By now, you've probably heard that the buzzword in fashion land this fall is tweed.
And both men and women will find that the fastest way to update an old wardrobe is with a tweed jacket. It goes with almost everything. And it can be found in new and vintage renditions.
Sure, it has a bit of an image problem. It was once associated with stodgy professors and little old ladies who wear oxfords and go to teas. But it is so hip now that even the proper tweed suit has a certain panache. For women, it has also translated into accessories such as shoes, brooches, flower corsages and purses. They are a good way to dip a toe into a seasonal trend to update your wardrobe.
Lee G, an accessories company, is offering a tweed handbag group of clutches. They come in colors such has black and white, plum, blue and orange. They're available at some specialty stores and www.leegdesigns.com .
Of course, too much of even a good thing can be overkill. Carry a tweed bag with a tweed suit and you'll look like a sofa.
Saks' fall event benefits children's initiative
Vivid colors and luxury fabrics in mixed-and-matched outfits will dominate the runway next week, when models will showcase the Saks Fifth Avenue fall collection to benefit Allegheny Children's Initiative Inc.
"A Pittsburgh Fashion Story" features designers ranging from Chanel to Escada, to Max Mara and Burberry -- and combinations will show up on many outfits, producers say.
The event is planned for 8:30 p.m. Sept. 17. Cocktails and hors d'oeuvres from Dejavu Lounge will be served at 7 p.m., with dancing from 9:15 to 10 p.m. Admission is $45 in advance, $60 at the door at J. Verno Studios, 3030 Jane St., South Side. Free parking and shuttle service will be provided from the UPMC Jane Street lot.
Details: (412) 431-8006 or (412) 778-2579.
Soft beaded moccasin returns as trend
Perhaps it's the need to return to our roots. Maybe it's a quest for the unpretentious and earthy. Credit might go to the fashion comeback of the Western look or the appreciation of personal style that celebrates the quirky mix of accessories.
In any event, the soft beaded moccasin is on a rerun trail.
Nordstrom expects to have the Minnetonka moccasin in stores within the next couple of weeks, and other styles are readily available. Also, eBay had 123 listings for the moccasins, including numerous styles for children, last week.
In a world filled with advertising images of stiletto-heeled, machete-pointed shoes and rich furs, the native, down-to-earth footwear has fresh appeal.
'Queer Eye's' Carson pens how-to book
Of all the overnight celebrities to emerge from reality television, Carson Kressley might be one of the more endearing. He is the blond, boyish, witty men's fashion expert on Bravo's "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy."
He has a self-deprecating comic manner that sets him far apart from the stereotypical men's clothing expert who gets pedantic when he lectures on proper tie width and pocket squares (should they match?).
It's no surprise then that Kressley has a how-to book, "Off the Cuff: The Essential Style Guide for Men and the Women Who Love Them" (Dutton, $24.95), to be published later this month. It joins a high stack of self-help fashion books, so many that it's amazing we are not the best-dressed country in the universe. In fact, we're nowhere near.
Kressley, a seven-year veteran of Ralph Lauren menswear, sees a nation of athletic jerseys and polyester pants and concludes that his mission is to help misguided straight men.
It wasn't always so bad. Men once had uniforms, he says. They had to wear a suit and tie on work days. But along came the Internet and cell phones, and society became mobile. All rules broke down. A man can get on the airplane with frayed shorts and flip flops and no one notices, he says.
"Think of me as your very own fashion fairy godstylist."
What's most noteworthy is that Kressley gets down to basics and pulls no punches. Never, he says, wear pleated khakis, overalls, trucker hats, polyester shirts, pastel suits, novelty ties or a large belt buckle. And he is right.
Students want to spend on extras, not clothes
They need jeans, the right sneakers, skirts that are not illegally short, rugby shirts and ponchos. But it's not the back-to-school clothes that are creating the excitement for students this fall.
It's the extras that seem to be must-haves. It's a cool bike, a colorful calculator, a stylish binder or, if the school allows, exotic ring tones for the cell phones.
The Wall Street Journal confirmed recently what we've been hearing from analysts. Kids will hunt out bargains on their clothes to save money for the extras. They want Schwinn's Sting Ray bike or an electric scooter (when schools allow them). They want to express themselves with notebooks with themes or even text-messaging capabilities. Lunch boxes come in trendy prints, novelty shapes or built-in games. Locker accessories such as magnetic mirrors and iPod holders are also popular.
Not so long ago, the most important factor was the right denim glaze. Times change.
Mannish-looking clothes return to runways
Fashion-conscious women have been in the extreme feminine mode for an extended run. Can you find a place to put yet another ruffle?
And when things go so far in one direction, they inevitably swing back. So you can probably guess that out there on the horizon we're starting to see the beginning of a mantailored phase.
The September Vogue touted, of all things, baggy Chaplainesque pants already on European runways for fall. And American designers such as Cynthia Rowley are working up mannish trousers and tailored shirts for the spring shows next week in New York.
Is Annie Hall returning to haunt us⢠Women, it might not be too soon to rent the movie or start checking out your husband's closet. Additional Information:
