CALIFORNIA COOL
Lisa Rinna's California
Boutiques Are The
Talk Of The Town 
By Maria Tettamanti

My love affair with actress Lisa Rinna began 10 years ago when I was a journalism student in college. Every weekday, my roommate and I would convene in the TV room with a box of cereal and cheer, "Like sands through the hour glass...so are the days of our lives!" We sat transfixed as our beloved soap, Days of Our Lives, unfolded before our eyes. Rinna happened to play the role of our favorite character, the sexy yet vulnerable Billie Reed. Needless to say, roomie and I were infatuated with Rinna's famously lush lips, outrageous physique and most of all - her red-hot romance with fellow Days character Bo Brady.

While the point here isn't to drone on and on about my long-lost obsession with Days, it's to inform you, loyal reader, that 43-year-old Rinna is back in my life in a big way (especially via my MasterCard statements) as she's made the transition from soap seductress to retail therapist with her very own Sherman Oaks and Calabasas, California women's boutiques, Belle Gray . It just so happens that Rinna's two shops are the talk of the town, and we're not just talking within the state borders of California - the whole country is loving the fashions and accessories found in Belle Gray and can even find them online at bellegray.com if a jaunt to Cali is beyond their reach.

Named after her daughters 7-year-old Delilah Belle and 4-year-old Amelia Gray, Belle Gray came to be when Rinna realized something was missing from her life. Regarding the end of her role with Melrose Place in 1998, Rinna says, "I had just gone back to Days of Our Lives for a six-month stint and I was hosting SOAPnet's Soap Talk twice a week, and I was bored - I felt like I needed more. I needed to recreate myself." She adds, "I have a real passion for shopping and it made sense to open a store." And there's something to be said about branching out on her own she says, "As an actor, you are at the mercy of people hiring you for a job. And with my own store, I'm my own boss, and it's great to have something else to fall back on."

So with the help of her actor husband, 55-year-old Harry Hamlin, she opened Belle Gray in Sherman Oaks in 2003. Always perfumed with a profusion of fresh flowers, Rinna says her stores' décor can be best described as, "Ralph Lauren meets the Hamptons." Fashion-wise, the boutiques carry the kind of trends California girls are known for - comfy, feminine and cool. The snug stores are chock-a-block with T-shirts in every style, shape and color, a denim bar, skirts, dresses, handbags, accessories and even kid's clothing. Belle Gray brands include Twelfth Street by Cynthia Vincent, Antik Denim, Paige Denim, True Religion, Juicy Couture, Diane Von Furstenberg and more. When it comes to the quest for the best-butt jeans, Rinna advises, "Second jeans from Japan give the best booty in town! They actually have silicon built into them." As for dressing up, she states, "Diane Von Furstenberg dresses are the must have dress of all seasons.  They fit a woman with incredible ease and sophistication."
 
When asked about what's in right now, general manager Heather Martin responds, "One of my favorite pieces this year is our 100% cashmere belle gray label shawl.  They are just yummy and come in such a beautiful color palette!  It is my perfect companion on a plane, on a movie date, or early morning at the office." Martin also asserts, "We love love love the big sweaters over skinny jeans, tights, or leggings.  Twelfth Street by Cynthia Vincent has some of the most cozy ones out there."
 
While local fashionistas can't get their fill of Belle Gray, neither can Hollywood's starlets like Jessica Simpson, Hilary Duff and Lindsay Lohan. Customers can always count on discovering the perfect ensemble at Rinna's retail hit.

It's such a success, in fact, a third Belle Gray will pop up later in 2007 - which begs the question...will former roomie and I get to frequent Rinna in our own backyards? One can only hope so.