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Spring
Fashion
Index
A
Woman for All Seasons:
This year and every year, women could stand to take a few
style cues from So-fee-ah.
Buh-Bye
Gwyneth, Hello Lita Ford:
You knew they'd be back before too long. WW presents
'80s looks now, in all their trashy glory.
The
Tale of the Taper:
Why guys should show a little love for their own legs.
Five-Minute
Shoe Shakedown:
We interrogated four Portlanders with serious shoe-buying
habits to find out why they worship at the temple of Imelda.
Taking
It to the Streets:
What do your clothes say about you? Quite a bit--but,
as our snapshot of Portland style reveals, the message is
often way off the mark.
The
Summertime Sum:
Legs of leather, a python purse and preppy pieces turned
on their heads will help you stride through summer without
sweating out your wallet.
Use
it or Lose it:
Traditional tennis togs are the least sporty sportswear,
which makes them perfect for off-court duty.
You
Lookin' at Me?
The season's best bets for hiding those lyin' eyes.
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You don't have to watch Buffy to have an attitude. And you
needn't sit at home drooling over the sweet-hot outfits worn
by Wiccans United, pitying your poor bank account and wishing
an angel would fly you away to Bergdorf's for a shopping spree.
And put away those clothes you were going to sell back; Red
Light isn't interested in your flower-print skirts.
Bottom line: You don't need to hock your tiki glass collection
on eBay in order to buy a hula skirt for spring. After considering
Portland's mercurial climate and the economy's dodgy future,
we picked four gotta-get items worth investing in this summer.
These four simple pieces may not make you look like a million
bucks, but maybe that's the point.
LEATHER/VINYL PANTS
When I was a sophomore in college, my mom insisted that
I invest in a pair of leather pants half-price at Banana
Republic. I spent my nights recovering from field hockey
games in Maine, not clubbing in Manhattan, but mom knew
those pants would be imperative to my social development
from college coed to working woman. Now that everyone wants
to be a retro rock star, leather pants are more ragingly
relevant than ever.
1. Wilson's, that ubiquitous mall outpost (remember how
you gazed longingly at their bomber jackets in junior high?),
has hot, hot, hot white leather pants with better-than-BeDazzler
metal studs at the pockets and cuffs. ($179.99, Wilson's
Suede & Leather, various locations)
2. The pertly preppy, lawn-green vinyls from Zumata are
extremely affordable (and durable, for that matter--this
is the same material used for pickup-truck seats) and can
be paired with a sweater set for work or spike heels for
pleasure. ($34, Wet Seal, at a mall near you)
3. If ever there was a crucial item for any time and any
place, it's these black leather boot-cut babies by Diesel.
You'll have them for the rest of your life, and your eventual
daughter will love you for hanging onto them. ($180,
Pokerface, 128 SW 3rd Ave., 294-0445)
SECRETARY SKIRT
Once again, it's all about Mom. She knew that for my
first office job in conservative Boston, traditional skirt-suits
were the way to go. Thankfully, resale shops wouldn't take
them off my hands when I moved to Portland, and now the
straight, knee-length skirt is experiencing a glorious resurgence
in this business-casual mishmash that calls for looking
powerful but girly, professional but sassy, and secretarial--but
CEO.
1. The calf-baring look is sexy enough in its demureness,
but do it in hot pink acrylic and it's a whole new work
space. ($138, BCBG, 700 SW 5th Ave., 228-0045)
2. No one does preppy classics like the Crew. Their tan,
split-front cotton skirt could be worn post-apocalypse with
enduring accuracy. ($78, J. Crew, 700 SW 5th Ave., 228-2739)
3. If this Vivienne Tam skirt--brown sheer over gold-sequined
(!) lining--doesn't have you gyrating and rubbing up against
your desk like a Solid Gold dancer, go back to high school.
($180, Pokerface, 128 SW 3rd Ave., 294-0445)
SNAKESKIN BAG
A girl without a good bag is like a Lhasa Apso with
a bad barber. This often-missed accessory will make you
look better than every satchel-toting sweetheart in the
city. Fortunately, the masses of purses resembling small
pooches, with their cutesy fluff and hairlike materials,
have finally been relegated to the doghouse. Snakeskin numbers
have slithered sublimely to the forefront with understated
cachet.
1. In rich red or gun-metal gray, elongated clutch styles
are truly the cheapest, easiest upgrade to instant chic.
($32, Express, 700 SW 5th Ave., 223-8629)
2. The Saks house-brand, hot pink or black patterned bags
are oversized like a good purse should be. Strictly for
ladies, but not just ladies who lunch. ($185, Saks Fifth
Avenue, 850 SW 5th Ave., 226-3200)
3. Picture Carmel on a warm spring day. You are in a convertible
with Jackie O shades and scarf and a snakeskin number in
tan or aqua thrown casually on the seat beside you, right
next to the lounge lizard you picked up in Vegas. ($146,
Nordstrom,
710 SW Broadway, 224-6666)
TRENCH COAT
If there is any city in America that should be glad
fleece has finally died its drawn-out, non-waterproof death
and been unseated by outerwear that is practical and chic,
it's Portland. The intercontinental functionality of the
trench coat has struck a chord with top designers this spring.
1. The traditional tan trench isn't for everyone, certainly
not rock-star wannabes. But a long, fitted leather bad boy?
A vintage cut in leather is the perfect compromise for those
who don't fully embrace the Crime Dog look. ($25-$40,
Magpie, 520 SW 9th Ave., 220-0920)
2. The Jonathon Michael coat is subtly stylish in a black-and-white
faux snakeskin pattern. It would be a shame to save it just
for rainy days. ($88, Nordstrom)
3. Definitely the coolest all-around waterproof trench
coat in town is a dark denim version by Drizzle. The kicker?
It's lined in leopard print. ($275, Saks Fifth Avenue)
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Willamette Week | originally
published April 12,
2000
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