La Vie En Rose

'Do-Day with Dita

A day of calisthenics (I love that word) and hair 'dos at chez Dita Von Teese's Saturday, as we crammed as many looks as time would allow in front of the camera for the DIY beauty book we are collaborating on for Harper Collins.

The Saturday began chatting with pilates grand dame Mari Winsor, whom Dita has been training with for the last decade. Clad in spiky Louboutin high-tops and black jersey, the lithe and limber 61-year-old Mari energized us as we determined which exercises to spotlight in the chapter on exercise. To wit, I've decided it's high time I get back in the saddle after the two month hiatus I've taken from anything other than pushing a stroller up the hill (which in my 'hood, granted, is a work out). That said, holding baby Nina on my right hip as I took notes and moved sets around with my left during the shoot met my arm pumping quota for the week.

Dita's arms also got a work out...and after we bid our see ya's to Mari. We spent the following five hours with photographer Danielle Bedics documenting countless hair 'dos, all to be chronicled step-by-step in the chapter on hair, of course. From a Lana Turner-inspired wavy set to Victory rolls that Betty Grable would've approved of, Dita executed each one flawlessly—and astonishingly fast. Except for reaching for the hairspray or a hair pin or doing a quick change into a new corset or frock, she didn't drop her arms but a second during the entire session. Had we only been shooting video!

You'll have to wait to see what we shot. But I woke up today to a FB posting from Albane Navizet that my name appeared in Paris Match on a blurb about the book, no doubt as a result of the lengthy piece with Dita on beauty and the pending book by my former colleagues Peter Born and Julie Naugton in last month's WWD. (Thank you for the props all of you!)

First Peek: My Next Cover

As I tweeted very excitedly earlier this month, the epic book I've been toiling over for way too long is finally off to press.

Hurrah.

The book is a biography of Fred Hayman—marketing architect of Rodeo Drive and a fragrance that revolutionized the beauty industry; co-owner of the iconic Bevelry Hills store that introduced names like Halston, DVF and Thea Porter and Patrick Kelly outside of New York and London; former fashion coordinator for the Oscars and the reason why the Golden Globes are at the Beverly Hilton; champion of the Los Angeles Opera—and a certain kind of glamour, L.A. style, that was celebrated in Scruples and on Dynasty and in other pop culture milestones.

While Mr. Hayman is the thread of this 400-page, seven-pound tome, even those who don't know the man (and they very much will by the end of it), will hopefully find the book of interest in terms of the history of Beverly Hills and Los Angeles, Hollywood style from the 1950s through the 1980s, the beauty business, the evolution of modern marketing and retail. 

This history book was finally, beautifully realized with the help of book designer David Blankenship. Above is his cover—complete with the stripes to solid signature yellow that defined Giorgio Beverly Hills and later the Fred Hayman store and the 273 Rodeo Drive address for a quarter century.

Tonight, Andy and I are joinig the Haymans and an intimate group of their friends to toast the book finally getting to Hong Kong. I learned this week we would be served Fred Hayman classics such as baked potatoes heaving with caviar and plenty of Dom. Hurran, indeed. We will see advance copies in March and the full shipment in late April. Can't wait to share it with you all!

Return of the Castillian Badass

This weekend marked the return of the Castillian Badass behind the turntables.

Yes, that would be me.

In celebration of the birthday of our pal, writer Deanna Kizis, her wonderful husband, filmmaker Julian Cautherly, came up with the clever idea of inviting friends to deejay for 30-minute sets. It's been at least six years since I spent my Saturday nights spinnig at one of the bars I co-owned, Vine. So long, in fact, I can't even recall the name of the evening.

My deejay name, however, I could. It was stolen from the back of a jacket on the back of some long, tall dude dancin' his heart out in a square in New Orleans, a fantastic sight my sister, mom and I caught more than a decade ago during a burleque fest there. Being that I'm Castillian, well, it's become my own tag over the years and I had to revive it once again for my Saturday night return to the wax.

And return I did...and will. Andy finally brought home my brand new glossy red record player, a Pro-ject Debut III (we have them in a handful of candy colors in the store, and they will be online soon enough!). I've got crates of crazy vinyl that haven't seen the light of day since the Vine days. And as Dhani Harrison, who also got a red Pro-ject from us recently, noted today when he came into the store, the time is right to get back to basics. Amen.

Given my ecclectic collection, I could've gone in many directions Saturday night. After some thought, I decided to play (and in this order):

"Big Ten Inch Record" covered by Aerosmith off Toys in the Attic

"You're My Meat" covered by Joe Jackson off Jumpin' Jive

"Mick's Blessings" by Style Council off My Ever Changing Moods

"California Man" by Cheap Trick off Heaven Tonight

"Queen Bitch" by David Bowie off Hunky Dory

"White Girl" by X off Wild Gift (yes, the original Slash record!)

"2,000 Man" by Kiss off Dynasty

"Deuce" covered by Lenny Kravitz off Kiss My Ass (album cover pictured above)

"These Boots are Made for Walking" covered by Simaryp off Skinhead Moonstomp

"Rosslyn" by David Bowie off Bowie Pinups

"La Vie en Rose" covered by Marlene Dietrich off Marlene Dietrich at the Cafe de Paris

 

...Not all available on iTunes. But all on vinyl.

