Names
Fired ‘Style Boston’ host cries foul
Was Tonya Chen Mezrich kicked off the local show “Style Boston’’ because she’s pregnant - or because she wasn’t up to the job? Mezrich claims she was let go from the independently produced show because she got pregnant. Mezrich, the wife of author Ben Mezrich, sent us a statement yesterday that read: “. . . the producer’s attitude toward me changed dramatically on the heels of learning that I was pregnant. Given the overwhelmingly positive feedback I have received in connection with the show, it appears that now I too have fallen prey to this all too common bias in this industry.’’ Mezrich also said, “I was stunned and disappointed to have been removed from the show, especially given my integral role in the show’s conception and development over the last 14 months.’’ But “Style Boston’’ producer Terri Stanley says Mezrich’s pregnancy had nothing to do with her removal from the show, which airs on NECN. Stanley says Mezrich just wasn’t ready for prime time. “I have been unhappy with [Mezrich’s segment] ‘Fashion Forward’ for a while,’’ Stanley told us yesterday. “I’ve tried to work with Tonya because I love Tonya. But she is not strong enough to carry the most important segment of the show, which is about Boston fashion.’’ Stanley also claims Mezrich wasn’t knowledgeable enough about fashion to do the job. “She looks fantastic, but it doesn’t mean you have a lot of knowledge of the subject.’’ Stanley added that she would never discriminate against someone because of a pregnancy. “I’m a working mother. I’m a huge advocate for women. I’m very distressed that that’s the play she would be making in order for her to justify what has happened.’’ Stanley said she’ll have guest hosts fill Mezrich’s shoes until a replacement has been chosen.
Iris and Isaac, off the cuff
“She can bring out the hot pink in taupe,’’ Isaac Mizrahi raved of self-described “geriatric starlet’’ Iris Apfel and her signature style, which is currently on display at the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem. Mizrahi, the bigger-than-life fashion designer and TV personality (he’ll host a program on QVC starting next month), sat down with Apfel on Tuesday in front of a sold-out audience. Among the topics: their mutual style heroes (Millicent Rogers, for one) and what bothers them about fashion magazines (Mizrahi: the advertising; Apfel: the uniformity of clothes). Mizrahi even sounded a bit jealous of the 88-year-old Apfel, whom he described as one of the first post-modernists. “I remember once I got a criticism for doing things too big [in my designs], and my reaction was ‘Well, why is Iris allowed to do that?’ ’’
Fabulous prize for local woman
Trinette Faint, 38, of Somerville, won the Harper’s Bazaar-Estee Lauder-sponsored Fabulous at Every Age contest last week. Faint, who used to be Matt Damon’s personal assistant, is a photographer who also runs FaintServicesGroup.com, a personal assistance company catering to film stars in town for movie projects. The Estee Lauder-Bazaar honor came with a $10,000 cash prize, a bunch of Estee Lauder goodies, and the chance to meet actress Elizabeth Hurley, the face of Estee Lauder. Faint says she’ll use the cash to start a new hair care product company, LoveHue.com, which will launch after Thanksgiving. Faint said, of meeting Hurley at the Bazaar party, “She was so nice. I was completely blown away by the level of sincerity of everyone in the room, not just her.’’
Posh purse party
Boston fashionistas gathered at Saks Fifth Avenue yesterday to meet handbag designer Nancy Gonzalez, whose purses have been carried by Vanessa Hudgens and Hayden Panettiere. Joining Gonzalez for the afternoon reception was Ray Allen’s wife, Shannon, with son Walker; Paul Pierce’s fiancee, Julie Landrum; Kevin Garnett’s wife, Brandi; Tiffany Dowd, Tonya Chen Mezrich, fashion mavens Nina Fialkow, Audrey Epstein Reny, and Anna Cheshire Levitan, who hosted the party.
Night of champions
Children’s Hospital patient Michael Fiacco hung out with some new friends at the Champions for Children’s event at the World Trade Center on Tuesday night. Surrounding the young Rajon Rondo fan were Glen Davis, Josh Beckett, and Kevin Youkilis. Beckett was honored at the event.
Tonight’s specials
Rachel Klein of Aura and Jamie Bissonnette of Toro cooked up special dishes at the State Room on Tuesday night for foodies with StarChefs.com, a New York outfit that just named them Boston’s rising star chefs for 2009. Klein made scarlet borscht; Bissonnette made oysters escabeche.
Singing in the morning
Herb Reed & the Platters will perform on CBS’s “The Early Show’’ this morning. Reed’s on our radar because he happens to live in Arlington. The group is expected to perform sometime between 8:30 and 9 a.m.
Christopher Muther of the Globe staff contributed. Read the Names blog at www.boston.com/namesblog. Names can be reached at names@globe.com or at 617-929-8253. 
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