Clothes

Actress Joanna Lumley plans to auction off outfits she wore to play characters including Patsy Stone in "Absolutely Fabulous,"  as well as clothes she wore in her private life. Proceeds from the event, planned for Nov. 13, are to go to charity. [Telegraph] Model Chrissy Teigen says she will wear a gown by Vera Wang for her wedding to singer John Legend. [Us] High-end fashion seems to be becoming more inclusive, with examples such as Ralph Lauren featuring a plus-size model and Lanvin using some "real people" in campaigns.

Actors and costume designers have a rare relationship on set: They're both involved in building a person, using the actor's body as the raw materials. It's a relationship built on trust and talent, and when everything goes well, clothes really do make the man (or woman). Here's a peek behind the scenes of four such recent partnerships. 'Hitchcock' Toni Collette (as Peggy Robertson) Julie Weiss (costume designer) The character: As Alfred Hitchcock'sreal-life assistant, Collette's outfits had to establish her as a mid-century working woman but never be too flashy, since Peggy always stood in the reflected glow of the master of suspense.

The Downtown L.A. Standard rooftop bar--Open only a month, already a tough door with a guest list. The clothes: Optional (there's a pool). Otherwise, a mix of business suits and designer clothes. 550 S. Flower St., downtown L.A., (213) 892-8080. Nacional--Newly opened Cuban-themed club. On Friday nights, you gotta know someone inside. The clothes: Dress continental sophistication. Helmut Lang sleek. A "no silicone" look. 1645 N. Wilcox Ave., Hollywood, (323) 962-7712. Deep--Still a tight door.

The old soccer star hobbles through the rows of plastic-covered clothes, dribbling a ball down a rocky pitch in Lebanon. There is a dark circle of sweat forming on the collar of his gray shirt, audible cracks coming from his bowed legs, but he's moving now, racing across the fields of his past, navigating the cramped dry cleaning shop of his present. There is a customer who has brought an American flag to the counter, and Koko Kederian needs to hustle up there and make an assist.

A 20-year-old peasant of "normal intelligence" in China's Sichuan province has refused to wear clothes since birth, the newspaper Sichuan Daily reported. Li Jinyu ignores strange looks from fellow villagers and goes naked even during icy winter weather but has never caught a cold, the newspaper said. Li has had no education because of his dislike of clothes, the paper said, adding that he enjoys playing with animals and never indulges in "bad behavior" though he knows the facts of life.

Let me see if I have this right. La Habra plans to ban clotheslines because the City Council considers clean, sweet-smelling clothes to be a "blight." Yet La Habra is doing nothing to address the blight of traffic and air pollution. Maybe people are supposed to wear dirty clothes so that everything matches--the clothes, the cars, the air. Perhaps there is even a City Council term for this, such as coordinated-aesthetics-of-the-external-environment. I must admit it makes a California kind of sense.

Las Amigas de San Jose, a support group for St. Joseph Hospital in Orange, drew a crowd of 200 to the Anaheim Hilton on Saturday to see a dozen California Angels and their wives model casual and evening wear. Cocktails, dinner, fashion show, dancing--same package as last year, at the same price ($125 per couple). Last year, the Amigas nabbed TV sportscaster Fred Roggin for the emcee job, and he unleashed an irreverent commentary that played like a comedy routine.

"Clothes and the Aging Body" really hit the mark. Kudos to the Arizona women doing the research. Their statistics certainly describe me and my problems. I still lead an active life at 72 and have great difficulty finding well-fitting clothes that are appropriate regardless of price--especially tennis items. Thanks for printing this, and hopefully more manufacturers will respond. JOYE TATZ Rancho Mirage