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But, while the Chanel front row had its usual celebs, a man in the crowd went relatively unnoticed despite the size of his bank balance. Hedge fund multibillionaire and Sears Holdings Corp. chairman Edward Lampert was there with his wife, Kinga.
BIRTHDAY GIRL: The life of a pro football wife may involve a lot of cheering, but it also, apparently, involves a lot of shoes. On Sunday, Houston Texans offensive tackle Ephraim Salaam treated his wife, Reneece, to a two-hour surprise birthday party at the Christian Louboutin boutique in Beverly Hills. Reneece, who arrived at the store with three girlfriends, was lavished with French pastries, Champagne, sparkling water — and a $20,000 spending spree, which Salaam had arranged with the store management. (One of the girlfriends brought the money, said a store employee, who told Reneece upon their arrival: "Ephraim wants you to spend it here.") After perusing a display of about 12 shoes that her husband had picked out for her a week earlier, Reneece snapped up 14 pairs for herself and bought a pair for each of her friends. "She was totally surprised," said the Louboutin employee. And lucky. Added the staffer: "He had really good taste."
HONOR ROLL: With Marc Jacobs, Sofia Coppola, Bernard-Henri Lévy, Gilles Dufour, Paris Mayor Bertrand Delanoe, Vincent Darre, Martin Grant and Ines de la Fressange looking on, American Lee Radziwill was decorated with the French Legion of Honor by French actress and singer Arielle Dombasle in a private ceremony Tuesday evening. Dombasle, who hosted the event in her Left Bank apartment, called Radziwill a "model of excellence for all women" and recounted Radziwill's long love of French culture, which dates to her youthful visits to the Continent with her late sister, Jacqueline Kennedy.
Much moved by the honor, Radziwill had her daughter, Tina, read a speech in which she expressed her gratitude and admiration for France.
"I love French elegance, from couture to cuisine," said Radziwill.
PLAYING IT SAFE: France's road-safety campaign scored some extra airtime at the Chanel show Tuesday, when bodyguard Sébastien Jondeau accompanied Karl Lagerfeld for his bow wearing the fluorescent vest the designer advocates in this summer's ads. Sporting a wry smile, Jondeau looked like he probably took some persuading, but as the tag line reads: "It's yellow, it's ugly, it doesn't go with anything, but it could save your life."
BIRTHDAY GIRL: The life of a pro football wife may involve a lot of cheering, but it also, apparently, involves a lot of shoes. On Sunday, Houston Texans offensive tackle Ephraim Salaam treated his wife, Reneece, to a two-hour surprise birthday party at the Christian Louboutin boutique in Beverly Hills. Reneece, who arrived at the store with three girlfriends, was lavished with French pastries, Champagne, sparkling water — and a $20,000 spending spree, which Salaam had arranged with the store management. (One of the girlfriends brought the money, said a store employee, who told Reneece upon their arrival: "Ephraim wants you to spend it here.") After perusing a display of about 12 shoes that her husband had picked out for her a week earlier, Reneece snapped up 14 pairs for herself and bought a pair for each of her friends. "She was totally surprised," said the Louboutin employee. And lucky. Added the staffer: "He had really good taste."
HONOR ROLL: With Marc Jacobs, Sofia Coppola, Bernard-Henri Lévy, Gilles Dufour, Paris Mayor Bertrand Delanoe, Vincent Darre, Martin Grant and Ines de la Fressange looking on, American Lee Radziwill was decorated with the French Legion of Honor by French actress and singer Arielle Dombasle in a private ceremony Tuesday evening. Dombasle, who hosted the event in her Left Bank apartment, called Radziwill a "model of excellence for all women" and recounted Radziwill's long love of French culture, which dates to her youthful visits to the Continent with her late sister, Jacqueline Kennedy.
Much moved by the honor, Radziwill had her daughter, Tina, read a speech in which she expressed her gratitude and admiration for France.
"I love French elegance, from couture to cuisine," said Radziwill.
PLAYING IT SAFE: France's road-safety campaign scored some extra airtime at the Chanel show Tuesday, when bodyguard Sébastien Jondeau accompanied Karl Lagerfeld for his bow wearing the fluorescent vest the designer advocates in this summer's ads. Sporting a wry smile, Jondeau looked like he probably took some persuading, but as the tag line reads: "It's yellow, it's ugly, it doesn't go with anything, but it could save your life."
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