Awesome Girls
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Spring has sprung – I’ve been feeling fresh as a daisy after one heck of a gloomy, rainy winter. My season so far has included a bouquet of treats including, hanging with gal pal and fellow cosmetics maven Yana Chupenko of Tony & Tina Cosmetics who blasted in from NYC to tear up the town for LA Fashion Week. She called up her West Coast mates to come hang in her sprawling suite at the Chateau Marmont, the legendary Hollywood hideaway whose motto is: “If you must get into trouble, do it at Chateau Marmont.” We helped it live up to that slogan with a late-night party that included musician Rolan Bolan and Junker Fashion Designers Tod and Guiliana.
A few nights later we all gathered at the Avalon for a LA Fashion Week show featuring Junker Clothing with a rowdy assortment of rock ‘n’ roll models dolled up in Junker’s post apocalyptic, dirty biker-style fashions. Later, Yana returned to the Big Apple only to sadly report that Tony & Tina Cosmetics will be closing its doors. It was fun while it lasted – best of luck Yana!
Legendary glam and drag hotspot club Makeup returned for one night only to celebrate the release of “Dynasty” on DVD. Promoter Joseph Brooks “put the band back together” so to speak with the Makeup regulars onstage for a night of ’80s covers including Momma, Candyass, Jackie Beat, Alexis Arquette, Constance and standout performances by Mz. Alanna and Jack Atlantis. While the crowd included only a handful of the outrageous party-loving revelers who frequented Makeup during its peak a few years ago, the place filled up with a colorful collection of rockers, trendies, drag queens and those who just wanted to relive the ’80s one more time.
I got my intellectual fix with the local hip lit. scene and a couple of trips down to the new Dutton’s Bookstore in Beverly Hills, first for the Black Clock Magazine reading featuring host Bruce Bauman and writers David Ulin and Rachel Resnick and next for quintessential LA writer Steve Erickson reading from his latest, “Our Ecstatic Days.”
While there, I picked up one of the 33 1/3 books, the collection of mini rock ‘n’ roll memoirs that capture that pure spirit of the way music influences your formative years. I promptly went home and blasted through “Let It Be,” Colin Melory’s memories of growing up an insecure nerd in Montana fed by music from the Replacements. I love it so much I’m the process of gobbling up the whole series. Pick one up and remember how rock ‘n’ roll saved your soul!
I zipped up my go-go boots and headed over to Spaceland to catch the Gore Gore Girls, Detroit’s tough ’60s lovin’ mamas who dress in matching fringed mini dresses and white patent leather go-go boots and tear it up with Motown girl group-inspired punk and don’t mess with us attitude. Later, Japanese popsters Shonen Knife packed the house with their cutesy Asian-style pop punk. While there I stopped at Heidi Richman’s Beauty Booth and sprinkled on a little pink body glitter. Talk about a Ladies Night! You go-go grrrls!
Speaking of ’60s style, I was excited to go check out the theater production of “Shag with a Twist” at the Los Angeles Theatre Center downtown, featuring the groovy art of Shag turned into a musical play. Now I’m big fan of Shag’s work so I was curious how they would turn his hep cat characters into a live performance. I was happy to see it was pulled off convincingly with the help of giant toon-ish wigs and over-the-top attire. However, the play, which consisted of an entire cast of actors/dancers from the San Pedro City Ballet interpreting the murder-mystery storyline through animated expressions, dance and a groovy ultra-lounge soundtrack, began to fall flat about midway through. I think it really needed dialogue to bring the entertainment value home. But if you’re a Shag fan, it’s a must see, if only for the visual appeal and the scene of hipsters in attendance grooving to the sounds of DJ Senor Amore in the lobby. The play runs through June 11. For more info go to the web site HERE.
Since falling in love with Europe last year on my trip to London and Paris (see report HERE), I managed to find a little bit of France right here in LA when I stumbled across the Figaro Bistrot in Los Feliz. Done up with exquisite style and intimacy, this place feels as Parisian as it gets. Serving breakfast to dinner, it’s a place to indulge in delicious pastries and hearty meals with traditional baguettes and elegant service. If you can’t make it to Paris, you’ll get briefly transported at the Figaro Bistrot Boulangerie!
For a sugar fix, I checked out Boule Pâtisserie on La Cienega Boulevard, which features gorgeous, mouthwatering Pâtisserie (pastries/cakes), Viennoiserie (croissants, brioche, scones etc.), Glacerie (ice cream & sorbets), Confiserie (chocolates/candy) and Traiteur (gourmet sandwiches) made like works of art, and presented in beautifully wrapped packaging. The shop recently opened a across the street from Sona Restaurant and features the same award winning chef, Michelle Myers, who says her goal for the shop is, “to capture the traditions and ambiance of the Parisian pâtisserie and to reintroduce this concept in a contemporary mode.” Indeed! Stop by for some decadent, euro-inspired, delights!
La vie est douce!
K.
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