Di’s Look Recalls Saying, Hair Today, Gone Tamale

It’s been five days now, but the fashion world is still reverberating from Princess Diana’s gelled emergence into New York society. The sight of Di’s new hairstyle had observers in a bigger lather than if she’d decided to enter a wet T-shirt contest.

The London Standard: “Gone was the shy shopgirl, replaced instead by a confident female version of… Gordon Gekko.”

The Tatler: “The old hairstyle was frumpy but at least it was pretty. This one makes her look like a victim.”

Jeff Ranks, “The Clothes Show”: “She has a lovely face but her nose is quite prominent and with a feature like that, it is not a good idea to grease the hair back.”

And on the positive (we think) side, Jackie Wadeson of Hair Magazine: “The new style is very Madonna-ish.”

Rep. Barney Frank on House Majority Leader Dick Armey’s calling him “Barney Fag” (in Time magazine): “There are a lot of ways to mispronounce my name. That is the least common.” She was to tired to walk to the back of the bus

Rosa Parks turns 82 today.

And it’ll feature the young, sweet-faced Madonna

The quote: “As long as I’m postmaster general, there’s going to be a Madonna.” The speaker: U.S. Postmaster General Marvin Runyon. The significance: Runyon was commenting on his decision to reinstate a Christmas stamp bearing a likeness of Christ’s mother and not, as should be obvious, the pop star.

Would you buy a used car from any of these guys?

Oliver Stone, who never got “Evita” off the ground, is attempting to pull together a film project about Richard Nixon. Reportedly up for the lead role are Warren Beatty, Tom Hanks, Dustin Hoffman, Anthony Hopkins, John Lithgow and Robin Williams.

Mickey always got the short end of the stick

Here’s Mickey Rooney’s take on gambling. “The trick is never to bet more than you can afford to lose,” he told a crowd at the opening of an off-track betting club in Ventura, Calif., on Wednesday. “I bet two dollars 40 years ago and have spent millions trying to win it back.”

Meanwhile, Playboy requires only a birthday suit

Amber Smith, a two-time Sports Illustrated swimsuit model, will be featured in the March Playboy. Her take on the difference between the two gigs is succinct: “A swimsuit,” she says.

The happiest couple since, oh, O.J. and Nicole?

Model-actress Carre Otis and her pet batterer, actor-pugilist Mickey Rourke, are once again a couple. The contrasting twosome are, says a spokesman, “very happy, like lovebirds.” Assault charges against him were dropped when she failed to show in court.

The following fields overflowed: CREDIT = Compiled by staff writer Dan Webster