SENSE OF STYLE / FASHION : Goodbye to All That
As 1995 comes to a close, there are a few fashion trends we’d be happy to toss with the Christmas dinner leftovers.
Like heavy-handed Mod homages. The makeup, the hairstyles or the clothes of the late ‘60s and early ‘70s. Pick one. Ape them all and it’s Halloween.
Stilettos, which are happily being replaced by lower, chunkier heels, flats and even those sweetly dorky Hush Puppies.
Unflattering lengths. The just-below-the-knee length didn’t look bad on everyone, but almost.
Backpacks as handbags. Women who love their backpacks swear they’re here to stay. But have they ever looked in a mirror when they’re strapped into one?
Revival of the Year: The sweater set. Great American sportswear never dies.
Runner-Up: The dress. For years the return of the dress has been trumpeted. With some inspiration from the obituary pages, dresses finally arrived, as spare, simple and elegant as when Jackie Kennedy and Audrey Hepburn wore them.
Revolt of the Year: Not every new look need be a change sweeping enough to wash away all that has come before. Ever since Donna Karan introduced dark, opaque tights that were comfortable, affordable and durable, the everyday versions of dancer’s garb became a welcome habit, especially for working women. Then suddenly some designers sounded a call for bare legs and nude-colored hosiery--not just for sun-kissed California girls in their little slip dresses, but even for women bundled into wintry tweeds. It was as if the fashion police were trying to bury a look that is classic, flattering and, most important, makes getting dressed easier. Pale legs did look pretty, especially with ladylike dresses with a ‘50s genealogy, but that didn’t mean women had to trash their tights. And they didn’t. They stonewalled, until the style that had been declared out came back in again. (Still with us?) The latest for spring is black or bright-colored stockings worn with light-colored sling-backed shoes. Now there’s something that will take a little getting used to.
Oh, Baby: Rita Wilson, very pregnant with Tom Hanks’ incipient baby, has nothing good to say about real maternity clothes. “I didn’t buy any,” she says. “I went to the Gap and Banana Republic and found loose tops in big sizes, then wore them with leggings.” When we ran into her, she was resplendent in a short, charcoal cashmere jacket, above the knee A-line skirt and black tights. (The J. Crew catalog has a nearly identical style in boiled wool. Save a Tibetan mountain goat.) Wilson’s favorite outfit, a man’s white shirt worn with leggings, was also Diane Keaton’s choice for her ersatz pregnancy in “Father of the Bride Part II.” Both Keaton and her always flawlessly made-up expectant movie daughter combined oversized versions of wardrobe staples the non-pregnant depend on: blazers; leggings; neat, man-tailored shirts; and overall shorts. Just as day succeeds night and women who have once endured drug-free labor welcome an epidural the second time around, it follows that movie characters who have perfect lives and dwell in House Beautiful homes sport clever pregnancy wardrobes.
* Sense of Style appears Thursdays in Life & Style.
