THE WORD ON WHAT’S HIP AND WHAT’S HYPE

Ancient Links

Go ahead, wear cuff links, but make them count. Cuff links can double as great conversation pieces, like the Greek and Roman coin reproductions at the Metropolitan Museum of Art store in South Coast Plaza. “Coins are like a button, so they lend themselves perfectly as cuff links,” says manager Grant Breding. The shop offers a variety in brass, silver or gold from $36 to $425, and about two dozen pairs go out the door every month. The hottest sellers? Those bearing a horse head, because “they’re seen as a masculine symbol.”

Body Blues

(1) This season’s wardrobe staple is the body suit. (2) From couture to casual, denim rules as fabric of the year. So (3) Body & Soul has combined the two. “Denim is good for all occasions, and it’s so functional,” says designer Lee Lopez. A Lycra-cotton blend provides breathing room. A brass zipper, gold stitching and a hood add a touch of sporty elegance. Lopez suggests pairing the suit with oversized slacks hanging from the hips or, for night, with a long black skirt.

Ode to Van Gogh

That golden sunflower that inspired the Dutch painter is finding its way into fashion, dinnerware, landscaping and just about everything else this year. “It’s definitely the strongest image in the market,” says Shannon Kluever, owner of Cal Teque. Her Laguna Beach boutique stocks silk versions at $12, but “as soon as I get a shipment in, they’re gone.” The flower’s power is that it’s bold, not gaudy.

Labor Payday

Dickies work wear, the super-duty factory duds, is suddenly hip among young urbanites. But that hasn’t gone to the company’s head. To celebrate its 70th anniversary, the firm wants you to write in 50 words or less why you are the “American Worker of the Year.” Persuade them and you win $7,000 (or one of 7,000 other prizes). Entry forms are on the clothes tags. Hurry, the deadline is (what else?) Labor Day.