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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTimes-Advocate, 1979-09-12, Page 17 (2)• ra THE OH -SO -SOFT -POODLE -- Poodle cloth is and this coat is tne' newest. in a light beige tone. Swartman of Anita's tops _11 with a mohair scarf back, Kellie • Earthy tones, natural fabrics for fall The most popular item being added to women's wardrobes this fall is the basic suit. Both the fashion concious and the practical buyer seem to be choosing the straight skirt and matching tailored jacket. Local ladieswear salespeople say that the purchase of a suit can be seen as an investment. Most suits are classics, and unlike trendy styles can be worn for several years. The suit is generally quite versatile, and will allow the wearer, some variety through dif- ferent combinations and accessories. This fall's suit has seen a resurganceof natural fabrics, and has said good-bye to the synthetics and polyesters. Wool and textured tweeds dominate the suit scene. For those who want something extra, suits can be pur- chased in suedes and ultra suedes. For a more casual look in suits, corduroy is a popular fabric. Colors for the classic suit have stayed with the soft, earthy tones --browns and beiges. However, a new shade has been appearing and seems to be catching on in many of the local shops. Some store owners are calling it "plum" while others describe it as burgandy or wine. Deep purple is also seen in many fall fabrics. Nick Carter at the Sun Shop in Grand Bend says his store has stocked several suits for casual wear, or for the working woman. "The suit is classic, as opposed to high fashion --it shows good basic taste." Carter says. Anita Swartman of Anita's in Exeter agrees that the suit is selling more than ever this year. She says that tweed and heathertones are the most popular, along with some small checks or herringbones. Padded shoulders, and tiny. fitted waists are features that make this fall's suit different than in recent years. Suits have moved away from the masculine businessman look, and towards a more feminine styling. Lapels and collars are narrowing, and some jackets are belted. Keeping with the trend of a more feminine look is the lack of pants with a suit jacket. Pants are seldom seen ex- cept for sports and ' very casual wear. Wendy Elliott of Merry Rags in Grand Bend says that even thdugh they are in a resort, they have been selling two skirts for every pair of pants. She says• that skirts are more feminine and the silhouette is becoming more narrow. Flared skirts will not be seen this fall, and instead styles are moving towards the straight skirt. Slits and pleats, however, are a must with the straight skirt. Slits can go anywhere --front, back, both sides or just one side. Some skirts even have a side -front split. A single pleat in the front or back is also seen. The skirts are shorter this year, coming up to a length just below the knee. "Just two inches south of the knee," is the way an em- ployee of Merry Rags escribed this year's skirt. fan 'women aretborttening the skirts that they wore at DESIGNER DRESS — A tweedy- look viyella with delicate midcalf last fall. pleats at the shoulders, soft ties and padded shoulders In keeping with the shows fall comfort anp style The dress, designed by a young popularity of the suit. the Canadian Ches Pritchard. is modelled by Laune Stackhouse blazer jacket is selling well of Anita's. - this fall. Anita ;Swartman speculates that many people are buying the blazer because they anticipate lower tempertures in their offices. She speculates that because of the publicity surrounding the energy shortage, people are plan- ning to dress,more warmly this fall.' This, too. would account for the increasing popularity of sweaters. Tweedy -look pullovers in round necks or V -necks are selling well. Cardigans, too, are making a come back. Ron Cottrell of The Junction .in Exeter says that this fall the . Cardigans are short waist - length sweaters. The look of the fifties is back with fancy beadwork, or tiny seed pearls sewn into the sweater. As with other clothing; woolens and specialties such as angora are more popular than synthetics. Dresses; too, arg —being called retro -fashion this fall. „_:stxyles reflect these of the forties and fifties, with padded shoulders and fitted waists. Edith Boyle of Boyle's Ladies Wear in Exeter says that the tailored styles are easier for most people to wear attractively. The blouson styles of last year were more suited to' GOLD 'N GOOD -- Cathy Anstett of Anstett's shows what can be done with fine gold chains for this fall's look. Tiny diamonds. the Queen of the Nile. an Italian horn, and a boo - bottle show the elegance of karat gold. A chain ring on het pointer finger completes the look. tall, slender women, she says. Velours, chenilles, lightweight terrys, viyella and other soft fabrics are used. Some dresses are starting