Rest Assured, Velvet’s Role as a Style Staple Is Undiminished
Dear Fashion Police: I would like to know if velvet pantsuits are in style. I am a woman in my 70s and I wear size 10. I don’t like to wear dresses because I have problems with my feet and must wear flat shoes.
--UNDERGROUND VELVET
Dear Under: Velvet has become a winter and holiday staple in recent years, and it’s not just for parties or dressy occasions. These days you can find velvet everything, from jeans to tunics, skirts, cardigans, dresses and halter tops, and some pieces can be worn for day or evening. Silhouettes vary, from loose-fitting jackets and full skirts to body-hugging stretch velvet pants and cropped tops. Accessories are popular, too, from beaded evening bags to devore or burnout velvet scarves to shoes to silk-lined wraps. Colors for the season range from basic black to chocolate and burgundy to jewel tones such as ruby, emerald and sapphire, plus printed silks. If you’re not a full-on velvet kind of person, there are touches of it on jacket collars and skirt hems.
It’s what you put together and how you do it that determines whether it’s appropriate for day or night. Velvet paired with taffeta or other evening fabrics such as silk charmeuse is dressy. An all-velvet ensemble is dressy (especially with glitzy jewelry or a silk scarf), and not suitable for something like a traditional office. But mix a velvet tunic with jeans or a long skirt and flats and you’ve got something fairly casual.
So yes, to make a short answer long, velvet pantsuits are in style, but feel free to mix your velvet pieces with other items in your wardrobe, too. We’d recommend something like a mandarin collar velvet jacket with full pants (also velvet, or perhaps rayon or silk). You should be able to find these pieces at major department stores as well as specialty chains (such as AnnTaylor and Talbots) and small boutiques.
By the way, flats are OK to wear with skirts, too, especially long ones if you like that style. Finding fashionable flats is easy these days, since many stylish women prefer them to heels.
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Dear Fashion Police: I know you dislike these designations as much as the rest of us, but could you please explain what to wear to an event where the invitation calls for “California cocktail?” I saw everything from pantsuits to sequins, and I was definitely too casual myself. Please give me some advice for next time.
--UP TO CODE
Dear Up: Here’s the best advice we can give you: Get some new friends who know how to throw a party. OK, that’s drastic, but we honestly don’t know any way of interpreting that kind of frustratingly vague description that offers no guidance to guests whatsoever. For all we know, it could have meant they expected you to dress like a California cocktail. Maybe a margarita, with a festive bit of lime in your hair?
Our serious best piece of advice, which we’ve doled out before, is to call the host or hostess and ask what “California cocktail” or whatever other bizarre dress code they’ve come up with means. You can politely hint at your displeasure with the invitation by saying something such as, “I’d love to come to your party, but frankly, I’m quite baffled by your ‘California cocktail’ dress code. I don’t think I’ve ever run across anything that peculiar and imprecise before. Would a pantsuit be all right, or should I wear something dressier?”
Chances are he or she won’t get it anyway, but you will have done your best. And when you throw a party, you’ll know to be kinder to your guests.
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Dear Fashion Police: I have a black cat suit that I love, but I’m not sure if they’re still in. Are they?
--MEOW
Dear Meow: That depends. Are you a cat?
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Write to Fashion Police, Los Angeles Times, 202 W. 1st St., Los Angeles, CA 90012, fax to (213) 237-4888, or send e-mail to socalliving@latimes.com.
