a purple version of the jacket to the opening of “Last Action Hero,” bought it right off the rack. The computer programmer-turned-designer is a big guy, too, and serves as his own fit model. “I developed a jacket that I could feel good in,” he said. One that doesn’t fit like “a monkey suit.”

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Paris Trot: If Karl Lagerfeld and Gianfranco Ferre have their way--and just try denying them--long skirts are dust. At this week’s Paris couture shows, Lagerfeld was the most adamant, chopping six inches off the standard Chanel skirt. Even though four houses--Pierre Cardin, Lanvin, Carven and Philip Venet--aren’t showing in Paris this season, the very expensive couture shows must go on, each with its requisite celebrity or two. U.S. Ambassador to France Pamela Harriman sat front and center Monday at designer Oscar de la Renta’s collection for Pierre Balmain. Jerry Hall modeled at the Dior show (designed by Ferre). And Elton John was among the contingent watching Gianni Versace’s sexy (surprise) designs gyrate down the runway. Our favorite item? Lagerfeld’s velvet hiking boots. Not for mountain climbing, notes the designer, but for “social climbing.” Some sports never go out of style.