A Shoe Fetish Feast

(LOS ANGELES) Salma Hayek held court in five-inch Sergio Rossi black patent leather and silk heels Wednesday night, announcing to her dinner guests, "These are the only shoes that don't hurt my feet! For this reason alone, you have to wear Sergio Rossi."

The occasion, an intimate dinner at Bastide in honor of Sergio Rossi's new Melrose Place boutique and its creative director Edmundo Castillo, drew a unison of nods from Hayek's Ugly Betty cast mates. "Salma's been talking about them for ages," said Ana Ortiz. "But of course, she snagged the best pair for tonight--no one else could wear those because they brought them from New York."

As Hayek and Castillo cozied up to each other at dinner, the actress couldn't help but play the role of doting mother. "It's the first night I have left Valentina [Paloma Pinault] at home and I'm having pangs," admitted the actress, who, stunning in a jeweled YSL dress, somehow managed to be the last one standing at the end of the night--flanked by her furniture designer brother Sami and pals Mia Maestro, Rachel Zoe, and Vanessa Williams, who playfully let slip that her nickname on the set is "V-Dub."

Guests peppered Castillo with questions on his relationship with Hayek. How did the two meet? "I was introduced to her by Narciso Rodriguez in New York," Castillo said. "The three of us had a fabulous dinner at his home one night, and we've stayed friends. Then she came to Venice a few years later and we had another great dinner--and this time, François-Henri Pinault was present, and I thought the two were very much alike." Clearly, he was right. Of the engagement, Castillo humbly shied away from taking credit for the fortuitous introduction. "A few words were exchanged," he recalled modestly. "It's so lovely when you feel very drawn to people, and then suddenly they are in your inner circle."

Also on hand for the festive five-course dinner were Elizabeth Stewart, Saffron Burrows, Debi Mazar, and Giannina Facio, the Costa Rican-wife of director Ridley Scott, who tantalized guests with a progress report on her production of the upcoming Gucci biopic. Ever the gracious host, Castillo checked in to make sure everybody's heels were as enjoyable as the truffles and lobster, but he really wanted to show off his new sneaker purchases. "I got three pairs at Undefeated," he beamed. "A pair of Pumas, these all-white sneakers, and another pair. They had to drag me out of there!"

And by the end of the night, guests had to be dragged out of the eatery--a notion softened when Lisa Love and Eva Chow suggested that the boutique be opened for some midnight shopping. Sure enough, several staff rose to the occasion, and a party ensued (as paparazzi followed), with Castillo personally advising women on what shoes worked for them--and even signing the bottom of Love's new ankle strap black satin stilettos. Ortiz walked off with a glam pair of pale pink patent Veronika pumps, while Chow struggled to decide between five pairs, much to the delight of Sergio Rossi chief executive Didier Bonnin. Williams, meanwhile, plunkered down for a pair of bronze colored boots and a navy pump strewn with cherries.

"It's much more fun buying shoes at night, after dinner and a few drinks," she purred. "It just doesn't hurt as much."
MERLE GINSBERG