The Palm Beach Post from West Palm Beach, Florida • Page 41

The Palm Beach Post ri MONDAY 1 1 1 1 I I 11 1 1 Palir.BeachPost.com JJ LJU Li -i i 2004 ACADEMY AWARDS AND THE -A- T-i Iff! (Ml1 Some Oscar fashions weren't precious, and GoS'um was watching. Frodo and the hobbits (finally) triumphed on screen, and Lord of the Kings captured a castleful of Oscars at the Kodak Theatre Sunday night But Gollum's work is far from done! Even though the grumpy little guy is no clothes horse, he was on the lookout for doomed dresses, and the red carpet did not disappoint. For every Gollum-designated disaster, however, many other actresses deserved gold rings for some pretty fantastic fashions. Staci Sturrock, Palm Beach Post Fashion Editor Mercedes Scelba-Shorte, a candidate on America's Next Top Model, revealed on the TV show that she has lupus. Living life got ruled By lupus tor dreyfoos graduate can relate fo Top Model' candidate.

GOES TO p7JW5y1 Li 1 If These Oscar flubs earned Gollum's wrath. rl 1 i'y Don't be a big tease: Pregnant with twins, nominee Marcla Gay Harden was regal in royal blue, but her hairdresser got swept away with buns and braids. i 1 rlr' 7 i 'I" Don't look even a little tramp-y: Best actress nominee Diane Keaton, who always charts her own style course, unfortunately strayed into Charlie Chaplin territory with her bowler, tie and gloves. Don't ask too much of a single dress: Forget killing Bill, Uma Thur-man, and karate-chop the stylist who put you in this Swiss Miss get-up. Too much fabric, too many ideas and what's up with the blue belt? By CAROLYN SUSMAN Palm Beach Post Staff Writer She's young.

beautiful. She has lupus. And she's in the running to become America's Next Top Model. With her fabulous smile, her wild and crazy hair, and her sweet disposition, no one would have guessed that 22-year-old Mercedes Scelba-Shorte had a chronic autoimmune disease that has turned her body against itself. Not even another young woman who watched the show one recent Tuesday (9 p.m.

on UPN) from a New York hospital bed, battling a flare-up of the disease that had left her vomiting violently for seven hours. "I didn't know that she had lupus. Honestly," says Pascale Guercague, a 20-year-old graduate of the Dreyfoos School of the Arts in West Palm Beach who is on a full scholarship to the Rhode Island School of Design. Guercague is remarkably upbeat, despite having being diagnosed with lupus at 13. "It's not easy.

It's not something people this age have to deal with, being confronted with issues of death. When you're 13, your issues are more, like, nail polish. It's hard. By now I have a pretty good handle on who I am." Who she is doesn't hinge on this disease that can attack men but is mainly a disease of young women. There is no known cause or cure for it, but the good news is that early diagnosis and treatment improve odds of living a normal life span.

Even if that sometimes means not living a "normal" life. Guercague has had to deal with episodes of swollen joints, hair loss, puffiness and the characteristic butterfly rash, but she doesn't let the disease curtail her dreams. Neither does Scelba-Shorte, and that's why Guercague was thrilled to see her on television. See LUPUS, 4D I A few more that deserved the Gollum award, 4D yr7! How to grab the gold ring? 1 1 Follow the lead of these five: i r.rt I it 1 tmm iiiiiiii mil m. i in j.

LJ r- -I Pascale Guercague, a former Dreyfoos School of the Arts student, was diagnosed with lupus when she was 13. (i! GATOR A DAY Go boldly Into the night: On an evening when nude seemed the goto hue (see Naomi Watts, Patricia Clarkson, Holly Hunter), Scarlett Johansson's emerald-green Alberta Ferretti stood out. Hug your curves: Catherine Zeta-Jones told Joan Rivers "my friend Donatella" made this va-va-voomy Versace for her after she spotted it in the fashion house's archives. 1 I IIT VtSr IF V'T 1 -x. i 4 Act your age: Wearing a pale pink dress with darling capelet by leading New Zealand designer Liz Mitchell, Whale Rider nominee Kelsha Castle-Hughes looked not a day over 13.

That in itself is Dress for the occasion: Did anyone look more like a movie star than Charllze Theron? Her dress, by Tom Ford for Gucci, recalled Hollywood's most glamorous days. 7q1 I 'j I I I I i TIM STEPIENStaff Photographer Today's gator, Arti-Gator, seems to be pondering his artistic vision, no doubt torn by how best to express himself. Created by artist Clarence Measelle for Montgomery Larson, Arti-Gator is part of the county's Gators Galore project. After lounging around town to garner interest, 70 fiberglass gators will be auctioned off next month in a benefit for the Boys and Girls Clubs of Palm Beach and for the Armory Art Center (where Arti-Gator is on display). For a stroll through our Gator Gallery, which features all the gators we've highlighted so far, go online to PalmBeachPost.com.

Be yourself: tost in Translation director Sofia Coppola has long served as Marc Jacobs' muse, and the designer's deep purple gown suited her independent sensibilities. INSIDE: Flick Chick declares that Oscar and his glittery minions were on their best behavior. Plus: All the girls in light satin, 4D.