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The local Nordstorm is having a sale, and there you are, going elbow to elbow with every bargain hunter in town. Suddenly, you stop, you stare, you gasp. Could that really be this
year's Oscar winner pawing over the summer clearance rack? Probably not. The stars, quite simply, do not shop like the rest of us. Many, like Mickael Jackson at
toys
"R" Us, ask for and receive quiet time to wander the aisles alone—except for whatever entourage is in tow. It makes them happy, and the publicity and the money spent are good for the stores.
"Elton John, who is a long-standing customer, will call, and if he wants to stay an hour or longer he
can," says Versace's publicist Marcus Ebner. "It makes the celebrity more
comfortable."
Dustin Hoffman once propped in early for a little private shopping at the Barneys warehouse sale at the Santa Monica airport. The rock group Aerosmith had Harrods department store in London all to themselves one evening last June. Another London shop, the couture shoe seller Gina (favoured by Claudia Schiffer, Nicole Kidman and the Spice Girls), admits it keeps special hours for stars. And in Palm Beach, Fla., Saks Fifth Avenue opened early for Celine Dion(although she turned down an invitation to shop privately at Gucci) and stayed open late for designer Vera Wang.
Closing a store may be going out of style though. More and more calebrities are sending their personal stylists to do their shopping. And enterprising retailors are finding new ways to accommodate the stars without alienating civilian customers.
That's why the Beverly Hills Emporio Armani, a favorite of Jodie Foster, Nastassja Kinski and Christian Slater, expanded its showroom within the last year to include a perk once reserved for discos: a VIP area.
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