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
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663-3246