GOODNIGHT, SWEET PRINCE
My friend Rick Johnson Jr., partner of Cliff Redd, died last week after a two-year battle with cancer. I had a crush on Cliff a long time ago, but that wasn’t going to go anywhere, so I just settled for being a dear friend. I was mildly jealous when Rick turned up on Cliff’s arm, but Rick wasn’t having any of that. He disarmed me and charmed me with his wicked wit, and we became friends. When Rick was diagnosed with cancer, it gave us a special kinship since I, too, was dealing with cancer. It also scared the bejesus out of me, and once Cliff and Rick moved to Galveston, I saw little of them. I’m deeply ashamed of that. My love to Rick and Cliff’s extended family.
A FIRM FOUNDATION
Having lost so much weight this past summer and fall has left me resembling a saggy bag of bones (OK, I did gain a couple of pounds during the holidays). While I usually avoid press releases related to women’s underwear, the press release from Leonisa (www.leonisa.com) for its new Posture Perfector Firm Control Wireless Bra caught my eye. Not that I was interested in the bra, but my sister was. Scanning Leonisa’s website, there’s even a men’s section (called Leo) with slimming garments and other underwear for men. I saw the men’s black Upper Body Full-Compression Shaper and wanted desperately to try it, so I asked for samples of both the bra and the body-shaper. In the blink of an eye, they arrived and we tried them on immediately. Margaret loves the bra because it makes her aware of her posture, and with Leonisa’s clever little gussets under the high-cut armholes, it gives a slimming effect and achieves its goal perfectly. I’m in love with the men’s body-shaper. It molds and trims the torso very comfortably, like a vest closing up the front with a series of hooks covered by a zipper. It’s a tough garment, and it does a tough job. I’m just not the gym type, so I watch my weight and let Leonisa do the rest.
GAULTIER GOLD
One of the dying breed of truly original over-the-top designers is Jean-Paul Gaultier. With Gianni Versace and Alexander McQueen gone, and John Galliano laying low (for now – he may not ever be forgiven entirely, but he will return, of course), Gaultier rules the world as far as I’m concerned. I’m in an absolute lather about seeing the fabulously extensive Gaultier exhibit at the Dallas Museum of Art (hurry – it closes Feb. 12). Making its U.S. debut, it is the first exhibit devoted solely to JPG. Most of the 130 couture gowns, along with the prêt-à-porter and accessories, have never been on exhibit before, especially JPG’s early work dating back to 1976. Sections of the exhibition called “The Odyssey of Jean Paul Gaultier,” “The Boudoir,” “Skin Deep,” “Punk Cancan,” “Urban Jungle,” and “Metropolis” will bring us up to date (as of 2010, anyway). The exhibition will travel to a number of other destinations. Hopefully, the museum will have fun Gaultier-bilia in the gift shop. But there’s one Gaultier item that you can only get in Dallas, no matter where the exhibition is: Dillon Gage Metals (www.dillongage.com) in Dallas is the only U.S. establishment to offer the 1-ounce solid gold ingot designed by Jean-Paul himself. Imagine! One side of the gold bar is engraved with a heart (with Gaultier’s trademark sailor stripe) amid radiating rays and a banner displaying the name Jean-Paul Gaultier. They sound scrumptious, don’t they? (Don’t confuse them with all that gold-foil-covered-candy you have left from the holidays.) If you had fabulous JPG gold ingots, you sure wouldn’t want to hide them in a vault. You’d want everyone to see them. I think these beauties ought to be the new gold standard. Can you imagine walking into, say, Neiman-Marcus and trying to pay for your purchases with JPG gold ingots? Tres glamorous. Trying to pay for your purchases at 7-Eleven with JPG gold ingots? Not so glamorous.
This article appears in January 20 • 2012.