RED CARPET REWIND

Stars show off new Oscar dresses

(No, not that Oscar)

By Elizabeth Snead, The Envelope, The Envelope

April 20, 2007

It was Oscar night on Wednesday as scads of stylish stars, all clad in dainty designer dresses, scampered to the opening of Oscar de la Renta's new Melrose Place boutique.

The night was more than just a chance for Brooke Shields, Amber Valletta, Cindy Crawford, Kristin Davis, Camilla Belle, Gretchen Mol, Lisa Rinna, Lisa Kudrow, Amanda Peet and Lauren Graham to model the designer's Spring '07 frocks supplied to them.

The bash, coordinated by party boys Rabin Rodgers, also raised money for the Entertainment Industry Foundation's Women's Cancer Research Fund and was co-hosted by Jennifer Garner, Kelly Meyer and Jamie Tisch.

In the haute mode mix: political author/commentator Arianna Huffington, socialite Betsey Bloomingdale, Barbara Davis and her daughter, Nancy Davis, Irina Medavoy, Crystal Lourd, Cameron Silver of Decades, designer/stylist Estee Stanley and Elizabeth Stewart , the stylist who helped make Cate Blanchett look like a million plus interest last awards season.

So why not open Oscar on Rodeo Drive? "We do not need tourist traffic," said company CEO Alex Bolen. "This location is much more suited to our regular customers."

And it probably doesn't hurt that the neighboring John Frieda hair salon is a regular pit stop for Oscar fashion fans and stars Reese Witherspoon, Kim Basinger, Jane Fonda, Kate Hudson, Minnie Driver, Renee Zellweger, ad infinitum.

The open, airy 4,000-square-foot flagship boutique, designed by Meyer Davis, features a peaceful inner courtyard garden and upstairs terrace and is the largest Oscar shop in the U.S. It also boasts an upstairs apartment (bed/bath/sitting area) designated as the first official retail home for Oscar de la Renta Home. "Everything up here is for sale," noted Bolen.

While they aren't expecting to do a huge home trade, the space will do double duty. "It will make the perfect private space for VIP fittings," he added. Celebs can even enter from a private rear entrance to avoid the inevitable paparazzi destined to abandon C-list shoppers on Robertson and move to Melrose Place's A-list rich hunting ground.

Oscar is the latest high-end designer to call Melrose Place home. Marc Jacobs and Marni were early homesteaders. Diane von Furstenberg and Carolina Herrera followed. Red carpet fave Monique Lhuillier's banner hangs on an in-progress spot at the corner of MP and La Cienega. It's whispered that Alexander McQueen, Balenciaga, Chloe, Vera Wang and Nina Ricci (headed by Witherspoon's DOC Olivier Theyskens) will snag spaces on the quaint tree-lined street.

The influx of luxury-brand boutiques may be due to the fact that they are the only ones that can afford the rent. According to one former resident, rents shot up from $7,000 to $40,000 a month this year. Both Retrospecs and Melrose Place Aesthetics have moved to more affordable digs. Retrospecs is now open on Melrose Avenue, just steps from Urth Café, the popular WeHo caffeine-charging station.

But wait a minute. Where was the real Oscar? The world-famous Dominican-born de la Renta missed his own party, felled by a flu that grounded him in nippy New York. Rest assured he'll recover and do some award-season starlet-schmoozing this fall. Oh, and if you're feeling flush and charitable today, 15% of sales at the store will be donated to cancer research until tomorrow, April 21.