Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, March 22, 1992 TAG: 9203200393
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: E-7 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: TRACIE FELLERS STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
The dictatorial age, when wearing the "wrong" length was a major faux pas, is long gone. Retailers today are far too busy coping with the lingering recession. And they are also realistic. They know women are not going to go ga-ga over every hot new look that struts down the runway.
Diana Vaughan, president of E.I. Randle and Jasmine stores in Roanoke and Lynchburg, is candid about it all. "To dictate fashion to a woman today would be absurd," she said.
So . . . can't decide whether to try the long skirt with the dramatic slit or the short pleated one? No problem. Either choice is chic.
Like retailers nationwide, Roanoke-area department stores, specialty shops and boutiques are offering skirts and dresses from ankle-grazing to thigh-skimming, from full to form-fitting.
At E.I. Randle and Jasmine stores, "our skirts will range from 34 to 21 inches in case anybody's still in a quandary about that," Vaughan said.
Rose Dauphin, manager at Frances Kahn in Roanoke's Grand Pavilion Mall, said the season's lengths "are either really short or really long. When the skirts are long, they're slit so you can see the leg - it's a very sexy long skirt."
Designers Donna Karan and Calvin Klein, whose lines are available at Frances Kahn, lead the way when it comes to the long look. In her DKNY line, Karan mixes leg-revealing long wrap skirts with menswear-inspired vests and ties or cotton cable cardigans and lace scarves.
At Bonomo's in downtown Roanoke, long jackets paired with pleated or straight short skirts are strong for spring, said sales associate Susan Clause. The ensembles, some of which have jackets designed to be worn without blouses, are practical as well as fashionable, she said. "It's just easy dressing. It's all put together for you.
"Really, really long, beautiful Victorian looks are in, too. But nothing in-between," Clause said, speaking of skirts or dresses that fall a couple of inches below the knee.
If the lack of length guidelines makes you feel more indecisive than liberated, don't bemoan the demise of tradition-bound fashion. Try shorts instead.
Called walking shorts by the fashion-savvy, the dressed-up versions "are coming on strong as an alternative for pants and skirts for the woman of the '90s, says Lisa Williams, special events coordinator for Roanoke's Leggett stores.
Whether they're in full, skirt-like styles or more narrow, tailored silhouettes, "shorts have professional impact when worn with a jacket and pumps," Williams said. In rayon, silk and linen, the shorts are polished enough to meet the dress code in many offices, she added.
In the two years since the sophisticated shorts started appearing in Southwest Virginia stores, they've found a sizeable following. "When it's a few weeks after Christmas and you're unpacking them and people are grabbing them," they're definitely in demand, E.I. Randle president Vaughan said. "We are selling them like hotcakes in linen right now."
Alone or with matching jackets, "they work. They've become acceptable even for cocktail, evening [wear]," she said. Vaughan saw proof of shorts' after-five appeal over the holiday season, when black velvet shorts sold briskly in her stores. "It's a great alternative to a short skirt."
by CNB