FASHION : A Stark and Somber Statement : Much of the fall collections make women look like religious pilgrims. The question is, will Ventura County shoppers buy it?
It’s hard times. If you don’t know, you can find out by looking at the fall collections. That is, fashion, not the stuff that’s building up on your lawn.
All the outfits are really stark. Not only are most of the clothes black, but the styles are just plain throwback.
The designs seem to reflect either, A) the work ethic of an earlier century, or B)--get ready--religious fervor. We knew the ‘90s were a no-frills era, but we didn’t realize just how far the mood had gone. Austerity is in .
Old-time Russian peasants--a pious and melancholy crew--provide inspiration for one style theme. The clothes are black fuzzy hats, black tunics and tights, and long crinkly skirts.
One French collection is even more solemn, with everything black and woolly.
Calvin Klein claims that his dark silhouettes were inspired by the Amish. We have a feeling the Amish would not be pleased by the association. But, they will be spared any embarrassment since they have better things to do than read fashion magazines.
It’s a tossup which is more severe: Klein’s black Amish hats or Kamali’s “monk’s jacket”--a hooded cape that ends a few inches from the floor. Guess what color.
Besides these, there are lots of neck-to-ankle black dresses that could pass for clerical robes. It makes us wonder if a spiritual revival is in the works: If designers truly have a handle on the next wave of ethos to strike us, it’s going to be very austere.
It also makes us wonder if these things are selling. Do Ventura County residents want to look like religious pilgrims?
At Mode Five clothing in Simi Valley, salesclerk Rebecca Perez said the look is called Gothic, and it’s hot in Los Angeles, not here.
“Ventura County doesn’t really have fashion,” she said. “Everybody here dresses like the Gap.”
But then Rebecca does spend most of her evenings on Melrose, so we checked further.
There are a lot of clothes out there that have at least a semi-devout look to them. Bullocks, we noticed, has lots of severe, dark dresses in their better line.
A spokeswoman at the corporate offices said: “Our fashion director interpreted (the look) more as Berlin in the ‘30s.”
There was something ominous about that.
At Judy’s in Ventura, we found dusters prominently displayed. These are long, black sleeveless garments of a style not seen since closed automobiles were invented.
Jocelyn Cabatu said they are part of the “dandy” look. It’s what you wear with them that counts, she said. They can be paired with frilly shirts, or made austere with plain dark tops and skirts.
It was all made clear to us by Georgia Boutell, who owns two stores, both called Georgia Boutell’s Art Deco, in Westlake and Ventura.
“It’s the ‘monastic look,’ ” Boutell said. “When I first heard the term, I went, ‘What?’
“I’m not doing it as drastic as the people in New York; I have more a modified monastic.”
She said austere black dresses sell well, as do padre-style hats and rosary-inspired jewelry.
In fact, the look seems to have spread faster in jewelry than in clothing. Local stores feature an abundance of crosses--Maltese, Celtic, plain and fancy--on earrings, chokers, beads or long chains. They are very popular, salespeople said.
The rest of the look may follow. We can imagine a kind of Middle Ages revival, as ever more women are spotted gliding placidly down the streets in religious garb, robes furling out behind them.
But don’t do a total wardrobe make-over in frocks like Friar Tuck’s. Trends strike a balance, and the pendulum swings both ways.
We have already heard that the look for spring will be more on the order of “Las Vegas showgirl.”
Kathleen Williams writes the weekly fashion column for Ventura County Life. Write to her at 5200 Valentine Road, Suite 140, Ventura 93003 or send faxes to 658-5576.
