Finally, a place for O.C.’s beautiful people to go

LOLITA HARPER

I have just one thing to say about Club Vegas: “Whoa.”

If you didn’t check out the grand opening of the newest -- and

arguably the most anticipated -- James Raven nightclub on Friday

night, you missed out on dozens of beautiful people drinking

beautiful drinks in a beautiful setting.

One would just need to follow the bright beams of the searchlights

piercing the Costa Mesa skyline at the edge of Newport Boulevard and

19th Street to find large crowds of men and women of all ages (from

25 to ?) decked out in their best “check me out” outfits.

The men, for the most part, were wearing the uniform: a sleek

button-down striped shirt, expensive designer jeans and black Kenneth

Cole shoes. Their hair was properly frosted -- to give that well-kept

but still manly look -- and swooped up to form a faux-hawk at the top

of the head.

Except for one man, who caught my eye as I walked down the ramp to

the entrance. Sure, he too wore the button-down shirt, but while all

the other men were stuck in their little fashion box, he wasn’t

afraid to break the mold.

He was just standing there in the middle of the smoking patio

wearing a blue and red-checked plaid sport coat, red tie, slacks and

loafers. The crowning accessory was his “I [heart] Costa Mesa”

button, pinned to his right lapel. It was Councilman Chris Steel.

“Hey,” I said to him loudly, over the beat of the music from

inside. “I should have known I would see you here.”

“Oh, hi there, Lolita,” he said, while looking wide-eyed at the

crowd. “Nice place Raven’s got here, huh?”

To my left, one girl was adjusting her friend’s bustier, which had

inadvertently dropped instead of lifting and separating.

Now, the women were not as standardized and covered the fashion

spectrum from floor-length gowns (no kidding) to what could best be

described as headbands masquerading as skirts. One woman was wearing

a cowboy hat, a tube top and hip-hugging jeans. Another was wearing

fishnet stockings, a tight-fitting and short cat suit and flower

choker. And they were the tame ones.

In contrast, Katrina Foley, who was just a stunning as the girl in

the cat suit but a little more covered, was wearing a beaded,

sleeveless outfit. The Costa Mesa planning commissioner was already

on her way out as I headed in a 9 p.m. She was hungry, she said.

“They don’t have any food down there,” Foley said as she and her

friend slipped out from behind VIP velvet ropes and stopped to say

“hi” to her pals on the Costa Mesa police force, who were patrolling

the entrance.

Foley left, taking with her a large percentage of material amassed

by the women present.

Forget the envelope -- it had long been pushed off the one of the

many tables in the martini lounge. If you thought there was a lot of

skin during the halftime show at the Super Bowl, your jaw would have

dropped at Vegas.

Now, I wouldn’t go off and get all up in a huff about the

impropriety of dressing this way. Sure, my grandmother would most

likely disown me if she saw me in a cowboy hat and little else, but

let’s keep it in perspective: These are all adults, in an adult

environment. No unsuspecting children in the mix, no surprise attacks

on “decent” folks.

Consider yourselves warned.

Furthermore, this is what is considered to be “club clothes.” The

types of outfits you could only dare to wear in a dim environment

where alcohol is everyone’s best friend. This is how the folks dress

at all the Los Angeles clubs, and it is that “club scene” that has

been largely missing from Orange County.

I even saw an old friend of mine from L.A. at Club Vegas. Mark

Gittin is a 30-something businessman with good looks and money to go

spare who recently moved from Beverly Hills to Newport Beach --

precisely the client Raven’s aiming at. His former hangouts were the

Palms in Pasadena and the various bars along Sunset Boulevard. If

Vegas was good enough for him, it must pass muster.

Love it or hate it, it is finally here. Club Vegas has brought the

liveliness, spunk, sex appeal, posh attitude and high prices of

Hollywood to lil’ ol’ Orange County. I, for one, say, “welcome.”

Oh, and does anybody know a good place to buy a cowboy hat?

* LOLITA HARPER is the community forum editor. She also writes

columns Wednesdays and Fridays. She may be reached at (949) 574-4275

or by e-mail at lolita.harper@latimes.com.