Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, September 12, 1993 TAG: 9309100150
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 13 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Katheleen Wilson Staff Writer
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
\ Matt Winston is the kind of guy whose socks always match his neckties.
"The ability to accessorize will save even the worst clothing gift a relative might give you for Christmas," he swears, swaggering through Valley View Mall.
Matt, 25, works in the Virginia Tech public affairs office. It's one of those you-oughta-wear-a-tie jobs that doesn't necessarily require he wear a suit.
"But I've got suits, and I look good in them."
Matt is nothing if not confident.
He laughs as he remembers the days when he just about refused to wear anything that didn't have a Polo or Jordache label emblazoned across it.
"That was when Mom and Dad were buying the clothes," admits Matt.
These days he prefers Bugle Boy. But he'll travel to Wytheville or Staunton to find them at outlet prices.
But even if Matt had all the money in the world, he swears he'd still shop at J. Rigging at Valley View.
"The prices here are REALLY good!" he whispers.
You can't go wrong with earthtones, recommends Matt.
"I'm not too phat on straight grays or navys," he says wrinkling his nose.
But the secret is in the pants. "You can be wearing the best outfit in the world and if your pants don't fit right, it messes everything up."
But dressing is common sense. "There's no talent involved," he confesses.
For those who need a little help, Matt offers these tips:
"Never buy something they've got laid out on display. You'd be letting someone else dress you."
"Paisleys are out. Won't be back for 10 years."
"Don't ever wear a tie that would hurt people's eyes."
"Never buy clothes in a store where the music is playing loud, 'cause they're trying to distract you and don't have their priorities straight."
"NEVER WEAR ULTRA-SUEDE!"
"Don't buy shirts that have big stripes and little stripes and more than one color. There's just too much going on. Too much information to process."
Matt shops the department stores to see what's new, then shops around to find copycat looks at lower prices.
"My favorite sweater - the one everyone notices and comments on? I bought it at K-mart," Matt says with great pride.
"It's not where you buy. It's what you buy."
\ Jimmy Deck's eyes light up the moment he notices the sign in the window of Beau Brummel at Grand Pavilion Mall.
"SALE! It's a beacon!"
Jimmy, 36, shows up wearing a white shirt splashed with pictures of '50s-type convertibles.
An art teacher at William Fleming High School, he doesn't have to dress up - in the traditional suit-and-tie sense - for work.
Still, Jimmy likes to look good. And all the better if it's at bargain prices.
"The best neckties I ever got were from Happy's Flea Market," he boasts, as the Beau Brummel salesperson raises an eyebrow. "Nine ties for $10. Great ties. Love those ties."
He admits he doesn't much like the fluorescent colors designers are pushing these days. "I keep hoping fashion will fall flat on its face."
Beau Brummel - of New York, Los Angeles . . . and Roanoke - is about as high fashion as men's clothing gets. The selection is small. The prices are high - "but the sale prices are great!"
But Jimmy doubts you'll find the clothes he found there at any other store in town.
Like most men, Jimmy's got some pretty definite ideas about what he likes and doesn't like.
"There's a little too much David Byrne going on here," he comments, wearing a double-breasted jacket with gigantic shoulders.
"Thank ya. Thankyavurymuch," he mumbles Elvis-style when complimented.
Will Jimmy shop at Beau Brummel again? It seems likely.
Before he left, he snapped up a pair of $125 jeans and a handful of shirts ($80-$100 a piece) for a mere fraction of their regular price.
And he was still considering that blue suit . . .
\ Steve Newcomb, 32, could be a model.
"We could all be wearing the same thing, but only Steve would look like a Davidsons ad," was how Steve was described by the guys he worked with.
A funeral attendant for Oakey's Funeral Service, Steve's lost count of how many dark suits and white shirts he has.
"But I think I've got about 40 ties, though," he reckons. "I never throw anything out. Over the years they just add up. And sooner or later, they'll be back in style.
The conservative manner of dress dictated by what he does for a living make Davidsons an appropriate place to shop.
"Even though I only buy things here when they're on sale," he admits.
Limited a bit in how he dresses for work, Steve still admires the flashier high fashion stuff, commenting, "Now that's right pretty. I could wear that . . . out to dinner or somewhere like that."
Matt knows his Bugle Boy outlet. Jimmy sings the praises of neckties from Happy's.
What's Steve's secret?
"I buy my shoes at Walker's Country Store in Franklin County," he confides.
by CNB