Dress Code

"America's toughest sheriff" is facing a new threat of punishment in the death of a mentally ill jail inmate forced to don pink underwear. The jail dress code imposed by Sheriff Joe Arpaio of Maricopa County, Ariz., so traumatized schizophrenic detainee Eric Vogel that it may have caused his death from heart failure, two coroner's officials concluded, and their testimony should have been presented to a jury that rejected a wrongful death claim in...

Damien Bona earned a law degree from New York University in 1980 but spent only two years practicing law. As he told the Los Angeles Times in 1986, "I had to choose between a job and an obsession. I chose the obsession. " Bona's obsession was the Academy Awards and all of the attendant hoopla, campaigning, gaffes and backstage controversies surrounding Hollywood's annual Big Night, dating to the first Oscar ceremony — a banquet at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel in 1929. Bona, coauthor of the 1986 book "Inside Oscar: The Unofficial History of the Academy Awards" and sole author of a 2002 sequel, died Jan. 29 at a hospital in New York, 15 days after sudden cardiac arrest, said Neil Cohen, his brother-in-law.

First, they could grow a mustache, just like Walt Disney. Now, they can grow a little more facial hair but not quite enough to be like most of the Seven Dwarfs. Disneyland announced that it's loosened up its legendary dress code — known as the Disney Look — to allow employees to grow more facial hair. But the rules still forbid visible tattoos, body piercings (other than the ears for women), "extreme" hairstyles or colors. (Shaved heads are OK for men, but a no-go for women.)

When the Republican presidential candidates took the stage at the NBC News/Facebook debate on "Meet the Press" on Jan. 8, it was their last big chance to make an impression before the New Hampshire primary last Tuesday. They may have strayed from one another in terms of political issues throughout the event, but there was something unmistakably uniform about the six candidates. Lined up side by side under the bright lights, each wore a plain dark navy suit, solid light-colored shirt, subtle tie and, except for Ron Paul, a lapel pin of some kind (in most cases, an American flag)

On a recent fall evening, three young women walk down Beverly Boulevard together toward Jerry's Deli. They're dressed in vertiginous high heels, cut-off frayed denim shorts, sheer peasant blouses and, for the tallest in the group, a floppy brown suede hat. Their outfits might lead an observer to conclude they are on their way to a Malibu beach party. But after they pass the deli's brightly lighted windows, they stop in front of the Beverly nightclub, and within seconds they bypass the crowd huddled around the doorman and claim their places inside.

In 2010, a month before he took to the basketball court for the first time in a New York Knicks uniform, Amare Stoudemire took to the red carpet at Lincoln Center in head-to-toe Tom Ford. In 2009, when NBA No. 1 draft pick Blake Griffin was chosen by the Clippers, he was wearing a custom suit, a purple necktie and eye-catching pocket square from L.A. tailor Waraire Boswell. And sometime during this year's playoffs, there's a decent chance the Miami Heat's Dwyane Wade will be photographed sporting a diamond lapel pin from Jason of Beverly Hills.

In John Lithgow's one-man show, "Stories by Heart," which opened Wednesday at the Mark Taper Forum, Lithgow stood alone on stage, acting out favorite short stories from his childhood and sharing memories of his father reading to the family. "There's magic in the personal connection between the storyteller and the audience," said Lithgow at a backstage reception following the show. Compared with live storytelling, he said, "TV and movies feel like eavesdropping on the real event.

While the Green Bay Packers and Buffalo Bills warmed up before a game last month, a solitary figure stood off to the side, passing judgment on how they were dressed. Scribbling his findings into a notebook, Johnnie Gray kept his eyes peeled for untucked jerseys, bare midriffs and unauthorized footwear, among other breaches of a strict dress code. The former Packers safety from Lompoc High and Cal State Fullerton counts himself among a 32-man crew entrusted to maintain the rigid sartorial sanctity of the NFL. He is a uniform inspector.

Chalk one up for women who work at Disney theme parks: They don't have to wear pantyhose anymore. In the biggest change to the company's appearance code in a decade, the Walt Disney Co. has decided to let most female employees at Disney theme parks worldwide, including the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, forgo pantyhose when wearing skirts. Although it may seem a trivial change in any other business, the relaxing of dress codes at Disneyland is a significant move considering that founder Walt Disney was adamant about making sure all employees maintained a well-groomed, all-American look.