to come out in boucles or "poodle cloth". The doleman or raglan sleeve is still popular, but with the fitted waist. As with the skirts, dresses are about two inches below the knee, and have slits. For fall, the earthy colours or the wine shades are popular, but occasionally disco influence brings in some bright colours such as shocking mauve or peacock blue. Wendy Elliott points out that in keeping with the femininity trends, more detail is used on dresses. Dainty buttons are used on side split closings, and tiny tucks and pleats are found on shoulders and waists. She says that detail is evident in such things as flanging, or small unpressed pleats on the shoulders. Less and less of the old unisex look is visible on women's clothing. "Things are going back to really dressing up again," Anita Swartman says. Pointed collars are almost non-existant on shirts this fall. Instead shirts feature small rounded closings at the necks. The masculine looking shirt is gone from women's blouses. Pants will always be with us for sports and casual wear. Legs are straight and narrow this year --the old flair leg pants ,will not be selling. Velour and corduroy are the the most popular fabrics for this fall. The Western or jean look still dominates pants. Stitching on casual cords still has the cowboy effect. The wide or medium wale corduroys are more popular than the pin wale. Roseanne Levier of the The Loft in Exeter says she is pleased at how well the straight legs jeans and pants have caught on. She says that tweed is also a popular fabric in the fall pants, and that many of the pants feature pleated waists. A trendy item which has been picked up by high school girls are pants with suspenders. Anita Swartman calls J,he cords With straps "Huckleberry" and speculates that they might be the result of Mork from Ork's popularity. Coats this fall have more detail to give them a feminine effect, and are generally more fitted. Tie belts are featured on most. Styles are moving away from last year's trend of huge tent coats. Classic suede, leather and pig skin are still very popular. Other fabrics in- clude. wool and poodle cloth. Again less synthetics are being used, and more natural fabrics. Like skirt lengths, coats are shorter this fall, coming to just three or four inches below .the knee --enough to cover the dress. "There is a greater in- terest in fashion by local ladies more so today than three or four- years ago. Women here are becoming more fashion concious," Ron Cottrell says. This (all's styles have made it easier to be fashionable. Most looks reflect good taste, and steer clear of trendy fads. Jewellery, All that glitters should be gold, if you want to be in style this fall. Karat gold jewellery is the accessory for any fall fashions. Micheal Anstett of Anstett's says that fine jewellery is always in style. But this year in particular, -people seem to be buying good quality gold --perhaps seeing the purchase as an investment as gold prices climb on world markets. Yellow gold is the most popular. Sales for white gold, silver and platinum have not increased. Fine gold chains seem to be the favoured way of wearing gold. While last year, ladies wearing the plain gold chains around their neck, this year the chains feature various stations, or are used to hold a charm as a pendant. Stations along the gold chain include seed pearls. or very small diamonds. Small beads' are also popular. Jay Cambell says that some costume jewellery has reflected this trend. and necklaces of very tiny beads in the fall colours are becoming popular With pendants in gold. anything goes. People are now asking for pc'sonalized charms to wear around their necks --such as tiny water- skis for an avid skier, or any such item -that reflects a favourite sport or hobby. The boodle bottle or a little glass bottle filled with gold dust is a popular :tem, as well as the good luck horn which malty people call the Italian or French horn. A new item which is starting to catch is the King Tut jewellery. Micheal Anstett predicts that this will become more popular when King Tut exhibit opens in Toronto. Right now he has sold a few pendants featuring "The Queen of the Nile". The King Tut death mask is expected to become a popular pendant.' Anstett's also feature nugget jewellery. Small pieces of gold twisted in its natural shape can be used as pendants. Micheal says that some customers have been bringing in old rings or other pieces of gold jewellery that they no longer wear and have him make nuggets. Sometimes tiny pearls or gem stones are set into the nugget. The move towards the dainty fine gold chains reflects the general trend towards feminity in women's fashions. But the wearing of gold chains doesn't stop at the neck. Gold chains with a small diamond set into the chain and worn around the wrist are called tickling bracelets. Tiny gold chains around the ankles, called anklets, are also- popular. Even