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Logan's Style Watch
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Dressing Chic On A Budget - LOW BUDGET? HIGH FASHION!
by Logan Bentley Lessona
Drooling over those hot flared Gucci jeans trimmed with beads and feathers but can't afford the four-figure price? Then get thee to a notions and trimming store, choose the sequins, bugle beads, tiny glass beads, fake fur, braid, rick-rack, tiny mirrors, feathers, and other odds and ends that turn you on, thread that needle, and attack those jeans! Or, if you're a fumble-fingers, ask a friend, or even pay somebody to do the job. It will still cost less than the store-bought variety. Who knows, your mom may have trimmed her own jeans because Tom Ford wasn't around when she was a hippie. To save on jeans look for the flared-leg version from the seventies in flea markets and thrift shops.
I consulted Eleanora Attolico, a young writer for Italy's weekly L'Espresso. She has traveled the world with her diplomat father whose last posting was as Italy's ambassador to Great Britain. "As soon as the papers reported that Levis was closing factories jeans came back with a bang. It's not just Tom Ford and his fancy jeans for Gucci, we really love the look of the jeans jacket worn over a bias-cut silk slip dress, or a shrunken soft sweater top worn with hippie-looking decorated jeans," she said.
Last year the designers announced the end of black. Good try, but traveling fashion editors will never give up black because (a) it makes them look thinner and (b) it doesn't show the dirt or wrinkles. "Designers try to insist with color, so women will buy more clothes," says Eleanora, "But black won't go away. And this winter every woman wants her Little Black Dress a (accent) la Audrey Hepburn." Look for tube or slip dresses in places like JC Penney, Gap, Lands End and such stores and be sure the dress fits well before buying, checking the back view as well as the front.
Animal prints will jazz up your look. "Zebra, pony skin, black and white cow in handbags are hot," says my expert. "Both Sergio Rossi and Dolce e Gabbana did shoes in zebra prints, Roberto Cavallo, Versace and Michael Kors made bikinis in zebra prints, Gap and Guess have buckets and satchels in the same print. An investment in a pair of Space Odyssey 2001 knee-high boots with a rounded flat rubber sole will give a millenium look to anything you wear." Try white, black, or a bright color for the full effect. Pumps or ballerinas with square toes and heels also look modern, as well as high-heeled ankle boots worn under pants.
"It's also chic to mix active sportswear like jogging pants and bras in brightly-colored "tecno" fabrics with other clothes but I don't find the pants very flattering. Prada brought out the flat bandolier bag in large and small versions and which has been copied widely. They are made in black and khaki nylon. Knapsacks with just one strap slung over the shoulder are also popular. Everybody has copied them."
For evening it all depends on the venue. For discos Eleanora likes "Tight little knit tops, often trimmed with glitter or sequins that show your belly button (Dolce and Gabbana did them but you'll find knockoffs everywhere), or the lingerie look, camisoles, and slip dresses, but no lace. No stockings and high-heeled ankle strap shoes or sandals." For fancier affairs plain or beaded tight cashmere twin sets (again, check those charity shops) worn with sweeping bias-cut skirts in taffeta look great. The skirt can be made in polyester taffeta and only you will know the difference. You could also wear the skirt with a camisole top and jean jacket. Eleanora will be wearing low-cut pale green silk pants with a tight orange sweater on her next date!
© 1999 Logan Bentley Lessona
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