Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, March 18, 1990 TAG: 9003161929
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: E-13 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: From staff and wire reports
DATELINE: NEW YORK LENGTH: Medium
Hair a little mangy and no time to shampoo? Wrap a silk square around head and neck a la Grace Kelly. Add sunglasses for intrigue.
A $10 pair of fashion stockings, instead of the $3 pantyhose from the grocery store, can boost a woman's morale much the way a $40 tie does for a man.
Think how a chain-link or lizard skin belt with buckle interest can change the look of a basic dress. Or how the belt can serve you best - by neatly nipping the waist or sitting jauntily on the hips.
Because accessories can do so much, it's no surprise that they sell so well.
"Accessories have outperformed ready-to-wear . . . more than doubling in the past 10 years from $7.3 billion to $17.3 billion in retail sales," says Reenie Davis, publisher of Accessories Magazine, a trade publication.
More than 25 percent of that - some $5.5 billion - is in fashion jewelry.
"Just look what happened to jewelry when women discovered there was more to life than the little gold chain," says Davis.
For spring, the jewelry focus is on earrings, the longer the better; wide, bold cuffs - one at a time, please - and necklaces, best in longer lengths and worn in multiples.
Rhonda Stainback, accessories buyer for Heironimus, said the biggest accessory news this spring is the duster. No. Not the jackets that dust the ground, but earrings that dust your shoulders.
"These earings are full, dramatic drop earings that touch the shoulder," Stainback said. "They're worn with active-wear as well as professional wear."
Styles range from antique looks and Parisian interpretations by Chanel to African-inspired. Shoulder-dusters come in everything from metal to pearls to wood.
Necklaces are also big this season, Stainback said. Twisted strands of wood and bone-like beads are found in a dramatic 48-inch length. Bangles of wood and straw should be worn in multiples.
And your watch? Don't take it too seriously, Stainback said. Spring finds women buying many watches in colors to match active-wear.
Crushable straws seem to be the news in hats. Whittall & Shon showed planters' hats in natural straw with gold braid and glitzy stone trim. David Salvatore of a New York company called Head Master likes floppy straws in bright colors decorated with gromets and studs.
So does Donna Williams, owner of the The Foxx at Tanglewood Mall.
Many of her hats are wide-brimmed Italian straw designs ornamented with everything from shells to rhinestones - a striking way to top a spring outfit.
The Foxx also is carrying large square scarves for spring. Of vibrant colors, these scarves double as sarongs.
Williams wraps her spring collection in belts she designs then has manufactured specifically for her fashions. Long a disciple of ornamentation, she uses rhinestones and studs.
Studs are Michael Morrison's medium, too. Morrison, who designed for the Royal Ballet before settling in Los Angeles, creates a filigree look with studs on everything leather from bustiers to belts.
If you don't want to be seen in one of Morrison's $2,500 creations, hide behind sunglasses by Mercura of New York. Most are adorned with paper-thin brass marching along the bridge in forms as diverse as maple leaves, ocean liners and Irish setters. They're designed by Merilee and Rachel Cohen.
Staff writer Tracy Wimmer contributed to this story.
Memo: Spring Fashion