Cloak and Swagger: A Mystery Ends
Dear Fashion Police: I purchased a top-quality black leather swing coat that hits about 2 inches above the knee. Will this style work with slacks as well as short skirts and tights? Also, I don’t plan to wear it with any below-the-knee dresses, but would it be acceptable if an inch or so of black skirt peeked out below the hem? Set my conscience to rest!
--READY TO SWING
Dear Ready: So this is all it takes to ease your conscience? Telling you what to wear with a swing coat? You must be living quite the exemplary life.
OK, Miss Goody-Two-Shoes, here’s the deal: Think proportion. If what’s on top is an A-line, such as your swing coat, what’s on the bottom should be straight and lean. Put an A-line over an A-line, and you’ll be swinging to and fro. Pants are fine as long as they’re slim-fitting, not big and loose. And it’s no sin to have a couple of inches of skirt showing--again, as long as it’s a straight skirt.
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Dear Fashion Police: What is a bias cut? What does it mean to shoppers?
--NOT BIASED ABOUT THE BIAS
Dear Bi: A bias-cut garment is cut on the diagonal of a fabric, instead of horizontally or vertically. To see how this makes a difference, take a piece of woven material and stretch it with the grain one way, then the other. It should be fairly tight. Now pull it on the diagonal. The fabric will have much more give.
Skirts and dresses cut on the bias tend to have more elasticity than clothes cut on the grain of the fabric. Also, since some bias-cut clothing has seams that run diagonally, it can lend a full, flowing look to a garment.
What does that mean for you? . If you’re looking for a skirt or dress that will have some movement and won’t be that constricting, look for one cut on the bias. That silhouette in satin or charmeuse is glamorous for evening because it skims the body and won’t hug it like an Ace bandage.
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Dear Fashion Police: Is there a reason for the proliferation of the blue shirt, black jacket combo on television among talk show hosts, as well as guests--and even members of the audience? I’ve seen this for about a year now, and it’s become so common that my husband and I say at the same time, “Blue shirt, black jacket!”
--OBSERVANT COUCH POTATO
Dear Spud: My, what a fun pastime you and your spouse have devised. More entertaining than the “Give me the remote or I’ll flush the rest of your beer nuts down the toilet” game.
While this blue shirt mystery is compelling, we think there’s a simple explanation: Men are beginning to add more color to their wardrobe. After years of suits worn with boring white shirts, they’re starting to branch out.
But, being men, they’re not about to go and do something silly like wear a lime green or scarlet red shirt. Blue is safe--and it’s a boy color. It’s also a color that flatters most skin types, reads well on TV and comes in a range of shades.
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