Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, March 18, 1990 TAG: 9003222074
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: E-7 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By TRACIE FELLERS STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
The decade of Ronald Reagan, fitness fanaticism and more status-conscious fashions than you could shake a Dove Bar at.
Remember the preppy look? It was one of the decade's easier-to-swallow trends.
The clothes generally were affordable pieces that nearly everyone could relate to. After all, how much could the fashion industry complicate items as simple as polo shirts, button-downs and khakis?
And surely you remember designer jeans, one of the must-haves of the era. Worn to hug the body to the point of discomfort, the jeans created a snowball effect. The '80s consumer craved designer labels even in the most casual or intimate clothes - and was willing to pay for them.
During a decade already labeled for its excessive self-involvement, fashion didn't leave much room for individualism. If you weren't into BMWs, Perrier, running or aerobics by the middle of the decade, the thing to do was to look as though you were.
It only required that you buy the right suit, leotard or athletic shoes - and be prepared to replace them at fashion's every command.
We dallied with other trends in the '80s. There were exaggerated shoulder pads, especially in women's suits and evening wear. Just think about some of those outfits Joan Collins conspired in on TV's "Dynasty." Dresses with pouffy sleeves and skirts were hot numbers for a couple of seasons.
And the punk look - which started as an outrageous, antisocial fashion stance - toned down enough to influence your average neighborhood teen-ager's haircut by the mid-'80s.
If most of these looks bring back less-than-fond memories, take heart:
As fashion moves forward into the '90s, national experts and area retailers say we can expect a departure from many looks that characterized the '80s.
"Everyone predicts fashion will get simpler in the '90s," said Caroline Rennolds Milbank, a fashion historian and author who lives in Cos Cob, Conn.
"In the '80s there were many garments that were physically restrictive, like tight clothes [and] high heels, or that inhibited getting in and out of cars, or were just uncomfortable. Clothing was also mentally restrictive, which included having to spend a lot of time dressing, shopping and maintaining them."
Jane Bonomo, owner of Bonomo's stores in Roanoke, Blacksburg and Radford, says women will demand a more individualized look in the '90s.
"We see a sense of more self-expression and less conformity. In other words, if Seventh Avenue says your skirts have to be short - above the knee - it doesn't necessarily mean that women will accept that.
"Women are finding out what looks best for them as individuals and unique beings, and that's what they should wear rather than being dictated to," Bonomo said.
In the '90s, "people are going to buy clothes for their lifestyles. You're going to be buying for a purpose," said Rose Dauphin, manager of Frances Kahn in Roanoke's Grand Pavilion. The "fashion hype" of the '80s will be replaced by a softer, easier look, she said.
As people become concerned with the environment and other matters outside themselves, clothes are becoming less of a priority, Dauphin said.
"Clothes aren't as important as they used to be. The move is away from the me, me, me, greed, power, success, trendy fashions. We're going toward a more soft way of looking . . . soft, simple, easy, comfortable and timeless."
Neutral tones are an important part of the look, Dauphin said. "They're real soft earth colors, which goes along with the feeling . . . not harsh-looking."
Milbank, author of the books "Couture: The Great Designers" and "New York Fashion: The Evolution of American Style," says she expects retailers to follow two distinctly different paths in the '90s.
"I think we'll see two trends: low-cost factory outlets with no service versus the all-service stores," such as up-scale department stores and fashion specialty shops.
Service will be "a very big trend" for retailers in the '90s, Bonomo said. "Companies that take care of their customers and really care about them are the ones that are going to do well. Companies that just give lip service to that are the ones that are not going to do well."
A commitment to service at Bonomo's includes giving customers tips on how to update their existing wardrobes.
"We ask people to bring in items from their wardrobes and we try to match them with new pieces" for flexibility and different looks, Bonomo said.
The '90s shopper can also expect growing awareness and concern for animals and the earth to influence fashion trends.
"You're seeing more humane treatment of our fellow creatures; that is definitely a trend," Bonomo said. For instance, animal-rights activists have "convinced a large group of women that furs are somewhat immoral, and they don't feel comfortable buying them. Furs don't have the prestige they used to have."
In the cosmetics field, "there's a move now for companies to say they don't use animals to test their products," Bonomo said.
"There a whole move to ecology and natural things," Dauphin added. "The rape of the planet - that's out."
Other area retailers also offered predictions for what the decade holds in fashion.
For the man who likes traditional or updated traditional clothing,\ Jeff Wendell, president of John Norman:
"Most people think of natural fibers when they're talking about traditional clothing. And that's the story of this spring and probably this decade. What we're starting to see is a lot of high natural-fiber blends that are as comfortable as 100 percent but easier to care for and more durable.
"Probably the major thing that I see is the changes in blended fabrics for spring, as well as the return of more fancier goods, fabrics. You're seeing more silks.
"The plaids are coming back in both sport coats and suits as well as sportswear." But as usual, when a style makes a return, it comes in a variation: "There are different colors that make up the plaid. There's more of plum, more of khaki, depending on what the plaid is being used for - sportswear or dresswear."
For the fashion- and body-conscious woman who's confident about her sense of style,\ Donna Williams, owner of The Foxx, Tanglewood Mall:
"There's a bit of a dress-down this season, but there's thought behind it. You don't just throw on a sweater and pants now - I have some customers that spend hours putting an outfit together - but they want to look like they just went in their closet and threw it on.
"The layered look is big. What I'm seeing happening is a lot of prints and a lot of the sheer voile looks done on the stretchy knits with the leggings.
"First of all, with your leggings, you'll probably need a thigh-high stocking. Then you have your voile skirt. And then, of course, you have your top - maybe a little shell and then a jacket over the shell. Or maybe the body suit instead of the shell. Donna Karan has had a big influence on that."
For the woman who likes individualistic yet interchangeable clothes that can go to the office and beyond,\ Carol Hughes, manager of Grassroots, Tanglewood Mall:
"We're into much more comfortable and long skirts. . . .. They go so many places. You can wear them to work and you can wear them out. It's difficult to see a short skirt in a business setting.
"I think you'll see pants. Stirrup pants are coming back, believe it or not. Palazzo pants.
"I think a very clean look is in - no more scarves, not a lot of frou-frou."
Some of the information in this article comes from The New York Times. 11 7 '90s '90s
Memo: Spring Fashion