 

P.S. Sorry Amy Fleetwood for missing your big birthday getaway this weekend. If only we could be in two places at once!

Lady Stardust: Ann Magnuson Flashes Bowie

As David Bowie got a lip-smacking mouthful of Ann Magnuson in the opening scenes of "The Hunger," it was only right she obliged three decades later and take a bite of the eternal icon's style and sound in marking his turning 64.

Yes, in case you missed it, dear friends, David Bowie hit that milestone last Saturday. And how better to observe the birthday than gathering a bunch of friends into the Steve Allen Theater in Los Feliz?

Clad in glittering frocks on special loan from Bob Mackie, Ann comandeered the stage and mostly the "Ziggy Stardust" and "Aladdin Sane" songbooks, plus a ditty from his pre-Bowie Mod days, with a gang of seasoned musicians—Kristian Hoffman, Joe Berardi, Jonathan Lea and Miiko Watanabe—performing under the nom de mirth, the Star Whackers From Mars. In their diabolical care, "TVC 15" became a rioutous "QVC 15, and The Beatle's "When I'm 64" transformed in the style of Brecht/Weill in a nod to Bowie's period in Berlin.

The big show was as much about the get-ups as anything else, and Ann tickled the sold-out party with one after another glam revamp—on stage. (And for this, I regret abiding by the exhortation of the stage hand to the crowd not to take photographs during the show. I learned too late—backstage after it all—that I could have! Ah well...) Much of the changes were by way of over-the-top jewels and quaint headgear courtesy of her pal at Caprice Grey in nearby Silver Lake. Ann spent several glorious songs in little more than sparkling gold stockings, a teeny weeny panty and brocade foundation from Nice Corset. It's no exaggeration to say that the multi-threat performance artist has a body—and bum—any 20-year-old woman would covet—and she just turned 55 four days before opening night.

(Sorry Ann if you don't wish to be reminded of this, but if I were you, I'd be sharing this unbelievable factoid with everyone.)

This wasn't an evening so much about lauding venerable rebels who've still got it. But suffice it to say that special guest troubador Michael Des Barres has got it in spades. A stone silver fox at 62, Michael literally shook up the place with his renditions of "Suffragette City" and a moving "All the Young Dudes." 

Glam is all about excess. So despite a Bowie-brimmed program that more than satisfied all of the David/Ann friends and fans in the theater, Ann and her Star Whackers struck us silly with more: a final act brightly spotlighting that openly gay glam god that never was, Jobriath. Equal parts hysterical and heart-breaking, the musical tale about this real-life Icarus hit a palatable chord in the place, and in part because Ann's narative included Lance Loud, the artist-journalist, gay icon and friend of so many on stage and in the crowd who, like Jobriath, succumbed to AIDS in 2001.

(Scroll to the bottom for a video of Jobriath performing. While I as at it, decided to also post Ann's turn in "The Hunger." Too bad it ended so soon!)

For those who manage to make it to 64 or not, the evening was about celebrating life with all its bedazzling, beguiling, beautiful promise.

And Lady Ann Magnuson delivered.

 (Note: A few more photos of the evening taken with 35mm on my new vintage Olympus O will be posted shortly. So please return.)

Still rockin' as ever, that silver fox Michael Des Barres belting out "Suffragette City"

 

Ann Magnuson, in her final Bob Mackie frock, introduces the audience to the ephemeral phenom that was Jobriath

 

Natty Liz Graves

 

Bryan Rabin (in Sprouse tie and sneakers) and me and my 1988 Olympus O-Product

 

  

Photos of Ann Magnuson on stage, Michael DesBarres and Bryan Rabin and Rose Apodaca by Mark Fox

Dudamel Rocks Bernstein+Beethoven

Better late than...

I finally witnessed—live—the force of nature that is Gustavo Dudamel. Electrifying, charming, fun, the 29-year-old conductor of the Los Angeles Philharmonic lives up to the hype.

By intermission last Thursday night, following the opening "Slonimsky's Earbox" by John Adams and "Symphony No. 1: Jeremiah" by Leonard Bernstein (and featuring mezzo-soprano soloist Kelley O'Connor), I understood the giddy gushing by our generous host Kathy Jeung and fellow guests Arianne Philips and Jamal Hamadi. Here are three individuals who work with the biggest musical icons in history and I've never, ever seen them so enthusiastic about anyone like this.

Beethoven's "Symphony No. 7" claimed that second half of the evening, and we all floated home on a high. By morning, my Inbox had emails from Ari and Kathy with links to Dudamel on 60 Minutes and YouTube. Forget Beatlemania, Biebermania or the rest. Dudamel rocks.

To wit, impressive crowds turned up at some 450 movie theaters across the U.S. and Canada Sunday to watch the first high-def concert simulcast of "LA Phil Live," an initiative to raise the global profile of the orchestra and its conductor and serve as educational outreach. Except in cases where weather was dire, the afternoon simulcast, according to a recap, was a major hit.

