Mr. Blackwell Better Be Careful. Now He’s on Their List
Ouch! We recently had a chat with fashion arbiter Mr. Blackwell of Los Angeles, creator of the infamous Best and Worst Dressed List, and he told us, straight-up, what he thought of Orange County’s fashion s tyle.
Are you ready? (Remember this is the guy who called Roseann e Arnold “a bowling ball in search of an alley†and Ivana Trump “a cross between Brigitte Bardot and Lassie.†)
Of Orange County’s old guard, Mr. Blackwell says: “Unbudgingly boring . They refuse to be anything other than they were 25 years ago . . . . Most of them defy you to make a demand of them fashionwise. They have contempt for even the illusion of being progressive.â€
Of the up-and-coming: “They shine, as cubic zirconia as they might be. They are making great strides toward what I believe will be a more casual projection of tomorrow fashion. But when they go for glitz and glitter, they do it at a very burlesque level.â€
To become an area equated with sartorial style, Orange County needs to “build a bridge between bor e dom and glitz,†Mr. Blackwell says.
What do he and she think about what Mr. Blackwell thinks?
SHE: As a 10-year observer of Orange County society, I have found its members to be head-and-shoulders above Los Angeles society when it comes to fashion savvy.
Show me a Los Angeles gala--and I’ve seen several--and I’ll show you, generally speaking, a Tinseltown brand of chic: thick makeup, mountains of tired glitter and enough faux jewels to stud the Hollywood sign. Better boring than brash.
HE: Personally, I think this Blackwell guy is living in some parallel universe, where yahoos whose real names might be Richard Selzer wake up one morning and say, “I’m sick of getting rotten tables at Spago! I think I’ll become a grating, patronizing, sanctimonious, self-proclaimed fashion arbiter and make piles of money by convening a press conference once a year and calling badly dressed rich women frumps.â€
He doesn’t venture south of Melrose except at gunpoint. He hasn’t grasped the fact that Hollywood is not a fashion allegory for the rest of the Western world. Hollywood is plain &%$?! nuts. Of course he thinks we’re boring. He’s used to looking at a bunch of neurotic bulimics in outfits that can jam long-range radio frequencies.
SHE: When he’s on the town, Blackwell himself is the epitome of chic. He has appeared at formal parties here in a lush velvet tux (with a diamond brooch, no less) and at more casual affairs in perfectly tailored Levi’s and gingham shirts.
I’ll never forget a yacht-cruise party he attended in Newport Beach one holiday season. Party-goers were dressed to cruise in glitter and Blackglama, and Blackwell showed up in camel and cashmere. Obviously embarrassed, he announced: “I’m going home; I’m underdressed!â€
But the truth was, he was appropriately attired, and the others--overdressed as they were--made him look like a mutt at a pedigree show.
HE: The problem with this guy telling a stratum of Orange County people that they’re bad dressers is summed up pretty neatly in one of his own comments above: “ . . . most of them defy you to make a demand of them fashionwise.†Whose demand? His? I always thought how one dressed was a pretty personal thing, subject to one’s own dictates. He’s accustomed to fashion as theater.
SHE: I have to agree with his “burlesque level†remark, though. Maxed-out, head-to-toe glitz has become the de rigueur silhouette at many Orange County galas. When you have spangles on your dress, you don’t need them on your hair, ears, toes.
In his biased, campy way, Blackwell does the out-and-about set a favor by forcing it to dress as tastefully as possible.
HE: Could you live with yourself, though, if you admitted that Mr. Blackwell forced you into doing anything? I think that if you decide you’re going to venture beyond the realm of serviceable everyday clothes and onto a higher fashion plane, you’ve got to be fearlessly independent.
But you’ve also got to be smart. With a little trial and error (and maybe a sympathetic but honest friend or two) you ought to be able to come up with some guidelines that add up to a very potent personal style. If you become a trend slave, though, you’re dead because you’ll start being untrue to yourself.
SHE: Don’t forget, there’s a Best Dressed side to Blackwell’s list. And more often than not, the people on that exemplify fashion independence.
I have to agree with Blackwell that Orange County needs to find a balance between boredom and glitz. But doesn’t everybody? That will always be the challenge for all of us.
HE: I suppose it could be worse. He could do a best-and-worst list for men too.
