FASHION / SENSE OF STYLE : Nobody’s Perfect--Nobody Wants to Be
Bill Blass and Oscar de la Renta have probably forgotten more about creating beautiful clothes than many young designers know. So it wasn’t surprising that both elders picked up on a casual spirit now prevalent in fashion and played it as a minor theme in the fall collections they showed in New York last week.
Blass, especially, kept things laid back. He paired short, fitted, Chanel-like tweed or checked jackets with black turtlenecks and pants, steering clear of a ladies -who -lunch -with -the -wives -of -Cabinet -members look.
De la Renta opened with sporty separates in terrific color mixes--a pale coral sheared mink coat thrown over a pinky-coral cashmere sweater and brown leather pants or a celadon wool coat flashing its light pink quilted lining, worn over a celadon sweater and gray flannel pants. Then a number of checked and plaid skirted suits emerged on the runway, many with shoes and handbags covered in identical fabric. It was as if a siren had gone off, signaling a dowdy alert. That the suits looked so stiff and wrong was a reminder that Lil’ Miss Perfect isn’t a current style-setter, not when the ultimate hip Jersey Girl, Lisa Marie Presley, is Vogue’s cover girl. Perfection, like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder. But a superbly shaped cashmere turtleneck tucked into slim leather trousers is a better expression of what looks exactly right in 1996 than a big-deal suit matched to within an inch of its life.
Coincidence?: It could be just a superstition, but statistics seem to support the claim that as hemlines descend, so does the stock market. The top New York designers favored skirts below the knee for fall, with lower calf and ankle-lengths dominating. The Dow Jones average fell 88 points on Monday and another 35 on Tuesday.
Beauty Tip: In response to the demanding lives of busy women (if you could channel Clytemnestra, she’d probably tell you her schedule is really packed this week), cosmetics companies began creating multipurpose products. A sunscreen -moisturizer -concealer -foundation -powder would be a real timesaver. But until one is invented, I’ll settle for the mysterious ways in which some on-hand products work. For example, Joico’s Lite Instant Detangler and Conditioner not only babies my hair, but makes my hands really soft.
I recently conducted a semi-scientific test of its skin-softening properties. I took Joico’s K-Pak Deep-Penetrating Creme Hair Reconstructor to Europe to use as a daily conditioner. It detangles better than the Lite, and comes in a smaller, lighter tube more suitable for traveling. But I missed that silky feeling on my hands.
When I came home and used the Lite again, the noticeable softness returned. I also resumed using Philip B.’s Botanical Detangling Finishing Rinse once out of the shower, because Lite, which bills itself as a detangler, is a little weak in that department. To rule out differences in water quality, I tried K-Pak at home too, but it didn’t do the hand trick. Which just proves that travel may broaden the mind, but coming home to a fully stocked bathroom makes for shiny hair and smooth hands.
Joico is available at beauty supply stores, Philip B. at Neiman Marcus.
* Sense of Style appears on Thursdays in Life & Style.
