12
& f « h o m O u tloo k
tue»
M o n h 30
1982 Sondy Po»» Thor*
A p ril I
1982
M en's fashion lean to outdoors
by JA N C O O LE Y
for The Outlook
Versatility is the watchword for men’s clothing this spring
and the "Country Gentleman" look is making it happen
"What we used to call Ivy League is today called the Coun
try Gentleman," says Bob Bergeron of W K Hicks Co He
describes the look as "casual dressy "
It begins with a sport coat of herringbone, donnegal, tweed
or tick weave in blended but distinct colors that go with a
variety of pants, including jeans, according to Kandy Stone
of Gordon Stone's Key to Fashion Suede patches on the
sleeves add to the casual touch
Sport coats are for the first time in five years overtaking
suits.” says Stone
Jack Feetham of The Blade says, "Even the younger
fellows are wearing sport coats with I-evi’s now Or corduroy
sport coats "
Bergeron explains the look's popularity “ People tend to
favor clothing that can be worn with other things ”
This doesn't mean suits are on the way out "You're still
going to have your dressy pin stripes, says Stone "And a
touch of plaids are starting to come back in rich colors "
Color is another big word in men’s spring wardrobes
"They're showing the fairly bright colors like white and
red, says Fred McCaulou of McCaulou's Contemporary
Clothing "On the other hand, they’re showing khaki and
olive drab.”
Hilary Leclaire of W K Hicks Co says. "Khaki is a very
popular color because it goes with so much ”
Feetham savs the season offers "lots of colors in soort
shirts
pastels in plums, cherries, limes and yellows "
Stone is aware of a big resurgence in greens and expects
burgundy to become a strong color for men
Dress shirts are following the trend Lines that traditional
ly have shown eight color choices now have up to 32, accor
Stall photo by Kelly James
B re n t B a k e r d isp lays a c tiv e w e a r far sp rin g — a tennis ou tfit
by Jo ckey.
ding to Stone "You're going to see tons of colors this spring,"
he adds
Dress shirt collars are getting smaller and the button-down
collar is regaining importance Lapels are slightly smaller
and ties are narrower Knit ties also are making a comeback.
"One of the really big things is cotton sweaters,” says Mc
Caulou "Men can wear them well into the spring and sum
mer because we have so many cool days ” Sweaters are
another way of adding versatility to a wardrobe because they
can be worn instead of a shirt or with a shirt for a layered lok,
Cotton and other natural fibers such as silk, wool and linen
are gaining ,n popularity. According to McCaulou. maufac-
turers have improved the process for fabrication quality,
controlling shrinkage and making natural fibers easier to
care for and wear The different textures, such as tick and
slub weaves, give a surface interest to men’s clothing
Another changing trend is in casual pants Blue denim,
which has dominated the market for several years, is dropp
ing off significantly "What has taken over is the secondary
fabrications - twills, sheetings and cotton blends in lots of
colors.” says Stone
"Casual slacks is really where the interest is I think it’s an
outgrowth of this preppy thing, says McCaulou "Jeans are
now an option, not just the thing ”
Leclaire says younger men still like jeans, especially the
faded look, and shrink-to-fit seems to be coming back
Feetham says, "Jeans are still popular - not anywhere like
they used to be but still popular."
Also on the decline is the Western look. "Western hats have
gone p ffft! ’ says Stone "Western shirts have tapered off
somewhat, although they re sttii pretty popular Boots are
still strong because of comfort."
The biggest spinoff from the Western look is the fit. Men
seem to prefer it to the fuller tradition cuts, and Leclaire says
older boys still like trim cut pants
N ew spring styles sp ro u t
fro m d iffe re n t directions
Plan ahead, the experts
say, and save time, money
.md effort So you're plan
ning your spring wardrobe
figuring out what you need
to keep body and soul
or
at least body and closet
together But planning it
all out this year takes some
doing
First, you have to decide
if you want to join the
Navy, the Foreign Legion,
the Grand 01' Opry, an In
dian tribe, a frontier caval
ry platoon, a Southern
plantation a South Ameri
can rumba troupe or an
Oriental dynasty
Those are some of the
choices HO California de
signers offered in a show of
fashions for women for
'•»ring at the California
Mart in Loa Angeles
(^»ing nautical was one
of the big influences with
lots of white dresses with
square collars piped in red
and red and white striped
middy shirts over crisp
white shorts and lig h t
weight pea coats
But there were also lots
of frontier Army officer
shirts right out of the West
ern movies — you know
the kind of shirt with a bib
that buttons down to a
deep V and looks nice on
Ronald Reagan on the late
late show
Or would you rather
snap up some e a rth y
American Indian prints or
go exotic with Oriental
printh?
There II be little place on
this springs dress racks
lor the American business
woman looking for her
usual navy spring suit or
pastel sweater if these Cal
ifo rn ia designers have
much to say about it Noth
mg was tailored Overall,
the look is much softer,
easier and more feminine
than ever before
It s a lot of fun. though
with fantasy dressing to
match your every mood
There were plenty of deep
flouncy Southern belle ruf
fles and lots of country
looks, big pilgrim collars
edged in ruffles, smock
jackets and dresses, petti
co ats and p in a fo re s ,
bloomer shorts and ruffles
tiers and flounces with
camisole tops
The Oriental connection
shaped up in Chinese paja
mas. cropped and fu ll
pants, jackets with braid
and frog fasteners and
asymmetric closings
And sportswomen bead
ing for the open field can
expect to find lots of jod-
phurs, sturdy knickers,
linen shorts to various
lengths and big country
jackets
Among the best of the
show
- John Kadaelli's white
»rgandv party dress with
black piping around strap
less bodice and deep hem
flounce with m atching
white organdy wrap also
piped in black
— Zoe s ruffled big top.
easy and full at the shoul
der over trim white shorts
A simple skimp which
could be left long and
plain, or pulled up to mini
length
St Simon and Valluc
cio offered the Indian look
with earth colors, linen
shorts and pants to all
lengths then jazzed them
up with short m etallic
boots in bronze or copper.
Metallic touches abounded
for spring, in necklaces,
belts and boots
— Nautical themes by
Easy Street. Reba. Carole
Little and Ceil Hughs and
others Carole Little short
ened a square red mess
ja c k e t and edged the
sleeves with gold braid
Eclipse, a junior house
which sells across the
country to such stores as
Neiman-Marcus and Casu
al Comer, is going in heavi
ly for nau tical-them ed
dresses and separates
SPRING FEVER
New lengths new looks from the
Jean Machine s Spring Fever
82 collection Suspender
walking shorts by Bnttama
Three-quarter length Clam
Diggers from No-M an s Land by
Jesse Jeans Rocky Mountain 's
clean Drop Pocket jeans with
flattenng button tab bottom
And the colorful Nauticals m 82
Spring Tops Spring ahoy'
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