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

DATE: SUNDAY, March 22, 1992                   TAG: 9203200395
SECTION: EXTRA                    PAGE: E-20   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: TRACIE FELLERS STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

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Plaids haven't disappeared. Madras is a spring and summer menswear staple, and casual cotton tartans are turning up in camp shirts, shorts and other seasonal clothes for women.

But they aren't nearly as important for spring as other patterns that have roots in eras gone by - most notably gingham, stripes and florals.

"Gingham is a statement . . . that follows the plaid trend of fall," says Diana Vaughan, president of E.I. Randle and Jasmine stores in Roanoke and Lynchburg.

E.I. Randle and Jasmine stores have a breezy selection of gingham dresses for spring, from flowing ankle-length styles to shirtwaists with full, short skirts.

But the most whimsical is Cynthia Rowley's little slip dress. "It's short and cute in red-and-white gingham," Vaughan says. To add to its charm, the straps of the dress are adorned with tiny plastic apples, pears and oranges, and dainty fabric leaves. "It's just adorable," she says.

At stores in Roanoke and across the country, stripes show up on everything from halter dresses to snappy blazers. They're in fabrics from silk to seersucker and in dimensions from narrow pinstripes to broad awning stripes.

Lisa Williams, special-events coordinator for Roanoke's Leggett stores, says gingham and stripes will also make summer's swimsuits stand out. "Swimwear is going to be really hot this year, and you're going to see a lot of checks and stripes within these swimwear looks."

Floral patterns seem to bloom anew every spring, some years more attractively than others. But this spring, they are not to be overlooked, Vaughan says. "Florals are much more vivid this time around."

Chintz prints and the pastel-y floral prints that have been popular in past springs are giving way to brighter, bolder varieties, she adds.

But if you'd rather set a trend than follow one, think about giving pattern mixing a try.

The technique, often used with striking results by European designers like Emanuel Ungaro, looks chic for spring, says Frances Kahn manager Rose Dauphin. Watch for "print against print" - polka dots with stripes, for instance - and "real bright colors," she says.