ML - Vegas Magazine

2013 - Issue 5 - September

Vegas Magazine - Niche Media - There is a place beyond the crowds, beyond the ropes, where dreams are realized and success is celebrated. You are invited.

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Parting Shot Where Have All the Sparkles Gone? LIKE CLARK KENT TURNING INTO SUPERMAN, PREPPY WOMEN BY DAY GET TO TURN ON THE RAZZLE-DAZZLE COME EVENING AS GALA SEASON HEATS UP IN VEGAS. BY BETSY PERRY 152 ILLUSTRATION BY DANIEL O'LEARY W hile the outside world still thinks of Vegas as the land of feathered headdresses and spangled costumes cascading onto glittery high-heeled mules with marabou puffs on the toes, it seems the proclivity for "xtreme" sparkles has been bred out of the Vegas DNA. Today it's more likely you'll find Tom Ford and Lanvin lurking inside the closets of local fashionistas. Now, this doesn't mean you won't see a glittery outfit for the occasional costume or themed gala, but as one closet insider revealed, "It's mostly the aspirational girls who wear sparkles these days, not the tastemakers." Still, not unlike mild-mannered Clark Kent shedding his off-the-rack suit for a flashy Superman outfit, once the sun goes down a costume change does occur. Ladies on the charity-ball circuit trade daytime preppy white J.Crew shirts, cashmere sweaters, and Lululemon workout wear for a nighttime look of razzle-dazzle bubblegum-pink Mouret, flashy Dior, and the ubiquitous Louboutin platform—a more contemporary and genetically altered LV showgirl, perhaps? While the fashionably in sync Annemarie Jones says, "Las Vegas is a total costume party and one could probably wear sparkles to breakfast," the sequins found in her closet are holdovers saved for those rare occasions when they're absolutely necessary. With a husband who operates 19 auto dealerships from Chicago to Hawaii, Jones also insists, "The sparkles never leave Las Vegas." But that doesn't mean she won't turn up the wattage once September's gala season launches, and even claims to have worn Cavalli to meet Prince Charles—although not one revealing cleavage! With the season ready for liftoff, and tired of the cutoffs she wears daily at her summer home in Sun Valley, Jones will happily go black-tie even if optional. "It is not unusual for power-shopping LV socialites to spend more than $1 million a year and never wear the same thing twice," says fashion stylist and personal shopper Jenna Doughton, reminding us that "this is a city where if you're not beautiful, you can't serve drinks." Knowing that a photographer is always around to record your outfit obviously adds pressure. Some women with unopened boxes of Chanel and Louis Vuitton admit, "There aren't enough days in the year to wear what I've bought." Even Vegas men are into fashion. Doughton says it's a "machismo thing to brag about dropping 20 grand on Tom Ford suits." (To balance her work with the very rich, Doughton has created Style with a Cause, helping women with real struggles—as opposed to those who can't decide what to wear—turn their lives around, one makeover at a time.) Dressed in designer labels, sometimes mixing high-end Donna Karan with a bit of Forever 21, and sometimes pushing the limits of extravagance with big diamonds and faux fur (because casinos can be chilly), the ladies of LV are eager to stand out. But while our fashionista might wear super-short shorts and sixinch platforms, it seems, as one source says, "Anything too Vegas or nouveau is avoided for fear of looking like a cliché." How amusing that—in a city famous for extravagance and hype, where Liberace was once thought fashion-forward and Celine Dion and Cirque du Soleil are considered everyday fare—the fantasy showgirls can now be found only on the stage. V VEGASMAGAZINE.COM 152_V_BOB_PartingShot_Sept13.indd 152 8/5/13 7:30 PM

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