6
G re s h a m O u tloo k
Tue»
M arch 30, 1983 Sandy Post Thors
A p ril I
1982
Top fashion lik e Russian ro u le tte
He is urbane, charming,
witty, and he helps women
spend money
Lots of money — up to
1100.000 per day — just for
clothes Norman Johnson
Jr is the couture import
buyer for the 32 Saks Fifth
Avenue stores across the
United States
Buying (or ordering
from designers' salons for
sale in the stores) these ex-
pensive clothes which can
cost up to thousands of dol
lars, is like playing Hus
sian roulette," said John
son. 54 Sometimes I think
I should go into buying
jeans I have to stop and
weigh a lot of things before
I plunk down 15.000 for one
outfit I ask myself, I)o I
stand a chance of selling
it1 Does it represent some-
thing?
“I think good buyers
have to lead the customer
to new trends And that
outfit may be important to
have in stock, but it may
not sell. A good buyer has
to ferret out what is re
markable. new. extraordi
nary and beautiful To the
buyer's taste, of course In
a sense. I'm imposing my
taste on customers ”
Those customers don't
seem to mind Johnson
tells of the woman from
Greece who flew in, spent
SI00 000 during one day of
shopping, then went home
to call up and reorder
some of her purchases
Shed given the clothes to
relatives, she explained,
and needed to replace
them
Couture clothes cost so
much (from several hun
dred dollars up to the thou
sands) for several reasons,
Johnson said First, good
material and workmanship
are involved Second is that
"a lot of hands work on
that garm ent before it
reaches the consumer And
all the expenses for this,
the machinery and the
handwork, are increasing
When I buy. I look I t
see that the intrinsic value
is there somewhere But
when wool is >150 to >200 a
yard as it is now. that’s ex
pensive And designers use
the very best fabrics
“I learn every day on
this job Now I'm learning
a great deal about fabrics,
t e x t ile s , w e a v e s , th e
weight of silk The more
silk (threads) in a garment,
the better it cleans and
lasts
There is a trend in this
country away from heavy
clothes Everyone is trav
e lin g . and th ey w an t
clothes that span the sea
sons And there is layering,
maybe with a sweater
Sweaters are very import
ant "
tiood designers — his fa
vorites are Karl Lagerfeld
for Chloe. Emanuel Un
garo. Missoni. Giorgio A r
mani amd St. Laurent (al
though another buyer buys
St I -au rent) — go on for
years, he said
The late Chanel, for in
stance, liberated women
and pul them into soft and
comfortable things She
will be with us forever I'm
very impressed at how
copies of her designs go on
and on.
"Galanos is an important
California designer, and
then there are new young
designers coming along
constantly who must be
checked out and encour
aged There is a constant
search for a new talent
Boland Klein is an English
designer just coming out
with his second collection,
and I think he is terrific."
There are two types of
fashion customers, Johnson
believes, "Women who look
for investment clothes and
do long term buying and
the fashion freak, who likes
to look new each season
.»and usually buys more ”
Even women with con
siderable money to spend
on clothing shop
budgets, he says.
from
Somewhere there is a
figure in their minds, but I
like that. I t ’s a challenge to
develop workable clothing
on a budget."
F o r h im se lf, he has
worked out a wardrobe of
navy suit, gray flannel suit,
blazer and two pairs of
slacks which he replaces as
the need a ris e s
And
women are getting to dress
in a prescribed manner as
men do. he believes.
There is no recession in
couture buying, he said. In
stead, there is a 30 to 40
percent increase in busi
ness which is rather ex
traordinary But then busi
ness is good for other luxu
ry-type items, too.”
M a k e u p m ust
be fle x ib le
In each new fashion sea
son. you should update
your makeup to comple
ment the new trends
No matter what the new
styles and colors may be
they are only as good as
they look on you The right
colors on your face are
every bit as important as
the colors and styles of
your clothing, according to
the beauty and fashion ex-
perts at Lertn Cosmetics
If the current trend is not
for you. then don t detract
from your total image by
following It
L 'e n n e ip e r ts o ffe r
these guidelines to mat •
sure your makeup always
looks its best, regardless of
what the new fashion and
cosmetic trends are
- Study your face M>ok
for the attractive qualities
l>n<v you understand your
skin and bone structure,
you can begin to use make
up effectively
— Establish a sensible
daily regimen by cleaning
your face thoroughly be
fore putting on any make
up Use a cleanser that sof
tens stun as it removes ail
trace« of grime No make
up will look its best unless
your skin is smooth, fresh
looking and blemish free
— Apply makeup in a
soft warm shade that com
plements your skin tone
Foundation helps even out
color, and hide* skin im
perfect ions
— Highlight bone struc
ture by using lots of cream
or powder blush in a shade
that will go with all the
new spring colors
Anchors Away!
A very nautical look in which
to enjoy the summer sun:
Esprit’s comfortable, cool
all-cotton playwear in regatta
red-white-and-blue.
Shown: Rose Hips crop pants
teamed with a jaunty sailor-collared
blouse. From a large selection.
Today s fashions for men, women and juniors.
In GRESHAM VILLAGE, Burnside at Powell.
Open Monday through Friday 10a.m. to 9 p.m.,
Saturday 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Sunday noon fo 5 p.m.
— Accentuate your eyes
by following your own eye
*hrl I«*
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