It's hot. It's dusty. And yet the mere word conjures romantic images.
The desert: It has long been an inspiration for books, films and, yes, fashion.
Maybe it's the pictures from the Middle East that are in the news. Or it could be the fantasy of a Moroccan escape that sounds good.
In any event, summer for the style-minded man means khakis, white linens, shorts, ankle boots and a little of Peter O'Toole as Lawrence of Arabia. Air-light fabrics and sandy colors have resurfaced for men this spring.
High-end houses like Jil Sander and Louis Vuitton touched on the theme, says Style.com, the Web site for Vogue Men magazine. Closer to home in America, John Varvatos showed wrinkled linen vests and suit separates. They are especially appealing because they are meant to stay wrinkled.
Kenneth Cole sent khaki shorts and a mahogany-colored safari shirt down his runway. And Michael Kors offered a creamy, crinkled long silk scarf that, as Style.com notes, will go well with a camel.
The idea seems fitting at a time when style analysts think khakis may be eroding the long domination of denim jeans. The pants and shorts could be wise investments.
Jeweler to appear at open houses
Pittsburgh native Ellen Sue Ballon, designer for Deity Jewels, based in Los Angeles, will be the special guest at open houses 10:30 a.m.-8 p.m. today and Saturday, and 10:30 a.m.-4 p.m. Sunday, at hip'tique in Shadyside.
The boutique offers clothing by Alice & Trixie, J & Company, Max Studio, G1, Level 99, Lilla P and Tulle, plus jewelry, handbags and accessories for the home, including Jamie Young lamps and Emma Gardner rugs.
The boutique is at 5817 Ellsworth Ave., Shadyside. Details: 412-361-5817.
Dansko show set at Littles Shoes
Dansko and Ara footwear reps will introduce their European firms' newest clogs, sandals and shoes 10 a.m.-5 p.m. today and Saturday at Littles Shoes, Squirrel Hill.
A representative of Aster and Mod 8 -- two French lines of children's footwear -- also will be available 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday to guide shoppers.
Littles Shoes is at 5850 Forbes Ave., Squirrel Hill. Details: 412-521-3530.
Sally Wiggin to speak at fashion show
TV news anchor Sally Wiggin will speak at fashion show and brunch set noon-3 p.m. May 7 at Coulter Volunteer Fire Company to benefit White Oak Animal Safe Haven.
"Fashion -- Then and Now" by Patti Peer of White Oak, a talk and fashion show of vintage-to-contemporary styles, will highlight the event.
Area shops and salons will offer jewelry, cosmetics, accessories, free facials and gift items at the brunch to help raise funds for expansion of the no-kill shelter and its services.
Guests are invited to bring non-returnable photos of their pets for possible publication in the shelter's forthcoming PAWSibilities Animal Calendar.
Tickets to the brunch are $10 in advance, $12 at the door. Tickets are available at White Oak Animal Safe Haven, 2295 Lincoln Way, White Oak. The shelter opened in 2003 and has placed more than 1,900 animals in new homes with help from approximately 200 volunteers.
Coulter Volunteer Fire Company is at 414 Railroad St., South Versailles. Details: 724-744-2850.
Toddlers join in the pricey jeans craze
We've all marveled in recent years at the surging prices of jeans. Who would have thought that the work pants beloved by painters, plumbers and college students would morph into high-end designer goods priced in the three-figure stratosphere?
But the saga goes on.
Fashion-minded parents are now springing for pricey jeans for toddlers, the Wall Street Journal says. What 4-year-old could be without distressed jeans with copper rivets, double stitching and the proper label⢠Last January, a company called Lucy Sykes New York introduced $93 toddler jeans made from vintage wash denim, and this spring it doubled production.
Genius Jones, a Miami boutique, tripled its stock of kids' designer jeans this year. Seven for all Mankind is introducing skinny jeans for kids.
Certainly expensive kids' clothes are not new. But parents have always tended to splurge on special-occasion clothes and bought jeans at more traditional sportswear retailers such as the Gap or Gymboree.
And it's not always a practical idea. One mother said no more after her daughter twice drew on her $100 jeans with a permanent marker, the WSJ says.
But high-end jeans have helped to pump life into the children's clothing market, where sales dropped 5 percent in 2004 and rose just 2 percent last year. Kids' jeans jumped 5 percent last year, the WSJ reports, and a majority of the growth was in upscale denims. Marshal Cohen, fashion analyst for sales-tracker NPD, says it's a status thing. People want their children to reflect who they are.
Silk scarf sales to benefit New Orleans
The fashion industry continues to align with charitable causes. Some are more notable than others.
The latest effort comes from the prestigious French company Hermes of Paris, which has reissued its silk scarf New Orleans. Ten percent of the proceeds are going to help restore the New Orleans City Park, which was flooded when Katrina hit.
The park has 1,500 acres of recreational area with lagoons, an art museum, a miniature train ride for children, oak groves, forests, a botanical garden and a historic carousel that has been in the park since 1906. Ninety percent of the area sustained $43 million of damage.
The scarf was designed in 1996 to honor the city's jazz heritage. Now available in three colorations, it features some of the jazz stars and amalgams of the city's past.
The $320 scarf is available beginning in May at Hermes boutiques and www.Hermes.com .
