LA Fashionista Girl Central, A well-stocked Fashion Bar...and Vintage LA Couture!!!
Nick Verreos at Diane Merrick Clothing Store, Los Angeles, for TV Guyide "The Fashion Team" TV show 
Store Front Chic: Window of Diane Merrick Of course, host
Lawrence Zarian and my red carpet "Hit" or "Miss" fashion partner-in-crime, stylist
Jen Rade, were there as well. Jen had a shoot with
Denise Richards soon afterward so we had to make this segment work and fast! It's usually me and the fact that I have to get to my
FIDM class that forces us to rush a bit unfortunately.
Well Edited: Diane Merrick store, inside view
Diane Merrick has been in the LA retail and wholesale fashion industry for almost 40 years--in 1972 Diane opened her first store on Melrose Avenue and ever since then, she has been synonymous with LA, style & fashion and where every Southern California "It" girl should go for getting the right items for her chic Hollywood walk-in closet!
Buddha Diva: Another inside view of Diane Merrick storeThe
Diane Merrick boutique has all the skinny jeans, colored scarves, statement making necklaces, comfy jersey sweaters and tanks as well as the CUTEST bomber jackets EVERY girl needs! I love all the Buddha decor and one of my favorite things:
A fully-stocked bar: Well...almost! I spotted this at 10 AM while we were about to shoot our
TV Guide Fashion Team "What's The Fashion?" weekly segment and wondered if it's there "for show" or "for reals". I might have to return to find out!
What's In That Bag: A Cardinali sampleWhile waiting around for the crew to set up the shoot, I spotted several racks of clothing in plastic bags. Well, of course, I was intrigued. As it turned out they were racks of chiffon gowns, tweed suits and beaded-trim dresses from the Southern California (now-defunct) line,
Cardinali designed by
Marilyn Cardinali Lewis, who also is the woman behind
Kate Mantilini's.
Sequin Heaven: Cardinali gown with a diamante neckline and sleeves (VERY heavy!)In the late 1960s,
Cardinali was featured alongside
Norell,
James Galanos and
Geoffrey Beene in fine stores such as
Saks Fifth Avenue and
Bergdorf Goodman. Made from imported tweeds, laces, silks, Lewis’ Cardinali suits, dresses and gowns were worn by the likes of
Marlo Thomas (for “That Girl”),
Nancy Reagan and
Betsy Bloomingdale. One dress that caught my eye was this one:
This silver and pewter lame plisse palazzo-divided gown ended up having quite a
provenence: It was worn by actress
Dyan Cannon on a "Very Important Date", her first date with Cary Grant. Check out the note on the dress bag below:
Below was another one of my
Cardinali faves: A Peter Pan collared polka-dotted gown that SCREAMED late 60's-early 70's! I could totally see a fabulous actress pool-side at an A-list Bel-Air soiree wearing this. All that was missing from the bag--and the dress--was a STIFF Martini--and a cigarette perhaps!
Just another day shooting my
TV Guide Fashion Team TV Show here in LA! Another reason why I LOVE LA! Fashion, Vintage and Hollywood A-List Couture!
Double Breasted Store Window: Nick Verreos in front of the Diane Merrick store, Los Angeles
Boutique Floor Plan: Diane Merrick store
