Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SUNDAY, March 24, 1991                   TAG: 9103220366
SECTION: SPRING FASHION                    PAGE: E-19   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: By TRACIE FELLERS STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

PUT A SPARK IN YOUR LIFE/ METALLICS BRING BRILLIANCE TO SPRING CLOTHES/

You're bored with sensible grays and browns. Autumnal olives and golds have grown old.

What your wardrobe really needs, you decide, is some sparkle.

Simple enough. The spark you seek is as close as your favorite clothing store or shoe shop.

Metallics bring brilliance to spring clothes, shoes and accessories with light shimmer or high-powered shine.

Metallics are most striking in sweaters and leathers, says Frances Kahn manager Rose Dauphin. But they're also important in shoes, belts and handbags, she adds.

If you opt for subtlety, try separates like JH Collectibles' gold- and white-striped sweater, given the metallic touch with an ornate gold design embossed on the back. The sweater, available at Lazarus, complements a white blouse with delicate gold detail and a white linen skirt or shorts.

Or you can turn heads with a take-notice outfit from Frances Kahn: a silver-studded white leather jacket by Liz Roberts/Robert Elliot, paired with slim silver jeans. To complete the look, add Donna Karan's strappy silver sandals and chic shopping bag.

When it comes to shoes, metallics are making an impact from sandals to sling-backs, says Crystal Lyle, manager of Rack Room Shoes in Roanoke's Hunting Hills Plaza.

Many of the metallic sandals are in multicolors: "You may have gold, pewter, bronze," Lyle says. There are also white shoes capped with metallic-dipped toes, flats arriving for summer and "sling heels," which complement both the casual and the dressy, she adds.

Handbags with metallic highlights are natural counterparts to shoes that shine. The bags "have your metallics in them in some way," Lyle says. "It may be a braided leather or a leather with studs, but a lot of it's coming out."

At G.G. MaGann, you can find hats topped with metallic accents this spring. The selection includes a copper straw hat set off by a bronze lame bow, and white straw hats adorned with silver lame bands.