Should this woman lose her pink hair?

Today I visited Nony Tochterman, cottoncandy-haired fashion designer behind the Petro Zillia line, at her kaleidoscopoic wonderland of a store on W. 3rd St.

The most colorful thing in the store is Nony herself, and of course her hair, which is verging on the fuschia these days. With her high forehead and fan-like pinkish frizz, Tochterman looks very much a punk rock Elizabeth I. Everyone knows her for her pink hair, so it was a surpise when she admitted she was thinking about changing the color, and going for something a little tamer.

"I was thinking blue, perhaps," she said. "Or green?"

Nony talked about how people always call her Petro, assuming that 'Petro Zilia' is her name. "Actually Petro Zilia means 'parsley' in Israeli," she explained, shrugging her shoulders. "It was a joke name for the line, but it stuck." The line has been around for ten years now, and has grown to become a favorite among L.A. fashionistas and celebrities alike.

The store is a regular Paris/Nicky Hilton pit-stop. "Between them, they probably have everything in my collection," said Nony. In fact Paris wore a Petro Zillia jacket the day she left jail.

 We were shooting video for the Metromix style page, and filmed her talking about the store's decor (her husband Yosi had to paint the baby pink walls FIVE TIMES to acheive its romantically-distressed look), the furnishings (she sells mid-century modern chairs and tables with jackets that match the upholstery) and of course, the fashion. Tochterman showed me her personal favorites from the collection, including a beautiful pair of silk charmeuse wide-legged pants ("I have seven pairs in different colors") and high-waisted tie shorts. "I love high-waisted," she said. "People need to stop showing their belly."