Amen Wardy Promises New Store Will Be the Last Word in Boutiques

Countdown. . . . Just 27 days until the cocktail party to end all cocktail parties christens the boutique to end all boutiques.

On Feb. 8, fashion shepherd Amen Wardy will throw open the doors of his new, 11,000-square-foot store in Beverly Hills and lead his flock through room after room of marbled and mirrored splendor.

On the guest list? You, if you’ve dropped a bundle at his Newport Center Fashion Island store since it opened its see-through doors seven years ago.

Some of the faithful who are being called to Rodeo Drive: Barbara Davis, wife of billionaire mogul Marvin Davis; Joan Collins; Jackie Collins; Kenny and Marianne Rogers; Aaron and Candy Spelling; Diahann Carroll and Vic Damone; Mary Hart and Burt Sugarman, Alexis and Johnny Carson. And more.

Locals on the guest list include fashion pacesetters such as Elizabeth (Zibbie) Fairchild (widow of Edmund Fairchild, uncle of Women’s Wear Daily and “W” publisher John Fairchild; Melinda Moiso, wife of developer Tony Moiso; Willa Dean Lyon, wife of Forbes 400 developer William Lyon, and socialite-philanthropists Maria Crutcher and Lillian Fluor.

“My new store. There will be nothing like it in the world,” said Amen earlier this week, peering at his boutique-in-progress from a window of the main dining room at the Regent Beverly Wilshire hotel. “The women are going to go out of their minds.”

Features conceived to drive them crazy include dressing rooms the size of most boutiques; costume jewelry culled from the fashion capitals of Europe (where, last October, Amen shopped for his new digs with his business manager, Bob Hightower); shoes designed for Amen by the house of Rene Mancini, designer for Givenchy, and in the glamour years, stars such as the well-heeled Lauren Bacall. And the clothing: sportswear designed by Amen and dress wear created by the Great Ones--Valentino, Oscar de la Renta, Ungaro, Dior, Bob Mackie, Galanos and Bill Blass. And more. Even the help will have a haute new look: trim black suits worn with white blouses and black shoes.

Why has Amen (like Cher, one name does it, thank you very much) decided to go Beverly Hills?

“Women come to my Newport store from all over the world,” said Amen, who said no-no to lunch and yes to two goblets of fresh OJ. “Many of them come to L.A. with their husbands for board meetings. Their husbands tell them they have cocktail parties and black-tie dinners to attend, and the women tell their husbands: ‘But I want to go shopping at Amen’s!’

“So, they have to think twice about driving all the way to Newport Beach. I decided I didn’t want them to have to think twice any more. Now, they can just run across the street (from the Regent Beverly Wilshire) and shop!”

Till they drop. “When Bob and I went to Europe we put together a collection of clothing that is unbelievable,” Amen said. “Accessories, too.”

“Amen found the most gorgeous clothes he’s found in his 30 years in the business,” Hightower added. “Maybe the designers have finally decided to start creating clothing that is wearable as well as beautiful. That’s Amen’s concept: ‘Give women beautifully wearable, elegant clothes.’ ”

For daytime, Amen loves a woman in tailored clothing. But for night, she should let herself go for glamour, sport a look that makes her act and feel like a princess. “Any woman can be glamorous,” Amen said. “But so many women put too much on. They overdo it. The simpler it is, the more wonderful.”

Fashion rule No. 1, Amen said, is for a woman to learn to build a wardrobe. “You don’t go into a store and just buy a wardrobe,” he said. “You build it and keep it. You don’t throw your clothes out every season. First, you buy beautiful accessories--good shoes, bag, costume jewelry. If you can just buy a simple, good dress and good accessories, you can look terrific. A lot of women will buy an expensive dress and wear it with inexpensive accessories. You can’t do that and look great.”

Give Amen artistic freedom when you begin to build, and he’ll help you select some “great pants first,” he said, “and then a cashmere sweater, a silk shirt, a jacket, a tailored dress you can dress up or down.” And then, a suit. “When a woman doesn’t know what to wear, she should wear a suit. She will never be under- or overdressed. A pretty black suit--there is nothing better for a woman’s wardrobe.”

In August, Barbara Davis will chair the benefit opening of the new store for her pet charity, the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation. A black-tie dinner for 650 people is planned. On the ramp: 10 super looks from 25 superb fashion designers. “Ten girls will come out wearing the 10 best Galanos; then 10 girls will come out in the 10 best Bill Blass, the 10 best Dior. . . . Before it’s over, the audience will have seen 250 of the finest fashions in the world.”

The tab? As much as a cool $25,000 per table. “I’ve already sold 35 tables myself,” Amen said. The gala’s site hasn’t been selected yet. “We don’t know if it will be at the Wilshire or the Hilton,” Amen said.

But he knows the gala will be a winner. “The women are going to go out of their minds.”