Dudamel and the Phil will be back with two more simulcasts, a March 13 Tchaikovsky concert and a June 5 Brahms program. And you better believe we'll be right there for them.

Photo: Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times

Everlasting Pledge: Resolution Piloxing?

New Year, new chance to recycle those resolutions we seem so intent on repeating each year. Exercise is the perennial favorite, of course, and the biggest loser when it comes to keeping that pledge to ourselves.

Still, in the spirit of hope, Harper's Bazaar dispatched me to review a new-fangled workout program for the January issue. This is yet another entry in a town that loves to mix it up (fusion cuisine, hybrid cars and precedessors such as booty ballet yoga). Admittedly, I took to it.

Am I still going? Well, let's just say that seven days into 2011 I resolve to make it back one of these evenings...

New Workout: Piloxing

A fast-paced class mixes the power and speed of boxing with the core sculpting of Pilates. Rose Apodaca tries on the gloves.

By Rose Apodaca

Since the August birth of my daughter, the inevitable nesting triggered my foodie husband to cook an endless feast, each morsel too scrummy to deny. I soon realized that cute as they were on the baby, pudgy rolls weren't working for me. I can't blame pregnancy: We adopted. Daily stroller tours in our hilly 'hood induced gasping that underscored that I'm a 42-year-old mom. Not even the project I was working on with the sensationally fit Dita Von Teese could get me off my duff. I didn't want to feel over the hill, let alone look it, what with pencil skirts back and so many in my closet. What to do? My less-than-eager attendance at yoga, Pilates, and Spinning wasn't cutting it. So would something called Piloxing?

DAY 1: Viveca Jensen, the creator of Piloxing, is just as she looks on her Web site: sunny, sparkly, and very Swedish. "Feminine is powerful!" she tells me in her Barbie-pink studio, surrounded by Piloxing-branded workout wear. A former music-video and stage dancer, Viveca embraced Pilates after tearing a ligament in her leg. She became a certified instructor and, a decade later, began merging her best burning moves with another favorite, boxing, and Piloxing was born. (She began "boxing for fun" in Sweden 18 years ago. Joseph Pilates boxed too, so this isn't an entirely cuckoo concept.) After our meet and greet, Viveca's first lieutenant gives me a primer of the basic steps so that I am ready for the first class. The moves call to mind ballet, jazz, and scenes from Rocky. Think Bob Fosse meets Muhammad Ali. No wonder a new wave of starlets—Vanessa Hudgens, Alexis Bledel, and Hilary Duff—have pledged allegiance to Piloxing in its three short years. Before leaving, I ask Viveca about diet guidelines while she tucks into a quinoa salad. She is clear: "Eat fresh and not overly processed food and it will benefit your brain and your body. Those powder cleanses? I don't believe in them. How are those better than real food?"

WEEK TWO: Sore from Saturday class, I lug myself back on Monday expecting fewer students. Instead, I find 40 people crammed into the room. On my right is Kirsten Dunst. She is as unversed as I am in the amped-up choreography. I've always fancied myself a good dancer, but all this hopping here and there is causing some graceless, goofy moments. Viveca's relentlessly happy "It's not that serious!" declarations keep me energized. Just as I think I can't do another step, kick, or bounce, she uncannily switches to another series of pumped steps. As we reach for mats for sit-ups à la Viveca, I see a hunched Kirsten, black Chanel bag under her arm, dragging herself to the door. A mood of triumph rushes over me that I've bested a 28-year-old, famous or not.

WEEKEND TWO: Each class ends with Viveca's feminist mantra and corresponding steps: "Sleek! Sexy! Powerful!" I cringe. But Piloxing has grown on me. I'm carving time into my crazy schedule to make it to class. I'm limiting the wine to a single weekend night and replacing my daily cheese snack with almonds. My biceps are awakening, and I've put myself on the waiting list for the coveted eight-ounce Piloxing gloves.

WEEK THREE: I have a party to go to after class. I wonder about Viveca's take on booze. Good news: She is all for a glass of pinot noir with a good meal and says, "It has health bene?ts." But keep it to once or twice a week, she admonishes. Later, at the Chateau Marmont, I hit the bar. The autumn heat wave notwithstanding, I'm feeling kind of hot, having once again slipped right into a Karl Lagerfeld pencil skirt. While he might have opted for one of the Diet Cokes lined up before me, I go for a chilled glass of vino. Hey, as Viveca says, it's heart healthier.

BOTTOM LINE

Known as a fat-scorching and muscle-sculpting interval workout, this method is for those who like to work up a serious sweat in a group setting. Beginners are welcome.

THE DIET

Plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables with minimal processed food. "And keep alcohol to once or twice a week," admonishes Viveca.

CONTACT

4129 Cahuenga Blvd., Toluca Lake, CA; 818-762-8855. Check out piloxing.com for information on locations and schedules of classes nationwide and in Europe.

Photo Courtesy of David Crotty for Patrick McMullan Company

In With the New

Happy New Year to all of you. May 2011 be a year filled with grace and goodwill.

xAndy+Rose+Nina