Image provided by: Friends of the Sandy Public Library; Sandy, OR
About Sandy post. (Sandy, Oregon) 1938-current | View Entire Issue (April 1, 1982)
Gresham Outlook Tues March 30, 1982, Sandy Post, Thun., April I, 1982 — 17 B ritish knickers invade spring fashions fo r w om en The reason for this word is simple. It seems the B rits c a lle d w om en 's bloomers knickers Obvi ously, because they bil lowed to the knee like Dutch knee britches Unfortunately, as knick ers — short for knicker bockers — became shorter and eventually stopped resembling knickers alto gether, they retained the name. In fact, the only thing resem bling knickers in present-day B rita in is som ething c a lle d plus fours So called because they are 4 inches longer than knee-length knicker bockers of old. but still car rying that tied-about-the- knee look In co n tras t to th e ir A m eric an cousins, the rather outlandish plus four is still considered de ri- gueur among British gen tlemen whether that gen tleman be hunting, fishing for salmon or w alking some dew -soaked g olf course It keeps wetness off the trouser legs, you see. M ail pnoio ny i\e n y yonie» Pam Grayson, left, shows off the nautical knicker look for spring. Joy Normand, right, wears a one-piece Jumper by Byer of California. Meanwhile, back in the United States, the style was abandoned More than that, it was chucked out the window by the sissy-dread- mg American male except for those very pukka chaps you still see trading puns over golf tees in vintage movies. billowing Swiss Guardlike shapes Though the style was popular for men and boys of breeding from Dutch co lonial times onward — the name is thought to have originated with Diedrich Knickerbocker (Washing ton Irving's nom de plume) in his 1809 History of New York" — it had pretty much died out by the late 1920s The fashion industry, ob viously aware of the con sumer’s resistance to fash ion tyranny, seems to be making sure that there is a knicker for all tastes in cluding the basic preppie The word itself has man aged to live on mainly be cause it is one of the oldest, and possibly the kindest, name we have for New Yorkers. However, knickers them selves were as dead as buggy whips After a long dormancy they made a feeble come back during the 60s, this time as women’s apparel, but managed to get lost among the T-shirts and miniskirts of the day. Now they’re back for the 80s, and this time around they seem to be outdistanc ing the reborn miniskirt and at least making a run at the ubiquitous blue jean. They’re now even avail able in an array of colors, from basic blacks and reds to whites and tartans And in styles ranging from sim ple straight lines to re fre s h in g ly o u tla n d is h lames and multicolored. And the public is buying them, according to reports from clothing stores Knicker manufacturers say they expect the fashion trend to spread from chil dren and teen sizes to jun ior and misses sizes "It's a refreshing change from tight jeans," says one Los Angeles maker, "and women are responding to it." The new pants do, how ever, pose a few novel problems. Ending in a gather at the knee, women are suddenly faced with and are already dealing creatively with a bare ex panse of shin. So far. everything from multicolored silk hosiery to textured socks and leg warmers are filling the gap The sometimes color ful leggings are being ac cented by nearly every kind of shoe imaginable, from chunky low walking shoes for countrified cords, to high heels, metallic flats and sandals for evening wear Popularity grows BURNS FEED STORE Sewing can help the budget The entertainment budg et has been G im m e d , chicken and fish have re placed beef on the dinner table and home perm a nents are the new battle cry. Still, the budget is tight, and making ends meet is no simple task. Now where’ I f y o u 'v e been o ut clothes-shopping lately , you're probably in the right frame of mind to consider this: Start sewing your wardrobe. Lota of people are. ac cording to statistics. The state of the economy has pushed pattern sales to new highs And that's good news for this industry, which has seen fe w e r aod fe w e r women willing to take the time to eew after Joining the work force The price tag on a well- made, two-piece suit can run as much as 1200 in many clothing stores —• and these are not the de signer offenngs. Almost every woman has had to suffer through one or two semesters of be ginning sewing classes dur ing the junior high school days. Some picked up the knack right away, others look back and recall spend mg more time with a seam npper than the sewing ma chine. Remember’ If you were one of the lucky ones arid didn’t find pattern interpretation be yond your calling, then dust off the old machine and get with i t P erh a p s a b rush-up course or two wouldn’t be s had idea, either Many ma terial shops offer these courses, and so do sewing machine shops and adult education classes. Some courses are offered at no charge, others for a mini mal coat. It's worth investi gating. For those who never caught on the first time, why not give it another try? The high cost of ready-made clothing may o ffe r new in s p ira tio n Again, adult education classes or those offered by stores may be a good bet Bonnie Polly offers some tips that have helped her save hundreds of dollars in the more than 25 years since she purchased her first pattern. ’*1 didn't have a choice, I had to start sewing my own clothes as a teen- FREE ager,” she said. “I was very tall and very thin, and clothes off the rack didn't fit well and looked even worse.'’ PACKAGE OF JEROME B. RICE GARDEN SEEDS With Any $ 10 Garden Merchandise Purchase Polly has one major poli cy when it comes to sewing her own wardrobe: "Noth ing should look like it was made with loving hands at home ." BUILD A "FRAME UP' 1 • Includo« 15 From « Up Hoc d w o re Piero« She doesn't see why an o u tfit m ade a t hom e shouldnt look even better than anything purchased off the rack. “Many women have at tempted to sew and come away from their first expe rience with the feeling that they've waited a lot of time and money sewing something they wouldn't leave the bouse wearing.’’ she said “It's not unusual ’ • AM you ro o d i t »ho wood ft nod« o M o to a G reen h o u se Shod or olmo«» o nyfhtng' Regular J29 93 SALE ’ 24.95 29215 SE Orient Dr,, Gresham _ ’«k — -------- \ * > » ** < ? 663-3246
