Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, March 22, 1992 TAG: 9203190164
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: E-14 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: TRACIE FELLERS STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
In fact, they expect suits in a range of subtle blue shades - from petroleum to presidential - to lead the pack when it comes to men's tailored clothing.
Larry Davidson, president of area Davidsons stores, calls the tones "the new blues. They're not navy, and they're not charcoal blue." As defined by Davidson, the category includes colors from dusty to petroleum, a rich-looking hue with a touch of green.
At John Norman stores, "over the last year or so we've been getting requests for lighter colors and different colors in addition to the basics," says president Jeff Wendell. John Norman customers, who tend to be traditional or updated traditional dressers, have been responding to medium grays, light grays and "blends of blue, like presidential blue," a blue-gray, Wendell says.
At John Norman, plaid suits in particular feature the softer blues. One such suit, by Tailormann Imperial, is an understated petroleum blue plaid.
Wendell calls that suit, and those like it, "five-step plaids - a plaid that looks like a solid from five steps away," he explains. "Very, very subtle plaids is what we're selling - not the boxy windowpanes or the boxy glen plaids."
One of Davidsons' most striking spring suits is also petroleum blue - but not plaid. The lightweight worsted wool and microfiber suit by Pallesco di Vitale Barberis, a division of Hart, Schaffner & Marx, is a fashion-forward, double-breasted model. With its soft silhouette and fluid fit, the European-influenced suit exudes sophistication.
The easy, lightweight construction of spring's suits is a continuation of the trend that has impacted even the most traditional tailored clothing, Davidson says. "All the clothing that I'm seeing is more refined. It's softer," he says.
Davidson also sees double-breasted suits, a strong look last fall, carrying over into spring. Now is a good time "to add that as an adjunct to your wardrobe," he says.
Mitchell's manager Tom Hudson says double-breasted suits continue to be important items at the downtown Roanoke store. "The continental look, the Italian look is good with us."
But at John Norman stores, "our customer's not asking for double-breasted. Our man is too traditional," Wendell says. "Most people buy suits for business or church," and the economy is pushing people to limit their clothing purchases, he adds.
However, Wendell already has seen positive customer response to a new suit option at John Norman: separates. Since November, John Norman has been carrying Tailormann Imperial suit coats and pants that can be bought separately, Wendell says. Coats can be purchased in regular and athletic cuts. Pants are in plain-front and pleated styles, a decided advantage for plain-front fellas.
"The manufacturers are making more and more and more suits with pleated pants," Wendell says. Men who prefer plain-front trousers "are coming to us for them because they can't find them anywhere," he says.
Being able to buy suit coats and pants separately is a plus for stout men as well as men with very athletic builds, characterized by "broad chests and tiny waists," Wendell says. Men in both categories have trouble finding suits that fit off the rack.
Separates make suiting up easier for those men, Wendell says. "Now that guy who has never worn a suit, who's been wearing sport jacket combinations, can wear suits."
by CNB