a .gold chain around a finger can become a . ring. The possibilites for the types of chains are endless -box chains, serpant chains, and Page 1A even several chains braided together are seen. There are ho restictions on rings this fall --they can be worn on any finger and any number of fingers. Again gold is stylish. with any kind of stone or gem. Stud earrings are replacing the more dangly type this year, again showing a trend toward more ' dainty. feminine fewellery. Both Jay Campbell and Micheal Anstett report a move to more personalized jewellery People want pendants that reflect something about them- selves. Or they want to wear jewellery that bears their name or initials. The classis signet ring is making a comeback. Jay Campbell has a way for women to own a signet ring and several other rings at the same lime. A new item that Campbell's helped develop is the "ltsa". This is a ring with one shank and several changeable heads. You can buy as many heads as you like. The rings are made of quality karat gold and as well as one head which can be engraved, the other heads feature diamonds, or popular gems. The heads can also be used as pendants in this versatile item. Jay says that this practical ring demonstrates how high the price of gold has gone. This keeps the cost of several rings in line for most buyers. Losing favour this fall are charm bracelets and stick pins. Dainty chains have taken over as bracelets from heavier charm bracelets. Stick pins are not as popular as they' were last year. It is interesting to note that more and more men are Serving South Huron, North Middlece. & North tamblon Since 1873 September 12, 1979 ANNIE HALL — The Annie Hall look has taken over from the old track shoes among high school girls Thin soles and tapered tees make the shoes a little dressier at Wuerth s w4 BACK TO SCHOOL Teens are going back to classes this fall in new flats with cut-out petal t'es and dainrithin strapsaccording to Smyths ~ wearing jewellery. Karat gold cufflinks, and tie or lapel .pins are making a comeback. Pendants for men are more popular than ever this year. Like the women's jewellery, the trend seems to be towards per- sonalized jewellery. ¥ ¥ Footwear As with clothing and ac- cessories, women's -footwear is moving towards a more feminine look this fall. Soles are thin, toes tapered. and heels dainty for both dress and casual shoes. In Exeter, the popular heel height for a dress shoe is about three inches this fall. The stack heel is very popular, and shades of brown are classic for fall. Colours move to blac'c for winter. Willa Wuerth at Wuerth's reports that some shades of burgandy or wine are being sold to match the plum shades this fall. She is also selling some grey shoes to compliment the new colours. The spike heel is the most popular. but there are many attractive styles in the lower heels for those who do want the height. Wedgies are no -longer seen. Most dress shoes feature dainty narrow strapes. Toes and heels can be open or closed. Leather is most popular, but some suedes are being used. Paul Neilands of Smyth's reports that the Naturatizer is still very popular. The slide --a spike heeled slip-on shoe-- was very popular through -out the summer, and is still here in some fall styles. The big revolution in footwear is occuring in the young ladies department. Both shoe stores reported a definite trend towards dressier.' more feminine shoes among the high school girls. A few years ago. or even last year. the only shoes sold to high school girls were track type shoes with thick soles and blunt toes such as . North Star and Cougar. This year. however. they're going to a much neater look. The Annie Hall style dominates the scene. and Mrs. Wuerth reports that even the saddle shoes is making a come back. At Smyth's the move has been towards flats with petal cutouts on the toes. COMBINATION JEWELLERY The 'Asa" -- a ring whgre the heads can be changed on the shank - is the FOR DRESS OR WORK — The stack heel is popular this newest item at Campbell's The heads feature small fail for shoes of all kinds Wuerth's have the western style diamonds and dainty gems as well as personalized engrav- slide or dressy suedes and leathers featuring the high stack ing. and can be worn as pendants on chains heel 4 ••a SUEDE AND LEATHER 8T111 STYLISH — Barbara Balmer of the Sun Shop models an attractive pig skin coat in light beige for fall Detail at the neck and on the cuffs gives this coat a feminine touch. HIGH SPLITS -- Th higher the better is the word for splits this fall Helen Brand of The Junction wears a brown tweed skirt wUh a side front split Her jacket combines the very popular looks of corduroychenille, and tweed in a stylish effect - SMOOTH SWEATERS — The style of the fifties is beckl Ron Cottrell of the Junction shows some of their newest sweaters which feature. short waist lengths. bright plum colours. and fancy bead work or embroidery. •