For the Right Grunge Look, It’s More Mix Than Match

That “Northern Exposure,” Seattle grunge look has overtaken Southwestern garb as the in style, which may mean tossing out some of your old rules about what goes with what.

Flannel shirts are in, and lots of guys are wearing them. They’re even putting them on over undershirts for that lumberjack look. However, many men are wearing brown tees with brown plaid flannels or, even worse, powder-blue undershirts with a navy flannel.

“The key is to wear colors that don’t exactly coordinate,” says Pat Lueras of the Army-Navy Store in Orange. “And stay away from anything bright; you’ll want to go with muted tones.”

Wear a navy T-shirt with brown, or maybe a dark maroon with a forest-green flannel. Match them with some ratty jeans and black biker boots, and people will be asking you for directions to the Space Needle.

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Smear campaign: Full, sensuous lips are in. Ask Cindy Crawford or Paulina. And many women are trying to copy them by layering double coats of lipstick.

Bad idea.

“When it’s applied too thick, lipstick looks sloppy, not glamorous,” says fashion designer Carol Steele of Newport Beach. “It smears at some point on your face, and you also risk getting it on your clothes.”

After applying liner to frame your lips, use medium pressure to put on your lipstick. Touch up lightly. If it’s too thick, dab it off on a tissue.

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Burned out: Shaving your face is fun when you’re 16, but after a few years it becomes one of those miserable necessities. Most guys dislike shaving; maybe that’s why so many walk around with painful-looking razor burn.

“A lot of guys want to cut ‘against the grain,’ which creates that irritation,” says barber Gordon Webb of Santa Ana. “If you want to stop having razor burn, you’ve got to go against that urge.”

Cut “with the grain” with a relatively new razor. If you go over the area and it hasn’t been cut close enough for you, spread more cream around and try again.